Cleaning Up

My mom came over tonight and helped me clean up one of the extra rooms upstairs. We got rid of a bunch of old wood that was up there and started to organize things a little bit so I have some organized storage. It took a couple of hours to do just that one room. We started a little on the other room that's up there, but its going to take another night to get that one completely finished!

Aubrey must like Sandy's potty better than she likes the potty at home. She stayed dry all day today, even told Sandy two times that she had to go to the bathroom, but once we got home, she had a dirty pull-up and then she peed in her diaper. I asked her all evening long, but she wouldn't go for me!

I was losing patience tonight, maybe that was the problem. Ron and Russell got started on shelling the corn last night and they made a dent in the work. We put up new grain bins this summer/fall and Ron started on filling one of them today. Pray that things go smoothly.

-A

Lots of Phone Calls

I've been spending the last two evenings and when I had a free moment at work today making phone calls to change Ryan's name off of things and put mine on. Some things are very easy to take care of and others require lots of information and patience with the person on the other end of the phone.

Aubrey is quickly becoming a big girl. She "went poopy on the potty" her words yesterday at the baby-sitters. She wore big girl underwear part of the day today and a pull up the rest of the day. She went once in her pull up and started going once in the underwear, but stopped herself and got to the potty. We're going to town sometime this weekend to buy big girl panties for her!

-A

Lazy Sunday

I love Sundays! I took over Ryan's job of sleeping on my parents' couch this afternoon. I put Aubrey down for her nap after lunch and I was reading and my eyes got tired. I decided to just put the book down and rest them for a while; this is pretty unusual for me - I don't nap much, but it felt good.

After Aubrey finished her nap, we went to watch Kaitlyn cheer for the football game at Tri-Village, then headed home.

Aubrey was still a little tired and I think hungry because she cried most of the way home, but seemed find once we got here. She had her bath and went to bed, pretty quickly after supper.

I think we're having a "normal" week this week. I pray for Ron and Russell and they will be working on shelling the corn and planting wheat this week. I pray for rest and peace for Aubrey and I.

-A

One Month

Yesterday marked one month since Ryan went home to be with Jesus. Each and every day, we do something or hear something or I say something that reminds me of a fond memory of Ryan. Each day we pull in the driveway and drive past Ryan's car, Aubrey explains that that is Daddy's car and Mommy doesn't drive it. She's right, I don't! I tried once, it didn't go too well :)

I have been receiving letters for Aubrey's scrapbook and will continue to collect them for a while; I haven't decided yet exactly how I want to compile them. Thanks to everyone who has sent something; they are touching.

I haven't said a lot about how we feel God's presence since Ryan has passed, but he is surely with us. I know that many of you are praying for us daily and I truly appreciate that. I miss Ryan every day and I know that life has changed without him, but I believe that I am happy and that God is holding us right in the palm of his hand. He hasn't left us before and I don't believe he will in the future. As I'm typing this, I can hear the windchimes that are hanging on our front porch. I listen to them and smile. They always bring a smile to my face and are a pleasant reminder that Ryan did too.

-A

A Quiet Week

So far, this has been a quiet week. We've kept ourselves busy, but not running around too much. On Tuesday, I had a workshop and so I didn't get home from work until after 6:00, luckily, Sandy fed Aubrey supper so I didn't have to worry about that right away when I got home. Yesterday and today I worked a little long and we played outside on the swing set tonight when we got home. Aubrey also had to help me deliver some books tonight for an International Reading Association project I am working on.

This weekend is the Wulber Doo and we've got some of Ryan's family coming in from Virginia, so it will be fun to visit with them some.

-A

Another New Week

We begin again, each Monday marks another week where I realize that Ryan isn't here anymore and that life is changing without him, but moving forward. That is somewhat bittersweet because I know that he'd want us to be moving forward and while we're not forgetting him, we are learning to do things without him and I don't want that to happen.

This is a busy week for me at work - I'm in school buildings four of the five days and I worked late tonight. I deserved it though because I took off at 10:30 yesterday to take Aubrey to watch Ron race her favorite horse, Kaptain. He (the horse) unfortunately didn't do well in the race, but it was fun to go see Auntie Rachel and Grandpa.

Today Sandy took the kids to the park and Aubrey said she had fun. She now wants to go out and play on her swings, but I need to eat supper still. Guess we have a little time before she needs to head to bed, so we'll probably get to swing :)

-A

A Day of Rest

We didn't do a whole lot today. We went to church this morning and the sermon was titled Average Parents - it was all about putting our trust as parents into God and allowing him to help us raise our children and teaching our children that our ultimate goal is to honor and please God, not their parents. I hope that I am able to instill those principles in Aubrey as I raise her (with the help of family, of course).

After church we went to my parents' and had lunch with Jake and Brandi and their girls. The girls played a while and then Aubrey took a nap. My mom and I went to Kohls. I found a shirt and pair of shoes for Aubrey and bought myself a few pairs of pants. I saved over $200.00 . . . and Ryan would say - you would have saved more than that if you had stayed home! After we returned from the store, Aubrey was up from her nap, so we headed home. On the way, we stopped to visit Grandpa and Grammy. Auntie Rachel happened to be there as well, so we saw her and Uncle Russell too. We also got to pet all of Grandpa's horses, especially Captain, Aubrey's favorite.

We came home for a late supper, Aubrey played a while and went to bed - I'm going to do some reading and head that way myself before too long.

-A

Picking Pumpkins

Tonight we went to Justin and Tricia's house. We visited for a while, then Tricia and I took Brooklynn and Aubrey (Tricia's friend Mindy and her two boys went along as well) to get some pumpkins from a neighbor's "patch" down the road. When we got back to their house, the kids painted the pumpkins, and themselves, and the table, and me! They had a great time. They also amused themselves riding on Brooklynn's Barbie jeep and Emmitt and Owen's gator.

We left there a little after 8 tonight and Aubrey fell asleep almost immediately. She needed a bath though, so I had to wake her when we got home to take her bath. That went ok, she wasn't too whiney. She didn't get to read a story or rock before going to bed though since it was so late.

I didn't get as much cleaning done around the house as I wanted to today, but I got my desk a little more organized than it was and I tried to make a list of things that I need to be working on, so I feel a little better about the mound that was about to move itself from my desk to the floor!

-A

Meeting Old Friends

Tonight I went to Richmond with my parents. We were going to get something to eat and then do a little shopping; I've got a 30% off coupon for Kohls! We decided to eat at O'Charley's and when we arrived it was a little busy, we sent Mom in to check the wait and she came back to tell us 25 minutes. Meanwhile, she had run into some old friends, a former minister (and his wife, son, and granddaughter) from our church. Although the wait was 25 minutes, we decided to eat there so we could chat with them a little while. As it turned out, they got seated shortly after we got there, but less than 5 minutes later, they came back outside to tell us to come join them. They had managed to get the staff to seat them at a bigger table so that we could join them.

We had a great evening; their granddaughter had donuts for dessert, Aubrey also got to have one. They served them with icing, but Aubrey decided that she wanted to try hers with the left over sour cream from my baked potato - gross, right? Aubrey didn't think so - she loves sour cream :)

By the time we left the restaurant, one of the stores we had planned to go to was closed, the other we made it to about 10 minutes before closing (we didn't find what we were looking for), and the third we gave up on until Sunday. We really enjoyed our time with friends though, so it was all worth it.

I'm in a cleaning mood, so I plan on cleaning out and organizing the kitchen and maybe sifting through some of the books in our living room tomorrow; that's between loads of laundry and whatever else Aubrey has in mind for us.

Better get to bed so that I'm well rested when she decides to wake up!

-A

Slowing Down

I think that things are finally slowing down for us. I have been home "on time" for two evenings in a row now. That means that I have caught up on a few things around the house, there is still a lot left to do! I have also been able to play outside with Aubrey a little bit. Last week, I was so busy that I didn't feel like I had time to go outside and play with her. I know, we need to be living for the moment, but when there are stacks of paper in the mail that need to be completed for the future, it is a little difficult.

Aubrey's friend Landyn came over tonight and played for a little while. You would think that they haven't seen each other forever, but they see each other every day at Sandy's house. They were extremely excited :)

I have been sleeping a little better, in fact, last night I went to bed at 9:30, may just do that again tonight. Both Aubrey and I are fighting colds or sinus junk or something right now, so that wears you out anyway. Thank you all for continuing to check on us and pray for us.

-A

A New Week

On Saturday afternoon Aubrey and I, my parents went along too, went to Hillsboro to visit our friends Curtis and Karen and their 3 boys. We had planned to go to their fair with them, but when we got to their house, it was starting to rain, so we visited a while and then decided just to go into town and have supper. We ate Mexican, it was very good!

Sunday morning, we went to church with them and had the honor to witness Curtis get baptized; I'm sure that Ryan was watching from Heaven and rejoicing with God and the angels. It was bittersweet for me. I was very glad to be there, but I wish that Ryan could have been sitting beside me.

Today I had to go to Columbus for a meeting and so Aubrey got to go to Mamaw and Papaw's house. She rode the gator and lost Lilly (they found her).

I need rest; please pray that this week will not be too stressful and that I can get some extra sleep in.

-A

Running Around

Well, more acurately, I was driving around - all day. I had a lawyer's appointment yesterday morning to get things started to take care of Ryan's will. After that, I had to drive to Greenville and meet Rachel and Aubrey at the doctor's office because Aubrey had her two year check-up yesterday. I was expecting her to get a flu shot, they didn't have those yet, but lucky for Aubrey, they did have the Hib shot that they had been out of at 15 months so she got a shot anyways!

Rachel took Aubrey to McDonalds for lunch, but I couldn't stay, I had to drive to Piqua and go to the social security office to take care of the social security issues. I got home around 3:00 - Aubrey was napping, after visiting with Rachel for a while, I got a little work done before Aubrey woke up a little after 5 - a 3 hour nap!

After Aubrey got up, we went to some friends' house and make pizza sandwiches and roasted marshmallows over the fire. We got home late last night and Aubrey slept in until after 8 this morning.

My mom came this morning and helped me clean out my pantry area and clean up the summer kitchen. I also cleared some things out of my kitchen. I feel better when things are organized!

Day 2

I worked a full day in the office today; I am exhausted but I feel ok about going back to work.

Aubrey had a good day at Sandy's today. After work we went to Grandpa & Grammy's house and then later on we visited Aubrey's friend Greta and her new brother Simon. She enjoyed playing with Greta and holding Simon.

I've got a few appointments tomorrow to deal with some things that have to be tied up. Please pray that all goes well and everything falls into place.

-A

Overwhelming

My first day back was a little overwhelming, but not too bad. I had so much stuff piled on my desk from days that I stopped at work and dropped something off, but just left it lay that it took me at least and hour to get things put away and sorted through. I did manage to get some real work done today and a couple phone calls made as well.

Tomorrow is another day and I will continue to chip away at things a little at a time.

In Aubrey's Bible story tonight, we read about how God parted the Red Sea His people to walk through. The story told how God's people were panicking and saying that there was nothing they could do and Moses agreed with them - he told them that God would take care of things for them. I felt that that was a lesson to me as well. As I felt overwhelmed today with things at work and home, I have to remember that God is watching over me and guiding me if I just allow him to do that.

-A

New Look, New Address

Couple things to note: I'm going to change the blog address in a few days - it will be http://thewulberfamily.blogspot.com. Sorry for those of you who have it memorized, but I thought it might be easier not to have to log onto Ryan Wulber to see what Aubrey and I have been up to.

Also, Ryan's classmates are hosting a pork loin benefit in honor of Ryan. It will be held at the Goat Farmer's Ranch in Yorkshire on October 17 from 11-2. Meals are $6.00 for pork loin, au gratin potatoes, green beans, roll, and apple crisp. Meals are carry out only. I have tickets as do some of his classmates.

We drove to Pennsylvania in one day and were tired by the time we arrived. The trip took about 9 1/2 hours. I thought Aubrey would sleep at least 3 of them, ha ha. She ended up falling asleep about an hour before we stopped for lunch and so then she wasn't tired when we got back into the van. Not too long after that, we entered Pennsylvania and got on the turnpike - there we went through our first tunnel. After I told her there were probably more, she wouldn't close her eyes for anything. She loved the tunnels! We stayed with my friend Gretta and her family and the kids played on the playground Thursday evening before bath and bed time.



Friday we went to Chocolate World in Hershey. What a fun thing to do before lunch time!


After Chocolate World, Aubrey and I followed my friend Lindsey to her house where we spent the rest of our trip. Gretta and her family met us all Saturday morning in Strasburg to ride the train out into the countryside and back. Then we had lunch at a little cafe in town and got the kids the ice cream that we had promised them Friday.



We had a birthday party for Lindsey's daughter Caroline on Saturday evening. Sunday we went to church. Sunday's are hard for me because that's when Ryan and I spent the most time together - Aubrey was a bit of a distraction because she didn't want to go to her class during church, so she sat with Lindsey and I. Sunday evening we took the kids to see a ball game - the Lancaster Barnstormers beat the Camden Riversharks by 1 run! They had fireworks afterwards and a playground - so the kids were in heaven.


Monday before heading home we learned how to fold a pretzel at a pretzel factory and we rode in an Amish buggy. Then we drove the 9 1/2 hour trip home that I described last night.


I'm heading back to work tomorrow. Pray that all goes well.

-A

Trip to PA

Aubrey and I took a long weekend trip to visit friends in Pennsylvania. Ryan and I had planned to go for the past two summers and just didn't make it. I felt that it would be good to get away and have a break before returning to "normal" life. We had a great time and we are both very tired from the 9 1/2 hour drive tonight. One of those hours, divided into 3 different 20 minute segments, consisted of Aubrey screaming in the back of the van that she wanted to get out and nothing I did could calm her down! I think she really wanted to be out of the carseat and in her own bed. She has been in bed for an hour and I haven't heard a peep from her. I'll post pictures and fun stuff about our trip tomorrow.

-A

A Football Game

Aubrey went to Sandy's again this morning. I mowed the yard and took my van to the dealership to get a couple things looked at. This afternoon we picked Kaitlyn up at school and went to watch my cousin Justin play football. He only got to play a few minutes, but he played center and on one of the plays that he passed the ball, his team scored a touchdown!

We had a good time, Aubrey fell asleep on the way home because she only had a 45 minute nap today.

I would appreciate prayers for my sleeping patterns; I've been going to sleep fine, but having trouble sleeping all through the night so I toss and turn in the early morning then fall back asleep and when it is time to get up, I'm not rested.

-A