The Surprise

SURPRISE PARTY!!!

We actually pulled off a BIG surprise for Isabelle. While in KC, I had planned a surprise b-day party for Isabelle & some of her best friends. Isabelle returned home from a trip to the American Girl Doll Store to shouts of "surprise". She didn't know what to say. She kept looking around at all her friends...it took a few minutes to register with her what was happening. She dropped her things and hugged everyone immediately. She was SO excited and surprised!! We had a craft project for all the girls...they painted their own frames to hold a picture of themselves with Isabelle that we took upon their arrival. The frames turned out great! The girls had so much fun playing together and being creative!
Cara, Neva, Natalie, Isabelle, Myah, and Olivia
Thanks girls for making Isabelle's birthday extra special!!

Happy 9th Birthday Isabelle!

Isabelle had many surprises in store for her today! We asked our friends & family to "stuff the box" for her birthday by sending her a card via snail mail. She LOVES getting mail. She has been so surprised everyday for the last week to find at least one card in the mail for her. Today she hit the jackpot! 12 cards just for her birthday....she was so excited and blessed. The fireplace was already full, but she hadn't even opened the 12 from today!
Here she is reading and arranging all her special notes! Her b-day dinner request is Tomato Basil Shrimp Pasta...for those of you who know I picky she is, this is a highly unusal choice, but she LOVES this dish. We also made cupcakes & she decided she wanted them in a shape of a flower! TOO cute! She arranged and iced them herself.

We are so blessed by our sweet girl...I can't believe that she is 9 years old. I am starting to feel old as I say "I remember when you were just a few days old." We truly marvel at what God has done in her life in these short 9 years and we look forward to all He has in store for her future! We love to see her compassion and generosity pour out of her to others. We love watching her set goals for herself - like the most recent "I am going to read the whole Bible in a year." She has stuck to her guns on this one. She is almost done with Exodus and LOVES it! She makes us laugh and cry and think really deeply. We love to have her "deep" thoughts conversations, where many times we have to say, "we aren't sure, we'll have to get back to you on that one." She does keep us on our toes!

We have some fun surprises in store for her over the next week...her brother dumped out his piggy bank to make sure he could buy her something very special she had picked out of a catalog. (He cannot wait for her to open it tonight, he has been counting down the days for 2 weeks straight!) She gets to celebrate with both her grandparents, which is always a treat!!! We have a very "surprise" b-day party planned for her Sat. She has NO idea and I think will be completely shocked! I cannot wait for this one!!! It will be a GREAT week!

We LOVE you Isabelle! Have a SUPER birthday!!!!

All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth!

This kid is crazy....he had 2 loose teeth about 2 1/2 weeks ago. Last Friday, he had one really loose. Kevin asked if he could pull it out....he said, "No I can do it!" He sure did!!!! We could NOT believe it. He yanked it out in 1 second.

Fastforward 3 days...Monday we were on the way to soccer & he says, "I just pulled my tooth out!" I look in the rearview mirror and he has blood all over his face and in his mouth. He said "it felt looser so I just pulled". He pulled so hard the tooth ended up on the floor in front of Isabelle's seat. We were all laughing so hard. He is SO excited!!!

Life Lessons...

I have been learning so much over the last month - they have all been good things, but some of them have been hard to live through...Here are just a few: God is COMPLETELY sovereign over all circumstances in my life; God is GOOD; God is enough; life is too short to stress; if you are hurting talk to someone; WAIT on the Lord - He will provide; only those things that bless and build others up should come out of my mouth; forgive, even if the other person doesn't deserve it - you don't deserve forgiveness either but Jesus gave it without any conditions...

Life has been busy of lessons, heartaches, and joys over the last month. We have been blessed to be apart of each event, circumstance, and relationship. God is in it all....Here Isabelle & John Michael are working on a drawing of the Mediterranean Sea and the surrounding countries. One fun fact they loved was that the Med. Sea looks like a flying duck! Check out your world map to see it!

We had a very windy day so they took their kites outside to give it a try...This is the first time that they've both been able to fly a kite by themselves. It was hot, but we had fun!
I wish you could see clearer the look on JM's face. He kept saying "mom, let me do it. I need to be an expert at flying kites!" He was hilarious....

My sister & her daughter, Olivia, came to visit for one night...Isabelle gave her this princess dress. She loved it, but really loved this wand which was spinning lights. She would not look at me for a picture.

Opening night of youth hunting season....our big girl is ready for her first buck! Stay tuned for updates....She also LOVES to go out to the woods to be quiet and sit! She told Kevin while they were sitting waiting for a deer, that she "was glad he took her out there." She said that "sometimes Bubby wants to wrestle her too much and it makes her tired, sometimes she just needs a break!" We do have one very active boy - but we LOVE it!!!His exuberance for life might actually knock out his 2 loose teeth! He has been wiggling his teeth for months, just hoping one might be loose....FINALLY - the bottom 2 are wiggly! They should be out soon....keep posted for updates, it will be a great day! John Michael is playing on a 1st & 2nd grade soccer team this fall. He has done really well and has had so much fun!

All these photos remind me that in the midst of life, there are so many lessons to learn. I am continually reminded that I need to be aware of what God might be teaching me and how I need to apply it to my life. Quiet your heart...He is speaking...What life lesson is He trying to teach you?

The Fall of Rome

Our History lesson this week, included sweet treats! We were studying the fall of Rome and we made Sugar Cookie Roman Pillars.
The kids had a blast "carving" their pillars with a toothpick. John Michael put a monster truck & monster truck track on his.

Isabelle carved her pillar with images of bugs and butterflies!

Right as I was taking this picture, John Michael's pillar came tumbling down - he said, "well, that's what actually happened!" At least he learned something this week! :)

The kids thought the pillars resembled dog bones!

The best part was eating our creations....yummy icing & sprinkles!

The First Day of School

Today was the start of our 2010-2011 school year. Here's our special back to school cake that Kevin & I made last night.
Bubby is pumped to be a big 1st grader! YIPEE!!!

Sissy is thrilled to be a 3rd grader! YAHOO!!!

We had an excellent first day of school with lots of great, fun learning!

The start of school also means something else in our home....

"ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?"

(if you aren't a football fan, this is the theme song to Monday night football. It is a standard song in our home.)

Last night was the 1st pre-season game, even without the starters playing there was a lot of tackling and running - both incredibly fun to watch for our big football star! :)

JM...a future Chiefs running back!