Happy Anniversary to US!!

We've been busy since my last post. Doing what, I'm not exactly sure, but we've been going...going...going. The kids and I enjoyed what now looks to be the last few nice days of Fall. We went on 2 walks one day and ended up, guess where...surprise...Deer Park. We forgot the kids' baggie of quarters so the (too) fat little goats went with out their snacks from the Luikens. Oh, well. I don't think they'll starve! I can't tell if they're very pregnant or miserably overweight. I'm sure, since sooner or later we would have seen a little baby goat, they are all just too chubby for their own good. The kids sure get a kick out of them though.

Ryan and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on Friday. I can't believe it's been that long. Somedays it seems like a lot less than that...others, a lot more! ;) I remember the day we were married, it was about 70 degrees out. Not this year! I woke up to the sound of sleet hitting the windows and as the morning progressed, it started snowing...lots! Two of my friends and I were planning on going to a Hearts-At-Home conference in Rochester, MN for the weekend, so the weather was not welcomed! We had planned on leaving about 12:30, after meeting in Wellsburg and getting updates from friends and our "weather-men" husbands, we decided to cancel our hotel room and postpone leaving until Saturday morning, when hopefully, the roads would have cleared, etc... At 1:00 pm MN had 7-10 inches of snow and parts of the road we would be taking was closed due to accidents. Luckily, at 3:00 the snow had stopped and roads were clear enough for us to decide we'd leave at 4:30. We all were really bummed that we were not going to make the conference, so imagine our little girl giddiness when we were actually on the road out of town! Once we got into MN we checked out our hotel room, the conference site and the 'market' place. Around 10 we decided we should eat something and found a cute little place. When we walked in it smelled very 'fishy.' Then menu was very interesting, my Mom would love to try anything and everything on it, I think. I could have found something to try, but Pam and Cam didn't think they could stomach any of it so we opted for drinks instead. We all 3 had our first martinis. We all got different flavors so we could experiment. Yie, Yie, Yie! Oooo Baby!!!! I chose the Funky Monkey, because I love anything banana flavored, but it took a good 4 sips before I got past the "fingernail polish remover" taste! Not bad, now I won't be afraid to try a new flavored one. After that we headed across from our hotel to the Red Lobster for a little supper. We were back and in bed about midnight. The conference was absolutely inspiring!
Check out http://www.hearts-at-home.org It is a Christian organization that encourages and educates Mothers at home. My great friend from high-school, Erin first told me about the conference and got me so excited that I wanted to go and got my coffee girls on board too. We had such a wonderful time listening to different speakers and their experiences as mothers and how God has influenced their job as mother. My favorite speaker was Lysa TerKeurst...You HAVE to check our her testimony in this months O Magazine , absolutely amazing woman! I was so touched by what she had to share and I was fortuante to hear her speak twice. She was the keynote speaker and I attended her "I Hereby Resign from the Mommy Stress Club" seminar. I also chose to attend "She's Gonna Blow," Every Child Needs a Praying Mom," and "A Woman of Great Influence." (All by different speakers) The whole weekend was wonderful. I felt so refreshed and rejuvenated as a mother. I also was reminded that God writes our motherhood stories, we just get to enjoy the journey! I so missed Drue and Lane and Ryan by the end of the day. I laughed, cried...every emotion in one little Saturday. I can't wait to put what we learned to use and watch how God works in me and my position as Mommy.

After a late night driving and meeting Ryan and the kids, I was hoping to sleep in a little. (I know...after a Christian retreat weekend, you'd have thought I could have at least gone to church!! I was too zonked from driving) Well, Ryan believes 8:00 is LATE, so often, he'll come up and bug us if we aren't up by then. This morning, Drue had crawled in bed with me, sometime after Ryan was already up (5:00!...why?!!) and at 8, I hear Ryan talking to Dig, they both came in and woke us girls up. I made eggs, sausage and oatmeal and then we just did our normal, 'lazy' day things. Played with toys, watched CBS's Sunday Morning, ( I love that funny curly haired guy!) At 12:35 we got a call from our realtor saying she'd be showing our house again at 4. That turned things around a little! We quickly got busy getting dishes done, laundry done...ok, I admit, I just threw the clean stuff from the basket back into the dryer... :) cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed, and made beds. Then we drove to Eldora and let the kids nap.

Drue watched a Diego movie...for you fellow 'animal rescue fans' you know who I'm talking about...for you who are sooooo out of the cartoon loop...he's Dora's cousin. Well...DD is IN LOVE with him! I'm not talking, thinks he's great, likes to watch his show, etc...I am talking full blown, in LOVE! The other night she cried to me, "Mommy, I want to see Diego!!" I said, well isn't his movie on? "Not on TV!" She wanted to go to him, "Does he live far, far away?" "I just want to jump in the TV and hug him and kiss him!!!" All this while SOBBING like her first boyfriend just dumped her. It was so sad because it was real and raw feelings, not a tantrum. I felt so sad for her. Well, she had her Diego fix for today because her Daddy just let her watch the hour and a half, 4 episode movie 1 and a 1/2 times before going to bed. She and Lane each picked out 4 big afghans and had them spread out all across the living room floor and watched Diego. My 'Little Man' sure does like to do ANYTHING his big sister is doing. They both are the cutest little people in the entire world and bring their Dad and I such overwhelming joy!

With this weekend being so cram-packed busy, we're already looking forward to next weekend. Hopefully, a little time to just be together as a family and take it slow. Mondays are not too fun around here lately, but they always seem to come right after Sundays whether we're ready or not! ;)

And the WINNERS Are...

Here's a cutie-patooty picture of Lane the Pirate with his Parrot, Drue. It was so funny because Lane actually liked wearing his hat. He was the shortest little guy walking across the gym floor for the parade. He was also the only one walking with a plug in his mouth! :)

We have another couple coming to look at the house tonight, and kids are asleep, I better get some stuff done!

Where did October go??

OK...Obviously, I've really slacked off when it comes to blogging...As you know our routines have been a bit different this past month and will continue to be so for a while so...I apologize in advance for the lack of posts. I always got on the computer when everyone else was asleep in bed...for now there just isn't time. I'll quickly get you up to beat with the kids...Since I didn't post the entire month of October, I will, no doubt, forget something cute and funny, but I promise to let you know sooner or later...

Dig is now saying Mommy, Daddy, DD (doubles for Dora-Dora) he says what a cow, (mmmmm) says, what a dog says and what a duck says...if in doubt he answers "quack, quack" to most every question! So silly! :) He also signs "more" and "milk"

I had an eyebrow masacre...the young girl in Wellsburg dripped wax on my brow and took a hunk...I mean HUNK of my eyebrow out, this was the week before we took our family pictures at Pine Lake. Thank goodness for eyeliner! It's still a HOLE!

Ryan and I managed to go to a Iowa Hawkeye game. They won and the weather was beautiful. We had sunburns on the left sides of our faces. It was a classic "Ryan" moment when the Hawks came out of their locker rooms...I looked at him, he was smiling ear to ear and had the goosebumps all over his arms...He loves his Hawks!

We made it to the pumpkin patch, took a bunch of cute pictures and the kids had a blast, even with a gazillion lady bugs flying in the air.

Both DD and Dig were sick with colds, runny noses, stuffy etc...not fun sleeping conditions. This lasted a good 2 weeks.

Lane is now running...well, I'm not so sure if he's running or just trying really hard to keep his balance. He definitely tries to keep up with his sister. They get to running and laughing so hard...such a sight!

Pa turned 51 on Oct. 29th. We went to the New Providence Roundhouse Halloween party on the 28th. Drue dressed up like a parrot, Lane a pirate. They won first place in their age division. Such cuties we have! Ryan and I both knew in our guts they'd win when we saw the "competition" :) They had a great time at the carnival following. Kids really go all out at that party...we'll have to really brainstorm for ideas next year. Drue also thought it was really fun that she did the cake walk and won a sprinkle cake to share.

October 28th also was the day that our acreage was officially "FOR SALE!" We have decided that we want to move to town. We love the country, but with Ryan's job schedule, he wants to be with us when he's home instead of mowing our big yard or messing with cows or the driveway. He says..."if I want to mess with cows, I'll go play with your dads." That whole Lee Pieters cow deal really ticked him off. We have already showed the house to 2 different couples in the first week it was for sale. We're in no hurry to sell since we don't have to move. We're going to be pretty picky about what we get for it and if not we'll stay and try to sell later. We'd be moving to Eldora. Nothing is really for sale there at the time anyway. Our next home would be our "middle" home. The one where we would enjoy and make our home while the kids are still little and then when they are in school I will do some substitute teaching and contribute a little bit financially. Then, ideally, Ryan and I would like to build a house on the edge of town. Who knows...maybe God thinks we should stay at this house...We'll see. Winter isn't a very good time to sell a house, so if it is going to, it probably won't be until spring. In the mean time, we've been doing little fix-its to the house and making sure it's always "show" ready. If you know anyone who wants a cute little acreage...send 'em our way! :)

This weekend we went to Deer Park Sat. and Sun.!! Drue fed the deer about $18 (not really) of feed from the vending machine. She HAD to go back to today. Dad can't tell his kids no. We also went out for pizza in IA Falls.

I hear giggles from downstairs, better go get supper...Ryan and I are having Greek Shrimp Pasta from "Everyone's a Chef" and the kids are having leftover enchiladas or pizza. I'll leave you with a picture of the monkeys...Love to all and thanks for reading! I'll try not to wait a month until the next post! Blessings~kabl