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

Don't Humpty Dumpty!

Happy October! The leaves are really starting to turn colors here. It is so beautiful...definitely my favorite time of year!

I'll try to start where I left off...Friday we were supposed to be at Travis' wedding rehearsal...however, Friday morning Drue woke up complaining of a stomach ache. I thought it was probably because she was hungry, she didn't eat much for supper before looking for geese the night before. Well, we tried breakfast, tried sitting with a warm rice sack on her tum, watching a movie, lying on the couch...but she came and found me and said, "DD tummy still hurt really bad." As she was saying that she coughed/gagged...ick. I asked if she needed to throw up and she nodded, we ran to the bathroom and...yup. So, Drue didn't have a very fun Friday. She was sick 4 times. Couldn't keep anything down, really drowsy, achy, the whole works. Fortunately, by about 3:00 that afternoon, she was able to eat some applesauce. Once I knew that was staying down, I offered her some jello I had made while she was napping and then she asked if she could have some Dora the Explorer chicken noodle soup...so I was hoping we were in the clear, and we were. Since she wasn't feeling well, I chose to stay home with her instead of going to Travis' rehearsal dinner. Drue just went to bed early and was feeling much better Saturday morning.

Lane never threw up, but did have a few really messy diapers Saturday, and was a little fussy, so I assume he had a tummy ache as well. I drove Ryan and a friend to pictures, then drove in to Mom and Dad's to get ready, figured it would save me some time getting kids in and out of the car and I would also have someone watching them while I got ready...made it a lot easier! :) Travis and Jill's wedding was very pretty...decorated in all sorts of Fall things and colors. It honestly was one of the prettiest weddings I've been to. Ryan was injured during his duty of groomsman, though. He was trying to fix a broken candle lighter...like the kinds the acolytes use at my church, when something broke and his hand slipped and he got a very deep cut in that space between your thumb and pointer finger...ouch! It bled the entire wedding, he had a kleenex on it the whole time and ended up going through 4 band-aids...or as he says..."ban-Daids..."we kid about that alot. =) It eventually stopped bleeding so he could enjoy his evening. The wedding party traveled in an Excursion limo, he said it was fun and I'm sure they enjoyed a few...(or more!) beverages on the way to reception. As usual, we cut it up on the dance floor. =) We love to dance! Certain songs are a MUST for us, we country swing to Travis Tritt's "T-R-O-U-B-L-E," never miss, "Jesse's Girl," a Kid Rock song...on and on....Unfortunately, for Ryan, the Hawks were playing during the reception. He was stuck to the TV until the game was over. He actually looked sick because of how bad it got. I finally had to drag him away to get his mind of his stinkin' Hawkeyes... We had so much fun visiting with friends, and just getting dressed up, that sort of thing...feels good once in a while to do that. Ryan looked hot, as usual...I think I should buy him a tux so he can wear it for me every once and awhile! =) We, like MANY, MANY other weddings, stayed until the music stopped. Sunday morning we went to Mom and Dad's to get the kids and had Pizza Ranch deliver lunch. The kids stayed up late at Nan's...yes, Drue has dropped the "ny" part of Nanny...maybe it's because we call her 'D' sometimes or maybe she's just figuring out she can change our names and we still answer...All day today she's been calling Ryan and I, 'Dadda and Momma,' not in a baby way, but it's got a little 'jive' in it! Everyone is feeling much better today, no flu symptoms at least...just 4 very sleepy Luikens.

It was gorgeous today, and should be right around 90 on Monday....that's actually too hot for me. We played outside this afternoon because it was windy enough to keep the invading nosiums, ladybugs and stinky boxelder bugs from hovering at every moment.

The title of this blog refers to Humpty Dumpty...here's the story...
If Drue catches me being a 'dare devil,' like when I was standing on the end of our bed, reaching way over to dust the top of the armoir, or standing on a chair to clean the top of the refrigerator, she'll yell, "Mom, don't Humpty Dumpty!" Meaning...don't fall and crack your head! What a girl! She and Lane make us laugh SO much!

God's blessings for a wonderful week... ~kbl

What we've been up to

SOOOOO.....Long time, no blog, huh? I really do check my computer everyday, since no one comments on me not blogging, people have either stopped reading, or never started...?? I honestly get on the computer everyday, I check my friends' sites, email, and a few regular blogs written by complete strangers, but...since it's been something like 13 days since I've last taken the time to post,I feel it's time! But, I'm going to cheat a little...See, I keep an ongoing list of things I want to remember to blog about...instead of going in to great detail, like I usually would, (you're thinkin, "thank goodness!") I'm going to share what my list looks like, (kind of) and get people up to speed with the gang here at the Luiken home... Ready?

Starting WAAAYYYY back on Saturday the 16th..

*Dig's party was fun. It was nice out so the guys got to be on the deck, and us girls visited indoors. Dig got so many nice gifts, clothes, money, building blocks, balls, diapers, and Uncle Shawn made him a measuring board, well, a thing for us to stand Lane up to every so often and measure him on, in the shape and painted like a farm silo...to go with his farm scene my Mom and Dad had painted on his wall as a "welcome to the world" present last Oct. after he was born. He and Kelly painted it and it is so neat. Ryan grilled hamburgers, I made a potatoe salad and a grape salad...We had Ryan's cousin and my friend, Caryn make the cake, it was adorable, had a football, soccer, basketball and baseball on it and in big red letters said, 'Happy Birthday Digga!" Drue told me what to have put on it. ONE THING though...I FORGOT to offer everyone ice-cream! I had it in the freezer and completely spaced it off...sorry to those of you who were here!

*Saturday the 23rd,(this past Sat.) Ryan and I went shopping in Waterloo for his friend Travis, he's getting married this weekend. We didn't find what we wanted but Ry did find a new outfit. We ended up ordering Trav a Terry Redlin print from Cabelas. (don't worry, he's not computer literate!) Ry and I went to Carlos O'Kelly's and ate like there was no tomorrow. Yum!

*Sunday 24th, we went to church, then to my parents' for roast and potatoes and all the fixin's, then Ryan and I took the kids on a nature walk around Pine Lake. It was a beautiful afternoon. DD didn't ride in the stroller at all. She was busy picking up pretty leaves and acorns and playing in the sand. We had a really nice time. The kids were very good and the weather was perfect.

*Monday 25th Dig had his one year pictures taken...he is usually a very smiley boy, but not this day! He was freaked out by the lady taking the pictures, and quite honestly, so was I. She wasn't very good at all and only took 7 pictures. Oh well, He's a cutie anyway. He wore a Hawkeye football jersey onesie. We pick them up on Oct. 10th. Monday, was a long day. We left home at 9:30 and got home about 5:30. Mom was on vacation this week and went shopping with us. Drue had ice-cream after Dig's pics. and again before leaving W'loo. First, rainbow in the mall, the second time, watermelon sorbet at Cold Stone...they didn't have my oatmeal cookie that day...bummer! So I had the Lite Cake batter...yikes! Too sweet! Tastes just like cake batter though...Drue loved it! I found an outfit to wear to T's wedding and the kids each got some things. AND...Dig slept through the night that night! Shopping isn't for boys!

*Tues. 26th We went to Kim's for coffee. We're all sad because she will be moving to Indiana shortly. She is such a neat girl. We'll miss her a lot. After coffee, we went to my folks' for lunch. Mom brought down the old suitcases full of my old dance recital outfits and old jewelry for DD to play with. We decided that since it was nice, we'd walk to Eldora and get an iced coffee at the coffee house. Get this...Drue wore my pink and green tutu, a hot pink, sequin headband, her sunglasses and a red bead necklace...all the way uptown! It was hilarious. She even had my Mom wear a blue sequin headband...she did...all the way! She said I'd understand when I'm a grandma! =)

* Wed. the 20th...(this is out of order) It was cool out, but sunny and very 'autumn like,' so the kids and I put on our sweatshirts and went on a wagon ride down our long drive to get the mail. We played outside and had a wonderful afternoon. Ryan and I love Fall. That afternoon really got me in the mood for pumpkin bars and hot cocoa!

* I forgot to mention in previous posts, (I think) that Lane started saying "ball" on Sept. 11. It's so stinkin' cute...he'll wake up and the first thing I hear over the monitor is "ba...ba...ba..." when I go up to get him, he's standing in his crib reaching for a baseball my Uncle Jim and Aunt Antoinette gave him when he was born.

*At that week's coffee group, Drue was bit on the finger (pretty badly) by her best friend, Campbell. After she left I asked Drue what she did to Campbell, either to make her bite her or after she bit her, Drue told me quite frankly, "DD pinched her real hard!" At least she didn't lie to me! =) That night I made a yummy Amish hamburger soup and apple crisp. Grandma Mary gave us a bunch of apples...more on that later!

*The next night I made Grandma Margaret's All at Once spaghetti and Beer bread. Drue was so excited to help...she kept asking, "are we making beer pie yet?"

*Friday the 22nd, Dig had his one year Dr. appt. He weighed 21 lbs 13 oz. and is 30 inches tall.

Ok...I just realize that some how, I started typing in the wrong space and now this post is no longer in chronological order...sorry, try to figure it out... ;)

Try this again...I tried to cut & paste but it didn't let me...sorry.
Yesterday, Wed the 27th...We went to Grandma Mary's at 10:00 am and started our APPLE PIE BAKING! Grandma has a gazillion apples and we cut, cored, peeled, sliced tons of them. My feet are so sore today! Mom came too and we learned how to make grandma's crust. We made 10 regular sized pies and 2 'pot -pie' sized for Drue and Lane. Then we sliced/prepared 12 quart bags of apples so they are ready to use when we want to make something. My Dad and brother were at grandma's working on a water line, Kelly stopped by to give grandma a little gift for letting her put her big swimming pool on grandma's tennis court and Ryan stopped by on his way through for a pop and just in time to carry the big bucket full of scraps out to Shawn's calves! It was special learning from grandma and we talked alot about her growing up, I will post more on that another day. We left 1 pie for grandma (that's all she wanted) 2 with my Mom, one for a friend who had a recent surgery and the remaing 6 are in our deep freeze along with all the bags of sliced apples. Kind of fun stocking up for winter...makes me feel a little more Amish! =)

Today, Thurs. the 28th, we went in to my parents' then,we ran to grandma's to pick up our pies, we had let them freeze over night at her house so they'd be easier to transport, then to the store, then home to wait for Todd and Pam and the girls to come for supper. Pam made a spaghetti pie, I had the garlic bread and lettuce salads...and of course...apple pie. After we ate, Todd, Ryan and the 3 older girls took our car to look for geese. DD had been looking forward to it for a week now! She was so excited. We packed a juice and puffed popcorn for everyone and they were off! Pam and I enjoyed some quiet time with eachother and Lane and Madeline. 2 hours later, I hear crying as the door opens, DD had cried for the last 20 mins. because she didn't have her blanket. (Campbell did have hers.) They had a good time but were tired. The girls didn't see the geese but they did see some deer. It may be a while before Drue wants to do that again.

*BIG NEWS...Dig is sleeping through the night! He did it Mon, Tues and Wed...hope we keep it up! But, I'm sleeping so hard now, that my neck is killing me.

Well, now I think you're up to date...although, your head may be spinning because I screwed up the order...Anyway, we're here...we're all healthy, we're happy and busy! We have a wedding this weekend, the Iowa game the next and want to get to the pumpkin patch that weekend,too. Would love to hear from some of you! God's blessings to you all! ~kabl