Mommy Daughter Date

Yesterday, Isabelle asked if she could use her birthday money from her Great Grandma Clare to go on a date with me. She wanted to go to the local Cider Mill to go through the corn maze & eat cider doughnuts. We arrived & spent 2 1/2 hours running through the corn, digging in the corn bins, bouncing on hay bails & eating cider doughnuts. It truly was a blast! Thanks Isabelle for a fun afternoon . . .

Here's Isabelle buried in the corn - she loved this!

Isabelle was our fearless leader through the 10 acre corn maze!

So much to be thankful for . . .

Last night as I put the kids to bed, our usual bedtime prayers turned into "thankful" prayers. The kids went on & on & on about all the things they were thankful for: each other, family, house, cozy beds, friends at school, safe bus rides, food (wonder who that was?), Jesus, God, heaven, my teacher, BSF, our chickens, the seasons, and many more - I can't remember them all. We had so much fun, it was so refreshing to focus on all the things we have to be thankful for! Today God gave us even more to be thankful for. Kevin had an incident at work today that left us at the ER wondering his lower legs were fractured. As we waited for x-rays results, we pondered the amazing goodness of God in protecting Kevin today. The results were negative, Kevin is bruised & very sore, but he will be fine. Sure there is a story about "what" happened, but the REAL story is that God guarded & protected Kevin today from severe injuries & we are SO thankful. From last night through today, God has reminded us that there is such JOY in our thankfulness. Join us in thanking God for His protection in our lives, but will you also lift "THANKFUL" prayers of your own. You will find your heart filled with JOY!

Happy 7th Birthday Isabelle!

Isabelle's 7th birthday celebration . . . complete with a cute horse cake - made special for her by her Nana. She wanted the piece with the eye - a peanut butter cup . . . who wouldn't want that! Our friends, the Labeth's hosted Isabelle's b-day, complete with a pony ride on Smokey.

. . . . Myah, August, Natalie, Olivia, & Bella . . . .
Everyone got a special ride on the mechanical bull. . .the kids thought this was awesome, something most of them had never seen or done before.
We laughed & laughed during the sack races - this was so funny, lots of smiles everywhere.
Isabelle taught her friends how to rope.
Here's the gang . . . Isabelle asked that instead of presents for herself, that the girls bring gifts to help her fill her suitcase for our trip to Haiti. The girls brought her great things that the orphans in Haiti need desperately. We were so humbled & grateful for the generous outpouring of support. Her suitcase is FULL!! Thank you to all her friends. The orphans will be blessed because of YOU!

*********************************************************************
Isabelle was allowed to bring 2 chickens to school on Friday for her birthday. She wanted us to bring "Butterfly" & "Night". She held "Butterfly" & let her friends have a chance to pet her. This was truly a special day for her to share with her class one of her favorite things in her life.

Nothin' Runs Like A Deere

John Michael meets John Deere!
Here's our little roper. . . he LOVES to be on a tractor! Thanks to our friend Roger, John Michael learned to drive the John Deere, Rope, & drive the Deere some more!

The Birthday Countdown Has Begun

Isabelle turns 7 in one week. We started her birthday celebration today with Kevin's parent. Isabelle planned the whole day. The day started with a BIG breakfast: waffles, eggs, fruit, juice, & bacon! We were full! For our activity, Isabelle picked "Arts for Kids"at our local Arboretum. We had so much fun . . . face painting, hay ride, hedge apple throw, puppet show, & LOTS of crafts. By 2 we were hungry, so we headed to her favorite restaurant, Sante Fe South for chips & salsa & macaroni & cheese - YES it is a mexican restaurant, but she LOVES to eat macaroni & cheese there! After lunch/dinner, she quickly rushed us home for cake & presents
Family photo on the Hayride
Isabelle requested a chicken on her hand. . . . this sweet lady LOVES to paint. She was so excited to paint Isabelle's chicken.

John Michael wanted a white dinosaur! He sat completely still . . . rare for him!
Grandma & I decided to share in Isabelle's fun & get our hands painted.

John Michael could have stayed at this all day . . . throwing hedge apples to pop balloons
Making Pine Cone Turkeys
Making Nature Placemats
Happy Birthday Celebration with Grandma & Grandpa

Finally opening presents . . . she had waited all day!
New dress from Grandma & Grandpa! So cute!

.

A Little Girl Before Our Eyes

Loading the bus this morning . . . so thrilled!

After much debate, and some begging on her part - we agreed to let Isabelle ride the bus to & from school. She really wanted to. I really didn't want her to. However living in the farthest spot that you can live & still be in our school district, does make a difference with gas prices so high! :) So after some upset stomachs (completely on my part from nerves) we agreed to let her ride. We told her she could ride the bus home & we'd see how that went . . . she was beyond excited - the 1st words out of her mouth when she woke up on Friday morning were "Is today the day I ride the bus home?" So I was beyond excited to pick her up Friday afternoon. However, the upset stomach came back as I waited & waited with another mom & the bus was 25 minutes LATE! When it arrived, I could tell something wasn't right. She loaded off the bus with a red face & huge tears streaming down her face . . . the bus driver & I quickly recognized each other (SHE GOES TO OUR CHURCH - THANK YOU LORD!) and she explained the situation. I guess a boy had gotten on the bus that wasn't supposed to & they had to turn around. Isabelle knew they weren't going the right direction & she paniced thinking they weren't taking her home. Can you just imagine??? After she & I talked & I assured her Vickie our driver would get her to me everyday & she recovered from the panic - she perked up & said how awesome it was to ride. We saw Vickie at church yesterday & Isabelle asked if she could start riding in the morning today - so I sent her off to school on the bus this morning. We prayed for a smoother day today!

On Saturday night as Kevin put Isabelle to bed, they were messing around with a loose tooth & Kevin was "trying" to tease her about pulling it out, and actually DID pull it out to both of their amazement. It went flying to the floor & they were both hysterically laughing! One more sign of her becoming a little girl before our eyes! We love you baby girl.

A Little Man's First Big Catch

This weekend John Michael caught this incredible bass in the pond behind our house. Kevin cast the pole for him & walked away . . . he tugged & reeled this big one in! He was SO excited! The sheer joy & excitement could not be contained - by him or his dad!