What to do with a broken wash line?

Make it into a jumprope, of course!!

Second and Third sign of Spring

This extremely unattractive fly strip is a staple around here.  We live near so many chicken farms  that we are bombarded with flies.  They are already out something fierce this year.  Ugh...

Sister Lovin'

For a long time, Aaron has said that when he grows up he wants to marry Greta.  Just recently that's changed.  He's declared Claudia to be his favorite sister and says that he wants to marry her.  Tonight we were all together in the van and he was again expressing his desire to marry Claudia.  Steve went into some details that we typically just avoid, saying that someday he will have a girl that is not his sister whom he will want to marry.  The conversation went something like this:

Steve:"...and when you are old enough, mommy and I will help you find a good wife."
Aaron: "What's a good wife?"
Steve:"Well, someone that you love, someone who you think is pretty..."
Aaron interrupts, "Well, I love Claudia and I think she's pretty!"

We all laughed heartily and the conversation about not marrying your sister was once again dropped.

Favorite Pastime

Monday Fun

I love Mondays.  They are our Saturdays.  They always go too fast for me though!  This past Monday we spent some time outside.

The eternal cheezer

Action shots

Aaron learning correct throwing form

Someone was very clingy to mommy.  Taken by Claudia.

Disgusting

Yesterday I got in our van with a friend go to breakfast.  We both agreed that something in my van reeked.  I said it smelled like a perm, she said it smelled like an egg.  We were too busy chatting to think about it again.  At noon, Steve and I took the kids away and he agreed that the van reeked.  He suggested that I investigate.  I am pretty "on top of" the kids and their things in the car and was pretty confident that it couldn't be anything too bad.  I forgot to look when we got home.  That evening we had to go away again.  I hopped in the van and was immediately confronted yet again with the terrible perm/egg smell.  I started to look around and too my horror, found the smell.  I had gotten groceries on Saturday and apparently one of my bags with a big 'ol fat juicy raw roaster chicken had slid forward between the 2 front seats.  I never saw it.  I had a raw, rotting chicken in my van.  I am still laughing over this one...

Wiped

It's been a long week around here.  I have been sick for a week and a half and today I finally feel like I am getting better.  It was a rough...  I had some sort of throat infection (not strep) and a double ear infection.  The pain was crazy and I hardly slept.  A number of my kids are sick now too, so unless there is some overnight miracle, it looks like I will be missing church for the second week in a row.  I hate to miss church.  It truly is the highlight of my week.

I didn't do much around the house this week except the basics of cooking and keeping things from completely falling apart.  It felt so good to have energy today to get some much needed cleaning done.  My floors had been neglected long before I was sick so it was satisfying to have the energy to scrub them.  A few days ago my new washer gave me an issue and is now in need of repair.  Again.  This is the second repair in the first year that we have had it.  What's up with appliances these days?  Is it just me or are they constantly falling apart? Seems like we are annually having to replace a major appliance around here.  So anyway, I think I've done 1 load in the last 2 weeks... today I was desperate.  I hauled all of my dirty piles to my parents house this morning to get caught up.  Let's just say the back of the van was PACKED!  Poor Aaron, he's been wearing clothes from his laundry basket all week!  Greta has stayed clean thanks to a huge bag of hand-me-downs that got sent in from her cousins and my generous sis-in-law in Ohio.

Being sick sure stinks, but it sure makes me grateful for our overall health.  This week when I was in so much pain I said to Steve, "Am I just a wimp?"  His loving, gracious reply was, "No, you're just whiny."  Thanks, babe.

Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day, in the 70's.  I am itching for warm weather to stay.

Every so often I like to look back on my pics at what we were doing a year ago at this time.  It's crazy how fast the kids grow and all the little things you forget.  This was Easter "10.

37 reasons I love my dad on his 37th birthday.

1.   He loves God

2.     He loves me

3.     He does fun stuff with us

4.     He teaches me about God

5.     He loves my mom

6.     He knows how to cook yummy stuff

7.     He makes up funny songs

8.     He teaches us to be tough

9.     He is a hard worker

10. He teaches us to play soccer, football, and basketball

11. He laughs like a flamingo with a cold

12. He loves the church

13. He has a sense of humor

14. He is patient

15. He disciplines us in love

16. He has a dinky car but he deals with it in thankfulness that he has a puddle jumper

17. He is very smart

18. He helps me with my math

19. He is technology minded

20. He is generous

21. He teaches us about football

22. He is humble

23. He is kind

24. He survived the American girl doll store (that is like a trophy winner for dads)

25. He makes really good sermons

26. He is hospitable (in a man kind of way)

27. He sets a good example to us

28. He teaches us how to work hard

29. He helps us laugh at ourselves

30. He worked REALLY hard on the addition!

31.  He takes us out to breakfast and talks to us about God

32. He makes things be about others, not himself

33. He does stuff to make things fun for us

34. He helps mommy

35. He is wise with money

36. He helps me when I am having a hard time with something

37. Because God gave him to me!

                     Happy Birthday daddy, I love you so much!  I am so glad God gave me such a wonderful dad!!
                                 ~Claudia 

Personality

Bops

If you have hung out with our family for any length of time, I'm sure you have heard us refer to Morgan as "Bops".  She's had that nickname ever since she was just months old.  She has always known how she got the nickname, but it was just recently that I unveiled the "whole" story.

She was born in '02 and back then the boy band "Hanson" was still popular.  We were in Iowa, spending the weekend at my mother-in-law's house.  While hanging out with the kids, Ashley (Steve's sister who was about 10 at the time) and I began to sing Hanson's hit song, Mmmbop, to little baby Morgan.  We had her dancing all around boppin her around and for whatever reason, "Boppers" stuck that day.  Since then the name has taken on many different forms; Boppers, Bops, Boppies, Bopparoni, Flops, Flop-alop-agus, the list goes on.  Most often she just gets Bops.

Just a couple months ago I looked for the song on YouTube and showed it to the kids.  We often have little dance parties around the kitchen youtubing (is that a verb??) different songs and breakin down.  Little Miss Greta is now in love with Mmmbop and it's always her first request.  I don't usually let them watch the songs that we YouTube, we just listen.  But I had to show them the band.  The older girls were a little weirded out by them.  Boys, that looked and sounded like girls?  But Greta loves to watch her Hanson.  Have I created a monster??

Christmas gifts

Impressive

Last week before our out-of-state guests arrived, we had a few days with another guest.  Our friends/neighbors, the Odells, needed a last minute sitter for a few days for their son, Cameron.  We were thrilled to have him, what a great kid.  Aaron adores him and the girls have fun playing with him.  Cameron brought along his silly band collection and they all had tons of fun looking through them; trading, mooching, and then eventually turning it into a braided rope.  I should have measured it, but it was impressively long.  Here they are stretched out on the road.  And Abby, I tried to convince the crazy kid that it was way too cold for shorts, but he was not to be persuaded.

My G

Good-bye

It's been days since we've said good-bye to Jeremy and Teya, but they are well missed around here.  The last night we were together, Claudia and Teya made some super yummy brownies.  I love that she is starting to be able to cook on her own!!

Not sure why this pic is so bizarrely exposed, but here are the troops the morning we said good-bye.

Big Girls

First Sign of Spring

Dear Tanya

Just wanted to let you know that your girl is on her way home.  What a joy it was to have her here.  The girls had so much fun together; hanging out, being silly, just being girls.  I can't believe how grown up they are.  Wasn't it just yesterday they were fighting over who got to pee on what potty and calling each other Ya-ya??
You and Teya will always have a very special place in my heart.  You and Teya were our first "mommy and daughter" friends.  We packed a lot of fun in those first 2 years of their lives.
I really wanted to have a little photo shoot with Teya when she was here and send her home with some special pictures for you.  I was planning on doing it Sunday afternoon, and it POURED all day.  So, I was left with the inside of my living room.  It was dark and dreary and terrible lighting.  This was the best I could do.  Your girl is beautiful, she reminds me so much of you.

I have always thought that Teya has had the most gorgeous of lips.

Hiking

Today was not a sunny day but the temp was a bit warmer.  I decided to take the kids to our new favorite spot.  They climbed and played and got all dirty.

The Greta pout.  She was not interested in looking at the camera and not happy that I was asking her to.

I told Jer he wins "Uncle of the Year".  While at Target last night, he gave each of the kids $25 to spend.  Aaron got himself a new lego set and I'm not sure who had the most fun putting it together.

Greta luuuvs her daddy.