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 :)

June

Wow! I can't believe it has already been a month since I last posted!  Time ahs gone by so quickly and we have been so busy.  I will try to catch up briefly...School ended - all the kids get to move on to the next grade :)  Baseball and softball ended - sort of... We moved and are in transition mode.  The move went fine.  It was busy, furniture got broken in the move, the drive was long but luckily uneventful.  We couldn't find a hotel that first night until about 3 am.  The College National Finals Rodeo was in Casper so all the hotels were full.  We finally found a vacancy in Hot Springs, SD.  we slept a few hours and then headed back out again.  We got to Hendricks the evening of the 7th of June.  We unloaded just enough that night to get to the beds and dressers.  Then we finished unloading the next day. 

We were greeted by several old friends and had some help getting the truck unloaded.  It was nice to be back.  The house we are staying in is just a little 2 bedroom house.  We are nice and cozy :)  Most of our things (95%) are still packed sitting in the garage and basement.  Our house hunting started the very next day after we got here.  We looked at several places in several different towns.  We finally found a place that we liked here in Hendricks an put an offer on it today.  It was accepted and we are hoping to be in it by the end of July.  The kids are excited to have a house in Hendricks so they can go to school with their friends.  I enjoy living in town and walking everywhere.  We will be just a few blocks from school so the kids can ride their bikes everyday. 

The kids are back in baseball and softball.  Maddi plays on the 12 and under team.  Makenna plays on the 10 and under team.  Both are fastpitch softball.  Zane and Dillon are on the baseball team and Zeke and Olivia are in tee ball.  Everyone seems to be enjoying it.  Both of the girls' teams are undefeated.  The four oldest also just finished basketball camp and they are doing a conditioning class two days a week where they run and do strengthening exercises.  I think I should be doing it with them!  They all have been doing gymnastics once a week too.  We have been swimming at Hendricks Lake and Fish Lake.  The kids love going to the lake.  Bike rides are a daily occurance, multiple times a day.  Maddi and I have started running in the mornings.  She (and maybe Makenna) will be in cross country in the fall.  The kids also did Bible School with their friends.  It was cute listening to all the songs and they had fun being with their friends all day.  Next week will be filled with four days worth of 4th of July activities - lunches in the park, movies in the park, a fun run, games, a parade, eating contests, a talent show and all sorts of other things.

We have really enjoyed being with Michael again.  It is so nice to have him home in the evenings and on the weekends.  He is coaching the boys' baseball team and enjoying that.  The first day he went to work Olivia woke up after he had left.  She just started bawling when she found out he had left and she didn't get to say good bye.  She was so excited when he came home that evening!  If nothing else, that alone has made all this worth it! 

I have been making bread again.  There is nothing better than homemade bread!  We have already been to McCrossans to see friends and horses there.  Dillon drove one of the teams and took us all on a wagon ride.  That boy loves to drive those horses!  We got to met them in Canby and ride in the wagon for the parade.  That was a lot of fun!

Anyways, I think that pretty much catches everything up!  We are still busy as ever but having a good time.  I am looking forward to getting this house bought and get moved in so we can really settle down and get organized.  I have taken some pictures along the way and will try to get some posted.  Our laptop broke again so we just got it back so I can download things again.  Hopefully next post will have pictures to go along with the story!

Princess Olivia Turns 5!

She has been waiting for this all year and it finally came!  On May 22nd Olivia turned 5.  She was so excited to have her special day.  We celebrated in Idaho with Michael's family the weekend before her birthday.  She got to have cupcakes and open presents with all the family.

Then, the day before her birthday she and I went out to lunch and had pretzels.  She wore her birthday crown and got to pick out cupcakes to take to school on her birthday.  For her birthday we went to Applebee's for supper (she wanted them to sing to her) and then came back and had cake.  We invited the neighbor kids over to help celebrate.  Michael was working but he made a couple of phone calls to her during the day and she loved being able to tell him all about her day.

 She wore her new birthday clothes to school (she picked out the shoes and socks).  She loves clothes and shoes!

She is so much fun to have around and we are so blessed to have her in our lives!  She is a true princess, from her long wavy hair and closet full of clothes to her sweet spirit and loving heart.  I waited three years for her to come and I can't imagine our family without her.  We love you Princess Olivia!

The Days Are Going Quickly

We are now almost done with the second week of May.  What was once lots of time to get everything done has now turned into 4 weeks before we head out.  The house inspection has been done.  There were no major issues thank goodness!  There may be a few minor repairs the buyer wants done but we haven't heard for sure yet.  The appraisal will be next week.  Once that's done everything can be finalized and signed.  Four weeks seems like a while still but when you add all the extra stuff to the everyday stuff, it goes quickly!  Baseball and softball are in full swing.  Most nights consist of multiple kids at multiple fields either in practice or games.  I usually make it to the end of each game.  Hopefully next week when Michael is home I will be able to watch more of the games and actually see my kids play and not just get there in time for the teams to shake hands and hand out treats!  We are also in the middle of field trip season at school!  The kids love it!  Makenna got an overnight trip to Cody, WY. Today she is on a trip to some ranch somewhere for a hay ride and a hotdog roast and who knows what else.  She has several more to go on yet.  Zane has got three coming up, Dillon has at least two and Zeke has one.  Dance is coming to a close this month too. Olivia has already stopped going. Makenna will have her final show in a few weeks and then she will be done too. Scouts is ongoing of course but only a once a week thing.  The Hershey track meet is also coming up and I have 3 who want to participate this year.  We'll see how it coincides with baseball as to who gets to run! The weather has been beautiful lately so being outside has been a bonus. Olivia and I have been walking her to school and back with trips to the park along the way.  I have still been trying to pack and sort through things a little at a time.  Our storage shed is filling up and our house is slowly emptying out.  I have decided I kind of like it empty!  Not sure I will allow all those other things back in the house after we move!  House hunting in Hendricks is coming along.  There are a couple of leads there.  Hopefully everything will get settled there soon.  Then I will be able to relax and just focus on packing and getting ready to move.  Michael gets to come home Sunday night!  I am so excited!  This will be his last week off before moving week.  He only has one more hitch to go.  We are both very grateful for that. So that's our update.  Hopefully next week I can take pictures of some of our adventures and get them posted!