Fall Fun Night

Our church hosted a Family Fun night for the 20's and 30's of the church.  Children included.  It was a nice evening considering it was the last Saturday in October.  A bit chilly but no wind or precipitation.  

We went and had a good time!

They had pumpkin launching!  Ephraim & Emmet were able to launch it pretty far.  Ephraim's went so high and so far that we don't even know where they landed!

There was coloring in the shop when we needed to warm up.  

And pumpkin bowling for the little ones!

The bonfire kept everyone warm!  The last event of the evening was a hayrack ride through the bean field.  It was a good time to talk to some families we don't always see at our church service.  We're glad we went!

In their words . . .

Eden is trying to keep up with big brother Ephraim who has memorized his Old Testament books in order.  But for Eden, Ecclesiastes comes out as "Eccles-i-as-can-be."  It is super cute to hear her say it!  She's learning, and that's all that counts.

I ordered new shoes for the girls for church.  It was time and their other winter ones would not fit this winter.  They came in the mail on Thursday and the girls wore them around the house all day.  On Sunday, when asked "Where did you get your new shoes?"  Eden's innocent answer was this: "The mailman."  Oh, really, Eden.  What kind of relationship do you have with the mailman?  It was pretty cute.  I guess I should clarify that her shoes came from Kohls.com.

Eden enjoys vocabulary.  Whether or not she knows the meaning of the word.  Her latest word?  Entourage.  Yep, she's running around, throwing her hands up in the air and proclaiming "Entourage."  As best as I can figure, the new Veggie Tales movie Princess and the Pop Star says that word a time or two and she's picked up on it.

As for the boys, their latest joke is this:
What is a surfer's favorite book of the Bible?
Dude-eronomy.  Get it? :~p

Pictures of the week, October 14 to October 20, 2012

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Power Zone children sang during 1st and 2nd service.  A great job both times!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Homeschool field trip, previously blogged about.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

A sneak peak at what the children were wearing for family pictures this night.  I knew the weather would be warmish so we invited Seth's brother over to take "a few" (ended up being 119) photos to choose from for our Christmas cards and our wall.  

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

We had a funeral visitation to attend for Seth's great uncle so we went there and then took went out to Pizza Ranch to celebrate Emmet's birthday the next day.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Emmet with the birthday gift from Mommy & Daddy.  

Friday, October 19, 2012

We enjoyed some time in the afternoon visiting with our friends.  I visited with Stephanie and stamped cards while the girls played inside.  The boys were outside getting muddy on their bikes, but they were having a blast together!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Our day of flight, previously blogged about.  Still, a sweet memory.  

Airplane Thrill!

I got a text from my high school friend Debbie on Friday night (Oct 19) . . . "I know it's late but what are you doing tomorrow?  We want to fly down."  Sweet!  We haven't seen each other in a while so this would be perfect.  And then she mentioned that Greg, her husband, would give us a ride in their rented airplane.  Even sweeter!  I kept it a secret from the kids ALL day.  All I told them was that we had something secret planned for the afternoon.  We pull into the local airport at 4:30 and Greg, Debbie and family have just landed.  We had time to visit a bit and then the boys went up in the air.  

Ephraim and Emmet were pretty pumped up when they found out that they were going up, up and up!  In fact, I think there was a hint of disbelief at first but that gave way to being ecstatic!

 Thrilled beyond words for what he was about to experience.

 Emmet and Ephraim sat in the back while Seth sat up front with Greg.

 Taking off!  They had about a 20 minute flight up the road, over our house and beyond.

When the boys got back, it was time for the girls to ride.  I was a bit apprehensive about how they would handle it but they were brave and acted like pros.

 Eliza getting the hang of the headphones.

 Flying over our house, in the middle.  Okay, actually you can't see it since it is buried under the yellow trees.  You can see the barn with the green roof in the center of the picture.  You can see the neighbor's house across the road and up the road.

The town of Fremont.  

Greg thought it best to have one child in front and one in the back with me.  Probably so the kids don't flip out and go hysterical and try to climb up front if that was where I'd been sitting.  So, Eden was the only child to sit in the front seat!  Big stuff.  

We were able to enjoy some time visiting in the airport while enjoying a snack.  And then it was time for them to fly off into the sunset to Des Moines.

It was a short, but enjoyable 2 hours.  We're so glad that they thought of us when making their plans of what to do with a plane for an afternoon.  It was an experience my children won't soon forget.  In fact, Eliza's ambition to be a fairy has now advanced to being an airplane fairy.  A personal airplane ride is quite a privilege and we were all thrilled to spend time with some great friends.

Pictures of the Week, October 7, to October 13, 2012

Sunday, October 7, 2012

An afternoon of family, presents & cake!

Monday, October 8, 2012

An evening of Bible Study, fellowship and maybe some laughter with friends.  The lesson was on anger.  There was petty anger like road rage or getting upset with a cashier at a retail establishment.  But there's also anger at larger, social issues.  Such as world famine, abortion, war.  Are we, as Christians getting angry enough and doing something productive with our anger?  Or do we just take on an apathetic view and do nothing.  Pretend it isn't happening.  

We need to get angry about what is breaking God's heart and do something.  Time is too short to just sit back.  Sponsor a child through World Vision or Compassion.  Buy a goat or a chicken through Heifer International for Christmas.  Fill a shoebox, or two or three, through Operation Christmas Child.  Help fund a missionary.  Donate to prison ministries.  Do something today to make the world a better place.  

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

A look at how big our pigs are getting.  And to prove to those who are getting pork from us, that yes, we do have the pigs and this is not a scam. ;p

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

We gave the girls most of their presents from us at their party, but we saved one small one for their actually birthday!  Here they are in their princess dresses waiting to open their present.  

What'd you get?  Girl LEGOS!

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY TO OUR TWO PRINCESSES!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

I've been making my own dishwasher detergent for a while now and made some more this week.  The recipe is from this website.  It is simple and I've had good luck with it.  

Friday, October 12, 2012

The gentle rain started.  And didn't stop until Sunday morning.  All totaled we received nearly 3 inches of beautiful moisture.  The ground definitely welcomed it.  I'm not sure the crick is running again . . . most of the rain just went straight to the deep cracks.  We still need lots of rain to make up the moisture deficit.  Thankfully, our crops didn't suffer too much this summer.  After many anxious weeks of seeing  the temperature climb and the drought get worse, we were pleasantly surprised with our yields.  That being said, we need rain now to boost next year's crop.   

Saturday, October 13, 2012

We spent some time as a family working on the rabbits and their cages.  We cleaned them up, trimmed the rabbit's nails and secured the cages to the wall.  

Happy 7th Birthday Emmet!

Wow!  Can't believe that Emmet is 7 today.  We started the celebrating the night before.  We were in town for a funeral visitation for Seth's Great Uncle.  Since it was over the supper hour, we took the kids out for supper afterwards.  Emmet got to pick the place and he chose Pizza Ranch!  

 Emmet is enjoying pizza and dessert pizza at the same time!

Thursday morning he had one present to open!

The CARS 2 LEGO set that he wanted.  He was pretty happy with it and spent a while in the morning getting it set up.

A few things about Emmet:
*He loves math, reading not so much.
*He can be a bit obstinate at times, but he knows what he wants.
*He loves telling jokes!
*He does enjoying playing dolls with his sisters but not as much as playing LEGOS or farm set with his brother.
*He's eager to help out with chores and enjoys one-on-one time with Mom or Dad.
*LEGOS are his favorite toy.
*Wild Kratts is his favorite cartoon.
*Extreme Dot-to-Dots are his favorite, up to 1700 dots for one picture!
*He wears a size 7 pants, size 2/3 shoe, weighs 60 pounds and is solid!
*He doesn't know what he wants to be when he grows up.
*He's really good at riding bike, driving the Cub tractor and Grandma's golf cart.
*His favorite food is meatballs, spaghetti or chicken on the bone.

"A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother."  Proverbs 10:1  
We're definitely trying to focus on the first half of this verse!

Field Trip--Autumn Acres

Monday morning was a nice day for a pre-planned homeschool group field trip.  Grandma brought the children in for the outing and I met them there.  A lot of fun was had!

Eden was thrilled with jumping just a foot or two off of the bales.  

Ephraim went for the bigger jumps.  Seriously, I would not have jumped what he jumped.  Wow!

 Lovin' the tire tubes.

 Taking a break after getting tipped over!

 On a wagon ride.

 Playing with corn.  Oh, wait.  Looks like they are burying Ephraim.

A mid-air shot.

 Is he gonna make it?  Yep, he is.  Several times, in fact.

 How tall?

It was a fun morning.  The weather was perfect, a bit chilly but still nice.  And as always, the fellowship is always nice.

So long.  See you next fall, probably.  

4-wheeler Afternoon

The children were promised 4-wheeler rides for Sunday afternoon.  Saturday was rainy at times (praise God for 3 inches when it was all done) and we put off riding until Sunday.  Sunday turned out to be a bit windy and chilly but they were undeterred.  

As an added bonus, the boys were able to ride WITHOUT DADDY.  They only kept it in 1st or 2nd gear and rode around the yard.  The girls were equally thrilled to ride with their brothers.  

Ephraim and Eden

Emmet and Eliza

You've just got to love that look of Eliza!  She's really happy.  She's feeling pretty special.  She's well cared for and loved.  She might be a bit ornery, too.

A solo ride and speeding up!

Seth was sure to give the boys lessons on how to handle the ditch and what not to do.  Safety is very important, too.

Both boys taking a ride.

Boys will be boys and find the mud puddle.  I'm surprised we had only one after 3 inches of rain.  Most of the rain just went into the cracks!  

Two boys.  One 4-wheeler.  Ninety minutes of riding.  Priceless memories.  The boys were able to take the 4-wheeler to the pasture for a bit, where there was more wide open spaces to go a bit faster.  You could hear their voices:  "This is awesome!"  "I love it!"  "This is fun!"  All amidst their laughter of having such a good time.  Simple things are nice.  Like a 4-wheeler ride on Sunday afternoon and mud-speckled memories.