Monday, October 26, 2009

Pumpkin Patch '09

We took the school kids on a trip to the pumpkin patch last week and they had a ball! We got to go through a corn maze, pick out a pumpkin, go on a hayride, play and learn about corn, soybeans, bees, and so much more.

the biggest thing that we learned was that it is MUCH colder out in the country than in town! Some kids didn't bring jackets and they were feeling the wind a little more than others!
But even with that challenge, it turned out to be a beautiful day on the farm.

These pictures are so out of order, but I don't have the time to rearrange, so we'll just have to deal. :)
The kids had fun trying to rope a "cow".



I'm not too sure what Ben is trying to rope here....the "cow" or his friend N!


One of our favorite stations was the tube slide.

Who knew that a box of corn would keep kids so happy? Do you know how much money I could have saved in toys? ;)
Even the older kids got into the corn. They loved it!
Everyone took a turn or two at the hay jump.

The hay bale maze was a hit with them, too.

After a hayride through the cornfield, we got to pick our perfect pumpkins.

We had a great lesson taught on chickens
During the bee demonstration, Ethan had a bee land on his hand. I couldn't believe he didn't freak out!
This picture is at the entrance to the corn maze. We were able to take a short tour through with a guide. Wow. I would get so lost in there!

Goofy kids


Fire safety





Yea!! Zadyn's Home!

Our niece was able to go home on Saturday, Praise the Lord!
Thank you to everyone that prayed for her. She must be a strong little girl, because she did remarkably well getting over this illness.


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Zadyn

We went to see our niece, Zadyn, tonight and she is still in need of much prayer. She is doing better and is on the road to recovery, but is still very ill. The following two pictures are from her surgery, so I am warning you now in case you are squeamish when it comes to those kinds of pics.



This picture shows one of two stones that they found in her appendix. They think that the dehydration from the flu caused her to develop these stones and then one of them perforated her appendix....OR they blocked it and the fluid built up and it burst. If you look closely, the stone is circled.
This is a shot of the underneath part of her uterus. Apparently, when her appendix burst, it fell down into her pelvic area. The white stuff is infection. They had to flush all of her belly out. They are waiting for her stomach to "wake up" now.
Here she is visiting with us. She is doing very well, for the amount of pain she is having. They are keeping her well medicated for that.


Everything is better when Grandma is there!

Keep praying





Monday, October 19, 2009

Wow, it's a new post!

Hello All! It's been a long time! We've been busy, busy, busy up here in the north. I hope you are prepared to see lots of pictures because, well, you about to.

I will start off this post with a prayer request for our niece, Zadyn. She is very sick and had to have an appendectomy today. Her appendix is believed to have burst around Thursday. She is on the mend, but will be going through a long healing process. Please pray for her and her family, specifically that she will not pull any of the tubes out that are bothering her. She has a central line for meds and she is not too fond of it! She is 3 years old.


Next, I will tell you that I made my first round of cinnamon rolls ever. Have I told you this already? Man, I can't remember! I guess I could look back, but I won't. :) These rolls turned out surprisingly well.
We even let the kids get up and eat a little bit before they went to sleep. How mean to make them smell them baking and then not letting them taste!

Fast forward to about a week or two ago.....after 3 years, yes...3 YEARS....I finally got the windowsill painted! When we painted our house a few years ago, we left the air conditioners in so that we wouldn't get too hot. WELL, my thought was that I would paint where the air conditioner was after we took them out for the winter.
That so did NOT happen!
So, 3 years later my husband brings in the paint and says, "Look what I found!"
Well, to make a long story short, the windowsill is finally painted. :)





Ok, what's next?
Oh yes, last Thursday was had our Youth Pastor and his family over for dessert and games. We had fun talking smack to one another while we played some game that I don't even know the name to. In the end, the men were victorious (whatever) :P.
The kids were thrilled to get a chance to hold the newest addition to our youth pastor's family. He's so precious.




Pastor Brian ran in his first marathon on Saturday. Because of the early wake up and drive time, we kept the kids for them Friday night. We had a ball with them! We are so going to miss having them around.



On Saturday night, we went to the annual hayride for church. This is by far my favorite activity of the year.







After helping with the clean-up, a few of us to a nighttime hayride. We had one whole wagon for couples only...and Barb. :) Her husband was driving, so we allowed her on our wagon ;).






Finally, last night we sent our youth pastor and his family off to their next ministry with a big fellowship after church. I can't even describe how hard it was to watch them pull out of the parking lot this afternoon. So much harder than I ever anticipated. The Lord is good though, and we know that whatever He has in store will be so much better than anything we could ever imagine. We love them so much and will miss them greatly. If you could pray for our church and our pastor as we begin our search for the new man that God has for us.

Pastor Brian and Ethan

Here, Pastor Brian talks to my nephew about continuing the use his talents for the Lord. My nephew has a definite gift of piano playing. Pastor Brian's wife was his teacher for the last several years.

Ethan getting a chance to hold the baby. He wasn't home when they came over and he wasn't about to miss out on holding him. :)I put this one in here for Aunt Mary. I know that she would like to see a picture of Ginger. Ginger is our secretary at church.
Our two families, one more time. They are so special to us. We have enjoyed them so, so much. We look forward to stopping by to see them when we travel south to see my family. They just happen to be right on the way!




My parents, with Pastor Brian.

This picture totally cracks me up! She couldn't stop blinking with the flash, so she just held her eyes open~ so funny!



So, that's our past few weeks in a nutshell. We've been through a myriad of emotions, but we know that in the end, God's will will be accomplished in it all.