Monday, June 29, 2015

Summer!

Well summer is here, and we are so happy about that and also busy!  Maybe the busyness is another reason summer seems to be too short in Minnesota.  It just flies by.  I'm happy it's warm, but still thankful for air conditioning.  I am not into extremes either way, but would probably pick warm over cold.  Matt thinks Hawaii would be our perfect place to live for the weather.  Just a side note!  I'm not too sure I wouldn't get island fever but 82 and sunny most of the time would be hard to refuse.  ANYWAY - I'm not sure why we have those conversations, just fun to pretend sometimes I guess.  But Minnesota is home, and we do love it here!
So we have now lived in Fairmont for two years as of June 14th, and the summers are my favorite.  This past week of course, we were busy with VBS; but we also had a special lady in our church named Joyce go to Heaven.  We are happy she is no longer suffering, but sad for us and all of her family and friends who were always uplifted by her sweet spirit.   Our church is blessed with many people like Joyce who always uplift you when you see them.  
Then we also had a couple of fun outings over the weekend to help us unwind.  We went out with some friends Friday night, and Saturday we went to the zoo and Mall of America.  The zoo has camel rides this summer, and they also have a new seal exhibit which was really fun.  We also stopped at IKEA and got Ava what she calls a "pwincess bed", or in regular talk, a canopy for her bed.  We are looking forward to another busy week this week.  Lots of play dates!  We say yes as much as possible because there's nothing much better than time spent with friends.   It's how memories are made!  And then this weekend is the 4th of July, so there will be lots of doings with that!  Fireworks, picnics, friends, and maybe a flea market!  So much fun!  So happy summer is HERE!!

There's a seal in the corner of the picture below.  

Fun with friends 
A sweet lady in our church is giving out some of her collections to the church kids, so Ava and Jack scored with a Precious Moments doll and a model car.  Ava especially loved the little goose that came with her doll.  I guess she's more of an animal person.  Ha!  

VBS Pictures

We had one of my favorite VBS weeks ever this year!  Great attendance of happy kids, wonderful workers including some crazy puppets hopped up on Red Bull, great Bible lessons and of course, the "moonwalk" (bouncy house) which was tons of fun!  We averaged about 35 kids a night with about 50 total counting workers. The best part was just the special spirit that was there among us all as we worked together.  And no major glitches or injuries (always a bonus)!  It's the kind of week that makes all of the work worth it and makes you excited for the next year -  although I'm glad we have a year in between!  We were pretty tired, but have bounced back!










Wednesday, June 24, 2015

VBS Update

We had a great first night at VBS last night with 37 kids and 54 total!  What a great group of happy kids and workers.  Loved it!  Pictures will follow!

My new sign

I bought this because I thought it was cute and beachy, and now it's become a little preachy!  Ha!  It's funny how often we refer to it.  Multiple times daily!  It is a good reminder in addition to being cute.  We like happiness in our house, and it's worth the reminder to protect it.  

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

VBS Preview

We are just about ready to blast off into outer space as we focus on God's supremacy this week!  Sometimes after all of the hard work and preparation, it's a relief to finally jump in and start so your mind stops whirling.  I'm ready to just enjoy this week.  It looks as though we may have a good group of kids, and we are excited!  Bring it on!  

Happy Father's Day

To our wonderful dads (who we were able to spend time with last weekend) and especially our kids' dad!  We are so happy and grateful to have him in our lives, and it was a great weekend celebrating him.  Sunday was also a blast in our services with many visitors - over 100 in attendance and over 30 downstairs.  Very exciting!  The fellowship was sweet as God met with us there.  What a blessing!







Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Men's shooting and steak activity

The men had a great time this past weekend.  We had a group of over 20 enjoying the guns, the steaks, and the time together.  Even with the flies!  Here are both of my men shooting - Ach! My baby has a gun in his hand!  I'm pretty sure he will be a hunter someday.  He loved this!
Buddies bonding over bullets.  They filled their pockets with the shells, and now Jack has a huge jar of them in his room.  

It got a little loud!
Ava and Hannah walking the corn rows


And the star of the show - the man with the meat!  Delicious!  Best griller of steaks ever!  Thanks, Dad!  Love you!
One more of these two cuties.  I couldn't stop taking pictures of them.  They were even dressed alike.  And they picked us flowers.  I love that it's fun for them to pick flowers for their mom!  One of the many rewards!

New rooms!

Here they are!!  







Monday, June 8, 2015

Mommy, I dwawed you!

I said, "Ooh I'm pretty."  She said, "I know!"

Developing...

Well I've been contemplating moving our bedroom downstairs for months now. I've thought and thought and planned and sort of put it off but we finally decided to take the plunge.  And I'm so happy we did.  We all have...SPACE! Wow.  Apart from our bedroom, I knew we were sort of crammed together up there, but I also am always fascinated by small spaces and take it as a challenge to consolidate.  But there's something to be said for personal space too.  Now the kids have their own rooms again, and we have our own bathroom.  There was a ton of painting that needed to be done and that's probably the reason I put it off since I hate painting.  Matt enjoys it, and I'm so glad.  So here's a preview.  When we get everything done, I will post more pictures.  

New bike!

Ava scored a new bike and a dollhouse bookcase this weekend due to some good finds!  It's popo (purple) and it has a basket!  Just add training wheels, and she'll be ready to go!

Play dates

We hope to have a ton of these this summer.  Everything's better when enjoyed with friends!
Jack and his buddy Isaac making pizzas - so delicious!
My friend Jocelyn and her son Levi
All the little girls at the little table
My good friend Katie and her daughter Hannah
The Cushman's dog Grizz eating bubbles