Family Vacation during Cambron's 14th b-day.

From August 13-15 we took a mini family vacation to Quincy. We stayed at the Comfort Inn and had lots of fun. Friday night we met Rob and Janette Glass at The Best Buffet for dinner. That is our favorite Chinese buffet and some of our favorite friends. We went swimming at the hotel that night and played cards.

On Saturday we swam in the morning then went skating at Scottie's Skateland for 3 1/2hours. We had SO much fun and falls! Our friend Zach met us there. That night we had been invited by the Arnold's to join the Quincy Ward picnic. We went to Wal-Mart and got lots of food for the picnic and for later that night. We hung out with the cool people from Quincy and the kids got to see new and old freinds and play guitar. After the picnic we came back to the hotel to do some more swimming and celebrate Cambron's 14th birthday.

On Sunday we went to the Quincy Ward. We stayed after and got to witness Zach Hussey getting his priesthood. That was quiet an honor! All in all, we had a blast. We got home just in time to go to the open house for Warsaw school. The kids are going there this year and we are way excited.

The vacation was perfect for our family to have right before school started!

Tom the Fix-It Man

Ok, so I knew Tom could fix anything he got his hands on, but he is just SO busy with school, work, and other desperate repairs that I just didn't want to bother him with the washing machine. We bought a warranty on the machine, so I thought I would just call them. Well, by some default my washing machine wasn't even registered. They couldn't even find my washer with the serial number.

I pleaded with Tom that if he would just look at it for now I would figure out the warranty later. So Tom, being the sweet amazing husband that he is, went to work. Sorry, but to a mother of NINE a washing machine is the most important piece of equipment in the house.

In short, it was a blessing that we didn't have the warranty info because it would not have covered what was wrong with my washer. The pictures below will explain.




Tom digging his hands in. He knew there was a clog. He thought maybe it was a sock.



hhhmmmm. . .what is in the pan?



Cambron pours the contents into a strainer.



Nasty!! And smelly! Is that money?



And the grand total? $3.26! Enough to buy Tom a good boy treat! Thanks Tom! That is a sign of TRUE love. A woman can't live without a washing machine!

For Sale Sign in Our Yard

Several people have stopped by, called, emailed, and texted me to find out why there is a "For Sale" sign in my yard. I thought I would just explain to all so there would be no more guessing and wondering.

To answer the questions. . .Yes, we are selling our house and yes we are trying to move. The big questions have been "Where?", "Why?" and "When?". I hope to answer all three without giving too much info. The "where" is easy. We are moving to Warsaw, IL and will be attending Nauvoo 3rd Ward. The "when" is really up in the air. It depends on the sell of our home and our faith.

The "Why" gets a paragraph all on its own. There are a few "whys" to our move. The number one is just plain and simply because we feel inspired to. We feel Heavenly Father's desire for Warsaw to grow. Perhaps it is time for members to be in Warsaw? Anyone want to join us:)? The most exciting reason for our move is our family. The home we are moving to is out in the country on a BEAUTIFUL piece of property. It is quiet, peaceful, and serene. The view is breath taking. Tom and I are excited to get out where we can be together more as a family.

For those who would like to see pictures of the home we are moving to, go to jeffwiemelt.com and click on listings. They are divided into locations. Go to the one in Warsaw, IL and then click on the little red icon that says 360 degree tour. Please keep in mind that the pictures of the view do no justice for what you see in person. If you live close by, call me and I will be glad to take you out to see the property.

Until the move, could you all pray for our family that this will work out. We know without doubt that this is meant to be, and we are SO grateful for the suppport and love of friends and family. It is comforting to know that you have enough faith in us that we are not being judged.

Please know that leaving Nauvoo is VERY hard for us. We love the peace and joy of living in the shadow of the Temple. It is also hard for me to leave my home, friends, and the Yound Women. We have done so much to this house and the home we are moving to is much smaller. However, I know without doubt that this is what Father in Heaven wants for us and I am willing to do this because I LOVE Him and am grateful for ALL my blessings. How could I ever tell Him no?

Thanks for understanding and for all your love and support. My joy in life would be nothing if I didn't have such awesome friends and family. I love you ALL!!

A Tribute to Josh

Summer seems to be slipping away from me. A few days ago I seemed excited about the idea of school starting again only because I need a little structure back in my life. However, as it gets closer, I find my heart aching. I know that this is Josh's last summer with us and I wish there was a little more time.

You see, I'm the type of mom who loves my kids with my whole heart, but the thought of them going off and leaving brings me excitement. This isn't because I won't miss my kids, but rather an excitement of what their lives will bring. It's more of a curiosity I should say. I'm curious to see what great things they will accomplish in their lives. I have complete confidence in my children. I know without a doubt that they will do great things.

While I am very excited to see Josh move on to bigger and better things in life, I feel a twinge in my heart. I don't feel like I got to have enough time with him. I cannot begin to tell you what a great joy it is to me that he has made the choice to serve a mission. I know raising him has brought me a lot of heart ache and worry, but as I see him mature and grow to be more like his dad each day my heart swells with great love and joy! I am excited to see him grow physically and spiritually. I feel as though I now have a young man in my presence in place of a boy.

Josh will graduate this December and leave for his mission around January of 2011. I only wish there could be a little more time with him as he is now. What a great young man he has turned out to be. And to think of the MANY trials and challenges he has been through in his life. He is a prime example of what the Savior can do to heal a wounded soul.

Josh, I love you and am SO proud of who you have become. You will be a great missionary some day and an even greater husband and father! And thank you Tom for being such an amazing example of what a father and husband should be!

Summer Catch Up!

Ok, with summer here life is more busy then ever! We stay SO busy during the summer that I haven't had time to blog. Sorry. I am going to give a short summary of many of the things we have been doing this summer so far. Sorry, this may make it a bit lengthy!



Alexis, Sariah, and I went to girl's camp this year. As usual, it was in Troy Missouri. It was the HOTTEST week of the summer, but I really enjoyed it. I loved being there with my two girls and we really had a lot of fun. We did a Zipline and Sariah did GREAT, I was TERRIFIED, and Alexis got too scared. If you want to see all the pics of that go to my facebook (melissa zumbrun adams). Next year, I will have three girls there! Camp was June 23-27







At the very end of school, May 30th-June7th Tom took all the kids (but Alexis who went to stay w/her Aunt Melissa in MO) to Utah to see family and help his mom paint and do other needed projects around the house. They went to the Copper Mines, the open house of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, a water park, and spent lots of time with family. Where was I? At home, ALL by myself and loving it. I went to the Temple nearly everyday and sometimes more then once. I really did enjoy the break before summer got going full force. My hubby is awesome in every way!



JULY 4th!!!!
Our good friends (The Steen's) married off their oldest daughter Sage. She was married in the Nauvoo Temple to Zach Scott. It was a beautiful wedding and a gorgeous reception!







Then we went to the fire works in Quincy, IL. We had company staying with us (Merlin & Louis Blad) and they took us to our favorite restaurant in Quincy (Best Buffet). Then we went on the river to watch the fire works. They were SO awesome and we really enjoyed the time as a family. However, Josh could not be there due to work :(. We missed not having him with us, but we did have a great 4th together.







Gabriel's 7th birthday (July 8th). For Gabriel's b-day Tom and I took him to a movie (Disney's Up), out to lunch and then shopping. He picked out a pair of shoes for his present. Later, we had a b-day party for him and our good friend Kim. Gabriel was excited to share his b-day party w/Kim. He then went swimming w/his family and friends. I really love my little guy! Tom and I really enjoyed spending the time alone with me. The day was topped off perfect when he said, "Mom, this is the BEST birthday I have ever had." He is so loving and easy to please! Gabriel also learned how to ride a bike this summer. He loves riding around town with his older brothers.








Tom has also been busy, busy, busy! Him and the boys built a fence on the south side of the house. I love it because it gives us privacy while we swim and have family fun in the back yard. We put our pool up again this year and it takes a lot of work to keep it clean. However, the kids LOVE it and Eliza is a little fish in the water. Tom also made a golf course around the yard. It is SO cute, and the kids have fun playing golf, but we make them use a foam ball so they don't cause any damage. We also did some updates in our kitchen this summer. Tom put in new laminate wood floors for my b-day and we had Lowe's install new counter tops. I am loving my new kitchen. I don't have pictures, but we also put in new carpet in Alexis' room, the stairs, and the hallway area downstairs.

The kids are staying busy as well. Josh is now working full time for NRI (Nauvoo Restoration Inc.) as a painter. It makes good money and keeps him busy. Alexis is working for Annie's Custard shop and still takes care of Nicolas on Saturdays. Her boss at Annie's loves her and thinks she is a great, friendly worker. Cambron works at the concession stand for Pageant nearly every night, hangs out w/friends, and does some odd jobs for money. Sariah does some babysitting, works at concession, volunteers at the Matthew House (a cat house in Carthage), and has starting tumbling class. She and Abigail both pay for the tumbling lessons themselves by trading babysitting for the instructor. They both love it and seem to have a natural talent for it. Abigail and Emma Jo both played softball this year. They both wished that they could pitched, but enjoy playing just about any position. Spencer, Gabriel, and Eliza swim, play golf, play with friends, and hang out at home. As for Tom, he is in his last semester of school. He is taking over twice the load he should be, but will graduate August 31st! We can't wait! As for me? Well, I just keep my head above water trying to keep track and take care of my beautiful brood! I love my family and summer. We also seem to always have people coming to stay with us for the summer. We have had people staying with us since June 23rd and will have people here almost till mid August. Just in time for school to start and summer to be over. Only wish we had hotter weather. But hey, our electric bill looks good when we don't have to turn on the AC. I promise I won't let so much time go by. This blog to FAR to long and I do believe that I learned my lesson. Sorry for any typos, but I am not about to proof read!

Spencer's Scout Day

A fun day of scout's for Spencer. He ended up winning 3rd place in the boat race! They had lots of fun and ate ice cream out of a rain gutter. He doesn't look so happy because he got grounded from his bike right before he went. That is a major let down for poor Spencer. He had a great time after a while! :) He LOVES scouts and looks forward to it every week!