And we're off!

Tomorrow we'll all be up bright & early (well it won't be bright) to get ready to get kids off to school & to Kearney. Thank You to Dad & Mom, Joyce, Seth & Melissa, Jason & Tonya, Chris & Nikki for taking care of our kids!

We are so thankful to have willing people to care for our children while we're away.

A big thanks to Sonja for making my trip more fun by helping me with my "driver" choices. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Kasey Kahne & Ryan Newman do!

Watch out, I may be another Nascar fan in the making.

lucky girls

Nikki & Kennadie had a great time at the Hannah Montana concert last week, and they didn't even have to pay over face value for their tickets!

Amazing since some people were paying several hundred dollars for their tickets & some people paid that much & never received their tickets.

Such a Good Friend

You know you've got a good friend when she'll do your homework for you! My dear Sonja sent me pages of NASCAR tidbits & good ways to choose a driver. Brad & I are headed with several other couples to Texas on Thursday to watch NASCAR all weekend long.

I'm very much looking forward to getting away, but since I'm not a huge NASCAR fan myself (although Brad & the boys are) I don't have a "driver" to follow. I was actually kind of stressing out over who I should follow when my very wise friend showed me a smart way to choose a driver...

She listed all kinds of stats for the top 10 drivers & gave facts about them, and then said, and I quote, "HERE’S the latest STATS. This can help you determine who to follow. Or go with whoever has the cutest car. Ha. Or even better the cutest driver."

Nice! Now why was that so hard to figure out? Of course, I can just pick the cutest car or driver! I just needed my friend to point out the obvious! That's what true friends are for.

By the way, I've narrowed my choices down to Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman & Jeff Gordon (Hunter's favorite). Maybe I'll choose who has the cutest car to see which one I'll really root for...

Here's my choice, Kasey Kahne & the Dodge car. I think he can do it even though he's only #17 right now. He has 1 win at Texas Motor Speedway, he has experience! See how much Sonja's information helped me?

Kites, Pumpkins & Movies

Sunday afternoon was very nice. We flew kites (thanks grandma!) for awhile before the wind pretty much mutilated them, then daddy helped with pumpkin carving. We topped off the day watching Matilda together.

The Bus Barn

The pond across from us has been so great. The other night the kids & I walked around enjoying the evening. My two favorite parts of the evening were:
1. Kamrie posing for her "senior pictures" in the gazebo. She thought it was so funny to pose like that.
2. Cooper looking at all the buses in the bus barn. The Bus Barn is in between the school & the pond. He truly didn't want to come home, it was the first time I'd taken him that close to all the buses. We've seen them plenty of times driving by, but hadn't walked up to them.

Sister Picnic

Kamrie & Chloe shared a fake-food picnic across the road the other day. What sweet memories these girls will have growing up as sisters.

The Surgery is Done

As I was sitting at the table earlier today, Parker came in from outside & said to Hunter in the living room:

"The surgery is done."

I'm chuckling in the other room, because I know they are talking about a dead rabbit we came across yesterday in the field behind our house. I didn't say a word, but heard this next:

"I took out the other lung & that stuff by the stomach too." "The intestine?" "Yeah." "Oooh, Parker, you should spread it all out & see how long it is!"

"YUCK!" I'm thinking from the other room as I hear the boys talk. All I said was, "Parker are you touching that with your hands?" "No, I'm using a stick."

OK then, I guess it's ok.

Top 10

Here's my Top 10 reasons to not have a dishwasher:
10. You get to wear rubber gloves at least 3 times a day.
9. You get creative about using as few dishes as possible.
8. It's a way to get out of doing something you don't want to do..."oh, I can't change that dirty diaper because I'm washing dishes."
7. You get time to reflect on whether the meal was worth the mess.
6. It's a diet in itself..."Hmmm, I don't feel like washing dishes, so I won't eat!"
5. You realize how good your tennis shoes are after standing in one place for a long time.
4. You get to refine your debating skills by deciding whether or not the dish means enough to you to make it worth washing.
3. You don't let leftovers in the fridge start to grow because you don't want to have to scrub moldy dishes.
2. You hone your competetive skills by racing to get a pile of dishes done before the washer/dryer dings.
The Top Reason to not have a dishwasher:
1. It's good prayer time. Actually this is true (as were the other reasons). Just like it says in Diapers, Pacifiers & Other Holy Things (thanks sonja!) it's a time to say, "Thanks God for scrubbing me clean just like these dishes."

calm your heart down mom

terri's phone call to her dad: how do you get spray paint over spray off of our suburban?

hunter & parker were trying to make robot halloween costumes & were in the garage spray painting their boxes, with the doors shut, right next to the suburban.

the boys have been begging for their privileges back all weekend.

as parker was telling daddy how it all came about he said, "i should have told mommy to calm her heart down."

yep, mommy could use a lesson in calming her heart down.

side note: suburban is fine, the paint came off no prob.

2nd note to self: don't forget to feed the children

last night brad & i were fortunate to got out for supper with another couple. when we got to my parent's house to drop the kids off, parker said, "i'm hungry."

brad & i looked at each other & said, "did we forget to feed the kids?"

good thing grandma saved the day with hotdogs & peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

Brilliant Idea

Brad & I have talked about a limo-like screen that we could put up in the suburban to block out the noise, but this would maybe work...

Pumpkin Patch Fun

It was a COLD day at the pumpkin patch. But we had lots of fun!

note to self: check to see if you smell like supper

A couple of weeks ago I'd made supper--yep, I actually cooked a whole meal. Anyway, then we were pushed for time to get to Awana. I got there & could smell supper on my shirt. It was like I'd been to a soup supper! I told my yellow sparks group that I was sorry because I smelled like supper. I almost couldn't stand myself!

Anyway, this one little boy sat by me during their council time & kept grabbing my arm & smelling it, saying "I want to eat your shirt!" He was so funny.

At Awana on Wednesday he & I sat by each other again (he & I are kind of buddies) & he smelled my shirt--put his nose right on my arm! He just wanted to see if I smelled like supper again...

look closely

If you look closely at the picture you can see kids hiding behind the trees across from our house. Near as I can tell (as I was spying on them from inside) they were in PE class & supposed to be running around the pond. I was cracking up because several times kids would stop behind this group of trees, evidently out of the line of sight of the PE teacher, for a bit of a rest.

i had the best dream!

chloe: i had the best dream mommy!
mommy: you did?
chloe: i was dancing with orrin.
mommy: ooh! were you wearing a beautiful dress?
chloe: i don't know what i was wearing, but orrin was wearing his black suit.
mommy: i'll bet you were wearing a beautiful dancing dress!
chloe: daddy was there, so were you mommy.

p.s. orrin is brad's sister's oldest son

Learning from my daughter...

Kamrie set a good example for me living in this snake-y area. She even makes the snakes look friendly!

Kamrie's Pictures

I love Minden's kindergarten! (although i surely loved imperial's too--how can you beat imperial's kindergarten teachers? parker still talks about his adventures with mrs. cupp--she'll always hold a special place in his heart...)

They team teach here--they have 2 teachers & 4 paras for about 60 kindergarteners. They are divided up into 4 color groups who rotate through different stations through the day.

Kamrie's letter of the week is "M". Check out her monkey picture, I love it!

all grown up

i miss the days of

hunter

saying "choc-o-late milk" (well, ok, i don't really miss this one, especially because it was usually at 5:30 am)

parker

shouting "pt crusier! pt cruiser!" whenever we'd see one

kamrie

loving on her pink baby every chance she got, rubbing baby's pink ribbon right along her lip

chloe

saying "i have big teeth like a horses!"

cooper

saying "bus! bus! bus!" whenever we'd see a bus.

cooper is the only one that still does his somewhat. he still loves buses, but now says "there's 1-2 buses!" or "there's a bus right there!"

they grow up & move on to different fun things but there is nothing like the innocent chatter of a baby just learning to talk.

Germos!

I let everyone sleep in yesterday. 3/5 kids were coughing & 2/5 were feverish. Parker & Chloe are the most healthy. Parker did go to school right before lunch yesterday, he's feeling ok. Everyone is on the mend today, I think.


The boys were excited about their new suits for Grandma Neva's funeral. Hunter got a haircut (yep, his hair is now cut--even though people kept saying how LONG it was!) but Parker just wanted a trim & then buzz his hair after the funeral.

Parker: "there's a boy in my class who is bald & I want to be bald too!"

How to Know Christ Personally

FamilyLife: Articles - How to Know Christ Personally

Saying Goodbye

Brad's Grandmother, Pete's mom, passed away on Friday & we were able to spend time with family today saying goodbye. We will sure miss our visits to Great-Grandma Neva's house. The kids loved to go see her; there will certainly be a hole to fill.

The pastor did a great job during her service today. He said that Neva was a good person, but being a good person doesn't get you to heaven. He explained that you have to know Jesus personally as your Savior to get to heaven. He told us about how Neva understood God's grace. He said that heaven isn't a place for good people, it's a place for forgiven people. He said that heaven is a place for sinners, like you. Like me.

Brad & Neva had had long talks the last couple of years about her relationship with Jesus. We have no doubt she is in heaven right now.

Are you going to heaven?

You can know for sure, you don't have to wonder.

Click on the link above to know more.

Mustache Day

Cooper drew around his mouth with a blue magic marker, looked at me & said, "mustache!" It was adorable & of course he was all for it when I asked him if he wanted me to draw a mustache on. He giggled the entire time I drew. Chloe took one look & wanted one too, so they wore their mustaches proudly, in honor of Papa Mustache!

Super Cute Sleeping

Chloe put herself to bed the other night. Of course it wasn't in her own bed, but that is beside the point. She was so cute!

Cambridge Park

The kids & I spent some time at the park while Brad visited his Grandma Neva in the hospital. After playing we went to see her too. She's not doing well, but was able to talk to us a little bit. All of her kids were there to see her as well as a few grandkids.

Felt Like Home

I asked Brad if Imperial was too far to commute to church every Sunday after visiting there yesterday. It sure felt like home. It was great to see friends, especially those special ones in SONShine Gardens! Look at how they praise Jesus during the Kids' Worship time.

Colby's 3rd Birthday Party

New Backpack

We found clearance backpacks yesterday, one in just Cooper's size. He is so happy to have his own! Hunter asked him what was in it & he said, "Diapers."

"Riding" Bikes

Here's how Cooper "rides" his bike. He just runs around and around and around in a circle with it. He can't pedal it, so I guess this is fun for him... He & Chloe were out riding bikes & as you can see Cooper eventually bit the dust & was in tears because he hurt his knees.

Mommy's Dress

This was MY favorite dress when I was in kindergarten. Yep, it's survived through the years long enough for my girls to wear it. Kamrie said, "I know, you told me that already!" (and kind of rolled her eyes when she said it) when I told her the story of the dress this morning.

Bull Rides

This photo was snapped about 15 seconds (or was it 8??) before the littlest rider fell & hit his head. It was fun while it lasted.

Hunter, you hold me?

Just this morning, Cooper asked "Hunter, you hold me?" Cooper loves his big brothers & loves sharing a room with them. He lets his brothers get away with a lot when it comes to how they treat him. He'd just scream if someone else did it, but will let especially Hunter do whatever he wants to him.

Story Time

Last week Parker brought home BUS books to share with Cooper. Parker sat & read to Cooper, it was great.

Bah Bah

I love it! Colby had a Bah Bah (pacifier) throw away ceremony today. He turns 3 tomorrow, happy birthday little man! Can't wait to see you this weekend. Cooper is looking forward to being at your party.

And he can't wait to ride the bus! We may have to work out that little detail...

Babies, Babies Everywhere!

Today at Bible Study in Kearney, it was my day to help in the nursery. I was with the pre-walkers, there were 10 of them! We had 4 helpers & we eventually had to recruit one more from the walkers age because they were ALL crying at once! Well, there were a couple who never did cry & it made it easy (??) to ignore them because they weren't fussing. Poor happy babies! They got no attention!

It was good to cuddle with some of them (Sophia was a happy one :)) but it was also good to be done!