School's Out!

First Grade Fun Day was earlier this week. They were supposed to walk to the park three blocks away, but it was raining so games took place in the middle school gym...still very fun. There was even face painting.


I neglected to get a first day of school picture this year, but did get a last day of school picture. Here's a comparison to a picture from a couple weeks before school started...pretty close. I'll try to do better this year.

The CookOut

We went to one of the best cookout's ever on Memorial Day '08. We were warned with the invite that we would be playing kickball, but when we arrived, we also found horseshoe's on the agenda. Kabe started out with a rousing game, partnering with Mike against Ben & Joe. Many thanks to Mike who was a very patient partner & teacher.



Next it was on to croquet with Mr. Bill. This was Kabe's first attempt at croquet (and horseshoes). Mr. Bill won this match, but Kabe had a lot of fun learning and played in a foursome later in the day with Miss Judy, Ben, and Joe. I can see that we will have many games of croquet in our future.



Next was the highly anticipated kickball game. There were seven on a team, Kabe being the only one under the age of 24. This was hard core - And Kabe did awesome! =)


Even Adam got in on the action!


Of course, Lynne was the ring leader. Fun was had by all -- unfortunately, the team Adam, Kabe & Lynne were on lost 9-5.


As soon as kickball was over, Kabe & Ben (soon replaced by wife, Jennifer & daughter Maggie), started playing frisbee. This kid never stops!


This was quite the active day -- and the cookout didn't even start until 4:30!

Adam & Dick protected us all throughout the cookout, gracefully warding off the yellow jackets that seemed to keep appearing. This was no small feat!


There were about 40 people at this cookout, but somehow, these beauties, Angie & Aubrey, were about the only pictures I got other than the pictures of the games.


Lastly, what cookout would be complete without a funny picture of Gabe?

Flowers and a Grill

Adam is the gardener in our house. Those of you who know us are not at all surprised by this, I'm sure. I'm trying to learn to have fun with it...or at least enjoy it a little, but I find about as much pleasure in it as Adam would in keeping this blog updated. =) I do enjoy flowers - gardening is just not my thing. Saturday was flowers and grill day.

Replacing our broken grill was really exciting. We have all this beef in our freezer and my favorite way to eat it - especially in the summer - is to grill it! Adam worked really hard to get the grill put together and Kabe worked right alongside him....


...to create a fort!


He even staked his claim:

In case you can't see what he wrote: "The Monster Hideout This Place is Awsome Girls are not aloud or boys Kabe is only aloud."

Oh -- and here are the flower pots. There are four clusters of these in front, plus a couple individual pots in back and then long rectangle pots along the side of the house as well. They house Impatiens....they don't look like much now...but just you wait - they'll be the most beautiful on our block very soon.


Oh - and if you need some Miracle Grow potting soil, just give us a call -- we overestimated.

Walking Her Home

Okay, so I'm in a really sappy mood and one of my favorite sappy songs is 'Walkin' Her Home' by Mark Schultz, a contemporary Christian artist. If you haven't heard of him, you should head over to youtube and do a search...WOW! He does a lot of songs with a story. He used to be a youth minister and one of his first songs is about a kid in his youth group called "He's My Son" about a little boy who's sick. He also has one called "Letters from War" and "I AM" just to name a few. The first (and only) concert we've taken Kabe to was a Mark Schultz and Big Daddy Weave. The song below was debuted at that concert & is old now so many of you will have heard it, but it will be new to some of you. This is a true story about his next door neighbors when he was a youth minister. It's called "Walking Her Home."

I know this is just a song, but see, it isn't. It's a song written about real people, real love. It makes me so thankful for my husband and although I am content and want to live each day for now and not miss these moments, I look forward to growing old together with him too.

Prayer

I'm sure most of you have already heard the news today about the tragic accident of Steven Curtis Chapman's (SCC) 5-year-old daughter Maria Sue. She is the youngest of his six children, one of the three he and his wife have adopted from China. Steven's son did not see his little sister in the driveway and she was struck by his Toyota Land Cruiser. This family is suffering right now from the loss of this beautiful little girl. For those of you who don't know who SCC is, he is a contemporary Christian artist - one of the most well known in the business. One well-known song he wrote and sings is 'I Will be Here' -- very popular at weddings.

If you haven't taken the chance already, take a minute to watch this video of beautiful little Maria Sue and say a prayer for this hurting family.


And if you haven't heard Steven's song 'Cinderella' written about watching his daughters Maria and Stevie Joy grow up, take a minute to listen.

Baby Dedication

In our church we don't infant baptize, but there is some merit to calling those people together who will come alongside parents to assist in molding the spiritual life of a child. Because of this, our church hosts Baby Dedication every spring. This year it was held in the form of a brunch. Our small group has catered this event for the last 4-5 years, while the nursery crew at church hosts the event. We gathered on Friday night at church for food prep.

Here's Adam, Bill and Pam creating some quiche.


Here's Bill & Pam taking a much needed and well-deserved break!


On Saturday morning, Kabe & I attended the brunch with Brian, Tiffany, Charlie & Rose. Here's a shot of Tiffany & Rose and then one of Kabe & Charlie.



When it was all said & done, we all pitched in to help in the clean up. Everyone wanted to vacuum, but in the end, Miss Judy picked the short straw and got to go for a ride & clean up the floor. A good morning was had by all.

My New Lens

It's been brought to my attention, that I have neglected to let you all know what lens I actually purchased! So sorry to keep you all in the dark! =)
I have a Canon Rebel XTi camera & received the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens. I haven't had it a week and already love this lens! I took lots of pictures so far this weekend so be prepared for some updates...as soon as I get some time to get everything uploaded.

My Little Man

Tonight while talking on the phone to 'Grandpa and Grandma that fishes' (aka my parents) I got a sweet picture of Kabe, my growing boy. He's literally growing in front of our eyes it seems! He is such a kind boy, not wanting other to be in pain, always wanting everyone to be included. He is still very much a mama's boy, although he is selective about when to show it. Of course, there are many things things only he and dad can do. His favorite activities these days include playing with his transformers, being on the laptop, riding his bike or being outside with his friends which means playing baseball or skateboarding.
My little boy isn't so little any more.

Top Five

It's spring - although the weather here in central Illinois is not very indicative of it. The weather is cold & rainy and it's sending a chill right to the bone. The barometer is giving my head fits and spring colds abound. I've been warding off a cold -- my glands are swollen, I'm exhausted & head is killing me. Kabe's coughing & fighting off something. I tell you all this -- not meaning to complain, but to lay the foundation for this post. I got home tonight prepared to make dinner & my wonderful husband took over and got preparations under way and finished it. This may not seem like a big deal, especially to those of you who know Adam & how much he enjoys the culinary arts. What makes this a big deal is that he really doesn't enjoy cooking in every day, mundane life. His preference is to prepare things for a more gourmet pallet and/or more than just the three of us. SO...it got me thinking that I don't express my gratitude enough. Below is a list of the top five things I'm thankful for.

1) God's grace, mercy and forgiveness.

2) My handsome, thoughtful husband. We've had a great 11 years so far ... and we've only just begun!

3) A fabulous son, who constantly brings a smile to my face and a song to my heart.

4) Family that I enjoy spending time with, love to laugh with, can't wait to see again.

5) Friends who understand me - at least sometimes, laugh with me, pray for me, and love me.


What are you thankful for?

Is there anyone out there? If so, please leave your Top Five in the comments of this post (by clicking on the word comments at the end of this post) or by posting them on your blog (please leave a comment so we'll know to head to your blog). Don't be shy...

Check it out!

My new lens is here ... and I really like it! I had the afternoon off Tuesday to take Kabe to the doctor. It was a beautiful afternoon so when we came home we took some time to take a few pictures.





Then after being outside a bit, we headed to the field for a baseball game. It got really windy and cold, but Kabe did get a couple runs.



He even made it all the way home!

Mother's Day!

Mother's Day in Central Illinois was COLD! In spite of the cold, the high winds and rain, my day and weekend, in fact, was fabulous.

For some time we've been looking for a new lens for our camera. Saturday we finally took the time to take our camera to a store and try it out with the lens I've been researching. Here is one of the shots I took at the store.

I absolutely love this shot!

After a little more running around and the purchase of Kabe's skateboard, we headed to get Adam, gather our stuff and head to see Iron Man. Let me just say, I was so not thrilled to see this show. Thinking it was a boy movie, my original intention was to send Adam & Kabe to see it together, then I decided I'd just go anyway. I'm so glad I did! I'm pretty sure I liked it way more than Kabe did! No, I'm not going to start collecting comics. =)

Oh - what about the lens, you ask? We didn't buy it yesterday, but we did order it online! =) More pictures to come...hopefully later in the week. Thank you for a Great Mother's Day Adam & Kabe!

Just one of the boys

There are three other boys around Kabe's age in our neighborhood. He has played with one of them a little bit in the past, but it's only recently that they are actually coming over to knock & see if he can play baseball or whatever. The newest and most-liked activity is skate-boarding. Of course, we have roller-blades. We have bikes. We have scooters. We have all sorts of other outside stuff, but not a skate board. Until now.



He'll be taking out the trash and unloading the dishwasher all summer. But he'll be rollin' with the boys.

Saturday .... Miscellaneous

Kabe started with pink eye in his right eye. No biggie, half day of school so they didn't even send him home. Called Dr. P's nurse and she called in a scrip. Didn't even have to go in to see the doc, which is fabulous. We did the drops for four days and then woke up his left eye looked awful...swollen, red, all full of stuff. We hadn't been doing the drops in both eyes...oops.

We now have beef! Over Christmas my Aunt Karen talked to us about going in on some beef with them. The processing was complete when we were back for my grandpa's funeral, but we didn't have room in the car to bring it back with us. Luckily my cousin (Karen's daughter), lives in Des Moines and had room to bring it back with her and store it for us for a few weeks. Last weekend we drove to DM to Brandi's and brought it all back. We have SO MUCH meat! We got half a side or a quarter of beef. We only have a small freezer (like the size of a washing machine) and it is now completely full! It'll be a while before we can eat anything other than beef.

Baseball is going well. We only had one game this week, Thursday's game was rained out. Stay tuned for further updates. =)

Random Questions #7

Round 7--FOOD!! I've had conversations with a lot of people lately about eating, food, and how what we eat differs so often from what we *should* eat. It's a hot topic in our house with a kiddo that literally refuses to eat and a husband who doesn't like to eat. So share your thoughts...who knows how much it might help someone. Maybe me!

1. What does a typical evening meal look like at your house? (Be honest!)

2. What is your idea of a "healthy meal" if you were going to aim for that specifically?

3. What food(s) do you like now that you wouldn't have believed would be in that category 10 years ago?

4. Tell me about one of your best "food memories." (Maybe a date, or event, or just a great meal.)

5. If you have kids, what do your kids like that surprises you? What would they pick for their favorite meal?

6. If you had to give up two items from your personal menu, what would you miss the most?
_______________________________________

1. ‘Typical’ depends on what night of the week it is. On nights when we’re actually home for the evening, a ‘real’ meal is something like chicken with a vegetable and some rice, or spaghetti with garlic bread and a salad, but on busy nights we do fall back on boxed meals like hamburger helper and on game nights (twice a week right now…) we have lots of sandwiches, fruit and raw veggies/chips for Kabe and then Adam & I grab popcorn at the concession stand.

2. Grilled or broiled chicken with steamed broccoli

3. Broccoli! I would never have eaten as a child and I love it now! As an adult I started slow, first only eating it smothered in cheese and now, my favorite is steamed with a smidge of salt.

4. Hmmmm, food memory? Not sure about this. Probably not ready to dig too deeply into this one yet.

5. One of Kabe’s favorite meals is tortellini which is funny because it’s not something either of us grew up eating. Another of his fav’s is pesto which is even more hilarious as we make our own and it’s a pretty healthy spinach pesto…again, not something I’d have eaten as a child. He used to pick both of these as his favorite, but if you ask him right now, he would say what almost every American 7-year-old says: macaroni & cheese. Probably because I never make it for him.

6. Spaghetti and broccoli.

Random Questions #8

Okay – so here are the Round 8 Random Questions. Yeah, Yeah…I’m out of order. I realize I skipped Round 7. I will get back to them…sometime. We’ve been busy & sick & tired and crazy (in no particular order) at our house. =)

The Random Questions process
~Choose one or all of the questions to answer.
~Either respond with a comment to this post with your answer or put up a post on your own blog for a full response.
~Don't forget to include any funny or interesting story to illustrate your answer in action.
~Be sure to leave a comment on this post to let us know where to find your post so we can come check it out!

Round 8--Quirks--We all have our funny little things about us, so let it out! Tell about what makes you weird! Or maybe you just call it a "specific preference." :o)

What quirks do you have in the following categories? (Or tell on someone else if you want!)
1. Home (cleaning, order, furniture, yard, etc.)
2. Personal (get-ready routine, clothes/shoes, hate feet?)
3. Relational (high-maintenance proof, personal space, parental/spousal habits, etc)
4. Food (ways you eat, ways that annoy you about how others eat, can't mix foods, etc)

___________________________________

1. Home—I don’t think I have much in this category. We both like the house to be picked up, but if I were transparent here (and I’m supposed to be, right??), then I would say that most of the time, stuff get’s strewn about and I (we) would be horrified if you were to drop by unannounced. I guess the biggest thing is that when things are put away, put them away correctly, in the right place/cupboard/stacking order, etc.

2. Personal--I do have a definite order to my get ready routine and although I wouldn’t call myself high-maintenance, I’m not exactly low-maintenance either…I just fit in-between.

3. Relational--I have always thought myself to be a people person, but the older I get, the more I realize that to be false or at least to be changing as the more I get involved in technology, email/facebook/texting/blogging/instant messenger etc. the less I find the need for actual face-to-face and/or phone communication. I would much rather type you than call you.

4. Food—Okay, this one is pretty easy for me! I like my food hot and not touching. I don’t like condiments of any kind, except ketchup and then I’m selective about brands. And yes, that means mayonnaise and miracle whip…I don’t eat it or any form of it or most foods that are made with it, unless there is so little of it in the food you can’t taste it. I don’t like salad dressings of any sort. No – none. Typically, I don’t like chucks of food, for instance, tomatoes, I don’t like tomatoes raw in pretty much any form except salsa and then, I don’t eat the chunks…I’m a dipper not a scooper because I don’t eat the chunks. I like raw carrots but not cooked ones – cooked carrots taste like crayons smell…yeah weird – but that’s just how God wired me. I could probably go on & on with this one, but as you can already see, I’m rather ‘quirky’ (lets say…) with food. =)

We're making progress!

In the last few weeks, I've updated you about Kabe's sleeping troubles. He has a hard time sleeping through the night, sometimes having nightmares and sometimes he just 'misses me'. I think that although he has had a few nightmares, most of the time, he's just a light sleeper and has gotten in a pattern of waking up at ungodly hours (1am, 3am...) and this pattern, combined with his fears of the dark make it hard to go back to sleep. Usually, this means I head back to his room with him to assist in the effort and possibly fall asleep too!
Now on to the point! =)

Last night at 3:10am, he came to our room. I was already laying there awake when I heard him coming. He said he'd been trying to go back to sleep and couldn't. I rubbed his back a minute and told him he needed to go back to bed because it wasn't time to be up yet. Here's where the progress comes in.... He went back to bed (in the dark) by himself! And he didn't come back for me! And he didn't call for me! And he fell asleep until 6am!
I know, I know...It's only one night. But if it can happen once, it can happen again. And one night last week - he actually slept through the night. Mornings like that, I actually have to go check him to see if he's breathing...geesh, I sound like the mother of a newborn!
Moms of older kids tell me one day I'll miss all this, and I'm such a sentimental sap, I already know I will. Right now, I'm just really needing a full night's sleep -- and so is he.
In reality, I should be thankful. I have it easy compared to Si, Ti, & Levi's mom, our friend from church. Now she's got a real reason to be exhausted!