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Wednesday, October 31, 2012


 Ledge View Nature Center


we have a great nature center about 15 minutes away from us 
we took the kiddos there to do some walking in the woods
and realized they added some fun trails and things for the kiddos
the kids love being in the woods
and we all had a blast.


Update on my belly:
Went to the Dr. yesterday and she said anytime now
we also scheduled to be induced Saturday if I do not go before that
So please pray for a healthy baby
and a quick and speedy delivery!


Thank you so much!
We are so excited and I am a tad nervous.......






Monday, October 29, 2012

not today
                                                        
                                                       most days I am very patient
and never loose my cool(rarely happens)

not today

most days I find peace in the chaos 
and savor the Little's that surround me

not today
most days I invite helpers into the kitchen 
and  we cook and clean up together(i wanted to do it all by myself)

not today

most days I take the challenges and disruptions in stride

not today

most days I can find the sparkle in the mess
in the noise and the non stop activity

not today

most days putting everything I have into being the best mom I can be is easy

not today

most days I find blessings easily and have a smile on my face

not today

most days I can keep up and love working along side my children

not today

most days I am thankful for the day
no matter what it brings

even today
i am glad it is over
not every day can be great
and I am so thankful there is tomorrow
(this was written last week on one of my harder days)

Friday, October 26, 2012

Daddy's 44th birthday


 my candles were melting fast and the kiddos thought it was so funny
we had eggs and hash browns for breakfast
tacos for dinner
and Dave's favorite Hormel Chili for lunch

We hung out and had a nice relaxing day
thank you all for the gifts and cards and well wishes.

daddy's favorite
Olivia was so excited to buy those with her own money

Happy Birthday David
you are truly one of a kind
we have good days and bad days
some days we are consumed with crabby kids, meetings day in and day out, temper tantrums
unfinished lists, a messy house and pure exhaustion.....
there is no other person I feel closer to than you. 
you are my forever companion
it just takes little moments when I am reminded of how perfect you are for me
you are exactly what I needed
my soul mate
thank you..



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Peninsula State Park

such a great helper


met some wonderful friends
that homeschool
and as Jonah says with excitement
"they pray to the same God we do"
love the innocence of kiddos






this is where we swim in the summer



so cold but so much fun



lots of wonderful memories


Monday, October 22, 2012

homeschooling
Homeschooling rocks!
simple as that
I found my groove
and we both love it
it's very easy and simple
He says he is learning so much more 
and he loves everything we do.
Loving this time together...


working on history and geography together
Odin was looking for Saudi Arabia and says "that sounds like a disease"
and 
Baghdad sounds like "Bag your dad"
there is so much fun in learning together
I never realized I would learn so much.
this guy loves the map, globes and projects
 we do lots  of reading for every subject which is just up his alley
we have made some fun projects so far like 
Egyptian pastries, a crook, Pharaoh Hatsheput's name in hieroglyphics, a playdoh version of the great ice age and lots of little science projects too.

We are working on when moses leads Israel out of Egypt.
the other kiddos are still jealous but we will see what next year brings.
I am learning to not be so strict on lists, and everything being so orderly all the time and following a tight schedule 
I am such a list person....
I get so excited to cross things off just before they are done sometimes
I know I am weird.

 The other day we were talking about presidents and Odin asked what were some of the presidents when I was in school?
Randomly I said George Clinton




ok..I said it like 3 times to him 
then I realized(like 3 hours later) that I was still in my hippy era thinking about my old grand master of funk cd's that I have to get out of storage and listen to....
so I nicely told him...oops it was Bill Clinton
then he says who is George Clinton?

time to go through my cd's

Friday, October 19, 2012

Growing up
 yup...you got it
boy do we start them young
Jonah has been insistent on knowing on how to cut the lawn
he wanted to do it all by himself one day after church
so he did.
Dave walked by him the whole time and he did great.
Our lawnmower doesn't have a belt on either so it is really hard to push
we were surprised he wasn't sore the next day
he did a great job!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

on your mark......

flour is so much fun for all of my kiddos
I highly suggest you try it....

We are getting ready for baby #5 to come
just a few short weeks

boy...

I am ready  and couldn't be more excited!!

Monday, October 15, 2012

pancakes
my kiddos love pancakes
the littler the better
we have always had Friday night pancake night 
sometimes they have chocolate chips in or maybe even M&M's
even we can hide them from daddy long enough
it's something we look forward to every Friday
We have a great homemade recipe with wheat/white flour and flax if your interested.
As a kid my dad always spelled our names with the batter
which I do now and they love it.
Jeremiah never is able to eat his whole name though....

Friday, October 12, 2012

Jeremiah
this kid is nothing but pure joy
we are all sitting by the campfire
and he strolls on up to us and says
woman.....let down your hair
sometimes
I feel like I cannot laugh enough
life is so good and we are so blessed.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

visit with Papa Paul

Packers and the 49ers.....

movie night with Papa Paul


and of course we showed Papa Paul the Wii


 We had a great visit
time always goes so fast
thank you for the great memories.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Odin

This guy works out on the treadmill every day and 

ya

just gotta love his attire!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Tents and LEGOS

Lately our house has been taken over by Legos
and tent making
seriously it is trashed and Legos are everywhere

I don't know about you but I cannot sit and play legos for 5 -8 hours a day
love that they do
but  I'm just saying..... 





Have a great Thursday!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

our visit with Auntie Annie

oh boy did we have fun hanging out 


Everyone started with this
yummy chocolate pudding


dipped a few times


then the pudding got taken over by Hulk, Magneto and a few star wars guys


then the real fun began








                                                   Annie had the pleasure of doing this
                                                         


                                     We try to do the pudding thing a couple times in the summer
                                                                        it is a disaster
                                                 it's usually in their ears and nose for days
                                                               but they have so much fun!

Thank you all for the wonderful emails, prayers, calls, visits, cards and treats at this time.
We couldn't thank you enough.  We are so blessed to have you all in our lives and truly grate ful.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Random thoughts

some days are good
some days just slip by and 
some days I just can't stop thinking about 2 little babes
I know this is part of the grieving process
and I do know this is part of God's plan.
there are days I am mad at God and do not want to talk to him
but I know our God is a good God
it was very hard to go through my little hospital bag and put everything away
just the thought of twins made my heart skip a beat
I was so excited......
We have a strong faith as a family
each day I hug my kiddos a little more and am so grateful I can stay home with them and love on them
and tell them we need to thank God in all circumstances (this is the hard one..)
each day I squeeze my hubby more and
 let him know how much I'm  in love with him(and cry on his shoulder)
some things just make me cry
 I am a real person with emotions here
it is not easy going through this but we will get through this
thank you all for your prayers, emails and cards
we greatly appreciate them...
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