A Momentous Occasion. . .

Friends, I had to document such a moment. And though it was short-lived, when you live in our house for 3 weeks with all 4 children, these moments don't come very often. What fun we are having!

Look at my cute kids. . . .

So, to relieve you of the costume drama this year, I will only pass on the highlights.

2 weeks ago:

Mom: Hey Benjamin, what do you want to dress up like?

Benajmin: I don't know. How about a cucumber?

(mom begins to think about how astoundingly cute her boys would be as Bob and Larry, the tomato and cucumber)

Mom: What about if you guys are a tomato and cucumber? Like in veggie tales? Wouldn't that be great?

Kids: (in unison) yeah!! That would be great fun mama!

see picture below....




Needless to say, despite the $30 spent and the endless discussions and work on said costumes, at the last minute we pulled something out of the box and went to the Fall Festival. You win some, you lose some. And then we go on.

We're going on a bear hunt. . . .

This is one of the funnier moments from the week. It's like reverse hide and seek. One person hides, (that's the bear) and then everyone goes to find that person. Be sure and keep your eye on Haven. . . (the smallest one)

Here we are. . . . Gratitude.

So here we are, we have made it back to KC, been quarantined for 4 days, made it to a couple days of school and had a great weekend with our friend Lance, from Arkansas. What a week! I sit here and think through it and realize all the many things I am grateful for. (I know, you're not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition.) i digress. SO, in honor of my friend Candace (because she makes a mean list) here's my top ten from this past week.

10. I am so grateful for the lunch my friend Emily and I got to have a Chipotle this week. Not only is it the best food ever, but we had a really good chat that morning, and are learning to live this life as a Godly mother together. Thank you friend!

9. I got to pray over my son, teach him about the heart of the Father, and watch his body heal. I am so thankful that we are designed to seek Him in our time of need- and that I got to watch my son ask for prayer when He was sick. And then see him restored. Amazing. . . .

8. I am grateful for an amazing husband who reminded me ever so kindly Friday night that my life is not spinning out of control and it is going to slow down. And I will still be here. :)

7. It rained a beautiful fall rain today. Cool. Crisp.

6. My bills are paid for this round and we have food to eat. We stayed dry during the rain today.

5. Benjamin got an amazing hug today from our friend Haven. She's not even two and spread the love during family devotions tonight.

4. Samuel hasn't gotten sick yet!! (And neither have any of the parents!)

3. We laughed really hard this weekend while watching Nacho Libre with Lance- our friend from Arkansas who visited this weekend. The visit was sweet and the fellowship was great. Thanks for coming friend!

2. When asked what the Lord said to him tonight, my son said, "He said He is coming back." That's awesome. Really.

1. The Lord has given me a testimony- I have been saved. I have been given an opportunity to live eternally. With no pain, fear, or suffering. No sickness or disease. No sin, only love. For my life is only a breath and I am amazed at the days I am given. May He be shown in my waking and in my sleeping.

Goodnight and goodbye.

We made it home. . . only to find we had brought home MN germs.

Yeah! We did make it. I know, I already told you that, but I thought it would be appropriate for the pics I am about to unveil. So, you remember we bought the dresser at IKEA that was way cool? Remember me saying it almost didn't fit in the van? See below.









We also had some fun in the van. First, we watched a few videos.





Then we looked at the windmills. Really people, these things are huge. It makes the trees look like shrubs, and though you can't tell from the pic, they are actually higher than the clouds. It's crazy cool looking, and the boys (well, Benjamin) thought they were really amazing.













We had a great day Sunday, only to wake up with a fever, cough, and aches. Benjamin has been sick three times in the last six weeks! Say a prayer for him and us, as we are all stuck at home with a sick one. It has again reminded me that my longing for the return of Jesus grows every day. I have spent the last two days talking to a momma who had a VERY difficult labor and delivery of her baby boy and another momma with a daughter who has been sick for a long time. I know, for my family it's totally just a virus, but there will be no more sickness when the Father sends his son to return. He will make all things right, there will be no more pain, suffering or sin, and my heart is longing for it.

Goodnight and goodbye.

Bethany College- Day 6

Hello friends! Sorry this is delayed, but we had such a good time last night that we came home and all crashed. Though we didn't sleep all night, it was a little bit better than the night before. SO, on to our day yesterday. We started the morning at a friend-of-a-friend's house for horseback riding. We fed the horses, combed them down, and then rode around the field. Benjamin has ridden a horse before, so he did a wonderful job! Samuel, had not, and I wasn't sure whether or not he would make it, but with some encouragement and a close daddy- he did it! After that we went to the Minnesota Zoo with some new friends and had a blast! It was great times together.

All that to say, we had a great time! Enjoyed visiting with you all so much this week. I have one more funny post tomorrow about our trip home. It was most definitely an adventure. . . . that whole dresser loaded in the back and all. :)



Goodnight and goodbye.

Bethany College- Day 5

Wow. Ladies and gentlemen- today was a day of fun. I know, you are thinking, "Could it really get any better??" I think it could and it did. Now, let me preface for those of you who think like my husband- we went to a mall today. Not, not, NOT to shop. This was a playing kind of mall. You see, yesterday we had a rough morning here at the college. We got bored, watched too much TV, spent too much time on the computer, and then became generally moody for the rest of the day. I woke up this morning again, already in a sour mood. Plans changed with John needing to leave earlier than I had expected, and Samuel waking up MUCH earlier than expected. It was snowing again outside, and I know it was fun on the first day, but not so much anymore. I could see the misery starting again- so drastic action had to be taken if we were going to actually enjoy each other. SO, to the mall we went! This is no ordinary mall- it sits on 30 acres and has the largest indoor theme park in the middle of it anywhere in the US. It is in fact, the largest mall in the US. At least that's what I think I was told. Anyway, it's called the Mall of America and I took the boys by myself this morning. First stop once inside was the local Starbucks- thanks to my friend Emily for the heads up on the Pumpkin Latte. WOW! I digress. . . .We stayed until almost 2, we were having so much fun! If you look at the pics below you can see the highlights. We rode the train ride, the "car" ride, and a mini-roller coaster. Everyone had loads of fun. We then walked around for a bit, found a Rainforest Cafe (another really fun place) and ate lunch. Our last big hit was the Lego Store. It's really big with lots of cool lego sets that you can't find other places. Benjamin was the photojournalist at Rainforest Cafe for us, and I took most of the rest. Notice all the crazy things made out of legos. . .

Then we left the mall and went to pick up daddy. He had finished lunch with a friend and wanted to join the party! We went to Trader Joe's for the first time. It was pretty cool and I was really working to remember the kind of salsa that my sister got that was so good. I tried, sis. Don't know if I got it right or not, but was definitely thinking of you around 2:30!



THEN (as if the day wasn't fun enough) we went to IKEA!!!! It was such an interesting place and we went into the wrong side first (the one where you pick up the furniture you want to buy, because it's all still in the boxes and we couldn't figure out what anything looked like). Anyway, on that side we saw the "bents and dents" section. My Christmas present came early this year and I got a new $300 dresser for $111!! Can you believe that?? It is totally cool and though the back window of the van will remain open for the next three days, it is totally worth it. I'll have to take a pic and show you tomorrow. It's really quite hilarious. We had a moment of panic when the back door wouldn't even shut and we had already paid for it. Ahhhh.... it shut....barely. :)



LAST but definitely NOT LEAST, we went to a wonderful chili dinner for us. It was a great time to visit with some new friends (hello MN blog readers! love to you all) and connect more with this community. Our kids had a blast, we ate some good chili, and we got to share about what the Lord has been doing in our midst. He is good- and often times he is doing some of the same things in different ones, very far apart. He is sovereign, patient, and kind. Loving fully his children. We are blessed to know ones that love him wholly.

Goodnight and goodbye!