Ordinary Miracles

The Smeller's the Feller?

2009-03-30T07:20:00.001-07:00

Aint' Nothin' But A Hound Dog?

Logan is very in tune with his sense of smell. He often identifies things and who they belong/ed to, simply by smelling them. Several months after we moved to Springfield (Logan was not quite 3 when we moved away from Cincinnati) John had met someone at Starbucks for a meeting. When John came home, Logan ran over to give him a hug and exclaimed, "Daddy, you smell like our church in Cincinnati!" We didn't know how many memories he had from our time in Cincinnati, but evidently he remembered the smell of the coffee house.

Since then, we often receive hand-me-down clothes from generous people at church. When we get them, Logan will often take one and smell it, then say, this is from "Ben and Jack", or this is from, "Noah and Jonah."

Last week, when the van battery was dead, I had to pick up the boys in our neighbors van from school. As we approached a different van, Logan begain asking, "Who's van is this?" Then he climbed in, turned around and said, "Luke, this is Erin's van. This is Erin's van." When I asked him how he knew, he said, "I smelled it!"

2009-03-27T09:46:00.001-07:00

So, it's already evident that updating my blog on a daily basis is not going to happen :(
Which will lead to REALLY long reviews of the previous days . . . But at least I'll have my record of this time for myself, right?

Wednesday, the boys had a half day of school. I have often said that I would love it if they only had a half day, every day. I'm sure I'd change my mind if that was actually the schedule, but I really like having those extra hours with the boys on those short days. Our friends just moved back, so after picking the boys up we made plans to go visit them. We came home first, to play and I made some banana bread to take to our friends. (It's one of their daughter's favorites) I also made some breakfast bars for our kids. Breakfast is an important meal to me, especially because Luke seems to have some blood sugar sensitivities. I have burnt them out on various reproductions of eggs for breakfast. In an attempt to give them some variety for breakfast, I searched out some new recipes to try. After the baking was done, we loaded up and headed out. The kids played for a while at their duplex, but they don't have their furniture moved up yet, and there's not a lot to do inside. So, we went to an awesome park in Rochester, where the kids played for a while before we had to leave for church. One of the selfish reasons I love Wednesday nights is because we eat dinner at church. That means, I don't have to cook on Tuesday's, or Wednesday's, during the school year! Woo, hoo!

Thursday, John dropped the boys off at school for me. This gives me a few extra minutes to get things done around the house. I did a load of laundry and cleaned up breakfast before going to Pilates. My neighbor and I go to Pilates on Tuesday's, and Thursday's at the YMCA. It always amazes me, how hard it is, when we are moving soooo slowly! She has a son, the same age as Mikayla, so they love going to play in the nursery together. Mikayla cracks me up because she calls the YMCA the "COA". She gets so excited that she gets to play with Tadgh (pronounced like the first part of Tiger, Tig with a long I). Her car has been in the shop, so I've driven the last few times and she offered to drive today. After Pilates, John came home for lunch because he really wanted to get a hair cut before he headed up to Lincoln to work on his paper (his hair was really starting to look like Kramer's from Seinfeld), so I "worked him in". Well, if you read back through my Thursday, you'll notice that I didn't have to drive the van all day. When it was time to get the boys from school, I discovered that one of the van doors had been left opened and the battery was DEAD. I instantly had a flashback to the morning, "get out the door shuffle". Thurday is library day at school and Luke couldn't find his book. He can't handle, not having things in order, so he instantly panics during a moment like this. I was pretty sure I'd seen his book in the back seat of the van (for SOME reason he had checked out Harry Potter?!?!? Luke's a very good reader, but that's pretty ambitious for a first grader, so it had sat in the van for a week, unread). I sent him out to find it, and knew that he was the culprit who had left the van door ajar. The worst part was I had pulled into the garage, so we couldn't even use jumper cables, because the van was pulled in forwards. It was too late to walk to school, so I called my neighbor and drove her van to get the boys. I was without a van Thursday night. Not that I was planning on going anywhere, but still . . .

I'm pretty sure that recording the events of our day, will reveal where my real parenting weaknesses lie. Here is one right here . . . Since John was gone and I had to make dinner, I decided to push back our homework time from 4:30-5:00 to 5:30-6:00 (it's still a half hour and it's the amount of time I'm concerned about, not WHEN, right?). I was finishing up dinner preperations at 4:30 and then put it in the oven around 5:00. Dinner was going to be ready to come out of the oven at 5:50, so I let the boys play outside, and I talked with the neighbors, from 5:00 - 5:30. As I was getting ready to come home at 5:30, I learned from one of my neighbors that over the weekend some of the kids on the block decided to play in the back yard of another neighbor, who was NOT home over the weekend. Apparently the kids had left a mess of toys in the yard, and a bicycle behind. I had not been home Saturday, when the offence took place, so after I got home, I asked the boys if they had been playing in ___________ backyard while they weren't home. Immediately, Luke bursts into tears, "It was __________ plan." (______ is an older boy on the block). And, of course, it was Luke's bike that was left in the back yard. So, homework time turned into, homework/write an apology letter to our neighbors time.

I make dinner for one of our neighbor's on Thursday's. So, after we walked across the street to deliver dinner, we went next door to make our apologies and retrieve Luke's bike. Thankfully, our neighbor's were very appreciative of our apologies. We got the bicycle back and hopefully the boys were traumatized just enough to avoid that same offense again! (Or at least to clean up and take their bikes with them next time!;)

I had decided to make one of John's favorites for dinner, before I realized John wouldn't be here for supper, stuffed green peppers. Of course my kids had decided upon first sight, that they DID NOT like them. But, Luke tried his and decided he really like the "stuffing" but not the green pepper. Logan, threw a full blown, groaning, crying, coughing, fit! I really wanted to grab the video camera to capture the moment, but knew that would spoil the authenticity of it. We've instituted a new "rule" for our meal time. If someone is not using good manners during dinner, then they get moved to the closet in the guest room, where a TV tray is set up for them to finish their meal in isolation. So, after Logan had been moved to the closet (it's a BIG closet and right off the dining room, so it's not really as torturous as it sounds), he regained control and was invited back to the table. By this time, I had moved on to dessert, vanilla pudding with bananas and cool whip. That was the exact motiviation he needed. One look at my pudding and he took a bite of his dinner, and to his surprise, and my amusement, he LOVED it. It was so funny! He ate it up, and even liked the green pepper. He's really NOT a picky eater, he's just a control freak and food is always a good opportunity for his to exercise his control.

I have been fighting off some kind of chest cold this week, so by the time dinner was cleaned up, I was ready for the kids to go right to bed. (And my guilty pleasure is watching Grey's Anatomy on Thursday nights) They boys went up to put their pajamas on, and I gave them the option of watching American Idol from 7:00-7:30. Again, this was a fairly selfish decision because I really needed that half hour to clean up in the living room. Mikayla had been playing a game earlier that has these little plastic balls and I had seen several roll under the couch and TV console. When I slid the couch over, I was greeted by the piles of dust bunnies that are regular residents under furniture in a room with wood floors. I knew I needed to sweep the room and that half an hour would be just perfect for finishing that chore. What I didn't realize was that the boys' room was a complete disaster! So, when I asked them to get in bed, and I got a, "UGGHHH we NEVER have very much time to play!" in response, I was angry. So, after an "in one ear out the other" lecture, I let them know that they needed to make a plan and decide how they were going to get their rooms clean. I always feel guilty putting them to bed on a bad note, but not guilty enough to miss the beginning of my show. I did go in a pray with them during the first commercial, does that make me a less horrible mom?

School work samples

2009-03-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

Writing is a big focus in school. Even in Kindergarten they have to be able to write a paragraph by the end of the year. The debatable part is that even though they have to write a paragraph, it doesn't have to be spelled right, it just has to be phonetically correct. Here is a sample from Logan's work: (it's about an activity they did in class where they measured how tall they were, in bricks) We meshrd with briks. I um 15 tool (tall). Sean was 16 bricks.

Here's a story from Luke:
One morning I went to the store. We found some realy cool things. Waile I was looking at the shirts my mom walked off. Then I noticed that my mom was gone. I felt like she just disapeared. I started to call for her. But she didn't hear me. Then I started to cry. I looked for her in the other iles, but I couldn't find her. Then I asked if he saw my mom but he said no. So I looked in the iles and I found her! I was so excided! I was so happy I started to cry. Then I went home happy. The End.

Tuesday

2009-03-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

After school on Tuesday's we go to the public library. Yesterday was a rainy, cool, and very windy day. So, after picking up the boys we agreed to just return our books to the book drop and come home. The book drop is on a one-way street and when we got closer I could see police lights and 2 cop cars. Then I realized that the police cars were parked right in front of the book drop, blocking our way. I pulled into the driveway that leads to the parking garage, and parked the van. I jumped out, walked over to the book drop and deposited by books. The police were talking down a lady who was LOUDLY and dramatically going on about something. Then I noticed the library security officer watching me curiously. It didn't dawn on me to be dissuaded from returning my books, simply because 2 cop cars were blocking my way, lol! I guess our time living in the 'Nati has de-senstized me.

The 4:30 - 5:00 homework time went well on day 2. Logan is enjoying having me sit down with him while he works, so my fear of battling over homework is seemingly unnecessary.

I was very relieved that I didn't have to fix supper last night (my neighbor cooks for us on Tuesday's, we cook for them on Thursdays). I've been fighting a nasty head/chest cold and did not feel like cooking. It's especially nice to just have supper delivered on nights like this. John was at a meeting, which meant dinner without Dad. Another reason I was happy I didn't have to cook and we ate on paper plates :)The kids were telling Knock-knock jocks during dinner. I was trying to remember some to write down later, but I forgot the boys' jokes now :( I did tell them the, "banana, banana who?" joke, which led to many renditions of jokes about oranges and banana's that made no sense at all.

Monday, Monday

2009-03-24T10:18:00.001-07:00

After I dropped the boys off at school and came home, my good friend Melisa called. Background: Melisa and her family moved to the St. Louis area last July. Their move has not gone well, and they are all desperate to move back to Springfield. So, she has been interviewing for jobs in Springfield, so that she and the kids can move back as soon as possible, her husband will move as soon as possible. She called and said she was in town for a drug test for a job she applied for and wanted to know if we could get together for lunch. She came by to pick me up, but wanted to take me out to see a duplex she was interested in. Well, boy was I in for a surprise!!! When we got there, she hit the garage door opener on her visor and the garage door went up and she said, "Welcome to our new home." She and the kids had moved up to Springfield, Sunday night and her kids were back at their old school! I was shocked, but happy for her. Over the weekend things moved at lightning speed for her family and before they even put their house on the market, had a family sign a contract to buy it! She is going to be starting a new job, and if a few other details get worked out soon, her husband will be here to join them very shortly. We went out to lunch to celebrate, and had a great time!
After I picked up the boys from school, I reminded them that we were starting a new "homework" time from 4:30-5:00. After playing with friends are a while, they came in and much to my surprise all 3 of the kids sat down with workbooks (coloring book for Mikayla) and were completely occupied for the 30 minutes! We'll see how long that lasts :)

Filling in the gaps

2009-03-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

To pick up where I left off on Thursday . . .

Thursday afternoon, I decided to head to Kohl's with Mikayla, to spend a birthday gift card. I walked around trying to find a good deal while keeping Mikayla entertained. I needed a new pair of sunglasses, because mine had gotten swiped at the YMCA. So, I got myself a pair, and then saw the kids sunglasses where on sale. Since Mikayla had been a trooper, I got her a pair and picked up a pair of Pokemon ones, for Luke's Easter Basket. While in the checkout line, my cell phone rings, I look at the caller ID, BUTLER (the boys' school). My initial thoughts are, "Who's sick?", and then it grows into, "I hope nobody broke an arm on the playground". After answering it, the school secretary informs me that Luke has had an accident, he wet his pants. The school is very sensitive to upsetting parents, so she is explaining that she has already told Luke that he is always allowed to use the restroom (he was in Music class and thought there were no restrooms) and if he has to go really bad, he can ALWAYS ask. I quickly make my purchases and drive across town to our house, to pick up dry clothes and then go to get Luke. I get to school to pick him up and he's in the nurses office. Seeing him I realize he's managed to wet his pants and his shirt! He's also MORTIFIED! I walked him to the restroom with his dry clothes and am wondering if EVERYONE in his class knows what has happened. About that time, a few kids from his class walk by, and a little girl in his class sees me and loudly whispers, "Hey, did you hear about Luke, he peed his pants!". Oh wonderful! Just what everyone 1st grader wants as a self-esteem boost. After he changes, I ask him if he wants to go back to class, It's about 2:30 and he has an hour before school ends. He definately DOES NOT want to go back to class, so I sign him out and hope that by Monday, everyone will have forgotten about it. Luke is very sensitive to certain foods and drinks, meaning, certain things cause him to wet his pants. When we get to the van I start to inquire, so, what did you drink for lunch today? "Chocolate milk. Oh, and juicey juice." I knew it! I remind him that he cannot drink that, and hope that the embarrassment from the day was lesson enough. Friday was also report card day, so I take a look at his report card. School comes very naturally to Luke, and so it wasn't a suprise that his report card reflected that. To help add a bright spot to a bad day, and reward him for a good report card, we headed to Sonic for a treat ( .99 cent sundaes! woo, hoo!). He ordered a hot fudge sundae (with an extra scoop of hot fudge). Then we went back to school to get Logan. Logan's report card wasn't a suprise either. He has a wonderful teacher that we communicate with on a regular basis. He has good scores, but also room for improvement. And honestly, I don't care as much about his intellectual marks, as long as he's doing his best. His behavioral marks, are where John and I are much more concerned. Unfortunately, he had several areas that went from + to s (no grades anymore, just + and s and 1, 2, 3, 4). The area we need to focus on most in his school work is neatness. He does NOT like doing worksheets where you write the letter "R" 35 times in a row and you can tell, because he just rushes through it and does a VERY sloppy job. The teacher has spoken to us about this before. She had even kept him inside during a recess recently, to have him re-do a paper. She quickly realized that this didn't reach the intended purpose as a punishment, because he LOVED staying inside the classroom getting one on one attention from his teacher. I do blame mysef a bit for not working more with him at home :( But I working on school work with Logan is a sure fire recipe for MAJOR struggle and meltdowns. Not something I look forward to, so unfortunately I avoid it. But, I am re-inspired to make this last quarter a great one, so everyday, we are going to have "homework time" where both boys will work on school work from 4:30-5:00 p.m. Maybe if I schedule it for them, it will be harder for me to ignore.

Saturday: John and the boys went out to a workday at church, so I had the morning at home with just Mikayla and I. We did some general pick up and laundry and then got invited over to our neighbors across the street for lunch brunch. After lunch, he boys came home and I was ready for some time away from the kids. So, I headed back to Kohl's and to T.J. Maxx to spend the rest of my birthday money :) While out shopping I got a call from our Children's Minister, who needed some extra help at a Kids Fun Night, our church was hosting. (A volunteer had to bail at the last minute). So, John and I decided our whole family would go and make it a family night for us. I'm glad we were able to help because there were almost 50 kids in attendance! The boys had fun, even though Luke gained a black eye from playing "Super Poison Ball", which is similar to dodge ball, only more kid friendly.

Sunday: Pretty much a typical Sunday morning for us. John was preaching at the "Big Mac" so he had 3 services to preach, instead of just 1. In addition he had to drive out to Southwest for a baptism in between preaching 2nd and 3rd service. Sunday afternoon John and Mikayla napped, the boys played, and I worked on bows. Sunday evening we went to small group (where Luke hit his head on the ping pong table, he's accident prone these days!).

Monday: As I drive the boys to school, I am wondering in the back of my mind if the kids have forgotten about the peeing the pants incident of Friday. I didn't bring it up, because I am really hoping Luke has forgotten about it too! As I watch the boys get out of the car, I am amazed at how much you can learn about the boys, just by observing their behavior. Luke bounds out of the car, running like a clumsy puppy! Logan holds back, holds out his hand, so that I can give him a kiss he will hold onto for the rest of the day (from a book called "The Kissing Hand" a great story for any child who had a hard time leaving mom) and he in return gives me my kissing hand. I look up and see Luke run around the chain link fence and immediately 6 of his classmates, run up to him shouting, "Luke, Luke!" (Whew, it seems the peeing incident has indeed been forgotten) Then they crowd around and I can observe Luke explaining to them why he has a black eye. After they get a good look, they return to play a game of tag as Luke confidently runs around, energized by the kids shouting his name. I look over and see that Logan has walked over to where his class lines up, and he is the only one standing at the front of his line. I watch him, standing alone and have to remind myself that for my introverted child, it's OK that he is alone, and that it doesn't necessarily mean that he is unhappy. I continue to watch, amused by the stark differences in the 2 boys' social choices. As I turn my attention back to Luke I notice that their game of tag, has turned into a game of, "tag by hitting someone with your book bag". (No one was hitting hard, so safety wasn't a concern for me) Suddenly, a quick little kid runs by and swipes Luke's book bag from his hands. Then out of the corner of my eye, I see Logan, make a beeline for Luke, holding out his book bag. Luke takes the bag, and runs after the kids shouting, "My brother gave me his bag!" I didn't realize Logan was even WATCHING the kids playing tag, but at the heart of my introverted boy is a superhero, waiting to rush in a save the day! The game only lasted a few more seconds before a teacher came over and (wisely) broke up the game of swinging book bags at each other :) When the bell rings for school, the kids scatter to line up for their classes. Logan reclaims his post at the front of his line, and stands, face forward ready to walk in. Luke is standing, in a clump of friends, talking animated with his hands, turning for those around him to hear. Now I'm home, wondering what today will bring, and how long it will be before my caller ID reads "Butler", again.

Highlights from Thursday

2009-03-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

Thursdays are the days when John takes off in the afternoon, to work on his paper, up in Lincoln. He usually spends the night in Lincoln and works again all day on Friday. Thursday is also the day I make supper for my family, and my neighbor's family (she makes dinner for us on Tuesday). So, This morning I dropped the boys off at school, and then headed to the grocery store. (After a brief stop at home to get my cash from my grocery envelope, since we've been Ramseyfied). I had decided to make Meatloaf for supper, because it's one of my kids favorites and I don't have to have any discussions about trying to eat it during our meal time. After hurrying, to get everything at 2 stores, I rushed home because I had a hair appointment at 11:15. My hair appointment was a follow up after a hair cut from 2 weeks ago, that I just can't style! I'm still not sure I can style it the way she did, but I also don't know if I like this new flat iron, bodiless hair trend! I spent the afternoon fixing the meatloaf and brownies for supper. It was a beautiful day (although cool enough for jackets), so I decided to walk to school to pick up the boys. Getting out the door was an adventure because Mikayla is not feeling well, but didn't take a nap. So she was crying when she couldn't find her shoes and then was determined to wear a tiara on her head, that kept falling off. By the time we finally left I had to practically RUN to school to make it on time. (And of course on my way there John called to say he was still in town and could pick up the boy if I wanted! Well, if I would have known that, I wouldn't have had to drag a crying, tiara wearing, blakie toting 3 year old out the door. Oh well, I was already on my way). After I picked up the boys, I talked with Logan's teacher, again. She told me she is still noticing some of his control tactics and is mostly concerned with his sloppiness. In an effort to correct that, she had him stay in after lunch and re-do a paper that he had not been neat with. Instead, she was concerned that he LOVED being in the room by himself and having her undivided attention. AH, the exact challenge I face when determining how to discipline him. So today we will get report cards for the 3rd quarter. I'm sure his will indicate the need to be neater. I am anxious to see the progress of both of the boys when I pick them up today!

Back in Business

2009-03-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

After joining Facebook, I have completely neglected my blog. But, I went to a conference for moms last weekend and decided that I would like to return to blogging as a journal for what is going on in my family's life. For all those times when someone reminds me, "You need to write that down, or you're going to forget it!", here's my attempt.

I don't know if today is the "best" day to return to recording the daily events of the Wentz family, but regardless, it's how our morning started :)

This morning, after setting the boys down with their breakfasts, Luke was having oatmeal, and Logan was having hard boiled eggs and Irish Soda bread (from Erin), I went upstairs to finish getting ready. A few minutes later, Luke came running up to tell me Logan poured salt into his oatmeal. Ok, I said, send Logan up here. Then I explained that Logan would now eat the oatmeal that he had poured the salt in. And that he needed to eat it quickly, otherwise, he would have to eat the oatmeal in the way to school and if it wasn't finished by the time we got to school he would sit in the principal's office and finish the oatmeal. With MUCH weeping and gnashing of teeth, the oatmeal was consumed, along with lots of water. Halfway through I discover that Luke has retaliated! He has poured pepper on Logan's hard boiled egg. So, Luke in return got to eat a peppered egg. Both were eaten BEFORE we left the house, and we barely made it to school on time. (Actually we were late, but a merciful parent held the door for us).

Mikayla is currently on a 5 day antibiotic for an ear infection and a cold that has been hanging around for weeks! If she's not doing significantly better by tomorrow, we are supposed to bring her back in for a chest x-ray to rule out bronchitis. The bright side is that she is a cheery patient and actually likes going to the Dr. Go, figure!

Staycation

2008-06-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

John and I just finished our vacation, but we did things a little different this year. We stayed at home. Here are a few pictures:

We tried staying in our house for the first few days, but it just didn't seem like vacation, so we set up our tent in the backyard and camped out for a few nights. VERY FUN!!!

On our way into the theater to see . . . "Kung Fu Panda"

We went out to a park by the Lake to have a picnic, play on the playground and ride bikes.

The Bike riding didn't go so well. Logan was having a hard time and got so frustrated, he threw his bike down. He then ran off. Luke was so upset and concerned, he went chasing after Logan, it really was a very touching moment in the midst of a major meltdown. Once we got home we adjusted Logan's bike making it much easier to peddle, and he was much happier.

Other vacation highlights:
$5 Little Caesar's Pizza
Grandma Wentz and water fights :)
Getting out of China and getting stuck in Japan!
The slide in the pool, which Mikayla must have gone done a million times in a row!
Roasting S'mores in our new fire pit!
Me stressing out over Garage-a-palooza and John being patient with me ;)
Swimming at the YMCA
Escamocha!
Dinner with the Barutcu's
Cold Stone and Dutch Blitz with Clayton and Lisa
Going to Champaign for church

Yo Joe!

2008-05-24T05:17:00.000-07:00

Logan's 5th birthday was celebrated with GI Joe fun. John recently got his GI Joe toys from when he was a kid. This sparked Logan's love for GI Joe. The kids had a great time going through boot camp. Cobra Commander even made an appearance! Stealing our base camp and relocating it into the neighbors back yard. Once the kids found the tent, they were surprised to find a hostage inside! Cobra had Grandpa tied up, but the boot camp graduates were able to free Grandpa and return base camp back to it's original location. Whew, it's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

We have friends who let us borrow some dress up stuff.

Some decorations

Boot camp! Nothing is quite as funny as watching 5 years olds try and do jumping jacks!

Birthday pictures

2008-05-24T05:06:00.000-07:00

Making fighter jets!

Listen up, sargents!

Even Mikayla joined in the fun! Sir, yes, Sir!

Yummy!

Eating their rations in the base camp tent.

10 things

2008-05-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

I have been making a list of "10 things I did today", everyday for 6 whole days. Today will be day number 7 and I think in a small way, it is helping. It is much better to wind down the day making a list of accomplishments and ending on a positive note.

In other news, Logan will be graduating preschool on Wednesday. Although Logan has friend's in his class, he is handling moving on much better than Luke. Luke is so social and LOVED his preschool friends so much. It took months before we could even drive by the building without Luke crying because his preschool friends weren't there anymore. Today was Logan's official last day and he is completely content to be moving on. Next year I won't have any kids in preschool, because Mikayla isn't quite old enough yet. How strange it will be to have only 1 child at home during the day. Luke will be done with school the first week of June. I am really looking forward to summer and a new summer schedule with the kids home! Well, it's off to get Luke from school then go to swimming and tae kwon do lessons.

Did I get anything done today?

2008-05-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

It seems like at the end of the day, the list of things I did NOT get done is constantly weighing me down. So, I am going to try and gain some perspective and make a list of 10 things I DID get done at the end of every day. Which may have the opposite effect, because now I've just added another thing to my list to do every day, ARGGHH! I know this list won't make it to the blog every day, but hopefully I can write it down for myself. I also know many of these items may seem unimpressive, but the life of a mom is not meant to be impressive is it?

Here is yesterday's list:
1. Made breakfast (eggs, sausage, cinnamon toast)
2. Took Luke to school.
3. Did 3 loads of laundry.
4. Picked up Luke from school.
5. Mailed scholastic Book Fair money.
6. Mailed invitations.
7. John and I coordinated our calendars.
8. Purchased train ticket for Luke's field trip.
9. Switched out toys from the toy closet and cleaned playroom (with a little help from little helpers)
10. trimmed Mikayla's nails

Hmmm . . . not feeling better yet. Maybe if I stick to it for a week, it will seem like a more substantial accomplishment?

john's birthday

2008-04-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

For John's birthday we took a family day! Logan didn't have preschool, so we took Luke out of school and spent the day together. We went to the zoo and had a great time! It really made me anxious for summer. Here are a few ;) pics from the day.

Who knew we'd see this at the zoo! Luke got a kick out of it.

more zoo pics

2008-04-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

Luke made a list of animals he wanted to find at the zoo. He marked off the ones he found. Can you make out his kindergarten spelling?
Mikayla was walking around with this list of butterflies, studying it so seriously. So cute! Like she was really finding them along the way, but the chart was upside down :)

More Zoo pictures

2008-04-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

Sleepy heads

2008-04-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

You know you've had full day when all 3 kids are asleep at once!

Easter Egg Hunt Part 4

2008-04-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

Below are some short video clips (long overdue) from an Easter Egg Hunt I went to with the kids. It was cold outside! Therefore, Logan was cold (and was recouping from being sick) and therefore uncomfortable. He does not like being uncomfortable. So, I guess I would sum up these videos as, "You can make me go to the Easter Egg Hunt, but you CAN'T make me LIKE IT!"
There are posted in reverse order, if you want to see all 4, scroll down to part 1 first.

Easter Part 3

2008-04-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

Easter part 2

2008-04-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

Easter Part I

2008-04-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

Now that wasn't so bad . . .

2008-04-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

I survived my wisdom teeth extractions with relatively little excitement. It only took about half an hour to pull them both out. My big success was that I didn't even cry, as opposed to last week when all they did was take x-rays and I cried the whole time. Trying to let my logical mind override my emotions is not easy, but I was able to maintain my composure and am feeling so good for facing my fear! Now, I'm home chomping on gauze and hoping I don't get dry sockets. Luke is also doing much better and will be going back to school tomorrow. Ahhh, such relief having this day half over and the tooth pulling behind me.

SICK of it all!

2008-03-31T12:20:00.000-07:00

We've had the respiratory flu, the stomach flu, and now Luke has strep throat! I think someone in my family has been sick every single day of this month! I thought the end of Spring Break would bring the end of the sickness in this house. But, instead of Luke returning to school, he is home with strep. On a somewhat related note, I get to have my top 2 wisdom teeth extracted tomorrow. I was trying to deny an ever increasing toothache in my upper left wisdom tooth, but if you've ever had a toothache, you know that there is a point where there is no more hiding it! I was trying so hard to fake it because I knew if John found out he would make me go to the dentist, and I am terrified of the dentist (which would explain how I ended up with a severe toothache). Well, he found out and took me to the dentist. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and in another week everyone will be well.

This too will pass

2008-03-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's the long winter, maybe it's all the sickness, maybe it's the low after the Hearts at Home high . . .

Most of the time blogs are reserved for good and humorous mommy moments. But I've been feeling the weight of all the not so good mommy moments. Several years ago we started having special family times every night the week before Easter. I was really looking forward to these special times. For a number of reasons; sickness and busyness at the top of the list, we didn't get to have these times. On top of that I am feeling the weight and guilt of all these things I don't get done, or should do . . . I know this is a season and winter will pass. . . please spring, hurry!!!!

wentz health update

2008-03-20T08:07:00.001-07:00

Logan is doing better already. We took him to the doctor yesterday, and he had ear infections in both ears, croup, and the stomach flu. He is now on steroids and antibiotics. After just 2 doses he is walking around, talking, and even ate some breakfast! Maybe we'll all be well by Easter!

Funny moments during all this:
Yesterday I walked into his room, leaned over him in bed and said, "Hey Sickie."
"Don't call me sickie." (is his rough croupie sick voice)
"Ok, cutie."
"Don't call me cutie."
"Ok, tough guy."
"Yeah, tough guy, call me tough guy."

Tuesday night was a long night! Logan had a high fever (at least the highest any of my kids have ever had) so we had him sleep in our bed so we could keep an eye on him. We would wake up and take his temp during the night, etc. Mikayla aslo got struck with the diarrhea bug, so we spent the entire night cleaning up someone. And whenever Logan would really get coughing Mikayla would wake up. At one point I got up to use the potty myself and John said to go check and see if Mikayla was in her bed. (He must have heard something earlier in his sub-sleep state). I went in and found her bed empty. So we rushed through the house looking for her. We found her, downstairs on the couch with the TV on, with a political commentary show. She had fallen asleep sitting up. Unfortunately, we couldn't find our camera in our middle of the night haze.

I AM A MOM

2008-03-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I got to attend my 2nd Hearts at Home conference. If you've never heard of Hearts at Home, it is a conference designed just for moms! If you are a mom you need to attend this conference next year. So many times we moms lose our perspective and forget the value of what we do, day in and day out. Going to this conference, surrounded by thousands of other moms, you feel validated and affirmed in everything you do. From wiping noses and bottoms, to cleaning house, to supporting our husbands, we are encouraged and thanked for all our hard work. Hard work that is so often unappreciated. And my mommy tank was refilled just in time, because I returned home to more sickness. Will this winter ever end?!?! Logan has stomach flu, croup, and a very high fever. Mikayla has diarrhea and a slight fever. So being reaffirmed in my wiping duties could not have been more timely! I've wiped up all sorts of bodily fluid. And thanks to Hearts I can hear voices of kindred spirits cheering me on, "WAY TO GO MOM!"
As much as I enjoy the conference, I also enjoy spending the weekend with friends. Our group went to Bloomington on Friday to shop, go out for dinner, and stay overnight in a hotel. Between the 7 of us, staying together Friday night, we had left behind 18 children! It was so nice to eat dinner, in a real restaurant, with only grown-ups! I don't know why we wait until Hearts to go out. I think we need to institute no children dinners several times a year.
Here is a link to their website the main location is in Bloomington, Il, but there are also conferences in Michigan and Minnesota as well. If you close enough to make the drive to IL I think you should come join us next year!!!!

Good news, and not so good news

2008-03-09T18:59:00.001-07:00

Good news: Everyone in my family (John, Luke, Logan, Mikayla, and myself) all appear to show no signs of sickness! This week I hope we can return to our "normal" routine.
Not so good news: My aunt (my moms sister) had a heart attack last week which was followed by a quadruple bypass open heart surgery.
Good news: She is doing much better and went home today (Sunday)
Not so good news: My mom fell on Saturday, bashed up her face pretty bad and broke her wrist.
Good news: She did not break her cheek bone, and doesn't need surgery for her broken wrist.
Not so good news: She broke her glasses and has to get a cast put on by the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow.
Good News: She has some extra glasses to get her by in the meantime.
GOOD NEWS: this weekend is Hearts at Home and I can't wait to get away for the weekend and have some FUN!!!

1 benefit of having sick kids

2008-02-26T10:33:00.000-08:00

I guess one benefit of having sick kids and being stuck at home for the 11th day in a row, my blogging activity has increased. Below are 2 pictures that further illustrate parenting a 2 year old. These pictures were taken only moments apart. The first one was taken right after I had prevented her from stepping over a lamp cord, that she was going to trip over. She did NOT like being redirected. The 2nd was taken just moments later. Boy, they know how to lay it on thick when they want to don't they?

Funny Logan story. He ran up to me and said,
"Mom, I have to show you something on "Neighbor Aber Robbershood!"
"On what?" I asked.
"Neighbor Aber Robbershood!"
"Say that again?"
"Neighbor, Aber, augghhh! Neighbor, auggghhhh! Neighbor, what's it called again mom?"
"Mister Rogers . . . "
"Neighborhood, yeah that's it."

1 more Logan story: Yesterday as we were sitting on the couch he was touching my hair and he turns to me and says (in his serious Logan way),
"Mom, your hair is like Persian."
"Persian?"
"Yes, you hair is like Persian."
"Persian. What does that mean"
"I don't know.'
Then when I was getting Mikayla ready for bed he was standing by me, again playing with my hair (he's a very affectionate child) and says,
"Mom, your hair is like nectar."
"What? My hair is like nectar? What is that? What is nectar?"
Luke then interjected, "Nectar is what bees gather from flowers to make honey."
Both conversations were so funny to me. I was laughing so hard when I was trying to tell them to John last night.

Maybe I'll take a vote, what do you say? Persian or nectar?

DONWANCHU

2008-02-25T08:47:00.000-08:00

As a typical 2 year old, her new favorite phrase is "Don-Wan-CHU!" (I don't want to). It's all slurred together into almost 1 word instead of 4. Needless to say, this is NOT my new favorite phrase. "Mikayla, do you have to go potty?" "DON WAN CHU!" "Mikayla, please sit down." "DON WAN CHU!" ARRGGGHH, 2 year olds are truly a test of patience! UNfortunately, her 2nd new favorite phrase is, "I-ont-ike-it" (I don't like it) Which doesn't really mean she doesn't like it. What it REALLY means is, if I say this phrase, I can get the things in front of me to change. For instance Mikayla asks for an apple. After I cut up and apple and place it in front of her, she pushes it away and says, "I-ont-ike-it!". What she hopes will happen is that I will then run back to the kitchen and give her a banana, but then she would most likely refuse the banana, and hope that I come back with fruit snacks. But what I know is that she does like apples, and she is just trying to assert her ability to change the environment around her. Luckily, I am usually smarter than a 2 year old. So when she refuses the apple slices, I just take them away and she gets nothing. And wouldn't you know it, 2 seconds later, she asks for them back and eats them all! Whew, toddlers have the unique ability to change a simple event, like eating a small snack, into an exhausting experience!

80% better

2008-02-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

Saturday it seemed everyone in our house was on the upside of this flu thing. So I cleaned the house (again!) from top to bottom. Changed everyone's sheets, washed all the blankets, boiled toothbrushes, and opened the boy's window to get some fresh air in. But, I don't think it did much good. We got everyone up and off to church this morning, but after we got there I could tell Logan was lagging. After church we had an "Appreciation in Ministry" lunch for our Children's Minister, who is resigning. At the lunch Logan was really dragging, so John left and took him home. After I came home, Logan woke up from his nap and felt warm. I took his temp and it was 103.3. Poor guy! And I'm the bad mom who took him out in public! I hope we didn't infect everyone today! The good news is Mikayla and John are doing better and Luke seems to have dodged the bullet all together.

In other news . . . we are will be having a "Summer Activities Camp" at the southwest campus this summer. The lead team for this event met on Saturday morning and I am SOOOO EXCITED!!!! (excuse me) As I was preparing for the meeting I was going through old files from UCC's "S.A.C." I watched a highlight video we put together and I cried and cried! It was so touching to look back and see so many faces and relive great memories. Some things I'm looking forward to this summer is expanding the program (so far we have 13 different groups offered!) to include sports ,like basketball and volleyball! A luxury we didn't have space for at UCC. It's been 3 years since my last opportunity to serve in a role like this and I forgot much it energizes me!
I hope everyone else is staying healthy. Spring will arrive eventually, right?

All Quiet on the Wentz home front

2008-02-21T08:05:00.000-08:00

Quiet? not a word commonly used to describe our household! But as the flu is making it's way through our family, quietness has settled in. It started with Mikayla, then John, and now Logan. When they're not sleeping they are sitting around in a Zombie like coma. So far Luke is going strong and is trying to dodge this thing! I can tell I'm fighting it off, but I'm the mom, I don't have time to get sick! So, as we enter our 6th day of a quiet house, I think I'm actually looking forward to the return of the noise that the Wentz house is accustomed to.

SNOW TAKE 2

2008-02-02T15:19:00.001-08:00

Even better than a snow day . . . the day after when you have PERFECT packing snow! The kids had a great time making 4 snowmen in our yard. And 1 snow dog. Then they went across the street where John and our neighbor make a HUGE snowman. We ended the fun with some SNOW ICE CREAM, YUMMY! And then came in for WARM drinks!

Mikayla on top of the HUGE snow ball that became the Middle of our giant snowman.

Mikayla spent most of her time eating snow!

Mikayla in our neighbors back yard navigating her way through the snow!

The GIANT SNOWMAN!

In Da SNOW!

2008-02-02T05:41:00.000-08:00

After almost 13 inches of snow, we had a SNOW DAY! It really was the perfect snow day, because we got enough snow to shut things down, but the weather was GREAT! The boys put their snow gear on and went out to play. And of course and the neighbors and their kids were out! Have I mentioned on here that we live on the BEST street? One of our neighbors came by with their snowblower and cleared our driveway, sidewalks and even part of the street! Our neighborhood is a real community. I could go on and on and tell you what I think contributes to that, but that is for a different post . . . Now for snow pictures!

Biggest Sale of the Season!!!

2008-01-25T11:15:00.000-08:00

About 5 years ago, my parents made a 6 hour tape of recorded Blues Clues and Dora shows. We don't have cable and Luke was a HUGE fan of Blue and Dora, so Dad would just record episode after episode off their cable for us. Here we are 5 years later and Mikayla is now a Huge fan. I dug out that video tape and she is watching to her hearts content. Because it was recorded off TV, we have all the commercials recorded as well. And, believe it or not, even 5 years ago, Kohl's was having their "BIGGEST SALE OF THE SEASON!"

No More Babies????

2008-01-17T09:45:00.000-08:00

Well, Mikayla turned 2 on January 6th. Since then she truly has grown up! She now sleeps in her toddler bed AND is potty trained!!! I can't believe she really "got it". I was not good an potty training the boys, but I do know that one reason was that I was never really ready to "bite the bullet" and switch to underwear, confine myself to my house, and be prepare to do LOTS of laundry. Day 1, went as expected, a few successes, that were credited to mom, not Mikayla, and LOTS of accidents. Day 2 went even better, around 50/50. Day 3 she initiated going potty 4 times in the morning!!! Day 4, the novelty has worn off and when asked if she was ready to go potty she screamed, "NO!". Day 5, not very successful again! I was ready to GIVE UP! But, my mom talked me into trying for 1 more week and I am so glad she did!!! By day 7 she "got it"! And this week we have been to stores, mom's group, church and been dry!!! We've had a few accidents, all were mostly my fault! When she sleeps in her toddler bed I close her door. UH-Oh! When she has to go, she can't get out! I now leave her door cracked open to avoid those messes. So here are a few pictures to enjoy from her 2nd Birthday and her "Big Girl" bed.

so much Christmas, so little time!

2008-01-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

We had a busy, but WONDERFUL Christmas.
I'm not sure when it actually started, because we've been non-stop since December 16th, at our Christmas Open House. The 19th was South Side's Staff Christmas Party. We were so happy to host because we were able to put Mikayla down for bed at her regular bedtime and the boys went to bed before everyone left, giving us time to actually talk to the other adults at the party.

John's dad was scheduled to arrive in St. Louis on Thursday the 20th, so after John drove down in the dense fog, his dad's plane was re-routed to Indianapolis. because of the fog. Unfortunately, the airport in Indy doesn't have a gate for the airline he was on, and he got re-routed AGAIN to Chicago. John came home late that night (actually early that morning), in the dense fog, but it wasn't for nothing, he did get a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts in St. Louis! In case you're wondering what happened to John's dad, they flew him back to St. Louis on Friday afternoon. John's mom was heading through St. Louis on her way to our house, so she was able to pick him up. Friday morning I was helping parent in Logan's preschool and Friday afternoon was Luke's Christmas party.

Friday evening John's Mom, Dad and Brother arrived. Luckily for Ted, in from Costa Rica, and Ron, in from Florida, it wasn't too cold . . . yet. Saturday we went and saw Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium at the cheap theater and we all got in for $10.50! Luckily Mikayla was free because she only last about 1/4 of the way through the movie before we left to walk around the mall.

Sunday morning we had church and were treated to lunch by the Wentz's! I LOVE going out to eat on Sunday afternoons! We rarely go to restaurants, because frankly, eating in a restaurant is not very relaxing with 3 kids. But, the adults far out numbered the kids putting the odds in our favor.

Sunday afternoon, John's family headed north to spend Christmas Eve with their family. In their place my mom, dad, brother, and sister-in-law came into town. The 23rd is my mom's birthday, so we had a birthday dinner to celebrate her 54th, I mean 53rd birthday! (Mom told us she was turned 54 this year, while I was trying to determine how many candles to put on her cake, but as we were eating cake Dad was doing the math and corrected us that she was 53. What a great present! A whole other year of life!)

Monday morning, the 24th, we woke up and opened up presents with my family. And as you can see in the photos Wii had a great christmas. That night we went to the Christmas Eve service (1st one for South West Campus). It was very family friendly and meaningful, giving everyone time to reflect on the prince of PEACE that seems so absent for most of the Christmas season.

On the 25th, we headed up to my Grandparents in Lincoln and celebrated with them until about 2:00 p.m. Then we headed back to Springfield to have Christmas dinner with John's family.

Unfortunately, on the 26th I woke up and felt AWFUL! I spent the whole day in bed asleep with some unwelcome interruptions I won't write about here. The kids and John went ahead and celebrated with the Wentz's and video taped it for me to watch later. After sleeping for nearly 22 hours, I opened my gifts in bed then returned to another unwelcome interruption and more sleep for the night!

On the 27th we had a slow morning getting ready to head to my parents house for Hentrich Christmas. I was still not feeling great, but at least wasn't getting sick anymore. The worst part was that I couldn't enjoy any of the delicious Hentrich food! I sat around and felt like my head was in the clouds! But it was great to see family, especially my cousin Beth, who I haven't seen in several YEARS!!! The kids had fun playing with my cousins Hannah and Mary, and my cousins daughter, Rory who is 4.

After a quick 24 hour visit to my parents, We headed home. Over the Holidays we kept noticing that Luke was breathing strangely. He has to lift his chin up and stretch out his neck to breathe in. Especially if he's being active, he has to gulp in air to breathe. It really doesn't seem to slow him down, but raised my mommy concern. So we had called the Dr. and made an appointment for that afternoon. In my opinion it was a completely unproductive Dr. visit and so, I am still not sure why he's breathing strange. We are also looking for a new family Doctor.

We spent the evening of the 28th, the 29th and the 30th with John's parent's. Mostly watching the kids play their Wii!

After spending so much time with extra family and friends around we enjoyed ringing in the New Year with just the 5 of us. We stayed home, played games, put the kids to bed and watched a movie. It was relaxing and just what we needed to recoup from a busy Christmas.

Now that it's all over and our Christmas decorations are down, I already miss the special excitement that Christmas brings.

Fashionista

2007-12-06T19:50:00.000-08:00

Today, I really did dress Mikayla in a cute Christmas Jumper. But, when I went upstairs mid-morning to see what she was up to, she was sitting on the floor in the playroom but had changed her clothes! She was wearing 2 skirts and 3 hats!!! So, of course I took her picture! Unfortunately, I didn't realize until later that she has also emptied ALL of her drawers of clothes, and dumped them on the floor.

Thanksgiving

2007-12-06T19:37:00.000-08:00

I had better get Thanksgiving Pictures up before Christmas is here!
Thanksgiving Highlights!
#1
This year we went to my Grandma's house for Thanksgiving. (My kids Great-Grandma, better known as Oma.) The day after Thanksgiving the kids made decorations and ornaments for my Grandpas (Opa's) room in the nursing home.

#2 The kids were sleeping on these inflatable sleeping bag beds. And we always seem to take pictures of the kids when they are sleeping. Even Mikayla was sleeping
on one! At home she is still in her crib, so while we were at Oma's, she woke up during the night and had a new found freedom. It was so cute, because she had wandered upstairs and crawled onto the couch to sleep with Oma! (now, don't think we're cruel to make my Grandma sleep on the couch, if you knew her you'd understand that it's just like her to give EVERYONE else a bed before she'd take one.)

Halloween

2007-11-03T19:14:00.001-07:00

Halloween!!! We had a full day on Wednesday! In the morning, parents are invited to join Logan's preschool class while they go "trick or treating" around the building. Then in the afternoon I went to Luke's school for his Halloween party! Even though the kids don't get to wear costumes, they still had fun playing games, eating snacks and making a craft. After school we got a bite to eat, got in costume and prepared to go trick or treating (Like we really needed more candy after they got so much at school!!!). After trick or treating we went to church (for more candy!) for their Fall festival. Luckily no one broke out in hives this year and we got to enjoy the night!

This picture is in Logan's preschool class. Logan is in the red power ranger costume. I love the way Mikayla just blends right in!

Here she is sitting in the crowd!

This was in Luke's class.

girl!Here they are! Pikachu, Spiderman, and butterfly/princess/fairy As you can see NO ONE wanted to pose for a picture before going trick or treating!

I love this Picture! Logan is playing "air guitar". A rare moment where Logan was so excited I guess he just needed to break into his guitar solo. Especially funny if you knew the scene that had played out in our home moments before!
Note: Logan is no longer a red power ranger, but Spiderman. After MANY mind changes he finally consented to wear his "strong" spider-man costume, but only with the gloves and mask. And of course 1 glove was missing. For those who know all the opportunities I have with Logan, you can imagine how this whole missing glove, what to wear costume ordeal was really like! But, after much searching we found it . . . in the garage! ? And of course 5 minutes after we were outside . . . he wouldn't wear the MASK OR GLOVES!!!!

The back of her wings were especially cute, but this is the only picture we got of them. You can sort of get the idea.

More birthday pictures

2007-10-15T10:44:00.001-07:00

(Disclaimer: I can NEVER post pictures in the right order. The "3rd" birthday post is really the first one, then this one, then the middle one. So, if reading in order is important to you, scroll down then come back up to read the next 2.)

After the kids all arrived they entered our "Super Hero Training Center". They had to complete 3 skills, Agility, Endurance and Accuracy.

For Agility we dropped these balloons down from the ceiling on long strings and they had to run through them without hitting any "lava" filled balloons.

Endurance: John ran them hard! They jumped, squatted and ran. They also had to balance this box (as heavy as a locomotive!) over their heads!

Accuracy (no pictures) they shot silly string at a mural of evil villans that Luke and Logan had designed before the party.

(Poor Logan, he was starting to get a fever, which he is home with today and is currently sleeping in his bed)

Super Luke turns 6!!!

Diaper Man!

2007-10-15T10:32:00.001-07:00

Once the kids had completed the Super Hero Training, they created their own Super Hero identities by designing their own capes and disguising themselves with masks. Then the observant Sydney (note it's the girl) notices that The Hulk costume is missing from the Super Hero Hall of Fame. So, our little super heroes donned their costumes and took off to find the evil villan "Diaper Man". They were SOOOO serious about tracking him down and finding the missing costume! Luckily diaper man left a trail of diapers and our Super Heroes were able to work together to defeat him and return the costumes to their rightful places!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKE!!!

2007-10-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

Luke is 6 years old today!!!
Happy Birthday Lukie!!!! Or, should I say "Luke" who informed me during his birthday party Saturday night that he just wants to be "Luke" not Lukie. I guess he really is growing up!!! Here are some pictures from his "Super Hero Training Center" birthday party.

Birthday Table decorations!

We had a "Super Hero Hall of Fame" for the Super Heroes we had trained in the past.

I'm not tired :)

2007-09-19T13:06:00.001-07:00

Since Luke started Kindergarten the boys have a new bedtime, 7:30 p.m. Since their bedtime is earlier, I don't mind if Logan doesn't fall asleep during his rest time (because when he takes a long nap, he's not ready for bed that early). Today, though, our Wednesday night youth groups resume. Since we have an evening activity I really wanted Logan to fall asleep during his rest. After he laid in his bed for about an hour and hadn't fallen asleep, I let him get up. I guess he really was tired though, because after he'd been "awake" for a few minutes, the house was dangerously quiet. I went looking for him and found him like this . . . .

Sound asleep, leaning against the pantry door.

Books I've been reading

2007-09-19T06:31:00.000-07:00

John posted some books he's been reading lately, so I thought I'd share some from my repertoire.

SICKO

2007-09-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

12:27 p.m.
"Hello?"

"Mrs. Wentz"

"Yes"

"This is Mrs. Matzke, Luke's teacher. Luke just threw up in the lunch line at school."

POOR KID!

3:30 p.m.

john walk in the door

"I'm gonna throw up."

Now they're both quarentined to our bedroom and I am contemplating bathing the rest of us in Lysol!!!!

At preschool

2007-09-05T19:30:00.001-07:00

Logan's first day or preschool

2007-09-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

2007-09-05T19:14:00.001-07:00

John and I concluded that we are getting old. We can't handle the rides anymore! We went on "The Joker" and I had to close my eyes and breath deep to avoid tasting my lunch for the second time!

Luke loved the ride though and wanted to go on again! John was a trooper and rode with Luke, on the back of the boat!!

We went on the mine train, a "non-upside down" roller coaster. This is the last smile Logan had on this ride.

Mikayla noticed a lady sweeping up leaves. So, she decided to help. She went around and picked up leaves and handed them to her to put into her dustpan on a pole.

SUPERSTAR!!!

2007-09-05T19:13:00.001-07:00

Labor Day at Six Flags

2007-09-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

We spent our Labor Day at Six Flags! We met Grandma Wentz at a gas station nearby and went on our way!

Here's our family picture in the antique car.

Then we wanted a funny picture. Does it look to you like our kids are like, "Let's get out of this car and away from our embarrassing parents!!!"?

Mikalya looks like she's thoroughly enjoying the log flume.

I had forgotten that Six Flags was Super Hero heaven. We saw The Flash, and Batman, along with Scooby Doo, Shaggy, and the Looney Toons. Logan was so awestruck when we saw batman that he wouldn't even get close to him! I asked Logan, "How'd you feel when we saw Batman?" He said, "Kind of shy." "Why?" I asked "Cause I just never saw a REAL Batman!"

Back in the 'Nati again!

2007-08-28T09:49:00.001-07:00

We spent the weekend in Cincinnati and had a WONDERFUL time seeing everyone! It was emotion-ful, but in a very good kind of way. So much of us are there. One time Dave Faust said that there are two church that cause him to weap when he thinks of them and one was UCC. At the time I didn't resonate with what he was really saying, now I do. I LOVE the ministry there. We stayed with Scott and Ann Ellis, who are still tirelessly serving Christ in everything they do. Saturday morning we stopped in at Rohs Street before rehearsal lunch, and got to catch up with several people. Then at rehearsal lunch we to reconnect with students, who were such much a part of our lives! Brad and Sarah Bowman and their children, Ivan and Henry, shared dinner with us on Saturday night. Then Sunday morning we met with Rob and Kristen Sloan at Panera and let the kids play on some green space outside. It was a special time to be back at UCC for Sunday morning service. It many ways it seems like we haven't left, until we look at the kids and see how much they've changed!!! Troy and Amanda had us over for a very quick lunch before we had to run to get to the wedding! I wasn't sure how it would be to go back, but after being back I can't wait to return for a longer visit! We'll be back for the Missionary convention being hosted this fall where we can hopefully connect with people we didn't get to see during this whirlwind trip!

I have more pictures but blogger's pictures thing isn't working! They'll be up soon!

Wedding

2007-08-28T09:29:00.001-07:00

Our whole family was part of the wedding. John and I both participated in the ceremony. John did the bulk of the ceremony; vows, sermon, etc . . . I addressed the friends and family and prayed. Luke was an usher and LOVED showing everyone where to sit, as long as they could keep up with the fastest usher ever! Logan and Mikayla were in the wedding. Logan was the ring "tiger", which goes back to a year ago when John and Elizabeth got married and Luke was the ring bearer. Logan was feeling quite left out because he didn't get to wear fancy clothes so when asked what we has doing in the wedding he said he was the ring "tiger", obviously misunderstanding Luke's role as the ring "bear". Tommy and Stephanie got quite a kick out of that story so Logan was given his shining moment at the ring "tiger". Mikayla was the flower girl. All this being said, I was slightly concerned how this would all play out. Keep in mind, John and I are at the front with the groom and groomsmen and Logan and Mikayla have to walk down the isle. Even thought Mikalya is only 19 months old, she wasn't who I was most concerned about. Logan's idea of a good time is not being told what to do and then having everyone staring at him! To start them off we had Mikayla strapped into her stroller and Kristin Sloan fed her fruit snacks (provided by Sara Bowman) until the last possible moment. Then she let her go, I knew she wouldn't hesitate once she was let loose! Logan on the other hand, made it somewhere between 1/2 way and 3/4 of the was down the aisle before he stopped threw down the batman figure he was carrying with him, put his arms straight down at his side, gave his classic "Logan look" and just stood there with his head down! Mikayla stops, goes over, picks up his toy, brushes off his feet, grabs his arm and pulls, saying "Mon, mon" (Mikayla's way of saying "Come on!") Luckily the first bridesmaid was on her way down, so when she met up with them she grab each of their hands and escorted them the rest of the way down the aisle. They stood next to us for the rest of the procession, then they went to sit with Scott and Ann Ellis. Scott later told me that when Logan went over to him, he said, "I was just embarassed." Here are a few pictures of the kids!

Emma and Logan

Mikayla carrying her pink pony from Tommy and Stephanie!

The groom is in the white shirt and talking with friends.

John and Mikayla, she is such a daddy's girl lately. We took video of her crying this morning when he left.

John's favorite picture from the wedding. Mikayla kicking Luke in the fact on the swings, OUCH!

Reception

2007-08-28T09:19:00.001-07:00

Since the wedding was help outdoors at a park there was a playground right next to where the reception was being held! Every wedding should be held outside with a playground! The kids had a blast playing together! Isn't it great to see how kids can just pick up and play together like best friends even when they haven't seen one another in a long time?!

Brandon and Greta on the playground!

The kids were collecting food for dragons (a.k.a. crab apples)

Emma, Emerson, Indira and Warner playing on the playground.

Kids running down the hill to collect dragon food!

Luke, Logan, Matteus and Indira getting 1 last picture before we left.

First day of Kindergarten 2

2007-08-23T08:33:00.001-07:00

Daddy and Luke in line outside of school

New School Shoes

They wouldn't let us walk the kids into the classroom! So here I am taking a picture through the outside doors of them walking downstairs to their room.

Luke's teacher hurt her knee, so he is actually starting off the year with a substitute. Lucky for me the rookie forgot to pull the blinds on the classroom window (the seasoned veteran in the other kindergarten had hers pulled down shut)! This is a picture taken through his window outside the school building. Yes, I am the stalking mother who was peaking in through the tiny window.

First day of Kindergarten

2007-08-23T08:12:00.001-07:00

Luke and mommy

Here's the fam before school. Mikayla, just woke up, nice hair, huh?

Do I have to smile mom?

Here he is walking onto the playground at school!

Luke started Kindergarten today! After sending him off, and lots of crying (on my part, not his, he did GREAT!!) Here's some pictures of the BIG DAY!

back to school

2007-08-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

Luke and Logan got "Back to school" hair cuts. I can't believe how GROWN UP they look to me now!

Luke starts school Thursday! This is going to be an emotional day for me! He'll do great!

Logan starts preschool 3 mornings a week. What am I going to do with only 1 child?!?!?

2007-08-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

This is Luke and Mikayla on the front steps of our cabin. It was just 5 miles from Santa Claus and was a wonderful campground!

Mikayla and Daddy at the Lake at the campground. She loved playing in the sand!

Logan and Mikayla are on a ride together! When did all my kids get so "grown up!?!?!" Luke is waiting in line through the archways in the background. He was with John in line for a roller coaster called the Raven. Luke's now 48" and can go on the adult rides. John said Luke didn't breathe the whole ride!

At the end of the day Mikayla was worn out!

Highlights

2007-08-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a vacation to Santa Claus, Indiana. We camped at Lincoln State Park and went to Holiday World. We LOVED Holiday World!!! Go sometime!
Pictures and more details to come shortly.

Luke starts kindergarten in 6 days!!! I can't believe it! We bought school supplies before we left on vacation. I feel like a "real" mom.

Logan will start preschool September 5th!

Mikayla and I will have to find new things to do to keep us busy!

We will be in Cincinnati next weekend for Tommy and Stephanie's wedding.

Logan's birthday party

2007-06-23T07:15:00.001-07:00

Logan had a "Detective" birthday party with his friends, after we returned from our Vacation.

His cake is supposed to look like a magnifying glass with a fingerprint in the middle.

Superman present was a big hit, from his buddy Evan.

I'm Back and confessions of a blogging hypocrite

2007-06-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

In March, I turned 30. We don't have any pictures, though. I was in Bloomington, IL at a Hearts at Home conference with some friends from Springfield. Rachel (my best friend from college) went as well, which made for a GREAT birthday!!!

In April, John turned 30. Here he is getting some love from Mikayla on his Birthday!

In late April/early May, we went camping near St. Louis. Here's a picture of the fam. We did "wimp out" a bit and stayed in a cabin instead of a tent. The cabin was "rustic", no water, restrooms, kitchen, just a structure with beds. It turned out to be a GREAT decision to stay in the cabin because it rained the entire time! It was WONDERFUL to return to our campsite and not have to worry about our bedding being wet!

Logan turned 4, while on our camping trip. Here is his birthday pancake for breakfast. We also went to the Science center in St. Louis for his birthday. They were having a Super Heroes exhibit, where kids could explore the science behind the Super Heroes "powers". The boys LOVED IT!!!

We went to the Zoo our last day there. It was nice to go see some unique zoo animals. We have a small zoo in Springfield, but there are not elephants, giraffes, zebras, etc . . . there is a wolverine here though, I guess that counts for something.

Confession: When I check your blog and you haven't posted I get frustrated with you. Does it get any more hypocritical than that?