We talked to a very tired Chase today. he had just finished running a half marathon in
about 2 hours. He sounded so exhausted but he is young I am sure he will recover
quickly. We can't wait to talk to him the next time.

I just found ths thread,and my hat is off to you and Joan.What a great thing you two are doing,and I know how great it makes you feel. If there is anything I can do to help,let me know.

grandsport he is looking for anything to help these boys to be able to work on cars. If you have read the thread John and Joan have taken cloths and tools over to the boys.

Gary ,just bring your black car down to Ga and show us how you restored it under the hood .That should keep us allbusy for a while.

We miss our boys at the ranch and hope to get home in time to go visit them later tomorrow .

We got home from Mississippi at 11:00 AM and by lunch we were gone again to get carpet and supplies for the rental property .After unloading all that we went grocery shopping for us as well as the boys .We got to meet the newest member of the boys home family (Paul) and he loves old cars especially Mopars so Im sure he will teach me a thing or two. It sure was good to see the boys again ,we sure did miss them.

Isn't it neat how they have already become a part of your family. I am so happy for you.

You are right they have become part of the family ,Chase is coming over tonight for supper and to tinker on his car .We may even work in a movie and popcorn after the shop play time. I never knew kids could be this much fun .

I havent posted about the boys lately as I dont want to bore everyone and Ive been quite busy as well. My rental property is killing me trying to get it put back to livable condition after my last bunch of tennants destroyed it. But today I took the evening off to go ride mountain bikes with one of the other boys and woynd up taking 2 boys riding .Boy did they ever wear me out on those trails ,but it sure was fun.We came home and Joan fixed us supper and me and one of the boys went riding in a local subdivision while Joan walked for her daily exercise.Im sure I'll be sore tomorrow but were going to ride again next wednesday.One of the other boys is getting his list together for us to go to Pull A Part for some good old junkyarding.

Glad you had a good time, you are making a last impression with these boys. My hat is off to you and Joan.

Im quite sore this morning after riding about 3 hours on rough trails but it was fun. I just recently turned 49 and these 2 19 year old boys smoked me big time but Im going to practice up a bit for our next ride. Right now I feel every one of those years but my back actually seems better than before.I'll let you know how the next ride goes.

Me thinks that maybe you hit your head, a few times...

Sounds like these guys are going to keep you active and young. And it sounds like a good time.

My head is the only part that dont hurt so I must have bumped everything else a few times .It is tough to hang with these young guys but its a challenge Im up for and very much fun.

So how is the Mrs handling all the fun ? I think that she likes to sit on the sidelines and watch, I know that I would.

So what is the next big adventure with the boys ?

I was planning to go to Pull A Part with one of the boys tomorrow but instead I have to work at the rental house .Next wednesday we ride bikes again and maybe Sunday we can go junkyarding. Joan loves spending time with the boys as well and cooks us a great meal when they are here. Its been really busy lately so we dont see each other or the boys as much as we would like.

Sounds like with all the physical activity you are going to be a "Lean Mean" man for your special lady.

Or "Lean Mean Riding Machine" so you can keep up with the boys

Im going riding on my lunch break tomorrow to try and get some practice in and maybe get to where I can keep up a little better without being so winded .I snuck over to the trails last thursday with a mower and cleaned part of the briers out of our path.Wish me luck as Im going to need it.

Well today brought some nice surprises for our weekly bike ride with one of the boys .The foster dads wife was out of town and Wes the foster dad asked if he could come ride bikes and have dinner with us and we also had already invited the other 2 boys over for supper .We wound up with me ,Wes and 2 boys riding the trails and then to our house to do routine car maintenance on Chases car to check the brakes while Joan fixed supper .We all had a great time hanging out together and I think Wes enjoyed the evening as much as we did .This is so much fun and so rewarding to be a small part of their lives.We never dreamed we could enjoy 3 19 year olds this much ,not that we planned any of this.I think God gave us this to do for whatever reason and we are just following our hearts.

Well Im not sore this morning from the bike ride so I must be getting somewhat used to riding again .That first ride just about killed me but I didnt let it show as I didnt want to discourage my riding partner as he is having a hard time getting the hang of the trails .We may start riding on paved surfaces for a while until he gets used to his bike a bit better.Im encouraging him to do as much or as little as he wants just to have fun together and he says he is having fun so Im happy with that.

flash I am so happy for you and Joan. These boys sound like just what you two needed. I hear your happiness in your posts and I can just imagine the smiles that these boys put onto your faces. These boys were put in your path for a reason, and I think that you are doing a wonderful thing by giving them your time, and showing them that people DO care. Keep up the stories, cause you are putting smiles on other peoples faces too.

Ms Grumpy,
We dont know why these boys were brought into our lives as we were not looking for anything else but they are a gift from above and we really do enjoy the time we have together .We have had to squeeze them in lately due to the reconstruction on our rental property but it has worked out .We had planned to spend time with each of the boys on an individual bases but having them all together on Wednesdays has been more fun and easier in some ways .After the rental house is finished we hope to spend more time with them.They seem to be very happy with us ,Paul just wants to live in my shop as he loves the old cars.Chase calls me his ole man and just likes to hang out and Aaron likes to hang out with Joan as he loves to cook (he is learning to be a chef) ,that is when were at our house after our bike rides.Wes is the young foster dad (he's in his early 30's) and he likes spending time with us when he can too.Its like were a big happy family that just reconnected if that makes any sense.

Makes perfect sense. Family is not just because of blood, it is a connection. And you found that connection.

Today was a rainy afternoon and I thought our weekly bike ride was going to be rained out but we managed to get to ride after all with 2 of the boys.Then we went home to a big pot of chilli that Joan had prepared with corn bread .Chase joined us later after a youth conference he had to attend .We then just hung out in my shop and cleaned up and had a few laughs .Joan took some pics of our boys to share with Ms Grumpy so maybe she will post them for us.Aaron is finally opening up to us and is really responding well ,he has been the hardest to get to know as he has been hurt the worst.This has been very rewarding even though we dont have a clue what were doing.All we know to do is what our heart tells us is right and we just follow what God has given us. I still dont know why we were chosen for this but we are very thankful for the opportunity.