Wallman Wanderings ~*~ Following Jesus Wherever He Leads

Christmas 2011

2012-01-06T22:51:00.001-06:00

Christmas was really nice this year. We had 5 days in both places, so we got to settle in a bit.

First we headed to Colorado. There was snow!! The kids were so excited.

We took the kids across the street to build snowmen. Grandma W and I ended up making them while Anna played in the snow and Jacob ate it! ha!! Anna decided mine was a snowlady and drew a skirt and necklace on her, as well as hair.

The weather was gorgeous. If Anna and Jacob hadn't been rolling around in the snow, they wouldn't have needed their coats on. Isaac sat at the front door, looking out like a sad little puppy so Grandpa took pity on him and brought him out to watch for a while.

That nose wrinkle! He thought he was hot stuff sitting on the little rocking chair.

We had a couple of family gatherings while we were there. It was good to see everyone...always wish we had more time to visit with those we only see once a year!

Then it was on to Kansas...

Jacob made himself right at home at Cara & Terry's house. (was all the John Deere stuff a giveaway to where he is??)

The boy is serious about his John Deere movies!

Anna and Jacob farming. I think they were cutting wheat :)

Happy as a clam, playing with the farm toys.

Hauling off the wheat.

Then it was out to the real farm to see Great Grandpa & Great Grandma S.

Hmm...I don't really think I need this hat. Mama is being silly.

That's better!

The big kids couldn't wait to build a snowman with Papa!

These dogs spent most of the morning in the yard. Grandma couldn't get ahold of the neighbors. Anna and Jacob do NOT like big dogs. Jacob, especially. But he's getting better. They were really nice dogs, but they kept getting in the way and the kids just didn't really like them. We tried chasing them off but the farthest they would go was the other side of the house. After about 30 minutes, a big ol' Husky showed up. He started chasing the other 2 dogs around, nipping at them and barking (not agressively). I hollered at him but it seriously looked like he was trying to herd the other 2 dogs. Sure enough, he kept chasing them across the yard, across the road and into the field. Off they went back home! It was so weird! That Husky came over just to bring them home! (and we know that the neighbors weren't home, so he did it all on his own!)

There was a bit of a drift in the ditch, so Anna tried digging a tunnel. It didn't work, but she had fun!

Not a good quality picture, but nothing beats the sunsets at the farm.

Back to Cara's for Mom's side. Traci and I had Danny & Aaron's names and of course, every time we asked them what they wanted, they would say "I don't know" and we just got tired of not getting an actual answer. SO we decided to give them COAL! Hahaha. Traci put a few pieces of charcoal in gift bags and they opened those first. It was priceless. Maybe next year they won't say "I don't know"!!!

Then it was out to Alan & Donna's for Dad's side. Anna conned (I don't think she had to try very hard!) Aunt Janet into reading. She must have read Anna 20 books! (Thanks Aunt Janet!!)

Isaac stealing Papa's program schedule!

Binga did a little show (demonstration??) for the little kids. She decorated a cake and related it to Jesus' birth, etc. It was pretty neat.

Not sure what she said, but it doesn't look like the kids are buying it!

Then they sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and blew out the candles!

Somehow Papa & Binga convinced the kids to dress up as Jamie read the Christmas story. This is Jacob as the sheep. See the toy gun? He crawled over and grabbed it...I've never seen a sheep with a gun! It was funny.

Like father, like son (Jamie & Tate)

Opening gifts.

The funnest part for the kids was the puppet show! A couple years ago, Papa and Uncle Randall put on a puppet show. The kids loved it!! So it has become tradition! Truth be told, the adults get a kick out of it, too. Mostly just hearing them flub up their lines ;)

The funnest part for the adults was the game Dad came up with for our gift exchange. We brought a grab bag gift and then wrote down a little-known fact about ourselves. The factoids went into separate envelopes and then were passed out randomly (as were the gifts). Then we took turns reading the factoid we were passed and trying to guess who wrote it. If we guessed correctly, we got to open our gift (or steal one already opened). If we guessed incorrectly, we had to wait until it came around to us again. And the person whose clue was guessed last, received a prize! It was really fun. Another game we played before that was fun, too. Dad had a bunch of random questions and went around the circle and asked each person one. It was funny, serious, and interesting. Mom & Dad did a great job putting it on!

So, we had a really good Christmas. So glad we were able to see the family that we did!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T17:43:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas!! May your Christmas be centered around celebrating our Savior's birth and cherishing time spent with loved ones!

Full House

2011-12-19T23:46:00.000-06:00

Borrowed this from Cassie's blog...a picture of all the cousins at Papa & Binga's house! Getting 8 kids (ages 11 to 1) to pose for any camera, let alone in the unfamiliar environment of a picture studio...we decided to just try and get a group shot at home! This is the best one she got...everyone is basically smiling and even looking in the camera's direction!!

Bryce (almost 5yrs), Jacob (4 1/2 yrs), Kaedyn (7 yrs), Mia (11 1/2 yrs), Tate (1 yr), Anna (6 1/2 yrs), Isaac (1 yr), Hudson (3 1/2 yrs)

I think I got all the ages right! Kaedyn & Anna, and Bryce, Jacob & Hudson are within like 9 months of each other. Isaac and Tate are only 1 day apart.

Best Saturday Ever (according to Anna)

2011-12-19T20:17:00.001-06:00

We finally made it back over to Scott's place. After the competition in Texas, Scott put Maverick out in the pasture to give him a break from training. Then he took him to a feedlot, hoping he would get more used to being around cattle. Except Maverick got really wild again! Scott couldn't even catch him. It wasn't looking very promising for keeping him as Anna's horse. Scott said he would just put Maverick in with his therapy horses so he would be around people constantly and see how he did. If you tried to go up to him, he would run away. But as soon as you turned your back, he would come right up to you. So we were curious what he would do with Anna.

He didn't even back away from her! And he followed her everywhere she went in the pen. Scott said with the progress he's made so far, she'll be riding him by summer! She flipped her lid and was doing somersaults (literally)!! She would have stayed there all day petting him, content as could be.

She asked Scott if she could ride a horse, so he got out an old bag of bones horse Buster for her to ride :) He's not exceptionally old, but he is very lazy!! So Anna got a good lesson in "show him who's boss" :)

Scott gave her some great riding lessons and she caught on pretty quickly.

Learning how to make him mind and follow her leads.

She even got to trot! She was bouncing around so much it was comical. He worked on teaching her to use her legs and bounce with the horse. She had so much fun!! And the horse Scott is on? A green one he's breaking! That's how laid-back Buster is...didn't phase him a bit when Scott's horse got a little antsy.

We're hoping to be able to make it over there every other Saturday so Anna can continue working on her riding skills so she'll be ready for Maverick in the summer! :)

Family Supper

2011-12-18T23:15:00.002-06:00

I try to have a special family supper for each of our "other" kids 'birthdays. Sometimes I do better than others. This year, we combined a birthday with Christmas. I made a cake for Seth's birthday (using Aunt Cara's frosting recipe!). Seth is all about hunting, so I used Isaac's camo pajamas as inspiration for decorating his cake. :)

I can't believe my first son is 25!! ;) He was just 18 when we first took him in. We've loved every minute of it!

The kids helped him blow out the candles!

I don't what happened or who took this picture...must have been when I was putting Isaac to bed. It's hard telling. Jacob is in a whiny/cry-over-everything stage. It's really frustrating!!

And then, just like that...he's fine. Look at those baby blues!

These "kids" have watched my other kids grow up. We love them dearly!

And this is why my kids love the big kids! :)

I didn't take this one either. Probably Anna. And probably being a goofball with the "big kids"...although Anna informs me every time I call them "kids" that they are NOT kids! :)

Anna's first piano recital!

2011-12-18T23:15:00.001-06:00

Today Anna had her first piano recital! She's been taking lessons for about a month, and she is doing so good!! She loves it and even taught her cousins a little bit over Thanksgivng. Here's the video...

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Isaac's 1st Birthday Party

2011-12-18T00:38:00.002-06:00

How's that for a catchy title. :) It made the weekend even crazier, but it was the easiest way to ensure that 1) family could be there and 2) people didn't have to make 2 trips back to back between Tate's party and Thanksgiving. So Uncle Terry and Aunt Cara let us have Isaac's party at their house the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I wasn't very well prepared for making his cake. Actually, I didn't even have a plan. I just had the cake mix and frosting. (Sorry Isaac!)

He really wasn't too interested in opening his presents. But that's okay because he had plenty of help! :)

Isaac is a Papa's boy, for sure!

I was surprised but he didn't really dig into the cake much. And he didn't eat much of his piece, either. But he sure it cute!

Okay, I was just going to do a plain cake and write "Happy Birthday" but since Isaac really likes tools I thought maybe I could do a hard hat. It didn't turn out too whoopy! At least people could tell it was a hat! hahaha! The other problem was that the icing I had really didn't work very well for how I decorated it. But I got a great lesson on cake decorating from Aunt Cara! And best of all, I have her frosting recipe!! :)

He wasn't too happy when we took the cake away, but then he didn't want any of the piece I cut for him. Go figure...

The hosts :) Doesn't Terry look thrilled to be the ice cream scooper?! He was just mad because nobody wanted his ice cream! tee hee! ;)

Grandpa Frank is making sure I get him a big enough piece!

Thank you all for helping us celebrate Isaac's 1st year! And especially thanks to Uncle Terry & Aunt Cara for letting us use their home!

Thanksgiving/Anniversary/Birthday/Christmas Weekend

2011-12-12T08:13:00.001-06:00

I mentioned how busy Thanksgiving weekend was. So here are some pictures to prove it :) Not as many as there should be since I forgot my camera at home! But I swiped some pictures off Dad's camera so I have a few more.

Mia talked Uncle Jamie into playing cards with her.

Tate and Uncle Jeremy playing with Isaac's new toy.

The weather was pretty mild Thursday so the men and the kiddos went to the backyard to play while the women fixed dinner. Papa got a little workout in, being chased by all the kids!

Almost caught him!

Trapped! (I think he was glad to have a reason to stop running!)

Since Jeremy & his family won't be back for Christmas, we celebrated with them. We always have a little "program" where we sing some Christmas hymns and each family shares. I don't know who taught those girls that look, but Mia and Kaedyn have it down pat! ;)

Double Trouble!

She's 11. Which means she's a tween. Or preteen. I got confused when she was explaining it to me. I asked her what the difference was? "A year." Duh Aunt Jenni!

Miss Mia teaching Uncle Jamie some French. I'm so excited that she's taking French!!! Joyeux Noel, Mia! :)

Just chillin' watching the big kids run around.

The girls (who are sorely outnumbered!!) singing Away in a Manger.

Bryce is so cute. I tried to get him to live with us...he said he would for a few days and then he had to go home. :)

These two got along really well this year! So fun to have cousins close in age...now if they were just close in distance!

Some table decorations for Mom & Dad's anniversary party.

Kaedyn about to launch a ball at the boys. Asher is thinking it's a bit too loud in the nursery!

For the record...Anna was supposed to be wearing a SWEATER!! But I wasn't there when the kids walked out the door (I left much earlier to decorate), so here she shows up to the party in a summer dress when it's like 30* outside! At least her hair was still fixed, right?? :)

This felt like such a small family picture! It's been over 10 years since our family has been this small!

That's more like it!

Jamie, Hudson, Cassie, Tate, Mom, Dad, Mia, Bryce, Jeremy, Alisha, Kaedyn, Aaron, Jacob, Anna, me, and Isaac. Whew!

Mom and her family...Danny, Cara, Mom, Dona, Grandma & Grandpa

We put all the big kids (except Mia) in one room at Cara's house. Between their hard play right before bed and all those little bodies in one room, it got a little toasty! All of the kids had some (if not all) of their pj's off by the time I checked on them a couple hours later!

Playing a fun new game, Fishbowl, that Jamie and Cassie taught us. It's a combination of Taboo, Password, and Charades. Fun!! Alisha's dumpster dive charade was the best!!!

Dishing up some delicious food at Cara & Terry's house.

I don't know why these are out of order, but I'm too tired to move them around. Here's Papa & Binga with all 8 (soon to be 9) of their grandchildren!

Anna, Kaedyn, Binga and Tate, Mia, Papa and Jacob and Isaac, Bryce, Hudson. Ages 11 to 1!

Mom and Dad with Grandpa and Grandma Stinemetz

Mom's side with the spouses.

Unseasonably warm weather one afternoon!

Uncle Terry taking the kids for rides on the 4-wheeler! (Bryce, Jacob and Heather)

Now it's the girls' turn!

Busy, busy, busy! I don't have any pictures from Dad's side-I guess the cameras got left at home that day. We also celebrated Isaac's first birthday this weekend. I really know how to relax on vacation! ha!! (there's no such thing as vacations for moms....unless the kids aren't along!)

An Early Christmas Present

2011-12-10T22:17:00.001-06:00

I've wanted to replace the kitchen sink since we moved in. It was a nice porcelain sink, but it was a "prep" sink, which means one side was very shallow. The shallow side was also the the side the garbage disposal was on...which was a mess! So, I found a great black, quartz granite sink at Menards. Aaron measured the sink and I picked up the perfectly-sized sink. I texted Dad before I bought it and asked if he was okay with helping Aaron put it in when he came down the day before Thanksgiving. I accidentally left out the word "sink" in my text so he thought I meant a kitchen FLOOR and he still AGREED!!! Crazy man. (Don't ask about how his kitchen floor redo went!!) I think he was a bit relieved when he found out it was a sink and not a floor! But by the time it was over, maybe he wasn't...

No project ever goes as planned. Ever. Seriously, a kitchen sink replacement should be so easy! It was a mess and took way too long. The lady at Menards told me the holes were pre-drilled and all you had to do was "tap" them out. No drilling! So Thursday morning, Dad and Aaron unpack the sink, take the old one out (and carry it outside-HEAVY!). Dad starts "tapping out" the holes. It's not nearly as easy as it should have been. He gets one out and the next one...CRACK...the whole top corner of the sink breaks off! Did I mention I bought the sink at Menards? And the closest store is an hour away? And it's Thanksgiving Day?! And I'm hosting a big meal for 16 people that evening???!!! Oh man. So in goes the old sink (carried back inside). Nothing else can be done! They thought about going Friday early morning to Wichita, but when the girls reminded them it was Black Friday they decided to wait!

So we have the big meal that night and the next day we head out west for Thanksgiving. We get home on Sunday evening with plans for Dad to go to Wichita first thing Monday morning and get another sink. We had planned on going to Iowa on Monday mid-morning, but like I said...no project ever goes as planned!

Anna decided to go with Papa to get the new sink. This didn't go as planned either...of course! First of all, I forgot to tell Dad there is a Menards on the west side of town (would have saved him at least an hour!). He gets to the store and they're all out of the sink!!!!! I couldn't believe it. The guy at the store said the west store's computer showed they had one left. So off they go. Anna, by the way, is not happy that it's taking so long. And when Papa told her they had to go to Maize to get the sink, she told me "and now we have to go through a maze to get it!!" Ha!!! They get to the next store and they're sold out!! That's when he finds out that the reason it shows there is one left is because the inventory system counts the display. Dad convinced them to sell him the display and they finally made it home. He also asked the guy at the 2nd store about just tapping the holes out. He laughed and said no, you need to drill them out. Luckily Dad brought his hole drill (what's it called??). So he starts drilling out the holes and it's not doing anything. He tries for over an hour...nothing. He went to the lumber yard to see if they have a Diamond bit. They don't and don't know where else he could find one. There's one in Hutch for almost $50 (plus the time it would take to go there and back!). The guy at the lumber yard did know a guy in town that would have one, but he wasn't home. Dad left him a message and waited for him to call back. By supper time he called back and said he had a bit Dad could borrow. This is why I love small towns! The guy had no idea who we were, we'd never met him, but he was willing to let us borrow a tool! And what do you know, those holes drilled out in seconds! So now we're home free, right? WRONG!

They go to set the sink in and it doesn't fit perfectly (have I mentioned Dad is a perfectionist? I'm glad). There's a small lip on the underside of the sink so ONE CORNER of the sink doesn't sit flush on the counter. We're talking less than 1/4". But Dad didn't like that. Another glitch! Plus Aaron doesn't have the right kind of saw and he can't find anyone that does! The only thing he's got is a circular saw! Talk about dusty!!! So we put up sheets to try and contain the dust. Can you see Dad under the sheets?

It kept it better contained, but it was still dirty!

Oh Papa! When will you learn to quit doing projects for my mama??!! Hahaha!

Got it cut! Ready to drop in.

Ta-da! (sorry--it's a cell phone picture) I love, love, love it! We didn't even have to get new faucets. And it only took 6 days!! Thanks, Dad!!!

Pintrest Success!

2011-12-10T00:00:00.001-06:00

I love pintrest. I was just going through my boards tonight and I'd forgotten how many fun ideas for school/kids I had on there! Here's the one I did tonight. It took all of 30 minutes (most of that was waiting for the paint to dry).

The BORED JAR:

The best part of this project is that it was free--I had all the supplies on hand (and have had them for a long time!). The general idea is that if your kids say "I'm bored!" they can go to the bored jar and draw a "job"! BUT, the catch is that not all of the papers are jobs...some are fun things!

I started with this jar/vase that I had from teaching. The pintrest jar decoupaged fabric onto their jar, but this one is too odd shaped and I didn't have any fabric I wanted to use on it.

So I used black spray paint (that the previous homeowners left behind!).

I got out some scrapbooking paper and wrote some chores (and fun things!) on slips of paper. A few examples: dust, go for ice cream, vacuum, help with laundry, bike ride, pick up toys, play a game with Mom, clean your room, play a Wii game, etc etc etc. The "fun" of the Bored Jar is that you never know whether you'll get a treat or a job! :)

Then I pulled out my bag of ribbons (I think I bought the bag at a consignment sale for $1 last year) and decorated. I'm not good at bows...oh well! :) I used puffy fabric paint to write "Bored Jar". I'm excited to show the kids in the morning. I've been telling Anna for a long time that if she complains of being bored, she has to do a job. This will help me follow through! Lucky for her!! ;)

I'm a Bag Blogger.

2011-12-06T22:58:00.001-06:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged. In my defense, this is what my last 2 weeks looked like:

1) hosted Thanksgiving/Christmas at our house for my family (16 people!!) Thanksgiving day

2) Friday morning went to Cara & Terry's (with stops on the way to pick things up)...this is what was on tap for that day:

-decorate (with help, of course) for Mom & Dad's 35th anniversary party

-host the party with my brothers & SILs

-Thanksgiving celebration with Mom's side

3) Saturday morning, head to Alan & Donna's (which means packing everything up to spend the night there!) to celebrate with Dad's side.

4) Sunday head home to do laundry, cleaning, and RE-packing to spend the week in Iowa!

5) Oh yeah, in the midst of it all, a little kitchen sink replacement horror story (that's for another post!)

6) Ending up waiting until Tuesday morning to drive to Iowa with Dad.

7) Spend the week with some crazy kids *eight* in Iowa.

8) Saturday afternoon say goodbye to Jeremy, Alisha, and their kids :'(

9) Sunday afternoon drive home (thankfully Aaron came up so he came home with us!)

10) Monday was dragging myself out of bed after a looong night and trying to clean up from a week of bachelorhood ;) and unpacking. Anna also had art at the school.

11) Today, after another LONG night, was full of running here and there it felt like! Speech and piano lessons. But the best part of today was spending time with friends!

Soooo...that's what I've been doing! My calendar is empty for the next 2 weeks so maybe I'll catch up on pictures on here. Doubtful!

A family picture! We took one before this of just my brothers & I with Mom and Dad and it felt so small! :)

Jamie, Hudson, Cassie, Tate, Mom, Dad, Mia, Bryce, Jeremy, Alisha (baby #4!), Kaedyn, Aaron, Jacob, Anna, me, Isaac

My Broncos Boys

2011-11-23T23:52:00.001-06:00

I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I married an avid Broncos fan. ;)

And now....

...my sons are Broncos fans! But it's okay because they're wearing Tebow jerseys. How cute are they?!

They were a bit distracted....

There was a football game on! :)

The Big O-N-E!

2011-11-15T23:45:00.001-06:00

Today, my baby turned one. ONE, people!! It's just not possible that it's been an entire year already.

He's still this little, right??

Isaac Jayden (you get called that a bit more often these days......),

You are an absolute treasure!! Your personality is so fun, yet can be so serious. You observe...a lot. But at the same time, you're always there in the middle of all the action. Story of your life already! You talk quite a bit. You can say draw (druh) and desk (deh). Yes is VERY clear (and it's often said in questioning reply to my NO!). What a stinker you are! The other day, you crawled over to a desk Daddy had pulled into the TV room and said "Deh? Deh?!" So I put you up in the chair, gave you a piece of paper and a pencil and you said "Druh!!!" You LOVE to sit and scribble. There's no use trying to keep you in the sling while I teach school-even if both desks are full, you want down so you can draw!

You are the fastest little crawler I have ever seen!!! My goodness you've got that snake/army slither/crawl down pat and you MOVE! You still don't crawl on your hands and knees very often. No walking yet, but you like to push your Thomas toy around. You think you're pretty big stuff when you do that! :)

Your sleep is the bane of my existence! Your nights are much better (I say this as you are in your crib crying instead of sleeping!), but your days? Not so much. As crazy as it is to me, there are days when you flat-out refuse to nap. It's partly my fault for not keeping you on a better schedule, but that gets a little tricky when some days are like today with all kinds of things going on here, there, and everywhere. Even with all that, you're still a pretty happy little guy.

I decided to make a special treat for your birthday today, even though we're celebrating your birthday in a couple weeks with extended family. I tried my hand at cake pops (seriously, these are not decorated...they're dipped in frosting!). I've got some practicing to do, but you didn't care what they looked like! :)

Mama,what is this?? It doesn't look like my regular breakfast...

It's so...GREEN. What are you tryin' to feed me??

Are you sure it's good Anna?? I don't know.....

Hey, it's a treat! You're the best, Mama!!!!

Isaac, we love you more than words can express! I love how you scrunch up your nose when you're trying to be cute (as if you're not always cute! duh.). I love how you adore your brother and sister. I love how you launch yourself at Daddy when he comes home from work! I just love YOU! And I praise God that He put you in our family!

Lessons Learned...

2011-11-12T00:11:00.001-06:00

Some good friends of ours are in the process of adopting a precious baby girl from Ethiopia. They're getting ready to make their first trip over there. Stacy mentioned on their blog that they're going to take extra suitcases, filled with medicine and supplies for the orphanage. Aaron & I talked about donating some things and I thought it would be a good lesson for the kids (Anna for sure) to take them shopping for things to give Stacy & Christian to take with them. I asked Stacy what they needed and we headed to good ol' Dollar General. I explained to the kids what we were doing and why--what an orphanage is, why the kids are there, why they need us to get things for them, etc. I told them that Jesus commands us in the Bible to take care of the orphans. The biggest battle I have EVERY time we go to any store is the kids (especially Jacob, not always Anna) think they need to get a treat/toy. They were all on board, but Jacob kept saying that he was going to pick out a toy for "that boy". I explained to them that these kids don't have Mamas and Daddies to buy things for them and that they need clothes and shoes. To my surprise, both Anna and Jacob teared up. Anna said that made her really sad. We headed into the store and started picking out some shoes and clothes. Anna talked away about how much the kids would like their new clothes and shoes. The flip flops were on mega sale, so we literally loaded up the cart! :)

Not only did this teach my kids (at least Anna) a lesson on compassion and thankfulness, it reminded me to look outside my bubble of a world. I'm not going to be able to put into words what I want to convey...it was a good lesson for all of us and I was moved to see how much it affected Anna.

Lord, I pray that you continue to keep this precious girl's heart soft. I pray she never loses her gentle, caring spirit and that You mold her into a compassionate, loving, caring young woman who seeks Your face daily. As much as it hurts, continue to break her heart for Your lost and alone children. Thank You for putting Anna in this family and thank You for using her to remind me of Your compassion.

Guitar songs...for Grandpa

2011-11-10T21:11:00.000-06:00

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Weeee! Guess Who Loves the Slide?

2011-11-10T19:55:00.001-06:00

Isaac has no fear. He's fallen off things more than the other 2 combined. He figured out a month ago how to climb up and down on boxes, chairs and couches. I shouldn't have been surprised that he was so adventurous at the park today. He wanted down right away and started climbing. Anna was climbing with him. He went right up to the slide and started to head down on his tummy, head first. He LOVED it! He zipped down and as soon as I picked him up (I caught him halfway down), he was grunting and reaching for more!!

Trick or Treat...Yeehaw...Choo...Moo...

2011-11-07T23:48:00.000-06:00

Once again, Uncle Windell outfitted the kids for Halloween. Anna requested Jessie (from Toy Story). While we were shopping before Windell left, Jacob got to pick what he wanted from Toys-R-Us. I tried talking him into being Woody but once he saw Thomas, there was no changing his mind--until Anna's costume got her and he said "Where's my other costume? I wanna be Woody!"! Isaac didn't get a choice :)

Anna had to get Graci dressed up, too! She even took her trick or treating with us. A couple weeks ago, she was talking about wanting an Itty Bitty Baby (the American Girl baby doll). I had told her before she got Graci that maybe she should get the baby instead, since she loves to play with her baby dolls. She hasn't really played very much with Graci since she got her (which I pointed out to her). She said "Well, I don't really know how to play with her. What am I supposed to do with her?" So I told her how to play with Graci (she does whatever you do) and now she's been playing with her.

Thomas and Jessie :) And yes, it was warm enough for Jacob to be wearing flip flops!!

Cheese!

Anna was pretty excited that I gave her freckles, just like Jessie!

Isaac was THE CUTEST little cow ever! :) I was surprised that he didn't hate the costume. He didn't even mind the hat. He just didn't want to stand there and pose for pictures!

The ladies at Aaron's office spoil these kids every day (they ask the kids to come visit every day)! They're so sweet and the kids love them. I appreciate that they have crackers as well as candy :)

CUTE! We would be disowned if we didn't stop by the admissions office...

Having a snack while we waited for Addie.

What to eat, what to eat??

Always time to pose for Mama :)

First Fieldtrip!

2011-11-06T23:36:00.001-06:00

Since the opportunities are vast, I decided to take advantage and have our first fieldtrip while we were in Iowa! There were many to choose from (although I was really sad to find out that we had missed Living History Farms by a week!), but I decided to do the Science Center of Iowa. Anna really likes science, so I figured they would enjoy this. I debated about going to an IMAX film, too but decided the day would be long enough for all of us (especially Isaac!) just doing the Science Center.

We left around 10am and the first thing we see when we get inside is a place perfect for all three kids! Isaac had as much fun as the big kids!

There was a great conveyer belt system and produce stand that Anna and Jacob loved playing with. (I hate that I just ended that sentence with a preposition!)

Up, up, up they go!

Anna loved sorting all the fruits and vegetables. She got a little math lesson in, too since each produce item had a price! :)

Papa took an early (and long) lunch and joined us for a couple hours (that's who Isaac is looking at).

There was even a bubble room!!

This was Anna's 2nd favorite thing of the day. It was a system of water wheels. You were supposed to use the blocks to direct the flow of water toward the wheels and see how much electricity you could generate (there was a board that displayed the amount of power for each wheel). I don't think Anna really understood the concept of water flow, but she caught on to how I was using the blocks to direct the water flow. She had fun!

Anna and I built this arc!

Isaac had fun exploring, too!

This was Anna's favorite part of the whole place! There were plastic balls that you put in the baskets and they would shoot up and through and around. It was very interactive and the kids would have stayed there all day and played!

Isaac liked the train table!

He could barely reach, but that didn't stop him!

We packed a picnic lunch (except it was much too cold to have an outside picnic!).

Isaac did so good. He slept some of the time, but he was happy to ride around in the stroller and crawl around and play, too. Such a good boy!

Every 30 minutes, there were presentations on different topics. We hit the chemistry session! Anna was excited that she knew what the lady was presenting (states of matter) since we had already studied that! She also got to volunteer and be a helper!

Uhh...how cute are those safety glasses?! The experiment she helped with was changing a liquid to a solid. I was so surprised...I really didn't think she would want to stick her hand in the liquid and reach for the goo!

But she dove right in and loved it!

Jacob got to volunteer, too! He was hilarious and those safety glasses just would not stay on his big ol' noggin. I'll have to upload the video of his experiment...

Iowa visit

2011-11-06T22:01:00.000-06:00

It had been quite a while since we took a trip to Iowa, so after Isaac got the all clear from the doctor (he had bronchitis), we took off. I'm happy to say that the trip was much more successful than the last one! It still took us about 8 hours. And the low tire sensor came on about an hour before we got there! But I was able to stop in a couple miles at a gas station and air it up and it was fine.

The kids jumped right into the toys and playing :)

Cowgirl Anna. "Stick 'em up!"

Isaac just has to be in on ALL that big sis and big brother do! He loved riding around on the bike with Anna!!

What's a trip to Iowa without going to Incredible Pizza?! Isaac even had fun playing.

All the other times we've been here, Jacob hasn't wanted to actually play any of the car racing games. I think the Wii has changed that! He played several and actually does pretty good steering.

Isaac thought the little carousel was so much fun!

By the second ride, it was old hat.

Isaac also LOVED riding the mower with Papa!! The noise didn't scare him at all. Unlike his brother...Jacob still won't ride it!

When they expanded their front porch, they built around the Japanese Maple. So now it's a great climbing tree! :) Anna was actually pretty fearless about climbing it.

Ugh...if I can just get my foot riiight there...

Hmmm....now where do I go??

Maybe if I smile pretty and pose for a picture...

Mama will let me climb onto the roof...maybe??

I bet I could sweet talk Papa into it!

Uhhh...Mama?I think I'm stuck...

I love this girl. So much my heart hurts!

If I had photoshop (and knew how to use it!) I could really make her beautiful blue eyes pop in this shot. :)

Such a silly boy.

Ohhh those blue eyes! What an ornery little squirt!!!

He comes by it naturally!

Like I said...Isaac has to be right there in the middle of it all. Literally!!

This was about 2 seconds before Isaac chomped down on Papa's thumb!! HA! I think he forgot how many teeth Isaac has! It almost broke the skin!

Papa replaced the timing belt on our van for us. Isaac was more than happy to help. I've noticed since we moved (and have had various tools laying around constantly) that Isaac really likes tools.

Anna helped, too. :) Papa is so good about letting the kids "help" and giving them little jobs to do to make them feel included and spend time with him. Even though I know it makes the job go much slower! (Jacob was out helping, too...I guess I didn't catch him in the picture)

Here Papa, let me get that for you.

Family Photo Shoot

2011-11-05T22:23:00.000-05:00

It's been a couple years since we had family pictures taken. Since Aaron was coming up to Iowa for a weekend and the fall colors up there were perfect, I decided to have Dad take some Saturday afternoon. There's a great park close to their house that has a small pond and perfect scenery. Anna wasn't very cooperative, but we got a couple of good ones.

Jacob was very willing! What a handsome boy!!

My boys! Isaac had some crazy hair that I could NOT get to lay down. And he wasn't very smiley either. Stinker.

I am SO blessed!!

This isn't a good picture, but I love Isaac's face!

This was 5 seconds before Anna let go of Isaac and he fell off the bench! Amazingly enough, he managed to catch himself with his arms, so his face didn't even touch the cement. My heart skipped a few beats!

Of course, AFTER we finished taking pictures (Isaac was DONE and ready to eat), Anna was ready to pose and smile!

10 years (of being together) and 3 kids later...here we are! :) Still alive and loving each other ;)

The Things He Says

2011-11-05T00:06:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I posted one of these...not because there's been a lack of his "sayings"! I was telling a friend about a Jacob story and she said "You need to write that down somewhere!"

So here it is...

Not that this sweet, precious little boy would do anything naughty!

Alright, last month when Uncle Windell visited, Anna and Jacob shared the bunk bed in Jacob's room. It was the first night and Jacob said he wanted to snuggle with Anna. She agreed so they both climbed into the top bunk. I turned the light off and left. At least an hour went by when all of the sudden I hear a blood-curdling scream coming from Jacob's room. I run back there and Anna is screaming and crying, saying Jacob kicked her in the face. I turned the light on (I admit it...Anna has a flair for dramatics, so I wasn't expecting a big deal) and see blood literally running down her face! I asked again what happened, then I asked Jacob if he did and he said yes. I pulled him out of the top bunk, *panked him, and put him on his bed. After cleaning Anna up and getting her calm, I talked to Jacob. This is what he told me when I asked why he kicked Anna, exactly:

I wanted to give Anna a suh-pwize but I didn't have a toy ohw a tuffed animal, so I dave her a tick in da mouff...

Like dis!

I made him repeat his answer 3 times and that's exactly what he said every time!! I didn't know what to say. Seriously??? They do play this game, where they'll give each other "surprises"--they go get a toy, wrap it up in a blanket and there's the surprise. Now, why on earth he thought 1) it was something to do when he should have been sleeping; 2) it was a good idea to give his sister a kick in the face since he didn't have a toy....is BEYOND ME!! I still can't figure it out. And he's sticking to his story a month later. He just told the ladies at Aaron's office that story yesterday. Anna had a huge fat lip for a day. She woke up in the middle of the night, thirsty, and her poor lip was so swollen! The lasting effect from the kick is a loose tooth! I think that one will be the third one that falls out

11 Months

2011-10-28T17:23:00.000-05:00

Once again, I can't believe Isaac is another month closer to ONE already! He keeps me busy, that's for sure...

Buddy, your big brown eyes melt my heart!

You're quite opinionated. You come by it naturally, I suppose!

You're also very photogenic. Thus all the pictures! :)

You started jabbering a LOT the last couple weeks. Almost constantly. You say yes very clearly. You can also say Jacob, Anna, Mama (sometimes Mom), Dada, Papa, down, done. All of these words are surrounded by a slew of jabbering! You already talk in complete sentences, we just can't understand it all.

Your eating is probably about normal for an 11-month old, but I only have Jacob to compare you to...so in that case, you don't eat much at all!! Your sleeping has gotten much better (except for this last week...I think teeth are coming in) at night. Naps are still hit and miss. Either way, you're still a pretty happy little guy!

We spent the last 2 weeks at Papa & Binga's house. You are officially Papa's boy! You get mad when he leaves for work and pretty much as soon as he walks in the door, you're grunting for him to pick you up!

You're still not walking, but you'll stand by yourself for a few seconds if you're not paying attention. You cruise along furniture very easily.

You still only have 6 teeth (4 top, 2 bottom). Last time you were at the doctor (you got bronchitis this month) you still weighed 20 lbs. You move too much to gain weight!! You also got your fist haircut today (10/29)! I trimmed it up so you don't have a mullet anymore!

I can't believe I caught a sneeze on camera! Too funny. Isaac, you keep life interesting and you wear me out! I wish you would just sit still for a few minutes once in a while! :)

Special Visit

2011-10-27T23:08:00.000-05:00

We had a special visitor at our house for a weekend. Uncle Windell!! It's been over a year since we've seen him. Anna was okay with giving up her room while he stayed, but she wasn't so keen on sleeping in Jacob's room on her old top bunk. "I don't want to sleep in a boy's room!" *cue eye rolls from Mama*

It was a very hectic weekend, being the college's homecoming so the only pictures I have are from the day we took him back to the airport! Oh well. We had fun and Jacob was NOT happy that Uncle Windell had to go home. He wanted to get on the plane and go with him!

Since we (the kids and I) didn't get to spend much time with him the rest of the weekend, we spent the day in Wichita, before his plane left that evening.

We ate lunch at PF Chang's. Anna was actually pretty good with the kiddie chop sticks.

Not so much for this guy.

What? Everyone is actually looking at the camera?! Not bad for the camera being propped on the back of a pickup! :)

The kids being silly at the airport...

And of course, there was a trip to Toys R Us. Uncle Windell is very good at spoiling these kids!

What else?! Anna picked out a horse stable, horses, and a PINK pickup and trailer. Isaac likes opening and shutting the gates. :)

Isaac got a Thomas ride/walk toy. He likes it, but the other two played with it more than he did the first couple days (balls shoot up out of his smoke stack)! Silly kids.

Jacob finally got his Cranky fire set! He saw a commercial for it at least a month ago and EVERY SINGLE DAY he asked if we could go to the store so he could "borrow" it (he's confused on the terms buy and borrow!).

As always, the time was much too short, but we enjoyed getting to see Uncle Windell. Next time it won't be so crazy...at least that's what we tell ourselves!

Thank You Isn't Enough

2011-10-24T13:53:00.005-05:00

My aunt forwarded this letter along to me. I have always had a deep respect for those who serve our country (the soldiers and their families). Having seen my sister-in-law and a dear friend go through the separation of deployment...I can't imagine. My respect has deepened. And it makes me glad (selfishly) that Aaron didn't go into the military! A "thank you" seems so inadequate...this letter says it perfectly, in my opinion. So to all past, present, and future military wives/families....

Letter to a military spouse

While I have never had the pleasure of meeting you or your husband, I felt the need to write you and express a very deep feeling that I have in my heart. I, as a person, am not brave. I do not tackle things head on, as I hate confrontation. I will travel 100 miles out of my way just to avoid a conflict. I am an American

woman that has no idea what is going on in the military other than what I hear on the news.

I have never had to let go of someone so that they could go fight for people that they didn't know, people that sometimes do not appreciate or understand what they are fighting for.

I have never had a sleepless night of worry because of a report that another bomb has exploded and I still haven't heard from my husband.

I have never had to wait for months on end to hold the one that I loved so.

I have never had to tell my children that daddy wasn't coming home tonight because he was so far away fighting for something that they aren't yet old enough to understand.

I have never had to hold my head high and suppress the tears as I hear that it will be at least another six months of separation before my loved one gets to come home.

I have never had to deal with a holiday away from the one that I thought I would share every day of my life with.

And I have never had to feel the panic raising in my heart at the sound of a ringing phone or knock at the door for fear that it is the news that everyone is terrified of getting.

For the reasons listed above, I cannot tell you that I understand how you feel. I cannot tell you that you must be strong. I cannot say that you shouldn't be angry, because you "knew what you were getting into when you married a military man". I cannot say these things because I have never had to walk in your shoes.

What I can say for certain is that because of your unselfish acts of bravery and your husband’s willingness to stand up for those who see him as "just another soldier" - - I will never have to walk in your shoes. I do understand that as a military wife you are expected to uphold a certain amount of control, but I never understood how you could do it, until now.

I have figured out that you are not like other women. You are of a special breed. You have a strength within you that holds life together in the darkest of hours, a strength of which I will never possess. The faith you

have is what makes you stand out in a crowd; it makes you glow with emotion and swell with pride at the mention of The United States of America. You are a special lady, a wonderful partner and a glorious American.

I have more respect for your husband than I could ever tell you, but until recently I never thought much about those that the soldier leaves at home during deployment.

Until this moment I could never put into words exactly what America meant to me.

Until this moment, I had no real reason to.... Until I heard of you.

Your husband and his military family hold this nation close, safe from those who wish to hurt us...but you and those like you are the backbone of the American family. You keep the wheels in motion and the hearts alive while most would just break completely down. Military families make this nation what it is today.

You give us all hope and you emit a warming light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

Because of you and your family...I am able to be me. I am able to have my family. I am able to walk free in this great land.

Because of you and your family, I can look ahead to the future with the knowledge that life is going to be okay.

Because of you and your family, I can awake to a new day, every day.

I realize that you are a stronger person than I will ever be because of these things and I just wanted to take the time today to say thank you to you and your family for allowing me that freedom.

I will never be able to repay this debt to you, as it is unmatchable. However, I hope that you know that no matter where you are...what you are doing...what has happened today...or what will happen tomorrow...Your husband will NEVER be "just another soldier" to me.... And you, dear sweet lady, will never be forgotten.

You are all in my prayer's everyday and I pray that God will bring you back together with your loved one safely.

May God Bless You!

Author Unknown

The Rest of the Story :)

2011-10-15T00:53:00.002-05:00

Thanks to company coming this weekend, I got the rest of the house unpacked/cleaned...mostly! :) Here are pics from the rest of the house...

First up, the master suite (I love saying that). I went with a Paris theme. Romantic, classic, and it makes me want to go back to France...

We finally have a bedroom that ALL of our beautiful furniture fits into!! (excuse the papers under the bed. I forgot those were there!). I got the fabric for the curtains at Hobby Lobby. I was going to go with a deep red curtain (to accent the main piece of artwork above our bed), but couldn't find anything I really liked. I was just about to give up when I spotted this material. Love!

That door is to our huge walk-in closet. (there's no picture of that because it's laundry time and that means the closet is my sorting spot!) It's so big that we don't have to use very many drawers in our 3 dressers! To the left of the closet door is the bathroom (pics coming in a bit).

The lamp--it used to be chrome and had a different shade. I bought the lamp when I was in high school, after I got back from my class trip to France & Italy. I found the perfect lamp shade at Walmart. Then I remembered I had some black spray paint in the garage...and viola! A "new" lamp that goes perfectly! All for $10!

Our massive bed...it can be made into a canopy bed, but in order to put that painting at the head of the bed, we couldn't have those pieces up on the bed. I like it as a 4-poster bed, too.

My crafting corner! :) I still have some organizing to do (since I just inherited a ton of scrapbooking stuff!), but I'm excited to have a place for it all! And I love the poster listing all the big attractions in France (and I loved seeing the ones I've been to).

Master bathroom (again...laundry day-excuse the pile!). The previous owners had the tile put in-really nice. It has a large walk-in shower. I still haven't painted or decorated this room. It'll match the bedroom.

Sink. Exciting stuff, I know!

Plenty of storage!

My side of the bed :)

Now the rest of the house that I haven't shown yet...

This is looking from the TV room to the back door. To the left is the master bedroom. The door on the right is to the school room and through that is the garage. To the left of the back door is Isaac's room. Still need to hang up a couple things on that wall...

TV room. The wall color doesn't look quite so orange in real life! These couches are another amazing find, thanks to Dad. Aaron found them on craigslist and I called right away about them--only a couple years old both ends of the couch recline and the "love seat" is actually two rocking recliners connected!--and he was only asking $500! It was just listed that day. Anyway, I called and he'd already sold them! We were bummed, but what can you do? They're sold. Aaron, the kids and I go for a bike ride. Mom & Dad were here helping us with some projects (this is before we moved). When we got home, Dad was gone. Mom was sleeping so she didn't know where he was. Finally got ahold of him and he was so cryptic about what was going on. He just said he was going to the farm and would explain when he got back. He assured us Grandpa & Grandma were fine but wouldn't say why he suddenly had to go out there. He got back the next evening. He came in (he had taken Seth's pickup) and asked if Seth had insurance. Not a good way to start a conversation. He basically insinuated that he had hit a deer and done some major damage to Seth's pickup. Of course he didn't actually say he'd hit a deer..he just let us make assumptions! I didn't believe him, but out we go to check it out. And there in the back of the pickup are the couches that were already sold! We couldn't believe it!! It wasn't like Dad had already seen them and bought them beforehand. Turns out, after we left for the bike ride, Dad called the guy back and convinced him to sell then to Dad! I guess the other buy hadn't paid or picked them up yet (he was trying to get a trailer). Dad told the seller that he would come right then. He promised to hold them until the next morning. So Dad drove to Dodge City and slept in the pickup!! He went to the guys' house first thing and picked them up. Incredible!

Aaron & I made a deal when we cancelled our cable a few years ago--when we got out of debt and bought a new house, we would get cable again and he could get a flat screen TV. :) I'm not done with the canvases around the TV. I was going to do 5x7's but they're really not big enough and there are no canvases that size! So I need to get 8x10 copies of these prints and make the canvases.

Again, these walls are NOT this orange! Clock 50% off at Hobby Lobby. Amazing Grace sign from Mom. The only thing left for this room is to get a few more crosses for behind the couches and curtains.

Now for the kitchen...

That doorway goes into the dining room. We got a new range and fridge. And it used to have brass knobs (fixtures? drawer pulls?) that I wasn't a fan of...so I got a $4 can of textured spray paint and painted them! New knobs are SO EXPENSIVE! I saved a bundle doing it this way! :) And I decided my kitchen is never going to be perfectly clean more than 5 minutes, so it's not the perfect picture :)

Looking into the TV room. I LOVE having the bar counter there. It's perfect for serving the kids and when I find a highchair (cheap), we'll have enough stools for all of us to sit up there and eat.

I just realized I didn't take a picture of the fridge and pantry. Oh well. Those are to the left of this picture. This goes into the front room and down the hallway to the kids' rooms.

Another great garage sale find!! :) Might change the stickers on it, but I really like it.

Okay, that's it. Except for the outside, I think that's all of our new house!! I'm loving it! :)

(and I'm too tired to proof read this so I apologize for any typos!)

Bathroom Remodel Complete!

2011-10-14T23:56:00.001-05:00

The kids' bathroom remodel is done! Josh did an excellent job! I don't know how much it cost us yet, but the tile was free! I really like it. MUCH better than the linoleum!

The Cloffice

2011-10-13T23:52:00.000-05:00

Since the office area of the house was turned into a school room, with no room to be an office and school room, I was trying to figure out where we could put an office. Thanks to Pintrest, I discovered The Cloffice!! We have a closet by the back door that we didn't really need to use as a closet. We have a good-sized coat closet by the front door, plus a storage bench. So, I decided we should make a cloffice! I liked the white-I knew it would help to make the space feel bigger and not so closed-in. I had plenty of paint left over from our bedroom, so I just used that (it actually matches the hallway pretty closely).

Aaron took out the shelf. It was nailed in! And since Mom & Dad showed up unexpectedly and Dad can't be here without him doing a project, he got to finish it :)

We had a bit of debate (Aaron & I) about what to do for the "desk" part. I wanted to just cut the shelf down and repaint it white, Aaron wanted to get a new piece of wood and stain it. My whole idea was to use what we had and not spend much to create this cloffice. Aaron just really likes the true stained wood look. Well...Dad and I went to the lumber yard to price wood and it was going to be $50 (not to mention it was 4' x 8'!). I convinced Aaron to let me go with the white re-purposed shelf and if he didn't like it, we would go with the stained wood. I keep telling him he should never doubt my decorating sense! ;) I won him over...again.

Aaron went through all his totes of memorabilia and found more than enough to decorate his side of the cloffice!

I got the floating shelves and corner shelves at Lowes (with THE dumbest directions in the world for installation!!!!). Those were the most expensive part of the makeover (maybe $50 for all 5 of them?) I already had all the paint for the desk top and walls.

We used the filing cabinet we've had for years to help hold the desk up and for obvious storage purposes. I just got a $5 can of spray paint and made it white! I also bought some office organizer stuff for maybe $20. All in all, it was less than $100 to create an office out of a closet! We have another chair in storage (at Grandma J's!) to use. And I'll probably keep my eyes open for another wooden chair to replace the roller chair.

I LOVE my cloffice! It turned out so nice! Thanks Dad for doing this!!

Isaac's Room

2011-10-13T22:56:00.001-05:00

I finally got Isaac's room done! It didn't take long, just a matter of getting in there between sleep times and doing it!

His room is animal-themed. Mom got these stickers at a garage sale a couple of years ago! Coincidentally, they match the curtains and the crib set (which was from Jacob).

I moved things around from where we put them to begin with. I felt like the glider was just out in the middle of the room, taking up too much space. I like it a lot better this way. I'm keeping my eyes open for a small side table to put next to the glider (which, by the way, was from a....you guessed it! Garage sale! Looks brand new. I love it).

The shelf above the changing table was made by a friend of Aaron's and given to us as a wedding gift...it's worked very nicely for storing baby stuff! Maybe someday it will make it to a living room :) The canvas painting to the left is one that Seth brought back from Ghana for us! I just have it taped up right now...haven't figured out how I'm going to frame it yet.

Isaac loves the clock (that's what he's pointing to). It also was a wedding gift. It plays music every hour and has clowns that go up and down kind of like a pendulum. He loves the music and kept hollering for more songs! It was funny.

Had to do letters for Isaac, too! :) I was trying to decide what to put on them when I remembered these stickers. Perfect!

These prints I'm going to make into canvases. Loving the "Kissables" black & white collage. Underneath is another Kris Goertzen canvas "For this child I prayed". I didn't think the 2 different shades of green would look very good, but I like it.

My poor baby has "borderline" bronchitis! :( Yesterday evening he started with a nasty, chesty cough (sounds like an asthmatic cough actually) so I took him in today. Thankfully his lungs are clear (it doesn't sound like it from my perspective, but their bodies are so little that it's nearly impossible to tell without a stethoscope.). So hopefully in a few more days, he'll be good as new and back to SLEEPING! Otherwise I don't think I'll survive!

Well, There Goes 10 Years...

2011-10-12T00:53:00.000-05:00

Dad remembered that he hadn't checked on Anna like he had promised. He came back out after a minute and asked,

"Where's your boy?"

"Isn't he in his bed? He was sound asleep when I left his room."

"No, he's not there."

"In the top bunk? Anna's room?"

"No. No."

I figured he was just squished up in the corner under the covers. I go to check it out. No Jacob. I pull the covers off his bed. Nope. I look in the top bunk...not there either. I'm getting mildly concerned. If Jacob wakes up, he comes and finds us right away. And we were all sitting in the TV room the whole time so he hadn't come this way at all. All four of us are searching for him. I looked in his closet, under his bed, all over Anna's room. I'm starting to freak out a little bit on the inside. All I can think of is that the windows are open-someone broke the screen and took him. We've looked everywhere we can think of so Mom and Aaron start looking outside. Suddenly Dad says,

"Here he is!"

GOOD GRAVY!!! This is his and Anna's "secret hiding place"! He had to have been half asleep/sleep-walking. He's never done anything like this before, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I used to sleep walk. At 3, I took a midnight stroll, in the middle of winter with snow on the ground, barefoot in my nightgown. I got stuck between the storm door and front door and woke up screaming. It took them a bit to find me. After we found Jacob, Mom said "now you know how we felt!" Sure, except you could FOLLOW THE SOUND of my crying! Needless to say, we will be dead-bolting the door now-not to keep people out, but to keep Jacob IN! The adventures of parenthood!

Blessed

2011-10-09T03:54:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling beyond blessed tonight (well...this morning). Many reasons. Jacob woke up (scared me half to death) so I took him back to bed where he, of course, requested to play with my hair. I obliged (I'm not sure there's much sweeter than feeling those chubby little hands run through my hair!) but Isaac was screaming and had been for a long time. So when I thought Jacob was asleep, I slipped out of bed. But I knocked my knee of the wood floor and woke him up. I told him I had to take care of Isaac and would be back. I got some cuddle time in with my baby and went back to check on Jacob. He wasn't in his bed so I checked Anna's room. There they were, snuggled up sound asleep and Jacob had his hand in Anna's hair.

I'm beyond blessed to see those two so close, the best of friends.

I'm beyond blessed to have a sweet baby (who is growing too quickly!) that loves to cuddle.

Sometimes I look around our house and it just feels surreal that it's ours. So many people have said something along the lines of "You guys really deserve this!" And part of me agrees wholeheartedly that YES! We DESERVE this house...we waited a long time and we worked really hard to get out of debt so we could afford another house and etc etc etc. But really? We don't deserve anything. But God, in His grace and mercy and love, blessed us with this new house. And I pray that we will use this blessing to bring glory to Him, to spread His love, to be a haven to those He puts in our path.

I'm beyond blessed (those are only a few of the reasons I'm blessed! I could go on and on...). And it's only by God's grace, mercy, and love that I am beyond blessed.

Kids' Bathroom: Before

2011-10-05T13:54:00.000-05:00

I say this a before photo because I think this weekend we're going to put tile down. Lucky for us, the previous owners left plenty of extra tile from the master bathroom! So it will be a fairly inexpensive re-do!! The only thing I've done to it is add the shower curtain and rug. I think I'll also get new knobs for the drawers.

Mom has the coolest fishy bathroom and the kids just love it, so I decided to go with a fishy fishy theme :) No wall decor...not sure if I'll do anything or not.

This cute decal was already here. I love this vanity because it's the perfect height for kids, but there's still the mirror above the sink that's tall enough for adults.

It's a very small bathroom, but since it's not the only one...I don't care! ;) There's a floor to ceiling storage cabinet behind the door that holds a ridiculous amount of blankets and towels.

This little guy is a stinker! He loves playing in the bathroom, which usually amounts to a) trying to get into the toilet (GROSS!) b) trying to dump out any soap bottle he can grab, or c) trying to get in the tub! Speaking of which, I think he's eating a stick right now so I better go! Hopefully by next week I'll have the after pictures, as well as the cloffice pictures!!

Jacob's Very Own Room!

2011-10-05T13:38:00.000-05:00

Finally got another room decorated (for the most part...are you noticing a theme??)

I'll give you three guesses whose room this is...and the first 2 don't count! ;) Once again, Mom and Dad made some awesome garage sale finds for me! (the decal, for one)

I didn't take any before pictures of Jacob's room...I should have. We painted it, with John Deere colors of course! I was wracking my brain trying to come up with a way to paint it those colors without doing the entire walls yellow/green. Thankfully I found this idea online (the stripes). I found the fabric for the curtains at Hobby Lobby. The toy box and stickers, a garage sale find (as well as the pictures...more on those later)!

The top bunk has become the stuffed animals' bed :) I need to get some paper and re-do Jacob's name, but I wanted to get it hung up.

Have to get the black & white collage up! Bookshelf-garage sale. Tool bench-given to Jacob by a neighbor. The roller cabinet thing is where his train stuff is kept. The little peg hanging thing is that picture of the two little farmer boys that says "Been farmin' long?" :)

The birth announcement plate my aunt & uncle got for Jacob (it has his birth date, weight, time, etc "hidden" throughout the nursery room scene). Love it!

Closet door to the right, with another decal Mom found.

No truer words were ever spoken, as far as Jacob is concerned! ;)

When I saw this at Kris's booth, I had to get it for Jacob's room. Talk about perfect!!

Another great garage sale find! I can't remember who the artist is, but Mom found these 2 prints. Perfect for my little farmer boy! :)

Next up, the kids' bathroom before pictures!

Jacob the...Scholar??

2011-10-01T22:05:00.001-05:00

Jacob's enthusiasm for school has waned...dramatically. I'm not really surprised, and I'm not concerned. He won't start kindergarten for 2 more years because his birthday is so late. He knows all his letters and sounds and numbers, can count to at least 30, can write his name with a little help (knows how to spell it), etc etc. So I'm not pushing it and let him decide when he wants to join us (except Bible time...that's mandatory). He does great with his Awana verses! The other day was a day he was more interested in doing school. I think it had more to do with the fact that he didn't want to play by himself than it did with the fact that he actually wanted to do any school! :) He said he wanted to do "coloring school" so he got out his pencil box and Case coloring book and started working (he turned to a maze). I turned back to work with Anna on Phonics and laughed when I looked back at Jacob and saw this...

Silly boy! I guess he needed 3 pencils to do this maze! :)

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Heart Check

2011-09-29T22:55:00.004-05:00

Isaac had his 3rd checkup with his cardiologist this morning. Everything except the hole and murmur are gone. The murmur is barely there-the PA said she had to really concentrate to hear it (a 1 on a scale of 1-6). The hole is still there, but it's smaller than it was last time (6 months ago). So, he's still not "cleared" but Dr. Mo doesn't want to see him for a year! Dr. Mo said everything else about his heart looks great. And obviously, it's not effecting Isaac in any way! :) God is so good!

Isaac Jayden...growing too fast!

2011-09-28T14:06:00.005-05:00

It's been so beautiful outside and I finally grabbed my camera to get some pictures of Isaac. He's changing so quickly and is becoming more little boy than baby! :( He's so very ornery and wants to be right in the middle of everything his big sister and big brother do...including the Wii!! He got so mad this morning that nobody would let him have a controller! He used to be happy with just chewing on the sleeve, but he's observed enough to know that one of those little controllers is the real deal!

He's in 12 month clothes now. I think he's had a growth spurt since his 9 month checkup. He basically went from 6-9 months clothes to 12 month clothes! Yes, that's a piece of pizza he's holding. He polished off 1.5 pieces of pizza at lunch today. He's taking after Jacob!! :)

The other day, I put Isaac on the tractor while I unplugged it for Jacob. He got so excited so I let him sit on it while I "drove" it out to the front yard. He loved it (as my previous post shows!). Now every time he sees the tractor, he starts bouncing and reaches for it. Look out world!

He's not usually so somber, but he was ready for a nap and very distracted watching Jacob drive the tractor! I cannot believe he's almost a year old already :( His sleep is off and on better. For almost a week he slept 9-12 hrs at night and took good 1+ hr naps morning and afternoon. The last couple days...not so much. I'm at a loss since my other two were such good sleepers. More of a schedule would help, but it's also hard to stick to a rigid schedule when you've got 3 little ones and a ton of things going on! This, too, shall pass. I just hope I'm sane by the time it does! ;)

Cutest Brothers Ever :)

2011-09-26T17:49:00.000-05:00

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

One Room Finished...Almost

2011-09-23T21:18:00.004-05:00

I say "almost" because, as you'll see, there are still boxes to be emptied/moved out of the room. But everything that belongs in this room(the dining room and "front room") is put away and it's all decorated except for curtains (haven't decided what to do there yet). I spent all afternoon hanging things by myself...not an easy task with the big, bulky, HEAVY things I had to hang!! But Aaron has been so busy at work that he hasn't had time to do it and it was just driving me crazy not to have it done.
There are no before pictures, because we didn't change the paint or anything. I wasn't really crazy about the color-it's more yellow-toned than brown-toned but once I got the furniture in and everything hung up, I don't think it's too bad.

My Great Grandma's china cabinet that was in our house growing up. It's a little more "retro" than I like but I don't want to ruin its "antiqueness" with refinishing it. I might just replace the handles. I just love having something handed down through the generations.

Our awesome "new to us" couches that Mom found at a garage sale SO CHEAP! They're perfect for this room. (the spots you see are just in the picture) I love, love, love my big picture window!

The entryway and dining room to the left

The dining room. The chandelier and wall sconces were already here-I love them. The table used to be my great-great Aunt's. The mirror I got 50% off at Hobby Lobby!! See the vase in the corner with the twigs in it? I found them out front and thought-hey, perfect! I put it together and Anna said, "Mom, that's not very pretty to me." HA!

I finally have a place to hang this (right as you come in the front door)! I guess I did have it above Isaac's pack-n-play the last few months. But now it's in a spot where everyone will see it.

So, that's the front room and dining room! I'm almost finished with the master bedroom (but not the master bath-still have to paint that!). I did a Paris theme and I LOVE it!

More pics from Ft Worth

2011-09-22T14:55:00.002-05:00

I forgot my camera more than once, so I have some pictures on my phone from our trip.

Waiting for the cattle drive to start. I promise Jacob brushed his teeth that morning! He was drinking a blue Powerade. :)

Oh goodness. I'm pretty sure the name Stinemetz is on the black list for Fairfield Inn!! ha! We had some time between lunch and our next activity...well, let's be honest. It was a bunch of Stinemetzes trying make a decision! And a bunch of restless kids that either needed something to do or needed naps. So Uncle Alan gave them something to do!

No children were harmed in the making of this photograph. ;)

Teresa and Ike found a great train ride. It was $3/person and it was at least 30 minutes! The kids loved it!

Little Asher...what a CUTIE!

We went over 2 bridges, each way, and got to see a ton of turtles sunning on logs.

Of course Jacob, lover of all things Thomas/train, had an absolute blast on the train ride!

Asher loved Isaac and thought it was so hilarious to see him crawl! He wanted to hold Isaac, too...Isaac obliged, for just a moment!

In-N-Out Burger!!! This one hadn't been open very long and it was BUSY! There were no open tables when we got there, people standing everywhere. A booth opened up, but only enough room for the kiddos. So we decided to change our orders to go! I love In-N-Out Burger. It's so good. I told Aaron-it's not like amazing, over-the-top burgers (the fries are pretty good), but they're good and what makes it even better is that their ingredients are fresh, made in each store, AND it's a Christian chain. I wish there was one here!

Mr. Cheeseball! :)

Teaching, Learning, and Adjusting

2011-09-21T23:48:00.002-05:00

No pictures in this post :)
I just wanted to share about our decision to homeschool this year. It was probably one of the hardest decisions we've made. But when God calls you to do something, it's a good idea to follow Him! First and foremost, our decision to do this had absolutely nothing to do with the quality of education our school district offers. We have top-notch teachers, amazing administrators, and an awesome building with top-of-the-line technology. That's part of what made this such a hard decision. Plus, I worked there with all those wonderful people for a couple of years before we had kids! Good grief, I student-taught with the first grade teachers. I learned so much from them-they're incredible teachers! It actually makes me want to cry that Anna won't have them as her teacher.
Homeschooling was not something that Aaron & I even considered until the last 6-12 months. In fact, we were very adamant that we would NOT homeschool! One thing that slowly started changing my opinion was having Anna in school for kindergarten-the attitude she started having, the behaviors she was picking up from the other kids at school, and I'll be honest...it just broke my heart when she would come home and tell me about someone being mean to her. I've been praying for several years that God would show me how I can protect her tender heart. Now, to me personally, there is a very fine balance between protecting our children's innocence and putting them in a bubble. What a hard thing to balance! God calls us, as parents, to protect our children's hearts. Unfortunately, he doesn't lay out exactly how to do that! For some families, it doesn't mean homeschooling. For us, that's what it means. And I'll leave it at that :)
Another factor to our decision was having the flexibility to go where/when we need to go. It was very hard last year not to be able to go when we were needed (whether the stubborn man asked or not!) to Iowa and help. It may sound ridiculous, but it was such a struggle all year long to get Anna up so early for school. She had to be IN BED by 7pm school nights so she could get 12 hrs of sleep. If she didn't, she would get bad headaches, get sick, be a GROUCH. So that's another benefit. Hopefully eventually that part of life will get easier for her. Because, let's face it-she's going to have get up early at some point for something-a job, classes, KIDS! ;)
I was excited to get started and have an actual school room! I haven't missed teaching. At all. I have so enjoyed just being a mom. But let me tell you...when I got the tubs out where all my teaching stuff has been stored for 6+ years...I started getting really excited to teach again! It was so fun to decorate the room and set everything up. And then we started school. And it was a RUDE AWAKENING!! Teaching has always come fairly naturally to me. And it still does. What has never come naturally to me is organization. It has been much harder to teach Anna (and Jacob a bit) than I thought because of ISAAC!! That stinker. He doesn't sleep good. At all. (we're working on that) And when he's awake, he wants to be right there in the middle of everything. Not having a solid hour, at least, of time when he naps makes it really hard to get through much of anything without interruptions! So we're still trying figure out the timing of what will work best, but Anna and Jacob are loving it. I texted Aaron the other day "This homeschooling gig is tough!" A lack of sleep, not having the house completely unpacked (which means there are things missing, boxes here and there, things just not feeling "settled", messes!), a non-napping baby have made things a bit stressful but we'll figure it out. If I wasn't so sure that God has called us to this, I would have enrolled Anna in school 2 weeks ago! What's that saying...If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it? That is, without a doubt, the case here!
So, speaking of sleep deprivation, I should go to bed. I don't know if any of this will make sense, but I wanted to share our journey and how it started. Good night!

10 Months

2011-09-21T09:45:00.000-05:00

I can't believe Isaac is 10 months already (seems like I say that every time I post one of these!). I'm not ready for my baby to be ONE yet!!
Isaac, you are sass and sweet all rolled into one. Your lack of sleeping is not agreeing with Mama and Daddy!! We need to get on the same page...rather, YOU need to get on OUR page! You just go, go, go and don't want to slow down, let alone sleep! I should probably be better about keeping you to more of a schedule...I don't like chaos!
Other than your awful sleeping habits, you are an absolute delight. You love to talk to anyone who will listen. You rarely say Mama even though I know you can! I think you already try to talk in whole sentences. You can say good and sometimes when I ask you a question, you just start rattling off your "answer"! You really like the remote (already!). You're starting to pretend things are a phone and hold them up to your (or my) ear and talk. You still prefer the "Army Crawl" but you'll crawl on a foot, knee, and hands sometimes. You like to eat grass and sticks and pretty much anything you can find outside. And if there is ONE TINY piece of paper on the floor in the entire house, you'll find it. You still love watching Anna and Jacob, but now you try more to get in the middle of what they're playing. They don't always like that! You are a Mama's Boy, big time, right now. You quit eating baby food a couple months ago. You LOVE to eat!! The other night I was sharing my grilled chicken sandwich with you and you ate that chicken up as fast as I could put it in front of you! You have 6 teeth (4 top, 2 bottom) but I think some more are starting to come in. With your bulk cloth diapers, most of your one-piece clothes are 12 months.
You've had a couple of ear infections, which hasn't helped with your bad sleeping habits. You seem to get them every time you get new teeth.
You are still on the go go go. Nothing is safe from your Go-Go-Gadget arms!
You LOVE baths. When we were in Texas, you would crawl into the bathroom, stand up at the tub and try to pull your clothes off. You would also try to get your leg up to climb in, all while jabbering away at me!
Everyone comments on what a beautiful, happy baby you are and well...I just can't help but agree!

I really hope I get all the way unpacked soon so I can take some good pictures of you. But for now, this is what I walked in to see the other day. You three are best buds!

Isaac has a Rough Life!

2011-09-20T17:58:00.000-05:00

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

The Stockyards

2011-09-18T23:55:00.008-05:00

If you ever visit Fort Worth, I highly suggest visiting the Stockyards! It is so neat and lots of fun for everyone!! They have twice daily cattle drives, so Saturday we made our way down there to catch it. Let's just say I don't like Sally anymore! (Sally is what Scott named our GPS. hehe) In her defense, I'm sure she needs an update. Anyway, for several reasons, we were late for the cattle drive. We did walk around and went to the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and Anna had her first field trip (impromptu as it was!). It was actually really interesting...even Aaron liked it. Jacob had a hard time keeping his hands off all the wagon/carriage wheels, though!
So before we left on Sunday, we tried again. We made it in plenty of time...I had the time 30 minutes early! So we took advantage of the extra time and relative emptiness to let the kids explore and have fun.

Daddy gave Anna her pick of anything in the stores...new cowgirl hat, new shirt, new hat, new hat...and what does she pick? ANOTHER little horse! :) I shoulda known!! This one she named Callie and she came in a super cute little purse. (Isaac scratched her on the nose...ouch!)

In what used to be the cattle yard at the railroad, there are now shops, restaurants, and kiddie rides! Only a quarter each! :)

Yeehaw!!!!!

Poor Isaac. He didn't get a whole lot of good sleep on this trip between being in the same room as all the rest of us and his few-and-far-between naps getting interrupted. But he was still usually in such a good mood. Such a good baby!

Before the cattle drive started, the cowboys were hanging around visiting with people. One of them we talked to (his horse's name was Charlie) said they only have one of the original steer from 1999 when they started doing the drive! There were about 15 steer in the drive that was about 1 city block long.

You could tell these dudes have done this a few times.

It was such a fun experience! This was our first real family vacation and it was a blast!! Laid back, not a lot of scheduled plans...it was fun.

Maverick's Supreme Extreme Makeover

2011-09-16T13:54:00.007-05:00

Oh boy...it's a little crazy taking a vacation with so many little ones!! But it's been so much fun! We're still trying to catch up on sleep...we all took a several-hours' long nap today.
Maverick struggled to perform. He was nervous and just kind of distracted by everything around him. He placed fairly low in both rounds yesterday and didn't do great on the cow horse round today. We won't find out for sure until morning what his score is for this round, but we're fairly certain he's not in the top 20, therefore won't be in the finals tomorrow night. Which is kind of a bummer because we wanted to see Scott's final show with the Top Gun theme!! :)
Anna has, not surprisingly, been having the time of her life. She thinks Maverick has done GREAT! "I'm so proud of Maverick!" she says. We're so proud of Maverick and Scott!!!

Watching Scott and Maverick practice.

Working Maverick between rounds.

Aaron made the comment that he was probably the only person in attendance wearing Birkenstocks. Amy pointed out that she was wearing sandals, too. :)

Checking out the vendors at the arena.

I finally retired Anna's green boots. They were SO HARD to get on! But, these are still CUTE with pink this time. :)

Jacob was wearing his jeans and boots, but after naps he said he was too hot with jeans on (it was all of 75*!).

This cutie pie has done really good. He loves the sling and I always chuckle to myself at the looks I get when he's in it.

She would have sat out there all day watching the horses.

Of course I couldn't get her to pose normally! Silly goose.

No one is surprised that this one wouldn't pose normally!!

Playing hide-n-seek with Uncle Alan.

Maverick and Anna already have a special bond (have since practically day one). He's never turned away from her and you can just tell that he really loves her already.

Cousins, cousins everywhere! It's been fun seeing all the little cousins (2nd cousins) play together. Lots of little ones!! This is sweet, sweet Addison.

Unbeknownst to Scott, Anna had a dream just a couple nights ago that she got to ride Maverick bare-back with no bridle!! Scott has definitely secured his top spot in Anna's heart!

Jacob now thinks he needs his own horse. He asked Scott, "Tan I have one of yuh howses??"

Oh goodness...Little Miss Priss! Leah showing off her birthday bling! :)

I think Addison decided it was either laugh or cry...she wasn't too sure about being up on Maverick!

It's been such a fun vacation so far! Can't wait for the rest of the adventures! Win or lose, we don't care...we've given God the glory and are having a great time with family, making memories!

On the Road Again

2011-09-14T22:35:00.000-05:00

I've got that song stuck in my head for 2 reasons...we've been listening to Willie Nelson for 2+ hours and well, we're on the road again! Aaron had too much work to do to take today off, so we didn't leave until 6:30pm for Texas. Yep...Maverick's competition is this weekend!! Anna is super excited and thus, so is Jacob. He says "We goin' ta Texas?!?!" :)
So I had all day (aside from school) to pack and wouldn't ya know it, Isaac didn't cooperate. At all. Lovely. But I got all the laundry done, suitcases packed, food packed, and most importantly...boots packed! I'm sad that Anna's super cute teal green boots have run their course. It took a pulley system to get those cute things on her feet. BUT, she does have some super cute brown & pink ones now.
The kids played outside while I cleaned out the van. Isaac tried to eat every leaf and stick (yes, sticks) in site and had no problem army crawling down the SIDEWALK! So I finally put him in the driver's seat. He loved that. Jacob, of course, rode his tractor. He and Anna chased each other around.
So I bathed the kids before we left & put them in their jammies...in hopes that come dark they would all just fall asleep and stay that way for the rest of the trip (and after we get to the hotel of course!). I think God was having a good laugh. The first 2.5 hours were filled with at least one child screaming/crying. Fun times!! Anna had to bring her sleep mask (heaven help me when that child is a teenager!!) and then built a 'tent' over her so she could sleep. Jacob, of course, had to have one, too. Now, dare I say they're all sleeping!? 4 hours down, 2.5 to go. It's going to be an early morning tomorrow!
Aunt Cara, I hope these pics cheer you up and help you feel at least a little better!

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Well...

2011-09-09T22:31:00.002-05:00

My new computer is here! And I got so excited and got my camera to empty my camera card...and it's not in my camera! I vaguely remember putting it somewhere before we moved but I have no idea what box it ended up in! And the office stuff is still in boxes. *sigh*
We're slowly getting more unpacked. I keep thinking the school room is finally done and then I remember something else I have packed away in a box that I could use. Which always leads to more books coming out. Which leads to needing more room! But it's working. Next up is the cloffice :) Then it will just be hanging up pictures and such. Most importantly, we have the TV and Wii set up and running...so Kim, you and your hubby can go on a date! ;)

A Ride for Everyone!!

2011-09-07T16:24:00.002-05:00

Contrary to what this looks like, Isaac is not trying to crawl out of the trailer! He was super tired so he just kind of laid/sat forward like this and was totally mesmerized. He LOVED riding and Anna (who dumped Jacob out of the trailer the night he got the tractor!) was super careful with her driving...it was funny. Jacob was ready for Isaac to get out of the trailer so he could drive and go FAST! He's completely over his fear of driving his tractor.

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

She's Ready for Texas!

2011-09-03T21:03:00.001-05:00

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Anna's room

2011-09-02T16:26:00.001-05:00

We've got Anna's room DONE! It helps that 1) we didn't have to paint it and 2) she was organizing and putting away as soon as she had boxes in there! She is absolutely relishing having her own room. Most of the time, her door is SHUT :) There have been a couple nights that she's had trouble sleeping because she's "lonely" but for the most part, she's done fine sleeping. Sorry for the poor picture quality...our new computer should be here next week so I'll be able to empty my camera's card and start taking REAL pictures!

Just inside her door-Aunt Cara made this for her when she was born!

Yes, she has a queen bed. When we have overnight company, she has to give up her room and sleep in the bunk beds with Jacob again (until Isaac is out of a crib, then we'll put the boys together and use Isaac's room as a guest room). Curtains are next up on the list...she got a couple of fuzzy lime green ones, but they aren't enough to cover all the windows, so for now I have the blackout curtains up with the not-working shades.

Her very own bookshelf...or should I say toy shelf?? She organized all of this completely on her own.

Her clothes cubby/dresser is in her closet. Of course if there's an empty, flat surface she's going to "decorate" it! :)

I didn't realize I hadn't gotten a full picture of the words on the wall...they were already there! "All you need is a little faith, love, and pixie dust"

Mom found these decals for her. Perfect :)

Her closet door. We put their nice, wooden toy box at the foot of her bed.

"So everyone knows a Cowgirl lives here" :) And a little Kris Goertzen art "You are precious in God's eyes"

The school room is almost done and so is Jacob's. I need to get decor for the master suite and Isaac's room, then it's mostly just hanging what we've already got in the family room, living room, and kitchen! Whew!!! Oh, and we're turning one of the large hall closets into a closet office! :) We are absolutely loving all the space and OUR OWN ROOMS!!!

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Not quite used to their own beds...

2011-08-30T00:07:00.001-05:00

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Papa's "helpers

2011-08-27T08:35:00.001-05:00

We got almost everything moved...now to unpack and settle in!

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

That Nose

2011-07-22T13:27:00.002-05:00

All my kids have had the same nose as babies...cute as a lil' button! Recently, Isaac has started making a particular face, scrunching up his lil' button nose. It's hilarious and adorable all at once. What makes it even cuter is the "huffing" he does when he makes this face!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

I'm Alive...Barely

2011-07-19T22:51:00.003-05:00

I have so much posting to catch up on, but blogging is the last thing I have time for right now. We bought a bigger house!!!!! It's been a looooong time coming, but we're so excited. It's not the dream house, but I love it anyway! More than twice as much room-I'll be able to breathe! Still in town, just a few blocks away, actually. 4 bedrooms plus an office, 2 bathrooms (yahoo!!), 2 living rooms, great kitchen, dining room, 1 car attached garage, and a fenced back yard! We close August 25th, so in the meantime, I'm trying to pack up as much as I can so this house is much less "cluttered" (man, we've got a lot of STUFF!) so we can show it and hopefully sell it! We had planned on doing all the "finishing up" projects after we move, but a couple of people have already been asking about it, so we moved that timeline up a bit! It's a madhouse around here...I'm drowning in boxes and displaced stuff! :)

So that's why I'm not around bloggy-world much and probably won't be for another month! :( but :)

A Dream Come True

2011-07-08T01:22:00.004-05:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Anna has been asking for an American Girl doll for a long time. Lucky for her, Uncle Windell spoils my kids rotten! She got the one she's "been dreaming of" for her birthday! I told Windell I would post a video of her opening it. I'm miffed because I ran out of memory right when she realized what it was in the box!!! ARGH!!!!! Notice right after Aaron pulls the doll box out, she hugs it! :-) She has been in heaven all evening and has been lecturing Jacob about not playing with it unless she says he can and how she has to take very special care of Graci (what she named the doll). So cute. THANK YOU Uncle Windell for such a generous gift!! She is beyond delighted. But, you've created a monster...she was telling Aaron tonight that she needs some pajamas for Graci because "I thought about just putting her to bed in her underwear, but I don't hardly ever sleep in my underwear, and I don't sleep in my clothes either, so she needs some pajamas to wear to bed just like me." HA! Thankfully she doesn't know there are outfits for HER that match the doll's outfits!

The Things He Says

2011-07-07T17:22:00.002-05:00

It's been proven to me several times recently that Jacob just doesn't hear/understand/get most of what I "lecture" him about when he's in trouble. Case in point...

I found him standing on Anna's guitar. I made him sit in timeout and then talked to him about it. This is exactly what I said:

Jacob, you do NOT stand on the guitar. You need to take care of your toys. You don't stand on them or throw them. You take care of them so they don't break. If you can't take care of your toys, I'll have to take them away and then you won't have anything to play with.

Jacob's response was the required "Yes, Mama."

Here's the kicker...when I ask him,

Jacob, what did I just say?

His answer? Telling...

Not ta 'tand on da guitaw and play wif my big toe.

I'm sorry, WHAT?!

So I ask again. And he says again,

Not ta 'tand on da guitaw and play wif my big toe.

So I simplify my lecture.

Jacob, you may NOT stand on the guitar.

Yes, Mama.

Jacob, what did I just say?

Not ta 'tand on da guitaw and play wif my big toe.

Am I missing something here?!?

Same story from last week. I was telling the kids that when they play on the bed with Isaac, they have to be very careful because Isaac will crawl right off the bed. I can't remember Jacob's answer but it was nowhere near what I had said. BOYS!!!

My Baby Girl is SIX!

2011-07-07T00:26:00.007-05:00

Anna decided that she wanted to go to Hedrick's Exotic Animal Farm for her birthday. The problem became the guest list! She wanted to invite everyone. We settled on 3 friends and of course Jacob. So we had (read carefully!) Anna, Jacob, Ella, Jake, and Anna!!! The tour guide was a bit confused when she asked their names!

Feeding the giraffes!!

I love Jake's face!

Are arranged marriages really so bad??? ;)

It was miserably hot the day we went, but the kids didn't complain. They had so much fun seeing, petting, and feeding the animals! We stopped for drinks and ice cream on our way home and then they begged to play at the house some more...in the sprinkler! I managed to come up with enough swim suits for everyone.

Anna, you challenge me every day as a mother. Whether it's with your gentle spirit and soft heart, or with your fiery temper and sharp tongue. You can flip from compliant to defiant in .2 seconds! (which makes me a bit nervous about your teenage years!) But you always have a soft spot for your brothers. When Jacob was sobbing over letting our turtles go in the lake, you cried with him because you felt bad for him. When Isaac is fussy and crying (always when I'm trying to get something done!), you'll try to comfort him and if that doesn't work, you bring him to me and tell me, "He's fussy Mama. He just wants you." You don't like to see him unhappy.
My favorite thing about this year (okay, I can't pick just one!)...your love for horses and getting your very own horse! I absolutely love seeing your passion for horses and am absolutely amazed to see your trust and calmness around Maverick. It's been a joy to watch and I can't wait for your party when you get your present from Daddy and me!
Anna, I pray you never lose your tender heart and sensitive spirit. I hope you'll always want to cuddle, no matter how big you get! I pray that one day you accept Jesus as your Savior and spend the rest of your life pursuing His will for your life. I can't wait to see where He takes you! I love you more than you could ever know Anna Rose. I love you the most!

A Mover and A Shaker

2011-07-01T13:46:00.002-05:00

I'm a little late on Isaac's 7 month update. I've been busy and HE is part of the reason! He was active in my belly (my most active by far!) and he hasn't slowed down since.

Isaac, in the past month you have reached many milestones! You got your first two teeth, made a trip to Iowa AND Colorado, saw your first harvest, started crawling and started pulling yourself up to stand!!! You also started saying Anna (and seem to know it's for her), Mama, and Papa.
You were a great traveler. The trip to Iowa was just me and all you kiddos, so it was a bit lengthy but we made it! You charmed all the family in Colorado. When we went to the farm and Aunt Cara's (7 months 1 week), you started army crawling!! That's at least a month ahead of when Anna and Jacob did. We got home a couple days later and within a day you were crawling all over the house! For the most part, you like to stay where all the action is, but sometimes you wander off on your own and explore. I need to do more baby-proofing (and keep the floors much, much cleaner)!!! We had to take the bassinet level out of your Pack'N'Play because you started pulling yourself up to stand in there! And if someone holds your hands and pulls you up to stand, you take off walking right away. I'm not ready for so much mobility yet!!!
You had fun at harvest. You preferred to be wiggling around, which made it very hard on Mama to hold you in the confines of a tractor! But when we got in the combine and you zoned in on that reel going 'round and 'round you seriously were sound asleep in less than a minute! And you slept the whole 2 hours we were on there. I think that might be a bit too expensive to buy as a "nap machine"! :)
Let's see...you do NOT like yogurt. I think your favorite fruit is banana and veggie is avocado. I don't think you've tried any new food since last month.
My brain is fried and I can't see where you crawled to so I better go! :) You're a joy, a delight, intent, and ACTIVE! We love you so much Isaac Jayden!

(here's a video of you "jumping" on the bed with Anna and Jacob, and of you crawling after a balloon)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Nine Years?!

2011-06-30T10:25:00.004-05:00

I cannot believe it's been nine years since we got married. I'm not old enough for that, am I?!?
Time has gone by so quickly. So much has changed...mainly three little ones that call us "Mama" and "Daddy"! Life looks much different now than it did nine years ago when we said "I do", but it's a good different. There have been hard times, fun times, sad times, and happy times. I've learned a lot about being a wife, but I have so much farther to go. We've both grown and we both have growing still to do. I think I've heard that the first 10 years of marriage are the hardest...I would have to agree! Think of all the adjustments you have to make: learning to live with someone else (not as easy as it sounds!), starting a family (WOW what an adjustment! It's easy to lose sight of each other when you have the tremendous task of raising up little ones), job changes and moves, you name it--they're all major life adjustments. I remember being asked for our wedding video "Where do you see yourselves in 10 years?" I think the answer was vague and generic..."with a family, living in a nice house, enjoying life." Aaron might have even thrown in a white picket fence! :)
We were in Colorado the weekend before our anniversary, so we reserved Grandpa & Grandma's Babysitting Service and went out to celebrate. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was so nice to just be with each other, uninterrupted by little questions or needs or cries!

The raging River in Estes Park. We ate along the river on the patio. It was perfect weather and gorgeous scenery (both across the table from me and beyond).

We saw an almost-full moon on the way back to the house.

Nine years baby! Wow.

This about scared me outta my wits! Humdrum for native boy, but I'll never get used to seeing these huge beasts alongside the road!

Here's to many, many more years celebrating us, honey! I love you with all my heart.

Summertime Deliciousness

2011-06-29T17:32:00.003-05:00

In light of my last post, here is a delicious smoothie recipe from Jamie Oliver's website! It has been kid-tested and approved in my house! Even after Jacob took a taste of the plain yogurt!!

Fruit Smoothies
1 ripe banana
1 c frozen (or fresh) fruit (mango, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry)
2 heaped Tbs plain yogurt
1/4 c quick oats (NOT instant)
1 cup 1% milk, soy milk, or apple juice
5 ice cubes
Slice banana and berries (if necessary), put in blender and add yogurt. "Whiz it up" as Jamie says. Add oats and blend some more. Add milk (1% or soy) or juice and ice cubes and blend until smooth. If it's too thick, add a bit more milk or juice.

The oats help make this a bit more filling and the fruit makes it nice and sweet. Plus you can make it year round using frozen fruit, and not compromise on taste or quality since the frozen fruit is picked at its prime. My kids loved it. I did double the recipe and ended up adding 3 bananas and a whole carton of fresh strawberries. It made plenty for all 4 of us and then some!! Next up is his recipe for Yogurt Pops!

Growth and Revolution

2011-06-26T23:52:00.004-05:00

I have a lot of picture posts to do (anniversary, birthday, 7 month update), but I haven't had time to download the pictures yet.
Some changing has been going on around our house for the last several months. With all of Mom's health issues and the research Dad has been doing and the things I've been learning, I have started really taking note of what we eat. Maybe I just haven't "gotten" it before, maybe the people I heard from weren't explaining it (more finger-shaking than teaching). I don't know. But a combination of things has caused me to look more closely at this area of our lives. Dad has been a great source of research for me...I don't know how he has time to learn all that he does with all he does, but he learns and he shares. He doesn't lecture (I can't believe I'm saying that! ha), he shares. And to me, I think that's the greatest way to educate someone. I stumbled across a show on hulu last night, "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" (he focuses on school food for the most part). I think the reason I like it so much is the way he teaches these kids and families about nutrition and food. He doesn't rage and rant about organic food. He's passionate about healthy eating and shares how to eat healthier. He makes the point that these kids aren't taught in school anymore about nutrition or cooking. Home Ec was a REQUIRED class when I was in high school. I don't even know if they have Home Ec anymore, let alone require it.
So, what am I doing about it? I look at my family history and I see the health problems that are trickling down through the generations...obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, high cholesterol. It scares me! Aaron loves salads and vegetables. He'll snack on lettuce for Pete's sake! I like them, too but if I have a choice I'd prefer chips or chocolate to snack on. I believe it's a mix of learned habits and genetics. Aaron grew up snacking on carrots and celery on road trips. I had candy bars and pop. I'm not saying my parents are bad for letting me have those (honestly, I don't remember as a little kid what we had, but I know when I was in high school that's what I had). But then I look at my kids and I see genetics playing a bigger part of it. Anna and Jacob started out eating the exact same things-when they started baby food, it was fruit and veggies, table food-same thing. They were both offered and made to eat vegetables. Jacob never liked them much. Anna always did. Good grief, she would eat a salad at 2 yrs old! I kept offering Jacob the same vegetables over and over. I always made him eat veggies. He'll eat broccoli, carrots, corn, green beans...but he doesn't usually ask for seconds and he sure won't ask for them as a snack. Anna does. He will however ask for seconds of anything sweet and he would drink pop all day, every day if I let him. They're both allowed to drink pop (not so much any more though!), but Anna will usually ask for milk or water instead. So I look at those two and I see that some of it has to be genetic. That doesn't mean I'm going to give in and let him have all the sweets he wants and none of the vegetables. It just means healthy eating is going to be harder for him, just like it is for me.
The more I learn about nutrition and the things that are allowed by the USDA, the more shocked I am. And the more it makes me want even better for my children. Did you know that some ground beef can be made with renderings from beef (that are usually used for dog food) "washed" with an ammonia solution?! And that the USDA doesn't require that to be listed on the label??
Did you know the shellac (shiny, hard shell) on candy comes from the secretions of a bug?! Seriously...

"This coating is not vegan and most likely not vegetarian either as it may, and probably does, contain crushed insects."

Is that not disturbing?

Eating organic/natural can be pretty expensive. Which is why America is having an obesity epidemic! When it's cheaper to buy a hamburger washed in ammonia than it is to buy a pound of organic apples...what do we expect? The grocery budget is usually at the top of the list for the chopping block when you try to cut back. Believe me, I know about cutting back expenses! There is literally no other area that we can cut back in besides food. I have noticed that the price of organic food has come down a little bit. And it's more available than it was a couple years ago. Our store in town has a FEW organic items. WalMart is carrying more and more. The Dillons in Hutch carries a lot of organic, especially produce. Another way I can save money is with my garden. I wish I had a bigger one, but this year I've got 12 tomato plants, 6 pepper plants, green beans, 2 cucumbers, and 4 zucchini plants (all for just $12!). I want to be able to plant potatoes, onions, carrots, cantaloupe, watermelon, and strawberries and have some blueberry and raspberry bushes along with fruit trees. That's the dream anyway! ;) There is also an organic farm (Jako, Inc.) nearby where I can get grass-fed beef, cage-free chicken, and organic produce. I was talking to a friend several months ago and she made an astute observation...if you try to go "organic" all at once, in everything, you'll go broke and you'll "fizz out". Do a little at a time until you eventually get there. For me, there are 3 main things that I want to avoid right away-high fructose corn syrup (which is HARD! It's in practically everything!!), non-organic beef and chicken, and candy/sweets. The first two will be expensive but the last one is simply a matter of not buying pop and candy. Although WalMart does carry cage-free chicken that isn't much more than the Tyson chicken. And there's a local farm that has great eggs for $1.50/dozen.
So we're on a journey to healthier eating. I'm so glad that Aaron is 100% supportive and encouraging. The more I learn, the more I want to share and the more I want to change. It doesn't make you a bad person if you don't buy organic fruit for your kids. It doesn't make you stupid if you don't know about these things. But I do think it's important to know where our food comes from and to be more aware of what we put into our bodies. We can say "Well, my parents/grandparents ate this and they're fine!" but the real problem is a generation or two away. Look at the kids in school today and you'll see the health problems that are usually prevalent in adults. I think most of that has to do with our unhealthy eating habits-at home and in schools.
Anyway, I hope this makes some sense and maybe educates someone just a little bit. I'll still be your friend if you let my kids drink a pop when they're at your house or eat plain ol' potato chips! ;) I'm not an organic snob. :)

Cranky McCrankerton

2011-06-24T21:40:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty sure his top teeth are coming in...otherwise my normally sweet, content, happy baby is now a crabby, clingy, fussy baby! The way he chomps on anything hard that comes close to his mouth, I'm guessing it's his teeth (not to mention even worse sleeping at night!).

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Extreme Mustang Makover 2011 Ft. Collins

2011-06-14T16:52:00.009-05:00

As you can tell from the previous videos, we went to Scott's Extreme Mustang Makeover competition in Ft. Collins last weekend. We were in Colorado anyway for Great Grandma's birthday, so we made a day out of it on Saturday.

The way these competitions work, the trainers draw a wild mustang (they don't get to choose). They then have 90 days to train the mustang. The competition includes reigning (taking your horse through patterns, changing leads, planted turns, etc), horsemanship (how well you can handle/train your horse), and a working cow horse (boxing a calf at one end of the arena).

The competitions are 3 days long. We only went on Saturday, so we saw the reigning class and the working cow horse class, along with the finals. To see what some of these trainers were able to do with a WILD MUSTANG in just 30 days was nothing short of amazing.

Jacob did pretty good for a 3 year old boy! :) It was pretty boring in between events and for a boy that's not really into horse things, he was pretty patient. He stayed for several hours, then Grandpa & Grandma took him back to Great Grandma's house to play with his tractors and soak up all that undivided attention. :)

Titus was a dominant horse in his pack, so that made training a bit challenging (he kicked Scott several times). Scott really didn't think he would do very good, but Titus was very calm for most of the weekend. He did a great job.

Yes, my husband wore jean shorts and sandals. I just shook my head when he came upstairs that morning. :) Anna insisted on wearing her bandanna from VBS. She was just in heaven all day.

She comes by her love for horses honestly.

Shawnda, you're going to kill me but this is what you get for 1) taking horrible, unflattering pictures of me and 2) for posing like this! haha!! My cousins came up from Denver to cheer on Scott and Titus, too.

The Mustang Riders of Northern Colorado came out and did a little show for us. It was really cool to watch!

Ready to ride.

Scott and Titus.

One beautiful, spunky horse...full of energy and athleticism.

Titus was HIP #35...so we always had to wait through the other 34 riders before Scott & Titus performed.

Talking shop with another trainer.

The Mustang Riders of Northern Colorado.

Waiting, waiting...

and still waiting...

Scott easily made it into the top 10 (out of about 40 horses).

Announcing the Top 10 Finalists.

Isaac had fun watching, too! When he wasn't napping, that is. :)

Alan came out with Scott and helped get things ready and get the tire and teeter-totter out in the arena for his final show.

Miss Anna being silly in front of Titus's stall.

Nate, Ange and Isabel (or Shawnda, Jr)...it was so great of them to come up and support Scott. And it's always fun to hang out with them, whether it's at a race, the house, or a horse competition!

Aaron was a MESS during the competition! He was so nervous and he didn't even have a stake in the thing! I told him he better get it under control or when we take Maverick to the one in Texas, I'm going to ban him to the hotel with Jacob and Isaac!! He had to go outside at one point and said he even had to lay down on the sidewalk because he was so worked up his heart was racing! He's crazy.

Cousins! Ange, Scott, and Shawnda.

Titus with all his ribbons. He got 3rd place overall (excellent job Scott & Titus!!!!), first place in the working cow horse class, and 2nd place in the reigning class.

It was such a great experience and I'm so proud of how Scott handles himself and his horses. He uses every opportunity he can to give God the glory and shine the light on Him, not on himself. He had so many people ask him about his Ranch and how he uses horses in therapy. He takes every opportunity to talk about his faith. We're all so excited to see how Maverick does! I'm planning on taking the kids over tomorrow to visit. Scott said he rode him for the first time today and he bucked for an HOUR! :) He said it's a good thing he's got 3 more months to work with him!

I Took the Plunge

2011-06-14T09:54:00.004-05:00

I started cloth-diapering a few weeks ago. I actually looked into doing it before Isaac was born, but it was just too expensive at $20-30 a diaper and the people I talked to said it wouldn't be very cost-effective for just one baby. But every month I spent $40+ on diapers, I found myself wishing I could find some less expensive cloth diapers. (In case you haven't gathered already, the only reason I was thinking about it was to save money). Over Memorial Weekend, Mom and I went to some garage sales (have I ever mentioned that they have THE best garage sales up there?!) and I found a couple of cloth diapers for super cheap. I thought this would be a cheap way to see if it is even worth the effort/expense. So I picked up 2 cloth diapers (a bumgenius and rump-a-rooz) with 2 inserts each, a box of diaper detergent, and a big wet bag for about $13. Good deals! I discovered it wasn't so horrible and the laundry part didn't even factor in...I do at least a load every day anyway! I did some research, talked to a few people who already cloth-diaper, and found some great diapers for only $8-10 each! I also did some calculating and figured up that a stash of about 20 diapers would be enough and that they would pay for themselves within 5 months or so. And over the next 2.5 years (I have no hopes of Isaac potty-training any faster than Jacob did!), cloth-diapering will save us at least $1500! That sold Aaron (after some convincing that he wouldn't have to deal with more than a few poopy diapers). So I went to GoGreen Pocket Diapers and ordered 12 diapers (she was out of stock on some so I don't have my full stash yet).

Let me just say that cloth-diapering is not what it used to be! No pins, no plastic covers...they are practically as easy to put on as a disposable. Actually, the 2 I got at the garage sale are velcro so they're a lot like disposables. And aren't they cute?! :) These are pocket diapers, which means there is a "pocket" where you put an insert (as opposed to just being a cover with an insert). I've found them to be very absorbent. I've only had a couple of leaks, one was because I didn't wash them before I used them and the other was a poop blowout leak-thru (it didn't blow out of the diaper, but he must have been sitting in it for a while because it soaked through the diaper). And all I have to do is pull the insert out, throw it all into my wet bag and wash them at the end of the day (or the next day). Now, washing is one of those things that you'll find a ton of differing opinions about. I went with the advice from my friend that's been cloth-diapering for 5+ years...she just uses All Free & Clear and line dries them. She doesn't do an extra rinse except maybe once a month. I've found that unless I've got some soaked poo diapers, I don't need any extra rinsing (before or after). And since Isaac is starting on more solids, his dirty diapers aren't too messy. Also, these diapers are All In One, which means that they will fit Isaac until he's out of diapers. All those snaps make it very adjustable from newborn to size 6 diapers.

When my Dad heard Cassie was using cloth diapers and that I wanted to, he thought we were crazy. But that's because he was thinking of the cloth diapers they used when I was a baby...pins and plastic covers!

There is quite a bit of padding down there! But he's awfully cute!! :)

So I guess if you're considering cloth-diapering but are held back by the expense or by the fear of it being too messy...don't be! It's easy and doesn't have to be expensive. Go to GoGreen Pocket Diapers and get a stash for $200 that will pay for itself in months.

Top 10 Finals

2011-06-13T23:46:00.002-05:00

Here's the final video of Scott's competition. As you can see, he did phenomenal! It was so exciting to be a part of this and Anna absolutely loved it. We were there for 8+ hours and she never once complained or asked to go. She is a cowgirl! We can't wait for Texas and Maverick's competition!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mustang Makeover Videos

2011-06-13T00:29:00.002-05:00

It's late, I can't remember which ones I downloaded here, Isaac is crying. SO...this is part of Scott's competition this weekend. He was phenomenal! (Okay, these are from the two classes on Saturday afternoon...I think it was the reigning and cow-working)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Double Trouble

2011-06-13T00:16:00.003-05:00

I'm so slow with these, but that's what happens when you're without a reliable computer!

Memorial Weekend, we celebrated Binga's birthday...and FINALLY got to meet Tate!!! He and Isaac are only a day apart, but Tate was born 9 weeks early. You certainly can't tell in these pictures that he's a preemie! He's a chunk!!! I have a feeling he and Isaac will be getting in plenty of trouble together in another couple of years...

Tate: Who is that lady and why is she pointing that camera at me?!

Isaac: Hey Mama, lemme show Tate how that works!

Tate: Ohhh, this is Aunt Jenni...Daddy's been telling me about her and how I should always give her a hard time. This is gonna be fun! Hehehe!!!

Isaac: Hmm...that could be fun. What did you have in mind?

Tate: Listen carefully..*whispering*

Isaac: Oh boy...I don't know about that buddy.

Tate: hahaha! What do you think Papa? Can we pull it off??

To be continued.....

Trip to Papa & Binga's

2011-05-28T21:45:00.001-05:00

Anna got out of school on Tuesday. It was a CRAZY day. I got absolutely nothing done besides running back and forth and sitting out bad weather. I had planned to do laundry and get packed so we could leave on Wednesday. That plan got shot! But Aaron said "If laundry is the only reason you're staying home another day...you can do that up there!" Good point. So I decided to surprise them and not tell them we were coming early. :) One thing I failed to do was check the forecast for places along the way! Dad emailed when I was about 20 miles west of Topeka and said there was a tornado south of Kansas City. YIKES!!!

This is actually just north of Bethany, after I drove through a torrential downpour. But after Dad's email, I called Aaron and turned the radio to a weather station...where I heard there was tornado warning for right where I was headed! He told me to stop somewhere in Topeka and wait it out for 30 minutes or so since the storm was weakening the farther north it went.

So I found an Orscheln's!

Of course you know Jacob found this right away! Anna found a sparkly cowgirl belt. I'm pretty sure she'll be getting a new cowgirl outfit for her birthday!

Daddy requested pictures and believe it or not, I hadn't taken any (it was only the next morning!). So the kids obliged and posed for pictures.

A pose all her own.

It's nearly impossible to get a clear picture of Isaac with my phone...he moves too much. All. the. time.

Isaac likes Binga's washer and dryer, too! He's not nearly as fascinated as Jacob, but then again...no one is!

Binga and I hit the jackpot at some garage sales on Thursday! She got this great toy for Isaac and Tate for $10! They both love it.

I found this doll house for Anna...$3! And the picnic table it's sitting on? $3 as well! I also found a couple of cloth diapers for $10...I couldn't pass up that deal! I wanted to cloth diaper before Isaac was born, but the research I did-it wasn't going to be cost-effective enough (and that was the reason I wanted to do it) to justify the initial investment, especially with this possibly being our last baby (waaaa!). BUT, after this discovery and talking to some friends on facebook, it really looks like I could do it a lot cheaper than I first thought. So I'm on the prowl for some inexpensive cloth diapers!

Isaac decided he would help Papa plant the new tree.

He's so cute he can get away with just chewing on the tie!

We like to start 'em young on the Iowa sweet corn! :) Isaac liked chewing on the cob...get that second tooth in!

Anna was SO EXCITED to find out that Jamie's family was coming up this weekend, too!! She has been patiently waiting for SIX MONTHS to meet Tate!!!

The big kids thoroughly enjoy the corn on the cob!

Anna and Jacob sleep great when they're up here...they have each other to snuggle with! Precious.

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Summer time's a-comin!

2011-05-23T20:23:00.002-05:00

We're all looking forward to more evening walks & later bedtime!! Jacob does great with the trike...I think he's ready for a bigger one, though! I promise Isaac is in there...

6 Months

2011-05-19T23:05:00.003-05:00

I cannot believe Isaac is already 6 months old (last Sunday)!! Halfway to a year! :( I feel like a broken record...time is flying by much too quickly.

In the past month, you have become a pro at sitting. Actually, you started that barely after you turned 5 months old! I looked back at Anna & Jacob's baby books and they didn't start sitting until well into their 6th month. You will be crawling before long...you can lay forward when you're sitting and push yourself right back up. You get mad when you can't reach a toy.

Your first vegetable was sweet potatoes...you LOVE them! Just last night you tried pears for the first time. Not a fan of those, so I made some with bananas and you like them that way. I made up some carrots, too, but you haven't tried those yet.

You weigh 17 1/2 pounds (50%), are 27 1/4" long-which is a 2" growth in 2 months!!-(75%) and your head is in the 90th percentile. To compare, Jacob was almost 21 pounds at this age! I still just chuckle when people say you're a big baby.

You say Da-da when you're jabbering (no connection to Daddy yet), so I guess that qualifies as your first word?

You reached for Anna on Monday (first time you've ever reached for anyone). It was precious!

STILL no teeth!! But, still not very fussy about it, so that's okay if they take 3 months to get through.

Grandpa & Grandma W came for a visit and you delighted them with your smiles and giggles.

Everyone always comments on what a good/happy baby you are. They're right! You fight sleep hard, but otherwise you are usually very happy. Especially if there are other little ones around to watch! Today Jacob's friend Jake came over to play. You were very tired and it was well past eating time, but you were as content as could be to sit in your exersaucer and watch them play monster trucks back and forth in front of you!

You love to be thrown up in the air...I can't believe it!

And you love wearing Anna's cowboy hat...

Who's that stranger under the 10 gallon hat?

It's Isaac! What a handsome little cowboy! :)

He might look all cute and innocent...

But don't mess with this cowboy!

Every stage is my favorite for babies, but it really is fun to watch his personality come out and watch him learn more about the world around him!