Now that we live in Ohio, we are expanding our borders beyond Tiffin. We've seen the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, rode Thomas the Train on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, explored the Seneca Caverns, the Bellevue train museum, and the Port Clinton African Safari. Recently, my parents came for a visit and we got to see even more! We went to the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, and the Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers game in Detroit, and Cedar Point, a phenomenal roller coaster park (Unfortunately, our day at Cedar Point was cut short by Maxie getting sick).
The first pictures are from the Hall of Fame, as I'm sure you can see, but Josh is hilarious in these. They are typical of pix of Josh~ he's either completely absent because we weren't fast enough, running away, or screaming because we caught him!
For ease of explanations, I'll call my dad "Papa" so I don't confuse you when I talk about he and little Max, who is not amused by nicknames. My parents call their grandsons "Dude." My son informed them "You can call me Max or Maxie or Maxie Joe. Don't call me Dude." So at the NFL Hall of Fame, the boys lagged behind listening to every tidbit imaginable on these phones. If it wasn't so cute, it would have been really annoying! Max never did accept that Papa's name is Max, too, and that is who he is named after.
Max's favorite NFL player is Troy Polamalu (mine, too, gotta love that hair) so he was really excited to see this Steelers helmet. He also picked a Troy Polamalu action figure as his souvenir.
Mykah loves Mark Sanchez (don't we all?! Yummy...), especially since we went to the Jets' training camp while we lived in New York. She has a bunch of autographs, but not Sanchez's. His agent stopped him from signing more when he was six kids away from Mykah. She has never gotten over it! (Another memory!)
We had never been to a baseball game and had a great time at the Indians/Tigers game. We will NEVER be Ohio State fans (Go Michigan!! You're welcome, Trevor.), but as local fans, we really have come to love the Tribe and it was so much fun to get all super-fanned out and see a game. I think the pictures speak for themselves...
We stayed in Detroit the night of the game since my parents were leaving the next evening. That meant some pool time for the kids, including Joe!
Unfortunately, when my parents flew home, they had to take Mykah with them. When we came home one family member short, my mind was reeling for a way to accept our time without her, yet again. I saw something that has impacted me tremendously since they left. Although my parents and our daughter are gone from our home for a time, there are touches of love everywhere I turn! In a world where love is not always the motive behind physically or emotionally touching others, my family and I are surrounded by touches of love. While my parents were here, my mom bought the kids bedding, my dad bought them all pillows~ the boys got Woody and Buzz and Mykah, a green fuzzy body pillow. They also bought Joe and I a wine cork holder so we could save our special wine corks. I've been keeping them the whole time we've been married, but now we have something beautiful in which to display them. It sparks memories of our own special celebrations and the time my parents were here, all in one!
Here's another way Nana and Papa left their mark on our house~ Maxie and I had colored one portion of the house by our backdoor with sidewalk chalk. When we went outside to have dinner one night, we found this had been added to our coloring...it makes me smile every time I see it since it is still there. In case you can't read it, it states, "Papa & Nana ♥ the Borich family"
Mykah was pretty anxious to leave this summer, and she was feeling particularly sappy the day we left for Detroit and caught Joe for a Daddy/Daughter picture. awwwwww...
Nana and Papa also had to meet Sammi, our beloved babysitter turned honorary daughter, so the Rau family came over for introductions. Sammi loves giraffes (Josh calls them giraps) and Nana and Papa also had to leave her a token of love from them. She got a giraffe from the same collection of animals that the boys love at Tractor Supply Co. (For those of you not on Facebook, Joe took the kids shopping for my birthday and told them they could pick out anything they wanted for me at Tractor Supply Co. He wanted this birthday to be memorable :) Very successful~ I got awesome cowboy boots, a t-shirt that reads Will trade husband for tractor, and a pink mesh/camouflage hat!)
Maxie is totally in love with Sammi, so he would not accept that Mykah got a picture with her and not him!
Mykah colored on the side of the garage, a tribute to her passion for soccer, and a physical reminder of her while she's gone.
This picture is from another Indians' game that we went to in Cleveland after our family left. Joe's boss gave us his tickets for the game since he was going out of town. What awesome seats! This picture shows the yellow line that designated foul from fair~we were right on it! I could touch it with my feet stretched out.
The generosity of Joe's boss sparked even more thinking about this post, and a goal that I am setting for myself. I look around our house and see countless touches of love from people we have been blessed to have in our lives. The orange Dr. Seuss character on Joshie Bear's bed (Joshie calls him "Guy"), the bedding, the pillows, the cork holder, Barnum toys, Andrew toys, the crosses on the walls of our home, and my centerpiece bowl- these are only some of the things that make us smile with memories of all of our yesterdays and friends that have become family. Some of these gifts lead to memories that cause tears for friendships lost, but when I look past the surface, I'm reminded of the good times. I'm sure that Joe's boss had no idea that his generosity would have such an impact on our family, but it did.
As each place we have lived has come to an end, we have realized that we have our souvenirs and our memories to remind us of where we've been. Now I want to set my sights on being a person who touches others' lives with love. This will be harder than I want it to be, but I think it's one of the most worthwhile goals I have set for myself in a very long time. I will strive to touch others with love whenever I can, so that if or when it's time to move on again, I leave something positive for those with whom I have come into contact; something that will make them smile when they think of the Borich family.
Today marks one year since I started college. (FYI~ it took me 10 days to complete this post!) I have completed 42 credit hours in that year and I'm afraid that my priority has not been touching others with love. I need to find a better balance between school and my personal goals and I'm hopeful that this post will create some accountability to do so. I'm grateful to God for the way He has guided our lives, and I pray for continued guidance through this leg of our journey. I pray for all of you, as you are all instrumental in our lives, whether you know it or not. In addition, I'm going to ask for your prayers as I deal with the latest challenge in my life. I won't share any of the details, but I know that with your help, I will overcome the pain in my heart, in God's time. I know that when I accept my challenge as a blessing, I will be stronger and more receptive to the abundance of blessings that God has in store for me and my family.
Thank you for choosing to walk with us through this wonderful journey of life! We are truly blessed to be traveling with you...
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