Merry Christmas!!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

The last week was wonderful!! Grandma and Grandpa were here for a visit. We had a great time playing, talking and just enjoying time together. Our kids were able to have Thanksgiving with all 4 grandparents-what a special thing! On Friday we went shopping (Kev & I were giddy, we went at 6AM-Kid Free)! On Saturday we spent the morning decorating the house. It has been 3 years since we were able to put most things out, so this year we put up every decoration that we own, I totally love it! The kids were so cute putting up the tree and the nativity scene. Then on Saturday night we drove 30 miles to Wakeeny for a Christmas parade, actually it ended up being a tree lighting, so it only lasted about 5 minutes. We were a bit disappointed, but had a good laugh! Today we decorated the church. It took about 3 hours, but it looks beautiful!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy the Christmas Season!!

Yeah Kamryn!

I realized this morning that I have forgotten to share an exciting milestone for Kamryn. When she turned one year old, she was developmentally at a 6 month level. She had physical therapy in our home once a week for 6 months. Well, as of October 22, Kamryn is done!! She is now at a 20 month old level in most areas. She advanced 14 months in just 6 months time! The physical therapist was very impressed by this. I just wanted to share with everyone how proud we are of her and her hard work! (Kevin posted a video of Kamryn walking on YouTube. It's very cute!)

Happy Halloween 2009!

This Halloween was a very busy one for us. The festivities began Saturday the 24th with Trunk or Treat at the Rec Center.

Then on Tuesday, the kids and I went to a party at the Library with various games for them to play.

On Friday they went trick-or-treating at the stores downtown. We were very excited to have Grandma and Great-Grandma come and celebrate with us this weekend!

On Saturday we carved our pumpkin, trick-or-treated at the mall, and went to another Trunk or Treat at a local church.

The church also had games, a bouncy house and hot dogs. We finished the evening by visiting a few families from church. The kids ended up with SEVEN pounds of candy!! (3.5 pounds were sold to a dentist for $4 and sent to troops overseas). We had a very fun week!

Smoky Hill Bison Co.

Yesterday Logan, Kamryn and Lori went to a pumpkin patch. Eight others from Hays Christian Church also went, along with Lori's mom, nephew and niece. The pumpkin patch had lots of fun things for kids of all ages. First we went down a huge slide that they had built onto the side of the hill. They also had a zip line that Jordan rode. While the others tackled the maze, we played on the various other activities; a sandbox filled with corn, a tire maze, a hay bale maze, a huge swing and a duck race. Later, we all rode on a tram out to the field to see the buffalo. The kids loved seeing the animals so up close. Next we went to another field area and shot a corn cannon and put small gourds and pumpkins into slingshots. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time. There are more pictures posted on Lori's Facebook page.

Wiggles & Giggles

Logan and Kamryn have been in a Wiggles & Giggles class at the Rec. Center for the last couple of weeks. It has beeen a wonderful time of running and playing with all sorts of new things. Today they danced with streamers, threw beanbags and played with a parachute.

Everyone in the class knows who Logan is. In a class of very shy 2 and 3 year olds, Logan was front and center, ready to be first to do everything. Kamryn was pretty willing to try new things too. She joined right in, with many of the activities. Her favorite was to go under the parachute while the moms were shaking it.

We can't wait for the next class that the kids can sign up for!

Naptime Routine

Everyday at naptime Kamryn, Logan and I read two books on the guest bed, I put Kamryn in her crib and then I return to tuck Logan in. This is a very special time because it is about the only time that Logan will let me cuddle with him. Sometimes we sing songs to each other, sometimes we talk about the day. Then he gets in the covers and gives me the biggest hug of the day. Today he decided to give me twelve kisses on my cheeks. Laughing, I told him "Enough." As I said it, I realized that there are never enough kisses from your child. I also realized how lucky I am that he wants to be silly and plaster me with kisses. Too soon, I'm afraid, he will no longer do that. Maybe the next time we are in church or at the store and he is being silly and very much acting his age, I will remember this and not wish so hard for him to be older.

Cottage Lane Pumpkin Patch

Today we took a trip to a Pumpkin Patch. We saw goats, bunnies and chickens. Logan had fun going through a hay bale tunnel (on the scary side when you're 3). He also climbed on top of hay bales. We took a hay rack ride and walked all through the pumpkin patch. We had just read books about pumpkins, so it was neat for the kids to then see exactly what we had read about. There will be more pictures posted on Lori's Facebook account.

It's Fall!

This week we have been learning about fall. We have been reading books, gathering leaves, looking at different kinds of seeds. We gathered leaves from our front yard to glue onto a paper plate to make a wreath. I had them color on the plate first, for a background. When I gave Kamryn hers, she did lots of coloring-on the table in the hole in the middle of the plate. (See pic.) Logan did a great job with his, he wanted to give up after gluing two leaves, but with some encouragement did finish the project.
I learned a lesson too-the kids have much more fun if I set up the activity and them let them do it on their own. So what if there is too much glue, it will dry. So what if he covers one leaf with another, that is how he wants it. So what if she wants to color on the table, it will wash. Once I sat back and let them do their own thing, we all had more fun.

Too Long without an Update

I need to apologize for not posting anything in over a month!!

As an update: Kamryn is now walking!! Kevin has a video of her on his Facebook page. We had a wonderful visit at the end of August with Kev's parents (including a trip to Kansas City to watch the Seahawks beat the Chiefs in a pre-season game)! Logan is enrolled in a Wiggles & Giggles class at the Rec center. They run, dance, and play with balls, hoops, bean bags and parachutes. We have a great time going. We are finally back to a good routine! We took a couple of weeks between summer and now 'off,' so it feels going to be productive again.
Kevin is very busy with church. This is a great thing, a blessing- at the same time it can be a bit overwhelming with all that could be done. Please pray that he can be discerning about what things to be spending his time on.

I am working at a daycare here in town. I'm working two hours a day in the infant room. It is by far the easiest job I have ever had. (Possibly only in comparison to my previous, very stressful job). The kids stay home with Kevin, watching movies, playing the computer and having a great time.

Life for us is good. We are enjoying the challenges and opportunities that we have here. We absolutely love our church family. We hope that you are enjoying the beauty of fall. I will try very hard to post updates more frequently.

Slow Sunday Evening

Tonight the kids and I were on our own. Kevin was at youth group (three new girls joined from VBS!!) Anyway, the kids and I had fun-after dinner the three of us sat at the table. Logan on one side of me playing on the computer (almost completely by himself) and Kamryn sat on the other side coloring.

Studio Go! Game Show

Today we had the closing program for an exciting week of Vacation Bible School. We had 23 children attend, with only 6 being regular attenders. We learned about Gideon (with Kev dressed up as "General Barley Bread"), Esther, Jesus raising from the dead, Peter and Annanias. The kids made some really fun crafts and had yummy snacks. I taught the preshcool and kindergarten class, and we had a great time. The curriculum had some very fun, creative ways to reinforce the theme for the day. We even had a game show each night, providing lots of opportunities for kids to come on stage and have fun. (One girl even won $5 in "Let's Make a Deal"). On the first night, the host picked a boy from my group to come up and answer questions, of course this led Logan to believe that he could come up on stage too. He knew the answers and was very vocal! For the closing program, Logan did the opening prayer.

Kevin led the music all week, including teaching the kids the actions to all of the songs. He did a great job! He was even able to get the older boys to participate-no easy feat. He also led the Jr./Sr. High time from 9-10 pm. We now have 3 girls who are very excited to come to youth group, along with two others that will probably come. This is an unexpected development, and we are praising God for it. Now the real work begins of maintaining relationships with the unchurched families that God has brought to us.

Geodesic Dome

Today we built a Geodesic Dome out of newspapers. It took 100 sheets, in tubes of 4 to put it together. Our friend Madison helped. The whole thing took about an hour, and we are very happy with the results. I got the idea from Family Fun magazine.

Combine Demolition Derby

Tonight we took the kids to the Combine Demolition Derby at the Ellis Co. Fair. We have been looking forward to this since we heard about it a couple of months ago. We always loved going to the Demo Derbies at the Evergreen State Fair, (with the School bus demos). We went with a group from church along with 7,000 others from the area who thought this would be fun. It was VERY fun! There were 10 combines in two heats (5 per heat) and then a final heat with 8 combines all bashing and crashing at once. We had a great time watching as well as fellowshipping with members of our church family.

A Busy but Fun Summer Day

Today we did lots of fun activities. I saw some unusual and easy crafts in a magazine, so we decided to try them out. First we made "soap snakes" out of a water bottle, washcloth and dish soap. The kids thought they were pretty fun. Basically it makes thousands of tiny bubbles in one long snake shape. We also made "marble paper" by mixing food coloring into shaving cream and pressing paper onto it. They turned out very pretty, and smelling great! During nap I turned the backyard into a water park, with the pool, sprinkler and slide all getting wet. I hung a tarp on the clothesline and put our picnic table under it for shade and a dry place. We all had a great time and even the neighbor's grandson came over to play with the kids. In the evening we went to the Ellis Co. Fair. We looked at all of the exhibits, vendors and animals. Our favorite booth was that of the Sternberg Museum. They had SNAKES! Kevin and the kids enjoyed holding and touching them (yes, kids- Kamryn even touched them).

Another Trip to the Zoo

Today the kids and I, along with two friends from church, went to the Great Bend Zoo. We went right after breakfast so that we would have plenty of time for the drive and all of the zoo before lunch. The kids all said that the Aquarium house and lions were their favorites. We spent much time with both. While we were watching the lions, one of the lionesses got up and walked right toward us. It was within two feet of us. (Close enough to raise your blood pressure, even with the fence). All of the animals seemed especially active today, which made it better for the kids. After the zoo we had a picnic in the park and then the kids played. We then stopped at the Goodwill to look for some things for VBS (which made Kev think I was crazy). But the kids were well behaved all day and I think they had a really good time.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! We have been looking forward to this day for months! We built a float for the parade in town to advertise our Vacation Bible School that will be in August. Our theme is "Studio Go!" Our float is a game show, complete with a host, two contestants, a large wheel, and our very own "Vanna." The kids were the audience. We had a great turn out, 22 adults helped build and decorate it. Then we all walked, handed out candy bags and threw small beach balls. It was SO fun! We were even more excited when we heard that we got 3rd place in the parade (out of 46 entries)!!! Tonight, Kev and I get to go to the main stage at the concert series to receive the prize on behalf of the church. We had a great time, it was well worth the hours of work that were put in to our float. The real results will come in August, when we see if our advertising has drawn any families to our VBS. We pray that it will.

Wild West Fest Carnival

Tonight we took the kids to the carnival that is in town. The kids had fun riding some of the rides. Logan went on a big slide with an alligator on it (see photo). He also rode the boat ride and went in a fun house with mirrors and a maze. Also, we all rode the carousel together. Kamryn especially liked this! She was all smiles and laughs as she rode, and screamed when it was over.

Krispy Kremes

Today Kevin went to Wichita with two friends from church. When he came home, he had a nice surprise. KRISPY KREME donuts! We were very excited. (Just one of the many things we miss). Both kids enjoyed the special treat!

Facebook

Kevin and I are now actively on Facebook. If you are on Facebook, we want to be your friend. We have more pictures posted and it's just a fun way to stay connected. We look forward to hearing from you!

Putt Putt golfing

On Friday night we went Putt-Putt golfing with a group from our church. Despite the heat (over 90 degrees) it was a very fun evening! Logan would hit the ball once, from the "tee" and then he would pick it up wherever it stopped and then put it right by the hole and hit it in. He had more fun going from hole to hole, watching all of his friends. After golfing, we all headed to Dairy Queen for ice cream and more fellowship time.

A fun way to beat the heat

Last week the kids got a wading pool from Grandma and Grandpa. We have had a great time playing in it every afternoon. It is a fun way to stay cool on these super hot days. Logan loves going down the slide and has even been brave enough to go down on his stomach! Kamryn is very hesitant at first, but quickly begins laughing and splashing. On Monday we all played by the pool and then I grilled hamburgers. It was the perfect summer evening.
I am totally enjoying staying home with the kids and being able to do so much with them. I am so thankful that God has blessed us with this time. I am trying to make the most of it. Kevin has been very busy with church, camp and writing movie reviews and articles for the newspaper.
Kamryn has really started crawling now. Yesterday she crawled up the steps all by herself. She had never done that before. She is pulling herself up to everything. Her therapist thinks she will walk by the fourth of July! We'll let you know when she does! -I am a very proud mommy!