Meeting Friends

About a week and a half ago, we took the kids to the Twin Cities for a relaxing day of fun. The boys spent the afternoon with my sister and her husband playing Wii and swimming, while Trent and I took Aleah to the Mall of America so she could meet Pablo from the Backyardigans and Dora from Dora the Explorer. She had a blast! We also rode some of the little kid rides at Nickelodean Universe while we waited for the characters. It was so fun to spend the day with her and focus just on doing things for her. Each of our kids needs that special time with just mom and dad! Here are a few pictures from her special day!

This little roller coaster ended up being her favorite ride. After the first time, she ran up to Trent and said, "ride again??" So off they went!

Happy Birthday Evan!!!!

Seven years ago today, we welcomed our second little boy into our family! Evan James, all 9# 4oz of him, blessed our family at 3:43 pm after only 4 hours of labor! This morning, after he had received a half dozen phone calls wishing him a happy birthday, he looked at me and said, "mom, I really like it when people call to wish me a happy birthday. That's really special!". It got me thinking about him and how special and unique he is and how much I love him. Since I hope that this blog can someday be a journal that our family can look back at together, I wanted to "jot" down all the special things that describe Evan.



EVAN:
* loves to cuddle
* likes to have his back scratched
* enjoys playing legos
* loves to draw
* loves to cook.....he recently said he wants to be a chef when he grows up! :)
* follows the rules
* has an incredibly tender heart
* is loved by girls....better watch this one as he gets older!
* was a terrible sleeper as a baby, but now is great.
* is a big kid....has always been in the 97% or higher for height. He looks like a 3rd grader!
* likes to "dance" with hip-hop wordless music. It's kind of cute to watch.
* was my shortest labor, yet my largest child by almost a pound!
* loves to read
* does math in his head...he'll be just like his grandpa mayo
* is my only child with all dominant traits (brown hair, brown eyes, right handed, etc..)
* always needs a little extra prodding in the mornings....he likes to take his time (aka: he's slow!)
* loves to take LONG HOT showers!
* likes to play catch and baseball with his brother.
* wants a soccer ball for his birthday, so he can practice with his mom! How sweet!!
* broke his finger this past summer, and despite it being his right hand, still played b-ball!
* loves to play games
* loves his special friend Ms. Cripe. She has a very special place in his heart.
* loves his family
* is loved by his family and most of all, by Jesus!!



We love you, Evan!! We hope you have a wonderful day!

It's a War out there!

Yesterday in mom's group, I shared about the struggles we've been having with Carter's anxiety, his poor sleeping, and my increasing LACK of patience with him. One of the moms talked about her own childs troubles and how she and her husband realized that their family was going through a spiritual warfare. She mentioned that many times Satan can attack your family through less than obvious ways, including your children. Standing back now, I can see the spiritual attacks on our family through Carter. We prayed for Carter and I prayed yesterday when I got home....prayed for the banishment of Satan from our home. I'm happy to say, that Carter was much more relaxed going to bed last night. Only woke up once and was able to turn right over and go back to sleep.

We have some good friends that are also experiencing this spiritual warfare. They are members of our small group and because of some issues regarding Wednesday night activities for their children, it is looking like they will not be able to be part of our study. We are studying the Truth Project. We'll be praying for this situation and that Satan's presence will leave, for hearts to be changed and for the Glory of God to be exemplified!

The Door

Guess I forgot to finish the door story. That's pretty typical of me. Anyhow, Monday morning I spent a long time on the phone trying to get a door handle. I called a couple local dealerships and was told that the part would cost about $60, but it would come unpainted and so to have it painted would be another $125! What?? Are you kidding me? Almost $200 for a DOOR HANDLE??????? Forget that option. Onto the next....the salvage yard. If you've never gone on this road for car parts, it's a good one. I found a door handle for $20 and then was able to buy the paint at the auto parts store for $25 and VOILA...a new door handle that matches our car almost perfectly. Hee Hee....saved myself almost $150!! We've gotten other parts for our cars from the salvage yard....you can save yourself a lot of money.

what a big girl.

Just wanted to share this picture of Aleah. She just looks so grown up.

Ouch!!!!

When we made the decision for me to move to a casual position at work, it was so I could stay home more and get involved in more activities. I've done that. Mom's group, helping Trent lead a small group for church, going on field trips with the boys, and now.....I've joined a recreational women's soccer league. Our first night was last night. And boy do I hurt. Oh my word....never thought I'd ache like this. That can only mean one thing. I am definately getting older. I guess I did ok for it being my first time ever playing soccer, not great, but better than I anticipated!

This past weekend was a busy one. Trent golfed Saturday morning and then when he came home, we decided to tackle our mile-long list of needed car repairs. Why oh why do they always snowball?? Anyway, awhile back something broke inside the front passenger door, so you couldn't open it from the outside. A bit of a nuisance. But we really hadn't had the time to try and figure out what it was, nor can we go with one car during the school year. Well, Saturday he decided it was time to figure out what was wrong. Now you might be saying to yourself, "Gosh I didn't realize Trent was a mechanic....I thought he was a teacher?!" You're right. He's not a mechanic. One thing that I love about Trent, is his willingness to try. He will find videos or articles about projects and attempt them. I'll tell you...he's almost always successful. He is The Jack of ALL Trades!! Back to the door. He got it all apart and found that it was this little plastic piece on the actual exterior handle. Off to the auto parts store he went. Unfortunately, because it has a painted piece attached, it can only be ordered from a dealer and they weren't open anymore. We needed to replace the whole door handle. AND couldn't do anything about it until Monday. So now the car is sitting with the interior door frame on the garage floor and a hole in the side of the car from the door handle. hmmmm. not very usable in it's current condition. So what does he decide to do? Let's take off the wheel and find the shocks....they need to be replaced also. One Youtube video, a trip to the auto parts store and 1 1/2 hours later, we had new shocks. Wow! Next he's going to try the struts, although he may need to ask his friend Lucas to help with that one.

The boys also had a good weekend. Carter had a sleepover with his friend Jacob and Carter on Friday night and then on Saturday Carter and Evan went with the neighbors to Harvest Fest and then back to their house for playing and a movie. Sunday, we went to church and then came home to finish up work, while Evan went with his cousin to a local waterpark and Carter went to baseball practice.

This coming weekend we're actually going to head to the Twin Cities. Friday night Trent and the boys are going to go to the Twins game and then Saturday, we'll drive back to the cities. The boys are going to spend some time with my sister Amanda and her husband Jayson, while Trent and I take Aleah to the Mall of America to hopefully meet some of the Backyardigans characters! We're also going to get a chance to stop and see one of my good friends my high school, Erica and her family.

A Whole Week Down....Lots more to go!

We've now officially been in school for a whole week! Sorry it's been that long since I've posted...time seems to get away from me during the day. The first day of school went well for both boys. They seemed to both enjoy the time and really like their teachers. So I'm not sure what happened between the first day and the second day, but I got a call 15 minutes after school started from Carter. He was feeling VERY anxious! But after a stop at the school and a chat with him and the guidance counselor, things were much better. It was discovered that Trent needs to take him to school in the morning (he didn't on this particular day), to help with that anxiety. After that little bump in the road, each day since has been great. Evan has started to ride the bus home after school, which seems to be going well, except that the bus driver keeps missing his stop!! Good thing there is one across the street and I stand in the driveway to wave him down!

I decided today was a good day to post some misc. pictures from the summer. Unfortunately, it's telling me that there is some internal error and it can upload my pictures. If anyone understands what this is telling me, please let me know. I don't get it!! I'll try again later.

First Day Of School

The First Day of School is here!! Last week I was very excited and yet today I find myself a bit sad. Maybe it's because my boys are all gone, maybe because I know that means winter is on it's way, and maybe it's just because it truly represents the fact that my kids are getting older. I always knew the day would come....the day that my kids weren't totally dependant on me, yet I think I have been in a little bit of denial all these years. Sending my oldest child off to middle school brought that all to reality! He was definitely nervous. In fact he woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach ache and ended up sleeping on our floor, but this morning he was able to work through all of those nerves and leave for school with his head held high and NO tears! Thank you to all of you that prayed for him this morning! God answered your prayers....his anxiety was manageable this morning! I'm anxious to hear how his first day of middle school went.

Evan on the other hand had a harder time this morning. He was really nervous. I'm sure nervous about not knowing where to go, not knowing kids in his class and most of all.....not being with mom all day! He loves his mom and loves to be at home. So after getting all ready this morning, Aleah and I took him to school, walked in with him, and waited with him until he went into his classroom. He did OK and I'm sure that his first day will go well now that he's there. I'm excited to hear him tell about his first day also!

Trent also had his first day of school today! No tears, no nervousness, just bummed that summer is over! This should be a better year for him than last year was.....hopefully it is, or else I could see very early retirement in his future! :) Good thing he shaves his head, because I'm pretty sure that the number of gray hairs doubled last year!