September So Far...

We are 11 days into September and it has already been super busy.  We celebrated Dillon's birthday...

Which was a lot of fun :)  We had a fire (several different times) and roasted marshmallows (several different times).  We had a campout in the yard.  Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of that... We also went kayaking.  That was great fun for everyone!

 

 

We also got out the blow up boats and paddled around.



 

 

We've been busy with campfires and cookouts, having friends over, going to football games and now starting harvest.  I have had several cross country meets, Maddi and Makenna have started volleyball...

 

 

 

And Zane and Dillon started football...

 

 

The most special thing that happened this month was Dillon getting baptized a memeber of the Church of jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  He was baptized the week after he turned 8.  We are so proud of him for making this decision.  He was so excited for the day to finally come. 

 

 

 

I also got to go to school as acting Grandma and eat lunch with all the kids on grandparent's day.  I managed to catch them all and see Olivia sing most of her songs at the after lunch kindergarten program.

 



 

So we've been busy as you can see.  Football practice twice a week with games once a week, volleyball practice twice a week with meets once a week, cross country practice everynight with a meet once a week, piano lessons, church and anything else that comes along!  The kids are liking school, Michael is busy at work and I am keeping busy at home :)

 







Dillon Turns 8!

On the first of September we celebrated Dillon's 8th birthday.  He was so excited for it to come and that it came on a long weekend.  We got to celebrate for four days!  Friday night we went to a football game.  Saturday Michael made in sourdough pancakes for breakfast and I made him fried pies for dessert.  We grilled out that night per his request and he got to open all his presents.  Sunday night we had a fire and made s'mores and then the four youngest kids and Micheal slept out in the tent.  Monday we went kayaking and played in the lake.  It was a fun weekend spent together celebrating Dillon!  We are so thankful to have Dillon.  He is such a sweet boy.  He always tries to do his best and be obedient.  He is patient and kind and caring.  We are also extremely proud of his decision to be baptized this Sunday.  He is so excited for it and we are excited too!

 

He got his build a bear horse from Michael's parents like all the grandkids do on their 8th birthday.  He has been patiently waiting for 3 years :)  He also got a few vikings things and some tools to help daddy fix things!

 

 

Happy Birthday Susie boy!  We love you!!





First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for all the kiddos.  They were all excited to finally get to start.  It is a new school this year.  Instead of sending them to Hendricks here where we live, we decided, in the best interest of our children, to send them to another school.  So most of the faces will be new for them.  There were some nerves going on but mostly it was excitement.

The BackPack Fairy came as usual and left the kids new clothes to wear for the first day and a treat for after school.

Here's my baby girl all ready for kindergarten!  I can't believe she is getting so big!

Zeke was so excited for first grade that I only had to tell him once to get up!  We'll see what tomorrow morning brings :)

Dillon is in 3rd grade this year.  He is really excited to get to play football and basketball!

Zane is in 4th grade this year.  He, too, is excited for football and basketball.  He was also excited to see some of his friends from baseball in his class!

Makenna was a little nervous to start 5th grade but she made some new friends and came home happy :)

Maddi is in 6th grade this year and seems to have a class full of really nice girls.  They all waited around last night at open house until we got there so they could meet her. 

Here they all are, oldest to youngest.  I can't believe how fast time has gone and how quickly they have grown.  It was so fun to listen to them chatter on and on about their first day!



I also reached a first today.  This is the first time I have ever dropped my kids off and not had some still with me on the way home!  It was kind of a strange feeling.  It's been a long time since I have had this much time alone.  I think I will be able to stay busy though!  Today I went on a walk with a friend, did laundry, went shopping by myself, baked cookies, cleaned some and went to cross country practice.  Time sure flies!  I am so thankful for the time I do get to spend with my kids but I am also thankful for the time we spend apart.  We get to grow and learn on our own and then come home and share with each other.



Picture Update

I finally downloaded pictures to my computer!  Now I get to post all the fun we have had this summer.

We started out with baseball in Green River.

We enjoyed a lot of time outdoors playing in the yard.  Olivia loved playing frisbee with who ever would play with her.

They  also loved playing in our big red ball

For the 4th of July we went to our friends' house, the Feslers, and spent the eveing with them. 

The kids loved the sparklers and fire works at the end!

Once in Hendricks we played more baseball and softball

The girls were in the talent show with some of their friends over the 4th of July weekend.  They did a dance/gymnastics routine and won!

The four oldest kids joined the Buffalo Ridge Youth Chorale.  They put on a performance after a week of practicing and will do another one in October sometime.

We bought a house at the end of July.  This is a view from the edge of our side yard.  It is a great yard with lots of shade and a fire pit.  The house is very nice too and we have really enjoyed our time in it so far.

The two older boys started football last week. They are so excited to get to play.  Dillon is #12.

Zane is #7



We have also been in parades, gone to the horse races and Mall of America.  We have ridden horses with friends, rendered lard, had sleepovers and lots of camp fires.  It has been a fun but busy summer.  School starts tomorrow and the kids are all excited to get back to school.  It will be a new school this year so they will be meeting new friends and teachers.  It is exciting to watch them grow and learn.  It will be my first year with all my kids in school so I will be growing and learning too - just in a different way :)

Thought for the Day

Today I was reading through some of the quotes I had pinned on pinterest (yes, I love pinterest and am addicted to it).  It is a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt.  It really struck home with the situation we are in now.  We are doing what we feel will be best for our family.  We are being questioned, talked about, and prodded for why's and how come's.  This is what it said, "Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway."  How true is that?  As a family, we have made a choice that we feel is best for our family - now and for the future.  No amount of prodding, promising or questioning will change that.  We are being criticized and I'm sure we will continue to be for quite some time but that decision will not change.  We will protect our children and do all that we can to help them.  That is our job as parents.  I am a parent first, everything else follows.  If there are feelings that we have hurt, that was not the intent.  However, I will stand by my decision.  I will not try to explain or justify why we chose what we chose.  I will not ask for forgiveness nor will I apologize.   We have done what we feel in our hearts is best.

Being a Parent...

Sometimes it is really hard.  There are decisions that have to be made that are hard.  We are facing that right now.  We moved back to this wonderful community that we loved so much.  The families here are great and the community is such a great place to raise a family.  We bought a little house on the edge of town that we love and feel very blessed to have.  Our kids have gone to school here in the past and we loved it.  We have great friends here, our kids have great friends.  Yet, there are things that are missing.  We have needs that can not be met here so we have to go elsewhere to find what we need.  Our kids were so excited to get to go back to school with their friends.  They were already signing up for sports and getting geared up for the school year.  We had done our school shopping and we were ready to go.  Then I could ignore it no longer.  I thought maybe things would just go away or get better.  I didn't want to have to make a decision like this.  But I knew I had to.  I made the phone call to the neighboring school.  They were able to offer us the things that we needed.  There was no pushing or persuading - just informing.  After the conversation I knew what we needed to do.  I texted Michael to see if we could go out for a while that evening to talk about it without little ears listening in.  After I filled him in, he felt the same. 

We went home and broke the news to the kids that they would not be Hendricks Grizzlies.  They would be Deubrook Dolphins.  It broke my heart as I watched my oldest break down and sob.  She was so looking forward to a school year with her best friend.  I was so glad to see them back together again and able to pick up right where they left off.  Yet, I knew this was what was right for our family.  Michael knew it was what was best.  How could we do anything else? 

This morning we went and had a tour of the new school with the principal.  She is a wonderful person and a family friend.  She was very good with the kids and very understanding of the situation - her kids had gone through it too a few years earlier.  I left still feeling good about the decision yet still heart broken that it had to be made.  I called Hendricks and let them know of our situation and took the kids to Walmart to go school shopping again with their new supply list.

When I got home their was a message to call the principal about our decision.  I hesitated.  I am not good with confrontation or emotions.  He was very nice and understanding as I explained our situation.  My kids feel better after having visited the school but some are still quite upset.  It is a very touchy subject.  I know the coming days will be hard for them as their friends find out and question them.  It will be hard for me as my friends find out and question me!  This is the part of parenting that I so dislike.  We know it will be best in the long run but the present doesn't necessarily show that, especially in the eyes of a child.  It is hard for them to understand and to see that far into the future. 

While I was checking my emails this afternoon, I read one that brought tears to my eyes and warmth to my soul.  It said:  "Fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks ..., for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of the Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament--the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted. Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name's glory, saith the Lord."

I have been praying for my children, especially the needs of one.  I have been praying for the strength to do what I know is right.  It is hard to face some of our friends and let them know our decision.  I feel at times that it may seem like a betrayal to our friendship (school is a big issue here).  My stomach has been in knots as I have begun to make the phone calls and let people know.  I dread the response of some.  I hate that my kids may be subjected to pressure and comments that they don't need to be subjected to.  Yet, here in answer to prayers, was this scripture.  My prayers have been heard, all things will work together for our good.  It will be okay.

Being a parent is hard, but it is also rewarding and a huge blessing.  Decisions like this bring pain and sadness but strengthen us in the long run.  It allows us to trust and show faith.  It prepares us for future decisions and it enables us to see the blessings in our lives.

The Big Day!

Tomorrow is the big day!!  We will sign on our house here in Hendricks and start moving in.  I am so excited.  We will also be getting our new furniture delivered tomorrow.  Saturday Michael and I went to Brookings to do some shopping.  We got a new mattress for us (it's been 11 years since we last bought one) and a new bedroom set (my first one ever!!).  We also got three dressers for the kids.  Some of our furniture got broken in the move so we were short dressers.  Maddi and Olivia had one.  Makenna gets my old dresser (it's only a year old and really nice) and the three boys get new ones.  I am excited to sleep on our new mattress.  Hopefully that will help both of us feel a little more rested when we wake up in the mornings.  Anyways, lots of excitement and lots to do this week to get everything moved, cleaned and unpacked!  One more exciting thing - for the first time in almost two months we will be able to eat inside at the table!  Haven't done that since we moved :)

Yay!! Again!!

Today we got the appraisal back for the house we are going to buy next week.  It came in about $6000 under the asking price.  The seller agreed to go with the appraisal value (we wouldn't have gone through with it if he hadn't) and soo we get the hosue for $6000 less than what we originally agreed!  I am so relieved that he agreed to that.  The rela estate agent didn't think he would.  I'm not sure what we would have done if we had to start all over looking for a house.  We are so ready to move and settle in.  I think I would have lost it if it had all fallen through!  Plus, we got more for our house than we originally thought too.  We are ending up over $7000 ahead of what we thought between the two houses.  We are going to pay off our car, do some remodelling in the new house and have some in the savings.  Blessings more than we anticipated!

Yay!!

Finally , after a month and a half of chaos and uncertainty our house in Wyoming has closed!!  I can not tell you how excited and relieved I am!  It has been such a mess to get all done but it finally happened.  Just in time too.  We are going to close on a house here on Tuesday.  We are very excited for that too.  After being in this small two bedroom house, we are all craving space!  The kids are so excited to be able to unpack their toys and things and to have their own spaces.  I am excited to be able to unpack too and get things in order!  School starts in about 4 weeks so it will be nice to have some organization before that starts.  Anyways, we went out and got some ice cream and toppings and when Michael gets home from work we will have a little celebration!

Still Here...Still Waiting

Here's a little update of our summer so far.  I have been taking some pictures as we have gone along, I just haven't downloaded them yet.  I promis - it will come... Anyways, we have been very busy.  The last two weeks have involved swimming lessons every morning.  That comes to an end tomorrow.  We are also still doing baseball and softball.  Maddi's team played in a tournament last Saturday.  They played five games and won all five walking away Champions!!  Go Grizzlies!  The girls are still doing basketball three days a week.  All the kids are still doing gymnastics once a week and the four oldest do their conditioning class twice a week.  We go all different directions!  The days have been extremely hot and busy.  The kids seem to enjoy it though.  We got to go last weekend to see a draft horse show.  Dillon loves seeing the big draft horses.  Michael has trimmed a few horses for a few people since we've been here.  He's even ridden once or twice.  Maddi and I are running in the mornings.  She is wanting to run cross country this year and I get to help coach it.  I figured if we were both going to be involved we had both better be able to cover the distance!  Zane signed up for football today.  He is excited.  Maddi signed up too - not sure she will get to play.  She wants to do cross country more than football and since they are at the same time she is going to have to choose. 

The house situation is the same.  We are still waiting on stupid Wells Fargo to get their act together and allow the closing to take place.  It has been moved back again to sometime before the 30th of this month.  It had better go through this time because we are supposed to close on our house here on the 31st.  I am SO ready to be able to get into our own place, unpack and have a little more space.  This little two bedroom house is driving me crazy!  Enough is enough and I have had enough!

We are really enjoying being back in Hendricks.  We love this place and the people here.  We love having Michael home too.  The kids love being with him and having him there to watch them do their things.  I enjoy his help and his company.  A few times a week we go on walks and enjoy quiet time together.  I like that too. 

Hopefully next post I will have pictures downloaded and ready to post.  Hopefully next time I will have some more details of our houses too - good details :)