Stanfield Stories

Christmas parties!

2011-12-20T21:13:00.000-06:00

Whew! I have always known December to be busy but this one has seemed especially full! It probably has something to do with the kids getting older and being involved in more activities but I am looking forward to a slow down after the New Year. Isaac is in basketball this year, his first school sponsored sport, and it has been great fun to watch his games! After two outside sports for so many years, baseball and football, it is great to have a sport that is indoors and I don't have to worry about dressing for the ever changing weather conditions. Ian does not seem to have much interest in any sports but has asked if he could raise a cow...yep, you read that right...a COW! Ummm, how about we start with something a little smaller and one that won't have the neighbors calling the cops on us! He has now decided on a bunny rabbit and I am okay with that, it will be outside and he wants to show it at the county fair this summer. Emma is into everything these days, I can't seem to keep her away from stuff that isn't hers, even when she gets a spanking for it. The recent saying in the house is..."Emma! Where is my...!?" Unfortunately, most of the time, whatever "it" is can be found in her room. :(

Here are some pics from the kids school Christmas parties! Sad to think that this was Isaac's last school Christmas party but excited for him and the new adventures that await next year!

Am I seeing things???

2011-05-14T12:41:00.000-05:00

No friends, you aren't seeing things! I am actually posting on my blog again and just one month short of a year since the last post. I decided that either I need to start blogging again or just get rid of the whole thing. (I can just see all ten of my followers jumping for joy since I obviously decided to keep going.) Heehee. I love reading others blogs and it has inspired to give it another go...so...here goes nothing!

If you ask my kids, I am sure they will tell you that the biggest thing going on in their lives right now is the fact that they only have 3 and 1/2 more days to summer freedom! Sorry...that's a mixed bag for me. I kinda like only having only one child at home during the day, it really cuts down on the arguments. :) Course, Emma can't wait for the boys to be home so she has someone else, besides me and the dog, to boss around. ;) I've already started praying for her preschool teachers this next fall, they are in for a wild ride!

As for me, I've had quite a rough month or so. Started out with feeling sick to my stomach quite a bit, especially after eating and so I thought maybe I had a problem with gluten (found in flour). I cut gluten out of my diet and started feeling better within a week. Problem solved! Well...okay, maybe not. The last week of April found me getting sick again and this time around it was more severe. It got so bad that on May 2nd, Chris took me to the emergency room, which proved to be a nice little visit for basically, NOTHING! :( I did have an ultrasound to check my liver, pancreas and gallbladder, which all looked normal and then was sent home, with a pain med presciption, since I wasn't dying. (They did have a full waiting room.) Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I did come home with some nice bruises, since I was so dehydrated and they had problems drawing blood and getting an IV started. :(

The next day found me at another hospital, this time with an appointment, for a CT scan after I started having sharp pain in my back and chest. I was still dehydrated so after three horribly painful, failed attempts to get another IV started, I begged them to stop and just do the scan without the dye (the scan can still be done, the radiologists just can read it as well.) This scan came back normal as well. Boo!

The next two days I was pain free so it took me by surprise when I woke up Saturday morning (May 7th) about 1:30am with what felt like a gas pain in my lower, right side abdomen. When it got progressively worse, Chris and I decided it was time for another ER visit. A dear friend came and stayed with the kids, who were sound asleep, while we raced off to OKC. By the time we got there, I would say the pain was at a nine on the 1-10 pain scale but I was still adamant that they bring in the best person to start my IV. All I had to do was show them my arms and hands. :( I could have about hugged the nurse that came in and got it started right away with no problems!!! And it was a good thing that pain meds through an IV kick in immediately! After a quick exam by the doc, basically all he had to do was push on my right side and I about came up off the bed, I was sent upstairs for another CT scan. (This one was done differently and I don't really want to give anyone a visual on how it was done but I was told that this was the only way to really see the gallbladder and appendix.) This scan DID show that my appendix was enlarged and the doctor said it needed to come out so I was scheduled to an emergency laparoscopic appendectomy that afternoon.

I has been a week today since the surgery (my very first surgery ever) and I am still moving slow but getting better every day. My wonderful mom was able to come to Oklahoma Saturday afternoon and was actually here by the time I was taken back to my room for recovery. She has been a lifesaver this last week, staying with me for five days so that Chris could go back to work. I don't know what I would have done without her, she even spent Mother's Day taking care of me!

Well, that's probably enough for my first post back blogging, don't want to overdue myself! ;)

2010-06-17T13:44:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow's the big day and I don't have time to write anything else!!! Hahaha! WAY TOO MUCH to do before tomorrow morning including making monster cookies! :)

It's countdown week!

2010-06-15T09:56:00.000-05:00

Only three more days till we leave for the reunion and I am nowhere ready but that's exactly what the next three days are for...to get ready! It may be a blessing in disguise but we got over six inches of rain yesterday morning and so we won't be playing baseball tonight or maybe even the rest of the week.

I could have done without the rain coming through my kitchen cupboard or the living room ceiling...but I am thankful for the extra time here at home to organize and pack.

Since it is going to be in the 70's in northern Idaho, I have to pack a little bit of everything. We are close to hitting triple digits here in Oklahoma so I am looking forward to cooler temps, for sure! And getting to see all my dear family. Better get moving! =)

Good News!

2010-06-07T15:03:00.000-05:00

Last week, I had a biopsy on a freckle on my calf and the results came back today...NO CANCER!!! Praise the Lord! I have known for a month that I was going to have it done but I didn't really think about it until the morning of the biopsy. Then I freaked out...just a smidge. :) I know God has a plan for me but it all of a sudden hit me that it really could be cancer and what that would mean for me and my family. I found myself breaking out in tears about the smallest things all morning long. After the appointment, I sat in the Avalanche and cried. :( As I sat there, trying to get ahold of myself, I heard a song on the radio that repeated over and over, "Don't you know you're beautiful?!". All of a sudden, I felt God's peace pour over me and I knew that no matter what the results were, I would be okay and God still loved me just the way I am, cancer or no cancer! Thank you to all of you that were praying for me over the weekend while we waited for the results!

Idaho trip

2010-06-05T22:57:00.000-05:00

It's almost here and after so many months...really a year, of planning and saving, it's hard to believe that it's almost time for the Folkerts Family Reunion at Elkins Resort, in Priest Lake, Idaho. Only two more weeks and we will be headed out! A LOT has happened in the last 11+ months leading up this vacation/adventure and I really don't want to go into all that, water under the bridge. Now I am just looking forward to watching my kids see new states, new animals and as many of the 50 states license plates as we can along the way! Getting to see aunts, uncles, cousins, and all the extra people that are now their families is going to be great too! I can't wait for the stories and tall tales that always get told when this extended family gets together.

In preparation for the extra expense, we sold my Expedition yesterday. I must admit it was a little rough for me. As rough for me as it was easy for Chris. I drove it but he had to fix it! I even had a little conversation with the Lord on the way to meet the new owner and He assured me that it was time to move on. I felt like I had been everywhere in that car with my family and how we came to own it in the first place was nothing short of a blessing from God but He wants to continue to bless us. There is a pic of the new blessing on facebook and really...I am NOT complaining! Course, Chris still calls it his truck. :) I love my new Avalanche!!!

Isaac is still crazy busy with baseball and will actually miss their last regularly scheduled game due to our trip but the thought of seeing Elk, Antelope and a lot of license plates from other states is worth missing the game. I think so too!

Ian was playing coach pitch baseball this year but after a early injury to his leg and his interest in the inside of his baseball cap rather than catching the ball, we decided to call it quits and try a different sport next year. Something that has him running...a lot.

Emma is still the princess of the house and as I speak is prancing around the house in her dress up shoes, large assortment of beaded necklaces and one of her brother's slingshots around her neck...never a dull moment with her! By the way, did I mention she is only in a pull-up? This child strips almost as soon as we walk in the door!

I am going to try to keep this updated more in the next few weeks as we go on this crazy fun adventure but don't hold your breathe...really...don't.

Okay...

2009-12-10T16:46:00.000-06:00

...so I was reading all my friends wonderful blogs and it inspired to at least acknowledge that I still have a blog. Not a very often updated one but a blog nonetheless. :) So here goes!

We had a great Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's with Stacy and Marcy's families, Uncle Rod & Aunt Sandy and our good friends from Oklahoma, Jonny & Amanda. Yes, it was a houseful and at times, WAY TOO MANY people and their issues but overall, I had a great time! Chris shot a great buck on the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week but wasn't able to find it before we left for home on Saturday. A farmer did find it that Monday so yes...my husband is pretty pumped and I am wondering how we are going to afford another taxidermy bill. I forgot the battery charger for my camera at home and the battery was pretty much dead so I don't have any pictures from the week...a new camera is on my Christmas wish list!

The house has now been transformed into a Christmas wonderland...well, almost. I need to finish going through the tubs so that Chris can put them back out in the shed. The kids did the decorating of the Christmas tree this year *almost* all by themselves and it looks a lot better than I thought it would. I guess I have trained them right! ;)

The final countdown has begun and the pace has picked up considerably as I am trying to keep everyone heading in the right direction with the goal being a peaceful and treasured Christmas season with friends and family. I keep reminding myself to keep Christ as the center of our celebrations and to teach my kids the same. God has been so good to us this year and I can't wait to see what 2010 holds for us! *Well, I do know one thing good happening in 2010...Chris and I were able to order a new sofa and loveseat from our local furniture store (owned by a church member) and they will be here sometime in February!!! I am so excited!

No State Fair this year

2009-09-28T09:14:00.000-05:00

...but Tulsa has a fair next week that is smaller and some people that I have talked to say it is nicer. Sounds good to me! It actually worked out well since Chris ended up with a migraine that afternoon and it was tough enough having all three kids Friday night at Isaac's baseball games. Isaac was very happy that they won both games that night and he has started HITTING the ball!!! Wahoo! He did strike out twice but I told him that I was proud of him for at least trying to hit the ball. He did get a couple good hits but they both went foul, Isaac said it still felt good to make contact. Sure proud of my boy!

I also found out that our good attitudes toward Isaac not always getting to play has been noticed. A friend from church said that she overhead someone talking about how the Friends Church pastor and his wife never complain about how much Isaac gets to play or not play. Praise the Lord!!! Living out our Christianity through our actions not just our words!

Oklahoma State Fair

2009-09-24T16:59:00.000-05:00

The boys don't have school tomorrow so I am thinking about taking them to the Oklahoma State Fair BUT Chris has to work so I would be taking them all by myself! Hence, the still thinking part. I am not sure I am up for the task of keeping track of three of them or for that matter, keeping UP with them. Emma doesn't want to be in the stroller that much anymore and Ian has a tendency to think it's funny to find some little place to hide from me, not cool. A friend of mine and her friend are going tomorrow but I don't want to trouble them with watching my kids. I have wanted to take the boys for years but the last time I went was the Kansas State Fair when Isaac was an only child! Maybe I need to talk Chris into taking the day off...probably not going to happen. I'll let you know if we go, probably not tomorrow since Isaac does have a double header baseball game tomorrow night and yes, that does factor into the decision too. Ugh!

Isaac's 9th birthday

2009-09-22T11:27:00.001-05:00

I know it's been almost a month but, as the saying goes, better late than never!!! My oldest, Isaac, turned nine last month and I still can't believe how grown up he is getting. Everyday, I seem to catch myself watching him and noticing how mature he is getting. Only one more year till he reaches the two digit birthday. Here are some pics from a small party we had for him at home. He had his friend from church, Adam, over and then also our neighbors, Madison (Isaac's age but he says she is NOT his girlfriend) and Dalton (Ian's age and a great friend). It also worked out for our friends, Geron and Lorrie, to come out for the day and of course, Jonny and Amanda came for the fun too.
My parents, Chris and I bought Isaac a new bike for his birthday and he was especially excited that it had pegs on both front and back wheels, guess he is thinking about tricks after watching X Games this summer! I'm not sure I am ready for that!

Proof that Isaac does practice

2009-09-21T19:08:00.001-05:00

Thought this was sweet of Emma and Isaac while he was practicing piano. Love those little toes! Don't know how much practicing he got in since sis was "helping" but he is so patient with her.

Knot Just Tutus

2009-09-17T08:54:00.000-05:00

I encourage everyone with a little girl or anyone who knows a little girl to check out my best friend's new blog, http://knotjusttutus.blogspot.com. Becky creates some of the most adorable tutus, tutu dresses, hats, headbands and baby blankets for the sweet little girls in our lives. :) Becky's inspiration comes from her own two sweet daughters and in an effort to stay home with her girls, she has quit her job of about 18 years to pursue this full time. If you live in NW Washington you can check out her creations first hand at Sprouts Consignment in Mount Vernon and soon at Lil Bitz Consignment in Sedro Woolley. I am so proud of my dear friend for pursuing her dream!

Boring post of life

2009-08-14T17:41:00.000-05:00

Just letting you know that I am still here, just haven't had the motivation to write anything lately. I have Colorado vacation pictures to share when I have more time, gotta run and make dinner before Isaac's baseball practice tonight! Be back again soon...well, at least sooner than last time! :)

2009-07-28T12:04:00.000-05:00

VBS went great even though we had several days over 100 and everything was outside. I had to get creative in what I wore under my robe to try and stay cool. There were a couple nights that we had storms and I remember waking up during the night, praying we wouldn't have too much to repair come morning! Stacy Godfrey and I were the Toga Shopkeepers and we had a ton of fun helping the kids try on tunics, wigs, armor and head pieces from the Roman days. Stacy would then take their picture in front of a beautiful backdrop that we "helped" paint. The week after VBS was busy for Chris with the wedding of Kyle and Rachel Williams on Friday night. After the stressful week, we both were ready for a trip to Haviland the next week to visit family and for Chris to attend Ministry Conference at Barclay College. The kids and I had so much fun hanging out at Mom and Dad's with Marcy, Stacy and their families and Chris got in his time with the little nieces and nephews on his breaks from the conference. We also visited with Chris' cousin Jennifer Lee and her family, who have recently moved to Haviland to work at Barclay College. The kids had so much fun together it was hard to end our time with them. Chris managed to find time to go deer hunting with my Dad, too. Dad had been given five damage permits from a farmer and the boys were very happy to fill them! Chris shot a doe the first morning out and then Dad and a college student from Barclay took three more does in the next two days.

Saturday night was the Chandler Rodeo and we were very excited to get to go this year! Last year at this time we were working on packing up our house in Rose Hill and moving to Chandler. Can you believe that is has been a year already!? The rodeo was great but the heat made holding a squirmy two year old very exhausting. We were sitting on the top row of the grandstands and I didn't want her falling through so she sat on my lap most of the time. Chris finally took Emma home after she got her fill of the horses and calves and she started saying by the end, "comes next one" as she waited for the next calf to come running out of the gate. The boys had a blast and Isaac even went out and tried to catch a calf with a ribbon on it's tail. He was fast but didn't get a ribbon. Ian hung out down by the fence the whole night and only once did I have to yell at them to get back from the fence when a very unfriendly bull came charging past. He had already seriously injured the bull rider and then tried to gore the pickup horse with his horn, knocking the cowboy to the ground and chasing him up the fence in front of us. It was pretty scary and it took them forever to get the crazy bull out of the arena!

Another scary moment happened during the barrel racing. A six year old girl came out of the gate and her horse took off too fast for her. She was bouncing all around in the saddle and was about thrown from the horse but she finally got control of the horse at the opposite end of the arena and was able come back and run the barrels. When the announcer said that her THREE year old sister was coming out next, you could hear people in the stands groaning but she was on a nice calm horse that trotted around all the barrels and then easily galloped to the finish. It was pretty cute but everyone was nervous after what happened with her sister.

Whoa!!!

2009-07-08T11:23:00.001-05:00

It's been awhile! I guess I haven't felt like writing much lately although there has been lots to write about! I don't think we have ever had such a busy summer with Isaac's baseball keeping us busy all through June and July has started off with a bang. The end of June and beginning of July found the three kids and I in Haviland for a week to welcome my sister Marcy, Josh, Audrey and Ethan Bunce to Kansas from Oregon. Josh is going to be the Youth Ministry professor at Barclay College and I am so excited to have them closer for visiting! We did have some excitement on the trip home with the Expedition overheating just thirty minutes from home. Having the windows down and the heater blasting on a 100 degree day was not the greatest with three kiddos who were already really tired of being in the car for five hours!

Fourth of July found us at Joe and Nancy Brown's for lunch and swimming and then back to the house to regroup for the church party at Mike and Sena Pribble's house out on Bell Cow Lake that evening. We did have to duck for cover for a little bit as a thunderstorm passed by and we were all surprised when the "big" fireworks over the lake started at 8:15pm. Guess they were tired of getting rained on. It was still pretty with the storm clouds behind the show but they did have competition from God's fireworks, there was some impressive lightening going on!

The Sunday after the fourth was busy with us all setting up for VBS in Rome! With two days down already, it is going great from what I can tell from the Toga shop. We are getting a little rain today but hopefully it will be done before tonight so that we can continue showing kids God's love as we have Rome setup outside! Chris did have to go and take down our backdrop for taking the kids pictures once they are dressed up in the latest Roman fashions.

School will be here before I know it as we have a extremely full schedule for the rest of the summer. Two more week long vacations and Isaac is going to start playing fall baseball the end of this month. I will try to keep you all updated a little better but no promises! Hope you all are having a great summer!

Maria Chapman

2009-05-21T11:09:00.000-05:00

I was reading Mary Beth Chapman's blog this morning as today is the one year anniversary of the terrible accident that took little Maria's life. There have definitely been unbelievably miserable days in this last year and there will be more in the future for the Chapman family but I was so blessed to read how God has been healing and using them all during this time. Here is the link to her blog, http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/marybeth/ and I am sure you will be blessed too!

An Anteater???

2009-05-20T11:42:00.000-05:00

Ian just asked if we could have an Anteater pet since we have a bunch of little ants coming in now that it is spring/summer. Hmmmm, I don't think we would fixing the problem, just creating another one. Hahaha!

Straw or glasses???

2009-05-08T15:55:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all our relatives and friends that I sent postcards out to this past week, Isaac got a pair of glasses that really are a straw. (Don't worry, if you didn't get a postcard from my boys this year, you probably will next year! I try to spread the love. Hahaha!) The juice travels all around the eyes and over the ears and into the mouth. I don't really expect any of you to order magazines, Isaac just wanted the glasses and he got them just for returning the booklet filled out, I don't think he will get any further prizes for any orders. Of course, Emma and Ian had to try them on too and we had to take pictures! I just don't know how I am going to clean this things out! Great fun though!

Last Minute Trip to Happiland

2009-05-01T10:59:00.001-05:00

Yesterday about 11am, Isaac's baseball coach called and let us know that they had cancelled both Isaac's game last night and the Chandler tournament this weekend because it would have looked more like water polo than baseball! Sooooo, in un-Stanfield fashion (my husband thrives on sticking to the plan), we packed up the kiddos and the turkey hunting gear and headed out yesterday afternoon for Haviland! YAY!!! Chris was going to be missing board meetings at Barclay College because of Isaac's games this weekend so there were lots of reasons to come this weekend!

Our friend, Paul, was able to come with us last minute too. Actually we rode here in his truck since the brakes on my expedition are making that nasty grinding sound that says they want to be replaced. I woke up this morning (early!) to the sound of turkey calls, thanks Dad, and found the "boys" all out on the front porch admiring Paul's turkey. Nothing like getting the job done and FAST! I think I saw him buying another turkey tag this morning! :)

Now I am hanging out at the house with my kiddos waiting for everyone to come home for lunch. Chris is attending board meetings this morning, Mom is working, Dad and Paul are running errands and Stacy and family will be here soon (hopefully) to help with lunch prep. I can't wait for this summer when I can add Marcy and Josh to that list of activities!!!! Josh has accepted the Youth Ministry Professor position here at Barclay College and they will get here sometime the first of July! I can't hardly wait!

Well, I'd better get started on lunch! God Bless!

Oklahoma Aquarium

2009-04-19T10:58:00.000-05:00

Ian is home sick today from church so I thought I would take this time in between cleaning out his puke bowl to upload pics from Isaac's field trip on Friday to the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks, OK. IT WAS AMAZING! We really had a great time. The best part of it was all the touching exhibits...sting rays, sharks, starfish, clams and shark eggs.

We also listened to a talk about turtles and then got to pet Harry, the box turtle and a Frog Eyed Gecko (I don't remember his name). My camera battery was having issues so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked and since the battery was dying, I had a hard time getting the right setting for the glass of the exhibits. Here's the kids (four of them are our church kids) under the shark tank. It was really cool when the sharks would swim over the top and we could see all their teeth! Isaac is in the middle.

This is Isaac and his classmate, Austin, checking out the sting rays. We all got to pet the sting rays and little sharks in this tank later when they had someone on staff there to make sure we kept all 10 fingers but that was after my camera battery died so I took a couple pics with my phone. Maybe someday I will figure out how to get them onto the computer! :)

Isaac and Austin were waiting to check out the shark eggs. They didn't look anything like what I thought an egg should look like. Let's just say, I would want to be laying these eggs! I wish I had a good picture of them for you.

Isaac and Adam really liked this big fish above Isaac's head. It looked like it had lipstick on but we couldn't ever get a very good picture of it. I was just glad to get this picture since my battery had already died and then decided to come back to life for 5 minutes. I told you it was having issues!

I can't wait until Isaac and I get the chance to take the rest of the family to the aquarium! It was a blast even though it was pretty expensive to get in. Well worth it though! More field trip pictures to come, Ian and I go to the Oklahoma City Zoo tomorrow, well...as long as he isn't still sick!

The swing set is done!

2009-04-16T10:09:00.000-05:00

It's official!!! The swing set is done and the kids are loving it! We have spent two whole afternoons out there and it is always a battle to get Emma to come inside! Daddy bought her a baby swing and yesterday she wanted to be pushed in it so long that she almost fell asleep in it. Haha! Chris did a great job on the swing set and I am very proud of him completing it all by himself. He worked on it several different days because he didn't really have one whole day to devote to it, like the directions suggested. The kids have never had something like this for the backyard and I know they are going to get a lot of use out of it this summer! It has a glider swing, regular swing, baby swing (we bought the baby swing at Wally World), climbing wall, slide and a picnic table. The boys already have plans of eating dinner out at the picnic table sometime soon!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:38:00.000-05:00

Even though it is a rainy day outside (much needed around here) we have had a great Easter! We enjoyed a great Easter dinner at a friend's house and the kiddos made the best of the egg hunt inside. Best part of all, my LORD IS RISEN!!!

Matching Aprons

2009-04-11T18:54:00.000-05:00

A dear lady at our church surprised Emma and I with adorable Mother/Daughter aprons earlier this week. She makes aprons and purses to sell at craft shows here in town. Emma loved hers so much that she wore it all day long, even to take brother to school and while she took her nap. It's not a great picture of me but Emmie is pretty cute, if I do say so myself! And yes...she is standing on my glass coffee table but JUST this once! Hahaha!

Wildfires

2009-04-09T20:45:00.000-05:00

We have had incredible winds today and this afternoon many wildfires have started up in our area. There are a couple just south of town and a really large one just about 10 miles to the west of us, in Wellston. Chris saw a huge home engulfed in flames just off the turnpike on his way home from Oklahoma City this evening. I think there is a fire north of us also so I am feeling a little surrounded. Every time I have gone outside today, I can smell the smoke in the air and see the plumes off to the south and west. This isn't like in western Kansas when farmers are burning there fields off. Somehow knowing that these fires are out of control and that people's homes are going up in flames, makes me just a little more nervous. They are reporting on the news that they will most likely declare a State of Emergency and they are guessing at least 100 homes have burned so far. Oh yeah...we are also under a tornado watch until 9pm tonight. Great. We won't be able to see the tornado coming through all the wildfire smoke!!! Please pray for Oklahoma tonight and tomorrow!

Sickly

2009-04-08T16:06:00.000-05:00

I haven't been feeling the greatest since Sunday, I think it's just a cold but I feel so run down and wiped out. I haven't had any energy the last few days but lay awake forever at night trying to fall asleep (NOT normal for me at all, just ask my husband!). This is not a great week to get sick but I am slowly starting to feel better so here's praying that I am well by this weekend for Easter activities!

Emma has developed diarrhea the last two days and I am beginning to think she has ear infections again, the only sign she usually shows is yucky diapers! I wish she would have some other symptoms so that her ears wouldn't get so bad to cause diarrhea. She doesn't even seem to care about the nasty diapers but she likes having baths more often. She came into the bathroom this morning asking for a bath and was quite disappointed when I said no.

The swing set arrived last week and has been in various stages of assembly ever since then. The package says it takes a whole day to assemble and since my husband doesn't have a entire day to work on it, I am praying for the kids sake, and my husbands, that it is completed before winter sets in.

Okay, I don't even have the energy to type so I am quiting for now!

Sorry it's been so long.

2009-03-31T09:20:00.000-05:00

Life has kicked into high speed with both boys playing baseball this spring so I feel like I am on the go a lot. Yesterday, I picked up the boys from school, Ian had his first practice from four to five, then I baked cookies for our College and Career small group last night, then Isaac had a scrimmage in Davenport at 6:15. I think we got home about 8:30 and barely got home before a thunderstorm started.

Ian did great at baseball practice and it was so cute to see him running the bases, at least he ran straight towards them and didn't forget to touch all the bases. I can't say the same for everyone else, hee hee! He learned how to throw overhand and hit a base hit on his second try with the tee, the first swing was foul.

Isaac had his first scrimmage with his Chandler Lions Pee Wee I team last night in Davenport. Isaac told me on the way home that the other team was an older team and if that's the truth, our boys did fairly well against them. Isaac struck out at his one time at bat (we didn't do innings, just went through the entire lineup of each team) and was one of five boys, including the coach's son, that didn't get to play on the field. He was bummed about not getting to play on the field but I am sure he will get a chance. It got cold quick as the evening wore on and of course, I didn't dress either of the boys warm enough. I finally went and got Isaac's uniform out of the car and he put the shirt on top of his t-shirt. He said he was so cold that it made it hard for him to hit. I think both he and I realized last night that baseball in Chandler is A LOT more serious than in Rose Hill. Kids were stealing bases and making big plays and I remember feeling really nervous for Isaac after watching the other team's pitcher warm up!!! Chris and I were also able to purchase shirts with Isaac's number and our last name on them. I just pray that we haven't gotten ourselves into something that is going to be more than we can handle. We have been told by other parents that there will be some games on Sundays, I haven't had the chance to tell coach that Isaac won't be there for those games. Here is Isaac in his uniform!

Flowers!

2009-03-21T10:23:00.000-05:00

When we first moved here into the parsonage I was enjoying all the beautiful flowers that the former pastor had planted but soon enough, I realized that I was now responsible for them and let's face it. I didn't do a very good job. They quickly became overcome with grass and weeds and I dreaded getting out there and getting it back in shape. Well, the time has come that I can't ignore them any longer, Chris is building me a deck out back and right on top of most of the flowers!

Soooooo, today I invited some ladies from church that actually know what they are doing when it comes to plants and had them help dig up plants. Some we transplanted in the yard and the others that I couldn't find a spot for I sent home with the gals. I still have about 2 and a half wheel barrow loads of iris that I am going to plant along the back fence or give away, so if you are close enough and want some, come on over! I have no idea what color they are as the were already spent by the time we moved here in July so it will be a surprise once they bloom.

It feels great to get all of that accomplished and very exciting to think about having my new deck done. We found out last night that someone we know, knows someone else with a nice deck that they want to get rid of for free. We will find out more on Monday, like size and condition, but I am very excited about the possibility of having the money that we would have used to buy the lumber for the deck to use instead on deck furniture! Yay!

Home Sweet Home

2009-03-19T15:16:00.000-05:00

Ian, Emma and I had a great time at my Mom and Dad's this past weekend! I don't think we hardly had a moment to sit and relax, there were just so many fun things to do. Ian went out with Poppa kayaking twice and the second time, we had a whole crew of family and friends out there! The kayaks were definitely a hit with the kiddos and the adults had quite the time keeping track of who's turn it was to go out and making sure no one fell in.

I was also able to help my Mom get the Canteen ready for all the groups coming into Greensburg for Spring Break. I wasn't able to actually go around and help pass out the snacks but I enjoyed helping Mom figure out the route to all 23 locations and making sure everything was loaded and secure in the Canteen.

The trip home went pretty well considering it was just me with two little ones. I stopped and got Ian a slushy in Pratt and while we were in Wichita, I asked Ian if wanted to get some lunch or just get home. I was shocked when he said to keep going!!! I guess I shouldn't have been since I had told him that morning that our new Wii was at the house, he was in a little bit of a hurry! I did have snacks along so we made it home in good time!

I was also a little anxious to get home and see my new wood floors!!! They are beautiful and when I find my SD card, I will take a picture and post it. Emma has done well adjusting to the slick surface and only tried to do the splits once. The boys love going sliding everywhere on it and I love how it makes the room seem bigger. Well, better run, I need to show the boys who is boss on Mario Cart! Hee hee!

More family

2009-03-13T20:51:00.000-05:00

We had a great time with Chris' parents last weekend and after just a few days at home, Ian, Emma and I are now at my parents house in Haviland for a few days. The boys, Chris and Isaac, are at home pulling up carpeting and laying wood laminate while we are gone. I thought it would be better with us out of the way, including my comments on how I think it should be done! Hee hee! I can't wait to get home and see the finished product even though I am not looking forward to putting everything back in it's place. (Gave me flashbacks of moving just seven short months before!) I will be sure to post pictures, when I can find my SD card for my camera. Hmmmm.

On separate note, this is Spring Break! Why is it stinking freezing outside then????? I was not surprised to see most people heading south with their car top carriers this afternoon on our way north. The only reason I was headed to the north pole was to see family, I sure love my family, especially since my sister made caramel corn tonight! YAY! Sorry babe, I will try and bring some home with me...really, I will! :D Well, okay...maybe not. But I thought about it, does that count???

Chris parents are coming!

2009-03-05T09:27:00.000-06:00

We are very excited to have Chris' parents coming for a long weekend visit tonight and they are flying into the OKC airport so the boys are excited about getting to check out the airport. I remember the good ole days when you could be in the terminal and watch your loved ones plane land and taxi to the gate, miss that. I do appreciate the safety measures though.

We are planning on meeting up with our friends, Geron and Lorrie, from the city for dinner after we pick up Chris' parents. Chris and Geron have been friends since they were in junior high and Chris performed their wedding one year ago on Chris' birthday. Another bonus of moving to Oklahoma, we are only 45 minutes away from them now.

Tomorrow we are headed back to the city to do some shopping and to check out the OKC bombing memorial. I have been there before a long time ago but I am looking forward to visiting it again. I am pretty sure we are headed to Bass Pro Shops for shopping, another benefit of living down here, and I am hoping for a stop at DSW Shoes. I also found out yesterday that car seats have an expiration date!!!! Did you know that??? Now I know that you are not supposed to buy a car seat from a garage sale because you don't know if it has been in a car accident or not but I had no idea that you are supposed to replace a car seat after five years. Something about the plastic becoming brittle with age and breaking during a car accident. The car seat Emma is using is well past the expiration date, it was bought for us to replace the car seat Isaac was sitting in during Chris and Isaac's severe car accident that happened seven years ago this April. I think a stop at Babies R Us is in order for tomorrow too. I just got a coupon in the mail yesterday for 15% off the total purchase! Thank you Lord! I had been wanting to get a new car seat for Emma anyway, something a little more girly but I didn't have a good reason, until now!

Gotta run and do some more house cleaning!

Bible Study

2009-03-04T13:25:00.000-06:00

I have been very blessed to be a part of a weekly women's bible study at the Baptist Church for the past couple of months. We just finished a study on David by Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer and Kay Arthur and today was our first day of study on the book of Esther with Beth Moore. I have never been a part of a women's bible study before, I know...shocker...since I have been a pastor's wife for almost eleven years now. We never had one at our former church and this may sound strange, but I have always been a little afraid of joining one at another church, something about meeting new people. Hahaha. Good thing God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called! Praise Jesus!

So, I have started talking to a few ladies at our church about starting a bible study because I figure there are others like me out there in my church family. I have no idea how it's going to work but God has a plan and I am just saying, YES!

Hmmmm...

2009-02-23T16:48:00.001-06:00

Things have been humming right along since my last post with nothing too crazy happening. (Worth posting about anyway.) For the next two months, I will be singing on the worship team each Sunday morning, which means I have to pretend to like a microphone in front of my face! Last minute, I was needed to sing this last Sunday and I was so nervous that my hands were sweating and I had trouble holding onto the silly microphone! I did really enjoy it but I hope it gets easier the more I do it!

Isaac is officially signed up for baseball again this year and in a couple weeks it will be Ian's turn to get him signed up for his first year of teeball. I am sure it is going to get interesting trying to balance both boys playing this year but we are excited for both of them.

This weekend, Marcy, Josh and Audrey are flying to Kansas for a quick visit before they head to Josh's parents house. We are going to make a fast two day trip of our own to Haviland so we can see them too! It seems like forever since Emma and I flew out to Oregon last May to visit them and the girls had so much fun together then, I am sure they are going to be happy to see each other again!

Well, Chris is home and it's time to finish cleaning the house for small group tonight. I also need to make the coffee cake so I don't have anybody mad at me! It's a weekly request!

Update

2009-02-11T12:49:00.000-06:00

Well, the second tornado in southern Oklahoma ended up being much more devastating than I realized last night when I made my previous post. It turned out to be a very large half mile wide tornado that ripped through a small town called Lone Grove. I have seen different numbers here on the internet but at least 8, possibly as many as 15, people were killed during the storm and as many as 30 people are still not accounted for. I will post more as I can. Please be praying for these people!

Is this February or May?

2009-02-10T20:28:00.000-06:00

We had some excitement today here in Oklahoma and it's usually the kind of excitement we see in the warmer months of April and May. An F3 tornado hit Edmond, a suburb on the north end of OKC! One of the weather guys got great footage of the tornado and fortunately there was only one report of injury from the storm. There was another large tornado in southern Oklahoma but I haven't heard any damage reports from it yet. We have had unbelievably nice weather (70's) the last several days and I even shut off the heater last Friday and have had the windows open, so I shouldn't be surprised that severe thunderstorms are in the forecast. It just seems so weird! We have been told that winter is basically over the first of March so I guess we really are in the South now! The front has passed us so there isn't much threat for the rest of the night, good news for Chris and I since Ian always comes into our bedroom to sleep when it is storming out. The house could be picked up and slammed back down and Isaac wouldn't wake up!

I'm not doing very good at this...

2009-02-04T14:24:00.000-06:00

I don't know why I am not very good at keeping up with this thing. It's not like I don't have a ton of crazy things going on in this house everyday that I could be writing about!!! Just this last Sunday, Isaac went to a friend's house for the afternoon and so I asked some friends of ours if Ian could hang out with them so that I wouldn't have to take home a whining, unhappy five year old. They were very happy to, thankfully, and Ian had a blast helping feed their cows.

Chuck later told me that after the time with Ian, he knew exactly who's son he was. Oh no, what did Ian do now??? Well, apparently, Ian "saw" a pheasant while they were driving to the barn. (There really aren't many, if any, pheasants in this part of the state but Chuck decided to play along.) Ian stated that he wanted to catch it and when Chuck asked him what he was going to do with it when he caught it, (I can just imagine Chuck and Ian racing across the field after this invisible bird), Ian replied...hahaha, oh my..."I'm going to stab it!" Hmmmm, I wonder where he learned that from???

Two "Ice" days

2009-01-28T18:36:00.000-06:00

We ended up with a couple inches of mostly ice and a little snow on top after it all started Monday afternoon. Isaac and Ian went out several times on Tuesday to sled down a little bitty hill in our front yard but it was so cold that they didn't stay out very long. Today was much better weather so I even let Emma go out this afternoon to ride with the boys on one of Chris' decoy sleds. She loved it and of course, she threw a fit when I brought her back inside. The boys just now walked in the door, they went with some friends of ours out to their families land and got to ride on the four wheeler and be towed on the sled. Lots of stories about face planting into the snow! :) Poor kids, this is probably all the snow that we are going to get down here in the south.

What a beautiful day!

2009-01-22T14:16:00.001-06:00

I feel like I could be wearing shorts today! It is supposed to be in the 70's so I got out and planted some bulbs in the front garden that I had bought from Isaac's school fundraiser in the fall. I know, I should have planted them in the fall but I never got around to it. I still want to get some houseplants re potted and I think I will try to tackle them after I get back from picking up the boys from school. We did spend some time at the city bike/walking trail yesterday and it felt so good to get outside and get some exercise. Emma rode part of the way in the stroller but wanted to get out and walk too so that was the end of my exercise since she wanted to stop and check everything out along the way! The weather is not going to last long since the high for Sunday is supposed to be 32 degrees so I might take the kids to the park again this afternoon, who needs to re pot plants anyway!? :)

Uggghhhh...

2009-01-18T17:47:00.001-06:00

As I sit here looking at a beautiful sunset, I wish the day had started as lovely as it is ending. I came home last night from a great girl's day out with girlfriend's from church and before long Isaac was throwing up. I was hoping it was going to be that simple, just one child sick but about 4:30am I was disappointed. I found Ian in the bathroom, emptying his stomach. I got him set up with a bowl of his own and headed back to bed, knowing that it might not be for long. I had a terrible time getting back to sleep as Chris was sleeping very restlessly and maybe about an hour later, he was up and visiting the toilet himself. The rest of the morning was spent in and out of bed, checking on all my pukers. I caught Chris at one point trying to get dressed for church and quickly let him know that he wasn't going to be going anywhere!!! I admire the dedication but I am sure no know would admire his germs if he did go to church! Isaac was feeling much better this morning and Ian only threw up a few more times before proclaiming that he "was all better"! It always amazes me how well kids bounce back from things like this! Chris is finally feeling like he will live through the day this evening and I am making homemade chicken noodle soup, that's what every good mommy makes for her sick little ones, isn't it??? :) Emma and I have seemed to miss out on all the fun but she did manage to find something to entertain herself with this afternoon. :)

Praying that you all are well and praying that we are all well soon too!

She's here!!!

2009-01-14T20:46:00.000-06:00

Hallie Marie Frazier was born this morning to my sister, Stacy and her hubby, Jeremie, at 9:25am!!! What a wonderful thing to be able to announce, a new niece! Stacy had a very short labor and Hallie was born just 10 minutes after Jeremie and Stacy arrived at the hospital in Pratt and we are all thankful for the Lord's favor as Hallie had the cord wrapped around both her neck and torso and there was a knot in it. A long labor could have been very dangerous. Stacy sounded great on the phone this morning, nothing like she had just had a baby! It has been very hard to be so far away and not being able to see her right away but we do plan to get to Haviland the last weekend of January, even though I am sure she will have changed so much by then! I will post pictures when I get some!

Sick

2009-01-13T16:07:00.000-06:00

I love owning a dog but I don't like having to pay a lot of money to keep them healthy very well. Our yellow lab that we have had for almost 2 years now is a great dog and Chris has trained him very well to be his hunting partner but we have been having problems with his ears. It seems that he keeps getting a type of yeast infection in them and sparing you all the gory details, he shakes his head a lot and breaks blood vessels in his ear. It has turned out to cost quite a bit for the vet to drain his ear and today was Gunner's second round. Poor dog. My husband isn't feeling too great about it either since it both cost us a lot of money that we just don't have and Gunner is done hunting for the rest of the season because of his ear. Poor Chris. Hahaha! The vet said something about changing Gunner's food so hopefully this will help!

Chris is feeling normal again after his nasty time with the flu. I have been sick too but differently, two weeks ago, my right lymph node in my throat swelled up so bad that it became very difficult to swallow. I thought it was getting better and then this weekend (why does it always happen on the weekend?) it got so bad that the Tylenol wasn't helping and I would double over in pain every time that I had to swallow. I'm not talking about swallowing food or drink, just swallowing. Something that we all take for granted until we can't do it anymore! I somehow made it to the doctor on Monday and he gave me an antibiotic to take for 10 days and today I have been finding relief finally. At least the strep test came negative so I don't have to worry about that but this sure hasn't been fun. The good thing in all this, my kid's haven't gotten sick at all!!!!!!!! Praise the Lord!

Home again.

2009-01-08T10:32:00.000-06:00

Yes, we made it all the way to Colorado and home again! Chris got the flu just before we left and so I got to drive all 12 hours to Colorado Springs Chris groaning and moaning in the passenger seat. Emma didn't travel very well either but Isaac was awesome and tried really hard to keep her happy. She only slept for about 15 minutes when we were an hour away from Chris' parents house!!! Not a day that I would like to repeat! We had a great time with Chris' family and Brody's baby dedication on Sunday will always be a priceless memory for Chris and I. The cousins got along great and Emma got to learn how to go up and down stairs, with only one tumble down the half flight of stairs. She did a lot better on the trip home and it was nice to only have a six and half hour drive to my Mom and Dad's in Haviland the first day. We did Christmas that night with Stacy, Jeremie, Jace, Mom and Dad. It felt really, really good to finally get home again the next day but it is taking me forever to get the house back into shape! I misplaced my camera most of the time while we were in CO so I don't have many pictures but I will try to get them posted soon! Need to do some house cleaning first!

Maybe...

2008-12-29T16:36:00.001-06:00

We are hoping to leave early tomorrow morning for Chris' parents in Colorado Springs, as long as nothing else comes up! There always seems to be something. We did get a surprise when Chris went to get our rental car. We reserved a mid-size car knowing that Chris' mom was sending us a coupon for free upgrade. When Chris got there this afternoon, they said that the car we were supposed to have was still at the shop getting the oil changed and would be another 45 minute wait. The guy was super nice and let Chris have a 08 Dodge Club cab truck instead of waiting!!! It's definitely not going to help on our gas mileage but it will be fun to drive! The boys spent several minutes out checking it all out and moving their booster seats in after Chris brought it home. I just pray that it doesn't decide to rain or snow! Haha!

...and just like that, it's over!

2008-12-28T14:42:00.000-06:00

Well, the holiday may have come and gone already but my house still looks like Christmas day! I can't seem to get all the toys, wrapping paper and empty boxes all picked up, especially since the kids keep playing with the toys and we keep getting boxes in the mail with more presents in them, not that I am complaining about the great gifts from friends and family! We are leaving tomorrow afternoon after Chris performs a funeral for a church member's mother in the morning and I am hoping to get most of the house cleaned up before we leave because there is nothing worse than coming home to a dirty, cluttered house after a long trip in the car!

We had a great Christmas and this was our first time at home with just us. In a way it was nice but I think we all agreed that celebrating with family is much more fun! Our youth pastor, Kris, spent most of the day with us because his wife and baby boy had flown to Iowa that morning to be with her family while Kris goes to south Texas with our youth for Friends Student Conference this week and I must say it is strange not sending my husband off with them too. I am sure glad to have him at home with us though!

We also celebrated Ian's 5th birthday Christmas night. I asked Ian during the day if he felt like 5 and he said no, but yesterday when I asked him again, he said yes! Haha. Guess it took a few days to soak in! Our friend, Joyce, made an awesome train cake for Ian's birthday and it was a big hit, especially the next day when I found Emma sitting on the table eating green frosting and M&M's. I took video of it but can't get it to load on here so you will just have to believe me! :)

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas also. Our family is excited to see what God has in store for us this year and we pray that you all know his peace!

I forgot...again...

2008-12-10T17:06:00.000-06:00

Well, I have always known that my memory was not the best but I am starting to think there is something wrong with me! Two weeks ago, I was talking with a friend at church and she asked me to plan the Christmas party for Pioneer Club. The party is going to be this next Wednesday night and guess what? I forgot all about it until she called me today!!!!! Yikes! Nothing like planning something last minute! I know we talked about what we wanted to do two weeks ago but I can't remember anything we talked about so tonight during Pioneer Club, we are going to talk about it all again. AND I AM WRITING IT DOWN!!! We are having a star theme to go along with our Stars for Kickapoo. At least I bought the boy's gifts for under the tree but it would have been nice if I had remembered the Christmas party, too. Guess, I'd better run and get busy! Christmas is only 14 days away!!!

Real or fake?

2008-12-02T09:16:00.000-06:00

I just can't decide...we have talked about getting a real Christmas tree this year since we are getting a new fake PRELIT Christmas tree after the holiday, so this would be a good year to have a real one. But...I am just not sure I want to mess with watering a real one and we would have to buy a stand also. I would love to have the real smell but I worry about Emma pulling the whole thing down this year since she is bigger. She is also going to be real fun trying to keep her away from all the ornaments on the tree, she's a girl and attracted to pretty shiny things! Haha! We are supposed to go to Stillwater on Saturday with our friends who want a real tree too and I guess I will have to decide before then.

Family Time!

2008-11-26T18:17:00.000-06:00

We are in Haviland now with my parents, my sister and her family, and my aunt & uncle from Minnesota (arriving tomorrow) to celebrate the holiday. It has been such a wonderful time to be with family again and seeing how much nephew Jace has grown. And of course, the holiday is focused around eating and hunting! Chris saw six bucks this morning but didn't get a shot. Isaac got to go out with Poppa tonight and saw an eight point but nobody got a shot at it either. Almost time for another meal so I'd better go! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Should be packing!

2008-11-24T16:31:00.000-06:00

I really shouldn't be on this thing but just wanted to say that we are headed to Kansas for Thanksgiving! We leave tomorrow morning, with a stop in Derby for adjustments and then on to Mom and Dad's in Haviland. I am so excited to spend some time with the family and to see what Jeremie and Stacy have got done on their house! My aunt Sandy and her hubby, Rod, are also coming for the holiday and they are towing Chris' "new" boat down for us. Chris bought it online and it was only 15 minutes from Rod and Sandy so it has worked out great! Yes...it's a hunting boat...what else can I say? Well, lots to do! Talk again soon!

It's cleaning time!

2008-11-20T09:30:00.001-06:00

We have two different guests coming today to visit and this house is in need of a good cleaning! We have been so busy the last week or so that I have been just getting the necessary stuff done and letting everything else go but now it is time to clean!!! First, one of our past youth members, Eric is coming through on his way to OKC to visit his brother. Eric is a pastor now at Ramona Friends Church and such a wonderful feeling for Chris and I to see one of our "kids" in ministry! Then later this afternoon, Brad and Chelsea, missionaries from Rwanda, are coming over to talk to Chris about their plan for Sunday morning. They are speaking at our church and since Chris is going to be gone both Friday and Saturday in Wichita for meetings, they are going to get it all straight today. I love company but I rather dread the house cleaning that has to come first! I sure love the clean house afterwards though! I think I am going to make a coffee cake also, it's always nice to have something tasty to offer friends! Well, I'd better get off this thing and get moving!

Cheesecake Factory!!!

2008-11-19T16:40:00.000-06:00

Sorry it's been so long since I have posted something on here but I guess I just didn't feel like I had anything worth posting about that would interest anyone else. I then realized that I had started this blog for me and even if it didn't interest others, it was still worth posting for me! Not being selfish or anything!

Today was a great day! Amazingly, Chris said "yes" when I asked to have a day off to shop with my dear friends Shannon and Sena in OKC! We left about 8:30 and had a great time shopping at a great mall in the city, course we spent most of our time in Kirkland's but that's fine since I love the store! After a couple more stores, we headed across the parking lot to The Cheesecake Factory, I had never eaten there before and had a most yummy lunch! And of course, we had some amazing cheesecake!!! By the time we were done eating, it was time to head home because I had to be back home at 2:30 to go pick up the boys from school. Next time, I am making plans for someone else to pick up the boys so we can stay and shop longer! It was so much fun having out with the girls and I can't wait until I get the chance again!

Emma's ponytail

2008-11-10T08:49:00.000-06:00

We tried yesterday to put Emma's hair in a ponytail. I had been wondering if it was long enough yet and it was...kinda! Haha! She doesn't like me pulling on her hair so I had to be quick. And it was in just long enough for me to take some pictures of it and then she started wrestling with her brothers and it came out. Don't think she is ready for ponytails all the time but it sure was cute! My baby is growing up!

Sixth picture

2008-11-06T12:03:00.000-06:00

My friend, Tammy, had posted something about a picture challenge so here is mine. The sixth picture in my sixth picture file is of Isaac and Ian in 2007 when we were in Colorado. Ian looks so itty bitty in this picture!!! We went up into the mountains one day so that the boys could go fishing and I took them on a little nature walk when they got bored. I also wanted to share the seventh picture, it's our discovery on our walk!

From God's word.

2008-11-03T15:37:00.000-06:00

I normally don't get into all the election stuff very much and don't forward all the political emails that I get either. This last Sunday we were talking about the two different presidential candidates, and our teacher had found a great verse in the bible that really reassured me that everything is going to be okay, no matter who wins tomorrow! Romans 13:1-2, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." What a great feeling to know that our next president is exactly who God wants it to be!!! Don't get me wrong, I am not going to sit back and not voice my opinion at the polls tomorrow but I don't have to worry if Mr Obama becomes our president. GOD HAS IT ALL IN CONTROL!!! It's a whole lot easier trusting God, who is in control, than worrying myself into a frenzy about something that I can't control! Hope this helps!

2008-11-01T14:17:00.000-05:00

Here are the pics of the kiddos from last night! It was 80 degrees outside so I felt bad for Emma and Ian with their cold weather costumes! The third pic is Emma throwing a fit because she didn't get to go with Isaac and Ian trick or treating. It's a long story and frankly she got the short end of the stick but I wasn't the one taking them out so that's just the way it is! She was better after some cuddle time with Mommy! Enjoy!

Fall fun

2008-10-30T17:16:00.001-05:00

Wow, it's been a while so here is an update on what we have been doing lately! Fall is finally here and I am so excited for the cool weather, warm sweaters and the beautiful fall colors right outside my windows! I must say that Oklahoma does fall a little better than Kansas. We are still very much enjoying being Okies and I think we are fitting into life here pretty well.

Last Saturday, we got to spend some time at a friend's farm helping them harvest (my nice word for it) their chickens. Chris and the boys went first in the morning and then Chris called me and said that I needed to bring Emma out to see our little farmer, Isaac, catching chickens and even chopping their heads off!!! Oops, sorry. I wasn't going to tell you about that! Just be glad that I don't have a picture of it to show you! Haha! Here are some pics of Emma getting to meet her first kitty and she obviously doesn't share her father's dislike of cats...

Last night we had fall festival at our church and we did a Bible Walk. I was in charge of it and there's nothing like diving in feet first! After much worrying on my part, it went great and I think all the kids had a great time! I asked my wonderful hubby to take pictures for me and he managed to get lots of pictures of my little butterfly Emma, but practically none of our other equally adorable kiddos, Isaac and Ian!!! :( They will be dressed up again tomorrow night for trick or tricking in downtown. I'LL get pics of them then!) Thanks to our friend, Jonathan, Emma now thinks the best thing to do with glow sticks is to stick them down the front of her onesies! At least, I can find her in the dark! I just wish I had got a picture of her last night in the dark. She has been playing with them today too but it's just not the same in daylight! Emma's little friend, Caiden, was dressed as a monkey and their were soooooo cute together! Emma was getting a little tired in the picture with me! It was a great evening and we are hoping to do it all again next year but with more bible stories and inviting the community to come too!

OKC Zoo!!!

2008-10-21T16:30:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful time this last weekend with our best friends, Geron and Lorrie! We got to stay Friday night in their beautiful new home and stuffed ourselves at Eischen's (no idea if I spelled that right), a very popular and very good fried chicken place west of the OKC. It is an interesting place, number one, it is a bar (non smoking, thankfully) and number two, they don't seat anybody! You just wander around until you find a table that is about done and you stand there until they leave! Slightly uncomfortable for me but that's just how it is! Very, very busy but that's because it is that good!

Saturday morning we went with Geron and Lorrie to the OKC zoo. We hadn't had a chance since we moved here to Chandler to check it out and the boys were very excited about it. We were there about three hours and didn't even see the African animals but the Oklahoma Trail was the best exhibit by far. I wanted to take a picture of all the boardwalks and water fall but Isaac had the camera. Before we all fell over dead, we headed back to Geron and Lorrie's, ordered pizza (no one wanted to cook after all that) and watched the KU/OU game. It was a great weekend and we always have a lot of fun with Geron and Lorrie!!! It is nice to live closer to them now!

Update on sick.

2008-10-14T10:19:00.000-05:00

Well, Chris went to the doctor this morning and he found out that he has a severe sinus infection and bronchitis. The doctor has given him strict instructions to stay in bed the next two days because he is concerned that it could turn into pneumonia and we definitely don't want that! This is going to be a hard time for my hubby because he doesn't want to be confined to the bed when there is so much to be done! And it also means that I will have to skip Friends Women this evening to go to Isaac's parent teacher conference instead of Chris. We could sure use your prayers for Chris and that he will actually rest the next two days and recover from this quickly. Thank you in advance!

As promised.

2008-10-12T15:54:00.000-05:00

Last night was our church's annual Hayride and Wiener Roast at the Hick's home. Chris wasn't able to go and it could have been quite the time getting all three kids ready and out the door but I was rescued. Jonny and Amanda came over and picked up the boys at 4pm and took them with to his parents house (the Hick's) to help get everything ready. It was great being able to just get Emma and I ready but we were still a little late. Oh well. The evening was perfect for being out by the campfire and I hardly ever saw the boys all evening. They were either on hayrides, playing football, playing hide and seek or playing capture the flag with glow sticks. Emma loved the glow sticks, which was nice since she didn't want to be held. She wanted to wander everywhere and this way I could keep track of her with her glow sticks! She didn't like the hayride at first but by the time we made it back to the campfire, she was bouncing up and down in excitement. I know that the boys would have liked to be out there all night long and I know I could have sat and talked with friends long into the night too! When it was all done, I had a terrible time getting everyone collected and loaded into the expedition. It was such a great evening and I wish we could do it more often! As tired as we all were from the evening, both boys woke up during the night, at seperate times, with leg cramps! Since Chris was sick it was my job to get up everytime and get them some motrin. Can't wait till he is feeling better! Here are some pics from the evening!

Sick...

2008-10-12T09:58:00.000-05:00

Well, this has definitely been a season of sick in our house. Emma got a cold last weekend while we were in Haviland and still kinda has a runny nose lingering. Then Monday morning, Chris got sick and had a terrible week! He was not able to go to the Hayride and Wiener Roast church party last night, pictures to come in the next post, and this morning is at church but said he isn't feeling the greatest. And yes, I am at home when I should be at church, with another sick child. Isaac started throwing up this morning, so Emma and I are at home taking care of him while Ian is at church with Daddy. I had felt this morning when Isaac threw up the first time that he had just been coughing and got his gag reflex going. So we finished getting ready for church and headed out the door. After getting Emma delivered to the nursery, I noticed that Isaac wouldn't leave my side and the next thing I knew he was in the bathroom puking again! So...here we are again, hanging out at home, the place that I feel like I have been way too much this week. Good thing that I took a little time to myself yesterday at the coffee shop! And it was good timing too, right after I ordered, Jonny, Amanda, Kris and Amber walked in! So great to have good friends to talk to! I just keep praying that I don't get sick, oh Lord, please no!

What should I do?

2008-10-07T21:41:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking for the past couple of weeks of selling Creative Memories products again but I just can't make up my mind. If I am going to do it, I want to be in whole heartedly but I think I am a little unsure if it's what I want to do with my free time. I love scrapbooking but I am not sure I am good at "being creative" for people. I know that's not really that important, I just need to be encouraging and supportive. Hmmmm, I am so bad at making decisions. I may just give it some time and see how things go in the next few months. Any suggestions or comments???

This could be a long one.

2008-10-06T22:18:00.000-05:00

I guess I was taking a little break. That and this last week has been just a little bit busy...total understatement! Chris was going crazy trying to get everything that a senior pastor needs to get done during a normal week, although he only had three days to do it! Thursday morning we headed out with the Smithermans to Haviland, Kansas for the annual Barclay Auxiliary Auction. What used to be a 2 hour drive from Rose Hill is now a 4 and a half hour drive from Chandler but it was fun to travel with friends! We safely delivered Kris and Amber to Kris' parents house about dinner time and it felt good to step into Mom and Dad's log home again after such a long drive. It wasn't fun, however, to find out that Emma had totally soaked diaper, her clothes and car seat! Yuck! It was great fun to get to see Jeremie, Stacy and Jace that night for dinner and then it was everybody to bed since we had a big day ahead of us!

Friday dawned bright and early, at least I think it did...I didn't get up to check it out. Hahaha! Chris and Dad were deer hunting that morning and Mom was off to work so it was just me trying to get all three little ones ready to head out the door for the Haviland Play Day Parade at 9am. Needless to say...we missed the parade. Sorry kiddos. BUT we did make it to play day at the school and there were so many fun things to do that it didn't take long to get their minds off the missing candy. Isaac got to run in four races, the 3rd grade foot race, Dad/son race (with Uncle Jeremie since Chris was at Barclay board meetings), Mom/son race (with Amber S. since she was really wanting to run in a race and I wasn't! Heehee!) and the grandparent/grandchild race (with Jeremie's mom since Poppa was farming again)!!! Isaac won blue ribbons in both the Dad and Mom race (thanks Jeremie and Amber!!!) and a green ribbon in the G/G race (thanks Carolyn!!!). Ian didn't want to run in any of the races and entertained himself the entire time at the play houses set up for the little ones. Emma just wanted to walk everywhere and was very mad when I made her come back so that I could watch Isaac race.

After play day was done, we headed to Barclay for lunch with just about everybody! Hahaha! It was so much fun and even Daddy was there to eat lunch with us. After lunch, Stacy stayed at Mom and Dad's so I could put Emma down for a nap and then take the boys up to ride in the tractor with Poppa. I thought the boys would just ride with my Dad in the grain tractor but after we picked them up we learned that they each got to ride in a combine and Isaac even got to drive the one he was in! They both saw a ton of pheasants and Ian even got to radio Poppa and tell him that he scared out a doe!

Chris and I picked up the boys after a couple hours and headed back into town for the Barclay soccer game and ended up eating dinner there at the game also. There were so many great friends to talk to and even several that we had not seen in a long time! The soccer game ended after double overtime with a tied score and then it was time for the Alumni game. That was just as entertaining! And of course, we had to check out the items that were starting to collect already for the auction inside the gym! Yea for the quilts!

It turned out to be a little chilly Saturday morning and I was the bad Mom who didn't have coats for my boys as they played outside at the Kid's Carnival. Fortunately, it warmed up pretty quick! The auction was a blast and I don't think that I sat down very much at all but it was great to see so many more friends and family! It is always wonderful to get to see Aunt Ruth and Uncle Gene! Chris and I weren't able to buy anything at the auction but we didn't go away empty handed thanks to Aunt Ruth and Uncle Gene! They bought the boys a tractor, John Deere of course!!! and a Cinderella doll for Emma!

Emma was quite the character all morning long. We made four or five rounds of the gym carrying a little friend's dolly. She didn't want anyone to pick her up as we went along and seemed to be on a mission. She did take time to wave once to a cute little old couple on one of our rounds, it was so sweet! Emma fell asleep while Stef was taking her for a walk in her stroller after lunch and slept almost the whole time I was helping deliver the quilts from the selling stage to be folded up and delivered to the buyer, even with the auctioners jabbering the whole time! Too soon it was time for us to head back to Mom and Dad's and pack up for home. It was a great trip but I am afraid that it took a toll on our immune systems. Emma developed a cold on Saturday and this morning Chris woke up with a headache and congestion. Both the boys today have made comments that they felt like they were going to throw up but the never did. Who knows... I have been fighting a sore throat and feel completely exhausted but would do the whole week over again in a heartbeat! Thank you Jesus for such a wonderful time with family and friends!

Let's go stud!

2008-09-30T22:00:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard something come out of your child's mouth and wonder, now where in the world did that come from??? Chris and I had one of those moments this morning as Chris and Ian were getting ready to head out the door for school. Chris came back in the living room to tell me something and Ian, my four year old, piped up, "Let's go STUD!!!" Oh my! Hahahahaha! Not sure what to say after that...

What an awesome God!

2008-09-26T16:08:00.000-05:00

Thanks to a wonderful website called Caring Bridge, I have been able to get frequent updates on a little friend of ours from Rose Hill that had been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of tumorous cancer. Charlie is only four years old and his older sister, Annie, was a classmate of Isaac's in both preschool and second grade. We have prayed and supported Charlie from the very beginning and it was quite the blow to all of us that someone so little had to go through something so devastating. Even with our move to Chandler, we have continued to receive updates and about the time we were moving, Charlie was going through the last of his chemo. Back in the beginning, the doctors tried surgery to remove the tumors but they were too hard and none of them were able to be removed and so Charlie started chemo.

Today, after more than a year since he was diagnosed, Charlie went through surgery again and they were able to remove EVERY LAST TUMOR!!! Praise the Lord! I can't even imagine what joy Charlie's parents are feeling right now!

Look for the stripes!

2008-09-17T11:12:00.000-05:00

We had a little excitement around town on Monday and Tuesday! I went to pick up the boys from school as usual and as Ian and I neared Isaac's school, I had to stop for a police barricade. They were checking all the cars heading towards the school and I started wondering what it was all about as we inched closer. Soon it was my turn to be checked out and I politely asked the officer what we were all being stopped for because he hadn't said anything to me other than, "You're good." He very nonchalantly said that there was an escaped convict...like it was no big deal! Well, I have since found out that this happens every now and then because the officers that transport the inmates from jail to their court appearances or lawyer meetings are all elderly and portly. Hmmm. It led to some very interesting conversation with Ian as we drove the rest of the way to pick up Isaac.

So when I pulled up to Isaac's school, it was pretty tight security and all the students stayed inside and were only called out when the parent was waiting at the front door for them and they were ushered directly into the car by a teacher. There was also a police officer standing at the front door. I was surprised after going through all this that there hadn't been any sign at Ian's school pickup that anything was up! I did remember seeing one police car sitting at the corner of the playground but I just figured that he was there to keep cars from driving past the school buses that were loading and unloading kiddos.

That evening we went to Jonny and Amanda's house for dinner and found out more about what was going on. The 28 year old was just getting done meeting with his lawyer about noon and just as he was being escorted through the doors back into the jail area, his lawyer walked out the door to the outside just a few steps away! HELLO! So anyway, he ran out the door and was on the loose for almost 24 hours here in our little town before he was caught when he walked into a gas station in the south part of town the next day about mid morning, reportedly with his jump suit pants still on!!! Now we do see several inmates that are allowed to do yard work at the court house and they have the traditional black and white striped jump suits on and it has always started interesting conversations with my four year old but I am not sure if the escaped convict was wearing those striped pants or maybe the bright orange ones but either way he was a dead give away! Our friend Jonny works at the lumber yard right next door to the gas station where the man was caught but he was mad because he almost missed the whole thing while he was in the bathroom! Haha! I am just glad that I don't have to keep every door locked even when we are home anymore. Plus, with the planes and helicopters flying right over town all day and the K-9 units scouring Chandler, the neighborhood dogs had been barking nonstop and I have realized that there are a lot of dogs in this neighborhood! Thankfully, Gunner wasn't one of them that barked all day but I did catch him howling every now and then. Haha.

Surprise!!!

2008-09-15T14:11:00.000-05:00

Well, I thought I was getting a BLACK dishwasher but when Rip and Betty showed up with it around noon, Rip said that he was only able to get one in red...haha Rip. I know you better than that already! Betty and I sat in the living room and visited while the boys tried to fit the little bit larger than needed dishwasher into the space where the other one had been. It was fun listening to the "boys" as they tried to figure out how to make it fit. They kept bringing in more tools! Then Chris was in talking to us and mentioned something about it being stainless steel...WHAT!!! Rip got me after all!!! I have said it before and I will continue to say it...God knows the little desires of our heart and he delights in seeing us happy. Even if it means a stainless steel dishwasher!

New Stuff

2008-09-15T10:19:00.000-05:00

There has been and will be a lot of noise around my house today. We are having a new sink and counter top put in back in the mudroom this morning, not that we needed one but someone in the church got a stainless steel one somewhere and so they are putting it in here! I haven't looked at it but I am sure it is nice.

Saturday, I was just a little dismayed to find out that after I had loaded the entire dishwasher, it won't start! A couple days prior it had done that same thing but Chris was able to get it started eventually. I guess it has died for good this time. Our head of Stewards Committee is coming sometime today to measure the space and then is going to get a new black one from Lowe's. I had asked for a stainless steel one to match the stove before I was informed how expensive they are!!! Don said they were $900!!! Yikes, black will do just fine. Haha!

Also, Isaac has been taking piano lessons for the last two weeks and his wonderful teacher, Ms. Helen, has graciously found an apartment piano for us to have! It will be great for Isaac to have something to practice on here at the house instead of trying to find time for him to at church. Now I just have to unpack and cleanup the last pile of boxes so that we can have a spot for it in the living room. Such fun!

Hmm, Hmm, fried chicken!

2008-09-12T21:59:00.000-05:00

I have never been a big fan of fried chicken, probably given to the fact that I never really had it growing up but tonight...I found that I LOVE Grandma Bertha's fried chicken!!! Sorry, it's not a restaurant, she's a wonderful lady in our church and it was GOOD! It was great because she didn't put a ton of breading on it. I am one of those people that likes to see what she is eating and I sure liked what I saw!!! It also helped that we were with great friends. I was about to help myself to more chicken when Amanda pulled out the dessert that she made, Death By Chocolate! I thought for sure that I was going to have to be rolled out the door when it was time to go home, YIKES! Good thing we sat around talking for quite awhile because I wasn't wanting to be walking anywhere for awhile. LOVE IT!!! Thanks Grandma Bertha!

Our first night of Pioneer Club

2008-09-11T10:36:00.000-05:00

Chris and I have never been a part of a church that had Pioneer Club so this is a new experience to say the least! Last night was our kickoff night and we had planned to have a picnic outside with a bounce house but as it turned out, it poured rain all day. Good thing we have a gym and could set up everything inside! The bounce house was of course the big attraction and Ian had a hard time letting the other kiddos have a turn. We also had kick ball, hula hoops (still can't hula hoop!), watermelon and drinks. It seemed like everyone had a great time and the HS/JH group even got some time inside the bounce house. After everyone was done, Emma and I climbed in to bounce but she wasn't too excited about it. I can't blame her, it was terribly hot inside there, so we bounced for just a little bit and then we ungracefully climbed out! Haha!

Kris and Amber had a great group of HS/JH also and they seemed to have a lot of fun! So much fun that one of the kids put a large hole in the sheet rock during Musical Chairs! Haha! I think Kris was really worried about it but my Chris assured him if that was the only thing they broke while they were here, then they would be doing really good! I am sure that Kris is glad that Chris was a youth pastor for ten years and therefore knows what to expect from a youth group!

Couldn't resist...

2008-09-09T00:20:00.000-05:00

I know I already blogged today but we have such a fun night that I didn't want to forget any of it! It started with our neighbor friends Doug and Kasi walking past our house and we all ended up outside talking with the kiddos riding their bikes and scooters all around. We have enjoyed so much getting to know them and they have two boys, Isaac, who is Ian's age and Jack who is a couple months younger than Emma. Ian and their Isaac have so much fun together and we have a hard time separating them when it's time to go home. Thank you Jesus for letting us live in town where we can step outside and talk to people!

Shannon showed up for our girls night out and I loaded Emma up and we headed out for Shawnee with a few side trips to see some of the housing developments in south Chandler. (I am always shopping for a new house for us). We had an absolutely yummy dinner at Red Lobster and the highlight most definitely had to be when I fed Emma some of our Coconut Shrimp. She made some of the greatest faces and gaging motions until I was able to swipe it out of her mouth!!! Shannon and I had a good laugh about it too. The mall was just across the parking lot and headed into Ross. Now I have shopped in a Ross before but I must have totally forgot about all the awesome deals that can be found there! I was in bad need of some new church clothes and for $32 I was able to come out with a black skirt, a burgundy dress shirt and a brown tank top! SCORE! Emma was getting tired so we decided to head for home.

When we got back to my house, Shannon's boys were still there watching the very late Broncos game and we had another couple hours of great fellowship with them before everyone headed home. Even Emma was up until about 11:30 entertaining everyone! Now it is 12:30am and I really need to go to bed so that I can get up sometime decent tomorrow morning (hopefully not too early!). What a awesome evening with good friends and I don't think I have ever learned so many great sayings in such a short amount of time before! Haha!

Boy secrets

2008-09-08T12:58:00.000-05:00

After Sunday morning church we headed out to Grandma Bertha's, Jonny's grandma, for lunch and as always, the boys wanted four wheeler rides as soon as anyone was done eating. First Isaac and Amanda headed out and then it was Ian and Jonny's turn. After them, Isaac wanted to take Chris out and show him the Teal that were on one the pond's. Later that afternoon, Ian told me that Jonny and him had some secrets that only boys could know, like Isaac and Daddy. Haha! They had checked out the old cabin where Jonny used to play as a boy and I can only imagine the stories that Jonny has told my young impressionable son! He said that Jonny also showed him the pond and the boat where his Grandpa died when he fell out of the boat and drowned...it sounds like Ian got quite the education yesterday. I can't wait until Jonny and Amanda have some kiddos of their own! Heehee!

First day of goose hunting

2008-09-06T10:07:00.000-05:00

Today was the first day that Chris and the guys got out to hunt resident geese during this special season to get rid of the the ones that stay around all year and destroy farmer's crops and golf courses. The whole family went out last night and made sure that Chris would know exactly what the geese were doing for the morning. We had a great time checking out both the old lake (Chandler Lake) and the new lake (Bell Cow Lake) and the boys reminded Chris and I that they wanted to go camping sometime soon! There are a bunch of great campgrounds around both lakes and it seems silly not to take advantage of the fact that they are only about five minutes from our house! Guess we will need to break out the tent and sleeping bags.

Well, the hunt this morning didn't go that well as the geese decided they wanted to be in another field just south of where the boys were set up. It sure didn't help that a group of guys who also had permission to hunt the field showed up just after Chris, Jonny and Paul got decoys set up. The farmer had told Jonny that the other guys weren't planning on hunting until Sunday and since Chris was already there, the second group decided to set up just a little ways away from our guys...in the same field...ummm, that's not cool. There really wasn't enough cover for seven blinds and Chris told them that but it really didn't seem to matter to the other guys. They were determined to hunt there too. And the geese were smarter than all of them since only two even came into gun range all morning and they circled and left before anyone even got a shot off. Haha! Sorry, I think that's funny...don't tell Chris!

Stillwater

2008-09-05T12:18:00.000-05:00

We had a fun trip to Stillwater today with Kris and Amber! The purpose of the trip was for all four of us to get our new Oklahoma driver's licenses but once we got there, we realized that Chris was the only one that had all the information that he needed to get his. Arrgghhh! So we decided to make the most of the morning in town without our kids...we went shopping! Well, it was just Lowe's and Linen's and Things but it was great! We also stopped at Chick-Fil-A for my Chris because he absolutely loves it (yes, it was only 9am but he is a die hard)!!! It really was a great time even though Kris, Amber and I will have to go again so that we can get ours too! Now I am enjoying a relaxing time on the computer, watching TLC, while the boys are at school, Emma is sleeping and Chris is at the office! Nice!

New Cellphones

2008-09-04T19:18:00.000-05:00

Yeah! I have a new phone and it is awesome!!! I have recently been introduced to the wide world of texting and I must admit, I really like it. I know, I know...it's not as personal but you could say that about everything electronic. Why don't we go back to the day of walking over to your neighbors house to ask them over for dinner the next night instead of calling them on the phone? My rationalizing for all this technology is simple...I probably wouldn't walk over and invite my neighbor to dinner at all since I am lazy! At least this way, I still talk to my friends even though it isn't in person. And you all wouldn't be reading this either if it wasn't for all this wonderful technology, well, I am not sure that anyone is reading this anyway but just in case.

Isaac LOVED his piano lesson today and I think he is picking it up very well!!! As soon as he got home, he got out his piano books and did his "homework". I think we may have to look into getting a piano for this house so that he can practice here at home and not at the church, which is the plan for now.

Piano lessons

2008-09-04T12:51:00.000-05:00

This afternoon, Isaac has his first piano lessons with Ms Helen and I think he is really excited. It may be the fact that she has five pianos in her living room...a baby grand, an upright and three electric pianos. Isaac's favorite is the electrics because he can play with all different types of instruments and he thinks that he will know how to play all of them if he just learns to play the piano! Haha! This should be fun! I am thinking about learning myself so I think a piano here in our house may be something that happens soon in the future. Course Chris wants a boat and a four wheeler so we will see what happens first. Gotta run, Emma needs to go down for a nap and I need a shower! God Bless!

Something different

2008-09-03T09:39:00.000-05:00

I was just enjoying watching the wind blowing outside and thinking how this is the first day that it has actually been windy here in OK. Most people wouldn't even think about it but when you come from Kansas and the wind blows everyday, it seems a little strange to realize that it doesn't blow everyday here in Oklahoma! It makes me want to get outside and go for a walk! Maybe when Emma wakes up. I think I am actually missing the wind in Kansas...just maybe.

Another great weekend!

2008-09-01T19:00:00.000-05:00

Well, Labor Day weekend is winding down and I must say it was a GREAT weekend! Stacy, Jace and Mom got here Friday evening just in time for Isaac's eighth birthday party with friends, Jonny, Amanda, Kris, Amber and Aiden. Isaac wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and it was a big hit! Isaac also did very well on presents. He got a Razor scooter with helmet and elbow & knee pads from Chris and I, a tennis racket and tennis balls from Grandma and Poppa, a table top basketball game from Stacy, Jeremie and Jace, and a wallet and flip flops from Jonny and Amanda. He said later that night that he got everything that he wanted!!! Good job everybody! Chris and I are still going to get him a bible with his name on it this week since he has been asking for one but we couldn't get one before his birthday, on account of our poor planning.

Saturday was spent trying to figure out where to put all the pictures that I have and I had been waiting until Mom and Stacy got here so that I could have their help before putting a bunch of holes in the wall. We also rearranged Emma's room so that it would work better and I love it! We hung the quilt that Mom made her on the wall and I was able to finally get her name decal up on the wall above her bed. I need to take some pictures and post them on here of her room! We also hung my Great Grandma Bullis' quilt on the big wall in the living room and I really like it too! Thanks to Stacy's great mind! It was sure interesting trying to get things done with the two little ones crawling around and getting into things but we got most of it done while they were taking their naps.

After church on Sunday, we invited Kris, Amber, Aiden and Kris' brother, Kyle, over for some very yummy ham cooked in Dr Pepper! It was great! We rested for a few hours and then headed to Sunday night church where Ian couldn't keep from yawning loudly while Daddy was preaching no matter how many times I scolded him. Afterwards we headed over to Jonny and Amanda's for hamburgers with a bunch of friends. There were so many people in their house but it was a good time of visiting with everybody. I think Mom and Stacy even had a good time.

I kept hoping that I would be able to sleep in one of these mornings but with Stacy and Mom here, I was wanting to spend as much time with them as possible so when I heard Jace awake this morning I was up. Course, it helped a little that Chris and I had been sleeping in the boys beds this weekend to give Mom and Stacy our bed! And Isaac kept banging his head against my bed all night long for some reason. It never seemed to wake him up but the ant walking across his forehead this morning sure did! Haha! We were invited over to the Rozell's for lunch and Mom and Stacy decided that would be a good time to head for home. They enjoyed more of the Dr Pepper ham for a quick lunch before they left though!

Everyone is just hanging out this evening and trying to enjoy the last little bit of the holiday weekend before the normal routine starts again tomorrow. It sure is nice to know that it is a short week though! Emma has been prefecting her walking skills and is quite good at walking now. She can even turn around and manuever around objects in her path. We even got video of Jace walking this weekend for the first time and it was so neat to watch trying it out for the first time. He was so proud of himself and would even clap when he did something that he thought was tricky! I take Emma in tomorrow morning to recheck the double ear infection and for a complete checkup so I could use the prayers as she doesn't like anyone checking her out and she sure won't like the shots she is going to get either! Hmmm, I think it might be about time for some ice cream...

Another busy weekend on it's way!

2008-08-29T11:29:00.001-05:00

Here we go again! Or maybe I should say, it is still going! We have never been so busy in our entire lives and I must say...we are LOVING it! Being a stay at home mom is great but in the past, I would get a little stir crazy staying in the house all the time. I remember Chris coming home from church and I would ask if we needed to get some gas in the car, just so I could get out and know that their were other people in the world besides me and my kids!

I am supposed to be cleaning house right now since Mom, Stacy and Jace will be here this evening and staying till Monday but as you can read, I am on this silly computer writing about how much I have to do! Haha! Today is Isaac's eighth birthday and we are having some friends over tonight for cake and ice cream. I am sure Isaac is hoping for a few presents too! I have purposefully left tomorrow's options open for whatever Mom and Stacy want to do and then Sunday takes on a life all it's own! Haha! Sunday night after church we are headed to Jonathan and Amanda's for a cookout if I am not totally worn out by then! We have been invited to another church family's house on Monday for another cookout and then Mom and Stacy will be headed back to Kansas.

I am also keeping my eye on the hurricane that is headed for New Orleans, as we have some friends down there that are evacuating today to another town north of there. They are not sure right now if they will need to come all the way up here but I have let them know that they are more than welcome to come visit, if they need to! Lisa said that if they needed to come farther up, it would probably be Saturday or Sunday. Bring it on! Let's see how many people we can fit into this house! Haha!

The church had a swimming party this last Wednesday night and here are a few pics from the evening. I managed to get Emma into the big pool and she loved it! Even Chris and I got in and that is another miracle in itself! Isaac was doing great swimming with his face in the water and Ian was brave enough to go down the water slide with arm floaties on!

Yay for friends!!!

2008-08-24T15:48:00.000-05:00

This weekend has been very full and very wonderful!!! Saturday, Isaac, Ian and I traveled to Wichita with our friends, Todd and Debbie, to attend the wedding of a missionary friend, Brad and his beautiful bride, Chelsea. Chris and I have supported him since he first went to Rwanda, Africa several years ago. What a blessing it was to witness their union with all their friends and family gathered around. During the ceremony, they exchanged their vows while washing each other's feet and it was so amazing. My sister, Marcy and her family were there also from Oregon and it was so great to get to see them even though it was just for an afternoon. There were also so many friends there to talk to that we had a hard time heading back home to Oklahoma but the talk of an ice cream stop on the way home got us all moving.

Today, Chris and I were treated to a visit from my former boss and forever friends, Dr J and Mashella and their girls!!! They were able to be here at church to hear Chris preach and then came back to the house for pizza and adjustments from Dr J! It was so good to see them again and to hear that things were going so well for them and their clinic, I wish it could have lasted longer! We hardly even saw Ian and Hannah as they play so well together and it was great to watch them together again. As the Lord knows, we always need those special people in our lives that can encourage us along this adventure that we are on and Mashella is definitely one of those people for me!

Today was also Kris and Amber's first Sunday here at Chandler and I know they are going to be such a blessing to this church and it's youth group! I can't wait to see what God has in store for this community and how He will use us in the process!

New Youth Pastor's

2008-08-22T11:29:00.000-05:00

One of the first things Chris wanted to accomplish when we got here to Chandler, was to hire a new youth pastor. An area that is of course close to his heart! :D Chris had a list of three possible couples that he was interested in contacting about the job and he started that process as soon as we came home from our interview at Chandler, yes, even before we knew they wanted to hire US for sure! Haha!

One of the couples, Kris and Amber, were living out in Santa Maria, California, where Kris was a youth pastor. When my Chris left a message on good ole facebook for Kris about the position, we had no idea what a ride we were in for! Kris wrote my Chris back and told him that they were happy where they were and that things were going good for them but was flattered that we were interested in them. We were hitting dead ends with the two other couples as well, so Chris and I really started praying for God's will and timing. Unknown to us, God had a plan and was working out all the details for us! The very night after Kris told us that they weren't interested, they were informed that the church was having some financial issues and that Kris would be the first staff member to go. The problem was, Kris and Amber's apartment lease was up in just three weeks and they knew they would have a hard time finding an apartment that would let them lease month by month. Hmmmm, I wonder what they are going to do??? Hahaha!

Long story short, Kris and Amber moved back to Haviland and then came to interview here at Chandler the very next weekend! The church had a emergency meeting that Sunday evening and it was an overwhelming YES to extend the call to Kris and Amber to come as our youth pastor's!!! Chris was so excited to call them right after the meeting and told Kris that they could have some time to think about it but Kris said they didn't need any time, they knew they wanted to say yes as soon as they got here to interview! GOD IS SO GOOD! Since, Kris and Amber didn't have any jobs at the time they were able to come to Chandler the following Monday, just four short weeks after we moved here!

Kris and Amber also have a dear little one, Aiden, that is just a little younger than Emma and they have become great buds, as long as Aiden isn't pulling Emma's hair or Emma isn't taking Aiden's toys away! We sure have increased the number of babes in the nursery! Haha!

Tonight is Kris and Amber's food pounding and it is going to be so much fun! From 7 - 9pm, any and all church members stop by at their house and bring them gifts of food or household goods to welcome them to the church family. They did it to us also when we moved here and it was so much fun to get to see everybody and it really helped Chris and I get a lot of unpacking done beforehand so that everyone wasn't walking around a ton of boxes! Jonathan and Amanda came over and played Apples to Apples with us after everyone had gone and it was the perfect ending to a very fun day. Maybe, I will take Apples to Apples over with us when we go!

Poor Emma

2008-08-21T11:56:00.000-05:00

Well, my little one has a double ear infection and I am hoping that the ear medicine will solve her diarrhea issues as well. She has not had a fever or any other symptoms so I had no idea that she had an infection at all! I took her in because she had diarrhea for a week and a half and the doc said that it could be related to the ear infection, here's hoping! Ian was not thrilled about having to spend the morning with Dad at the church office but there was no way that I wanted to try to keep track of both of them in a new place! And we had to spend 20 minutes, bummer, browsing in Walmart waiting for Emma's prescription. Something that I never get to do with a hubby and three kiddos along. Emma didn't complain much until she thought it would be cool to stand up in the cart seat and then she didn't want to sit down anymore! Haha! She was even interested in the purses, that's my girl!!!

My family at Derby Chiropractic.

2008-08-20T17:47:00.000-05:00

Chris and I had a really hard time waiting until the following Sunday to hear whether Chandler was going to extend us the call to come be their pastor or not but we felt so great about it that we started packing our things right away! Good thing that we did too or we would never have been ready for moving day. Chris and I had lived in the Rose Hill parsonage our entire married life and brought home all three of our babies to that house so there were a lot of memories and just plain junk in the house that needed to be sorted through and packed. Just a few tears along the way but God was so good to us during that time. Speaking of tears, the weekend that we decided to put in our resume at Haviland and Chandler, Chris brought up the fact that I would have to quit my job at Derby Chiropractic and the water works began. Chris felt that I shouldn't say anything to Mashella or Dr J until we knew that we were really going but I just knew that I couldn't work across the desk from one of my best friends and not share what was on my heart. You see, I didn't really work for Dr J and Mashella...it was more like...well, they were my family, I worked with them to provide patients with a safe alternative to reach their optimum health and I loved it!!! All weekend long I couldn't even think of talking to Mashella without crying and I did a lot of praying before I drove to work Monday morning that if God wanted me to talk to her about it, that he would provide the opportunity to do so. Well, you know how God works...I barely sat down in my chair before Mashella asked me what was wrong! Haha! Dr J and Mashella had gone through a rough road with their staff before I came and God had led me to ask for a job right when they needed me the most. Mashella and I had become such dear friends in the short 10 months that I had worked there, so yes, she knew there was something going on just by looking at my face. It was quite the teary talk that we had and God was gracious in giving me the words to say that truly explained how I felt about them. God had also been working on Mashella's heart through the weekend and he had prepared her for what I was going to say even before I said it. She just sat there and smiled at me, knowing without a doubt how hard it was for me to say that I was leaving. GOD IS SO GOOD! I have no doubt that I was there at that job at just the right time and for just the right purpose. To fulfill God's purpose. I wish with all my heart that I could have stayed there forever, or as Chris put it when we went out to dinner with Dr J and Mashella before I became part of their family, "until Jesus comes" but I am right where I am supposed to be now. And it just happens to be in Chandler, Oklahoma!

Ok, it's been a while...

2008-08-13T09:51:00.000-05:00

Hahaha! I told you that I wasn't very good at this! I haven't been on here since May and boy, have things changed! Chris and I had been feeling for some time that God had bigger and better things in store for us and Chris was really being led to be a Senior Pastor. We spent so much time praying and there were times that I felt like we were on a roller coaster ride, which I must say that I strongly dislike, real or emotional! I remember one day, Chris came home and had changed his mind about what we should do again...and I told him that I couldn't ride this ride with him anymore! He just needed to figure out what we were going to do and then let me know whether to pack or not! Aaaaahhhhh.

Well, we packed and we packed...and we packed. I have now decided that we need to move every couple of years just so that we don't acquire so much junk!!! Ten years and three babies later...we had no idea how stuff we had to pack but we do now! Haha. Here is the story of our journey to Chandler Friends Church in Chandler, Oklahoma. That's right, I said OKLAHOMA! We are Okies now!

Back in April, I think it was, we were in Friendswood, Texas for the Junior High Bible Quiz Finals and Chris was talking to Todd, a member of Chandler Friends Church. They were chatting about how Chris was feeling like it was time to move on from his role at Rose Hill Friends as youth pastor. Chris explained that he wasn't sure whether God was calling him to be a senior pastor or if he was calling us to be youth pastors somewhere else. Chris and I both felt that if we were to go to another youth pastor position, that we would probably look for one that was needing a new program built or one that had experienced a bad situation and was needing some repairs, if you will. Chandler had been without a YP for about a year and a half at the time and none of the YP's had been there very long so Chris and I had been KINDA considering it but not really. Haha. Todd then went back to Chandler and mentioned his and Chris' conversation with the Senior Pastor Homer. I am not sure but I assume that Homer then talked to Sam, the clerk of the church, about us and Sam then sent Chris an email just asking if that email address was a good one. Haha! Chris assumed that they were contacting us about coming to interview for the youth pastor position so we kinda dismissed all of it, at the time we weren't all that interested in the job. God had other plans. The very next day, the MAYM-EFC superintendent, contacted Chris to let him know that Homer had resigned from Chandler Friends Church and to let us know that he was sending our resume to several churches that were looking for a senior pastor, including Chandler. Sam continued to try to call us about coming down to Chandler to interview and Chris has since admitted to avoiding his calls, we just weren't feeling it, I guess. And we had been talking seriously about Haviland, since the Senior Pastor position was open there too. Imagine being so wonderfully close to my parents, Stacy, Jeremie & Jace, Chris' grandma Lucy and Chris' aunt and uncle, not to mention all the wonderful friends that we have there also! It was very enticing for sure!

It was not very long after our resume was sent to Chandler that Chris just didn't feel it was right, so he called Sam back and withdrew our names from the consideration list. Much to the dismay of many people at Chandler, so much so that one individual called Chris and wanted to know why!!! Haha! I think that Chris had just kinda freaked out about it all personally but don't ever tell him that! :D After the conversation with the individual from Chandler and several other wise people, we decided to at least go interview...we had no idea we would leave our hearts in Oklahoma.

We got to Chandler on Saturday, June 14th and Sam and his son, David, met us at the church. We unloaded some of our stuff at the Youth Pastor parsonage, where we would be staying that weekend and were pleasantly surprised by a wonderful basketful of goodies from the same family that had called Chris after he withdrew our names! I had been just telling Chris on the trip down from Kansas that I could really use some chocolate and guess what was included in the basket??? CHOCOLATE! God knows the little desires of our hearts! Sam and David then took us to the Senior Pastor parsonage so that we could have a look around. Homer and Lois were in the process of packing but were gracious enough to let us look around. As we were leaving Homer and Lois pulled us back and then explained that they knew the church was in need of and ready for change and that he also knew that he wasn't the pastor to bring about that change. He told us that he knew the minute Todd came back and told him of his conversation with Chris that his time here at Chandler Friends was done and that Chris and I were the ones. Homer had then turned in his resignation and started praying for us in this process. Amazing how God works!!!

Sam and David then took us on a tour of Chandler and we were pleased to find that it was about the size of Rose Hill and even more surprised to find out that there was a Walmart Supercenter in town! Chris and I both felt very much at home from the very beginning and it was easy to see ourselves living in Chandler. I know that Chris was still a little nervous about the interview that afternoon but it went just as smoothly and they were able to answer all our questions. After the interview, we went to the all church BBQ out at the church pavilion and got to meet even more people from the church. So many names and faces to remember, it was quite overwhelming but fun all at the same time. Chris is a die hard Jayhawk fan and it was quite funny when we were told we could sit in a pair of chairs...they just happened to be OU chairs and Chris was quick to tell them that he would most definitely NOT be sitting in those chairs. Haha! One of the things we were concerned about was how the boys would feel about moving to a new state, new church and new schools but we were so happy to realize that we never saw them the whole night! Isaac was on the sand volleyball court the entire time and Ian was playing with some other kids and neither one even came to eat, that I saw anyway. And if you know my Ian, he is always hungry!

Chris did an awesome job preaching Sunday morning and we were told later how great it was to watch people actually listening to the sermon, not sleeping or texting back and forth. After church, we were invited out to Todd and Debbie's house for lunch with their family and Debbie's parents, David and Mae (a whole other story to be told, for sure!) After lunch, our plan was to go back to the YP house, pack our things and then head home. I guess God had other plans...we only made it 2 miles north of town when I was pushing on the gas pedal and nothing was happening. I pulled over and Chris said there was coolant pouring out from underneath the engine. We decided to turn around and park on the other side of the road in the shade so that Chris could try to find out what was going on. As we pulled over on the other side, Chris phone rang and Todd asked us if we were having car trouble. Ummm, yeah. Todd said he would be there in just a minute to bring me and the kids back to his house while the boys worked on the car. After getting off the phone, Chris came around to my window and asked me if I had called Todd? Nope. How did he know that we were broke down? Then there was the question...did he know where we were at? As it turned out, Debbie had passed us on the side of the road just after we pulled over and had called Todd, letting him know that we were on the side of the road. As we sat there waiting for him, I told Chris that maybe God didn't want us leaving just yet. Isaac piped up from the back seat, "Maybe God wants us to move here!" Out of the mouths of babes. I told Isaac that I hoped God didn't mind if I went home and got my stuff first! It turned out to be a coolant hose that came off and so it was a simple fix. It wasn't hard to decide to just stay another night and go home in the morning. We got to enjoy hearing the kids camp reports that night at church and then went to eat pizza for dinner with Sam and his family. We found out that night that Emma really took to Paul, Sam's other son! Haha! Monday morning, it was just as hard to leave. OK, break time. And I think Emma is awake from her nap. More to come!

Travel Time

2008-05-22T09:58:00.000-05:00

This weekend little miss Emma and I will be flying out to visit my sister Marcy and her family in Oregon. I am both excited and terrified at the same time! It has been 10 years since I have flown and on top of that I am bringing along my one year old! Crazy, I know but it will be fun to spend time with my little girl all by ourselves! She is so easy to take care of so I am not worried about that but she has reached the stage when she wants to be on the floor all the time exploring. Not such a great idea when you are on an airplane. And I won't have anyone to pass her of to if she gets to be too wriggly. If I had been thinking a little better I should have used the money for the whole family to drive out together, now that would have been fun!

We have also acquired a little female beagle a few days ago and already we are looking for a new home for her. It's not that she is a bad dog at all! In fact, we have really enjoyed her! Emma loves for her to lick her fingers and giggles to no end when she comes around but we are having an allergy problem! Both Chris and I never thought about her causing allergy problems but they have, especially for Ian! Yesterday, his eyes were puffy and he has been very stuffy, even with his allergy medicine! The boys and I have started researching on the Internet to find a better suited family dog that we can have in the house. We had so much fun looking at all the different breeds (AKC recognized and not!) and checking out all the "looks". Boy there are some interesting canines out there!!! I will let you know what we end up with soon!

What am I doing???

2008-05-05T10:10:00.000-05:00

I don't have a clue why I am starting one if these other than everyone else seems to be doing it and I must admit...I love being on my computer. That's right, I am addicted! There, got that off my chest. I don't think that I am a great writer so the reason for doing this is to write about what my family is up to. So, here goes, hopefully, something entertaining.

I will start with who we are.

The wonderful man for the rest of my life, Chris, has been the Associate Pastor of RHFC for ten years this month and we will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary in July. I will be very original and say, I can't believe how the time has gone! It seems like a lifetime and a brief moment all at the same time.

My oldest, Isaac, is in 2nd grade, although sometimes he acts like he is so much older. He loves Ian and Emma very much and I am amazed how gentle and caring he can be with them, especially Emma. Isaac will lay in front of Emma and let her play with his face and always wants to help feed her and carry her around. He makes life easier for me by buckling her into her carseat so I don't have to crawl all the way into the van. Isaac is playing baseball this spring and he is very thrilled to be getting golf lessons this summer! I think Dad is excited also because he already bought him a golf bag and clubs!

Next, comes Ian. Well...actually, he's already gone way ahead. Ian likes to try and beat Isaac everywhere and is not afraid of much, except some loud noises. He is a little more rough with Emma than I would like and I have to remind him all the time to slow down and be gentle with her but he loves her just as much as Isaac does! Ian also can say the funniest things as just the right time to send Mom and Dad rolling on the floor. Just yesterday he told me that he didn't want to get rid of Grandma and Poppa F because he loved them. (Very sweet!) And then he proceeded to say that he didn't want to send them to jail either. Hmmmm, where did that come from???

Then there is the little princess of the family, Emma! She has been a dream baby and we feel very blessed to have her in our family! She has been such an easy baby from the very start and it is fun to see her personality starting to take shape. She already responds differently with her two brothers, she smiles like nothing else when Isaac comes into view and she growls at Ian when he gets too rough and rowdy! So funny to watch! She has just discovered that she can be mobile and the knees are showing the wear. Just this morning, she pulled herself up at the bathtub and got all excited about taking a bath, bouncing up and down on her knees, until she bonked her chin on the side and then she needed some cuddle time with Mommy. It is hard to believe that she will be one year old this month!

Well, that's a good start on who we are...oops, I forgot myself. I am the cleaning lady, bottle maker, juice waitress, van driver and late night comforter. I am totally addicted to keeping in touch with my friends on the computer but am terrible about calling them on the phone! I have the ultimate cush job, working part time with my best friend. Speaking of job, I need to get LS some cereal and get in the shower! Hope this wasn't a total bore and I hope I remember to write again!