On the Farm

We have some gracious friends that Parker made at school. He and Braxton have fun being in the same class at school. Braxton lives on his family farm. They have lots of cattle and fields. In the fall they invited us out to a pumpkin patch where the boys had so much fun running around in the corn maze and fields. Parker rode a donkey, and we got some wonderful gourds and pumpkins for fall.

This spring they have had lots of baby cows born....Braxton called them calfeys and Parker thought that was a funny word. We were invited to come see them all. I was a little worried about Parker and the smell, but he managed, and the wind and chill helped with the smell too I imagine. Addison wouldn't get down with the calf and pet it, Braxton let it suck on his finger, but Parker wasn't sure of that. They also let all the kiddos climb into the giant tractor or combine or whatever it is called. I am for sure not farm trained or familiar! Parker loved it. They ran and played. Then we all went out for pizza at a little local pizza place in a small town nearby. It's so nice sometimes to experience and expose our kids to this type of thing sometimes. I think so many times we get busy and get swallowed in the culture of city life and bigger is better. Parker and Addison get to learn where our food comes from and that we all have different jobs, some we might be willing to do and some we might be thankful that God didn't put us in charge of that. I know Micheal and I get caught up in trying what we know and not wanting to risk going somewhere we aren't sure of. But it usually pays off in the end to try something. I'm glad we did. And thanks so much to Braxton's family for teaching us and opening up their farm. Here's to many more trips to the farm I hope!

Green Eggs and Gross

On Friday, Parker's school had a party to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday. They had green eggs and ham. While the class anxiously watched the making of the green eggs, standing around a table, Parker suddenly fainted! He wasn't out long, just seconds, but it still caused quite a scare! He was still dazed when I picked him up and remained dazed for a while so I took him to the doctor. They ruled out seizure, and no concussion from hitting the floor. He did have a pretty big bump from falling backwards suddenly onto the ground. Parker said that his brain just felt funny and then he knew he was sleeping on the ground and he didn't like that. The doctors sent us to get an EKG to rule out his heart, it came back normal, thank God! So, the only conclusion as to why he fainted is dehydration, or that the green eggs and ham were just so gross they made him faint! Which you might think is silly or impossible...but if you know Parker, food is a very sensitive thing. He is very sensitive to smell or texture or anything new that might be gross. He can really get himself worked up about what he might have taste, smell, etc. So, he really could have just got himself all worked up about it, and fainted! Time will tell. I hope that's all it is/was. Thanks to God that he is okay now.

Great Bend Zoo

On one of our lovely spring days this week, it wasn't too windy and we went to the zoo with a new friend. Jack is 4, he and Parker are a month apart. They are alike in a lot of ways. I hope that they become great friends. These 2 boys ran and ran the zoo, and they were so sweet to let Addison tag along without a complaint. We also packed a lunch and ate at the park. They loved the playground, winter seems like it's been so long, and yet we have hardly gotten any snow. I told Micheal that this year, getting snow boots was definitely a waste of money. Oh well, if we wouldn't have had any, it would have been snowy for weeks around here. We were just helping out our Kansas friends have a mild winter!

Kite flying

When I committed to blogging more often, and I sat down to blog, I realized that if I truly blog like I should, each one could be soooo long. We really do get busy, and it's hard to keep up with all the things we do do each week. So, I think for this busy week at least I'll write a blog entry for each activity, rather than one really long one with lots of pictures.

Over the weekend it was so nice. Spring is coming....I think. It was pretty windy, so we decided to take a bike ride to the school field where Parker will go to kindergarten next year and fly kites.

Parker can go really fast riding his bike. We need to work on taking his training wheels off. Addison rides in the trailer behind Micheal, she loves it!

Parker getting the hang of it.

The Princess....trying not to blow away. She had more fun running around in the wind than holding the kite.

Dualing kites. Amazingly we didn't have any major tangles or crashes. Yay!

Of course we hit the playground for a little bit before we left. Addison is so strong, especially her upper body strength. She can definitely out hang Parker on these bars.
On your marks, get set, go!

Cousin Time!

Just a bit ago, the kids and I took a trip to Oklahoma City to see my grand niece and my sister while the niece and nephew were away. We didn't take nearly as many pictures as we could have or should have, but...in my defense, it was hard to keep up with two 3 year olds and a 4 year old! The time went by quick and we had lots of good fun. Parker's favorite he said was going to the Lego store in the mall. Doesn't take much to keep him happy!

This is a picture of the doggie beauty parlor we had. Ranger the dog was so patient as they wet him down and combed him. Later, he was relieved when he was dried off.

The cousins has a blast though, and that's what was important. They played played and played. Bristol, my grand niece is 9 days younger than Addison, so it's way fun to have them all together.

Far too long

It's been far too long since I've posted a real post. I have lots of excuses for it, and probably many more as to why I might fall off the blog post boat again....but I hope not! I really see and know the value in writing and taking the time to stop and "report" our lives.

I don't even know where to start. We live in Kansas now....have been here over a year now. We are really liking it, have made lots of connections and friends, and are settled. It was a hard change, but we made it! We bought our first house, and spent the summer doing many projects.

Parker is 4 and in preschool now. He really likes it....most the time....getting up early is a struggle for him. He's never been an early bird, so adjusting to earlier bed time and earlier wake up time has been an ongoing process. He has learned so much. He has made some good friends as well. He also does AWANAS here every week. Parker is into transformers, dinosaurs, scooby doo, animals, and games he can play on the computer or wii.

Addison is 3 now. She is full of spunk and love and independence right now. She loves to love...she is such a mommy and wants to take care of everyone. This plays on the line of love vs. being bossy sometimes though of course. She really loves her Parker. She misses him when he's at school and gives him the biggest hug when we pick him up. She is still super mommy attached, but that's okay. One day I'm sure I'll be begging her to sit next to me.

Micheal and I are good. Micheal works a lot, but that too I know is a season. He is working hard towards getting his Kansas Psychology license, and hopefully when that is complete things will be a lot less stressful at work.

Well, I am out of time....there is so much more, but I am going to move forward!

Faithful by Kim Cash Tate: A book review

I recently read the book called Faithful by Kim Cash Tate. This book was about a group of women best friends in different stages of their lives. Each one searching for a different meaning in their life and coping with and dealing with all the events occurring in and around their lives. This book had drama and romance from a Christian perspective. Faithful reads fast and easy and draws the reader in to find out what happens in the end. Each character has qualities that I feel we can all relate to in some way and all wonder how she will deal with it and how she will rely on God to find her way.
I enjoyed the book Faithful and would read it again. It was somewhat predictable in some ways, but in a comforting way. I appreciated being able to read the romance part of the book from a Christian perspective. I could feel how the characters were feeling and their interactions and relationships felt genuine to me while reading. The author portrayed 3 different women in 3 different life stages but yet connected them so tightly as well, helping us to remember we are all in this together. We can encourage and strengthen one another as Christian women.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Faithful by Kim

Out Live Your Life by Max Lucado book review

I recently read Out Live Your Life by Max Lucado. I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. This book is about using your life as a Christian to make a difference in this world. It talks about the issues going on now and in the past and how and why we need to take action now and why all of us are called to make a difference in this lifetime.

The book really hit me when the author asked hypothetical questions about what I would have done in times during World War II and concentration camps, or during the civil rights movement in the south...and what is going on now? Starvation, sex trade, etc. and what are we or specifically I doing? What would I want others and my grandchildren to see that I did. The book really helped me in stopping to think that while we see these things going on every day, they are not to just be ignored. Whether it be money or prayer or action, each of us need to take action to out live our lives and make a difference in this world as Christians, as God intended for us. The book gave many stories of current and past people including people from the Bible that have taken action to make a difference. This helped in making the the "assignment" seem more possible and part of everyday life for each of us. There are discussion questions for each chapter at the end of the book that are thought provoking and help give ideas on how to get started like by finding somone who is out living their life and making a difference now.

IF I COULD ASK GOD ANYTHING awesome Bible answers for curious kids by Kathryn Slattery Book review

I recently read IF I COULD ASK GOD ANYTHING awesome Bible answers for curious kids by Kathryn Slattery. I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. This book is about answering Bible questions most asked by kids. It is separated out into sections like prayer, the Bible, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The questions are real questions any new Christian may ask, they are short and to the point. They are answered succinctly enough get the answer going, and are cited by the Bible.

I feel like this is a good book. It is simple enough for children and parents to read together, but could still be used and understood by teenagers and adults new to their faith or just wanting to find "simple" answers to "simple" questions. Some questions are not all simple of course, but the book isn't afraid to answer more difficult questions as well. I think that this book is helpful and a resource that can be used for many years.