Kip

Good Morning. My name is Kip. I'm the adored and beloved cat of the household. Let me know if you want my autograph and I will consider your requests on Tuesdays.

Ears, Basketball, Culture Weekend

Today we went and checked out Dime's ears. Turned out wax was the culprit for the ear whistling and popping. He got it cleaned out and is fine. He has tubes so was worried about them. Duke on the other hand has fluid in his ears - which we suspected based on his lack of hearing. He will have a hearing test in a couple of weeks and see whether it has cleared up.

Deer was able to get new tennis shoes for basketball which begins on Saturday. She and Duke will be in the 1-3rd grade group. Drum and Dime will be in the 4-6th grade group. Everyone is eager for a new adventure except for Duke. He just generally is not eager to try any type of class activity. I think he worries it will be too boring or require to much sitting or maybe he just doesn't like being away from home. He had such a fit about Awana week after week that we finally decided that he needs a little more time. He has no problem doing the memorization and seemed to love the stories and play time but he just didn't want to go and be away from Dad and Mom. So we set him to memorize at home and he is much more cheerful on Wednesdays. We decided to have Duke give it a go for two weeks. If he still really, really hates it, then we will wait a few years. The boys are trying to convince him how fun it will be.....

We get a break this week from Speech Club. As much as we enjoy it, it is nice to have a break. Dot's next Speech Meet is Feb. 11.

Friday we heard that our local Christian School was putting on the play, "Sarah, Plain and Tall". We decided to take all the kids and it was a FUN night. They all did well and thoroughly enjoyed the performance. There were a number of kids in it that our kids knew from church which really added to the treat. Very inspiring to watch the kids' acting abilities and to see such an excellent story in play form.

Saturday we went to an AWESOME concert with my folks. It featured Monroe Crossing and was introduced by the Bisteadou family. The B family was a TREAT!! The two girls, 16 and 11, played the violin like it was literally a toy. They were a blast to listen to and fun to watch in the interaction of the family. We really hope to see them again. The Monroe Crossing group was excellent as well and it was an evening well spent.

Sunday we took the kids to see "The End of the Spear". We covered the little one's eyes over the intense parts. The scenery was beautiful and it was fun to open the kids eyes to the fact that there are other cultures so totally different than there own. What a testimony to the power of God in one's life and the power of purpose. Those families had a clear purpose for their life. It has made me really think about what are God's purposes for our family. Dunk and I borrowed the documentary from a friend and are looking forward to watching it and spending more time discussing it.

As you can tell, we have had a cultural weekend. Play, Concert, Movie all in ONE weekend!! Whew. I think we are going to need a week to recover. Not from the fun but all the laundry! :-)

A Sledding Scrape, a Quote, an Update.

Yesterday Dessert got a scrape on the cheek sledding! The sledding hill has become glazed ice and despite warnings, he decided to go over the jump with his little sled and the boys say he flew up and down and tipped and scraped his cheek. Drum and Dime pulled him in big sled back to the house entertaining him so that he would not think about his owie. Drum came in first while Dime kept him laughing and told me that Dessert had an accident and it looked pretty bad but that he was ok, but he was warning me so that I wouldn't make a big deal and Dessert would cry again. I appreciated the boys sensitivity towards Dessert and the warning. Dessert came in laughing and told me about the scrape. I tried to wipe a little of the blood off but that was a mistake because as soon as he saw the blood he started crying. Then it took a video and food to get his mind off himself.

The skating rink was ruined by the warm weather and then wet snow. Bummer!! We will mourn the loss until next season. Sledding and snowboarding have become the favorite pastimes.

I have to add a quote by Dime the other day while he was doing his schoolwork. To preface, let me say he Hates getting a red mark on his school work unless it is an OK at the top of the page or a big 100%. I've tried to explain , etc. but he still worries about them and I still don't. :-) He usually gets none wrong on his math as he is careful to ask questions about an answer he is unsure about until he is pretty sure it is the right answer. Well, anyways, he had gotten three wrong. Count them!! Three!!!! He was flabbergasted and upset. He took a look at the problems and said, "These aren't wrong, they're just misunderstandings." Dot told him "Big Deal. Mom just x'd every misunderstanding on your page." Oh, Brother!! :-)

Dunk's new business is starting to get it's feet off the ground. We are still discussing a final name for it. After two weeks temp job with his sheet metal work we are back on the list and waiting for God's timing on a job. Meanwhile, he is busy preparing his office and car for his new business. He has had about 5 service calls on oil furnaces and the other accounts should be arriving this week. He has an agreement with a gentleman who is retiring. His accounts will be transferred to Dunk and they will do a so-much-per-call reimbursement for a couple years. We were absolutely thrilled with this as it was a no-money-down deal. Perfect for our situation. The gentleman has been very helpful with explaining things Dunk doesn't understand or know completely how to deal with. Dunk will continue his night classes Jan 10th and this access to the teacher for questions will help as well. Plus the fact that he is continuing to learn more about service work. We need to get out a letter and business card or magnet to all the accounts when they arrive and to do that we need to finalize on the name for the company and finish that paperwork. Each step is a process in a busy family and we are praying for peace for God's timing and continued guidance in each step.

More Christmas Pictures

Here are a few pictures. Dot was keeping a steady log so that thank you notes would be easier to do. Dessert opening a gift. Everyone watching Grandma open a gift. A unique photo gift made by Aunt J. How long a kid's face looks when he has to wait for his turn to open a present. He was very patient. :-)

Merry Christmas at G&GK!

Merry Christmas 2005! We had food, gifts, entertainment, and even a new photographer! (cousin L with her own little camera). Uncle P brought snowmobiles and we hardly saw the bigger kids unless it was for mealtime or gift time. Then they played with their Narnia toys and leggos when it was dark. It was amazingly quiet in the house for so many kids (7 boys!). The grownups enjoyed visiting with a few games thrown in for good measure.

Merry Christmas at G&GW

Merry Christmas 2005! We had a fun evening at G&GW. Uncle B. arrived in a Santa suit! I don't think Dessert knew who he was until his glasses, beard, and hat came off. :-) The kids had a blast and were blest by the gifts they received. It was fun to get to spend time together.

Christmas Breakfast

We had a special breakfast on Saturday after which we gave the kids our gift to them. The kids made faces on their pancakes. Eggs for hair, bacon for mouth, choc. chips for eyes. They were delicious! I've just put on some of their faces. We gave the kids a picture of their name done in a verse. Dunk and I found the hardest part was finding the right verse that we liked and that would also work well with the name. Example: That the Man of God mAy be complete, thoRoughly equipped for every good worK. See the name in there? We lined up the name so that it ran down the center of the page and then fit the verse in. I did the writing. It was fun to find the verse for each child. We got the idea from a friend who did it for me when she and I were teenagers. I'd love to post a picture of them but didn't think that made much sense when one tries to consistently use nick-names. :-)

Cookie Baking - Mmmm..

On Friday before Christmas, the kids had a blast with L., the kids former tutor, and her Mom baking cookies. They turned out delicious! L then went sledding with the kids while the Mom's worked on gingerbread. Thanks!!

Deer's Decorated Cupcake

How would you like to eat all those toppings!!

Happy Birthday Deer!!

Today Deer is 9! Yesterday she celebrated with friends and family.
She sledded with the girls, beaded matching bracelets, and just enjoyed her friends company. The girls decorated their own cupcakes. Then in the evening the Grandparents came over for pizza and a cat cake. Deer's cat, Kip, has been with her for 2 years now. Kip was a present on her 7th birthday. We are so grateful to God for Deer!! Deer is wearing the Lucy costume from Narnia.

Sunday School Program

Today was the kid's annual Sunday School Program. Our kids were in the choir. Dessert was doing sign language to "Away in a Manger". (Mom is his teacher.) Duke was our wiggly one on stage this year. He kept Mom busy with trying to catch his eye and help him keep his wiggles still. We sure appreciated the time all those dear Sunday School teachers spent with our crew.

Tractor in the Pond

Yesterday was an interesting day..... In the morning I asked Papa W if he could clear the ice with his tractor. We had a TON of snow on our skating rink on the pond. Gramma was nervous about it but pretty soon Papa was out on the tractor on the pond. He worked for over an hour clearing snow and was in the far corner of the pond when IT happened - Thalunk - and Papa's tractor was axle deep in the pond. We found there was a spring in that corner of the pond and that was why it probably couldn't take the weight of the tractor. BUMMER!! After a lot of work trying to get the tractor out, they called a wrecker and it got it out easy as pie. The blessing of the day was that when Gramma went to pay their friend for his wrecking service, he refused payment. Wow. We are praying for God to bless him but it sounds like that is what is already happening because he said God was blessing his business lately so he passed on the money. Thanks, Lord!

Drum's New Website

Drum has a new website at www.xanga.com/dog_dude11

A Field Trip to Cabella's

Papa and Gramma K, Uncle P, Little L, and our crew visited Cabella's today. We had a blast seeing all the animals and trying out bows and arrows in the archery division. The kids thought the elephant and African animals were awesome. It was so nice that the animals didn't move and you could just sit and study them up close. We got to finish with lunch at McDonald's!! A fun, filled day!!

More Gingerbread Photos

Here are more pictures of the finished products. It was a blast!! We decided to not save them so long that they were no good to eat so we have devoured about 90% of them. :-) Mmmmm...... The gingerbread was delicious!! We still have a little left. It takes a while to eat 3 Huge gingerbread houses. :-)

Gingerbread Creations

The Children had a blast at the home of friends making Gingerbread Houses. Here are the boys hard at work and Two of the finished houses.

Star Wars Fans!

Deer as Leah
Drum as Obi-Wan
Dessert as Yoda
Dime as Anakin
Duke as Luke Skywalker

Star Wars Fans

The Great Hunters!

In Kansas