Football

Alex's Freshman team played Dike-New Hartford last Thursday. They lost 44-0. There's not much else to say.

Jackson's 7th Grade team played Grundy Center the same evening. They lost 40-0. There's not much else to say.

Tonight Jackson's team played Union (LaPorte City/Dysart). They played MUCH better than they did last week. Jackson had tons of tackles and ran the ball well. He was instrumental in the Rebel's score, as he threw a halfback pass to connect with his receiver and score a touchdown. He had lots of hard hits, and is feeling them now. He's ready to take a tylenol and go to bed (after Monday Night Football).

Alex's JV team played Grundy Center. He played defensive tackle, offensive line, and special teams. He had a good, solid game as well. His team won 30-0. Several of his friends from church played on the GC team.

Chase played BCLUW yesterday in Union. He played a tough game and had a lot of tackles. The team struggles offensively, and ended up with a loss of 13-6.

Chase played his first soccer game of the season on Saturday, and won 5-2. He scored one goal.

"The glory of young men is their strength..." Proverbs 20:29

100 Things I Love...

I've had several jobs throughout my life, but none so all-encompassing as mothering my children. I've resolved to compile a list of 100 things I love about mothering. I challenge you to do the same. Time me....we'll see how long this takes!

1. I love baby belly laughs.
2. I love snuggles from Naomi when she first wakes up in the morning.
3. I love baking with Chase.
4. I love when the light comes on in a child's eyes after he finally "gets it" in math.
5. I love bouquets of flowers from Colton in the spring.
6. I love hearing "I found my missing shoe!".
7. I love gathering the family together, popping popcorn, and watching a movie.
8. I love cheering for my boys in football.
9. I love baking and decorating birthday cakes.
10. I love clean laundry (after it's been put away).
11. I love watching Shannon wrestle with the littles.
12. I love naptime.
13. I love holding hands with little children, just because we can.
14. I love when potty training is finally done.
15. I love painting little girl fingernails and toes.
16. I love dirty knees after the kids have been outside playing all afternoon.
17. I love the joy the children get out of making tents in the living room and dining room.
18. I love Easter morning when everyone is in their Sunday best and we take a picture together.
19. I love kindergarten.
20. I love watching the children's faces when they catch a fish.
21. I love playing bingo with the whole family.
22. I love mowing the grass with Jackson.
23. I love watching the big boys help out with the little girls.
24. I love watching Colton look up to Alex.
25. I love watching my girls play mommy with their baby dolls.
26. I love when my boys score goals in soccer.
27. I love Christmas morning.
28. I love when the the children dress up in Halloween costumes in March.
29. I love eating chocolate chip cookie dough with the kids for an afternoon snack.
30. I love working together to clean the house so we can have company over.
31. I love listening to bedtime prayers.
32. I love listening to little girls giggling for no apparent reason.
33. I love when school is all done for the week.
34. I love watching Shannon play football outside with the kids.
35. I love that the children think their dad is the greatest.
36. I love singing songs in the car.
37. I love watching the children swing.
38. I love listening to made up stories.
39. I love hearing a naughty child say "I'm sorry".
40. I love when Bryce writes me notes during evening church that say, "I love you Mom".
41. I love when my children sing along with the hymns in church.
42. I love watching my children race to the tree in the front yard and back.
43. I love it when my children play board games together.
44. I love sniping an Ebay auction with my boys.
45. I love hearing my son's name announced over the loud speakers at football games over and over again.
46. I love it when Katie and Naomi carry the little kittens around.
47. I love washing lots of dirty dishes on a cold day.
48. I love children in footie pajamas.
49. I love reading stories to little ones, all snuggled up under a blanket.
50. I love pink cheeks on a cold winter day.
51. I love putting pretties in the girls' hair.
52. I love when my children ask me to pray for them.
53. I love talking to Alex late at night when he forgets that it's not cool to talk to his mom.
54. I love when my children put money in the offering plate at church without me asking or reminding them to.
55. I love when we're reading the bible together and the boys have unbelievable insights.
56. I love watching Monday Night Football with Jackson and Chase.
57. I love when Katie and Naomi pretend to nurse their baby dolls.
58. I love when Hudson falls asleep in my arms.
59. I love Alex.
60. I love having healthy children.
61. I love trying to figure out what Naomi is saying to me in her little girl gibberish.
62. I love it when we take the kids to the Dollar Tree and tell them they can pick out any one thing in the whole store.
63. I love sharing french fries at Burger King.
64. I love hearing how many sections the children completed at Awana.
65. I love going to family camp at IRBC with my family.
66. I love watching four little children in the bathtub playing together.
67. I love watching the kids have water balloon fights on a hot summer day.
68. I love little girls in sun dresses.
69. I love playing cards with the kids.
70. I love Jackson.
71. I love giving haircuts.
72. I love moving the furniture around with Alex.
73. I love watching my boys make a basket during a basketball game.
74. I love sitting in a pew with my whole family on Sundays.
75. I love Chase.
76. I love it when Shannon bakes Dragon Cookies with the children and tells them the dragon story.
78. I love hugs.
79. I love it when Hudson's eyes light up and he smiles when I enter a room.
80. I love hearing the kids tell corny knock knock jokes.
81. I love leading my children to Christ.
82. I love Mother's Day.
83. I love listening to the kids talk to one another.
84. I love hearing "What else can I do for you, Mama?"
85. I love holding hands when we pray before meals.
86. I love seeing Chase and Naomi taking a nap together on the sofa.
87. I love fingerprints on my windows.
88. I love Bryce.
89. I love memorizing bible verses with the kids.
90. I love arm wrestling with the kids, and still being able to beat them (most of the time).
91. I love Colton.
92. I love watching Dora the Explorer and Blue's Clues over, and over, and over again.
93. I love Katie.
94. I love seeing my children succeed.
95. I love teaching children how to read.
96. I love Naomi.
97. I love looking for the Big Dipper with the children.
98. I love Hudson.
99. I love seeing a child show empathy.
100. I love my children's father.

That took 41 minutes, including bedtime for Hudson and a good dose of Monday Night Football watching. Will you accept the challenge and write down 100 reasons you love mothering your children? Send me a copy of your list!

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Shannon's New Hobby

A few weeks ago Shannon decided to take a motorcycle safety/instruction course. He did extremely well in his class, earning a perfect score on his written test and on his driving test. Naturally, the purchase of a motorcycle followed. He bought a 2002 Suzuki Katana last weekend, and has been driving it back and forth to work since. The kids have enjoyed rides around the yard with him. We went for a ride to Grundy Center last weekend. He couldn't convince Papa Joe to go for a ride, though. Papa Joe says he's been on enough motorcycles in his life, he doesn't need any more rides.


Carrie and the boys came over on Tuesday and got rides around the yard.

"The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe." Proverbs 29: 25

The Dome of Doom

On Sunday, September 9th Chase's tackle football team had the opportunity to play a game in the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls. Chase is number 32. He plays running back on offense, and strong safety on defense. You don't want to be in Chase's way when he's going for the ball. Having two big brothers has made him pretty tough.


They took on a team from Grundy Center. Chase had five tackles for a loss, two sacks, and twenty combined tackles. The offensive line on Chase's team struggled throughout the game. His team was able to score in the first quarter, and Chase lunged across the line to pick up the extra point, which proved to be the clincher in the game. Chase sacked the Grundy Center quarterback with seconds remaining in the first half to keep them from scoring. GC did come back and score in the third quarter, but failed to convert on the extra point attempt, bringing the final score to 7-6.



"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of our hand to do so." Proverbs 3:27

Rebel JV Defeat

Alex's JV football team faced the Dike-New Hartford Wolverines on Monday, and came away with a disappointing loss. Although they knocked on the door several times, they were unable to punch the ball into the endzone. The final score was Rebels 0, Wolverines 14. Alex played special teams and started as defensive tackle. He is number 77. He had several tackles in the game, and a few key blocks.



"It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones." Proverbs 3:8

Before and After

Labor Day weekend I received a post from freecycle with an offer of an overstuffed chair. I was itching for a project, and since we still had Papa Joe's truck, I decided to respond to the offer and pick up the chair. Alex, Jackson, Colton and I drove to Gilman to pick up this chair. As we pulled up and saw it in the front yard, my first thought was, "We had better take before and after pictures of this one!". The boys loaded it up for me, and we made our way home.


It spent the first two nights outside airing out. After removing the old covering, replacing some of the stuffing, and a bunch of febreeze, it was ready to be recovered. Shannon took me shopping for some fabric (he LOVES shopping for fabric :) ), and I was ready to roll. I'm pleased with the outcome. We had to rearrange all of the furniture in the family room and living room, moving the sectional from the FR to the LR (Shannon LOVES rearranging furniture!), and Grandma's flowered sofa from the LR to the FR, until finally we were situated and functional. This is now everyone's favorite chair, and about three of us can snuggle up in it at a time!

This past weekend I purchased 36 yards of upholstery fabric for $25. I'm anxious to begin recovering some sofas. I think the sectional will be first on my list. I'll post pictures as they're finished.

"She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle." Proverbs 31:19

Football Fever

Alex played his first Junior Varsity football game for the G-R Rebels this evening. The freshmen and sophomores traveled to North Tama to take on the Redhawks. The Rebels earned a resounding win with a final score of 42-0. Alex played on special teams and defensive tackle. He played a solid game of football. I'll post pictures as soon as the camera is back from the repair shop...

"By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life." Proverbs 22:4

The Quest 2007

On Saturday, August 18th, Shannon and I created a youth event for our church patterned after "The Amazing Race". We divided the teens into teams, assigned each team a driver, then gave them clues to reach specific destinations. At each destination, there was a challenge for one of the team members to complete. The first team to complete all challenges, wins. We had a total of six destinations, culminating in a fight to the end with water balloon launchers. We had a great time organizing everything, and the youth had a fun time as well. Jeff Hawk was our guest speaker, and shared his testimony with the group.




"Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established." Proverbs 4:26

Papa Joe

On Saturday the 11th Shannon had to take Papa Joe to the ER. He was short of breath, coughing up blood, and had been diagnosed the day before with pneumonia. When they got there, his oxygen levels were in the low to mid 80's and both lungs were 1/3 to 2/3 full of fluids. He was admitted to the ICU. He suffered from heart failure during that first night. Papa Joe doesn't remember anything about that, and none of the family knew until I took him to the doctor for a check-up yesterday and asked the doctor why they were planning a stress test for next week. He looked at us kind of funny and said they wanted to determine how much, if any, damage was done to Papa Joe's heart from the heart attack. Papa Joe and I were looking at HIM kind of funny, then. His EKG from yesterday was comparable to when he was in the hospital. His labs came back looking good. We straightened out some meds that he had been taking incorrectly, and have an appointment next Friday for another checkup. Please pray that Papa Joe continues to feel better and recovers completely. We have offered to have him stay here with us until he feels better, but he prefers to be at home.

"My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh." Proverbs 4: 20-22

Kid Pics

Because it has been so long since I've blogged, I decided to just post some cute pictures of the kids.

Although Hudson doesn't sit up by himself for long periods of time (more like seconds!), he crawls all over the house, pulls himself up on furniture and legs, and today I caught him on the second step as he tried to make his way upstairs!

Katie Belle looking sweet.

Katie Belle looking not-so-sweet.

Alex being Alex.

Naomi after making brownies.

Naomi, after being tied to the hand rail by her big brother Jackson. And to think, we trust these boys to baby-sit...

"Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds;" Proverbs 27:23

Creative Play

The boys found themselves grounded from computers, tv's, and all electronics, and were "forced" to go outside and play. They constructed this moving water balloon launcher. They were able to drive the 4-wheeler around and launch balloons at each other on the fly.

"My son, be wise and make my heart glad..." Proverbs 27:11

Colton Lost a Tooth

The day after we returned home from Family Camp Colton lost his first tooth. He tried very hard to lose it at camp, but it wasn't meant to be. The new one is already filling up the empty space, and causing the next tooth over to become loose.

"Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint." Proverbs 25:19

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