The Landes Adventures

Baby Quinlan Update

2012-02-14T17:32:00.000-05:00

This was Jen's post today (February 14th).

"Quinlan is 33 days old! She is officially a month as of yesterday and a day:). It is Valentine's day in the NICU and Heather and I have cut up present bags to make beautiful hearts and, at the same time, recycle. The hearts are all around her area and we gave her a family card too:). Quinny is doing well and is now on oxygen level of 3 instead of 4 which is wonderful. Her platelets tend to go down in between transfusions and overall, she is slowly gaining. People have asked me, "is the any chance that the doctor's made a mistake when it came to the genetic texting?" and the answer is "no." Quinlan has triploidy syndrome, she is a miracle, the reason she is here is because our unceasing prayers and God having her here on earth to further his flock by showing the world one of his smallest miracles. So, I praise God for her life, I praise God for my family, I praise God for knowing the path we are on and holding us when we need held."

The Underground Railroad Freedom Center

2012-02-14T17:27:00.000-05:00

I took Josiah and Kiersen there on Saturday. They each wrote a post on their blogs about it. You can read it here: Kiersen's blog and Josiah's blog. The website for the museum can be found here.

Liam and Aliya's Birthday Party

2012-02-10T19:48:00.000-05:00

Friday Files: What God Did This Week II

2012-02-10T19:03:00.000-05:00

So, it was a busy week here. One morning, as I prayed, I heard God say, "Heidi, you are being like Martha, consumed with too many things..." and yet it was still hard for me to slow down and pay attention to everyone else. I was pretty much in task mode this week. But I heard a teaching on "Godly ruts" this week, and was reminded that it is important to build "ruts" in our lives of the important things, so that even when we get off schedule, out of routine, busy, etc., there is a place to come back into. For me, I need to make this Friday post a Godly rut, so that it forces me to reflect on God's works, not just mine!

Here is what I saw God doing this week:

1. I was able to visit baby Quinlan in the hospital, and she is still doing well. Her parents have suddenly acquired a huge audience on facebook as people hear about the baby, and they are shouting their faith to the rooftops. They have an awesome testimony.

2. We celebrated Liam and Aliya's birthdays this week, and I am so thankful that God gave both of them to us! The night before Liam was scheduled to be born via c-section, I had a terrible feeling that something was wrong with the baby. I remember calling my mom and telling Gabe, although I hoped it was the crazy hormones. The next day, Liam was born, and he got water in his lungs during the delivery, which caused his intestines to shut down, with the result being that he spent 5 days in the intensive care nursery in the hospital. I was unaware of the problems he had right at birth at first, as they took him from the operating room so quickly, but our family was there and we all prayed over him. He was fine by the time he came home, and is healthy today, but I always remember that on his birthday, and thank God for my healthy boy!

3. A specific thing I have prayed for all year is for Liam to find other kindergarten boys to be friends with. For some reason, all the others have lots of kids their age that we know, except for Liam. Fabrice was his built-in buddy for a year and Liam definitely misses him the most. As I looked at the kids at the birthday party, I saw that Liam HAS friends now, some really great little boys! Thank you God, for answering that prayer.

Those are the stories of my week... hope you saw God in your midst as well!

Gumball Party Favors!

2012-02-08T21:22:00.000-05:00

I am SO craft-challenged.... this is not news to any of you who know me. Which is why I am so excited that I thought of a birthday party favor idea all by myself and it turned out really cute! The party is a bounce party, so there is not really any kind of a theme to do for the favors. So this is what I came up with... a bag of gumballs (what child doesn't like gum???) with a note that says "Thank you for coming to our party. We hope you had a BALL! Love, Liam and Aliya"

So, nothing that is going to be on the news, but cute, easy and inexpensive. My kind of favor! Hope the kids like them!

Aliya turns 4!

2012-02-07T21:14:00.000-05:00

I couldn't believe Liam was turning 6 already, but Aliya seems older than she is, so I can't believe she is just now turning 4:) Since she just saw REEPUNZEL in person, our present to her was the full Rapunzel outfit, complete with wig. She opened it in the morning and immediately put it on...

and then she wore it all day, everywhere we went! It was a busy day... school for the older kids, then a tea party for Kiersen, a science class for Josiah, and dance class for Kiersen too. So Aliya spent her day being a beautiful princess as we chauffeured her siblings around!

But we did get to have lunch and some playtime with her friend Abigail, so that was fun.

Aliya didn't care- she was happy to flip her hair all day! :)

Happy birthday, dear Aliya! You add sparkle to our lives! We love you so much!

Liam turns 6!!!

2012-02-07T21:07:00.000-05:00

Our wonderful Liam, known as Leemee (not sure how we spell that!), Liam-Lad, or Sven.... turned 6 on February 6, 2012.
He opened presents from us in the morning and I gave him the day off school. A benefit of homeschooling-make your own holidays!)

He did have an assessment done over the phone with his OHVA teacher, which he aced! :)

Grandma stopped by to give him a hug!

His request for dinner: MEATBALLS and strawberry ice cream. I asked him if he wanted me to make brownies too, but he said, "Well, whatever is easier for you, Mom." I assured him that I didn't mind making them, but he said, "No, that is a lot of work for you. Just ice cream will be good. That way you have time to do school with the other kids." What a sweetheart!

Jessica and Brent came over for Bible study and had some ice cream too!

We are SO THANKFUL for our Liam!!! We love you Liam!

Liam's Junior Lego League Exhibition

2012-02-05T20:51:00.000-05:00

After a season of hard work, Liam's team showed off their stuff at their exhibition today. (And, me too, since I was a co-coach this year!) Lego League was totally new to us this year, and I was a little worried about coaching, especially since the instructions were pretty vague! But my co-coach Carrie Lloyd and I were pretty happy about how it turned out! We were very proud of our team today!

On another fun note, Josiah's team were volunteers today, helping the younger teams with the teamwork activity.

The theme this year was "Snack Attack". The kids had to pick a snack and research food safety topics relating to that food. They then had to make a show-me poster to share their research. They also had to create a model with at least one moving part to represent their findings.

Here are Liam and I in front of their poster. They chose chocolate as their snack, and we did online research first, and then took a trip to the Esther Price store to see a video about how they make chocolate. The poster shows what they learned from this research as well as telling about our four team members.

Here is the model they built with four parts: a conveyor belt (with a motor which moved the belt), a forklift, a refrigerated truck, and a model of an Esther Price chocolate box.

Our team was called "Lego my Eggo". Here we are ready for the "Parade of Teams". There were 19 Jr.Teams there today!

It was held in conjunction with the State Championship for the teams in Josiah's age bracket, so there were a ton of people there at the Nutter Center!

Adoring fans!

The team had to present their model and poster to two judges. All the kids talked and answered the questions. We received a ton of "excellents" in our review! Yay!

They also had to complete a couple of teamwork exercises. This is the "human knot" challenge, where they have to untangle. The kids in the yellow shirts are Josiah's team, leading the activity.

My lego boys!

The team puzzle

And the end, holding our trophy for our poster award! The end of a great season! So proud of my lego boys! (And ready to retire from my coaching career!:)

Baby Quinlan's Story

2012-02-04T22:11:00.000-05:00

Baby Quinlan, when I visited her tonight!

The white thing in the middle of this picture is one her diapers! I put the other things in the picture so you can see how tiny it is! Although she has moved up to the next size:)

Baby Quinlan is the micro-preemie daughter of a friend from our homeschool group. At 20 weeks (approx), Jen was told that her baby had a 50/50 chance of being born stillborn, and was asked if she wanted to terminate the pregnancy. She said NO WAY, I AM TRUSTING GOD FOR WHATEVER HAPPENS. (My paraphrase of Jen telling the story.)

Quinlan Faith was born at about 31 weeks, and tonight I had the chance to visit her and her parents, Jen and Kevin Martin, in the NICU. She is beautiful... almost 2 lbs. Here are the updates that Jen has been sending out via email/facebook to catch you up on the story.

Jan 15 (Jen)

If you hadn't heard, I gave birth to a very small Quinlan Faith Martin on January 13th at 5:32pm by c-section. She weighed only 1lb 10oz and is at Dayton Children's hospital.

Jan 24 (Jen)

Here is an update from our family. Quinlan Faith has triploidy syndrome. It is where you have 23 extra chromosomes. She is a miracle. Most babies are miscarried in the first trimester and if not, they miscarry in second trimester. 2% make it to birth and the baby is stillborn. One child in the US has lived to 5 months and 1 until 10 months. Quinlan is just 1 lb 8 oz, but she has continued to improve. She is so covered in prayer and love and I am amazed by her every day. If you want to, follow our journey through Facebook as we update our status several times a day.

Feb 1 (Jen)

Quinlan is having surgery around 10:30am or 11:00am. Need prayers. She has a blockage in her intestines along with air and will have a colostomy bag connected to her. She is very small, 1lb 11 oz, so many prayers are needed. It is in God's hands right now. Love to all.

Feb 1 (Jen)

What a day so far! From minimal sleep and prayers in the night, to kangarooing with Quinlan, to waiting for Quinlan's operation and then----Halelujah! She is well:). Miss Diane came to visit and stayed with us while we waited for Quinny to get out of surgery and then Kyra M. Raimey visited and it was wonderful! So nice to talk with friends and laugh and smile and praise God for answered prayers. The icing on the cake was Derek bringing Heather back! A good day had by all!

Feb 3 (Jen)

Kevin is kangarooing with Quinlan as we speak. What a beautiful sight. After a day of changes: back on CPAP, no more ventilator, new tape to hold the tubing on, cleaning out her colostomy bag and kangarooing with Daddy, Quinny is doing very well. Her mainsail is flying high and the U.S.S Quinlan is here, parked in the NICU harbor. Halelujah for small miracles:)

Feb 4 (From Kevin, Quinlan's dad)

So, as I come in to the NICU to enjoy another sunrise with Quinlan. I say good morning and Happy Birthday. I asked her who she thought would win the Superbowl. Will the giants win? Her eyebrows went up. Will the Patriots win, Nothing. So there you go , Giants to win. I told Q aunt summer would be very happy.

Feb 4 (Jen)

What a day:)...laundry, cleaning and visiting Quinlan. Good time spent with my hubby too:). Shelley Kozel Trapp came to visit and meet Quinny:). Also, Heidi Landes and Beth came to visit too:)...both are wonderful friends from our homeschool co-op:). And just so you know, drum roll please! Quinlan is 1 lb 14 oz! Almost 2 lbs!!! The pedialite will soon be followed by breastmilk and we are so happy:). As always, tomorrow is another day:).

In case you didn't catch it, there are only 2 babies that they know of with this condition who have lived past 24 hours. Quinlan is baby number 3! She is truly a miracle, and Jen and Kevin are showing amazing faith and joy and thankfulness in every day that they get with her! If you want to follow her story, you can "friend" Jen Thompson Martin on facebook.

The kids made cards which I took tonight, and we are praying every day for their family. Thank you God, for the miracle that she is!

Friday Files: What God Did This Week!

2012-02-03T14:28:00.002-05:00

So, I have noticed that "real bloggers" always have some catchy things they do on certain days of the week, like Monday Menus or Wordless Wednesdays! I was thinking about what would be important or interesting to write about once a week, as I like that idea. So here goes... I am going to post on Fridays the ways that I saw God work this week, in my life or others. I am not putting God to the test here, because I know He is alive and working all the time. I am however, reminding myself to pay attention! It will probably be mostly little things, but isn't that how life is? Life is made up of all the little things, plus a few big exciting moments here and there:)

This is also a chance to be interactive... if you are reading this, feel free to comment and share how you saw God work this week too!

I had two particular issues I was worried about in my life this week. I prayed about them and God gave me specific encouragement through a couple of friends (that I don't talk to often!) and an unexpected email. I am thankful God patiently answers my worries with the encouragement I need

Wednesday morning is my morning out when I have a few hours of quiet to just think, plan, pray, read, drink my coffee and enjoy some peace and quiet. This week, I saw an old friend and said hello, but we went our separate ways. But as I prayed, I felt God tell me to go share some of my struggles that I have had in life with her. I argued with God for a few minutes, but in the end I obeyed, and we had a great conversation. (She was kind enough to give up some of her quiet work time, and it seemed to encourage her as well.)

Baby Quinlan, a tiny baby (1 lb 11 oz)born to a friend, had surgery this week and is doing well. The kids and I are praying for her and we thank God she came through well. You can read more about baby Quinlan here.

Gabe met with a new "person of peace" on Wednesday. A "person of peace" is someone who is is open to the Gospel and wants to share it with others. She is starting a Discovery Bible Study in her home on next week with some of her friends. We have been praying for more "persons of peace" for a while now and thank God for answering this prayer too.

So that is what I saw this week... anyone else?

A Few Good Books

2012-02-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

Here are the good books which I have read lately and would recommend to others...

Little Princes
A story of orphans in Nepal and how one guy was able to reunite some of them with their families.

He was an entertaining writer and it was a good reminder of the harsh realities of life around the world. And of course, I love books about orphans!

Unbroken : A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
An amazing true story of a soldier in WW II who was adrift at sea and a POW. A fantastic and inspiring book!

My Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie
If you were as obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder as a child as I was, you need to read this book. I often laughed out loud because she would say exactly what I was thinking. And she visited all the landmarks and told us all about them, so she probably saved me a lot of miles in the car!:)

Friendship Bread
If you want a relatively light, entertaining read, this was it. Warning: it will make you crave bread! Maybe I just liked it because I read this while on a low-carb diet, so I was vicariously getting my carbs from their bread, I don't know...

Mail Call

2012-02-03T13:45:00.000-05:00

Lately, the kids all want to go get the mail from the mailbox each day. Why? Because there has been a lot of mail for them lately!

Granee has been sending the kids cards and the "hidden pictures puzzle" from the paper. The kids are so excited when they get their own encouraging card from her!

So fun!

Spelling Bee

2012-02-03T13:42:00.000-05:00

The day before we left for Florida, Josiah, Kiersen and Liam all participated in a spelling bee. It was at the Huber Heights Library and open to kids who attend the same online school as they do. Liam and Kiersen were in the 1st-3rd group and Josiah competed with 4th-6th graders.

Liam made it through the practice rounds and Kiersen and Josiah both made it several rounds before they were out. (Note: when we registered, they sent out a list of words to study and practice. I printed it out but then we never looked at it, but apparently, a lot of people actually studied that list! Good to know for the future!)

They were all a little nervous, but I reminded them it was just for the experience. I am very proud that all three of them did it!

Kiersen in front of the judges

The boys with their participation ribbons!

Mud Hike

2012-02-01T22:36:00.000-05:00

Since we had such beautiful weather today (60 degrees on February 1st?), we headed to Sugarcreek Metropark for a Mud Hike. You know, where you wear clothes that can get muddy and you stomp in every puddle you can find? It was great! We thought we were taking the one mile path and ended up taking a wrong turn so it turned into a three mile hike instead, but that was great. All the kids made it (even Aliya's little legs). Josiah and I had some good chatting time about random topics such as Albert Einstein, discipline, and turtles. Liam used his pocketknife to mark our trail, and they all had fun just observing various trees, plants and bushes. I always come back thinking, we need to take more hikes! (Plus, this time, we did not bring back any live snakes!)

Florida Pics, January 2012

2012-02-01T22:30:00.001-05:00

Here are just some other pictures from our trip, in no particular order. Just ones I wanted to include in our blog scrapbook!

My Prince Charming and our little dwarves:)

"Smile, Liam". Nope... he wanted to salute.

The boys in their souvenir sweatshirts.

Kiersen loves the Little Mismatched store!

Best hoodie ever!

One morning, while Gabe was out getting coffee and I was sleeping in, the kids surprised me by making me breakfast! What an awesome surprise!!! They are the best kids!!

The girls and I did our toes:)

Lots of our favorite pizza from Flippers!

We hung out on the basketball courts and tennis courts a little. Gabe and I did a hard circuit workout (suicide runs in between lunges, squats, planks, etc.) while Josiah shot some baskets!

Pretty girls!

The sunset over the pool and lake. We had beautiful weather!

Hope to see you again, Florida!

Disney's Magic Kingdom!

2012-02-01T22:23:00.000-05:00

Yes, we finally did it... we went to the real park instead of just the free part! We spent a day at the Magic Kingdom from open to close... (at over $500 for that one day, we figured we better get our money's worth.) I am so glad we went now... Josiah is just on the edge of being too old, but he still had a fun day. And Aliya and Liam were the perfect age to be excited about the characters... and Kiersen had fun on it all too. We had beautiful weather (about 70 and sunny) and no crowds, so no waiting. I highly recommend Disney in January! Here are some of the pics I took.

Liam and Buzz. We loved the Buzz Lightyear ride!

Josiah was actually a little disappointed that his race car went so slow. Apparently, he was hoping it would go as fast as the real Indy cars:)

The girls and Sleeping Beauty (Aurora). I was impressed with how the Princesses took a couple minutes to talk to the girls before posing for the picture. The next day, Aliya asked if they were puppets or real people and Gabe told her they were just Mommies dressed up. Aliya told me, "They are just BEAUTIFUL MOMMIES". I asked if I was beautiful enough to be a Princess. She considered it, then said, "yes, but you need more hair." :)

Aliya wondered where the Beast was, but Belle told them that the Beast was getting his fur brushed.

I love the beaming smiles!

Rapunzel (from Tangled) was in a separate place and there was a 45 minute wait. I gave the girls a choice of waiting or going on another ride. Kiersen went for the ride, but Aliya was determined to wait and see "REEPUNZEL" as she calls her. She colored while we waited...

and finally her turn came!

Could I have one of these for my house? Some days I could use it...

We started and ended the day with "It's a Small World", MY favorite ride!

The kids' favorite things were:

Josiah: Space Mountain and Splash Mountain
Kiersen: Splash Mountain
Liam: Buzz Lightyear and Splash Mountain. (He also went on Space Mountain and was not scared! )
Aliya: The Princesses of course, but she also loved Splash Mountain! She barely made the height requirement, but she and Gabe sat in the front seat and she held her arms up all the way down the biggest hill! She is much braver than I am... I wouldn't even go on that one:)

It was a very fun day!

Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa in Florida

2012-02-01T21:53:00.000-05:00

We just returned back from a week at our favorite place in Orlando, Summer Bay Resort! Our trip overlapped my parents' trip there by a couple of days, so we were able to spend some time with them before they came back home. Here are some pics!

Grandpa helped the kids fish. We only had two real fishing poles, but he rigged up an extra "Huck Finn" one- fishing line tied on a stick. That was the only one that caught a fish! Kiersen was pretty proud!

Liam didn't catch anything but he and Terry had fun casting. I love this picture of Liam and Grandpa!

Grandma and her baby were also there of course, putting the bait on the hooks and untangling the lines.

We went swimming at the condo where they were staying. It had a water slide and a lazy river- so fun! Here are Grandma and Aliya swimming in the "lazy river" part.

The water slide was pretty tall for a regular pool. Before we knew it, Aliya went up and came on down, loving every minute of it. She is so brave for a 3 yr old! We all tried it and had fun. Can't remember the last time I was on a water slide- it has been a while! Gabe and the kids tried hard to come down on their hands and knees, almost "surfing" but it was harder than it looked!

Even Grandma zipped on down the water slide a few times after Aliya said, "Grandma, come with me!" :)

So glad we had a chance to spend some Florida time together!

"Kirsten"- American Girl Doll- Day!

2012-01-19T21:20:00.001-05:00

Kiersen and I are working on a history project. She is reading about the American Girl dolls in chronological order, and then we learn about that time period in American history. The last couple of weeks we learned about "Kirsten", who immigrated with her family from Sweden to Minnesota during the 1850's. I was so excited about this because....
1. My mother's side of the family is from Minnesota and originally from Germany and Norway.
2. I just read a historical fiction novel about 3 young women taking the same journey from Sweden to Minnesota and it gave me a great picture of what life was like. (one of the characters was also named Kirsten!)
3. It corresponds to the Little House books and our general love for all things pioneer around here
4. And of course, let's not forget that my middle name is Kirstin, and that is where Kiersen's name came from. It is our adaptation of it... because yes, yes we did want her to have to spend her whole life saying, "there is no T in my name!"

So, suffice it to say, we were pumped! I traded kids today with a friend, so the boys were gone and our friend Abigail joined in the fun.

First stop: Carriage Hill Farm, where the girls wore their pioneer dress up clothes and played in the old-fashioned schoolroom and playhouse. They stayed for and hour and a half, and I had to drag them out! While they had a great time, I was happy that I had my technology (iphone) with me so I could catch up on my Words with Friends game. (Perhaps I was not cut out to be a pioneer after all!)

Next, at home we had some crafts to do.

We painted wooden heart with designs, because the pioneers brought painted wooden objects from Sweden.

We made yarn dolls.

Kiersen and I made this rag rug a few days before. It is nice and tiny, just right for her American Girl doll, and even that took a while. My great-grandmother made a ton of BIG rag rugs... it must have taken her forever! Guess that is what you do when you don't have any "electronics", as my kids would say.

We also made our cute headbands- nothing to do with Kirsten, just for fun.

And, of course, we made pepperkakor cookies. These were yummy!

For dinner, we had Baked Ham and Swedish potatoes, both really good.

The girls had a great time! As an added bonus, the weather is not great tonight, so we are having an impromptu sleepover! I know, we should have lit a fire and read a book and did some needlework, but instead, I decided it was time for a movie so I could blog! :)

Kiersen is writing up more details about the time period and daily life on her blog. One of the questions that she has to answer is "What is something interesting about her (the American Girl's) life?" Kiersen's answer was, "I didn't know they had to work so much!" Amen, sister! That is what I thought reading about the pioneers. When I was growing up I thought it would have been so fun to live in that time period, but now, I look at it and think, WOW! That was hard work, from sun-up to sundown! I admire those who worked so hard to make a whole new life for their family. And I am also OK with living in the here and now!

But oh what fun to have girls to do fun studies like this!!!

Cute Craft of the Day!

2012-01-19T20:40:00.001-05:00

The girls had a friend over today and we did all kinds of fun stuff- but that is another post. But this was a spur-of-the-moment inspiration at the craft store and it actually WORKED. I am NOT crafty, so that is pretty amazing! I saw a pack of crocheted flowers on clearance, so I picked those up, some 3/$1 rolls of thin ribbon and a pack of headbands. So total, I guess these cost about $2 to make... I am sure you would pay more in the store!

Each girl picked her color and glued on her flower. Kiersen (and another friend, not pictured) also put on some ribbon. So simple, but so cute! :)

Picnic at Natalie's House

2012-01-16T22:24:00.000-05:00

This post is a little overdue (and out of order) but better late than never! The week after Christmas we went over to our friends' Jeanne and Natalie's house. Jeanne made a yummy breakfast strata and the kids had a picnic on the floor while the grown-ups ate at the table. It was fun!

Girls' Day Out at the Movies!

2012-01-15T12:01:00.000-05:00

My friend Jessica and I took the girls to see Beauty and the Beast, 3D. It was really fun! Here they are, posing in the lobby with Alvin and the Chipmunks! Aliya did like to "WHISPER" what was about to happen, so I hope no one around us was seeing it for the first time, as they might have overheard a few plot spoilers:) It did cost so much that I remember why we don't take the kids to the movies very often! If we only go to a few kids' movies a year, and most of the new kids movies are now coming out in 3D, I wonder if Aliya will grow up only remembering seeing 3D movies in the theater...? Hmmm.

In Memory of Luke

2012-01-13T21:38:00.000-05:00

Some of you may remember that last year in China, I fell in love with this little guy, Luke. It was really exciting to connect with his adoptive family here in the US. Sadly, before they were able to get him here, he passed away a few days after Christmas. Here are a couple of links about it.
(scroll down quite a bit to see the post on Luke.)

We are praying for his foster family in China (connected with New Hope) and his adoptive family here. But he is free from his wheel chair, smiling, laughing and running with Jesus now!

Aliya's January 2012 Time Capsule Answers

2012-01-13T21:23:00.000-05:00

Age: 3
Height: 41 inches
Weight: 39 lb
Grade: none
Friends: Calli, Alyssa, Kayla, Faith, Abigail

My Favorites

Toys: stuffed animals, Kiersen's barbies, printing out hair designs on Barbie.com
Games: Chubby Bunnies, Barbie. com, Americangirl.com
Food: Pizza, goldfish crackers, cheese, graham crackers
Color: Gold and blue
Christmas gift: playdoh set
Animal: kitty cats and dogs and mittens (AKA kittens to the rest of us!)
Book: Disney Princesses book
Movie: All the princess movies
TV show: Olivia

What I do in my free time: invite Calli over
What I want to be when I grow up: a ballet dancer
What makes me laugh: when someone tickles me
What makes me cry: ?????

Best thing that happened last year: going to Abigail's house
Worst thing that happened last year: ????
A place I want to go in 2012: to visit Fabrice

Liam's January 2012 Time Capsule Answers

2012-01-13T21:18:00.000-05:00

Age: 5
Height: 44 inches
Weight: 41 lb
Grade: K
Friends: Mia, Ethan, Andrew, Dylan and Ethan, Cameron, Brandon, Caleb, Patrick, Vanessa, the Twiss boys

My Favorites

Toys: big nerf gun, computer, legos
Games: Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Batman
Food: chicken wings, mac and cheese
Color: green and blue
Christmas gift: big nerf gun
Animal: meerkat
School subject: math and science
Book: Junie B. Jones has a Monster Under Her Bed
Movie: Phineas and Ferb, the Movie
TV show: SpongeBob, which Mom only lets us watch on vacation

What I do in my free time: play legos, other toys
What I want to be when I grow up: a scientist
What makes me laugh: sometime clowns
What makes me cry: if Mom goes on a trip

Best thing that happened last year: Fabrice's birthday
Worst thing that happened last year: Fabrice going back home
A place I want to go in 2012: I think we should not do any trips this year. Instead we should save our money so we can go visit Fabrice in Burkina Faso next year.

Kiersen's January 2012 Time Capsule Answers

2012-01-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

Age: 7 1/2
Height: 49 inches
Weight: 49.5 lb
Grade: 2
Friends: Rachel, Morgan, Avery, Ellie, Zoe, Caroline, Evie, Juli, Lexi, O'Malley, Sydney, Zoe, Emma, Emma

My Favorites

Toys: Barbie Princess Charm School Barbie, Barbie hairstyling things, my school set
Games: Don't Make Me Laugh (board game) , Don't Break the Ice
Food: Mac and cheese, beans and rice, cheese burritos, Flipper's Pizza, Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant
Color: blue and sometimes purple
Christmas gift: school set
Animal: horse
School subject: art
Book: Caddie Woodlawn, Anne of Green Gables
Movie: Beauty and the Beast
TV show: Little House on the Prairie

What I do in my free time: play Barbies with Aliya
What I want to be when I grow up: work in a restaurant as a waitress
What makes me laugh: being tickled
What makes me cry: getting hurt

Best thing that happened last year: swim team
Worst thing that happened last year: I don't know
A place I want to go in 2012: the orphanage in Mexico

Josiah's January 2012 Time Capsule Answers

2012-01-13T21:02:00.000-05:00

Age: 10
Height: 56 inches
Weight: 67 lb
Grade: 4th
Friends: Jonathan, Reed, Sam Phillips, the whole FLL team, the Twiss boys

My Favorites

Toys: Nintendo DS or computer
Games: Indiana Jones for the computer, Monopoly
Food: Cheesy Noodles
Color: Black
Christmas gift: spywatch
Animal: Turtle
School subject: Art
Book: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
Movie: Kung Fu Panda, The Spy Next Door
TV show: Kung Fu Panda

What I do in my free time: think
What I want to be when I grow up: computer engineer, maybe
What makes me laugh: Po from Kung Fu Panda, funny jokes
What makes me cry: sad stuff, when Fabrice went away

Best thing that happened last year: getting Turtle
Worst thing that happened last year: Fabrice going away
A place I want to go in 2012: Hawaii and somewhere on a different continent, not North America

Time Capsule

2012-01-13T20:38:00.000-05:00

I found this idea somewhere: ask the kids the same list of questions each year and record their answers for a "time capsule" for fun memories. Since I would never remember the "safe place" that I put a time capsule, I decided to record their answers on the blog. That way it will be in our family record book, and I might even remember to do it again next year too! During tea time this week, I asked each child their answers and recorded them. Here goes!

Tea and Talk Time!

2012-01-13T20:34:00.001-05:00

This week, I took a half hour each afternoon to have a "tea and talk time" with an individual child. I I just spread out a blanket on the floor in my bedroom, lit a candle, made tea, put on soothing music, and we sat and talked for a while. It was really nice to have that one on one time with each child. The others either had reading time or quiet playtime, and they did really well at not bothering us :) (It probably helped that I just did one each day, so they all knew their day was coming!)

I took this idea from Sally Clarkson, my favorite "Christian mom author". She writes a lot of encouraging books for moms and a blog that you can find here.

New Healthy Plates

2012-01-13T20:19:00.000-05:00

This is just a random thing that we are trying here, in the interest of health! I found these plates/trays at Target. I bought them for the kids so that we can remember the healthy foods to put on our plate. We make sure that at least half of the tray (2 spaces) are filled with fruits and veggies, and then fill the other spaces with a protein and a carb. I will admit, we don't use them every meal, but it helps me to think about making sure we get a variety of fruits and veggies into our meals.

The End of the First Lego League Season

2012-01-13T20:15:00.001-05:00

After a ton of hard work, Josiah's team competed at the second level tournament at Central State last weekend. They did well in front of the judges, but had some problems with the robot. They did not advance to the State tournament. Apparently, there are over 400 Lego League teams in Ohio this year, and about 100 made it to the level his team made it to. Only about 30 teams go to the State tournament. We are so proud of his team, and he had a good time. And... he learned so much that next year's season might be even better! Now he can relax in the two weeks before indoor soccer begins!

His team received a plague for winning the "Ambassador" award at the last competition, so they took a few pics with the plaque before it goes to its permanent home at the Boonshoft Musesum! :) *note- the rest of the family came to cheer on Josiah as well, but I just happened to be the only family member around at picture taking time!*

Goodbye, Danielle!

2012-01-13T20:11:00.001-05:00

Right after the New Year, we returned Danielle to my parents' house, and she has since moved to another host family as she is going to be treated in Lima, not Dayton, after all. Just wanted to put a few more cute pictures of her up. She was a doll... but wow! A year makes a huge difference... Aliya is so much more independent than a two year old. I am not quite ready to go back to that toddler stage full time again. Two weeks was just right.

The kids felt differently... they all keep saying they wish Danielle could have stayed longer. Aliya even woke up at 3 am the first night after Danielle left, crying because she missed her already!

Maybe we will get to see a picture from her new host family once she has her surgery and is all fixed up!

Merry Christmas from Uncle Ryan

2012-01-03T16:11:00.002-05:00

This year for Christmas Uncle Ryan got us a baby turtle and a fish tank. Mom thought it was just a tiny fish bowl with a baby turtle in it, but it was actually a big fish tank. A couple days later he came to take us to get some more animals for the tank. We ended up getting about 4 plants, 12 fish, 2 snails, 1 crayfish and a new bigger filter. All together it looked very cool, thanks Uncle Ryan!!

Sharing Love on Christmas

2011-12-25T22:26:00.000-05:00

We did something new this year on Christmas. After Thanksgiving, one of Gabe's customers mentioned to Jessica (our friend who works with Gabe) that he had spent the holiday alone with a tv dinner. She suggested that we could take him a hot meal on Christmas so he wouldn't be totally alone. Our small group prayed that God would show us some others who would otherwise be alone on Christmas and we came up with a list of some folks (mostly Gabe's customers, as well as a few others.) We put together meals that included turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls and cookies, and as a group we went out and delivered those meals today. We were able to say Merry Christmas with a practical gift, and pray with some of the folks. We hope it was a tangible sign of God's love for them- and it was fun for us to do as families! We may have started a new tradition!

Getting ready to deliver some Christmas love with the Sullins family!

Christmas Morning 2011

2011-12-25T22:18:00.000-05:00

Gabe was up early cooking a turkey, but we made the kids wait til 7am to open any presents! We had such fun! They bought really great gifts for each other this year, and it was so neat to watch them give them out. We also seemed to hit the jackpot this year, as everyone was really happy with their three gifts from us. I admit, I had SO MUCH fun with the girls' stuff especially, but overall, it is just fun to see your kids happy! Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from the morning!

New Little House on the Prairie Dress Up Outfits!

Aliya's "stage" and microphone! (Yes, we did put up stage curtains in our family room so they can do shows!) Flashbacks of my childhood....

Belting out the Annie songs!

Spy gear and gadgets for our techie!

Danielle opened her presents! Apparently, she is scared of stuffed animals, because she freaked out at the 6 inch tall Hello Kitty doll that Aliya picked out for her. But other than that, she enjoyed herself!

Kiersen received a "teacher set", because her favorite thing to play is "school". (I find that kind of ironic, actually- but I think she has the personality to make a great teacher!) Anyway, tonight she was teaching Aliya her "-et " words along with some math. Aliya asked if she is now in kindergarten :) Kiersen probably will teach her to read- that would be great! Notice how Aliya (the only student in class) has to raise her hand!

LEGO MANIA!

Liam's theme seemed to be pirates and weapons... here he is with his huge nerf gun, in the pirate costume!

The kids had already received such fantastic gifts from their grandparents that we were hoping they would like these as well, and they played happily all day! Here is hoping that the cold winter months are filled with lots of creative, imaginative play with all the new stuff!!!!

Christmas Eve at Granee and Grandpa Landes' House

2011-12-25T21:59:00.000-05:00

We had dinner and presents with Granee and Grandpa Landes and Aunt Carole Sue on Christmas Eve. It was wonderful too!

Cheers! (With their jello/whipped cream filled glasses)

Getting ready for some steak!

Grandpa in the Santa hat, passing out presents!

Four tiny reindeer?

Our traditional dessert!

Danielle loved the cake!

Danielle also loved Carole Sue- they had fun!

There were lots of great presents and the kids made a DVD for Granee and Grandpa too. Gabe was the big winner in the scratch-off lotto tickets this year, with $9! Woo-hoo! It was great to spend Christmas Eve with you guys!

Christmas Eve at the Haerer House

2011-12-25T21:48:00.001-05:00

We enjoyed lunch and presents at the Haerer house with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Terry, their foster baby, Danielle, Uncle Ryan, Aunt Erika, Uncle Jason, Tucker, Hudson, Shanell and Dezzmon!

Terry and the pretty girls:)

Dezzmon is getting big!

Just us!

The kids' table

The adults (plus Josiah!)

Portrait drawing with Aunt Erika... she started a trend! Kiersen is drawing everyone's portraits now!

Josiah helped Hudson assemble his new batcave while the guys (not pictured) watched a little football!

My favorite gift was the DVD that the cousins made for Grandma and Grandpa. Each child did something special for them and then Josiah put it all together. We hope they enjoyed it too!

We had a really fun time!

Danielle Comes to Visit

2011-12-25T21:36:00.000-05:00

Danielle is a medical mission child from Africa here for surgery on her club foot. My parents are her host family, but they shared her with us for Christmas Break, so she gets to spend 2 weeks with us! She just turned 2 and she is a smart, busy little girl! We are all excited to have her!

She loves to eat!

Uh, need to do some hair here...:)

Such a cutie!

Santa Hat Brownies

2011-12-25T21:07:00.001-05:00

Most of my cooking stories involve smoke detectors going off, but this one actually worked! (Ok, so we had to make the brownies twice, but didn't they turn out cute?) ( I saw it on Pinterest- you can find her original post here )And they were tasty!!!!

How to make them:

1. Make a 9x13 pan of brownies.

2. Wash strawberries and cut the tops off so it will be flat.

3. Mix up some yummy Vanilla Mascarpone-Buttercream (recipe here)

4. Cut the brownies into small squares (or circles if you are an overachiever, which I was not!)

5. Put a dab of the cream in the center of the brownie, stick a strawberry on it, and then pipe the cream around the top and on top.

6. Take them to your family or work party and WOW everyone! :)

The First of Many...

2011-12-25T20:55:00.001-05:00

Kiersen was all dressed up to go to a birthday party, and I asked her and Gabe to pose. It just made me think of how many more pictures we will take with Daddy his little girl (s) all dressed up...:)

BTW... look at the first picture closely, as I am in it too:)

New Fabrice Pictures!!!!

2011-12-25T20:25:00.000-05:00

I was really missing Fabrice this week, so I was OVERJOYED to receive an email with three new pictures of him and word that he is doing well. So good to see his smile!

Fabrice with his Mom and Auntie

With his family members (I assume). The little one is his brother Ben and the sister is Lolo. Fabrice kept telling us the whole year he was here that when he got home, his Papa was going to buy him a big bike. Looks like Papa did! I also think Ben might be riding the scooter we sent home with Fabrice?

We are guessing this is his school picture. Kiersen found Fabrice in the front row right away!

We love you Fabrice! So glad to see you happy and healthy with your family!!!

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-25T20:19:00.000-05:00

We had fun making, frosting and eating sugar cookies! Ashley and her sister Haley came over to help us. We saved these to give away on Christmas Day. (Ok, we saved half to give away and ate the other half! We made a quadruple batch!)

Haerer White Elephant Gift Exchange

2011-12-25T20:12:00.000-05:00

We had dinner at Marion's pizza so that we could have the annual White Elephant Christmas exchange! Unfortunately, I did not have time to take any pictures, so once Erika or Mom send some, I will post them. Suffice it to say, that as usual, Ryan brought the most "white elephant-ish" gift, although the "welcome to the family "GIFT" to Kira was pretty good too. Although that is not an appropriate picture for children! :) Sorry Tash and Seth missed it- I hope you had some goodies mailed to you!

The kids had a fun gift game and managed to keep themselves fairly occupied at the other table while the adults opened and stole gifts!

Grandma gave the kids their new Christmas pajamas... here they are wearing them on Christmas Eve. Notice that Baby Girl and Molly received matching nightgowns!

My Life In a Purple Binder

2011-12-16T22:13:00.000-05:00

Here it is, my new brilliant organizational system!!! (Hey, I have been using it for three days already and have gotten a ton of stuff done. I am sure it is brilliant!!) I saw this on someone else's blog - can't find the post again, or I would tell you where it came from- and adapted it for me. VOILA! Let me show you!

In the front, I start with sections for my to-do list (plain old-fashioned notepaper), and then my master family calendar. Sure, Heidi, I can hear you saying... that is nice, but I keep all that on my phone and my computer. But wait... the best part is coming. Next, I created a section for all the activities/teams/etc. that we attend, so that I have a place to put all those PAPER schedules, team rosters, and miscellaneous handouts that they send home. So now, it is all in one place!!!!

The tabs that I have are:

To-do list
Master Calendar (monthly)
Homeschool
Josiah Lego League
Liam Lego League
Awana
Mom's Morning Out
Josiah Soccer
Liam Soccer
Kiersen Dance
Homeschool Co-op
Small group
My Workout Calendar/log

Some people would also include other things in their binder like menu planning and cleaning schedules, but I probably won't do that... mostly I just need to keep track of the places we need to go, etc. There is a limit to how planned I can be!

But, if you can't tell, I am very excited to feel like I have a system to deal with all the details. I hope it works. Now the only downside is that I will need a huge purse to be able to take it anywhere, but big bags are in, right? :)

I will be sure to report on my new and improved efficiency (and less forgetting stuff)!!!

Tis the Season Part 2

2011-12-16T21:57:00.000-05:00

While I am on the subject of Christmas traditions, let me mention a few more!

The last couple of years, we have attended a "Christmas Crafts" day with our homeschool co-op. The kids all make 5 or 6 Christmas crafts and then we have a potluck lunch. The kids love it!

Another one of my favorite traditions is that every December, Gabe's dad Steve brings over a present for me: a big box of Esther Price chocolates, and a present for Gabe: shrimp! He has been doing this for so long, I am not even sure when he started... a long time ago! We look forward to it every year! Thanks, Steve!!! (It is both good and bad that the kids like the chocolates now too... better that I don't eat them all myself, but kind of sad cause the box is finished much faster:)

And a couple of our favorite Christmas books to read aloud are "The Adventures of Nicholas", by Helen Siiteri, and "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever", by Barbara Robinson. This year, Josiah and Kiersen have been taking turns reading chapters too, which is neat to do together. I remember reading both of these books when I was kid (the Nicholas one is the same copy!). So fun to carry on this with my own kiddos! (Plus whatever friends are over... Calli, Aliya's friend from across the street, now asks me to start reading as soon as I put her lunch plate in front of her! )

I love Christmas!

Tis the Season...

2011-12-15T23:08:00.002-05:00

for gingerbread houses! We bought a kit at the store, I handed it to Josiah and he and Liam did the whole thing!

for haircuts... Aliya was less than thrilled about having her first real cut at a salon (can you refer to Supercuts as a salon? :) This was the best before pic I could get, and I didn't even get an after picture but she looks cute! All six people had their hair trimmed over the course of 2 days. Don't think that has ever happened before- wait for that snazzy family picture coming soon!

for trying on Christmas dresses...

for modeling Christmas shirts (thanks Grandma!)

for baking and taking treats to friends and neighbors. This year it is ZUCCHINI BREAD, thanks to the large stash of zucchini in my freezer from last summer. I refuse to be intimidated by the plate of home-baked cookies that our neighbor gave in return... full of 10 different kinds! She is amazing! Hopefully our neighbors like the bread! :)

for crafts... we bought cinnamon sticks to make wreaths because Kiersen saw it on pinterest. So far, none of my children have made one yet, but our friend Natalie did one, as well as Danielle (a medical missions child staying with Grandma and Grandpa). Still have a lot of sticks, though, so someone is going to make another one!!!

Lots more fun coming up soon!

A Star Is Born- Nutcracker 2011

2011-12-11T22:45:00.001-05:00

Ok, so in reality, Kiersen may decide she doesn't like dance next week, but just in case she continues in it, then 15 years from now, I felt the title of this blog will enable me to say, "Oh, I knew she would be a star way back when...".

This weekend Kiersen was a "GUN SOLDIER" in the Nutcracker, put on by the Miami Valley Dance Company at Bellbrook High School. She loved it! I also had fun being the stage mom, remembering how much I love the theater, and once again wishing I had been a Broadway star. Oh well! Being a mom is much better (although a bit less glamorous...)

Here are the pics...

Lining up backstage

Since we spent most of the day Saturday there, she had her own little spot. (9:30 am-9:00 pm. with only one 90 minute break when we went home for lunch!)

Her siblings came to watch her show! Several others also came to see her : Erika, Hudson, Grandma, Grandpa H., Terry, Granee, Grandpa L., Mrs. Sharbaugh and Morgan, and of course, her mom and dad! She came home with some neat presents to remember this by: flowers, a nutcracker ornament, a nutcracker to paint, and another Christmas ornament. Thank you to everyone who came!!!

She is already talking about what role she hopes to have next year! It was great!

All kinds of videos!

2011-12-08T21:54:00.000-05:00

Josiah's team website has been updated with pictures and videos from the Regional, so you can see what the robot does on its run.

Also, he had some friends over this week and they made some additional stop animation movies and a short live action movie. You can view those on this blog should you need some additional entertainment!

First Lego League Tournament at Sinclair

2011-12-04T21:45:00.000-05:00

After months of preparation, Josiah's Lego League team (named I, Lego), competed in an all-day tournament at Sinclair on Saturday. They had four separate interviews with the judges in the morning, and then they had three head-to-head robot rounds in the afternoon.

The theme this year was "Food Factor". His team had to select a food and research food safety issues around it. They then had to propose a solution to a food contamination issue they discovered. In addition, they had to build and program a robot to complete as many missions as possible in a 2 minute time period.

Josiah and another teammate ran the robot in round #3. Here he is, getting ready to go.

At the end of the day, 5 of the 19 teams were invited to move on to the next tournament, and Josiah's team was one of those teams!!! They won the "Ambassador" team award and will keep practicing and compete again in January. We are so proud of Josiah and his team!

And by the way, thanks for checking out the website. They had 380 hits by Saturday, way above their goal of 250!!!

I am going to try to take some video of the robot at his next practice so that we can show you what exactly the robot does while it completes its missions. It is really neat!!!

First Time Ice Skating!

2011-12-04T21:20:00.000-05:00

We had a K-12/Ohio Virtual Academy field trip to an ice skating rink in Centerville last week. I took the older three kids. None of the kids had ever ice skated before, and it had been a LONG time since I was on the ice. It was so much fun! The kids caught on really quickly and I remembered that I really like ice skating! All the kids loved it!

Josiah's Team Website- check it out!

2011-11-28T15:27:00.000-05:00

This is the website which Josiah's Lego League team created... take a look!

His team competes this Saturday at the qualifying tournament and they are hoping to have 250 hits before then.

http://teamilego.webs.com/

:)

Kiersen's First Pinterest Project

2011-11-27T21:47:00.000-05:00

Kiersen saw this photo on Pinterest and thought it looked like something she could make.

Here is our version... a close-up of the letters, and the finished product! She made it for the room she and Aliya share... it turned out really cute!

Steps:

1. Select a font and print out your word very large. (We used 600 pt font).
2. Cut out the paper letters and trace them on foamboard. Then cut out the foamboard letters.
3. Wrap your yarn around the letters.
4. Kiersen put white glue on the back of the letters just to help the yarn stay and let it dry overnight.
5. Hang it up! We used plain pushpins and the yarn just hung. You could also use small nails, or just display on a shelf.

Great job, Kiersen! Now that I have introduced her to the monster called Pinterest, I see a lot more crafting in my future...

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-26T23:04:00.000-05:00

On Thanksgiving Day, we hosted Granee and Grandpa Landes and Carole Sue at our house. Gabe cooked the turkey and most of the dinner and it was fantastic!!!! Afterward, we played a lot of bingo while the guys watched some football.

On Friday, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Haerer's house for Thanksgiving with the Haerer side. There was a big crowd as Ryan came in from Washington DC and Tasha and Seth came up from Florida. Shanell and Dezzmon joined us, as well as my cousin Dawn and her son Connor. Grandpa's zipline is always a hit and we did get in some games of solitaire. Grandma won the first one, and E-rex managed to pull out a victory as well, in spite of sitting at the very end of the table :) Josiah joined in the crazy game too!

Lots of fun with all the family... I am very thankful for all of our family!!!

Curly Hair!

2011-11-26T22:51:00.000-05:00

Like most people with naturally straight hair, I always wanted curly hair. Aside from the days of the 80's perms... I have learned to live with my straight hair. BUT I was so excited when our first daughter came out with naturally curly hair like her Granee! Of course, she wants straight hair... but too bad! Aliya's hair is pretty straight, and of course, I think she is adorable the way she is. However, when Kiersen and I saw an idea on Pinterest about curling your hair with twists, we had to try it. Kiersen cried when we took hers out, and I did not take a picture as she was not happy! Too much curl for her. But take a look at Aliya's! Such fun!

The Cousins' Birthday Party!

2011-11-26T22:47:00.000-05:00

We met at Panera to celebrate Tucker and Josiah's birthdays! Grandma and Grandpa Haerer and Uncle Terry and the little ones were there too, but it seems I only took pictures of the cousins! :) It was a fun time!

Josiah's (Amazing) Lego Movies!

2011-11-18T22:51:00.003-05:00

Josiah said, "Hey, Mom! Come see the movie I made!" Here it is:

And here is the sequel:

Cute, right? I figured he had just messed around on a website and created them. But NO! He actually set up the scene with his lego guys, then took 40 some still pictures for each one, moving the pieces slightly each time. He then uploaded the pictures to his computer and opened Windows Movie Maker. He put all the stills into a slideshow, and then experimented with the speed until he determined that 0.15 seconds was the right timing to make it look like a movie. On the second one, he added in the music.

Uh...Gabe and I just looked at each other in amazement! Where does this kid get this stuff? We were pretty impressed with both his technical abilities and his patience to do it! Amazing!!!

Great job, Josiah!

Josiah Turns 10!!!

2011-11-18T22:40:00.004-05:00

November 17, 2011... Josiah turned 10! DOUBLE DIGITS!!!!

During the day, I took the kids to COSI. We had a really fun day!

The highlight for Josiah was riding the unicycle across the highwire! So cool!

Later, we had a small party with both sets of his (AWESOME) grandparents and Aunt Carole Sue. He requested zucchini bread instead of cake, with lots of whipped cream. (Josiah likes very few sweets, but he LOVES whipped cream and my zucchini bread!)

He received great gifts- all things to build or build with! Thanks, everyone! He loved them all!

We are so proud of our Josiah!!!! We love you, buddy!!!

ALLNIGHTER!

2011-11-18T22:26:00.003-05:00

When Josiah asked if he could have an "allnighter" birthday party, we said sure. Really, what 10 year olds could stay up ALL NIGHT? Apparently, Josiah and one of his friends... who were still awake at 6am when Gabe got up in the morning! Yikes! He made them sleep for a couple of hours then at least! Note to self- think before you speak!! We all know Josiah needs very little sleep!!!

He had a great time with his buddies (and Liam!) too. It took a few trips for each boy to bring in all their stuff for the night, as they brought all their electronics and (nerf) weapons!!! Such boy fun!

Josiah kicked off the party by grabbing a bag of sunflower seeds from the pantry and asking his friends if they thought that was a boy or girl. They didn't know, so he informed them it was a boy, because it had nuts. Ok, so it was really seeds, but the boys thought it was hilarious of course. And the 10 yr old party kicked off....

I do think it is awesome that Josiah invited two friends whom he has known literally since he was born... and we (the moms) don't even have to force them to be friends (which we might do, if they didn't choose it!) I dug up this old picture of them just for fun:)

This was at their friend Samantha's first birthday. Notice all three boys are crying... thankfully, they have learned to like parties much more in the last ten years! It is probably because we wouldn't let them eat any cake at that one... :)

By the way, I took the night shift and Gabe took the morning, so I stayed up til 3 am with them before I crashed. I was SO tired... I might be too old for any more overnighters. Next year, uh... maybe bowling? swimming? laser tag? anything else???? :)

Kiersen, My Helper!

2011-11-18T21:57:00.003-05:00

Tonight I had one last load of laundry to fold (did a total of 6 loads today!). Kiersen wanted to talk to me, so I told her she could talk to me while I folded the load, and I carried it upstairs and dumped it on my bed. Then I went to say goodnight to Liam and Aliya, and spent a few minutes talking to and praying with each of them.

When I walked back into my room after that, Kiersen said, "well, I wasn't sure which ones you hang up, but..." and on my bed was the entire load of laundry FOLDED!!!! My mouth dropped open and I actually cried some happy tears! I was totally shocked- just didn't expect that at all! She was laughing so hard at my shock that she started crying too! Then she told me to close my mouth or I might catch flies! (Thank you, Phineas and Ferb, for that quote!)

Later, while I was in the shower, she left me this note/picture of me being surprised by her:) I love my Kiersen!!!
On a sidenote to myself, I am reasonably sure her main love language is "acts of service"! Those of you familiar with the "five love languages", what do you think?:)

Brown Eyes vs. Blue Eyes

2011-11-11T22:12:00.003-05:00

All four of our children have nice bunk beds. Nevertheless, the brown-eyed children prefer to sleep on the floor. (That would be Josiah and Aliya.)

We have noticed that the personalities in our family can be grouped by eye color.

The blue-eyes are Kiersen and Liam. They like to sleep, they like structure, they follow the rules, they are literal, they are sensing, they are good at sports, they get it done on time and in the right way. They prefer their own space and tend to be neat and orderly!

The brown-eyes are Josiah and Aliya. They DO NOT NEED TO SLEEP and need very little structure. They are out of the box thinkers and very creative. They see rules and instructions as the starting point for negotiation, rather than a boundary. They do their work - in any kind of order- and often differently each time. They prefer to be with people nearly all the time and are savers (which means an overflow of things in their rooms:). Josiah arranges things differently every time he cleans his room. And most of all, the brown eyes like to talk talk talk!!!

There are probably lots more similarities than I can think of right now! Each set has strengths and weaknesses! I would say the brown eyes are a bit more high maintenance... and yes, I know that I have brown eyes. Wonder where they get that non-stop talking thing??? :)

Just a post for the record book. It will be interesting to see if their personalities change a lot as they grow older!

Sweet Siblings!

2011-11-04T22:08:00.002-04:00

This week at their Wednesday class, Liam and Aliya each made a thank you card. The teacher let them choose who they wanted to make the card for, and Liam chose to make his for Josiah and Aliya made hers for Kiersen! So sweet! Josiah and Kiersen are both super patient and kind older siblings- they deserve the cards. I love that the kids love each other! Here they are presenting their cards!

Trick or Treat

2011-11-04T22:04:00.004-04:00

Here they go...

Sorting through the stash...

With Granee and Grandpa- who always come over to hand out the candy while we trick or treat!

I think they wore their "awesome grandparents" costumes:) But wait... they always wear those costumes! :) Thankful for this fun tradition!

Still more costumes...

2011-10-28T21:49:00.004-04:00

Aliya and Liam were allowed to wear costumes to their Wednesday morning class this week. I was saving the real costumes for the party and contest that night, so I let them pick back-up costumes from the box upstairs. Here is what they came up with:
Josiah actually wore the cowboy costume when he was in kindergarten, so I thought that was kind of cute! Although he wore it to school and I sent along his toy gun as an accessory, and was reminded that guns, even toys, are NOT allowed at school! Rookie kindergarten mom mistake!

Here is Josiah the cowboy in kindergarten!

And another picture... but no, this is not for a costume party. This is just what Aliya happened to be wearing one day while playing outside with her friends. Every day is a costume day for Aliya! :)

Two Cute- I mean SCARY- Ninjas!

2011-10-28T21:41:00.004-04:00

The boys told me I am not allowed to refer to their costumes as "cute", so here they are, my scary ninjas!

Note: They wore their costumes to the Five Seasons' Halloween Party this year. When the costume contest came around, I had high hopes for the "Olivia" costume, but she would not stand up there by herself, so I had Liam stand up next to her. Kiersen said, "But Mom, this is for the 4 and under age group, and Liam is 5". I told her not to worry about it, since he was not going to win (in his costume from Walmart!). And yes, sure enough, Olivia was not chosen, but Liam won 2nd prize! Whoops! At that point, it was a little too late to tell them that Liam was not the right age group (and it would have crushed him to give the prize back) so we just let that one go. Later, Kiersen didn't want to do the contest for her age group but I strongly encouraged her to do it (begged?) and then she did win for hers... so at least one homemade costume took home a prize:) And Liam is a pretty cute-scary- ninja, just like his big brother!

Two Olivias!

2011-10-28T21:30:00.006-04:00

Here they are... Aliya and Natalie in their costumes together! It was a bit of a challenge to try to get them to both smile and look in the same direction, but we sort of did it. Some of the pictures are slightly blurry because they were moving, but still, they are so cute!!!!!!!!!!!

One smiling...

the other one smiling...

And two girls giggling!

Olivia the Pig Costume!

2011-10-28T21:15:00.003-04:00

We decided that Aliya would be "Olivia the Pig" for Halloween this year. If you have never read the children's books about Olivia or have never seen the Olivia cartoon, this is what Olivia looks like:
And here is our "Olivia"!

A friend of mine and I worked together to make matching Olivia outfits for Aliya and her daughter, Natalie. Here is how we did it!

1. We found the striped tights at the Halloween store and bought two pairs per girl. One pair they wore on their legs and we cut the legs of the other pair and sewed them to the jumper to make the sleeves.

2. We found a basic jumper pattern and made it with red corduroy. (Ok, Jeanne's mom sewed it for us, but we were there, willing to help. She knows our skill level and told us it was faster if she sewed it for us... and I am sure it was much better that way too!:)

3. She sewed on the cut up tights as sleeves, and added a pocket. We hand-sewed the buttons on later, and each girl wore a white shirt they already owned.

4. We bought a "pig nose, ears and tail set" at the Halloween store as well. We cut the tail and pinned that on the back of the dress. Neither girl wore the nose. Oh, well!

5. Then, the distinctive Olivia ears! (Aliya refers to Olivia as "the one with the big ears"). We both attempted to draw a pattern on paper for the ears, and used Jeanne's, as it looked much better. Don't ask how bad my drawing was! We cut the ears of out felt and Diane sewed them with the red zig-zag to make the shape stand out. We used floral wire inside the ears to make them stand up and attach them to the headband, and hand-sewed more felt over the wire so you couldn't see it on the headband. The final touch was the red bows sewn on each ear. Olivia says, "You can always accessorize!".

Thanks to Diane and Jeanne, we have a great costume!!! Pictures of the girls together coming soon!

Liam's Baptism Part 2

2011-10-28T21:04:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to note some special presents Liam received for his baptism.

From Grandma and Grandpa Haerer, he received a book of psalms for kids.

From Granee and Grandpa Landes, a special box shaped like a cross and a special bookmark.

Thanks to his grandparents for celebrating this special day!

Pippi Longstocking Costume!

2011-10-28T13:44:00.003-04:00

Kiersen chose to be "Pippi Longstocking" (from the book, and later, movie) for Halloween this year.

She has already worn her costume twice, to dance class and to the party at Five Seasons, where she won a prize in the costume contest! Here is how we did it...

1. A funky looking dress out of the dress-up box (that I actually wore when I was little!)
2. Mis-matched knee socks (Kiersen's own:)
3. Big boys' black shoes from the thrift shop
4. Mr. Nilson monkey from the Dollar store
5. 12 gauge wire in her braids to make them stand out (from the craft store) + orange hairspray (from Wal-mart)
6. Freckles with eyeliner pencil (mine)

Total cost: Less than $10 and look how cute she is!

And here she is with Lexi at dance class!

Art Museum Field Trip

2011-10-23T22:43:00.007-04:00

We joined some friends for an informal visit to the Dayton Art Institute last Friday. It was really fun. Snapped a few pictures (of course:)

Here are all the kids: Kiersen, Aliya, Jack, Marcus, Liam, Josiah and Nathan!

Aliya liked this cradle... always thinking about babies!

Liam liked this piece of art the best. It is called "Lost and Found", and looks kind of like two people sitting down and joined by their hair.

Kiersen agreed to stand by this Chief so we see how tall he is!

A nice employee of the museum gave us an impromptu backstage tour of the auditorium. We took pictures of the kids on the stage but the lighting was bad and my pictures did not turn out. It was really neat to see the backstage area though.

After we had been through most of the museum, Josiah found this piece and pointed to it, saying, "Now that is my kind of art."

It is an abstract piece and here is a close-up of the part he liked... obviously something technical!

We spent time in the kids' area, playing and making crafts. Josiah designed a pipecleaner lizard which slid down the banister perfectly!

Kiersen designed a castle with these blocks.

It was a really fun trip. We will definitely be going back again soon.

End of Fall Soccer

2011-10-23T22:33:00.004-04:00

A few final pictures for the end of the fall soccer season.

Liam's team, the Green Spitballs! His buddies Ethan and Dylan are the twins who look just alike on the end next to him. So fun to reconnect with a friend from the past and have our boys play on the same team!

Another buddy- Mia! She spent a lot of time picking Liam up and carrying him around.

They had a pizza party and received trophies.

One of the cutest trophies ever! (Can you tell the kindergartners picked their own team name?)

After Josiah's final game, he chose El Toro for a family dinner. He has a team party coming up next week.

A really fun season... ending just in time before it gets too cold for the spectators!:) Both boys will play with the same teams next spring. We are thankful for good coaches and good friends for both boys!

Fall Fun at the Family Farm

2011-10-14T19:58:00.004-04:00

*We discussed alliteration this week, can you tell?*

We spent the day out at Grandma and Grandpa Haerer's farm doing all kinds of fun stuff today. Josiah's friend Jonathan had a day off school and was able to join us. Here are some pics of all the fun!

Josiah and Jonathan took turns driving the other kids around in the golf cart. No one fell out!
I got to drive the lovely riding mower instead. It worked, with a few quirks. Some people rescue abandoned cats or dogs. Grandpa H rescues mowers! And sure enough, he brings them back to life! I did mow a small spot, but it was hard to control. Pretty sure Uncle Terry does a better job mowing!

Kiersen helped harvest beans from the garden. MORE ZUCCHINIS are trying to grow. No! Some zucchini fairies live around there... have never seen so many zucchinis in one garden year!

All the kids had fun sawing, clipping and chopping up branches to throw on the fire.
Lunch was hot dogs and s'mores cooked over the fire!

And everyone's favorite activity: Grandpa's zipline!!!

Here goes Jonathan!

Liam had a good time!

Kiersen and Josiah took their turns as well, although they are not pictured. Kiersen was the first up there- she LOVES the zipline!

Aliya was actually the second one up there. She climbed that ladder and jumped off with no hesitation! That girl cannot be only three!
She loved it!

The surprise of the day... even Grandma had a turn on the zipline! Normally I think Uncle Terry and the baby keep her so busy that she doesn't get a turn to play, but today she did!
(Grandma did make me go first, and when she saw that my butt didn't hit the ground, she knew she was safe:)

Thanks for a great day, Grandma and Grandpa!

Josiah's (short-lived) Zoo

2011-10-14T19:28:00.007-04:00

When we were in Florida in August, Josiah asked, "Mom, if I catch a lizard, can I take it home as a pet?" Those lizards run fast, so I figured it was a pretty safe yes. And sure enough, no lizards were caught on that trip.

This is the first "net" he made to catch it, out of the materials we had: bandaids, paperclips and an old t-shirt. It didn't work, but I was impressed with McGyver's ingenuity!

However, thanks in part to some good advice from our family reptile expert, Uncle Ryan, our trip in September resulted in not one, but two lizards! Suprise #1 to me was that the lizards made it home alive in the coffee can apartment! We bought a small plastic cage at Walmart and Josiah set up a nice little home for the lizards, complete with a sun lamp, glow in the dark rock tunnels, and of course, water with freeze dried crickets to eat. (Those looked an awful lot like spices, so I made him keep them in the garage so that no extra protein was added to OUR dinner.)

The next week, Josiah found a snake on our nature hike, and being the cool mom that I am, of course we let the snake come home and live with us too! We did a little research and figured out that it was not poisonous, we think, but we weren't sure what kind it was. I called the Boonshoft Museum to see if someone there would help us identify it.

She called back a few days later and said it was probably a garter snake, but that Ohio Wildlife was protected under law, and that we were not allowed to keep it. She told me to make sure to take it back where we found it, and when i mentioned that it was a park, she said it is REALLY FROWNED upon to take animals from there! (Ooops!)

*Keep in mind that each day Josiah and the other kids would take the snake out and play with him as if he were a new member of the family. So this was very sad news. Tears rolled down a face when I broke the news.*

So, a day later, we had to take "snake-y" back to his natural habitat. Each child took one last turn holding the snake, and then we let him go. Josiah kept his composure, and said, "Oh well, at least we can play with the lizards." (I did not mention those on the phone call!)

Too bad that was the day we discovered that the lizards had died. Poor Josiah. It was not a good day! But true to form, my sunny boy bounced back. Not sure what the next step will be... will keep you all posted!

Florida,again. Yes, we are spoiled!

2011-10-03T21:30:00.007-04:00

We had another great week at Summer Bay Resort! Grandma and Grandpa Haerer, Uncle Terry and Tantie Tash were there too, so we hung out with them, and even got to see Uncle Seth briefly. I charged my camera battery before we left. When we got to Florida, I pulled out my camera from the glovebox, and this is what it looked like.

And in spite of the reminder note you see, I still put the camera in the car WITHOUT the battery! AHH! So, just took a few pics with my phone. Hopefully grandma will have some more pics for me to post later!

Josiah triumphantly shows off the first lizard he caught! (Thanks to Uncle Ryan for some good coaching over facebook:) Later, he caught another one and gave it to Liam. The boys now have two lizards living in a little cage in their room. We hope they make it!

Kiersen, ever the mermaid. She could stay in the pool FOREVER! But she did take a break to drink her free smoothie...

Liam... I love the competitive look on his face! That's my boy- literally!:)

Such a wonderful Dad! (Although he would always get the kids to chant "MOM! COME IN!" just when I got to a really good part of the book I was reading in my lounge chair by the side of the pool. Some of my library books *might* have gotten a little wet. Hope that doesn't hurt my stellar reputation there!)

Our favorite magician/balloon artist, Jeff Allen!

Mom, Tasha and I played bingo as our "girls night (hour) out"... and Mom won!!!! WOO HOO!

Aliya... as Gabe said, what a cute boss she is!

But, proof that she is still only 3 (instead of 16), she fell asleep on my lap. I treasured that time!!! I know these days are numbered!

A sunset one night... so beautiful. Can't wait to go back!

Liam's Baptism!

2011-10-03T21:21:00.003-04:00

Liam asked us recently if he could be baptized. If you know Liam, you know that he is independent and serious about what he says. He keeps his word, and does not take decisions lightly, even as a five year old. He was ready and we were excited... but as you may know, it was COLD in Ohio a few weeks ago! Since we have baptized all the kids in an outdoor pool, we asked him if we could do it in Florida instead of Ohio, and he thought that was a great idea!

We baptized him in the swimming pool at the resort, and he was lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Haerer, Tantie Tash, and Uncle Terry there, in addition to our family. We are proud of our Liam, and pray that he grows into a mighty man of God!

Aliya's Opera

2011-10-03T21:13:00.003-04:00

Aliya loves to sing! I managed to record her one day in Florida as she sang her made up song about "sisters". Make sure you listen at the end to hear her sweet sister Kiersen's comment. :) (About 25 second video).

Josiah's "Trickster Tale"

2011-10-03T21:11:00.001-04:00

Josiah had an assignment to write a "trickster tale", after reading some stories about Brer Rabbit and Anansi. Here is his story!

The fly tricks the spider

There was a spider that not very well known, there on the farm in Ohio. One day a fly flew into the spider’s big, sticky web. “Oh no”, the fly thought. “I must get out of here, otherwise I am spider food. When the spider comes back I must trick him into letting me go.”

Right now, the spider was walking home around the barn thinking he must have an insect dinner waiting for him, for he loved fly. Grasshoppers and butterflies were ok, but flies were the best. Grasshoppers tasted like dirt, and butterflies were buttery, but flies were just right, they were always so tender, fat and juicy. Just thinking about them made his mouth water. By then he was back at the web. The fly had thought long and hard about what he was going to say.

Earlier, a grasshopper had come by. The fly had told him to make a pile of mud on quicksand, and then tie a long string to a board. Then the fly told the grasshopper to put it under the mud and make sure the fly could reach the string. The grasshopper ran off to do just that.

Just then the spider came towards the web baring his teeth (do spiders have teeth?) and the fly said “It’s about time! I have a dinner waiting for you.”

The spider said suspiciously, “where?”

“In the swamp,” the fly replied. “I will take you there if you get me out of this web; I swear my life on it.”

“Ok,” spider said he came over and untangled the fly.

The fly said, “Thanks but I have to do something real fast.”

“No” the spider said, “you cannot do it” then he grabbed the fly’s legs (do flies have legs?) and the fly flew away, dragging him to the swamp. The fly put him on the pile, while all the grasshoppers stood a safe distance away and bowed to the spider. Then they began to sing and threw the spider Larry the fly (who was dead from flying into the wall). The spider was so busy watching the show and eating Larry that he did not notice the fly sneaking towards the string behind him. The fly got to the string and yanked the board out from under the mud and the spider and mud sank into the quicksand and was never seen again. But some grasshoppers say that he still roams the farm at night pulling himself around with his one leg and baring his fangs.

First Family 5K Race

2011-09-19T17:51:00.004-04:00

We ran the Air Force 5K race as a family last Friday! Gabe, Josiah, Kiersen, Liam and I all ran.

We started training in July and ran roughly once a week. The fastest Liam ever ran 3 miles was about 45 minutes, but his legs are still pretty short. We took walk breaks during training, too, but our goal was just to have the kids be able to finish the race.

Well, they surprised us and were AWESOME! Liam kept saying, "I am tired, but I am not going to stop!" And they didn't! No walk breaks and we all finished under 35 minutes (meaning Liam took off 10 minutes from his best training time!)

The kids had fun and really liked the water stops. The fact that you could drink you water and throw your cup on the ground was really exciting to them!

I hope we can do another again. Kiersen is ready for another race, but the boys were not sure. And I am sure Aliya will join in pretty soon, since she hates to be left out!

Here are the kids with their friends, Jonathan and Juliann Williams, who also ran. The Williams kids are really fast... they blew us away:) Juli placed 2nd in the 14 and under age group (and she is 8) and Jonathan was not far behind her.

Great fun!

Let the games begin!

2011-09-13T23:05:00.004-04:00

Josiah is playing on the Cosmos U10 soccer team this year. Although games just started, his team has been practicing since June. We have already seen him improve a lot, and he loves being on the team with his buddies!
Liam is playing in the Kindergarten League with the rec league. He scored in his first two games! He loves playing!
Kiersen began dance classes- ballet (second year) and tap (new this year). She is very excited about the shiny tap shoes and seeing Lexi and her other friends again!

Kiersen and Aliya also get to be cheerleaders... here they are, ready to watch a soccer game!

*Not pictured, but also starting this month: "Special class" for Liam and Aliya- also known and "Parents's Morning Out", and First Lego League at the Boonshoft Museum for Josiah. More on that later!

Homeschool Co-op and Back to School Picnic

2011-09-13T22:59:00.003-04:00

Our homeschool co-op began again last week. This year, I am teaching gym and it was a blast! The kids had a great time in their classes as well. Here is a pic from the first day. (Apparently the drama queen was not in the mood for a picture...)
We also went to a Back to School Picnic with other Ohio Virtual Academy families. I was surprised at how many people were there, but found out that OHVA has 11,000 students statewide! Wow! The kids broke up by age groups and played some games, and then we ate lunch with some of our friends.

Can I have a piece of lipstick?

2011-09-13T22:54:00.004-04:00

Awana has started up again... and this year, Aliya is old enough to go! She was so excited! Here she is, wearing her hand-me-down Cubbie vest from Liam. She asks me ALL THE TIME: "Mom, can I have a piece of lipstick?" Once she had her lipstick and her vest on, she was ready to go!

They all had a good first night. They will have fun learning Bible verses and playing games, and we are excited to start our date nights on Wednesdays!

Fabrice Pics!

2011-09-03T11:03:00.003-04:00

Fabrice and his momFabrice - he had a birthday on Aug 29th and is now 7!

Fabrice and his mom and aunt

We were able to talk to Fabrice on the phone! His mom, aunt and Fabrice came to Biba's house in the main city - I assume to pick up the school money and support money we sent to his family. He didn't say much but it was so good to hear his voice. They said he is doing well. So thankful to be able to keep in touch a little! Still really miss the little guy!

He looks a little grumpy in the pictures... my guess is that he was watching cartoons and they made him stop and pose for the pictures:)

Field Trip to Bible Factory by Kiersen and Aliya

2011-09-03T10:34:00.006-04:00

We went to a place where they make Bibles. (Kiersen)
We went to see him and look at everything and not touch and we should go there again. (Aliya)

The paper goes around and around. (Aliya)

This machine prints on both sides of the paper at the same time. (Kiersen)

This is part of a Bible in a different language. (Kiersen)

They are putting Bibles together. (Kiersen)
They are making Bibles for people who don't know God and have a lot of questions. (Aliya)

This shows where all the different Bibles are going. (Kiersen)

All the Bibles are packed in here and are ready to go wherever they should be going. Some of the Bibles are going to Burkina Faso. (Kiersen)

The man gave us a Bible and some candy at the end. I didn't like the yellow kind of candy. I liked going to the place. We should go there again. (Aliya)

It was ok. My favorite part was the museum part where they showed how it started. (Kiersen)

*Some notes from Heidi*

This was at a church in Cincinnati- click HERE for more info.
One of Gabe's customers belongs to the church and has been a longtime volunteer there and invited us to come, but anyone can tour the place.
There are over 160 versions of the Bible published in English, but over 2200 languages have no part of the Bible translated.
They can make a Bible for about $2.
They ship them to missionaries and countries around the world.
It was an awesome trip!

My Cook...

2011-09-03T10:28:00.002-04:00

Kiersen loves to help in the kitchen! She is the one who will often make sandwiches for everyone for lunch or wants to help with dinner. Last night, we made cookies. I followed the recipe, which said to 'drop by spoonfuls' on to the pan. She decided to roll her cookies into balls first before cooking. Here are the results!Kiersen's cookie is on the left- the perfect looking cookie! Mine is the "free form" on the right. It doesn't surprise me that my daughter would be a better cook than me, but I didn't know it would happen at age 7! :)

Kiersen also loves to "play school" with the other kids, complete with setting up desks for them and making up math worksheets.

Should not be too long until she can be in charge of cooking and teaching homeschool!:)

So... Josiah is my tech genius, Kiersen is the chef and teacher, Liam aka Sven is my house organizer... if Aliya turns out to be talented at laundry and cleaning, my life is going to be a piece of cake!:)

Homeschool Bus Ride

2011-08-29T22:16:00.005-04:00

Our kids like homeschooling (and so do I!) but they have a little bit of school-bus envy. Liam and Kiersen kept telling me all summer they wanted to go to "regular school" just so they could ride the bus. (Josiah, the one with a few years riding the bus, actually really disliked it. He knows it is not all it is cracked up to be, but the for the other two, it has a mystique...)

After our lessons this morning (our first day of school), I surprised the kids with the news that we were going to ride the bus- the RTA bus!

We parked at the Kettering Rec Center and waited for the bus there. (It only took me about an hour on the RTA website to figure out our route... it is more complicated than I thought it would be!) When the bus pulled up, the kids were literally jumping up and down with excitement!

They wanted to bring their backpacks, I guess to make it official! :)

Riding in the back of the bus!

We rode to the Town and Country shopping center. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the old Books and Co. is now called 2nd and Charles, and is basically a half-price bookstore. Each kid picked out of books. With prices like $1-$3 each, I couldn't refuse!

We also stopped in Trader Joe's for our favorite fruit leather snacks. Here they are, eating their snack as we waited for the return bus.

And on the way home, they read their new books. Aliya's siblings helped her pick this book out, and I thought it was quite appropriate! :)

It was so much fun! (Although it reminds me that I am thankful that we have cars and I don't have to depend on the bus system all the time.) I am sure we will do it again while the weather is nice.

First Day of School

2011-08-29T22:05:00.005-04:00

Here we go!
Josiah, 4th grade

Kiersen, 2nd grade

Liam, Kindergarten

Aliya, age 3 (thinks she is one of the big kids though!)

Grandma and Grandpa Camp 2011

2011-08-29T21:41:00.007-04:00

Grandma and Grandpa Haerer took all the cousins on a trip to Toledo for a couple of days. Also on the trip were Erika, Terry, a foster baby, Ryan and me. Gabe came up for one night but had to get back to work.

We had a great time. There were SO MANY cute pictures, but I am only posting a few. Ok, a lot, but trust me, there are lots more. Just a sample of some of the fun we had.

Grandma and Aunt Erika both brought nail polish, and Erika did the girls nails.

Hudson and Tucker- we love our cousins!
Terry used that smile to talk to lots of cute girls that he found at the pool! :)

Snuggled up to watch a movie and fall asleep. The falling asleep part did not happen... we had to separate the kids a little more than this!
Grandma and Grandpa- aren't they cute? The adults played cards at night- hearts and cribbage. Grandpa didn't even run the cards once in hearts, though not for lack of trying!

Tantie Erika and Tucker.
Waiting for the ferry to Put-In-Bay Island
On the boat

On the island, we drove around in golf carts- the highlight for most of the kids! Josiah and Terry also did Go-Carts, which they loved. The whole island was fun! The kids played on a playground, rode the carousel, and visited the candy/fudge store.

The next day, we went to Maumee State Park. It was gorgeous!

Uncle Ryan gave rides in his jeep, which was also a hit.

And Uncle Ryan swam in the lake with the kids (much to the relief of Erika and I- we sat on shore and watched!)

It was a fun trip!

What I Read on Vacation...

2011-08-27T22:04:00.003-04:00

We had a great week in Florida and I was able to spend lots of time reading... yay! I wanted to share the books I read just in case any of you are looking for a good read! *Note, I didn't read all of these books in their entirety on our trip- some I had been working on and just finished there.

EXCELLENT NOVELS

Mine Is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs

I love this author! This is actually book two of a series (the first is Here Burns My Candle). She takes the story of Ruth from the Bible and re-writes it in Scotland in the 1700's. Sounds strange, but it was a wonderful story!

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

About halfway through this book, I thought about sending it as a suggestion for my book club to read in an upcoming month. Luckily, before I sent that message, I realized that it IS the book club book for this month- that is why I had it! It is the story of a girl adopted from India as a baby and her life in America as well as her birth mother's life in India. I learned a lot about Indian culture and the book really affirmed all mothers. Highly recommended!

VERY GOOD NOVEL

Lion of Babylon by Davis Bunn

This is kind of a Vince Flynn "lite" kind of book... a CIA mystery by a Christian author. It moved really quickly and included some scenes from the underground church in Iraq, which is always interesting. Although I did find it sort of funny that the tough CIA men didn't cuss (due to the Christian author:)

GOOD LIGHT ENTERTAINING NOVELS

A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin

A fun, happy ending WW2 romance. By a Christian author but not too preachy:)

Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate

Not as funny as some of her other novels, but still a present day happy ending romance:)

GOOD AUDIO BOOK

Courageous by Randy Alcorn

I listened to this one while I worked out- ONLY while I worked out, so that I would be inspired to do more of it. I checked it out from the library and did not pay attention to the due date, so it expired (and disappeared!) when I had less than 2 hours left, so I ended up paying for it to see how it ended!

It was a cop story with lots of action and a quick pace. The narrator did a great job of the different accents. Like other Randy Alcorn books, he is pretty straightforward about his opinions on various topics (heaven and hell, abortion, fatherlessness) but I appreciate the fact that he does not try to sneak it in:) His main point was about men becoming better fathers and I enjoyed the different characters. Slightly cheesy, but not bad.

DON'T BOTHER

The Ambition by Lee Strobel

He has written some good non-fiction (The Case for Christ, etc.), but this was not a good novel. I finished it but the next morning, I could not even remember how it ended, and worse, I didn't care! Skip it!

NON-FICTION

Seasons of A Mother's Heart by Sally Clarkson

Sally is my favorite "motherhood" author, and this book specifically addresses homeschooling moms. Very encouraging.

The Two Covenants by Andrew Murray

A "Christian Classic"- really good. Too much to explain here, but good.

*All books were from our local library, except for the Andrew Murray book- that was from the Gabe Landes library.*

Happy Reading!

Florida August 2011

2011-08-27T08:22:00.007-04:00

We had a great trip to Summer Bay Resort in Florida! We basically hung out at the pool and did the activities at the resort, although we did include one quick trip to Downtown Disney (the free part!) In no particular order, here are some fun pictures from the trip.

My handsome men

Wonderful weather and great pool time!

The Lego Store is always a favorite!
Gabe LOVES palm trees!

Gabe and his mini-me Liam!

Walking to the pool... ready to take on the world???

Josiah wanted me to take a picture of him in the huge hottub!
We did a few arts and crafts.

And not pictured is the Balloon Guy/Magician. We saw him 2 years ago, and the kids still talk about him! We were so excited that it was the same guy and we saw him twice this year. Just watching Gabe and the kids laugh at him was a huge highlight for me... just so fun.

We are thankful for a wonderful family trip and can't wait to go back!

25 Random Things About Us

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Click HERE to read a post that Gabe wrote about us entitled "25 Random Things About Us."

How awesome to see how God works...

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While in China last April, we spent a lot of time praying for this little guy, Luke, to find a forever family. We heard after we got back that he was accepted by a family, and today I was able to email with his new mama.

She tells the story of how God brought Luke to them on her blog, which you can find HERE.

A really neat part of the story is that while we there in China praying for Luke, she and her husband were over here struggling and praying with the decision about whether this was the way God was leading them. She was excited to hear of how God led us to pray for them (even though we didn't know them) at a critical point when they needed it (and of course, did not know we were praying!)

They sound like a fantastic family- so happy for all of them! I look forward to hearing the rest of the story... God is so amazing in the ways He works!!!

Off to Camp!

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Josiah went to his first overnight camp, a Christian camp out in the boonies. He went with one of his best friends, Reed, and they will be there for two nights. Here they were when we dropped them off... they got their nametags and took off. We did manage to get them to come back for a hug! I am sure they will have a great time, and maybe Josiah will post pictures when he gets back!

My Sunbonnet

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which I used for years as a child to play "Little House on the Prairie", has a new life. Kiersen asked me to get it out of my storage box the other day so that she can now use it to play Little House as well. So fun!!! Kiersen watches a lot of the episodes of Little House, which is ok with me, because I happen to love the series, still!!! Gabe even gets hooked into an episode now and then...:)

Gotta love Aliya!

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Here are some of her latest happenings...

She is really into wearing the tiara most days. She also would like me to wear a crown to match her, but so far I have not. (Don't worry, I will take a picture if I do!) Of course, when people compliment her on being so cute, she generally gives them the evil eye. Nice...

Trying on one of my dresses from my childhood...
She spilled water all over her shirt during dinner. Not a big deal, but typical! She was playing with the goggle in the car, and managed to pull them way out, and let go... and yep, SNAP onto her face. She was crying and I am sure it stung a little, but Gabe and I were both trying to keep a straight face, as she totally did it to herself!

And her comments out in public (LOUD as can be)...

the day she pointed to the midget working at walmart and said, "WOW! You are WEALLY WITTLE!"

another day when she pointed to a nice, normal dad and his son at the park and said, "We are sure not going to go with THAT CREEPY MAN!"

and of course, the inevitable loud conversations in the bathroom stall about how many poops she is doing, if it smells, etc.

She is constantly talking about needing a makeover (where did she learn that?) and asking me if she looks beautiful.

As Kiersen said, "I don't think she was born with an inside voice!"

She has a great memory for songs, and can sing the lyrics to lots of them. Her favorite is one where they shout "I will put my trust in the Lord" and she sings it with gusto!

She is creative, loving, dramatic, loud and yes, beautiful! Our Aliya keeps life interesting in her own unique way!!! She just cracks me up!

Fabrice and his Mama

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This picture was taken soon after Fabrice got home and was reunited with his Mama, but we just got it this week. I LOVE it! They both look so happy, and it is so good to know he is back where he belongs! We still miss him, but just happy it all turned out so well!

First Crutches

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Josiah had a little slip and slide accident and hurt his foot. Since the other two times he complained of severe pain it turned out to be a broken arm and a concussion, we decided we better get it checked out.

Thankfully, it was not broken, just tender, so they gave him crutches and a boot for a few days.

That night, he was sure he couldn't make it upstairs to sleep, so he convinced his kind brother Liam to sleep downstairs with him.

He went on a trip with Granee and Grandpa for the next couple of days, and by the time he came home, he was back to normal. (They took good care of him!) Liam also told us he had been praying for Josiah's foot on his own, and God answered those prayers!

The only time she is quiet...

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but even then, she talks loudly in her sleep!!!

TeenWorks Reunion

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Way, way back in my life before I had children, I directed a ministry called TeenWorks. I reconnected with one of the "teens" last spring (of course, she is now an adult with 4 kids!), and we talked about having a reunion this summer. Within a week, she had set it up, along with a facebook group to track down people.

It was a rainy Sunday when we met, but a few people made it and it was so fun to re-connect with everyone after all those years!

Chalonda, Amy (the organizer), Tricia, Greg, me, Arlene and JoAnne!

The kids also had a great time... it was neat to see the kids playing together!

Day With the Cousins

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We spent a fun day in Cinci with the cousins. First, we joined in a service project where we made sandwiches for the homeless.

Then we dropped off the sandwiches off at a shelter downtown, and then walked around Fountain Square. You would think the Graeter's Ice Cream would have cooled them off, but apparently, they needed to get in the fountain too!

Later, Liam went to their house and Tucker came to ours to spend the night. Tucker beat both Josiah and I in monopoly, fair and square. And we were not playing easy, as Josiah would say!

What a fun group the cousins are!!!

Elephant, Cat, Cow?

2011-08-05T19:42:00.001-04:00

We were playing a game at a restaurant where each person had to draw an animal and the others had to guess what it was. Gabe drew a good elephant, Kiersen drew a good cat, and Josiah drew this...

and said, "Now that is what I call a COW!" :)

Getting so big!

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Shanell and Dezzmon... he is 11 months in this picture!

We have a SVEN!

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So I used to think that as soon as she was older, I would put Kiersen in charge of the household, as she is pretty good with details. However, we have realized that our family manager will probably be Liam. There is an old commercial where the family had a guy called "SVEN" to keep them all organized. Every time I saw the commercial, I would say, "We need a Sven!" And now... I think we are going to have one! :)

Click here to watch the commercial on youtube.

We are now calling Liam our SVEN!