Grammie and a Puzzle

We were so happy to get home from school and piano lesson to find Grammie had made it here for her weekend visit. She lives a bit too far away to see her very often, so we're always glad when she can make the trip. Ben had an idea to put together a new frog puzzle sent for his frog birthday from Grandpa John & Grandma Hazel. Everyone joined in the fun, and we even included some reinforcement from our neighbor, Charmaine. Teamwork was the key word for this project. Before we knew it, the puzzle was done and we were all in the mood for a good evening together.

Grammie is here because Becky & Clint are heading out for a Pathfinder Leadership Training Weekend, and she is brave enough to stay along with the kids while we're gone. This will be our first try at this, and we hope it will all go smoothly. We leave tomorrow afternoon and return on Sunday evening.

Matching Girls

Sarah's school was celebrating Red Ribbon Week with a matching day. Her buddy, Krista, suggested yellow and white tops, and they looked pretty good together. It was a very positive week with lots of emphasis on making good life choices and saying NO to drugs!

Apple Pickin' Time

We have been enjoying wonderful apples for several weeks and feeling so thankful to be in a land with so many apple choices. Today Ben traveled with me to the apple growers where we sorted through big bins of less-than-perfect apples.

Today we thought our timing was perfect because we found so many great apples. We found so many giant Fujis with no noticable blemishes, crisp Goldens, bright Red Delicious, and some Grannies and Braeburns to fill up our box.

Ben enjoyed choosing apples with unusual shapes, while I chose either giant or snack size apples. Our friends are so impressive with their abilities to make applesauce and do other canning, but we're content to just eat the apples or bake them into something yummy.

Last Days of Fall

We sort of enjoy the fall season, and watch for trees changing color or piles of leaves under the trees. Today we pulled over to catch a couple of family photos under some red and yellow trees on the way to a Pathfinder movie and burgers fundraising event.

Laundry Day

I thought my days of finding Ben playing in the laundry basket were long gone! Guess I was wrong. Today he was having a ball playing with his favorite dinosaur and bird, complete with the blanket from his crib days. I wasn't too disappointed because it gave me a good excuse to put off laundry for another day!

Sarah Meets Fish

Sarah's 5th & 6th grade class was treated to a great experience today. They have been studying fish in science class, and today a guest came in to help them dissect the fish. Now, one might think a typical 10-year old girl would not care for dissecting any creature.

However, Sarah is not exactly typical! She loves this hand-on, real science stuff. She couldn't wait for the day to come and was thrilled to learn her two partners didn't want anything to do with the fish. "That means I'll be able to do the whole thing!" Well, Ben and Becky stopped by after his music class, and discovered Sarah diving into her project with enthusiasm. It was a blue mackerel and her favorite thing was when she got to pop the swim bladder. It went flat like a balloon.

Life with Allergies

Generally speaking, Ben handles his allergies to tree nuts and peanuts really well. He is cautious about eating things people give him or eating at restaurants. We feel grateful there have not been any reactions in several years, but realize it is largely due to efforts to avoid all nuts or items made on machines with nuts.

Today was one of those days when he had to be brave and let them take his blood. He is comfortable with the Lab team, and really doesn't complain. We're all praying for some improvement in his levels so at least it won't be so life-threatening if he had a nut by mistake sometime. We'll let you know what the professionals think about his status in the months ahead.

Ben & Sarah's Art Works

Today Ben was looking out the window and noticed the pretty sunflowers. This gave him an inspiration so he grabbed some paper and crayons, and went to work drawing sunflowers. After the sunflower picture was finished, he was in the mood to keep going. He colored several creations and posted them around the room. He made a sign for his new art studio - "Ben's Art Works." The sign was later ammended to include Sarah since it really was a family studio.

Corn Maze

We were so glad to join our church family at the corn maze today! Clint and Sarah came straight over after the Pathfinder campout. This year the maze was a lighthouse with boats and dolphins offshore. We went through several times in the light and after dark too.

Ben in Motion

Ben was most excited to discover a new scooter for his birthday. It is just right for him and he's been spending lots of time working on scooter skills. Today he was showing me how fast he can travel!

Clint & Sarah are off on a Pathfinder campout so we've been having fun hanging out together. We visited with two different families on Sabbath! We're glad to have each other, and appreciate the nice weather for scootering, but will be happy when the family is all back under the same roof.

Quilting Frenzy

A group of women at church banded together to work on a quilt for a friend, Jonna, facing a serious cancer diagnosis. She just learned her diagnosis, and everyone wanted to do something quickly for her.

I was amazed at the whole process. Someone bought material and cut everything out one Sunday. Then the next day we showed up with six sewing machines, two people manning ironing boards, and another couple working at cutting/trimming stations. In one night, we were able to get most of the top put together! It was amazing. Then the next night we ran into issues with the power out, but they were able to get it assembled so the next day it was finished quickly and taken to someone to do the "quilting" work. When she learned of our cause, she offered to do it without charge. God was really working with us as we pulled together. By Friday we had the finished the quilt and had it delivered to her. We're hoping Jonna will feel the love of her friends and God wrap around her with this quilt.

It was inspiring for so many reasons, and I was just thankful to be part of it. I have minimal sewing abilities/experience, so this project never would have seemed possible to me. Now I'm wishing I could call on everyone to help me finish the quilt my mom had started! It would be nice to do one for happy reasons.

Blast from the Past

This photo is from 2002, when Ben was interested in trying new things. He may have been considering a career as some sort of ink scientist. He is still quick to experiment with stuff and try new and unexpected things! Happy Birthday, Ben!

Happy Birthday to Ben!

Today we woke up to something new - an eight-year old boy in our home! We haven't had one of them before so this will be a new adventure. So far we're really liking the change. He was off to school with his homeschool group with a container full of mini-cupcakes. They were made to order with yellow cupcakes topped with white frosting and green sprinkles. We added some gummy frogs on top to make them special. He was so excited to have school on his actual birthday and to be able to bring along treats for the other kids. Becky was able to duck out of work long enough to visit Ben during his lunch/recess, which left a big smile on his face.

An unexpected treat for him was a visit at school from the science center van. They were learning about bodies, and asked for volunteers to come up front. "Without even knowing it was my birthday, they chose me!" Ben reported that he was chosen to be a lung. He had to wear a pink lung suit, and had to puff up whenever the red blood cell ran by him an dropped in a blue ball from the muscles and picked up a red ball which is for the muscles. There was also a heart and brain involved in this process. Facinating stuff!


For supper, Ben was allowed to choose the meal for his birthday. He ordered Dinner Roast, stuffing and cranberry sauce. I added in mashed potatoes and wheat rolls to make it seem a bit like Thanksgiving. We were all feeling thankful for his birthday and to be blessed with him in our family.

Sarah Palin's Head

Clint let out a gasp tonight as he came into the room where I was peacefully reading to the kids. He told me stay still and went to grab the camera. He couldn't help noticing how I was wearing Sarah Palin's head! Something about the way my hair was sitting on the pillow?

Anyway, he thought I just needed to get some new "Sarah Palin" glasses and I'd be perfect to do some impersonations. I'm not feeling the calling to add a new career at this point, especially anything with politics, but I was amused to see some similarities! I do have a frog face painting, which would be something unexpected for a VP candidate. What do you think? Should I try a career in politics? Or comedy? Or enter a speaker circuit? Maybe a change would be good??!

An Unfroggetable Day

Ben celebrated his 8th birthday with a frog party at the park today. Several boys and a small sampling of girls joined in for an afternoon of jumping, lily pads, face painting and more frog fun. We had been eagerly awaiting this party at the park, and were glad we had a lot of room for the boys to run around.

We started with a frog toss and the kids tried to land their frog on the lily pads to earn points. Sarah, Charmaine & Claire helped out with games and decorated faces with painted frogs or tadpoles. Clint had the kids jump like frogs through an obstacle course which turned out to be a workout for their frog legs! We also altered "duck, duck, goose" to be "frog, frog, tadpole," and there was a lot of laughing during this game. The frog cake was a big hit - especially since it came complete with a raisin "fly."

We were thankful for the nice weather and for all the kids able to come celebrate with Ben.

The Frog Master

Clint has certainly proved himself to be our family cake decorator over the last few years. He is able to take an idea, some frosting and food coloring, and transform an ordinary cake into something special. He is happy to sit quietly at a table while Becky runs about getting other things ready for a party. Today he is making a frog face with giant eyes. He has been eyeing a fly in our house and contemplating the pros and cons of putting a real fly on the cake. Hmmm... It is a party with a bunch of boys, but we're hoping he will choose the raisin to be a fly instead.

Montana Visitors

What a blast we had today with our Montana friends, Monte, Torvey and Kobe. They were here today and we spent most of the afternoon just hanging out, playing and eating together. Ben was disappointed that they couldn't stay for his birthday party tomorrow, but they have to go home. The boys are really growing up! Wish they lived closer so we could seem them more often.

Fall Party

Our friends at church host a BIG fall party on their farm every year. We look forward to it and it is fun to dress up in our cowboy garb.

There is a big potluck, lots of games for kids and grownups, face painting, and a hayride to top it off. This year there was a big log to saw for a contest and cups of fresh apple cider. Oh, we sing songs around the campfire too.

Clint was the leader of the games and did a great job as expected. Ben and Sarah had an afternoon to remember. Our hosts reminded us how we need to treasure the times we have together with our families and friends, and trust God when the world seems so uncertain (like the last few weeks).

So we went home and put away our cowboy hats and bandanas, and we'll look forward to another great party on the farm next year!