Boys

Just reading a magazine, relaxing after a bath

Grandpa teaching Grant how to drink from a gallon jug - a necessary ability

Jacob teaching Grant how to do some stunts

Grant practicing what he has learned

Some more practice

Some more instruction

A very tired little boy

The Babysitter

Last night was Greg and my 10th anniversary. Needless to say, we were not on the cruise that we planned to go on 10 years ago. But we did go out to dinner. We did encounter a new experience though. Last night was the first night since we have had kids that we left them with a babysitter. Samantha is a sophomore at ISU studying elementary education and I met her working in the nursery at church. She seemed nice and OK, so we ventured out. I was a nervous wreck almost the whole time. I called my mom on the way to dinner and asked her to pray for my kids. She said she would and that she would pray for me too. Samantha arrived on time, so Greg was comfortable. So we went to dinner at Biaggi's (yum) and because we had no kids to care for, we were done within an hour. I was ready to go home, but Greg said we could not just go home after an hour - he said we had to be gone at least 2, preferably 2.5 hours. So guess where we went? The library. How fitting since we met at the "library" 13 years ago. So we checked out some books and dvds, then went home. Praise the Lord - my kids were alive! Ok, I knew they would be, but I survived the night and my kids loved Samantha!!!! Good news for me. When Greg was driving home from work, he was talking to a friend who told him that he would want to go home right after dinner and when Greg asked why, his friend reminded him that he would be PAYING for the babysitter and wouldn't want to spend all that money.

As I was putting the girls to bed they were telling me about Samantha. What they did, what she talked to them about, etc. Grace was asking me about college (because Samantha is in college). I told her that when you are in college you live at the school, away from home, unless you go to community college. Terror struck her face when I said that. She immediately said that she wanted to go to the one where you stayed at home. She DID NOT want to live at school, away from home. I told her that was fine, but that the time may someday come when she will not want to be at home anymore. In fact, it will come. And I told her that this too was OK. She is certainly my little homebody. She never wants to do anything away from home. I never knew I was so interesting.

A Beautiful Sunny Sunday Afternoon

We drove to a nice place called the Wagon Wheel Farm this afternoon. They have a pumpkin patch, a corn maze, "corn boxes" - instead of sand boxes, a large tube that we could roll each other in, hay structures to crawl all over and a totally beautiful day to enjoy it. It was great fun for our family!

Posing on the hay bales

Super Jacob

Super Grace

Entrance to the corn maze

The rolling tube

Space Festival and Stuff

Tonight we went to the "Space Festival" at the First Nazarene Church, here in town. It was so much fun!!! They served dinner, had a cake walk, face painting, trunk-or-treating, a magic show and a great message. My kids loved it too! They also had a giant balloon that was battes around the sanctuary while a great band played - super fun. They were able to do a trial run on their halloween costumes. The church did an absolutely fabulous job of putting this on and a lot of people really worked VERY hard to pull this off. Grace even won a cake!

Grant getting ready for the party!

The Cake Walk

Grace and her trophy cake

Some of the games at the trunk-or-treating

Giant beach ball in the sanctuary - it was after this that Jacob said he wanted to go to church there tomorrow


This morning the kids an I were watching a Jack Hannah show on sea turtles. It was neat, as we were able to watch sea turtle lay eggs (one was even 800 pounds!) So tonight, after baths, Jacob came crawling out of my vedroom with a laundry basket on his back and asked me: "How many eggs do you think I will lay?" I was cracking up so much I could not even answer!!! You can't get any better than stuff like this - incidents like these make all the menialness of being a mom so very worth it! I love my kids!!!! And I love my husband for wokring so hard so that I can be home with them!!!! And I love my Lord for making it all possible!!!! Thank you, Lord!

The Self-Absorbed Wife & Mother

Have I told you lately how great my husband is? Better yet, have I told HIM how great he is? The answer to that question is a resounding no. Why? Good question. The answer can be found in the title to this post - I am a self-absorbed person. I have been so consumed with my emotional needs, my need to be coddled, my need to have my ego stroked that I have neglected what I am "called" to be. A loving, supportive, quiet wife and mother. My reward may not be here. Clearly, my husband and kids are certainly one of life's greatest rewards - but that is not what I am talking about. I am called to love and serve because they (and all people) are created in God's image and are worth caring about, not because I want to or don't want to or don't feel I am getting anything out of it. I am to do it because that is what Christ would do. THAT is what I am to aspire to be. The point is, I have a husband who, even though I feel I have to yell at him to get my point through, is more mature than me and shows it by rising above his "feelings" and doing what needs to be done - even if he doesn't "feel" like it. This morning he made me a cup of coffee and delivered it to me saying "a cup of coffee for the world's greatest mommy". Even though we both knew that was not the truth - he knew I needed to hear it. I love him for doing that for me. I need to rise to that level. I need to not be so self-absorbed. I need to care like Christ would. Lord Jesus, please help me - I am not brave enough to do it myself.

I'm A Sexy Lady!

We were playing charades this afternoon and it was my turn to act. The lucky word I drew was "limbo". So I started doing my rendition on limbo - in what I would call less-than-perfect form. Mid-limbo, Jacob yelled out "walking like a sexy lady!" Seriously? Have you seen me limbo?

Dinnertime

We have a common happening at dinner, well, we actually have 2 common happenings. The first is as soon as we sit down and pray, Jadyn has to go to the bathroom. There is not a meal we eat that this does not happen. But this is not why I am writing. The other happening is that Jadyn NEVER wants to eat, much less finish, her dinner, but she ALWAYS wants dessert. So tonight as she was having a fit (mostly because her dad brought brownies to the table before everyone finished eating) I started watching. What I saw was truly amazing. Jadyn would eat with no problem IF Grace would sit next to her and occasionally feed her. And Grace would lovingly encourage Jadyn to "just take one more bite" and "if you finish this, then you can have a brownie". She was like the mom that I should be! Then I asked Jadyn who her favorite person was and smiling, she pointed to her sister. Oh, how I hope that love is still there in 10 years! My kids are reading over my shoulder, very curious about what I am writing. A few of them are happy to hear about themselves. Man, I love these kids!!