thankful

I'm always the corny one at my family's Thanksgiving dinner that wants everyone to tell what they're thankful for. Evan and Haley have provided some comic relief over the years with their answers. Today I thought I'd try to write a few of the things I'm thankful for. PLEASE add to this list via the comments section...you don't even have to sign your name...but thought it would be fun to see what we're all thankful for this year.

What I'm Thankful For:
-A God who loves me with no strings attatched and wants to bring me into His kingdom so much He sent His only Son to die so I could get there
-A husband who loves Christ and lives a life of integrity....and changes diapers too
-Evan, Haley & Sophia
-Parents who provided a home of love and safety
-Brothers who I adore....and now their girlfriends too!!
-A sister-in-law & brother-in-law who are giving us our first niece!!
-a HUGE extended family
-amazing Friends
Now for the not so "normal" things...
-Pepsi
-playing knockout with my kids & neighbor kids...and no, I don't let them win!!
-Miss Clairol
-sunshine
-a new washer & dryer
-family & friends who give us awesome tickets to sporting events
-dvd players in vehicles
-epidurals
-rocking a baby to sleep
-my pictureMate printer...LOVE IT!
-Windows Live Messenger...how else would I communicate with Jon?
-DVR...especially the pause feature
-anti-bacterial soap and gel..and clorox wipes
-Illy espresso and Moka pot...I might be a little addicted to caffeine?!

fall day

We have had the most beautiful weather here! The girls had fun playing in a pile of leaves. Newman had fun barking at them! I cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week. Our friend Max will be here from Italy this weekend...yeah!!

Evan and Haley are out of school today for Veteran's Day. E is still sleeping as I write this. Anything after 8:00 am for Evan is like the rest of us sleeping in until noon. He went to a birthday party on Sat. night where they stayed up all night. He got home at 9:30 on Sun. morning and went straight to bed and slept until 3:30pm. Then went to bed at 10 last night. He was a pooped little guy!

Have a great week!!

Stay away from staying out too late....and run to warm fall days and piles of leaves!

fun for all

The kids or trick-or-treated until they couldn't trick-or-treat any more! I think they each came home with about 10 pounds of candy. They got an entire bag of suckers from one neighbor and king size candy bars from their Great Grandad. And some people gave them money...and not pennies or quarters...$5.00 bills!! Where were they when I was a kid? And yes...E made good on wearing the wig. I've decided I'm paying myself the $100 because that's worth my blood sweat and tears to get through the holiday!! Took me 3 tries to get that stupid t-shirt how he wanted it...not because he was difficult...because I'm technically inept! How did my mom do it when she would actually sew our costumes? I can't even iron on a thing to a t-shirt! Miss Haley....for I think the 3rd year in a row....was one thing at school and something else at night....a little diva in the making! The bones on her sweatshirt didn't make it through the afternoon of Halloween partying at school! And some kid told her that her costume wasn't really a costume....I'm going to hunt him down like a dog! Just kidding! Haley was a cheerleader for ACT II of the evening. Sophie had most of her bones pealed off her sweatshirt before the first trick-or-treater showed up at our house. I kept findng "bones" all over the house today! Not to mention the above photog is one of 9! And Sophie never looked into the camera for any of them...little stinker! She had lots of fun going to the door and greeting the spooks. Well I gotta go dig through the kids candy bags before they get home from school and have a little treat....going to have to walk a little longer today!!

Stay away from mean people who say your costume isn't a costume....and run to a bag full of goodies!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I cannot believe the last time I posted was 14 days ago!! I was super busy preparing for the Women's Walk to Emmaus in Garden City, KS that was held Oct. 25th-28th. That was an AWESOME exeperience and an incredible blessing from God! Too much to even start to write about all of that!

The kids are totally geared up for Halloween tonite! Evan is going to dress up as a 60s hippy. He has the peace sign shirt, little round sunglasses, bandana and LONG wig. (I'll bet $100 he doesn't sport the wig...but you never know!) Haley & Sophie are dressing up as skeletons....get it...Skelton...skeleton! They will look cute...pics tomorrow...I promise. I spent part of this afternoon at the school with Haley's class doing a craft project for their Halloween party. We made windsock ghosts out of white trash bags. They were so cute drawing on the faces.....running around the room making their ghosts fly.....trying to suffocate themselves by sticking their heads in the bags. Kids always gotta throw a near death experience into the mix to add to the adventure of it all! Haley made one last night as a test run and we hung it outside. Today the wind is blowing around 50 mph...I swear it is! Needless to say her ghost is about 100 miles south of here.

Have a great Halloween!

Stay away from suffocating yourself....and run to Trick or Treating!

parks are fun

It is so beautiful here today that Sophie and I headed to the park before picking up Evan and Haley from school. I think she enjoyed digging in the sand more than all the "equipment". We also saw ducks, geese and a turtle that was trying to escape from the fenced in duck pond.

E&H loved the KSU/Colorado game...so did Jon and I. We had great seats and just a fun game to watch. We were walking around visiting lots of people we know who tailgate before the game when we saw a line of people with the marching band at the end. We decided to go and watch the band march by. We stood there for a few minutes when some very tall, big guys started walking by...it was the entire football team and the coaches! Evan got to high five all of them. So that was an unexpected treat!

Stay away from picking up turtles (they carry salmonella!)....and run to beautiful days at the park!!

weekend

Saturday was full throttle day here. Evan had a football game, which they won. He scored one touchdown from a beautiful reception and run. Haley had volleyball. They both had soccer games in the afternoon. Haley's soccer team has practiced several times. Evan had his first practice Sat. at 12:30 and his first game at 1:00. As fate would have it....Haley's team lost...Evan's team won. He scored 2 goals. I cannot get into soccer. It is a sport lost on me. But good exercise for the kids and they enjoy it.

Saturday night was block party night. Different areas of town hosted block parties. Jon's grandma was a host of one so we went to that. Haley and Jon's grandma...ie..her great-grandma Mimi entered the talent contest with a baton routine. They got 1st place...don't cheer too fast...EVERYONE got 1st place!! Apparently the school system sent out a memo to the whole town that all must be winners! I know, I know...I'm being mean...it was just a little block party...no need to make kids cry over their karaoke not getting 1st. Haley did a wonderful job...even though she was scared out of her britches. She tried to get out of it at the last minute, but we all told her she had to do it. I can already see the therapy bill coming! "Well, Dr., I have this vivid memory of my mom making me perform a baton routine....."

After church on Sunday we headed straight to Great Bend so Evan could participate in punt, pass and kick. Let's just say E didn't fare so well, but he did have a somewhat decent time. And his grandad took him out for icecream afterward. Can't beat a deal like that.

This week is full of soccer and football practice, piano lessons, kids club at church, and oh yeah and that pesky thing called school. But the biggest event of all is Sophie's 1st birthday on Sunday!! She's so excited!?!? Anyway, we are!

Have a great week. Stay away from pushy moms....and run to block parties.

life

Hey all! Hope this finds you enjoying the day and having a great week.

The pic up above is from Sienna, Italy from our trip a few years ago. I was thinking about that because Jon's bestfriend, Max, is coming to stay with us!! We're very excited. He will be here over Thanksgiving which will be fun, because obviously he doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving in Italy!

Evan's leg is almost healed!! It's amazing what prayer and some burn cream can accomplish. Once he gets a little older and a little hairier you wont' see it at all.

Jon has figured out how rec. centers get parents to coach. They call and say, "Would you help the head coach out this year?" That doesn't sound so bad, so you say yes. Then you find out the "head coach" suddenly can't coach. Voila...you're the head coach! Atleast that's what's happened to Jon the last few times. Don't tell Jon, but I think it's great he's a head coach. He knows what he's talking about (unless it's soccer, that's another blog) and he's good to the kids. He actually likes them and has fun with them. They had their first flag football practice last night and Evan informed me afterwards that they were going to have the best team. Their first game is Sat. Should be wild.

Haley has decided to join the jump rope team at school. They meet once a week and learn all kinds of stunts. She's really good at jump roping. She's also participating in volleyball and soccer this fall. She has her first soccer match Saturday. That's always a kick fest. We consider it a win if no kids lose a tooth from a shoe to the face.

Sophie is fast approaching her 1st birthday!! Less than two weeks. I'm dreading it and looking forward to at the same time. Man a year went fast. Scary!!

Stay away from getting a shoe to the face....and run to flag football and soccer.

hey hollywood!

Sophie wore these crazy glasses forever the other night. Cracked us all up. You can also see her two big old chicklet front teeth. Too cute!!

All went well with picture taking, according to Evan and Haley. They demonstrated their smiles for us. That was pure entertainment in itself. I'm sure the pics will be fabulous!

Took E to the Dr. today. Dr. scrubbed it all down and poked around on it with a stick to make sure there wasn't any nerve damage. 2nd degree burn, but should heal fine. Then the Dr. proceeded to tell Evan his story about dirt biking. Dr. broke his collarbone the first time he rode one......when he was in his 4th year of residency. Then he and E proceeded to talk about how fun dirt bikes are. Boys....I do not understand them. Anything that causes me to break a bone or burn myself I stay away from. Not boys...they think they're fun. Seriously, I'm going to stop trying to figure them out!

Stay away from breaking a bone....and run to cool sunglasses.

life in general

Don't quote me on this, but I think we are finally back into the school schedule!! I know this because Evan is already home sick with strep throat. Even the the Dr.'s office couldn't believe kids were already sick with this kind of stuff. Whatever happened to a runny nose and a little cough? Oh well. He's doing really well. Will probably go to school tomorrow.

Had to put the pic of Evan with his birthday rice krispy treat. He did not want a cake this year. He wanted rice krispy treats, so he got rice krispy treats. I will admit it was much easier than baking and decorating a cake, so I won't mind if he asks for that again. He had a great birthday. He had 5 friends come and stay the night. They played so hard. Football for about 4 hours, playstation for about 6 hours and a scavengerhunt. I laughed for an hour straight during the scavenger hunt. They went all over town doing crazy stuff. We made them do a chinese fire drill in front of everyone at football practice. NONE of them had ever heard of a chinese fire drill. One kid asked, "Why would the chinese run around the car and get back in if it was on fire?" Sorry if all of that was un PC, but it was fun.

Haley is loving school. We did have to have a big talk about the "popular" kids being mean to her. She is not a popular kid according to her. I tried to explain to her that when kids are mean to other kids they probably don't like themselves very much. Her response, "Oh they like themselves allrighty, all they do is brag about themselves". It was quite comical hearing her perception of 3rd grade life. She has sweet friends and they manage to have lots of fun despite the "popular" people.

Sophie is great. Walking everywhere and getting into everything!! According to the papers and internet she is WAY behind on being potty trained!! If you haven't seen it, there are a group of people claiming to have their newborns potty trained. I gotta call baloney on that! I'm thanking God for pampers and huggies and calling it good!

Have an awesome day!

Stay away from "popular" people....and run to rice krispy treats.

16 years

NO LAUGHING AT THE PICS!! Yeah right! I'd love to say we were cool back in the day....but afraid not....we tried though.

16 years ago today I made the best decision I've ever made in my life and became Jon's bride. Jon and I read once that marriage is the most important earthly decision you'll ever make and we believe it. Not an easy path, but a path that has made my life richer, deeper and wiser. Of all the blessings God has given me on earth Jon is the best.

something new

The kids came screaming in the house this afternoon, "mom you gotta come here!!!" E&H came in so I knew no one had a broken anything, so this got my curiosity even more. Under our van was a baby Mississippi Kite. Very cute. I really thought it was some sort of falcon. I called the fish and game and they clued me in to what it was. The f&g did warn to stay away from the baby as the mom might attack. Well he didn't have to tell me twice, so after the pics (had to get the pics 1st...always thinking about the blog) we all came in to let it have its' space. It hopped/flew under a bush. We'll see if it comes back out again.

Went to prison again last night. What an amazing time. I just love those women so much. Through this experience I've learned, once again, that life is not black and white. People do commit terrible crimes and it is wrong and they do deserve to due the time, but God still loves them as much as anyone else and He is shining in them as much as anyone else. I've learned that in the most horrible circumstances we can forgive and God really is big enough to take away the pain. Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. I've been blessed to witness the truth of that scripture in these women. They are being disciples on their unit, praying for others, and doing what they can to speak Christ to other inmates and staff. Who would have thought God could turn that kind of situation into something good....satan didn't. Believe that God can turn any sitution to good!

Stay away from being attacked by an angry mama bird.....and run to everlasting love.

the lake

I write this with bleary eyes. I am tired, but it was worth it!! We had a blast at the lake this weekend. Swimming, tubing and cooking out with wonderful friends makes for the best memories. The kids had an awesome time and even behaved themselves. Sophia was a little trooper. Never cried and loved the boat and swimming. She doesn't look very happy in the pic up above, but she was just about to fall asleep when that was snapped. All of the kids got along great...I don't recall any of them fighting or getting in trouble. Some friends of ours lent us their camper, so all of us there had campers. That was luxury. We always camp in tents, but I must say a camper with beds and a/c makes sleeping much nicer!! I thought Evan and Haley were going to be fried, but God bless whoever made sunscreen. They were covered in it all weekend, but came home with no sunburns. Evan is covered in mosquito bites. He and his friends liked to play hide and seek in the dark...in the grass. The best bugspray can't save you. Haley and Evan also got to tube for the first time. They loved it. I would think their arms would be sore after 2 days, but they're not complaining. We were able to camp right by the water, so if the kids weren't tubing they were swimming, which was great in 95 degree weather.

Have a super week!

Stay away from sunburns....and run to camping with friends!

summer goings on

Hi All!! Once again, sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Our schedule has been nuts!! Thanks for coming back. I promise it will get better once school gets going.

The pic up above is from the youth retreat Jon and I helped at. What an amazing time!! The 3 young women in the pic are sooooo much further along in their Christian walk than I was at their age. All the kids we met are such an inspiration. High school through college giving their lives to Christ not only in words but in action. Truly inspiring! And funny! I have not laughed that much in a LONG time.

BIG NEWS: Jon and Evan won the father/son golf tourney last night in Larned. They shot a 40!!!! The format was scotch ball where they alternate hitting the same ball and alternate off the tee box. So that means E had to hit every other ball. So I think a 40 is an awesome score!! Jon said E hit his driver right down the middle every time he teed off. They had a great time and Evan LOVED beating all the older kids. They were playing not only adult/kid, but also high school/college kids. Which was especially sweet since he played really bad at Monday's tournament. It was a wonderful way to end the summer golf program.

Today is the last day for summer recreation programs!!! YEAH!! I'm ready to slow down for these last few weeks before school. The kids start school on Aug. 16th, the day before E's birthday. He's already planning that party!

Sophie has taken lots of steps, but still not walking all the time. She's too fast crawling. Her new favorite past time is digging in the trash. I don't even want to think about those germs.

We leave for the lake tonite. 8 parents and 11 kids. I can't pack enough bug spray!! Should have some stories to tell after this weekend!

Stay away from bug bites....and run to going to the lake!

Evan had another golf tournament yesterday in Sterling. Not such a good day for E. He struggled on the tee box. But he said he had fun. Win some lose some. I was a little worried when we drove through rain and lightening to get to the tourney. The thought of getting up at 5:30 am for cancelled golf was not what I wanted to do. But the weather turned off allright. We walked in some sprinkles, but a nice breeze....which means no mosquitos!!! Yeah!! Gotta look for the small joys! E's most memorable shot of the day had to be a drive off the tee box that was going about 2 miles out of bounds, but miraculously hit a tree mid-air to fly back in bounds. He was all excited about that!

The girls and I went to the pool yesterday. I guess it's official that I'm getting older because the water seemed like glacier water to me. Sophie loved it. Stuck her right in and she had a blast. She's going to be a little water bug.

Not much else going on. I'm looking for a "shuttle bus" sign to put on the van. That's all I do is drive E&H to their events. Poor Sophie is the professional passenger. She doesn't seem to mind.

Have a great day!

Stay away from driving a shuttle bus.....and run to cool breezes with no mosquitos!

welcome summer

Hope this finds you all well and enjoying life. We're great here. Busy with summer time fun!!

Evan and Haley finished up basketball camp last Friday. Evan's 3-on-3 team got 2nd. And yes, Evan cried when they lost. It was a close game. They only lost by 1. Poor kid. Atleast he's passionate. Haley got 4th in 1-on-1. The poor girl beat out 3 boys (one of them was "big" from her class...pic is in the May 19th blog) and then lost to a girl. It was quite the grudge match. No...not really, but they did have fun.

Yesterday Evan played in his first golf tournament in Great Bend. He did very well and got 2nd place in his flight. Shot a 61 and that was after taking a 10 on the last hole. They have to carry their bags and walk. So by the 9th hole he was getting pretty tired. Not to mention he'd probably lost a pint of blood from the moquitos. They were HORRIBLE!! Jon says Evan is going to have to practice walking the course. I'm sure he'll "sacrifice" and take Evan golfing.....lots.

Evan is off to a camp at Ft. Larned today and tomorrow. Can't wait to hear how that goes.

Miss Haley has been to tennis and will go to book club this morning. She's loving tennis. She had her first class yesterday and they learned to hit their forehand, backhand, and serve overhand. She's flippin Venus Williams!! Doesn't know how to keep score yet, but that's not really important!

Guess I'll be going to prison in 2 weeks. No...not like my bff paris hilton. I'm going in with a group of people to do a Bible study with female inmates at the new prison. We had our training last night. By training I mean background check. I think we filled out paper work for an hour. I really am excited to go in, but the "training" was kind of silly. They basically said they don't care what we teach...just don't tell anyone anything about anyone we see. I can do that. Oh yeah...and wear this black box with a red button on it in case someone attacks you. That is true...but not nearly as dramatic as that sounded!! I'll keep you updated. But not about anyone or anything that we do!!

Have a great day!!

Stay away from Paris Hilton [I MEAN IT!!].....and run to tennis.

summer vaca part 2

I guess it's time to admit our vacation is over. Today began with Evan and Haley attending basketball camp at 8:00 am. At 7:20 Haley announced she wasn't going to camp....she wanted to sleep in. Not bloody likely!! At 7:25 she was dressed and eating a breakfast bar. All was well upon arriving at the gym. Haley even won her age division for free-throws. She then had to compete against all the other age division winners and she was the only girl out of the group. She missed her first shot (single elimination). I asked her if she was nervous. She said, "No it just got too quiet." :-)

The first pic up above is from the Denver zoo in the gorilla section. If you have a SUPER strong stomach ask the kids about the gorilla section. The 2nd pic is from the hole Evan drove the green and beat Jon on. The final pic is of Evan and Haley in their wet suits for the white water rafting trip. (I have one with Jon in one too....I'm planning on blackmailing him with it! He doesn't believe me when I tell him a black body suit is slimming!) Evan is still not sure if he had fun or not. Apparently he inherited my dislike of cold! Haley loved it. Sophie and I got to do some retail therapy while they were rafting.

Have a great week!

Stay away from the gorilla section of the zoo.....and run to digital cameras.

summer vaca 2007

Hi all! We finally made it back from our summer vacation to Colorado. A week sure goes fast when you're having fun!!

We stayed in Silverthorne, Colorado. It is in the heart of Summit county. Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Frisco, Dillon, and Copper Mountain are all in Summit county. It is beautiful there. It even snowed on us a couple of times. You all know how much I love snow!?!? But somehow it is not so bad when surrounded by the amazing Rocky Mountains.

The first picture is from the deck of the cabin we stayed in. The second picture is beside Lake Dillon. I'll share more pics over the next couple of days.

Lots of stories to tell, but I'm too pooped to write now.

Stay away from driving 8 hours...and run to vacations!

camp willomocky

Well everyone survived the big play. Evan said he wasn't even nervous. The pictures I got were horrible. I just wasn't up for being one of the parents who went down right in front of the kids...in front of everybody...to get a pic. I know, bad mom, bad mom!! Evan is in the white t-shirt in the first picture. Haley is in the pink t-shirt in the second picture. The play was really cute. I personally thought E had some of the funniest lines. All the kids did a really good job!

It's official!! Sophie is crawling. I put her on the floor today and when I turned my back I heard "thumpity, thumpity, thump". I turned around and she was across the room. The next thing I know she's crawling to another place. No lunging. No inch-worming. No rolling. Crawling!! My life is about to get kicked up a couple of notches! I was following her everywhere picking stuff up low to the floor as fast as I could.

Sophie also got her first black eye today. She pulls up on almost anything. She pulled her self up on the side of the tub this morning. Haley and I were both a foot from her when she took a header onto the floor. Landed right on her face. Poor baby. And let me tell you, it's not easy keeping an ice pack on a 7 month old!

The last day of school for Evan and Haley is tomorrow. Whoohoo....I think!?!? I'm just looking forward to a break from, "hurry up and get dressed, eat breakfast, get in the van....and.... hurry up and get your shower taken and get to bed". I'm not much for the whole schedule thing. Oh yeah, and it will be nice to have them home! Along with 40 of their closest friends. :)

Stay away from black eyes.....and run to crawling and the last day of school!

the famous miss kitty

This picture was in the Hutchinson Newspaper on Thursday. That is my grandad and his wife Sharon and the now famous Miss Kitty. All three of them rode out the tornado in Greensburg in the basement of their house. Miss Kitty has gained quite a bit of fame from her disappearing incident and then being found. I was in Dillons on Thursday and several people asked if that was my Grandad in the paper and then said they were happy Miss Kitty was found. I told my Grandad and Sharon they might need to start selling her paw prints on the internet!

My Grandad and Sharon are really doing remarkably well. They are both in good spirits. They talk about the future and still crack jokes all the time. I'm just so very proud of them. No matter how bleak things looked they kept their chins up and kept moving. They had the expected tears, but always kept an amazing amount of dignity. They were soooo kind to everyone in the midst of their unbelievable grief. Two people born and raised in Kiowa county with a whole generation of memories before and after them. They showed their true colors and their true colors are beautiful!!

Stay away from losing your cat...and run to my Grandad and Sharon.

my mother's day

I was treated like a queen on mother's day! Evan and Haley brought me breakfast in bed...toast and milk....thank heavens!! Last year E made me a "special" sandwich of peanut butter and sunflower seeds on wheat bread. Yum!?!? You know you have to eat the whole thing...let's just say it was a fear factor moment for me. After breakfast the gift processional began. First Evan brought in his card...very sweet...and a gift. He picked out a beautiful heart shaped locket that says I love you on the front. He said inside the locket needs to be a picture of me and of him. I'll have to work on that...don't know that I've ever printed off a 1/4 inch picture before. Then Haley brought in her card...also very sweet...and her gift...cross earrings encrusted with crystals to match a necklace I already have. She's always thinking! After that Evan brought Sophie in to give me a card...hand picked I'm sure!?...again, very sweet. Apparently she didn't get in on the gift giving...although she didn't seem too upset about it. Finally Evan and Haley bring in a jewelry box for me from all of them. By this point I'm guessing that dad must not have let them out of the jewelry section of Wal-mart...had to keep them contained due to time and a desire not to lose any of them. By this time church is fast approaching so we head out for that. Our pastor made sure the kids all gave their moms big hugs and kisses...after church more cards for me, but this time they're covered in glitter...my favorite!! I'll have to remember to repay all the kid's church teachers for their thoughtfulness! Evan and Haley insisted that dad take me out for lunch, so off we go to pizza hut. I have to admit I really do like pizza, so that was a great lunch! The rest of the day was filled with a nap (yeah!!), a walk, and lots of time hanging outside. I truly am blessed!!

Stay away from peanut butter/sunflower seed on wheat sandwiches.....and run to thoughtful children!

PS...I would encourage you to read godhungry.org for May 10th. He has a list of what a "real deal" Christian is that I thought was very interesting and thought provoking!