BBBBRRRRRRRrrrrrr

For you folks reading this who do not live in the Midwest...it's FREEZING here! Literally. I think it was about 10 or 11 degrees yesterday. Windchills made it feel like negative , oh, I don't know...40!! Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but whooo...y! COLD. I'm sure the people in town think I'm nuts, because I still let the kids play outside a couple of days ago. It was just for a few minutes, we probably spent more time bundling up with snowpants, boots, mits, hats, and coats, than we actually spent outside. The kids loved it though. Then it's always great coming in and having some hot cocoa. Definitely feels like winter here.

The kids have had a great week. Must be the snow. Drue has been singing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Jesus Loves Me" all by her self. She is so stinkin cute. Santa got Dig a rug that you drive your cars on, looks like a little town, with roads, etc... Drue likes to drive to the church. We sing the above named songs and she says a prayer...always..."God and Jesus, thank you for my food, Amen." That's the prayer I grew up saying at meals. My mom actually made it up when she was just a little girl, probably not much older than DD, if any. Lane also folds his hands and "prays" aloud. He does this anytime we sit at the table, whether it's to play play-dough, color or actually eat...too cute!

Lane is also saying more words. He says, "Nah-Nah" for Nanny, "boo-boo" for fish...This one took me a while to figure out. I finally had to ask his interpretor...DD. She told me what he meant and she was right... As usual, Dig continues to have several bumps and bruises. He is always speeding. He is a dare devil and nothing scares him. He reminds me so much of my brother, Steve, from the cute little grin, to the temper tantrums, right down to the 'flux capacitor' running down the middle of his forehead! :)

Drue has been waking up the last week, whispering, "mommy, is today my birfday?" I don't know if she's looking forward to the party or if she's worried because I informed her that when she's three, she no longer needs her plug. We received a letter informing us we can register her for preschool at our church, but we are waiting until she's 4. She definitely doesn't NEED to go. She's brilliant, (I know, I'm her Mom...) plus, we go to play group and do other activities where she interacts with children, and I'm a teacher for Pete's sake...she's not just sitting around chewing bubble gum and watching tv...ok, she is chewing a lot of gum! :) I told her that she can go to preschool if she wants, she kind of fussed about it and asked some questions, then I assured her she wouldn't be going until she was 4...a moment of silence, then she pipes in, "Or maybe...SIX!" :) She will once again go to Sunday school this winter, then start going to the 3 year class after the 'orientation' classes are done. She sooo enjoyed it last year, and I think her boyfriend, Gus, (real name...Angus!....for REAL!) will be there again.

We had some exciting happenings on January 10th. Our realtor called and told me we had an offer on our house. Ryan and I countered and the couple accepted it the next day. However, this in NO way means our house is sold. We are not getting our hopes up because the couple has to sell their home first and the market comes to a screeching hault in the winter. The good news...we know we have an interested buyer, if their house takes longer than the contracted 90 days, it's no biggy. They're still interested and they know what we want for it. Another thing that could happen is another couple offering cash would make and offer and we'd null the first one. For now we're just spreading the word that their house is for sale and hoping they have some luck. We had a huge dumpster brought out to clean out the machine shed. That's Ryan's job and since none of the buildings were cleaned when we purchased the acreage or even when Ryan's dad purchased it...there is a lot of JUNK! Ryan wants to get it done so if/when our house does sell, he can spend his weekends working on our new home instead of cleaning here. So that's what we'll be up to the next few months.

Last Friday, Drue had Campbell over to play. Then we had her parents and sisters join us for supper. I made hamburger soup, beer bread and apple crisp...felt pretty Amish, I did! :) Tomorrow night, I'm going to a movie with Pam and Cam...it's been forever since I've seen an adult movie...it's a chick flick to boot!! :)

Would love to hear from some of you...Stay cozy! ~kabl

Happy Birthday, Ryan Dean...

Yesterday was Ry's 32nd birthday...a guy at work thought he was 42 and thought for sure Ryan was joking with him when he told him how old he was...I think it's time he shaves that beard if it's making him look THAT old! :) Yes, I love everything Amish...but this is a little different! I think I would be the first Amish woman to demand my husband shaves his beard and has a goatee...I've never seen Ryan without facial hair, well in pictures, but not personally, and I honestly, don't ever want him not to have his goatee. I miss it though, this Canadian Lumberjacker look is a bit much...BUT, I don't let him tell me what to do with my hair, so for his birthday, we got him a beardtrimmer... He's so cute when he shaves (leaving the goatee) ughhhh.....I love that! Guess I have to wait til spring...

Well...Since it's 2007, means I haven't written since LAST year! I'll be succinct about what has been happening around here lately...

Obvious big news was Christmas...We had several Christmases. Sat. the 23rd was at Ryan's parents'. We enjoyed watching DD open EVERYONE'S presents. Sunday, Drue and I made cookies, she frosted and sprinkled. Since we don't have a chimney, we hung an old skeleton key on a pretty ribbon and put it on the door knob. It's a magic key that Santa uses to get in when we're sleeping. Drue put out the cookies and her and Ryan's favorite drink...(Santa's too!) MILKNOG and then we went to Mom and Dad's. I took DD in, Ryan took Dig. He put Dig down, Mom took off his coat, I am taking off DD's and all of a sudden I hear a few "oooooohh's" Ryan walked back in from getting the presents from the car and I said, "While you were gone, Lane got the flu." So, we didn't go to church. I was worried the entire time that I was going to get the flu or Drue would...I don't do the flu at ALL. I haven't thrown up in 20 some years and am not going to start now. I freak out. I can't even believe I don't pass out when the kids get sick! :) Anyway, I also didn't get to eat any of Mom's prime rib, so I'm requesting we have it next year, too. I was too afraid to eat, in case it would be coming up later!??@@**&! We (Grandma & Grandpa Balvanz were there too) stayed home from church and opened presents earlier than normal. Lane was sick about 6 times, but only lasted about 3 or 4 hours and he was fine. He wasn't sick once we got home. The next day was Christmas, DD was so tired. She slept in and then opened her and Lane's presents. Lane felt much better so we decided to go to my granparents' in Dayton. But...before we left, Ryan showed Drue and Lane that there was reindeer poop on our deck!!! Along with a bunch of half eaten carrots that DD had left for Rudolph. He was kind of a messy eater! But, oh my...that sure made DD's Christmas. She had been religiously watching the old "Rudolph" movie...we're talking, a couple times a day...so this was big stuff knowing he had actually been at HER house! Since everyone was taking Christmas things down as soon as the day was over, we had to expalain to Drue that Christmas was over and they'd be back up next year, she chimed in, "no, Cimpus isn't over, still have to go to Gamma Mair's (Mary's)" We had Christmas with Balvanz's the Saturday before New Year's, so now, it's officially over...The kids (and Ryan and I ) received so many nice gifts. We sure missed Steve and Lisa though. Ryan likes beating Steve at our annual bowling night... Steve is sure to give him a good punch or two and there are usually some pretty good laughs...hope to see them soon!

We showed the house the Friday after Christmas and the following Thursday. I looked at a house for the first time. Ryan and I are going together to see a couple houses this weekend. We aren't going to do anything until our house sells, but thought we'd look to see what's out there...which isn't much. Hopefully, if/when our house sells, there will be more options. It's fun thinking of different paint colors, decorating ideas, etc...Even if our house doesn't sell, I think we'll be painting, Ry says he's ready for some different colors...which isn't really that 'manly' of a thing to say, so don't tell him I told you that!

We spent New Year's with some friends from my class...Chad and Syd, Curt and Carey, and Kosanke's. We went to a bar in Eldora, saw a hypnotist...hilarious! Oh my! So funny I about wet my pants several times...which maybe isn't a big deal, because I've had that problem alot since the kids were born!! My kegals are in poor shape!! No running or jumping (or sneezing or coughing...on and on...) for me!! :) Anyway, good time dancing and visiting with friends.

Monday we went in to Mom and Dad's about 10...we KNEW we had to be there relatively early because there was SNOW on the ground!!! We packed up the snow pants, mitts and hats and were met at the door by 2 very excited munchkins!! Drue just screamed...she was so glad we had thought to bring the snow pants. Ryan and I , the kids and my Dad all played outside while Mom cooked...(sorry, Mom) We pulled DD on a sled, Dig doesn't like it but he sure loved riding in the sleigh Dad built me for my birthday. He actually fell asleep in it. Dad was pulling him in the neigboring yard and he brought him over to me, I went to pick him up to take him to bed and he kicked and cried. He was so cozy and relaxed. I don't think he could bend his arms or legs with his big ol' coat, snowpants and snowboots. We have some really cute pics.

This week we had coffee at our house. Minus Caryn. She was due to have a baby April 2nd or 3rd and ended up having a C-section on Christmas Eve. Baby Gabe is doing well. He weighed 1 pound, 5 ounces. He is so tiny. His little head is smaller than a tennis ball. We're praying that things continue to go well and that God is with Clint, Caryn, Maddie, Trevor and Gabe as they endure many ups and downs in the days, weeks, months ahead. Gabe will be in Des Moines for at least 3 months, which means many struggles here at home and with traveling. Please keep the McMartins in your prayers.

After coffee, the kids and I ran to IA Falls to eat at McDonalds, they sure have fun even though both are too afraid to go up the big slide. Then we went and got Ry's birthday gift and make his cake. Drue decorated it with bright yellow frosting, sprinkles, sugar jungle animals and I wrote Daddy on it...our original idea was to have it be a Hawkeye cake but when DD saw the edible sugar tiger, panda and monkey heads...she made an executive decision...she does that alot! :)

Well...you're caught up...no one else ever got sick, we're all doing well, keeping busy and enjoying the giggles.

Happy New Year! ~Kristy

The BIG one!

Yup. I'm older than I was at my last post. December 10th, I turned the big 3-0! Not too eventful, not even that traumatic. I don't like the sound of it, but what the heck. I definitely wouldn't want to be 20 again, though. We went to church, went to my parents' for dinner and then Ryan's parents brought pizza to our house for supper. Ryan and I went shopping and out to eat the night before. Just can't believe I'm not in my 20s anymore. Looking back, my 20's were rough on me...which may explain my new found wrinkles next to my lips. They are (for sure!) from smiling and laughing...that's what I'm telling my self anyway...Better to be happy and smiling than crabby and down in the dumps! My early 20s were probably when I felt the 'oldest.' I went through things a lot of people have to experience, but usually not at such a young age...maybe this example explains the 3 WHITE hairs I made Ryan pluck from my head a few months ago!!! Face it...I'm old....but not as old as RYAN!!!! :)

I can't remember a lot of the last week. Don't know why. For some reason, Ryan and I both thought it was a loooonng week. I'll be glad for March to be here! We have our Christmas shopping done, the house is all decorated, the kids are getting terribly excited...oh, that's one thing we did...or did I tell you about that already, we went to see Santa. He was at the Eldora Welcome Center...(dumb spot to have it but oh well.) Drue was all psyched up to see him, assured us she would, blah...blah... well, Ryan puts the truck in park, we unbuckle and Drue says..."I'm not getting OUT!" Like, I thought we maybe could do this from the car...Well, we went in, she held on to me like a monkey and wouldn't let go. She cried and screamed when we tried to let Lane sit on his lap. DD said, "Digga doesn't want to sit on Santa's lap!" So, we didn't make anybody do it. Luckily, she still got her Santa Bag and we walked out. I have the funniest picture of her outside the building, smiling her biggest, proudest smile...right after she said, "That was FUN guys!!" Seriously.

I had TTT last night, we had hundreds of cookies to give to our camp girls. A few friends and I went out for an hour afterwards. It was nice to have some adult talk...even though all we talked about were our kids. The big discussion was preschool and Junior Kindergarten. Ughh... Can't believe it's that time already! I can't bear to think about it. Breaks my little mommy heart!

We're looking forward to a pretty boring weekend. Nothing on the calendar. Probably wrap some more presents and we may try to get together with some friends and let the kids play. We also will be doing some light cleaning/ laundry folding, etc... because we show the house again on Monday night.

I suppose I better go... My afternoon plans changed...I was supposed to go to IA Falls and pick up a 1/2 of a hog (for you city girls...it's frozen pork) as part of Ryan's Christmas bonus. He told me to be at the office between 9 and 3 today. I get there, tell them who I am, explain why I'm there, etc...The lady looks at me like she doesn't have a clue and then I find out it's TOMORROW... So, I call my lovely husband and tell him and we got a good laugh. Unfortunately, Mom took the afternoon off so I could run some errands without kids, put the 3 big boxes of meat away without kids falling down the basement steps, etc... So, they took a wagon ride to Deer Park and I'm putting clothes away and doing my 'chores.' :) like feeding Cash...our dog, and the cats, Thomas, Turtle, Pickles and Baby Pickles. :)

Have a safe weekend! ~kbl

My love for Kenny

You know it's officially "Christmas" season around this house because I have dug out the Kenny Rogers Christmas CDs....Oh, I love that man! Not the "new" plastic face Kenny, but that cute, old, chubby Kenny...ughhh, I thought he was so handsome in the good ol' days. :) I get so much energy listening to Christmas songs. I can clean in no time...in fact, I remember Mom listening to seasonal stuff out of season to get a quick buzz. :)

Since it's been almost a month since I've posted, I'll fill you in on some Drue and Lane happenings....

We enjoyed a nice meal at our friends', Todd and Pam. I travelled up to Ryan's work headquarters in MN with him the Wed. before Thanksgiving. We played a compelling game of "Name that Tune & Singer" on the way home while Ryan was scanning the radio stations. Hard to believe he won...Well, I think he won, I was starting to get suspicious when every rock song we didn't know he'd shout out "Corn!" or some other strange group that I didn't even know he knew existed! I couldn't prove him wrong so he got the point. Bummer.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at my parents' with both sets of grandparents and my aunt Cindy, Randy, Jamie, her boyfriend, Brian and Scott. 16 people total, I think. Yummy! I ate too much as usual, but there's nothing better than turkey and mashed potatoes!

Oh, I forgot a story about what happened with DD the day Ry and I were in MN. She was having a "gonna do it myself" day. She got dressed herself, went potty herself, several things, including painting her nails by herself. This isn't usually a new thing, she actually paints her nails often, the only thing is that someone opens the bottle for her and supervises the activity. She went in my Mom and Dad's room and did it all her self, this time! We know this because her Little Tykes vanity is covered....COVERED in bright pink polish, so was the roll of toilet paper she grabbed to quickly clean it off her hands! When we got home that evening, she proudly showed us her hands, her nails were not polished anymore, more like wiped off and the only trace of paint was around every nook and cranny of her hand. It was like someone sat down and painted an outline of her hand...very cute though. I won't be able to ever take that polish off her vanity for sentimental reasons. There are perfect little finger marks on it where she tried to wipe it off. Mom is so patient with her and Drue never thought for a minute that she was in trouble or doing something wrong. She was just doing one more thing by herself that day! :)

Lane has a new shirt that says "I do all my own stunts" on it. I thought this was appropriate after his fall from my folks' open stairs...for those of you who don't know, he fell off the sides of the steps, not down the steps. This was over a month ago, he's fine, never even had a bruise, but gave his mom a scare! Dig is also getting very excited about going potty in the Big Girl (soon to be Big Boy) chair. If I say, do you need to go potty, he'll run in and hit the toilet lid, I even sit him on it and he acts like he's going, grabs for toilet paper, sticks it between his legs then gets off and he flushes it. He'll also grab a diaper if I say, "are you poopy?" and he is. He'll be 15 months old on Dec. 15th so it will be about 3 more months before we actually start potty training, but so far, he's enjoying exploring the bathroom!

We put our tree up the Fri. after Thanksgiving, which my friend, Amber has officially dubbed, "Christmas Tree Day." Ryan and DD put the tree up, the kids and I decorated it. Looks very cute. It always seems so cozy with the tree up. I always feel like there is such a void when we take it down. Of course, we listened to Kenny, and other Christmas tunes, had cocoa, nibbled some candy canes and watched Lampoon's Christmas vacation, as we do every year. We also watched the kids' Nativity story movie before bed. That weekend we wrote letters to Santa. Drue told me what to write...something to the extent of..."Dear Santa, Happy Ha-Ho! (??) DD was a Parrot for Halloween. For presents I would like, a Deigo Rescue Center, a Princess camera and a pink sled. I'll make you cookies. DD is nice to Dig. I'll have carrots and apple for the deer. The magic key will be hanging on our door knob. I love you." When it comes down to it, I know she won't sit on his lap or anything. She does call the local telephone company's Santa hotline though.

One night I was in the bathroom and here comes DD with a section of the ribbon from our tree...on the other end...her brother. They were giggling, running, laughing, screaming, and yes...don't forget the occasional cry. I think someone was a horse...because while I was fixing supper, I saw Ryan crawling like a horse with a little cowgirl on him. Then I had to put a little water in an Easter basket bucket and I saw Ryan had a piece of the 'straw' from DD's play broom in his mouth. Dad was a horse. He soon had the tree ribbon tied to him so he wouldn't escape and when I went in the living room to let everyone know dinner was ready, I was quickly corrected. I said, "DD can your horse come in to eat?" "no, he's tied up right here, not get out." "Can't he come have some spaghetti and garlic bread so he's not hungry?" "Actually, Mom...Horses eat hay!" I stand corrected. Although, he did have to wait to be untied, the poor horse eventually got his supper.

Friday, December 1, The kids and I drove to Corydon to see my friend Heather and her girls. Drue was so excited to see Sarah and little Suzie sure loves Lane. We went to a photographer and had the kids' picture taken in front of the gingerbread house. It was quite entertaining watching Myra chase after 5 kids! The kids loved it...ok, not Lane. He cried the entire time so the pics. will be very entertaining. I was hoping for a candid shot, like the kids looking at the house, candy, etc...but Myra tried to get them all smiling, looking, etc...a little more drama than anticipated, but the pics are sure to be a hit with such a cute group! I'll be sure to scan the pic on when I get it. Myra has such cute little scenes every season, I'm sure we'll be back several times.

Ryan hunted today (Sat...I guess technically, it's Sunday now) He shot at a deer but missed. I don't know if he'll go out tomorrow or not. My Mom and DD and Grandma Mary and I are going on the Eldora Tour of Homes, all the houses will be decorated for Christmas and the money goes to the new aquatic center. I'm looking forward to it, but it's supposed to be freezing cold. We'll stop at the Lodge at Pine Lake for cocoa, appel cider and cookies before returning home. My Dad is going to play baby/grandpa-sitter and watch both Lane and Grandpa Harold. Unless Ryan doesn't hunt.

We showed the house Saturday morning and have another showing Monday morning. I'm so proud of our realtor. She's shown the house at least once a week the entire month it's been on the market. Good incentive to always have the house clean and something yummy baking in the oven...although, she's known to eat a muffin or two before she leaves! :)

Ryan and I have a lot of shopping yet to do... Always seems to creep up on me. Well, since I probably will hear a little boy crying for me in the next hour, I better go back to bed.

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