Pumpkins!

Today I chaperoned Aidan's field trip to a local pumpkin patch. If you are not familiar with a "pumpkin patch" let me explain. You drive at least 45 minutes(we had 4 kids in the car all singing the Scooby Doo theme song without anyone actually getting the words correct), your destination is a very large field where you will find a petting zoo(goats, rabbits, pigs, a calf, sheep, deer and a kangaroo-yes, you read that correctly-a kangaroo), several big inflatable slides, a train like ride being pulled by a tractor, a hay ride to another big field where you "pick" your pumpkin (actually you pick the pumpkin up off the ground, not from an actual stem. I didn't see any pumpkin vines growing, just weeds) there were also two large teepees(?), lots of bales of hay for the kids to jump around on, every carnival type food you can think of (Derek's cousin Bret is salivating now), a barn that is a gift shop, several hundred other young children on field trips, and 1 bathroom per gender with 3 stalls in each(yes, I had to go in the boy's restroom because Aidan could not reach the towels so I know how many stalls were in there). It all makes for quite a day. We actually had a fantastic time. The weather could not have been more perfect for such an outing and Aidan needed some fresh air after being sick last week.

We did make it home with 2 more pumpkins(to add to the 5 we already had) so we decided to carve them this afternoon. Aidan carved his first pumpkin by himself this year(Aunt Barb just fainted-I promise, we were VERY careful and he was supervised the entire time and he still has all 10 fingers)He did a pretty good job carving but he discovered that cleaning out the inside of a pumpkin is not his favorite part. He was pretty squimish the first couple of pumpkins but he ended up enjoying pulling out the guts. Especially after Asher's fondness for pumpkin was observed, Asher would gnaw on the sections we cut out. He even nibbled on a few seeds but decided they weren't for him. Aidan thought the pumpkins looked awesome with the candles lit and we even gave the biggest pumpkin to our neighbor "Miss Linda" (her name is really Melinda but Aidan calls her Miss Linda and she just adores it). The pumpkin in the bottom left of the picture has a crack, not a really cool lightening bolt carved in it. Asher rolled it around one too many times.Oops. I wonder how many weeks will pass before Aidan lets me throw away the pumpkins.....

Hope you have a Happy Halloween!

Getting back to "normal"

Aidan is feeling much better today, finally. He even went to visit Namaw and Pops for the afternoon. It was lucky for him because it just so happened that Namaw had a surprise. Aidan really likes the aspect of magic and has been pretending to be a magician for many months. Despite the fact that we went to see a magician this summer at a local library and Aidan was a bit disappointed when he discovered the secret behind a few of the tricks. He didn't think it was very fair that the magician was really just tricking people, not actually performing magic. I was not surprised he felt this way. It was just last summer, at the same library, when we were in line to meet Superman that Aidan saw Superman and blurted out (very loudly, in a packed room of children) that Superman was not real but just some guy in a suit. I'm holding my breath until Christmas is over! Anyway, Namaw got Aidan a magician's kit with a hat, magic wand, and several tricks. We have a vampire cape that he's using as a magician's cape and he's been entertaining us all evening. He did take me into his confidence and reveal how some of the tricks are done so I'm not sure he'll ever make it to Vegas but he's enjoying himself now. Of course you can't tell that by the picture.

Asher had a good day, he might have actually enjoyed having Aidan out of the house. However Asher has been unusually gassy this weekend. I won't go in to great detail but let's just say he knows how to clear a room. I feel sorry for his teachers at mother's day out tomorrow. Speaking of bodily functions....I have two stories for this....Aidan was watching tv in mine and Derek's room last night when Derek walks by and inquires to Aidan's whereabouts. I told him but remarked I thought Aidan was asleep because he was uncharacteristically quiet. Derek goes to check, immediately returns and whispers "get the camera!" I did, not sure what I was going to take a picture of, only to round a corner and see Aidan asleep, on the toilet! I hate to admit that I did take a picture(I did feel a twinge of a horrible mother moment) but I will draw the line at posting it. I'll save it for a later date, when I can really embarrass him. I did wake him, help him get dressed, and carry him to bed but then the feeling started coming back to his legs and feet so we had to deal with the tingling for several minutes. The other bodily function remark happened this afternoon. Aidan told Namaw and Pops that when he craps Asher craps. I did not hear this conversation first hand, thankfully, because I would have been mortified. This is just not what I want my son saying to my in-laws but let me continue. After Aidan tells this to Namaw and Pops he tells them to watch, walks to Asher and starts clapping and in return, Asher begins to clap. He had actually told them "When I clap, Asher claps." We've got to work on pronunciation.

Catching up

It's been over a month since my last post, oops! The past month has been full of many good times, but unfortunately several bad times as well. Derek's grandfather in Indiana passed away on October 12th. We were able to visit with Papaw the weekend before he passed away and will treasure those last memories for a lifetime. My mom only met Papaw a couple of times, at a dinner party thrown for Derek and I before our wedding and of course at our wedding. Even in those few conversations they had, Papaw instantly became one of my mom's favorite people. For those of you who know my mom, you can understand how special that made Papaw.

Aidan has had a long month. He missed several days of school with two trips to Indiana, school was out for two teacher workdays and then he only made it one day this week, thanks to a very nasty stomach bug. He is still trying to recover. He's also missed 4 soccer games in a row. The highlight of the week was his Halloween costume arriving yesterday. He's going to be a Jedi Master, I'll get some pictures later. At this point I'm just hoping he's fully recovered by Wednesday!

Asher has really enjoyed having his big brother home so much. He crawls pretty quickly now so to him it's a fun game to chase Aidan, and the dog for that matter, around the house. Asher thinks the Halloween decorations are the greatest. We have a fiber optic pumpkin that mesmorizes him every time we turn it on. He also likes the fake pumpkins I bought from a craft store, he rolls them around the house and rearranges them for me.

Last weekend we headed to AC to visit Nan and take Christmas pictures with the cousins. Derek went with us for the pictures and afterward informed me he would not be going again. Apparently, trying to get 5 kids(4 of which are under the age of 5) to all look at a camera at the same time is not his idea of a good time. We did get some great shots, and if I can get my act together you'll get one for the Christmas card.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Papaw's obituary

Richard Dale Hawkins, MD, 84
BEDFORD — Richard Dale Hawkins, MD, 84, died on Friday, October, 12, 2007, at the Stone Bridge Health Campus in Bedford.

He was preceded in death by his parents: Hobart and Sally (Harrell) Hawkins, and by three sisters: Norma Wagner, Phyllis Lewis and Mary Marrow.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years: Jean (Hall) Hawkins, two sisters: Georgia Israel and Betty Kirkman; four children: Karen Weaver (Bill) of Birmingham, AL; Drew Hawkins (Peggy) of Greenwood, IN; Penny Hawkins Taylor of Carmel, IN, and Bret Hawkins (Barbara) of Bedford; eight grandchildren: Emily Weaver Johnson, Derek Weaver, Bret David Hawkins, Lawrence Taylor, Jr., Rachel Stiffler, Erin Taylor, Kate Hawkins, and Mary Hawkins, and five great-grandchildren: Aidan and Asher Weaver, Owen Johnson, Grant Hawkins and Brakston Taylor.

Dr. Hawkins began his education at Edwards one-room schoolhouse in Marshall Township. He attended Needmore High School, graduated in 1940 from Bedford High School, and in 1943 from DePauw University, which he attended on a Rector Scholarship. In 1946, he graduated magna cum laude from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, and was inducted into AOA medical student honor society. Following an internship and residency at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, he served in the military as base pediatrician at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX. Following that, he practiced pediatrics at Wharton, TX, while he also taught in the Department of Pediatrics at the Baylor College of Medicine (1949-51), and practiced in Biloxi, MS (1951-54). He returned to Bedford in 1954, where he practiced for over 25 years. In 1958, he and four other Bedford physicians founded the Edgewood Clinic, and he was instrumental in the creation in 1970 of Bedford Medical Center (BMC), becoming president of its board of directors. He also served as a consultant with Gilligan and Associates of Peoria, IL, where he was involved in the planning and construction of health care facilities in Indiana, Ohio, Florida, and New Jersey. In 1977, he became the Executive Director of the Edgewood Clinic and in 1991, took on the additional position of CEO of BMC. In 1994, he became the CEO when BMC became Bedford Regional Medical Center and remained in that position until his retirement in 1995.

He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Bedford, where he taught the Mary and Lazarus Sunday School class for many years and served over the years as a deacon and a member of various committees, including Pulpit, Pledge, and Building Committees. In addition to his family and church, his other interests included fishing, community, flying (private pilot), vacationing with family, and Bedford, BNL and IU basketball.

Visitation will be from 2:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. Monday, October 15th, and from 11:00 until 1:00 on Tuesday, October 16th, at the First Baptist Church (Washington Avenue and 20th Street). The funeral will be at the church at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 16th, with Dr. Kregg Burris officiating. Burial will follow in the Green Hill Cemetery.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to the First Baptist Church of Bedford. Family and friends are invited to sign the guestbook and light a candle in memory of Dr. Hawkins at www.daycarter.com.

The family wishes to express its great appreciation for the extraordinary care provided by Jeannie Judah, and also for the compassionate care provided by Dr. Kamal Girgis, Bedford Regional Medical Center, the staff of Stonebridge Health Campus and Hoosier Uplands Hospice.