For Dad

Chuck and Caleb have really been enjoying fishing this last year. Caleb has loved going along mostly for the time with his Daddy, Grandpas, Uncles... He has yet to catch a "keeper" until now!
Last night the silence of Thornburg was broken by a crazy man beeping the horn as he flew in the driveway. We ran outside anticipating a fishing story from Chuck and Caleb and we weren't let down. They started by pulling out four nice sized fish. When they could contain their struggle no longer, Chuck went to the back of the truck and pulled out a monster of a fish. Caleb was nearly bursting with excitement. We all oooed and aaahed over the big fish and then they pulled out another the same size! Grandma ran inside and grabbed the ruler while Daddy and Son were gloating over their catch.He had caught TWO 22-inch fish! Chuck caught some nice fish, but Caleb won the prize.



Way to go Caleb!!

HOT Summer Days

I like to call the weather we had the first two weeks of July "Africa hot!" I'm not sure about this, but I think we had probably 10 days in there that the temperature was 100 degrees or higher. So, what do you do when it's that hot?Play in the water as much as you can!! After all of the Sterling Fourth of July festivities (of which I have NO pictures, by the way) we switched up a few kids and Aly and Emma spent the week in Concordia and Timmy got to stay here. When it was time to switch back, Roxie and I decided to meet up at the water park in Mcpherson. A great blistering hot day to stay cool in the pool!!


We also like to go to the nearby lake (not just the Sterling Lake) and swim. We picked another hot one.The car Temperature gauge said 106 the whole way there, so we knew it wasn't a fluke. We got to the lake and surprisingly it wasn't too crowded. We had a great time relaxing and playing with a couple of cousins. :)

My Little Baseball Stars

Baseball has dominated a lot of our time and discussions in our home this summer. Caleb is a huge sports fan (nothing new to anyone reading this). He pours himself into whatever sport happens to be "in season." Ever since the end of school, baseball has been the dominating sport. He lives it, breathes it, talks about it with whomever will listen and of course plays it any time he has the opportunity. If he can't rope someone into playing catch with him, he wants to play baseball on the wii. Well, this year Aly caught the fever and decided she really wanted to play t-ball. Chuck and I were a bit sceptical at first because not only had she never had any prior interest, she didn't even know how to put a baseball glove on her hand. It turned out to be a pretty good experience, though. She was very similar in skill level to the other little 5-yr-old girls on her team. She did a good job and could even smack the ball pretty hard.She still really enjoyed chatting with the coaches about as well as she enjoyed playing. She would chat running out to her position, talk the whole time she was on the field and still be discussing something as she ran into the dugout. They don't play games, but they scrimmage and that was about as competitive as she wanted to be. Caleb was of course the complete opposite. He played every minute with every bit of intensity he could muster. He really did a good job this year.He played catcher a lot again this year. That is his favorite position because he gets to touch the ball almost every play. I liked watching him in the other positions though(a little more interesting). At that age it's always so exciting (even surprising at times) to see them make a really good throw or catch because they are still learning and most of them are pretty inconsistent. In fact one game he was playing infield and actually made a double play by himself. I about fell over! But then the next game he overthrew, forgot to tag up, and struck out...so inconsistent. That's what makes it so fun to watch.
He did a lot better batting this year. It could be because he's a year older and had a year of experience under his belt or it could be that he stopped trying to imitate someone else and bat the way he knew how. I think he only struck out two times this year. He still really likes Soriano, but I think Chuck finally has him convinced that he has to bat like Caleb Lambert, not Alfonso Soriano. :) "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." ~Ephesians 5 1,2
We're sorry Baseball and T-ball are over for this year, but next year will be here before we know it. Mean while, I am getting my fill of baseball from all the Cubs games and updates I hear from our oldest!

Harvest

Wheat Harvest has become one of our favorite Summertime activities. Chuck loves the chance to help a friend cut his wheat and spend time outside in a powerful piece of machinery. :) I wrote last year (hard to believe I've been blogging for over a year) about the beauty I have learned to find in Kansas in the Summer. I really enjoyed being outside this year (even in the blistering heat) and gazing at God's creation. Things seem so much more beautiful in the country.

This year, all four couldn't wait to take their turn riding with their daddy.Jake got to go see some other farmers harvest that day. My friend, Jenn graciously invited him to accompany her and her two children on an overnight excursion to her grandparent's farm. Boy was he excited! I had to make him tell us goodbye. He had a wonderful time. You can read about it and see her beautiful pictures here. When he got back, he was still able to come help Daddy. He thought it was so cool to look through the wheat stubble while we were waiting and find intact pieces of wheat (Reminds me of Ruth and Boaz :) ). He gathered a whole "bouquet" that he is now proudly displaying on our counter. My cute farmin' men!This was Anna's first year to really experience Harvest. In the past, she had to stay home or in the van. She had a great time this year exploring...
...and even riding the combine!! When she got down she kept repeating "I wide the combine, Mommy!! I wide the combine!"

Our Time in Illinois (Part 2)

I've written before about how humbled we are to have the families that the Lord has blessed us with. We have truly been 'blessed beyond what we can ever ask or imagine!' We don't get to see our Illinois family nearly enough as it is an 11 hour trip. We are able to see them an average of about every other month, which really isn't bad considering the miles in-between, but we always wish it could be more. We try to pack in as much together time while we're there as we can. The guys spent a lot of time fishing. One night we all got to go and hang out at the canal. We had a picnic supper and even a bonfire complete with s'mores - THANKS, Jessica!

I guess I took more than enough pictures, after all! I'm just very disappointed I wasn't able to get any of my wonderful grandmother. Thanks again for the great time!!!

Our Time in Illinois (Part 1)

Once again, I did not take nearly enough pictures of our time with family and friends in Illinois. We spent a great week with my family at the beginning of June (yes, I know it is July in two days...procrastination seems to be my middle name). We had a wonderful time with family and this time our dear friends from Arkansas and Oklahoma were able to come too. What a treat it was to be able to be with them again! We lived next door to their family for eight years when we lived in Oklahoma and became lifelong friends. We recounted so many fun times while we were together. Thanks for making the trip,"Macs." All of us (there were 18 when we were all together) headed off to the zoo one of the days. Tom and Diane and their sweet grandson, BrooksOne of the highlights for the kiddos was the train ride around the zoo. I stayed behind and got to see an elephant paint a picture. :) Yes, he actually grabbed paintbrushes in his trunk and created a masterpiece. Of course I don't have a picture to prove it!We had a nice picnic in the park there. When we got home to the HOT Kansas sun, I realized I didn't cherish the picture-perfect weather we had all week nearly enough!!
Aly sure loved my "other little brother," Ryan and his beautiful wife, Lindsay! I think she would have gone to live with them in a second!
I was thrilled to get to meet little baby Brooks for the first time!! He was such a sweetie! All 6 at one time!! :)




I think frinds like those are very rare!

Cousins and VBS

For my children, it doesn't get much better than that!! We had VBS the first week in June and had Chuck's brother, Tim's, three youngest kids with us too. What an exciting week! Tim and Roxie and their 5 children were in the process of moving from St. Francis to Concordia that week, so we offered to keep the three youngest while they tied up all the loose ends and moved all their belongings.
It was a great week. We had a fun time with the kids, and VBS was really good! This year our church did "Operation Space" from Answers in Genesis. My friends Teri and Jenn have some great pictures and posts on VBS if you're interested. I was in charge of teaching Bible to the pre-school group. It was so much fun but also exhausting to try to entertain and try to teach Biblical Truths to wiggly 3,4 and 5 year-olds! I did the same lesson 4 times in a row, so by the fourth time I had to really muster that enthusiasm or I would loose them! It was truly a blessing, though, to be able to share the Gospel with those little ones and know that there could have been seeds planted in those sweet little hearts for the Lord to nurture and grow in His timing!