April Showers Bring May flowers. Oh, Spring has sprung--Flowers are blooming and trees are budding. Fish are biting and birds are singing. AND IT'S SNOWING?!? What in the world! As Ashland would say right now "What the heck you doing, [Mother Nature]?" That's his new favorite saying and we have no idea where he picked it up. Not at home, we know that for sure! Must be a daycare thing. Today we got a lot of snow, but nothing that stuck thank goodness. But, the last two weeks we've enjoyed going around town in our light spring jackets and now "BAM" we had to put the liner back inside AT's coat this morning to go bye bye!

Other than the snow, there is not much new here. Ashland LOVES daycare! He asks every day if we are going to go. He just loves all of the kids and interaction there. He must really love Nancy's cooking too, because every day he goes he wants to eat! This last week he was there full time and he loved it. He was definitely ready to come home at the end of the day, but definitely ready to go in the morning when he woke up. He just really loves it there.

He is working really hard on potty training right now. He went the whoooole weekend with no accidents. He has started going potty by himself and when we try to help he says "No, I do it!" He is so independent. We are not sure if we are happy or sad if he's able to do it himself yet. It's sweet and sour.

That's all we have for now. Stay tuned for an update soon. We are travelling this weekend to see family in the west part of the state so we'll have new pictures, and we have some pretty exciting news to share with everyone, soon! You'll just have to keep watching!

Lots of love to everyone,
The Benners

Quick Trip and Lots of Fishies!

Hey guys! We took a quick trip to the Bass Pro Shop over in Portage. Daddy is getting cabin fever really bad and got to go fishing last week, so we had to make a trek over there to see if he could get some new lures. I like going there because I get to see lots of fish. If you've never been to one, you should go! They have a huge fish tank that has lots of bluegill, bass, pike, walleye, catfish, and even some goofy looking fish that looks like an alligator with no feet!

Anyways, Bass Pro Shop was hosting their Spring clearance thing and they had a really cool place where you could get your picture taken! So, Daddy and I got our picture taken. What do you think?

I thought it was pretty cool! Doesn't it make it look like Daddy and I caught a huge fish? We didn't but it sure was a lot of fun. Well, that's it for now. I hope the weather is as nice for you as it is for me! We took a family walk last night and one more this afternoon before taking a nap. Have a good day! Love you all!

My Friend Brooklyn

Remember me making a post about my friend Brooklyn? Brooklyn is a very special girl to me. She has something called Rett Syndrome. She can't talk, walk, or even use her hands, but she is the SMARTEST girl I know. She can melt even the coldest of hearts. She is amazing. Here is some more info from her family...



Hi! My name is Brooklyn.
I have Rett Syndrome - an awful neurological disorder that
messes up most everything I try to do -- and it only affects GIRLS!
I cannot talk, use my hands or move around very well, but I can
hear you. I understand you. I am smart. There are hundreds of
thousands of other girls like me. Visit my web page to learn more.
We need your help.
www.girlpower2cure.org/brooklyn

Rett Syndrome facts:
* A debilitating neurological disorder that only affects girls.
* The most severe form of AUTISM.
* Leading cause of severe impairment in girls - most cannot speak,
walk or use their hands.
* As prevalent as ALS, Cystic Fibrosis and Huntington's Disease.
* Another baby girl born afflicted every two hours.
* Caused by a random gene mutation every baby girl
has equal chance of acquiring.

www. g i r l p owe r 2 c u r e . o r g

Brooklyn's Page

Source: www.girlpower2cure.com...

I just think it's important that you all know who some of my friends are. Brooklyn is who I watched EVERY home Trine U. football game with this fall. She will be 4 years old in May :-) Even though we have very tastes in music (She LOVES the Wiggles :-P ) She is the GREATEST girl in the world, and we ask that you say a prayer for this little girl and her family--and that the people who are working around the clock to find a cure for Rett Syndrome are able to do so quickly. And remember, if you want to help in finding this cure, you can visit-- www.girlpower2cure.com

Love,
The Benners

Turn off the Rain!

Wowzers! We got 5 inches of rain between Saturday and Tuesday here in Angola! There is standing water everywhere. Ponds have tripled in size and roads are flooded out. It sure is crazy here. Even though it's supposed to warm back up this weekend I don't think we'll make it outside because of the ground being so supersaturated. I have some flood pictures of PawPaw and Nini Fouts' house that I'll post in a little bit.

We went to the doctor yesterday and all ear infections are GONE! Now AT just has a sinus infection now. 10 Days of medicine and the dr. thinks we'll be good to go. Ashland was scared of the doctor today. He has not seen the real doctor since he was 3 months old and in the hospital with pneumonia. When a very tall (6'6) man walked in the door and it wasn't our shiney Shelby, he was petrified. Not a good visit at all. I will be sure that we seen our NP from here on out.

It was nice weather last week so we took great advantage of it :-)




Here are the pictures of Grandpa and Grandma's House....

This is their front yard. The lake is clear up to the tree. Somewhere in the water there is a fire pit. The water is usually very low under the pier. This is crazy!



This is the main road that goes to their house. My Aunt Meggie said that there is about a foot of water on the road :-S


P.S Mommy did this post without any help. She needs to take a blogging for dummies class. She got frustraited and gave up, so we apologize for the pictures being everywhere. She was just experimenting.

We're back!

Sorry it's been a while since we have updated anything. There sure isn't much going on around here. Ashland has been sick for three (going on 4) weeks and just can't shake it. Early in his sickness he had bronchitis. Along with the bronchitis he had a double ear infection. Even with medicine it hasn't got away. We go back to the doctor on March 11th for a check up. If he still has an ear infection (which he does now, after a week on a different medicine) we will have to visit an ENT. Let's all pray that it goes away.

Tyler has been busy with work. He had to work 4 Saturday's in a row because of open houses and having lots of visits. His weekends are starting to slow down and now we can all relax. This weekend was the last weekend either of us had to work for a while :-)

Racheal has an interview on Tuesday for a first shift job. It is a job at the school working in the mail room. It would be a great opportunity because she would be able to work 1st shift and have more interaction with people on campus. Pray that it goes well :-)

Sports season at the university is idle right now. Basketball season came to an end, and there is nothing going on right now. Maybe when it gets warm we will go to some baseball and Lacrosse games, but that won't be for a while. We are looking forward to the days when it gets warm and we can play outside.

Here are a few picutres for your viewing pleasure. We will make sure our next post comes sooner than this one.

Lots of love from the Benners


We went on a trip to Indy and stopped at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Ashland LOVES spaghetti!


Ashland and Tyler love swimming. We are looking forward to going to the county beach this summer for some swimming and play time.


This ball pit was at the hotel we stayed at in Indy. Unfortunately, Ashland was sick the day after we came home from Indy and I think this ball pit may be the reason why. Oh well, he had a blast playing in all the balls.