BEAUTIFUL

This is - BEAUTIFUL....

A homemade pillowcase given to me today, by a BEAUTIFUL friend. She made it perfectly beautiful, just for me. She knows my heart, she knows my style, and she knows my "color".

The pillowcase was given as a reminder to me that she is praying for me - continuously. As I lay down at night, and there is chaos in my head, I can find peace in remembering she is praying - for me. She is praying for the children and familes I interact with. She is praying for the children, around the world, that she knows my heart is drawn to.

She is part of the body of Christ - just like these children. She is serving Him, daily.

AND THAT IS BEAUTIFUL!!!

Not So Scary Halloween

Halloween is supposed to be the scary, spooky celebration of the year. Our family just doesn't do scary, spooky. But...we DO DO FUN! And, fun it was!

The weather was beautiful. The costumes were adorable. The candy was good. And the cousins were here! It was a perfectly FUN Halloween Day!

The animals of the household spent some animal bonding time. Maybe it is because one of the animals is feeding the other some candy???

Here is the crew: a hip-hop policeman, a scary little lion, a Hawkeye football player, and of course a princess.

This is a classic picture what life ACTUALLY looks like!

The big cousins did pumpkins together.

Maybe I was wrong....there was a LITTLE bit of scary amongst us - YIKES!

Family Strongholds

Every family has their "things". They things that drag them down a little...or a lot. These are things that tend to bring out the bad side in family members.

Strongholds - or ISSUES - are things that can pass down from generation to generation, UNLESS, a family can recognize them. Once they are recognized, the next step would be acknowledge that these things ARE issues. Finally, it would important to make steps towards working through the issues, to release them, and move onward and upward, however challenging it may be.

Yesterday, we reached step 2 - There IS an issue. One that has rooted itself into the depths of our family. This issue has started the pattern of affecting others around us...it is time to face the reality - conquer the stronghold....

The Nukkie Addiciton

We found Leo taking "hits" of this Nukkie, last night. He has been brought into a home of bad influence, and he has picked up on the habit.

The reality hit - it is time for a Nukkie Intervention. I mean come on, you know it's bad when you DOG starts participating!

Adults Can Act Crazy TOO!

Do you ever think to yourself, "I'm too old to act silly. I'm too old to let loose. I'm too old to REALLY have fun"? Do you? Do you ever think that???

In the event that you believe such things - we tested it out this past Saturday. And we're here to say....IT'S NOT TRUE!!!

26 adults left their children at home with babysitters to participate in a crazy game tournament at our house. There was silliness. There was competition. There was bantering. Best of all - there was lots and lots of laughter!

The evening began with huge game of extremely funny Blind Dodge Ball:
After everyone was warmed up and the ice was broken, the crew spent the rest of the evening tracking their scores as they rotated between 4 game stations. Scores were important as the evening ended with 1 winner and 1 Winner of Losers - coveted titles, desired by all.

Wii Boxing - Sweating, punching, and even some screaming

Mad Gab - Crazy Words and Crazy Laughter

Tower Building - Objective was to build the tallest tower that could support an egg: These gals had FUN building their tower

This group built a very nice looking tower...but it definitely was NOT tall


These guys went all the way. The tallest possible!

And finally, Spoons. Intense Competition. The claws came out in this game!

Claws...
Claws....

Claws...

We have opted not to reveal the Winner or Loser of the tournament, as they would prefer to remain out of the media spotlight. You can make your own assumptions from the pictures you see above.

The night was a success. The proof was in the pudding - or - in the games. Adults CAN act silly/crazy and love every second they're doing it!

What are you going to do to let loose and have fun?!

Introducing....

LEO

Leo is a Chug Dog - yep, I said "Chug" dog. You're probably wondering what exactly IS a Chug Dog?!?! Half Chihuahua/Half Pug, of course! Goofy? Yep! Adorable? Indeed! Love it!

This little Chug dog won us over at the Humane Society....and here he is. He is sweet, patient, charming, and a little goofy. A seemingly great fit for our family.

The rascals love Leo, and Leo loves them right back. The way it should be!

This pooch had an exhausting day! New family, new home, new life. Nighty night Leo. Dream sweet doggy dreams.

Life Lessons - As Learned at Pre-K

1. Inclusion vs. Exclusion
There's nothing better than making games with friends on the playground. Especially games, like "Secret Agents" - with code names: "Fish", "Agent Dog", etc. The agents jobs sound important - to chase the girls. It's all fun and games. Unless.....only some kids can be the agents, and the girls don't WANT to be chased.
The playground - a key place to learn life's lessons about friendship and relationships?
The lessons we're learning - (1)it's more fun to play games, when all kids have a role with the "agents". More agents will bring more fun, more friends, and more crime fighting. (2) respect. Some girls might not view themselves as the "bad guys". They may want to be treated more as "princesses" - rescued by the brave hereoins vs. chased down by the agents.
2. Girlfriends
I guess it's never too early to have a girlfriend. Who knew.
The lessons we're learning - Spoken directly from the teacher "We need to keep our hands to ourselves". YIKES!
3. Embarrassing Moments
Wearing your shorts backwards to school....it's embarrassing.
The lesson we're learning - it's ok to laugh at yourself when you wear your shorts backwards to school. One time, mom wore two different colored shoes to work. When she laughed at herself....so did everyone else!
4. Leadership
Being the leader for the day has many perks. Leader of the line. Revealer of the weather. And much more, I am sure.
The lesson we're learning - being an leader has impact on others. The way we act and choices we make influences others....even when we wear our shorts backwards on the day we are a leader! :)

Lessons of life. They'll never stop. And for that, we are grateful. May we always find the lessons to be learned in our day to day activities. Without them, life would be boring!

Ballerina Girl

With little toes ready to twitter and flit, the girl child turned into a beautiful ballerina today. The anticipation of becoming a dancer has been building inside this ballerina girl for several weeks.

Today was finally the day - the first day of dance class. Two teachers and a dance room full of three year old ballerina girls anxious to become beautiful dancing princesses.

And little funky tappers - tip tip tippety tapping tip tip tippety tapping
The first day was a smashing success. We came home and experienced every detail, as the little dancer girl re-taught the entire dance class to me and the boy child. The boy child - he just wanted to play football.
Dance on little dancer girl. Dancing makes you sparkle!

He Really Exists!

All cucumber. All superhero. At our house.

It's Larry Boy!

He really does exist!

Tyler's School Debut

Dear Teacher,

I am sending you my most precious possession today,
Trusting in your care what to do and say,
Be gentle and loving and encourage him too,
I'm trusting in you to know what to do,
Show him things and let him draw,
So he'll remember the things he saw,
Let him jump and run and play,
He'll tell us all about his day,
Let him do things on his own too,
But please help him when he looks up to you,
Give him a hug and smile a lot,
Memories of you will never be forgot.

A Loving Parent
By Renee H. Davis

Tyler's Excited Look - He IS READY!

This is Tyler's Hook - He Hung his Backpack There, Proudly

Tyler and Best Buddy Chase Are Ready to Tackle Pre-K - TOGETHER!

And a Little Something From Mrs. Nash for the Moms

2 Years of Mitchell Visits

2 Years - we have been South Dakotans for 2 whole years! Not sure if it is the luring draw of the World's Only Corn Palace, or the need to feel the prairie breeze blow through their hair - but our 2 years in SD has drawn family and friends for some good quality visits. Serious memories and stories have been created through these visits. Some soul-warming laughter. We are extremely grateful for these times and wouldn't trade them for anything! Whatever the reason for the ventures to Mitchell - we will take 'em....we have room waiting just for YOU!

Looking back at our cast of visitors the past 2 years:

The Coalwell Family - August 2007

Molly and Laura and Kids - September 2007

The Kuntz Grandparents and Kristy and Brittney - September 2007
The Kahl Grandparents, The Knoblochs and The Thomas Family - November 2007

Laura, Molly, Allison and Kids - August 2008

The Drent Family - August 2008

The Whickers - September 2008

Uncle Nate - November 2008

Grandpa Vernie and Grandma Agnes - March 2009

Kia, Annie and Kids - April 2009

Brittney and Ginger the Dog - July 2009

The Kothes - July 2009

We have had many other day visitors, as well as additional visits from both sets of grandparents, that are not pictured, and we love them just as much.

2 years in Mitchell - wow! Time sure flies when there are fun people to share it with!

The Girl Child...

Is All Girl

With A Lot of Snuggly Girl Love

With Great Girl Sas

And Sweet Girl Charm

With a Whole Lot of Little Girl Personality

Exactly the Way God Designed Her - The Girl Child