Happy Creativity!

We love Halloween for the very fact that we get to celebrate creativity and use their imagination to be whatever they want to be!

We were so proud of John, he made his own costume (minus the helmet). He drew on some white long johns and then for Captain Rex's black "skirt" he tied a black t-shirt around his waist. He looked great!

Trick or treating at one of our favorite neighbor's house.

Yes, Jason and I were Bacon and Eggs! The perfect match!

Cinnamon went trick or treating himself and found some candy. (Don't worry you dog lovers out there we got it after this picture. No chocolate was consumed!)

Sadly, this is not all the candy we got...anyone want some?

Fun with friends!

If you have never thought of the pumpkin as a chance to remember what God has done, please keep reading.

1. First when you get the pumpkin you cut open the top. This is a great reminder that we need to open our minds to the things of the Lord, searching for Him.

2. Second, God takes all the crappy stuff out of our lives when we confess our sins and trust in Him alone to save us. (1 John 1:9)

3. Third, as you cut the eyes in the pumpkin we can be reminded to ask God to help us see more of Him. (Psalm 119:18)

4. Next, when you cut the mouth you can be reminded to share Jesus and all the things God has done for you with those you meet. (Psalm 118:17)

5. When you place the candle in your pumpkin it can be a reminder for our lives to shine for Him. (Matthew 5:16)

I know this is posted after Halloween, but I hope that you are able to look at pumpkins in a different light each fall. What another Great reminder of all God has done for us!

Life is an adventure...

Little did we know Monday night that the next few days would be full of fun and adventure. We were expecting fun, but didn't realize just how much fun, we as a family, would have. It all started with this little thing right HERE6

Yes, this thing 5decided to act like a uncontrollable robot. I still don't know how we made it to the service station. I am thinking God probably had something to do with it!

We knew that we were suppose to leave Tuesday to head to MI for my father-in-law's 65th birthday celebration. LONG STORY SHORT our car was far from okay ($1,000 computer malfunction to be exact), so the only way to get there was to get tickets on AMTRAK (thanks to the help of my in-laws). So an hour before we were suppose to head out in the car, I was selecting what I could fit in one suitcase and trying to figure out how to get the kids and I downtown to meet Jason (who was working down there). Thankfully, a neighbor volunteered to take us to the 'L' station, but at the last second decided to drive us all the way down to Union Station (thanks Steve!!).

(above): the kids and I waiting for Jason to meet us at the station. Since our neighbor saved us the expense of us on the train, we decided to get a little treat.

(below): The kids in the Grand Hall...it reminds me of My Best Friend's Wedding...one of my favorites.
We got on the train and enjoyed a fun trip. It has been John's dream to ride on the Amtrak train, so he was elated!

Below: passing the time reading all the places Amtrak can take you!

We finally made it to Michigan and had a great time meeting some new cousins we haven't met before. Eli, 4, who wouldn't get in the picture, totally looked up to John and wanted to do everything that he did. He kept saying, "Where's my friend John?" John at first wasn't sure about it, but took it in stride and made Eli feel like a "big boy".

Below: (lft to Rt) Wes, John, Jason and "Uncle" Bill (Wes' college friend)

After cake and celebrations, Jason wanted to take his dad on a walk along the beach. So we went to catch the sunset at Silver Beach.

below: Sharon and Wes at the pier

The kids got to enjoy a "dip" in the water.

The next morning we headed to the train station in the pouring rain. Here is our train pulling into the station. This was at 9:30 Eastern time (8:30 Central). Our train was suppose to get in at 10:30 Central...little did we know...

...that this was not to be true...

below: enjoying some coloring

The train went through Flash Flood Warnings the whole way, which meant going 15 miles an hour the whole way. Our two hour trip turn into a 5 1/2 hour one!

(above) to pass the time I was trying my artistic hand at drawing a portrait of them. As you can see I did not take a picture of it and put it on here! 8-)

(above) After a 3 1/2 hour delay, total 5 1/2 hour tour, the kids get excited to see Union Station! ***There is no picture of the 3 block run the kids had to do in the pouring rain, and the train ride***

(above) Riding on the bus on our way home.

(below) The final 1/4 mile walk home from the bus stop.
Notice the beige jacket that Kiley is wearing, a man on the 'L' saw that my kids were cold and GAVE us his jacket so they wouldn't get sick. It was a great example to my kids of selflessness.

It was a crazy adventure for us, but the kids were AMAZING and for the most part had great smiles on their faces. I was impressed at the fact that John did not did not complain once, and that even though Emily did not want to run in the rain, she did it and kept going because she knew she had to. I loved that Emily took hold of Karli's hand and encouraged her when Karli thought she couldn't go any further. I loved that Karli kept going even though she wanted to give up. I was excited to see Kiley really push hard through the fact she didn't want to trudge that last quarter mile, but did. I congratulated and encouraged the kids that people on the train praised the kids for handling themselves better than some of the grown-ups. I thank God for the situation to teach the kids to be content no matter what the circumstances and that sometimes things are thrown at us in life the we CAN'T STAND, but we have to learn to roll with the punches. It was a great chance for Jason and I to do nothing for five hours but hang out with our kids. To see the selflessness of the man on the train and what an example he was to the kids and I and how I hope that I am that example of love to others I met during my day. This was a crazy throw in our schedule, but such a blessing in so many ways. May I use this trip to continue to learn how to be patient, learn to love without strings and to enjoy each curve ball that is thrown my way. Live is a great adventure I am glad to be a part of!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

It has been a few weeks since I have had a chance to write. The end of the school year with great weather makes for not too much time inside! Here is a picture of my girls from their birthday party earlier this month. I still can't believe that they are 6! It feels like just yesterday when Jason and I were videotaping their syncranized crying because there

was nothing left for us to do! We tried to make the best out of those experiences and TRY to find the humor. The girls in the picture are wearing I think almost everything that people had gotten them for their birthdays. 8-) They had a Hannah Montana gymnastics party at a local gym. Happy Birthday Kiley and Emily!

The best job on earth!

I know that it has been a week already since Mother's Day, but since it has been crazy, too crazy...I have an excuse. I was just sitting here thinking about different jobs and wondering what my kids will be when they grow up. What will they choose? It will be exciting to find out. Then I think to my job. A mom. It can be exhausting some days, but when you look at these awesome faces, how in the world could one not know that I have the best job on earth! Do you see the poster boards??? Those were my favorite gifts. They each made their own games for me, just for me. Now, how many of you have had four games made just for you? Yep, I think that answers my previous question, who has the best job on earth?? Sorry, everyone it is me! (and I even have a wonderful, good looking, admirable, honest man of integrity to go along with it...I am seriously not trying to brag, but if you say so...)

Hello Mr. President!

Monday was President's Day so we took a field trip to the Chicago Historical Museum. They also had a portable exhibit about Abraham Lincoln, it gave a little taste of what the Lincoln Library and Musuem in Springfield is like. That ended up being the kids favorite part of the trip. After the portable exhitbit we headed into the historical musuem. And met Abraham Lincoln. We loved that he looked as tall as the real Lincoln (who was 6'4" tall). We later saw him with Mary Todd Lincoln in a bit called Meet the Lincolns it was a great way to teach the kids about what was going on and about the Lincolns themselves. After meeting Abraham Lincoln, we headed to the kid area, where they had face painting and a craft for the kids to do. The face painter was an actual artist and it was fun to see the kids get their faces done. (Should you live in the Chicago area and want the contact info on the person click the comment section and it will have her information).



After the wonderful face painting, the kids went over to do an ink painting of Abraham Lincoln and Barak Obama's faces. It was something great to take home and we now have them hanging in our window in honor of President's Day.
Then we headed to an area called Chicago. The kids got to dress up like a Chicago hot dog, famous for all its toppings, ride an old fashioned bicycle, pretend they were running the marathon and because Chicago is known for its smells got to test their nostrils and guess the smells of the town. Unfortunately, we missed the Grey Lake Navy Band, but got to enjoy the Faces of Mount Rushmore.
Hearing about the four presidents on the famous Mountain was great to hear. They were all so different. We got pictures with all of them, except Thomas Jefferson. There were a bunch of people having debates with him, too many to wait to get a picture with. Sorry Thomas, maybe next time. After touring the diaromas and rest of the musuem we decided to check out Moody Church. It was closed, unfortunately, but the kids got to see it. We will have to go back another time to check it out. We had an hour before dad got off work so we headed back our car and worked on some workbooks they had been handing out at the musuem. It was called Lincoln and me. They read different things about Lincoln and then wrote or drew pictures of where they lived, how tall they were, etc. and compared them to Lincoln. We did that in the car, and I was thankful to my oldest for thinking of bringing pencils "just in case". It came in handy. We were able to "waste" enough time to then be able to drive and pick dad up. The neat thing was because it was a holiday the traffic was low, so the kids were able to jump out and go up and see dad's office. They loved doing that and dad enjoyed showing them off. It was a great day and it was neat to see the kids get excited about our presidents and our government.

Our Valentine Party with our homeschool group

Today was great, celebrating Lincoln's 200th birthday and having a Valentine Party! It was good, oh and The Office and Survivor starts tonight, but that is just cherry on the top! Anyway, back to our party. Our homeschool group TEACH organized a party for all the kids so they could have games and exchange valentines, so they wouldn't miss out. John was hesitant to go, but as we were leaving said, "Mom, this was so much fun!" See, don't not do something because the kids groan about doing it. In the end they will see that trying new things, usually, is a lot of fun! Here are some pictures of our time.
Here are a couple of pictures of them making their Valentine bags to keep all the treats in.

Then they played games and made some more crafts. And even got their face painted.

We had lunch after the games. Pizza, carrots and grapes.
Then our leader at TEACH talked to the kids about how you can show love in so many different ways, and asked the kids to tell how they feel loved by their parents. Emily said she felt love when she sucked on her lollipop. Ok, not in the mood to share, oh well. There were a lot of different answers and it was great to hear their answers. Then she went on to explain the greatest demonstration of love, which is Jesus voluntarily dying for each one of us. There is not a better picture of such love! After clean up, we all headed into different age groups to hand out Valentines. The three girls were all in the Pre-K and Kindergarten group and then John was with the early elementary group.

They had so much fun getting Valentines from all the kids. The girls kept holding up each one to show me and feeling so special that the other kids thought of them. It was a great experience for them, and I am so glad that we were able to make it. Then we headed home and sat and poured out all of the Valentines and candy. We read all the different ones.
It is nice to be part of a homeschool group where you can do something like this and then you know they aren't missing out on the fun things that go on in school too. It was a great day! John is now excited to hand out Incredible Hulk Valentines at One Day Enrichment tomorrow! Fun times!