Cream * A * Teen

Tonight was our church's annual AWANA Fun Fair. The church members gather together to host a carnival type celebration to reward the clubbers for their hard work.

Each year Shannon and I come up with a game for the kids to play. I would like to proudly announce that for the fourth year running we have won the 'Most Popular Game' award.

This year our game was "Cream * A * Teen. We built a catapult, and flung pie tins of whipped cream at the teens. Very fun, very messy, and the kids loved it. The teens had a pretty good time, too.






Perhaps next year we'll get some REAL competition...

"Plans are established by counsel; by wise counsel wage war." Proverbs 20:18

Prom 2010

How is it that I have a child old enough to go to prom? It just doesn't seem right. But alas, it is what it is.

Alex and Jordin went to both Grundy Center and Gladbrook-Reinbeck's proms this year. Here are a few pictures commemorating the event.





I think they make a beautiful couple.

"My son, let them not depart from your eyes--keep sound wisdom and discretion;" Proverbs 3:21

Introducing...

the newest member of the Clark family.



We are pleased to announce that Baby Boy Clark is due to arrive on September 20, 2010...or preferably sooner.

Halfway there!

"The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him." Proverbs 20:7

Thankful Thursday

~ I'm thankful I'm home.

~ I'm thankful for my family.

~ I'm thankful for the sunshine and beautiful weather. My windows are open and fresh air is circulating throughout my house. Finally.

~ I'm thankful that our annual Chinese Buffet is over. The egg rolls flopped, but everything else turned out okay. We enjoyed the fellowship, and I've had no reports of food poisoning.

~ I'm thankful Shannon got to ride his motorcycle to work this afternoon. Jack changed the oil for him this morning. It makes him happy.

~ I'm thankful Hudson has gone potty in the big potty all day. So far, so good.

~ I'm thankful for Shannon's business. He loves what he is doing, and he's good at it.

I hope to finish downloading pictures from my vacation soon. It doesn't seem like it's been nearly a week since I've been home. We've had a dinner party, church activites, flat tires, and all kinds of other fun stuff going on.

"He who speaks truth declares righteousness..." Proverbs 12:17a

Thankful Thursday

I'm going home. I miss my family. My flight gets into Des Moines at 11:50p.m.

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." Proverbs 27:17

Charleston, Day 2

Today was tour day. We booked a combo tour of the historic district of Charleston and also the Magnolia Plantation. I took a ton of pictures, but I'm not really in the mood to post many of them tonight. It has been taking forever for them to upload. So, I have chosen to only post the ones I think the kids will like the best.








Tomorrow we plan to tour Fort Sumter. The weather was sunny and in the 60's today. It was breezy, and tended to be cool at times. Tomorrow is expected to be in the 70's and sunny.

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

March Madness 2010

I just wanted to let the world know that after the first two rounds...

Jodi is leading in the Clark March Madness Bracket Mania!!

But that's not really much of a surprise.

"A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel," Proverbs 1:5

Myrtle Beach, SC

We left Atlantic Beach this morning and headed for Myrtle Beach, SC. It wasn't a very long drive, but the traveling was rather slow due to many towns along the way.



We toured up and down Ocean Blvd. and spent a little time on the beach. Here's a picture of Grandma Shirley playing in the ocean. It was COLD!!!

Papa Ken and Grandma Shirley

Just to prove I was here...

And the picture of the day for Colton...palm trees!

We checked into our hotel in Charleston, SC and plan to stay here for the next three nights. We're taking some tours tomorrow, so I should have lots of pictures to post. We've traveled nearly 2000 miles since Thursday. It will be kind of nice to sleep in the same bed for more than one night.

I'm missing my babies...and Shannon, too.

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD." Proverbs 18:22

Nag's Head, NC

Here are a few pictures from our hotel balcony of the sunrise Sunday morning.





We attended church at Nag's Head Church this morning. The service was a little more rockin' than I'm used to, but they preached the Word of God and had a great message. We checked out of our hotel, grabbed some lunch (I ate grits), then headed out of town.






Our first stop was at Kitty Hawk to the Wright Brothers' National Memorial.






Around the base of the monument was the saying, "In commemoration of the conquest of the air by the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright conceived by genius achieved by dauntless resolution and unconquerable faith".

We were hoping to take a route south via a succession of ferry rides along the coast, but were unable because the ferry was booked and they were running limited departure times. We ended up going back inland and retracing our steps from yesterday a bit, then heading south to Atlantic
Beach, where we're staying tonight.

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and they are safe." Proverbs 18:3

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The biggest news of the day:

IT'S BRYCE'S 12TH BIRTHDAY!!!



He's smart.

He's funny.

He's easy-going.

He's agreeable.

He likes video games.

He likes writing songs.

He likes music.

He smiles a lot.

He is great at memorizing bible verses.

He makes awesome cookie dough.

He'll always be my little Boo.

WE LOVE YOU, BRYCE!!!!!


"My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands;" Proverbs 3:1

Saturday

Blogger isn't playing nicely and won't upload any of my photos from today. I'll try again tomorrow.

Way to go PANTHERS!!!!

Smoky Mountain National Park

Saturday we started out the day by driving through Smoky Mountain National Park. We entered the park at Gatlinburg, TN.



I'm not a big fan of mountains. To me, if you've seen one mountain, you've seen 'em all. I get scared looking over the edge of the road into the great abyss below. I'd just as soon drive through Iowa.




I did enjoy the tour through the national park. The roads were wide enough. There were guardrails along the scary parts. They had a lot of pull outs to stop and take pictures.




The thing is, though, that the mountains are ...well...smoky. There's a haze that hangs over them. It doesn't make for great pictures, especially when the photographer isn't great at taking pictures.


We also saw some elk.


We drove the rest of the day, and made it to Nags Head, NC about 7:10 p.m. By the time we got to our hotel room, there were about six minutes to go in the UNI vs. Kansas game. We were busy watching the game, but during a TV time-out I ran out the to balcony and snapped a couple pictures. The sun had already set. I'm looking forward to getting some better shots tomorow morning.

Can you believe those Panthers?!? I bet you could hear Dad and I hollering all the way to Iowa. The harley guys partying in the paking lot below our room sure wondered what all the noise was about. I think we converted them into UNI fans. For the record, I picked UNI to win this game.

"As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable." Proverbs 25:3

Getting Away From It All

A couple weeks ago my parents invited me to go along on a trip they were planning on taking to the East coast. I decided to schedule a Spring Break trip into our school year...for me.

We left Reinbeck early yesterday morning. We had a couple errands to make in Waterloo/Cedar Falls before we officially hit the road. We made it through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and as far as Frankfort, Kentucky by 8:00pm Eastern time.

There's not much noteworthy to see in Iowa, Illinois or Indiana in mid-March that I can't see by looking out my front windows. It's all pretty much the same--brown and dead. By the time we got to Kentucky, the grass was greener and the landscape changed somewhat.

We saw many horses between Frankfort and Lexington.





We saw mountains and valleys that freaked me out, although I was then informed that they really weren't mountains.

We're staying in Sevierville, TN tonight. We've had a lazy afternoon in the hotel. It's sunny and 71 degrees here. From what I understand, snow is forecast for Iowa this weekend :).

This is a picture of the mountains from our hotel window. It looks like there's still some snow up there.



And also a picture of a holly bush outside the hotel window. It's so nice to see green!



We're planning to drive through the Smoky Mountains tomorrow en route to North Carolina.

"The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the LORD." Proverbs 21:31

March Madness 2010

I love this time of year!

Each member of the family, excluding Hudson, filled out a bracket this year. They're officially hung on the family room wall.



But I'm not home.

It's tradition that I'm the only one allowed to fill in the 'Master Bracket' and keep track of points on each individual bracket.

But I'm not home.

So Shannon has taken over the role of "Stat Master".

Until I get home.

Currently I'm in third place in the point standings. It really doesn't matter who is in first or second, because I will soon be passing them. It's okay for them to have this short time of success. It won't last.

Since I've been travelling, I haven't seen many of the games. I was able to watch the end of the UNI game last night on the computer. Unfortunately, I was in Frankfort, Kentucky, and the networks felt the need to show the Kentucky/ETSU game, even though it was a blow-out.
The nerve.

There was a bit of a time delay between the streaming on the computer and the score displayed on the TV, which was a bit unnerving. We were able to see the last 1.6 seconds live, which is all that really matters.

I'm not sure where we'll be tomorrow afternoon, so will have to see if I can watch the next UNI game. Wish we were in Oklahoma!

"Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it." Proverbs 16:21a

Thankful Thursday

* I'm thankful for safety travelling today, and for the opportunity to get away form the usual grind for a week.

* I'm thankful my husband allowed me the opportunity to get away from the usual grind for a week.

* I'm thankful that my big kids are willing to step it up and keep things running smoothly at home while I'm gone.

* I'm thankful for sunshine.

* I'm thankful for my book club ladies. I have so much fun with them. They are a blessing to me.

* I'm thankful for diet Coke. It gets me through the day.

* I'm thankful UNI won their basketball game tonight. KABOOM!

"A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!" Proverbs 15:23

Naomi's Birthday

It is birthday season at our home. Hudson starts it off on Jan. 9, Katie's day is Jan. 28, my birthday is Feb. 10, and Naomi finished off the string of birthdays on Feb. 18th.

This year she turned 5. FIVE!



I can say many of the same things about Naomi as I did of Katie. She is cute, funny, entertaining, and precocious. She's a budding artist. She loves to be read to, and loves to draw pictures and write notes. She plays dress up, but can hold her own wrestling with her brothers, too. She likes sparkly earrings. She has a favorite bear she likes to sleep with.

She decorated her own cake this year.

Naomi loves to snuggle, and more often than not she is in bed with us before morning. I'm sure I will miss this about her some day. She says long and very insightful prayers before meals. She loves the color purple (just like me).

I really enjoyed Naomi as a four year old. I'm guessing five is going to be even better.

WE LOVE YOU NAOMI CAMILLE!

"Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her who bore you rejoice." Proverbs 23:25

Jodi's Birthday...

...has come and gone.

Shannon was able to spend the morning with us because he was snowed in. Colton made me breakfast (cereal) in bed. He's cool like that.



Colton also baked me a birthday cake. He frosted it, too. My parents stopped by in the afternoon to have some cake with us. They tried giving me a hard time about being 40. I simply pointed out that their youngest child was now 40, so they must be REALLY old.

Turning the big 4-0 really wasn't too traumatic. I am exceedingly blessed. My mom and I were just talking a couple days ago about whether or not we would go back and time (if we could) and do things differently. I decided that there really isn't much of anything that I would change about my life. I suppose there were specific events that did not seem like blessings at the time, but all of life's experiences have come together to make me who I am, and make my life what it is. Life is good.

"Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, and from the opening of my lips will come right things;" Proverbs 8:6

Katie's 6th Birthday

I really can't believe Katie is six years old. It amazes me.

She is such sweetheart. She cracks me up with the funny things she says. She's a wonderful helper with the little kids, and loves caring for them. She adores all things girly, and enjoys playing dress up. She can sit in front of a mirror and brush her hair for long periods of time. She likes to have her fingernails painted. Her new favorite thing is french braids.

My life would be so different if I had had girls before boys. Katie loves to help me sweep and clean the kitchen. She wants to help me cook all of the time.

She likes to play with Polly Pockets. She will play baby dolls occasionally, and likes to build with blocks. She colors a lot, and loves to write me love notes.

We celebrated Katie's birthday with Papa Joe, and Grandma Shirley and Papa Ken. Weather prevented other family members from coming.

Katie requested a rainbow cake.

She's growing up way too fast. She can just stop at six. Forever.

WE LOVE YOU KATIE BELLE!

"Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her." Proverbs 4:8