Change is good...right?

Yesterday while visiting at Robbie and Cari's, I was "peer pressured" (in a nice way!) into making a change in my hair color. Shannon has always wanted me to color my hair red, and the opportunity arose, so I took it. My hair has been blond (well, except for the gray) for 37 years, so this was quite a drastic change for me. The kids had various reactions. Bryce said he didn't know I was his mom. Jack says he loves it and wants me to keep it this way. Colton says it makes me look old. Katie told me before church this morning that people might laugh at me. Chase doesn't care what I do, but he would really like to dye his hair now, too. Naomi just looks at me, points, and says, "Black!". Shannon likes it, but would love me no matter what color my hair is. Alex is working at camp this week, so he hasn't gotten to voice an opinion. Everyone at church this morning seemed to like it, and as far as I can tell, no one laughed at me. They all just thought Shannon traded me in for a new model. I've got my back-up box of color in the bathroom closet, so let me know what you think. Should we keep it this way, or go back to blond?

"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness." Proverbs 16:31

Blog it, Mommy!

We have spent a bit of time today catching up on pictures and news on our blog. It's now 10:50 pm, and the girls are still going strong. They took late naps again, and now can't seem to get settled down at a decent bedtime.

They LOVE having their pictures taken. We're so thankful for digital cameras. We wouldn't be able to indulge their vanity quite so much with old fashioned film cameras.

After snapping this picture a few minutes ago, Katie exclaimed, "Blog it, Mommy!". Time to get these sleeping beauties in bed!

"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep--" Proverbs 6:10

Hudson is 6 months old

Hudson turned 6 months old this week. He has begun getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth, but hasn't "officially" crawled yet. He can certainly move about the room by lunging forward, and has even gone from the family room, through the kitchen, and into the living room.

He enjoys playing with toys, and likes to stand in his bouncy chair. He's generally a pretty happy guy, and sleeps well at night. He really likes eating Mommy's homemade applesauce, but hasn't acquired a taste for much else yet.

His first tooth popped through this week, although I haven't been able to get a picture of it yet. We'll try again in a couple days.

"The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old." Proverbs 8:22

You know you have five big brother when...

...they convince you to pose for a picture with pretzels stuck up your nose. I predict someday this picture will come back to haunt my little Katie Belle! We'll save a few embarrassing ones of the big boys along the way, too, just to keep things even.

"The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps." Proverbs 14:15

Corn Carnival 2007

On Friday, July 6th we attended the annual Corn Carnival Parade in Gladbrook. We collected our allotment of candy for the year. We had a really good seat, scouted out by Julie, Eric and their family. We enjoyed watching the parade together and then spent some time visiting over brownies and lemonade afterwards.

Saturday morning the Corn Carnival committee sponsors games and activities for the children. This year Katie and Naomi signed up for the cozy coupe races. Naomi chickened out and didn't race. Katie completed the race, but didn't place because she was too concerned with honking the horn, turning the key, and if there were a review mirror, I'm sure she would have been applying her lip gloss, too. That's a typical woman driver, according to Shannon.

Jackson and Chase participated in the basketball shoot. Jack placed Third in his age group, and Chase tied for Third, but lost the tie breaker, so got the Fourth place prize.

Jack, Chase, Bryce, Colton, Katie and Naomi all participated in the Corn Throw. Jackson placed Second in his age group, and Katie was crowned the Corn Throwing Champion in her age bracket.


"Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor." Proverbs 3:16

Crossing the Jordan

Colton's best friend in the whole wide world, Hunter, came to visit us in June for several days while his parents were on a mission trip. We had a fun and exciting week, including one episode of painting our poor dog Sadie purple. We were able to have a campfire one evening, and roasted marshmallows to make S'mores.
Saturday morning came and it was time to meet Hunter's grandma to return him. In order to get to our destination, we needed to cross the Iowa River along Highway 20. This is a relatively long bridge, so as we got close I said to the boys in the back seat, "Here comes the big bridge". Colton then turned to Hunter, and in his best travel guide voice, said, "Hunter, now we're going to be crossing the Jordan River!". It's good to know those Sunday school lessons are sinking in. Now we just have to work on our geography...

"A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24

Fireworks at the lake

On June 30th, my parents invited our family to the lake house for their 4th of July celebration. They kids spent quite a bit of time swimming in the lake and filling up water balloons in anticipation of the boat parade. We took a couple boat rides throughout the afternoon. During one of those rides, we were going against the wake and it was getting a little choppy. Colton was sitting in the front of Papa Ken's boat, holding on tightly. He turned to me an yelled over the motor, "I think now would be a good time to pray!".

The boat parade consisted of many decorated boats cruising around the lake throwing candy to those watching from their docks. They also threw water balloons on occasion, and our boys were ready to retaliate with their own arsenal of balloons. By about 10:00 the fireworks were ready to start, so we loaded up in the boat and anchored in the middle of the lake with many other boaters. As we were waiting for the show to begin, a lighted red ball floated past our boat. We speculated on what it might have been from. Colton boldly declared, "I know what it is. It's a catfish hairball". Where do they come up with these things?



"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise" Proverbs 11:30

God wouldn't like that

The weather here has cooled off significantly, so we have again turned off the air conditioning and opened up the windows to let some fresh air in. The kids have been in and out of the house playing all day, and hence we have a house full of flies. I have armed the kids with fly swatters and instructed them to take no prisoners. Katie swatted one fly on the windowsill, and as she inspected it, she came to me with great big eyes saying, "The fly is bleeding, Mommy!". I assured her that that is the goal. Eventually, it will die and not bother us anymore. She then looked at me with a very serious expression on her face, and said, "We shouldn't do that. God wouldn't like that". How do you explain to a three year old that it's okay to kill some of God's creation, but not others?

"Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart," Proverbs 3:3