First Warrior Game

Well, the new football season is well underway. Our first game was the furthest away this year, being about a four hour drive. I decided to brave it and take the kids (and a seven week old baby) and watch the first competition of the year. A big incentive was that my Illinois family was going to meet us there!! It's very hard to get to see them during the Fall, so we were excited to even spend a few hours together. We had a wonderful time despite the heat and humidity, disappointing loss and short time together! The kids played like crazy with their cousins and showered their grandparents with hugs & kisses. I didn't get any pictures, except of Ethan trying to stay out of the sunshine with Grandma.
It was quite a challenge to keep him cool and keep his sweet, white baby skin protected. He handled it quite well.
One more picture, borrowed from Jessica.
So thankful they all made the trek. So thankful for our family!

In Honor of Football Season

Because our house is all a stir right now because of football, I thought it fitting to post some pictures of the littlest football fan.

Starting School

We felt like the Summer flew right by this year! We did have a baby and school started a week or two earlier, but wow. I don't think any of us really wanted Summer to end, but new beginnings are always exciting.
Our Fifth Grader, Third Grader, First Grader and Kindergartner all ready to go!
After Homeschooling Aly and Anna (and Jake 1st Semester) last year, it will be quite a change to have all four older kids in public school all day. I will miss them so much, but we are excited to see what God has in store for them this year. We feel blessed to be in a school that provides a safe environment for our children to hopefully be a light for Him. We see it as an excellent way for our family to strive to witness and grow and ultimately glorify the Lord.

While the older ones are away, this is what I get to play with all day. :)

He's not going to know what to do without all the extra attention!
Watch out, world!

Happy Birthday, Aly!

Our sweet, dramatic, bright, friendly, silly, wonderful 9-year-old.
We had a party in a hotel in Nebraska for Aly's birthday this year.
We packed rainbow cakes in jars.
Aly made us home-made ice cream for the top from one of her presents. Mmmmm.
And we all partied!

Newest Edition

Introducing Ethan Dean...

He weighed 8lbs and was 19 1/4 inches long.

From the beginning he has been a very content baby.
The older kids were absolutely in love!

Biggest brother/littlest brother.

My little "Mommy."

So fun to have another brother!

All I can say is look out Ethan. :)
We are so very thankful for this little blessing from the Lord. We are praying the Lord uses him mightily for His glory!

Cutting Wheat

I'm behind again, so I figure the best place to start is with the most recent and work backwards. We'll see how it works. :)

It's Harvest time "around these parts" and Chuck is glad to have a part helping a local farmer and friend. I think he'll always be a farmer at heart, so he really enjoys being in the field.
The kids love the chance to go "help" him. They love watching the huge machine cut the golden wheat and really love getting to taste the yummy meals that go along with helping harvest, but I think their favorite part is being with their Daddy uninterrupted for hours.
I like it because the blue Kansas sky, tractor colors and golden wheat make a beautiful backdrop for pictures. So get ready for a whole lot of pictures. :)

Our Youngest is Four!

Wow, am I feeling old these days. Our Baby Anna has turned four and our oldest is just about to turn ten - yikes! Four. She has gone from a toddler to a preschool-aged little girl. Her birthday celebration began a couple of weeks before the actual day. While we were in Illinois for a short visit, Mom decided to have a little celebration so they could share in the fun of seeing her open presents.
She was so excited. She kept saying "It's not my real Birthday, just a celebrate!"Here she is admiring Grandma's beautifully decorated table and "patiently" waiting for the "celebrate" to begin.
She's had a lot of fun playing with (and wearing) her wonderful gifts. Thanks Mom & Dad and Uncle Curtis and Aunt Jessica!
*side note* Yes, she is dressed as Dorothy. She was pretending to be "somewhere over the rainbow" since we were away from Kansas! :)

For her real day, April 30th, We had a small party with more family. Anna has two cousins on the Lambert side that have birthdays within a couple of days of hers. She was able to celebrate with Emma who turned 13! We had a good time even though we were missing Culley who turned two on May 1st. The happy birthday girls.

This year I attempted the largest and most complicated cake I have yet. Anna is very into the movie Tangled (Disney's version of Rapunzel that came out this year). So somehow (thanks to the world wide web) I got the idea to make a cake that looked like Rapunzel's tower.Anna and her "cake."
The top of the tower was the only part made of actual cake, the rest was made of crispy treats and ice cream cones and covered with fondant. It looks like Rapunzel is ready to dive out of her tower. ;)After a near catastrophe with the "grass" (made of delicious green cake) :) cracking and the tower almost falling to its death, I threw out the cake and made rice crispy treats that were able to hold up the tower.Phew! Success.Ready to dig in.
A little playing first!
Here are a few Anna-quotes I jotted down a while ago:
"I wish God named me Picky-Picky, but He didn't. He named me Anna."
"I don't look like Anna today, I have braids."
"Momma, can you call me Teapot?"
"I don't like our house because we don't have enough remotes. We need twelve."
"Mommy, you're such a good cooker!"
"God always forgives us. You do too, right, Mommy?!?"
"I wish I could be a pirate! Then I would never get in trouble!"
Caleb sneezed on Anna's hand. In a disgusted voice she exclaimed "YUCK! You blessed on me!!"
As we were driving into the sun, Anna said "Oh man, the sun is in my nose!"
"Hi Mom! Nice to meet ya!"
"Hosanna. That's my last name. It really is."
"Mommy, if someone says 'you're naughty, I'm going to take you in the deep water to get you eaten by sharks,' that's not nice, right Mommy?
"OH fanks Mom! You saved my life!!" (I helped her get off of a chair)
"Mom, I wish your name was Hey. I would say 'Hey.'"
"I've got something in my teeth. Can I have a pickle?" (toothpick)
Oh sweet girl, we love you so much. We can't wait what God has planned for you!