Bonanzaville

Josiah invited me to go on his 4th Grade Field Trip to Bonanzaville, how could I say "No"?!  When I got to school and Josiah ran up to me and gave me a hug (I cherish those moments when he has no problem hugging me in front of all his friends).  So I hung out with him and 3 of his buddies while we walked around.  They are a fun and crazy bunch!  

We had a 'B' John Deere growing up so I had to get a picture of Josiah in front of this one

The rotary phones with cords were a HUGE hit and we hung out in there for a long time.  They tried each of them out and were able to call each other on various phones.  So funny to see what was normal for me growing up is a fun phenomenon for them now. :)

A weekend away!

We went to the cities last weekend to celebrate Josiah's birthday and to see one of my best friends ONE LAST TIME before she moved to Indiana.  While we were there we took in a Twins game, the MOA, swimming at the hotel and hanging out with other close family friends (oops..no pics were taken, we were too busy chatting!).  It was a full weekend, but it was a lot of fun!!!

The kids had a blast on all the rides and Josiah didn't miss out on any of the BIG rides, he has no fear!  The faster, higher, bigger...the better!

Seth finally found a LITTLE bit of fear.  

He enjoyed PLENTY of rides but he was fine not riding on the big ones with Josiah.

She is not a fan of the big or fast rides...though she did go on a few that made her a bit nervous (positive peer pressure from her cousins got her through!)

Yes, Josiah (and 2 of his cousins) went on the biggest/highest ride there 

(my body doesn't do those rides anymore!)

All the kids went on this ride! 

 Alayna was nervous but had fun!  

Seth decided the darkness + the fast falls was a bit much for him.  

He did great on the ride but didn't want to go again. :)

This was the ride he REALLY wanted to go on and it didn't disappoint...he had a BLAST!

The Holder cousins

 Josiah and I took in a Twins game to celebrate his birthday 

AND to have one last day of fun with Siobhan before she moved away.

 Though there were rain delays and it was a bit chilly...we still had lots of fun.

 You HAVE to have a glove picture, don't you??

Josiah has this card at home and so he really wanted a picture by the blown up version.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend filled with family, friends and lots of fun!!

Combo Post

May 19, 2012 we were privileged to have been a part of Quincy & Kari's wedding.  As you can see, Dan officiated the wedding.  I sang a duet.  It was a blessing to walk the journey of premarital counseling with them and then to be a part of their special day.  Congrats guys!!

What did the kids do while we were at the wedding???

 

  

As you can see, they had NO fun! :)

Earlier this week....

I was at a store with this COOL kid and here was the conversation that took place between him and the guy at the counter.

Guy: Hey bud, how old are you?

Seth: 4 (holding up 4 fingers)

Guy: hmmm, you're probably not old enough to go the bars yet, huh? (thinking he's funny)

Seth: thinks for a minute, "You're crazy, I'm only 4, I can't do the monkey bars by myself yet!!"

Happy 10th Birthday!!

We've hit double digits!!  How is that possible??  It was 10 years ago that I held this

little baby boy in my arms for the first time.  

How is it possible he went from that tiny baby to this handsome 10 year old??  

He is growing up to be an amazing young man.  Though he's not perfect he has a great heart.  He is an AMAZING big brother and both of his siblings adore him and think he is the coolest.  He is helpful, obedient and most importantly he has a strong desire to learn more about the Lord and he's cautious about what he fills his mind with because of that.

This past year he was a reading Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn  (he read A LOT of classic books this year out of his own desire) and Dan mentioned that he remembered someone saying there might be swear words in the book.  We told him he could read it and if he found that to be true he could decide what he thought would be best (letting out the 'rope' of parenthood is NOT easy) and the next day he went to school, returned it, and picked out a different book.  We asked him that night if he found words that weren't appropriate and he said "No".  So we asked why he decided to switch and he told us he didn't want to read anything that wouldn't be good for him.

Today as I reflect on my first pregnancy and my first baby I remember singing this song over and over to the baby inside my ever-growing belly.  Praying and praying that the child inside of me would grow and truly desire to hold on to Jesus and cling to his love.

We love you Josiah Daniel, more than words could ever express...mom and dad aren't perfect and we will make mistakes (guaranteed), cling to Jesus sweet boy, He will never fail you!!

11 Years...Really?!

It's kind of fun to look back at years 8 , 9  and 10 .  Unfortunately I wasn't blogging years 1-7, so just trust me that they actually happened! :)  I have truly enjoyed our 11 years of marriage, not because there haven't been difficult seasons, but because even in the difficult seasons I have been blessed to have a wonderful husband by my side and even more importantly I can look back and see how good our God is!!

I've been reading through This Momentary Marriage by John Piper and here are some quotes that have stood out that I pray would resonate with our marriage:

- "The meaning of marriage is the display of the covenant-keeping love between 

Christ and his people."

-true commitment... "It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, 

the marriage that sustains your love." -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

-"The most foundational thing to see from the Bible about marriage is that it is God's doing.  

And the ultimate thing to see from the Bible about marriage is that it is for God's glory."

-"Marriage is not mainly about being or staying in love.  

It's mainly about telling the truth with our lives.  

It's about portraying something true about Jesus Christ and the way He relates to His people. 

It is about showing in real life the glory of the gospel. "

I pray that for the rest of our married years, until Christ calls us home, 

that our marriage would "show in real life the glory of the gospel".  

(someday I would LOVE to try to fit into my dress again and re-take some wedding pics so that we actually have pics that aren't scanned in, but true, quality, digital pics)

I.LOVE.YOU!  After 11 years my heart still skips a beat when I hear the garage door open each night and I know you're home, I still think you look A.M.A.Z.I.N.G in a suit, I love the way your arms feel when you hug me (safest place on earth for me), I love that even after 11 years we still play our silly games to tease and have fun with one another, I love that you dance with me in the kitchen even when there is no music playing, I love that you teach our kids Truth so lovingly and patiently and in doing so...you're teaching me too.  I love you more than words can say and I truly love you more each year...

It's Official

We received our license in the mail!  There's a mixture of emotions that go through me when I think about this process starting (we technically start June 1st).  I don't know exactly how God plans to use us or what He plans to teach us, but I know it will be more than I can fathom.  I don't know if God will use this to expand our family permanently or if all our placements will be temporary.  I don't know exactly how our kids will respond, how Dan and I will respond, how our extended family and friends will respond...it's a lot of unknown for planners like ourselves!  Yet, even in all of that...I don't doubt that God is calling us to step out in faith and trust  Him to lead us.

(this picture was rotated straight when I uploaded it..not sure why it won't stay that way...sorry!)

Weekend Fun!

This past weekend we were home and it was wonderful!  Though Dan had a lot of work to do and I had some errands to run...we found plenty of time to still have F.U.N!  We enjoyed hosting date swap at our house, a family bike ride, going to garage sales and just all around family time.  Though I'm  not great at remembering to take pictures, here's a couple just for fun.

It's clean up week around here so we had a Clean Up Week Scavenger Hunt..good times!

Josiah is OBSESSED with fishing and so we went to the river and fished (no fish and too windy)

after the river we ventured to a small pond and caught a few big ones 

(ok...maybe they were only 2-4") but we caught fish and had fun. :)