Prayers Needed

Hello everyone! I have an urgent prayer request. Our friends, Jason and Holly, have a brother-in-law that has been in a serious accident. Many of you that read this probably already know about it, but I wanted to share with those that do not know Josh and/or I have not already e-mailed you about it.

Josh Buck was swimming/diving in the ocean on vacation when he apparently hit his neck on some rocks. After nearly drowning he was taken to the hospital in Mexico and then transferred to Miami. He is doing very well for what he has been through, but he needs prayers for healing and for his family. He and his wife, Shelly, have three children (one of which is in heaven) and one on the way. There are considerable expenses for the family that are adding up. If you would like additional information and/or if you feel that God wants to use you to help this family please see their site.

http://www.greenhouseministries.org/

Thank you!

P.S. I have decided to change my blog to invitation only starting in February. If you want to access this blog you will have to e-mail me so that I can send you an invitation. If you do not have my e-mail leave a message in the comment section. Thanks :-)

A few of my favorite things.

I was thinking about how Oprah always does those shows highlighting her favorite things. They are almost all things that no normal person would purchase. Something like $200.00 brownies or $50.00 socks. This year she decided not to do it because she wanted to give people money and then have them back on the show and see how they spent it to help others. I have no idea if that show has already passed because I hardly ever watch Oprah, but that not my point. LOL I thought I would list some of my favorite things. I may not have the same clout as Oprah but some of these things may actually be of interest to people I know. Unfortunately you do not have any of these things hidden under your chair. :-)

Scripture Sleuth books, by Mat Halverson - these are great books. The writing is pretty good, but the real treat is that each chapter is like a short story with a mystery to be solved by a Bible toting 10 year old. The cool thing is that the readers look up the verse in their own Bible to solve the mystery. If you have kids ages 5-12 you really need to check it out. http://www.scripturesleuth.com

Gap Curvy cut jeans – awesome! If you have curves you need these jeans. They are smaller in the waist but have extra room in the booty.

Mary Kay 3 in 1 Time Wise Cleanser – Works great and the price is reasonable. If you need a Mary Kay salesperson I can hook you up with my friend, Karrie.

Campbell’s Supper Bakes – these are great for a quick and easy meal. You actually layer the ingredients in the pan and then just pop the pan in the oven. Our favorite is the Herbed Chicken with Rice.

Clorox Wipes – When these first came out I thought how lazy are people now? They can’t be bothered to spray and then wipe? But these are great for the kids to be able to clean up after themselves safely. We have them in each bathroom and the kitchen.

Night at the Museum – This is a great movie. This will be a family classic. Every member of our family enjoyed it! (Ages 39-7…not an easy feat!) If you have not already gone to see it, go! It is worth it to see it on the big screen, and it is a VERY clean movie.

Walgreen’s online photo center – I like this because I can download my pictures off my camera, go to their site, order prints, and have them in an hour.

Dove Dark Chocolate – Good for you and tastes great!

“Focus on Your Child” by Focus on the Family – this program was offered for free but now they are requesting a once a year donation of $24.99. It is a very encouraging parenting resource. I receive newsletters and CD’s with radio programs about parenting and marriage. Each one is on a different topic and you receive the ones that apply to your children’s ages.

Dried Tomato and Garlic Pesto Mix from Tastefully Simple – if you like pesto sauce you’ll love this. It is a quick and easy lunch that is not kiddie-fied.

I am sure I have more favorite things but these are the ones that I can think of off the top of my head. Do you have a neat thing you have discovered that others may not know about? Go ahead and post it in the comment section.

Happy New Year everyone!

Attitude of Gratitude for 2007

Christmas so was so fun this year! We went to Michigan and got to meet some new family members-to-be. Lowell's brother, Darrick, and his fiance Julie were there with her children and Zachary. We had not met Julie and her children before. It was nice to see them and be able to place a face with the names. Zachary is such a cutie-pie. He and Allie had a great time playing, and playing some more even though they both had colds. (You would have never known it though.) Jake also enjoyed having a little squirt following him around and asking him questions. Kyle stuck mostly to the older kids. (Keith and Chelsea are 14-years-old) It will be nice for him to have some older kids to be around when we can coordinate schedules again. We also had a nice time with Lowell and Donna. We were able to go to church at Lighthouse Community Church on Christmas Eve morning and for the candlelight service. The church is just gorgeous! It was very nice to see the church thriving and everyone doing so well. On Christmas day we were able to spend a short time with my brother, David, and his family. Those kiddos just keep growing and growing! :-)

The kids got tons of great gifts. We opened gifts at our own house before going to Michigan so we wouldn't have to drag it all with us. It took about 20 minutes to undo the many nights Lowell and I spent wrapping. Our kids are so blessed and I think they realize that for more than just the gifts they receive. That will be our family goal for 2007. To make sure that every day we give God praise for all the blessings He so richly gives us.

Recently at work there have been people commenting on how I am always happy and smiling. It's true. I am a very happy person. :-) I was able to talk about my faith and how I believe that God gives us the strength to overcome all that is handed to us. Most of my stress comes from outside sources that I have no control over. I have learned that being happy is a choice. Our family is so blessed. I can fret over the small stuff or I can have an attitude of gratitude for the many blessings God has given me. There are many hurting people in this world and they have reason to be sad and even depressed. But there does come a time when one must decide that your attitude toward adversity is going to change. God tells us to rejoice in all things. He will turn our sadness to joy. Trust in that. Make the most of the life that God has given you. Tap into the power of prayer by living as obediently as you can to God's plan for your life, and ask Him to bless you. Even if those around you seem intent on making life harder than it needs to be, you can make the choice to be happy. It's amazing how much of a difference our own attitude determines how we feel and much happier it makes those around us. I read somewhere that 10% of of life is what happens to us and 90% is how we react to it. The power of a positive outlook, obedience to God, and a grateful heart is priceless. I pray that everyone who reads this will have a wonderful 2007.

Merry Christmas!

Well, I am almost ready for the big day! It is very easy to get caught up with all the gifts and stuff. Trying to keep it all "fair" and equal with the kids. How much to spend on teachers, which teachers to buy for.... The list goes on. I love giving gifts, especially when I know that it is the perfect gift. I do not usually like to do gift cards because it seems too impersonal. But I really like to get gift cards. LOL I am a paradox within myself. I also tend to worry that the true meaning of Christmas is not getting through to my kids. But I think we are on track. I had some proof of that last week when I went into Jake's classroom for his special VIP day and saw the Christmas ornaments the kids had made. They were sheets of paper in a round ornament design with the story starter of "Christmas means to me..." I found Jake's and he had written about Jesus' birthday and then went on to write out the entire plan of salvation. How Jesus was born to die on the cross for everyone's sins. And that Christmas is a time to thank God for the blessing of Jesus. And that by simply accepting this gift we can all have eternal life. It really made me feel good to know that Jake has listened and he wasn't afraid to tell his friends about it. Who says Jesus isn't in our schools? Keep in mind that this ornament is on the wall at Jake's school for everyone to read. I asked him what made him write that when many of the other kids had written about gifts, family, and food. (others also wrote about Jesus' birthday but not the salvation part) He shrugged and said that was the first thing he thought of and wanted to write about the real meaning of Christmas. Way to go, Jake!

I hope Everyone has a wonderful time of celebrating our Savior. It truly is a special time of year. By the way, the picture above was taken Thanksgiving weekend. Allie still fits into her little flower girl dress from Kristen and Josh Slater's wedding. It's about eight inches too short but we can still zip it! I thought she made a lovely Christmas angel. :-)

Rocky!

Well, I thought I'd better show off our lil' pup Rocky. He turned two years old on December 2nd and we forgot all about his birthday! Good thing he has no idea. But Allie was concerned about it. So here is our, adorable, funny, often annoying, doggie. Above is a picture of him the day we got him which was near Valentines day 2005. He weighed only three pounds and looked more like a guinea pig. Now he is seventeen pounds and is all dog....although sometimes he thinks he is a cat. :-)

Thankful

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a great day with family and friends. Lowell and Donna came to our house from Michigan to share in our feast. This year I bought a fresh turkey....19 pounds! I have never had to wait longer than the time allotted for a turkey. This was a stubborn turkey! But it was o.k. because I kept busy making some new side dishes I had read about in Rachael Rae's magazine. Everything turned out very good! If I do say so myself! :-) We are so thankful for all that God has blessed us with. I always get kind of sappy around the holidays. But this year it seems especially noticable. We have some friends and family that are going through some crud right now. As we pray for them we are drawn to each other and very appreciative that our marriage is solid. We have many other things to be thankful for but without a solid marriage and stable home for our children, life would not be the same. I am very Thankful for my God and the strength He gives us to live faithfully in so many areas of our lives.

Happy Birthday to my Hubby

Whoa! My wonderful, loving , protective, affectionate, fun, smart, husband is now 39-years-old! Lowell said he didn't want me to post about him on my blog but how can he argue with that? :-) Yes, it is true. Lowell is now one year away from the big 4-0. He says he still feels like he is in his 20's. That's a good thing! In some ways he has changed since he was in his 20's which is also a good thing! One thing that has not changed is his love of cars. I think it is in his blood. I could really care less about cars. I prefer them to run and not smell bad but other than that I can cope with a lot of things. This is one thing that we will never agree on 100% but I actually think it is kind of cute. The poor guy has been mourning the loss of his Mustang for several years. So he found a new toy. I did put down one stipulation....he could only have one car. So it had to be one that he would be willing to drive in the winter. Here are some pictures of Lowell's b-day and his new toy.

In case you are like me and don't know cars by sight...that is a Dodge Charger RT...Oh yeah, it's got a HEMI!

Livin' On a Prayer

I was just thinking this past weekend about how glad I am that I have a daughter. I remember really feeling "in the zone" parenting my two precious boys. I could handle worms without freaking out and I have learned to throw a football. I enjoy all the things that being a mom to boys brings. (although puberty is not all that fun) God knew that I needed a girl to keep me company in this testosterone filled house.
Allie is at an age that is so fun! Not that Kyle and Jake aren't, but it is very different. I get notes handed to me out of the blue that say things like "I love you because you tuck me in at night!" Or she'll want to style my hair with her little pony holders. She loves getting girly and going to the nail salon with me. Allie usually picks some crazy combination of colors. She'll do a French manicure with orange and blue. :-) She loves to sing and dance. She's always very fair, and takes turns being Troy when we play "High School Musical." One new one I heard the other day was "Wow, Mommy, I didn't know you could shake it like that!" Too funny! (I'm quite sure I wasn't shaking anything on purpose! :-) )Allie is just now getting the point that she really likes music. Not just because it's fun to listen to, but also because she has an appreciation for it. I remember having that epiphany when I was about eleven years old. Though I did have "Rhinestone Cowboy" memorized at age six, it is nothing like Allie and her friends.
Did you know that Allie has a band? It's called "Best Friends" and it is with our neighbors, Sarah and Rachel. We did a photo shoot a couple months ago and I thought I would share. Allie's favorite song to sing with the band is "You better Shop Around." I also found out that Bon Jovi has a praise and worship song. We were driving home from dance with two of her friends and they start shouting to me that they want to hear the Bon Jovi praise and worship. HUH? Turns out that they thought that "Livin' on a Prayer" was a worship song. Well, I am praising God for my little girl! ooooohhh, oooohh livin' on a praaaayer



I told them to act cool! LOL

This is an action shot!
Cover shot for the "Best Friends" CD ;-)

Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Picking

Here are the kids at the Center Grove Orchard a few weeks ago. It was COLD! Probably the coldest day we've had this fall. But we accomplished our mission and found three great pumpkins and picked lots and lots of apples. We then hit the corn and hay mazes. I almost got lost in the corn maze. It brought back memories of "Children of the Corn." Freaky! Luckily, my child with a great sense of direction, Jake found me and led me out. We also got to see the animals in the petting zoo. Jake chased a turkey around. That was quite a sight. They also had a little one room school house. Allie is one bossy teacher! Kyle, of course, pretended to be bored the whole time. You gotta love those tweenagers! I think he did enjoy himself, though. We did manage to get a smile in the below picture. That is one huge pumpkin! (we did not purchase that one!) I later taught Allie and Jake how to make apple crisp, apple dumplings, and pumpkin scones. We had a baking fest! Pumpkin scones were the biggest hit.

Ready for some Football?

Hello! I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted. I have been swamped with stuff to do and sadly keeping up with a blog has not been top priority. Shocking, I know. We have been busy with sports the past six weeks. Praise God that both youth soccer and junior football in our quaint little town only last six weeks. Kyle played soccer but today my focus will be football. The boys have finally crossed over to the testosterone laden side. I should have known that it would happen some day. It could no longer be put off. Actually, anything is better than "Fairly Odd Parents" or "Naruto." So we watch football and we play football....every day. I wake up to ESPN, I have to be referee to backyard football games, and they actually play "Backyard Football" on the computer. Allie and I are having lots of time for visits to the nail salon and watching "Cheetah Girls." This is of course when we were not driving to practice or watching games. It is actually really fun. I never thought I'd enjoy football. I don't actually understand it but I now appreciate it more.

Jake did a great job this season although his coach kept him on defense the entire year.
apparently he was one of the few that would actually dive and jump on the other kids with no fear. He sacked the quarterback on a regular basis. Go Jake! He is number 65 in the above pictures.

Bowling anyone?

These pictures are from our bowling banquet we had a couple weeks ago!




Hello! I am not sure if everyone knows how much my husband loves to bowl. It has been a while since he's been bowling and when we found out about a youth/adult bowling league at our town lanes we decided to go for it. Every Sunday evening(just about) this summer we went bowling! Lowell and Kyle were on a team together that they named "The Rockers" and Jake and I were on a team that Jake named "The Spinners". I have to say that I started out hoping to break 100 every once in a while. I ended up with a high score of 176. No....not 76.....but 176. Your eyes do not deceive you. Kyle was ready to quit after the first week and having an average of 41. But both boys improved and ended up with scores around 100 consistantly with high scores of 109 (Jake) and 110 (Kyle). Poor Allie had to tag along with us unless she got an invite to a friend's house. Being a small bowling alley she was able to take her own CD's and they would play them over the speakers. Nothing like bowling to a Girl's Authority CD! The boys also received a free ball at the end of the league.

The Big Picture

Hey! Well, there is not a whole lot of news to report but since my sisterchickies have commented on the picture on my blog I thought I'd give ya'll the BIG PICTURE. Hee hee....here it is...

This picture was taken in South Haven this past June. Poor Jake is standing in full sun so it's not the greatest of him but I really liked it of me so I'd have to say it's the best family picture...ever! LOL It is even funnier when you see the real picture before I cropped it off.

It's so funny to see Lowell standing in a hole. But when it's cropped it looks like something Sears Portrait studio might have done. (yes, I know I am really short! - so my sons keep telling me.)

Well, there you have it....The Big Picture! :-)

First Week!

Well, I survived my first week of work! Next week I start classes and I realized today that I never did buy my books or figure out my student loans! Yikes! I'm sure it will all work out but it is my nature to worry...a little. So far so good with the kids although Allie and Jake were sick this week with a tummy bug and I missed a half day of work. (Lowell stayed home for the morning) Being a working Mom after eleven years at home is really, really weird! I think I will be very happy to see that first paycheck. I just found out that I won't get it until September 8th...talk about delayed gratification! My co-workers are all very nice and the kids are just adorable. A little boy with cerebral palsy looked up at me as he sat in his wheelchair, a little drool dribbling down onto his red shirt, and he said "I like you!" With the biggest grin on his face. The student I assist the majority of the time is doing good. We have our moments but otherwise he is very good natured. Please pray for the week ahead and that my school goes well even if I don't have my books! Oh, and we finally paid off Kyle's trumpet and Jake came home today after a band "try it" day at school and told me he wants to play trombone! I guess I will have my very own brass band! :-)

First Day of School 2006

First Day of School! Wow! This summer went by extremely fast. Here is Allie and Kyle...Kyle is so overjoyed to have his picture taken. You can tell he thinks he is much too old for this picture stuff. Allie was very happy to have her picture taken. Jake kept moving during pictures. It kind of reminded me of his first day of preschool. :-) I finally got one of him after school while he was talking to some friends.
Here is Jakie-bakie. The first day of school is always so nuts because all the parents (and grandparents!) of kindergarteners (there are 130 of them this year) want to come and pick up their kids plus all us "old" moms who need the photo ops. The kids all had great first days. Allie reported that her Math/Literacy teacher has candy, that the girl she thought was mean is actually very nice, and that five boys chased her at recess. Jake's report was shorter...they get safety patrol points and if they have at least 1 left by the end of the year then they get to go to Adventureland. He also reconnected with a couple friends that he didn't see much this summer and immediately ran out after school to play. This neighborhood is great for that. Kyle went out for Dairy Queen with one of his friends after school and said that it would take too long to tell me everything he did on his first day. :-0 But I did find out that his Social Studies teacher is a 30- year- old man and waaaay cool. This should help since his S.S. teacher last year bored him to tears (almost literally) and we constantly struggled to keep his grade above a "C". My first day of work as Special Education Teacher Associate was good as well. Actually it was MUCH, MUCH, better than I had anticipated. I was getting fairly worked up about it and then after my short training day was even more discouraged. But God is so good and all my prayers were answered and then some. The lead teachers had everything organized and the young man that I am in charge of assisting was good natured and easy to manage. I am also helping out in one of the special ed classrooms as I am available and I have been surprisingly at ease with all of it. I wasn't sure how I'd handle the severity of disability due to my lack of experience but I am confident that I handled myself well. I think it is going to be very good experience. Another fun note was that my kids all were in total awe of the fact that I ate my lunch in the teacher's lounge. LOL....apparently they think it is a party zone. Wait til they see my key to the faculty bathroom!

Iowa State Fair!

Allie is so excited to be at the state fair! :-) This is our third year spending a day eating corn dogs, pork chops on a stick, funnel cakes, cotty candy, caramel apples, Rootbeer floats ugh...anyone else have a tummy ache?!? I actually tried a HUGE, GIGANTIC, turkey leg. I don't recomend it. It was straight out of King Henry the 8th. Well, anywho...we had a great time. The boys were actually brave enough to ride some midway rides and all three kids bungee jumped...sort of...it was a mini-bungee. We did all the important things like going to the Agriculture building and viewing all the contest winners. Did you know they even have prizes for bee hives? Somehow we missed that before. We did not get to see the Butter Cow. The line was very long.... Last year we cut in line because we honestly were unaware that there was a line to see the butter cow. Who knows these things? But you know what? Iowa people are so nice. They just smiled at us and said "That's O.k. hon." I love Iowa people. :-) We sampled all the new foods, entered contests, won prizes, got tattoed (washable, of course), rode the giant slide, and rode the length of the fair grounds on the sky glider. Phew...I'm beat. I put a picture of Allie from the fair 2004 and the fair 2006 in the garden area so you could see how much she's grown! (I hope these pictures turn out!)

School time...

Well, it is that time of year again! We have gotten all the school supplies set and ready for the first day of school on August 17th. The school gives us a list of items for each grade. Some things are required and others are optional...of course my kids want to have all the stuff. Kyle needed a bigger backpack this year...those seventh grade books are bigger, ya know. :-) We took a tour of the middle school a few days ago and found out what "team" Kyle will be on. He is very happy to be on the Platinum team again although they scramble all the kids each year so he does not have any of his friends on his team. The school divides the 675 seventh graders into teams of 60-70 kids so that they feel like they are in a smaller group. He will have three main teachers and he is also continuing with band this year. He still enjoys his trumpet! Jake is starting fifth grade this year. WOW! How time flies. He is looking forward to being on safety patrol and wearing the authoritative orange vest that allows him to tell other kids not to run, among other rules. He will have the same teacher he had last year and most of the same kids so the transition should be very easy for him. In September he gets to pick what instrument he wants to play for the school band. Allie is going into second grade and she got the teacher she wanted. I think it will be a good fit for her and we have seen her teacher several times at the community pool this summer. This year Allie will learn cursive writing and start multiplication. Our little girl is growing up! I am going back to school at the end of the month at Upper Iowa University. They have a Des Moines location so I will attending classes nearby. I am also going to be working at the middle school. Should be busy but doable. Kyle is excited to have me at his school and I look forward to getting to know the middle school arena a little better. I will be working with sixth grade special education students so I will not be in the same area as Kyle but I am sure we'll see each other in the halls. Well, that is all for today!

Hi! First post on my blog. More later!