BUSY!

I am still alive! Since school has started we have been going and going! I believe this is the first weekend I can actually sleep in (for a little bit). This is what a normal week looks like for the Riley's right now.

Sunday: church, relax and nap

Monday: up at 6, get kids up at 7 and off to school at 8, Elijah to pre-k at 8:45
laundry, study, possibly work out, pick up Elijah at 11:15, kids home at 2:45, orchestrate homework for 3, prepare dinner, Elizabeth gets picked up for Girls on the Run by 5:30, Luke to football practice by 5:30. Luke finishes at 7, Elizabeth at 6:45, all the while MDR is teaching from 4:30-?

Tuesday: Breathe! up at 6, get up at 6, get kids up at 7 and off to school at 8, Elijah to pre-k at 8:45, laundry, study, possibly work out, pick up Elijah at 11:15, kids home at 2:45, orchestrate homework for 3, prepare dinner, study and spend time with the kids while MDR teaches 4:30-?

Wednesday:up at 5, meet with Julie (my accountability partner) get home at 8, kids leave for school at 8, Elijah to pre-k at 8:45 laundry, study, possibly work out, pick up Elijah at 11:15, kids home at 2:45, orchestrate homework for 3, prepare dinner, get MDR to the high school by 4:30 to teach, pick up Emily to ride with Elizabeth to Girls on the Run by 5:30, pick up the girls at 6:45 and MDR if we are lucky....go back later if not! Does anyone out there have a spare car you would like to get rid of!? Second Wednesday of each month I play Bunco at 7.

Thursday: Kids out the door a few minutes earlier than normal, I leave for class (8-11:50), MDR gets Elijah to preschool. After class arrange pickup for Elijah.
Go home and collapse for a little bit. Kids home, homework, supper, and I think we stay home....MDR takes Luke to football practice.

Friday:Kids out the door for school and I stay home all day with Elijah. (his pre-k is only M-Th.

Saturday: morning is Luke's football which is wrapping up soon!

I am working hard at this anatomy class and is pretty much all I am doing this weekend. There is a lot of memorization. My first test is in two weeks. I find myself doing a lot of praying and asking for recall and the ability to remember details. Hopefully, it won't be a month before my next post!

Riley Randomness

The past couple of weeks have flown by. My last post was about Granny. Her funeral went smoothly and it was nice to meet some extended family and see others. Elizabeth has continued to process all of this. In the meantime, we have been giving Grandma and Grandpa room to grieve, but must confess the kids are having Grandma and Grandpa withdraws!

I ordered my anatomy/physiology book and lab manual. I never cease to be amazed at how much textbooks cost! Over $300 for those pups!! Now, I need to get a new cd/dvd thing for my laptop along with a new battery. Thank goodness MDR is teaching 3 classes this semester!!

It is hard to believe the kids start back next week. This summer (year for that matter)has flown by in a quick blink. Usually, it feels like summer drags. Even though we haven't been anywhere "fun" the kids have had a good time. Elizabeth, Luke, and Isaiah got a taste of church camp for the first time. They LOVED it! They can hardly wait for NEXT summer! Hilltop left wonderful first impressions and memories for the kiddos. Various Vacation Bible Schools filled most of the summer.

Luke began football practice and has his first game this Saturday. It is always so much fun watching him do something he enjoys so much. And he is good at it. Actually, he is good at about every sport he has tried. Elizabeth and Isaiah chose not to play soccer this fall. Is it wrong to say I am thrilled about that??
Isaiah is begging to do violin lessons and Elizabeth wants to do swimming and diving. Elizabeth also wants to try out for Parkside basketball this fall.

This week and next are filled with back to school doctor appointments that were put off to the last minute. Elizabeth goes today for a follow up from an ER visit. Elijah gets his 5 year/school shots today. I go tomorrow for a routine physical, tetanus booster, and to have a skin spot checked out. (can't be over cautious with those kind of things!) Next week Luke goes for his wellness checkup and chicken pox booster. Elizabeth will see a podiatrist for her flipper flat feet. (Unfortunately, that is a dominant Risser trait!)She has absolutely no arch and almost walks on her ankle like my dad did.

I have continued to stay caught up with laundry which was my biggest goal this summer! I try to do one to two loads each day. Sometimes I can skip a day. (I enjoy that!)

It is 10:30 and I am still sitting here in my pajamas. I am so looking forward to being back on a daily schedule! If you are still reading this, thank you, and I am sorry for boring you to death!

Annie aka Granny

We received one of those phone calls yesterday. I could tell something was wrong. I was in the other room and I could hear the sorrow in MDR's voice as he listened to a tearful Papa telling him the dreadful news. Papaw and Granny had been in an accident and Granny did not make it. What?!
Mike and I just look at each other. Shock, disbelief, grief, sorrow, and joy all run through you in a time like that. Yes, joy. Annie is with Jesus today. As I stood singing in church this morning, I couldn't help but smile thinking about how our Precious Granny is singing in heaven!

Bob and Annie are Jane's parents. Jane is MDR's stepmom. However, there has never been "step" when it comes to their love! They were/are MDR's grandparents.

The past 24 hours have been bittersweet. Thankful that Annie is with Jesus but mourning the person she was and the impact she had on all of us. Last night MDR went out to be with Papaw for awhile. Elizabeth, Luke, and Isaiah had so many questions. What killed her? Where is she now? Is she asleep? Why did it happen today?
I am so thankful for teachable moments. What a perfect way to tie in scripture to a hard situation. Granny died because there is sin in the world... huh? It all started with Adam and Eve. God told them not to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They did, they died, and now we die, too. 3 little light bulbs came on. Where is Granny? Her body is at the morgue in the hospital. Her soul is with Jesus. Like Emma? Yes!

For me, personally, my heart aches for Jane. She has been like a mama to me over the years. I KNOW the shock of a parent dying suddenly. (My mom died from a heart attack.)So many emotions will flood through her in the coming days and weeks!

We prayed for Papaw, Grandma, Great Aunt Lorie, and Eric. It was during that prayer that tears began to flow. Lots and lots of tears. Wailing tears, the kind that say, I don't want this to be.... make it better! Hard truths of life...death happens and it hurts.

I have included the brief online newspaper article. Granny was very much loved and will be greatly missed.



Granny and I at her house a couple of years ago.



Ind. 7 crash kills E'town woman, 82
By Brittany Hart Reporter
An Elizabethtown woman died Saturday morning after the vehicle in which she was riding collided with a minivan on Indiana 7, police said.
Anna Burkman, 82, was pronounced dead at Columbus Regional Hospital following the accident at 10:31 a.m., said Bartholomew County Sheriff's Maj. Todd Noblitt.
Burkman was riding passenger in a car driven by her husband, Robert Burkman, 80, of Elizabethtown. The Burkmans' vehicle was traveling north on Indiana 7 and making a left turn onto Legal Tender Road when it collided with a southbound minivan driven by Heather Carmickle, 28, of Columbus, police said.

Home Projects

I have been missing this. I actually forgot my password! Thank goodness I had it written down. MDR took a couple of vacation days and we worked on painting and other things that have needed done for awhile. Technically, the projects began well over a year ago. MDR had painted downstairs. I had ripped off carpet from half of the stairway. Last week I ripped out the rest. MDR continued the paint up the walls and to the upstairs hallway. Looks MUCH better! The best part, though, is the way the steps look! I am waiting to take the final photo until the banister is back together.
MDR sanded, stained, and sealed the stairs. He also painted the backs and the trim. He is so awesome! Here are some photos of our little projects. Once everything is back in order and cleaned up, I will take more photos.

Fair Fun

The fair has been in full swing and we have had fun. Elizabeth spent an evening with a friend so we took the boys out one evening. We went out the next evening with everyone and let them ride rides. Here are a couple of photos.


Elizabeth and Luke on the tilt a whirl


This one cracks me up every time I look at it!
(be sure to click on this photo to see the whole thing)