Finally, "Some" Pictures.

Last time I blogged, I couldn't upload any pictures. Don't know why. So, here they are in random order.
Dessert and Cousin TT (Twinkle Toes) give Darling a ride. (PS. The water is only a foot deep)

Fun tubing: Duke, Dessert, & Cousin E

Uncle Johnny brought up his kayaks!! Fun.

Dot & Darling:

Catch of the Day!

Watching Uncle J clean fish. One of his many talents. :-) (He wore alot of hats that week. Dad to his kids, Uncle to mine, Teacher for the drawing class, etc.)

These are pictures from Dime's Encampment graduation.

He's the short one in this picture. At least one of the tall guys in this picture is only a little over a year older than him. I'm starting to wonder if all the tall people moved hear to be near Paul Bunyan.

I have about 100 of these pictures. That's what I get for leaving my camera on the picnic table. :-)

She was having a blast with big brother Drum.

Cousins are so fun!! Yep, that's my kid with the socks on, no shoes, by the campfire. And I wonder how his socks get so black on the bottom?

Dot's July 4th dessert:

My favorite spot at the cabin. On the lake during the sunset:

I have about 30 of these adorable pictures of Darling in her swim suit. :-) She had a great time with her cousin playing in the water.

The annual 4th of July boat parade. The kids one 1st place this year!! (only two speed boat entries) They looked great!! The 3 older boy cousins are in the front of the boat, dressed in army and air force uniforms. Dot is in the back wearing the sailor hat. The rest are waving flags.

Watching the parade from the dock:

Dunk's friend he stayed with in SD. He enjoyed his trip for the 4th.

The ever-changing face of the lake.

Happy Birthday Dime!!

He had a great party with friends.

Three Teenagers!!

Three teenagers!! Since son # 2 turned 13, we are now the parents of three teenagers. :-) I'm loving it so far. Sure, we spat back and forth, but they are great kids, and I really enjoy hanging out with them, and watching them with their friends. Dime had a great birthday party last night and got to have one of the boys spend the night with him in his fort. He has it all hooked up so they could watch a movie out there. After I take the friend back to St. Cloud, we head up to the Lake. We'll come home tomorrow, so it isn't a long trip.

Friday night we were in a parade for my Mom. I think it is one of the longest parades I've been in! and fastest as well!! I kept thinking we were almost done, and it kept going. Dot, Dime, Deer, and Duke rode unicycles. Dessert handed out stickers with me. Dunk & Drum were busy with stickers. Darling was just cute in her stroller. :-) The kids had a blast afterwards with their cousins, and grandparents at the fair! Dot, Darling, and I went for a snack and then to get some items she still needed for her trip. The others were pumped up and chatty when I picked them up at 10. They boys got these little frisbees that fold up and spring out. They are great!! Dime rode the tornado! :-) Fun memories!!

Sunday we went to Dot's commissioning service at her youth group's church. There are about 20 on the trip! Great group. Then we headed over to my Dad's Mom's family reunion. We had a great time eating and playing. Later, I took Dot home to finish packing while the rest played. Then we went back, picked them up, took Dot's luggage to be loaded at 8pm, went to Wal-Mart for one more thing she forgot, and finally got HOME!! :-) Dunk took her for her ride at 4:15 am Monday. By 9 LA time she was in CA!! We haven't heard from her, but no news is good news at this point. We've been praying for her a ton. It has been weird to have her gone. A Mom likes her chicks in her nest. :-) I'm so proud of her commitment though. She definitely is going beyond her comfort zone. :-)

I've recently read the series "MisMatch", "ReMatch", and "Matchpoint" by Erynn Mangum. They are hilarious!!!! and excellent! Dot borrowed them from a friend, and Dot, Deer, and I laughed and laughed our way through these books. If you love coffee, chocolate, and chick fliks; you'd love these books! I Don't drink coffee, like chocolate in only certain forms (fudgy chocolate cake, blue symphony bars, German-chocolate cake my Mom makes, you get the idea), but I still LOVED reading her matchless funniness! Wish I owned a set to read again, and loan out. :-)

Book Review: Love as a Way of Life

I'm finally getting on here to blog, in the middle of the night! A girl's got to get a chance to blog sometime. :-) I'm going to start with a book review!
"Love as a Way of Life" by Gary Chapman was a wonderful encouraging read. It shares uplifting, heart-encouraging stories and practical ideas to develop the 7 characteristics of a life of love. This book focuses on how to give love, not just get it. The seven characteristics are kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, and honesty. Each characteristic is developed with examples and explanations. I really enjoyed the definition of patience - allowing someone to be imperfect.
I believe this is so important as it sets us aside as Christians, that we show love to one another. Our local Christian radio has days set apart for a "Drive Thru Difference." They encourage their whole audience to participate in showing acts of kindness throughout the day. It shows the power of Christ's love in our lives. "Won by Love," about Norma McCorvey the Jane Roe in Roe V. Wade, is an awesome book that shows the power of just sharing Christ's love with others, including our "enemies." The movie "Evan Almighty" shares a great idea for remembering to share Christ's love for others in doing an "Act of Random Kindness" - ARK. I've considered pasting up the word ARK around our house as a reminder. No matter who starts it, showing kindness breeds more kindness.
As part of the book's summary states, "Convinced that in a world of constant conflict people desperately need authentic love, Chapman paints a compelling vision of how life can be richer and relationships more satisfying for anyone who practices Love As a Way of Life."
The book is way richer than my summary. You have four options:
1. Purchase the book at http://www.amazon.com/Love-Way-Life-Transforming-Aspect/dp/0385518587/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215792028&sr=1-1
2. Purchase the book at your local bookstore.
3. Borrow my copy of the book.
4. Comment here for your chance to own this fantastic, encouraging book!

I really should post about what we've been up to lately. Anna had a fantastic week at my folk's cabin learning with her friend from my brother about drawing. We enjoyed being with my niece and two nephews. The kids had a great week, and I really enjoyed the time to visit with my brothers. I'd do that again every summer. :-)

Dime survived Encampment!! It was a great, working, learning experience for him and he was so grateful to pass. Drum made it through Wednesday and then realized he needed to try again next summer. It has been one of those learning experiences he will value in the years ahead. We are pleased with his attitude towards those who finished, even when he did not. Great work guys!!

Last week we hosted a Gameathon for 13 guys on Tuesday to Wednesday and 24 girls on Thursday to Friday!! The kids worked so hard getting ready, and then played hard and had a blast! Believe it or not, I have not one picture of our second annual event. I was too busy keeping up with kids, the meals, and keeping picked up. I really enjoy watching the kids enjoy themselves. My favorite is helping with the timing for the obstacle course. It is 2-3 minutes of grueling labor. :-) :-) No problems with extra energy kids after that!! :-)

Our great news lately is that Dunk got a job around home. Well, I should modify that. He was driving 5 hours to a different state and staying there and then driving 5 min to work each day. Now he spends his nights at home, but is driving 2 hours one way to work. It is definitely an improvement to see him at night, but still draining for him. This job will last two weeks, and I'm praying hard his next job is closer to home (and of course would last all year or more). Doesn't hurt to dream big and pray hard!! :-)

Sunday we celebrated Grandma W's birthday with 76 trombones!! Well, skipping the trombones I guess. :-) It was great to see Aunt S.

This week Dot is getting ready for her big mission's trip, and the rest of us are catching up on this and that around the house. Papa W put in three lights in the dining room, which look fantastic!!! Dot got her eye's checked and found out they are improving!! That's a switch. She loves her new contacts because she can see so much better with the proper prescription. No wonder they were bugging her.

I really better hit the hay. I'm going to try to post this after the book review post, so we will see what happens to the date, etc.

Monday Mupdate - well, it rhymes :-)

Yesterday, Dot and her mission's group did a car wash and earned over $600 for the house they will be building in Mexico. They had a great time, and even had a motorcycle show up. :-)
Darling said, "Love you," to Dad for the first time. So sweet!!
Dime and Drum are still hanging in there at Encampment. I am looking so forward to seeing them again, and hearing how their time went. Please pray for them if the Lord brings them to mind. Encampment is like a boot camp that lasts 9 days vs. 6-12 weeks. It is very hard, and a challenge for the teens there. They have them up and out doing PT by 6 am. They have classes with tests, PT, and inspections throughout the day. We cannot talk with them, but can e-mail, which they get every night.
This week Deer has art lessons with my brother up north. It will be fun to see the cousins.
Yesterday, we got the dryer working again. Saturday morning the lint fell down the shute when Dunk went to empty it. Papa W and I took the dryer apart and got the lint out, made sure it was working again, and then closed it up. It did work, but there was now no heat. I couldn' t figure it out then, Papa was working on the broken lawn mower, so waited til Sunday. On Sunday I took the back off the dryer again, and had Dunk look at it. After checking fuses he mentions - Is the gas on? Oh brother!! I remembered Papa and I turning it off while we worked, in case we kinked the gas tubing. It works great now!! :-) I had alot of laundry to catch up!
Dunk and Dot had a fantastic Saturday at the Rebelution conference. I'm still waiting for a full report on Dot's blog. :-)

Quiet Morning Update

The boys are off to Encampment, Dot & Dunk are off to their Rebelution conference, so the youngest 4 and I are home for the day. Well, Deer & I might run to town for art supplies for next week's art lesson with Uncle J. Everyone is sleeping in late as Dunk got home at 10:45 last night, and of course they all wanted to visit and hear stories. I really enjoy quiet mornings.

Yesterday we had quite a day with getting the boys off. We ended up spending 1 1/2 hours waiting in the parking lot to meet the van (understandable reasons, but still had to wait). Then 10 mins of frantic sewing on the cap tapes that just arrived, so they have them on for encampment. Two ladies graciously agreed to help me sew on the 3 patches I needed to do. One pierced her finger deep 2 times!! Ouch!! I felt so bad for her, being it wasn't even her own kid she was giving blood for. Thanks, Julie & Lynn, for your help!! I finally got smart and said my last words and good-byes to the boys before we got to the parking lot. Only thing I forgot was their hug at home, so didn't need to do it in a parking lot full of peers. They still remembered and came for a quick one behind the car before they left. I love those boys!!

Last night we went to Elliot's graduation party. It was such a great party!! I loved the "know Elliot" game. Good food, fun times, fun friends.

Gotta go do something else with my quiet morning. :-)

Ramblings

I have no good reason for not posting lately. Unless one wants to count: tired, carpal tunnel like symptoms in my right arm, laundry, movies, can't eat bars and type at the same time. lol :-) Darling doesn't like me to sit and type. She prefers I hold her, or take her outside. The mosquitoes have been crazy around here. In the evening, she doesn't move fast enough to be outside.

Our days lately have been filled with orthodontist appts., friends over, looking for missing books, baking bars, eating bars, watching movies, playing with the slip-and-slide, playing with the hose on the tramp, mowing the lawn, etc. I've done the driving, laundry, movies, baking, and eating bars. No wonder I'm not as skinny as my kids. I got my thyroid levels checked yesterday, and Dot got her pre-trip immunizations. I'm always hoping thyroid is the reason I'm tired. Not because I read a book late, didn't get enough exercise, or a dog or cat woke me up early. 6:15 our dog woke me up today!!!! Good Grief!! I'm on summer schedule!

Occasionally I go through a spurt where we just want to watch a "few" movies. We hadn't seen any for so long. We went to the video store and I found out they had a limit on how many we could check out! :-) I had nine in my pile. They would only let me check out seven. :-) So we've been watching them this week.

It seems like I should have plenty of time to get whatever I needed done, but somehow the time keeps flying by with little stuff. Drum and Dime leave on Friday for Encampment, so we've been getting the details ready for their trip. They have to have 6 plain black shirts, 5 white v-neck t-shirts, 6 black boot socks, 4 black dress socks, etc. That is all doubled as I have 2 boys going! I have 10 patches to sew on. 10!!! That's a lot of pokes in my fingers. You'd think I'd have all those patches sewn on watching movies, but that would be because you haven't watched a movie with a 1 1/2 year old in a while. Sometimes I think I watched the movie in constant motion myself keeping Darling from making noise.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

We're back... Yep, we had a great "vacation" and did all our field trips for the year. :-) I was very impressed with Sioux Falls. (I now know how to properly spell it without checking.) We enjoyed the weather, most importantly the lack of bugs! We could walk outside at dusk without swinging our arms like windmills in a windgust. (We are having a bupper crop of mosquitoes this year.) Dot did a great job outlining our vacation at www.xanga/joy4kitties.

I really couldn't believe all the beautiful parks. We stopped at one huge swimming park to find out how much it cost to swim. The lady told me they had a broken line so were out of business for the day, but there were 3 other swim parks in town I could go to!! This is besides the many other regular parks. I say regular but they were beautiful!!! Nice playground sets and beautiful trees and lawns. They have a bike trail we rollerbladed on, that goes in a huge loop around the city, 26 miles!! I wanted to conquer the trail, but not enough time. lol We'd have to work up to that, and get Duke and Dessert a bike there.

Our favorite park was the Japanese gardens. What a beautiful and relaxing spot. Perfect for pictures. My camera was full and we wanted to relax, not just photo shoot - but wow! Need to go back for more pictures someday. My favorite shot turned out blurry - huge bummer. Need, need to go retake this one.

Our favorite bakery was Daylight Donuts. I'm so glad they are not located close to our home. Our favorite eating out was Olive Garden - ahhh, culinary culture with elegant service. (a plus was Darling slept through the meal :-)

Here are a few pictures from the science museum:

Battleship Memorial:

This is Darling surrounded by one of her favorite things - Rocks! This is while waiting for the boys at the CAP class they visited.

The sculpture walk:

The Zoo:
Included in the picture is the Gentleman we stayed with in his basement, and his grand-daughter.

Fishing on Saturday:

It is great to be home, but we still feel like we are catching up. We are all having an aversion to being in the car. Question: "Want to go.....?" Reply: "No."

With Endless Sight - A Book Review

Summary:
Born into a life of privilege in 1861, fourteen-year-old Belinda never questions her security, even as she leaves Illinois with her family to discover new adventures in the Oregon Territory. But when disaster falls, Belinda is left wounded, weak, and alone. Her faith in God gives her the only strength she knows in a harsh new world. Belinda’s journey takes her to a snow-covered mining camp and a red-roofed brothel in the Wyoming mountains, but not before she must spend a lonely winter with the man who took away the life she knew. Throughout the grief and hope of a strange land, Belinda must decide if her faith is big enough to allow her to forgive.The satisfying conclusion to the Crossroads of Grace series, With Endless Sight offers a rich story of family, new beginnings, and the freedom that grace can bring.

You may purchase the book at Amazon.com: With Endless Sight
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1601420129

Or Comment by June 14, to win your copy of this book.

Fatal Deduction - A Book Review

I really enjoyed the fast-paced book, "Fatal Deduction" by Gayle Roper. Libby Keating and her twin sister, Tori, are forced to share their Aunt Stella's home in the city as one of the conditions for recieving Aunt Stella's sizeable inheritance. A dead man and a number of crossword puzzle clues pop up for her cheating sister, Tori. Solving these clues and the strange incidences with which they arrive, are necessary for surviving their dangerous outcome.

I enjoyed Libby as a character and her relationships with those around her. She was an inspiring woman who allowed God to work in her life, despite the harsh circumstances she grew up with. In fact Gayle allows the reader to get to know Libby first, and her background later. I felt like Libby kept her sense of independence and purity even while she manuevered through the minefields of her relationships with her sister, Tori, and her neighbor, Drew Canfield. In its interesting conclusion, find out why Aunt Stella wanted Libby and Tori to live together in her home.

The crossword puzzles are included in the text of the story for those crossword lovers out there. This book would make an excellent gift for a friend who loved crosswords and a great novel. It also has a strong thread of the redemption God has for those whose paths were less than perfect. Find out how God used a neighbor, Madge, while Libby was growing up, to be a Christian example of the servant, caring heart of God.

Want your own copy of the book? Comment by June 7th for your chance to win.

Author Bio: Gayle Roper has been writing mystery and romantic suspense novels for more than thirty years and is the author of over forty-five books. She is a three-time Christy Award finalist, the winner of three Holt Medallions, and the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times magazine. Her novel Autumn Dreams won Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance. She and her husband, Chuck, divide their time between Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada.

Memorial Day Weekend, before & after

This past week was busy, lol what week isn't?! Drum and Dime got to go on a CAP O-ride.

It was Drum's 2nd and Dime's 1st. They had a fantastic time, and flew over our home and both grandparent's homes. Later in the week, Dime had his c-130 flight. He had a great time. Timing was interesting as the night before he was working at his youth group to package up stuff to be sent to other countries via C-130's. So it was interesting to ride in the plane that will eventually carry stuff like he was packaging.

Dime had his last guitar lesson, the trees were in bloom, so Dot and I took a photo opportunity. She's so beautiful! :-)

We sure had a busy and fun Memorial Day weekend. Friday night we went to graduation for friends. We had a great, busy time. What memories to see kids I've known at least 13 years, graduate. My Mom spoke at the graduation. Great job, Mom!

Saturday late morning, Dunk, Drum, & Dime went to a CAP volunteer event; while the rest of the kids & I went to the parade to walk for my Mom. Well, Dot, Deer, & Duke rode unicycles; Darling was pushed in the stroller by Gma W; Papa K drove the truck, Papa W rode in the truck; and Dessert and I walked together to hand out stickers. We had a great time! They had snacks for us when we were done. The kids got to see the rest of the parade and get enough candy to fill their pockets before the trip north. After the stop for sandwiches, we headed north to the CABIN!!! The boys joined us up there in time for supper together - steaks! Wow!! (How often does a family like ours eat steak? Yeah, right.) Most of the kids swam (it was way to cold for me!!!) The little ice-cubes joined us for our 1st sunset cruise of the season.

It rained Sunday morning, perfect for church :-), and then was nice the rest of the day. We went to the park with the kids,

tried roller-blading (not great spots in town), played games, etc.

Monday we relaxed. The kids repotted plants with Papa, and did other projects around the house. Duke made himself his own cribbage board. He won his second game on it! We won't talk about the first game. Dunk left about 3:30. The older grandkids watched a movie with Papa, Gma, & I on Monday night, while the younger ones watched their own movie, and I did Gma's hair up (I should have taken a picture.). The movie was exciting!! A fun evening!

Tuesday we went to Slavoda's for breakfast. Nummy!! Papa, Gma, & Dessert biked, Darling was in the stroller, and the rest of us roller-bladed to town. After a swim, we took our 1st trip to the Gumdrop Tree this year. It is well looked forward to. The kids love looking at the unique toys, and trying out different candies. Darling loved the fountain at the store.

Then we did our traditional visit to the bakery, and then walked around the corner to the used book store. We found some to bring home. A trip to the grocery store, and then we headed back to the cabin. Whew!

Wednesday dawned bright and gorgeous. All the kids hit the water in the afternoon, even Darling! Then she got a sun bath, while she played on the porch.

Many thanks to the men and women who helped make our freedoms possible for this Memorial Day Weekend. We appreciate your sacrifice.

Skid - A Book Review

"Skid" by Rene Gutteridge was a fun book to read! First Officer Danny McSweeney prepares for a routine flight from Atalanta to Amsterdam. His flight is joined by an unusual female captain, a tactless co-pilot, a lead flight attendant with a capital Tude, a mentally unstable women with a pet pig to calm her fears, a diamond carrying grandson, a jilted Lucy with her ex and his girlfriend, and the stabling influence of Hank Hazard. Hank's faith in God calms the passengers and crew, and is the connecting force behind this story.

How Danny and Hank eventually meet and join up to make the flight home is a funny and interesting story. Despite the multitude of characters, this book was well worth the time it took to meet them. It makes me want to get the first two of "The Occupational Hazards" novels, "Scoop" and "Snitch." If you get them, please comment! so that I may borrow them if I don't buy them first.

Rene Cutteridge has done her homework to make sure these novels are authentic to their occupation. She is the author of twelve novels, including the Boo series, the Storm series, and the novelization for The Ultimate Gift, as well as Scoop and Snitch, the first two Occupational Hazard novels. She lives with her husband, Sean, and their two children in Oklahoma City.

You may purchase the book at Amazon.com: Skid
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400071593

Or save your money to buy "Scoop" or "Snitch" and win your copy of "Skid" by commenting below, before May 30th.

Against Sleep?

I'm not sure what it is about sleep these days, but I'm sure not getting much of it!
Last night, after I was sound asleep (very tired, is about 10:45 or so), Dime came into my room and told me he was having a splitting headache and stomach hurt. I asked him if he took an IB earlier. (When he came home from CAP, he said he had a bad headache; I told him to take an IB right away.) Nope, didn't. Did you eat a snack when you got home? Nope. (He hasn't eaten much all evening, because he was at CAP, and they went early, played outside, doesn't want to waste time with that sort of thing.)(Fresh bread and rolls were on counter for him.) I tell him to take 2 IB, and eat something with it so won't throw it up. Turn on a movie to relax your brain.
I'm almost asleep again. Dime returns - headache worse, took ib's, can't swallow any food, now nauseated, can't turn on movie because head hurts. Tell him to tell Dot to put on movie (she's awake and up), don't throw up in here, nothing I can do at this point. Few minutes later, I threw up but still feel horrible. Head still hurts. I'm really sorry. Turn on movie and try to relax. Now I can't sleep, feel horrible I didn't get up and really commiserate with him. Finally get up and go check on him. (12:00) He is sound asleep in his own bed.
Then this morning at 5:30, what is that noise? a wierd alarm? oh, it's the CAT!! Does she want to go out - No! - she wants to go downstairs to eat! Too light out, can't sleep....
I'm gonna need a nap. :-)

It was a busy weekend, what with a birthday party, clean-up day, 2 graduation open-houses, Dot's ballet recital, church, Deer's Awana party, Dot's work, and Dime's 1st guitar recital!! :-) He did so nicely. I'm looking forward to his playing, while we all sing. It was great to see and hear him play.

Dot had a sweet ballet recital. It was fun to be the Mom and take lots of pictures. I will post them separate. I had dead camera batteries, but my Mom didn't - PTL! So I borrowed her camera, and she e-mailed the multitude of pictures. So, I'm still putting the pictures into a form I can see and post.

Dunk's back to work. Our tests arrived this weekend (goody-goody. Not!!) so we get to do testing this week. We are all looking so forward to Memorial Day weekend at the CABIN!!!

Food & Fun, Here we come!!!

Signs of Spring

Beautiful Tulips!!! (thanks, Dad)



Blue Bird Eggs


Baby Birds


and Deer?!


On Saturday, we had our local clean-up day. Dime went along to the drop-off site. He found out they were throwing this deer head away!! He rescued it, and put it up in his room. I couldn't believe it. It would freak me out to wake up and see that staring at me. His room is not that big!! I don't think I'll be visiting Dime all that often. :-)