We have kittens!

Want one?


























Impromptu playdate = many happy children = 3 slightly traumatized kittens

Come rescue one, won't you???? :)

Apple Festival

Sunday was Topeka's annual Apple Festival. We hope to make this a fall tradition - it was so fun!

Watching a pioneer make apple fritters over the campfire.


Petting zoo.


50 cent rides on the hand car.


Sasparilla faces. :)


Clare was just happy to sit and observe!

VBS 2009

Bounce house

Lessons with the infamous Mr. Miller

Games, friends, and lots of fun


Strike your best ninja pose...

Aunt Sonja and the girlies (Nyah gets jealous, I think :)

Someday she will play with you, Nyah!

Lots of extra cousin time

The week of VBS is always fun! And the boys really soak up the lessons - every night at bedtime Dave had great discussions with them about what Mr. Miller had talked about that night. It is so neat to see their little minds taking it all in.

But I have to admit, I'm glad for a slower pace this week!

Who's coming over today, Mom?

One of the best things about not being pregnant anymore is having the energy to have friends over again. The boys have been begging to invite people over, pretty much every day, and it has been so fun to say yes!

I don't have pictures of all our playdates of late, but I did manage to pull the camera out for this special moment. :)


Nothing better than PBJ faces, bed head, and mix and match dress up clothes!

Oh, and Asher refused to be in the picture, but he was there too. :)

Girls Night

Sonja and I left all the guys and kids at her house, and met Kelly and Tanya for dinner and a slumber party. Haven't done that in awhile! We had a great time catching up. These are my GIRLS!

St. Paddy's Day Parade

We decked out in green, called some friends, and headed downtown. It was surprisingly warm for March - 80 degrees! We all got a little sun, I think.



















Fun times!

Snow Day

It's been a good week - our families are adjusting nicely to an 11 person household (at least they are on our end!). The kids especially love having built-in playmates around. Lots of games around the table, art supplies have made it out several times, and someone is always fully decked out in dress-up clothes. Makes me laugh.






Today the kiddos woke me up with cries of, "Mommy, mommy, it snowed last night!" They were so excited to play in it today, especially with all the friends, who of course aren't as used to snow as we are. But the midday sun made for a nice day to play in it, and the kids had a blast. I had to make them come in for lunch, with promises of more snow days to come.

Pray for Baby Evelyn

Our dear friends Grace and Brandon's 9 day old little girl Evelyn was admitted to the hospital yesterday. Please pray for them! She was not eating well, and they were having a hard time arousing her. She is in the ICU on a ventilator now.

They don't know much at this point, but our Father in heaven surely does. I was reminded of this tonight, as I was cooling down from a run on the boardwalk next to the beach. I sat down to stretch, and this David Crowder song started playing on my iPod - I think it's called The Glory of it All.

Anyway, the first verse says,

At the start, He was there.
In the end, He'll be there.
And after all our hands have wrought, He forgives.

It brings such quiet assurance to my soul tonight to know for certain that my God has always existed and will continue to be God, despite whatever waves crash over us. Nothing gets past Him, and He is in the business of working in our lives for His glory. Each and every one of us. Even sweet, little Evelyn, who I haven't even gotten to meet yet.

As I sat there on the beach, I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes as David Crowder sang the chorus:

Oh the Glory of it all is
He came here
For the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

He cared enough about us to come and redeem us, enough to send His precious Son to die for us. And so I know He cares when we pray for His help in this situation too. For healing. For wisdom on the part of doctors. For strength and peace for Grace and Brandon and their families. For His glory.

The sea was gorgeous tonight, dark and powerful. I love sitting outside and just watching the waves crash against the sand, and I have to admit, I stayed out there for awhile. Just talking to the Lord about all of this. Dave told me that he almost came out looking for me. He knows how long my runs usually take. :)

The next verse of the song, while simple, really spoke to my heart.

All is lost, find Him there,
After night, dawn is there,
After all falls apart
He repairs He repairs

He redeems us. And He repairs us. No matter what our need, He is there. I am so thankful for the truth of that!

Please pray for Evelyn, and ask the Lord to meet her need. And lift the rest of the family up too. These are hard days.

Grace's sister Christina is posting updates here.

Kelly's 30!

To celebrate this monumental occasion, we celebrated Hawaiian luau style on Saturday! It was so much fun, and just the perfect weather for an outdoor BBQ.

Favorite pics of the evening:

The girls

Sweet Nyah

Bammer, Danny, and Kelly, competing in a hula contest

Bocce ball

Ethan and Kate, people watching

My pensive son

Me and the birthday girl!

Happy birthday, Kelly! We love you!

4 year old wonder

Today I am thankful
for sweet children's smiles
and the happy sounds of
life at home.

It has been a good day. I woke up to a headache and some naughty behavior, so that wasn't so great, but things have improved with some consistency on my part. Isn't that always my story? I should know that by now, but I still forget.

I asked the boys if they wanted water or milk to drink for lunch. Si says, "Wilk, peese." Made me laugh.

We are on week 4 of a 10K training program, Dave and I. I am so proud of him for doing this with me. It is amazing how much more endurance I've gained over the last 4 weeks. I was barely able to run for 15 minutes before, and now I can go twice as long. And it feels good. I am actually starting to enjoy running again.

Swimming lessons start tonight, so I am off to take a shower!

Rock Chalk!!!!!!!

The Jayhawks just won the national championship!!!!!! Go Hawks! We let E stay up for the whole game tonight (this may or may not have been a mistake on my part :), because we had a feeling there was going to be some history in the making. I wonder if he will remember this night when he is older. Probably just the screeching coming from Aunt Kim's side of the room. Ha! We love to tease her, but it really is fun to watch the game with her! :)

My little men wanted to wear KU stuff tonight - they were so proud of how they looked. Simon learned to say *Jayhawk* last week, just in time for the big game.
Asher enjoyed the cupcakes Aunt Kim brought - he even did a little finger painting. Here he is, predicting KU as number 1!!!!





We had quite the group over tonight. So fun! We're not sure we can sleep tonight!