last soccer game.

so divine. we are so hard core. :)

actually, i was going to take the easy road and put calli to bed

and take the other 2 girls to the game...

which is beside my meadow...i should remind you...(and matt was here outside working-which should make a difference, right?)

but my sweet sister made me feel like the most

idiotic, incompetent and careless mother around, so...i took her too. :)

up for a real good laugh?

at small group this week, i "happened" to be venting about having a sick husband

in my house for 2 weeks (after having 3 wks of sick kids, and myself), and

one of the men said, "you and matt really must butt heads a lot since

you are both so strong willed." he was completely serious!

ha.ha.ha. i was actually completely offended, but

decided it just wasn't worth getting upset about. :) i did ponder

for a minute to think about if this is truth...but just for a minute. :)

have a fabulous weekend.

campbell.

got to spend some "quality" time alone with campbell tonight, and this is what i got.

it's always fun to see what "comes out" during these times of interaction...

campbell is 2 1/2 and might crave attention? obviously she is a bit camera shy. :) she is my third child. she is full of spunk, independence, and creativity. she loves to color on herself, (like i said, creative) although we are breaking her of that habit. she talks all the time, and one of her most favorite things to do right now is "call mam-maw"- my mom. it doesn't matter if she's at work or not, we will call. she really is a crack up, but i will say is a challenge for me a lot of the time...

p.s. just want to CLARIFY that this picture is by NO means announcing that we are expecting another child. i know a lot of you "read" into things, but really we are just playing "mommies" and that is all. I am NOT PREGNANT! :)

you can start praying for us now, because she is in my cousin's wedding next weekend. i am just not sure what to expect from her. she can be a bit sassy and moody, so we'll see. no worries claudia. we will do our best to get the job done. :)

again...i am so blessed to get the pleasure of being a mommy. went to park city today to get calli's one year pictures done, and not one, but two persons asked me, "do all these children belong to you? how do you stay sane?" i chuckle because a dad of "one" asked me that second part...

was very proud of my children today. bribing came in handy this day...first a treat of a. anne's soft pretzels and secondly a trip to the toy store to "look" at toys for christmas was the reward. i am sure we did look funny. 2 children in my triple stroller, and 2 sitting on the floor, (of picture people) napkin in lap, quietly eating yummy pretzels. fabulous. and i even liked the pictures. ;)

a farmer and a princess?

a glimpse of life here. we have princess' and cowboys. can you figure out who is who? :)

kaden went out today, and said, " i'm going to ride." i was doing laundry, and feeding calli, and about 20 minutes later, was taking down laundry, and heard millie barking like crazy...all the sudden it occurred to me that he was not riding bike, but that kaden was trying to ride a goat. so, down i went in a flurry, giving him the lecture of all lectures, that he cannot try to ride goats without adult supervision. he told me his teacher told him today in school that if he is by himself he can be responsible...i don't know what that was all about, but we had to have another lesson in responsibility. :)

he finished up, and said, "man...now everyone is going to think i'm a cowboy"...with a big grin on his face...i said, "why?" he said, "mooommm, because i can ride a goat. " what was i thinking? all we would be missing if we still lived in town. :)

a friend.

so...i am going out on a limb here, and asking you to pray for my friend. these songs are for her, and she knows who she is. she is young. she is not making good choices, and she knows it. please pray that she would have a GOD revelation...and that he would help her to see that these choices will impact her the rest of her life. i am disappointed that my life story is no wisdom to her...and have realized it's not about my timing, or my "want" to save her, it's resting in God's hands...and you can pray for me too...i am frustrated. this prayer for a friend song is just perfect. :) mis.

millie. part II.

For those of you who cared about our small trials, although to a six year old, they seemed quite insurmountable...

i was getting ready to take kaden to school this morning, and was headed out afterwards to post flyers...you got it...actual florescent LOST DOG flyers, and matt called. he found millie in the manure spreader. now i hate to be pessimistic, but i can't imagine she was there the whole time? we scoured our farm several times yesterday, and even scoured the neighborhood several times...and she never barked or anything? hmmm. i would think she needs to be tied all day today...just because. :) needless to say, our prayers had been that Jesus would keep millie safe wherever she was, and that she would return home...the kids are overjoyed, and just another small token of thanks to Jesus! now...i need to get my oil changed and call all the spca's to let them know she's found...i needed another task for the day. ha. mis.

millie.

So...we haven't had the best luck with animals lately...

so, first it was Blackey disappearing. Then a week and a half ago millie cut her hip on a chicken house litter machine (of some sort), and she had to go into surgery to repair it. yikes. she came home the same day, and was running around like normal. no ill effects at all. today she is gone. matt unties her in the morning when he is outside, and he realized she wasn't around about 9 am. schools were called. spca was called. police were called. i think we shouldn't have a dog...i guess? what would you take from our dog experiences? :) so, once again kaden is getting teary eyed at the thought of millie not returning. his heart is so tender, it's precious. we need to give him a break to, eigh? :) so...we look at this video remembering millie when she was just weeks old. she is 8 months old already... we hope we get to see her again. love, kaden, kaycee, campbell, and calli...

arise.

Arise,
cry out in the night,
as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart like water
in the presence
of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
who faint from hunger at the head of every street.

Lamentations 2:19.

please join me at keystone evangelical free church on saturday, november 14th, from 9:00 am until 1 pm. we... ladies...will be praying for our children growing up in the schools of today. this event is a worldwide event, sponsored by moms in touch international. mek.

Gemma.

Isn't she just tooo precious?

This is Matt and Emiley (Matt's cousin) Rodak's baby... Gemma.

She is 2 months old, and came for a visit this week.

Cute. Cute. Cute.

Thanks for the visit Emiley. Praying your adjustment going back to work goes smoothly for everyone. I will be thinking of you. :)

Here we come CRAYOLA!

We had a little cousin sleep-over the night of Calli's birthday party...It included Moses (6), Noah (8), and Zion (6). I think they had a great time, and really they were ROCKED because they had played here HARD all day long...They were all sleeping by 10:15 pm...a few reported "awakenings" during the night, and wee morning hours, but nothing serious. :) It was a wee bit chaos trying to get everyone down, but how precious...I try to forget about that, and think about memories they are making with their cousins. :) I guess I was too "busy" to stop and take pictures. :(

However, these 4 kiddos and pap-paw and mam-maw Buck took off for a visit to Crayola factory at 7:30 a.m. Sat. morning...They had a blast.

Kaden's highlights were: all of it!

when probed a little harder he said,

"watching the show."

Thanks mam-maw and pap-paw for a great day.

Kaden was asleep by 7:15 pm that night. :)

reconstruction.

A few weeks ago, we had a huge drain and pipe laid the length of our meadow to alleviate some run off that was happening...this is our pond. there are several "springs" down there, non of which "spring" into the pond. matt spent hours down there digging with the guys trying to find a way to "feed" into the pond. we have yet to see if their work has paid off, but would love to clean up this pond some day...and have it be a "beach" substitute for us farmers. :)

our meadow...you can see a little bit of the pipe there...


more digging, and re-configuring...

new drain...

so, we took the four wheelers down to check it all out. matt took some video of me driving a four wheeler...my first time EVER. he was so proud. :)

Pumpkin Painting.

Last week I had my sister's kids for a day...

Normally, I let them run around outside,

playing with all the toys,

but I was feeling a little pressure because...

Jaiden told me first thing he does at "the babysitters" is a craft.

Oh man, I thought. So...

this is what I came up with on a whim...

Sorry about the jeans Meg...

Silly me, I thought the paint was washable...

It wasn't. :(

The finished product...


When are ya comin' again?

Happy Birthday Calli.

HAPPY.

BIRTHDAY.

CALLI.

Can you believe my baby is one already?

To my sweet girl. I love your laugh, your giggles, your snuggliness, your smiles, and the way you look at me out of the corner of your eye...I am so thankful for your life...thankful that God preserved your life in my womb...and during delivery...

(there was a knot in Calli's cord...a lot of time these babies die in utero, or else during delivery) there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about what if...He has great things in store for your life, and I am excited he blessed me to be a part of it. I can't wait to watch it unravel...

We had a family party here on Friday night...we even snuck in a couple cousins from N.C. It was so grand...(we wish you N. Carolina'ers could have ALL been here!) No fancy cake this time. Just some yumm-o pumpkin whoopie pies. It looks like we didn't even let her dig into it...oops. Poor fourth child. :) Thanks for all the gifts, and outpouring of love on her...

applesauce.

so...last friday...the day Blackey was "cat-napped", i asked my little man what would cheer him up. it was so simple. "i want to go get apples to make applesauce. " so...we all jumped in the car, and headed to the orchard, and got 2 bushels of golden delicious apples.

...so they sat in my kitchen for almost a week...

but we got down to business TODAY.

It was fabulous fun...but i am glad to be done. :)

can you feel the chaos and excitement in the air? can ya? :)

ballet.

kaycee started taking "ballet" once a week... about a month ago. she is loving it. she is learning how to be a little squirrel and "gather" nuts, and wave her arms in the air...it is really quite fun to watch...matt says, "we are paying money for her to do this?" :)

wednesday was "take a friend" day, so kaycee took...

Miss Tori Beiler

a friend from church.

Tori is allllll about girly girl...

she loves make-up and anything fancy...

she's really a riot for a 3 year old. :)

Blackey.

So, this morning was a special day...Matt was leaving for the office a little early, and stopped in the driveway, and walked the rest of the way with Kaden and I to school. The other special part of the morning, (or annoying, in my thinking, :) ) was that Kaden's favorite kitty, Blackey, walked the WHOLE WAY TO SCHOOL WITH US! She was following us right up the sidewalk...She likes to follow us everywhere, and it was not uncommon for her to follow us to the end of the lane, to pick Kaden up from the school bus, or follow us to Kaden's soccer games, etc. but she had never followed us right "up" to school...

Anyway, Matt and I were saying good-bye to Kaden, sent him off into school, and turned around, and right before our eyes, some nice lady, scooped up Blackey, and said, "Where did you come from?" and got in her car WITH OUR CAT! Can you believe it? This lady picked our cat up, right off the sidewalk, in front of our eyes, and drove away...with Kaden's favorite cat...Matt and I were kind of in disbelief, and as she got in our car, he said, "Do you think Kaden is going to be upset Blackey got taken?" I thought "maybe he'll forget..." Boy...was that wishful thinking.

The first thing he asked about was Blackey when he got off the bus...So, I told him the news, and he's been crying ever since. He just asked me if we "could put signs up around the community"...I told him we can talk to daddy about that. :) Feel free to write any advice to me here. :) I debated about not letting him know...but didn't think I could not tell anyone the story, because I think it is kind of a riot...She didn't look around, and inquire, or anything, just swiped the cat...

This is one of the few pictures we have of Blackey. Kaden misses her so much all ready. He is still crying. Bummer.