Pumpkin Patch 2010

On Friday afternoon, after school, we loaded up and headed to the pumpkin patch.  These pictures have been cracking me up!  Bryan and I decided just to hop in the car with whatever jeans/tshirt Friday combo we had on for school.  I didn't even brush the boys hair or put on their most festive clothes....so not like me!  In the end, I am so glad we didn't because it rained cats and dogs on us, and the boys were so dirty at the end of the evening that I was scrubbing dirt from under their fingernails at bath time.  Thank goodness I still had my tennis shoes on so I could chase after my crazy boys as they ran through the dirt, hay, and pumpkins.  Here we are in all of our "realness." 

Jordan was trying his best to pick up these heavy pumpkins!

Nathan loved to pull the wagons...and fill them with dirt and rocks.  Nice.

Jordan as a cute little cowgirl.  HA!

We tried to get a picture of the boys with Vivi and Georgia...not so much luck with that one. Vivi and Georgia were really good.  My boys were the difficult ones.  :)  

I guess Nathan thought Vivi and Georgia wanted some hay.

The boys got to ride Mini-Tractors...so fun!

And, we got to pet some really friendly pigs, goats, and bunny rabbits.

At the end of the evening we went on a hayride at the Pumpkin Patch.  On the hayride, the boys got to feed donkeys and cows right out of their hands.  They were in heaven!  It was a fun evening with family and a great way to start off this Fall/Winter Holiday Season. 

GiGi's Walk For a Cure

Bryan's Mom and three of her dear friends worked to organize a walk to raise money for a cure for Multiple Myeloma.  One of their dearest friends died about 2 years ago from Multiple Myeloma.  Today was a special day to walk in memory of precious Ileeta.  She was a beautiful lady and the Lord was the center of her life.  She now has an even more beautiful, cancer-free tent in heaven.  GLORY!!  Praise the Lord for our Savior....Death is not the end of life...it is just the beginning. 

 Linda, Jan (Bryan's Mom), Susan, and Janet  (Best friends for 30 YEARS!)

 This is an attempt to get a picture of all their grandchildren.  So sweet! 

Our little family before the walk.

The boys' buddy, Luke, brought his bike to ride for the walk.  Nathan and Jordan thought they were big stuff when Matt (Luke's dad) helped them try out the bike. 

Nathan and Jordan's favorite part of the morning was playing on the church playground with their cousins.

Climbing in and out of the wagon is so much more fun than riding in it. BOYS! ;)

We had beautiful morning for a very special day.

Fun times at the Bass Pro Shop!

What better way to spend the day off than to chase Nathan and Jordan around the Bass Pro Shop!? We started with the fish tank which Jordan says is "cool"!  Both of the boys loved all of the taxidermied animals, although they didn't know what most of them were. They both "neighed" at the giant elk! Oh well, we haven't really covered what sounds an elk or moose make. They had a giant grizzly bear posed as if it had just been shot...when the boys saw it they both started making snoring noises! We ended the trip in the gift shop where we bought the boys a cowboy hat for their Western day at school. We were even able to get them a sheriff's badge with their name on it. I love being a dad to boys!

Is the pumpkin up in the apple tree?

Nathan and Jordan LOVE to read books! A couple of their favorites right now are Find a Pumpkin and Touchdown! 

Has it really been 20 days???....

...since our last blog post?!  No wonder my family has been begging for an update!  Life is crazy.  Each night after the boys go to bed the blog gets put aside so that I can wash clothes, iron clothes, clean house, wash dishes, study for Biblestudy, grade papers, and hopefully go to bed before midnight.  We have battled the Croup anad allergies over the last few days too.  It's never fun to be sick! 

The boys are talking more each day.  We heard Jordan say his first sentence yesterday.  He handed Nathan a stuffed animal and said, "Here you go."  It was a really sweet moment!  It was especially sweet since the boys have been fighting over toys quite a bit lately!  I don't know how many times a day I say, "Boys, you need to share" or  "Boys, you need to take turns."  Here are a few things we have been up to lately...

We went to Daddy's football game.  I tried to get a picture of the boys in their mini-coaching shirts but they did not cooperate very well.  :)  They were too excited about the football game to sit still.  They love to yell "football!"  and "touchdown!" with their hands high in the air.  So cute!

Pastries for Parents at Preschool!   - It was a very sweet morning.  The boys have fabulous teachers!  Nathan and Jordan were only interested in the donut holes and the toys.  We were there for about 20 minutes and the boys spent the time running back and forth to us to show off all the toys in their classroom. 

 On Saturday morning we had our family pictures taken...can't wait to see them!!  Then, we took the boys to Fall on the Farm.  Jordan loves farm animals (little plastic ones, on the TV, and pictures in books) but he was NOT too fond of farm animals in real life...especially if there wasn't a fence in between him and the four legged friend.  He steered clear!  Nathan, on the other hand, was not scared a bit.  He walked right up, talked to the cow and the sheep, and gave them big pats on the back.  :)

I helped Jordan see the baby calf. 

Nathan did not need any help.  ;)  He was best buds with the calf in no time.

 Here I am again trying to encourage Jordan to pet the sheep.  All he said was, "No, no, no, no, no."

 Nathan jumped right in and made friends with the sheep too!

This is Jordan's kind of animal...a stick horse!

The chicken house!

We took home two tired little boys that afternoon!!

Hopefully it won't be 20 days this time until the next post!

Back in the Swing of Things...

Well, sort of!  I am finally not feeling like I am drowning at school.  I actually have lesson plans through the middle of next week...weird.  I am normally so on top of it, but this was a difficult start to the year.  However, I am growing to love this group of kids more and more each day. 

I am teaching (more like facilitating) a Biblestudy through our Women's Ministry at church this semester.  We are studying "The Life Changing Power In the Name of Jesus," by Jennifer Kennedy Dean.  It is good...really good!  It is so powerful to deeply study the names of Jesus.  He is the Bread of Life.  He is the Light of the World.  He is The Good Shepherd.  He is The Gate.  He is The Resurrection and the Life.  He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life.  He is The True Vine.  We had about 20 ladies last week and they have been such a blessing to me already! 

Last weekend, Bryan completed a "Warrior Dash" or "Jailbreak Race" or whatever you want to call it.  All I know is when he got home, he was a little muddy!  His shoes were so muddy that he had to donate them because they were beyond salvation.  Bryan said he had to go through a junkyard maze, run through a river, climb walls, climb haystacks, army crawl under barbed wire, and I have no idea what else.  I am very proud of him for completing the race (even if I do think he was crazy.)  He is such a great boys' dad.  I'm sure he is already dreaming of Nathan and Jordan being old enough to join him on such adventures!  I prefer to watch and cheer them on! 

We had the best time at the soccer fields on Saturday morning watching our nephews and niece play on their very first soccer team.  They are so precious!  Brayden and Bryce ran up and down that field nonstop!  They were hilarious!

Vivi's team was playing a couple of fields away.  In the beginning, she was way more interested in her snack than the game.  But, she built up some steam and ran with the team toward the end.  I am so proud of her!!

Nathan and Jordan cheered on their cousins!

Jordan got a little hot and grouchy for a while.  :)  But he cheered up! 

And, we could hardly keep Nathan off the field.  He was cracking us up!  How do you explain to a one year old that he isn't old enough to play yet? 

Such a fun weekend centered around lots of people that I LOVE!

Going down the slide...

If you are Nathan...

If you are Jordan...

Isn't it crazy that these two boys were born to the same parents only two minutes apart and yet they are so different?  The Lord made them each so special in every way.  It completely boggles my mind.  Nathan is wild and crazy, always looking for a social situation, smiles at everyone, and thinks everything is hilarious.  It is also totally in his character to slide down the slide backwards and on his belly even though he started on his bottom.  Jordan, on the other hand, is very serious about new things.  Once he is comfortable, he can be quite a ham.  He is nervous in new situations, but as long as he has "Elephant" and paci he can be happy.  He likes everything neat and orderly.  And, it is totally in his character to slide down the slide on his bottom, with his feet forward.  Awesome.  The God-given characteristics of their cute personalities has totally helped me understand the students in my classroom too. I can now understand why some children might learn and pay attention better if they are sitting in the floor.  I understand why some children are so quiet but can be quite whitty if you get to know them.  I can understand how some children can act so goofy but have the sweetest spirit inside.  Gives me goosebumps.