Any Day is May Day

Some Great Pictures Of Cohen Michael

2009-10-03T08:51:00.001-07:00

Time To Go Home

2009-09-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

Cohen getting the ok to go home...

Doctor says everything is a go!

Our nurse and Sandy go over some final instuctions and questions...

Verification of the wrist bands...

Must be 100% certain we are leaving with our baby Cohen...

Signing off that we have our baby :-)

Time to buckle up...

All snug... it is cold and windy out...

Chariot ride for mommy....

Bye room!

Ok... lets go...

Try to keep up with us...

Waiting for the van...

Let's mount up...

Mommy will make the final inspection to ensure that daddy has secured Cohen properly. Yep, all is good to go!

Let's go home.

Visitors To See Baby Cohen

2009-09-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Adele are the first to arrive on Tuesday. Adele got to skip school for a chance to see her baby brother.

Adele's first look at her baby brother, Cohen.

A kiss for mommy.

Proud sis.

Grandma's turn...

Now that's the look of a proud grandma...

So precious.

A visit from Pastor Josh.

and the gang from Younkers... Tracy, Goldie, Kathy, and Diane.

More from Younkers... Bailey and Jill, bearing gifts.

Look at all thoes boy clothes... so cute!

Flowers and a balloon.

Cohen Michael

2009-09-29T08:06:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the early pictures of our new baby boy, Cohen Michael, just minutes after he was born.

He was born unto this world at 11:38pm on Monday, September 28, 2009. A remarkable baby boy at 5 lbs. 12 oz. and 18 3/4 inches.

Mommy did an amazing job... just over one hour of labor... and now reunited with her baby boy.

Time to take the foot prints.

Cohen's first bath!

Mommy and Cohen get some much needed rest.

Monarch Tagging with Polk Conservation

2009-09-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon we went to Fort Des Moines Park to learn about the growth stages of the Monarch Butterfly. We also learned about their migration and tagging them to track their migration patterns.

We tried to find some butterflies. We saw one but it was too high to net.

Still looking.

Nothing here. We have more in our backyard with our butterfly bushes. I am going to email Polk County Conservation next year around June/July to see if we can get some tags so we can tag them in our backyard and email them the data.

All was not lost. We did learn how to tell if butterflies are boys or girls. That was pretty interesting. Now that we know that, we can tag them.

Going Back To School

2009-08-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Tradition... take the picture at the front door...

Adele is sporting a NEW backpack! Pink... of course.

Another tradition... take a picture at Des Moines Christian School on the memorial bench out front.

Adele and Kendra O are catching up as we wait in the MPR (Multi Purpose Room) 'till they let us go to the classroom.

Adele and her 2nd Grade teacher, Mrs. Gallaher.

Adele's backpack hook...

Her desk...

Adele and Isabella Main.

Mara... Adele... and Lauren.

Adele and one of her best friends, Kendra R.

And her other best friend... Megan.

Adele and her good friend Macy.

Custer SD Final Days

2009-07-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

We went to a rock shop so Adele could pick out a "precious gem." She wanted to buy an aquamarine. So Grandma ponied up the money to buy her choice gem. Here is Adele and the shop owner picking out the perfect aquamarine.

Here she is in the rock shop trying on antlers.

2 of the favorite things to do when on vacation. . .

. . . . . . . . . Relax

. . . . . . . . . Eat donuts

What makes this noise? THUMP!!!. . . thump That would be all the birds flying into the windows. I think they see the reflection of the forest and don't realize that there is a window that they just flew into. Many birds would drop feeling dazed and lay on the deck for awhile before they were able to fly away. Our little vet was able to pet one while it was trying to recover from a concussion.

Custer SD Day #4

2009-07-24T08:32:00.001-07:00

A day at the 1881 Courthouse Museum. The museum features 3 floors plus buildings out back and across the street available for touring. http://www.1881courthousemuseum.com/

Grandma volunteers at the Museum and Adele went to help her one afternoon. This is her playing the old piano.

This is Adele running the book shop.

Cassie is a young adult who volunteers at the Courthouse. Cassie helped Adele with a scavenger hunt all around the museum. The below picture is at the printing shop which is one of the buildings behind the museum.

This is a picture of the jail in the 1881 Courthouse museum.

Adele and Cassie are doing their cleaning duties as part of the volunteer work. It is important to have clean exhibits. Cassie has also been responsible to set/up and design a couple of exhibits.

More cleaning for the cute Cinderellas.

A treat well deserved. . .

Custer SD Day #3

2009-07-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

Wednesday July 22 -

Adele and Grandma went to a wild horse sanctuary. They had a bus tour and were able to see this sanctuary land that holds 750 wild horses.
Here is the website all about this Wild Horse Sanctuary: http://www.gwtc.net/~iram/

They had corralled the stallions so there wouldn't be as many offspring come next spring. The stallions were approachable through the fence. Adele wanted to share some of her goldfish snacks with them.

Grandma and Adele asked the bus tour guide if they could and he said yes. (I think the yes answer was accomplished because of the bragging that Adele volunteers for Raccoon Valley Animal Sanctuary).

After the animal Sanctuary, they went to the Mammoth Site. Camera batteries died so thank goodness modern technology has built cameras into cell phones. Very cool since Adele just saw Manny the Mammoth in Ice Age 3 Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

http://www.mammothsite.com/

Adele and Grandma arrived back to the home late after another long day of adventures.

Paul and I played some pitch with Gpa and read. I was the big winner of the day winning 3 hands and Paul and Gpa each won one. We had a relaxing uneventfilled day.

Custer SD Day #2

2009-07-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

Adele and Grandma had a fabulous day together. Paul and I went into town for lunch and picked up a wine candleabra at a store called Walk in the Woods. It is cool. It fits into the top of a wine bottle and you can put votives or tea lights on it.

Adele and Grandma started out with a rock/gem hunt. She found a very nice large white Quartz that we will take home with us. Adele is on the hunt for Rose Quartz and Mica and White Quartz. She watched Treasure Hunter on the travel channel with Paul and ever since then she has wanted to find these stones indigenous to the region here in Custer.

After that they went to the Spirit Horse Escape. http://www.spirithorseescape.com/

Adele fed lots of animals: goats, llamas, burros, horses, and pot bellied pigs. She rode a pony named Polly.

Adele and Grandma explored a mine to eat a picnic lunch that they packed. Peanut Butter for Adele and leftover Reuben sandwich from yesterday for Grandma.

They then went to Old West Town. They spent around 3 hours there in all different rooms like the jailhouse, kitchen, schoolhouse, laundry, etc.

We didn't see them until 6:00 pm.

Custer SD Day #1

2009-07-20T14:22:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Custer on Sunday July 19th around 4:00pm. We had a wonderful dinner of bacon wrapped buffalo burgers.

Our first full day today, Monday July 20th, we had lunch at the Alpine Inn http://www.alpineinnhillcity.com/in Hill City, SD for a girl's birthday lunch. Dorothy Redford(Birthday girl, Claire May, Zorra Mae Oaks, Sandy, and Adele.

Adele then wanted to take pictures with the buffalo around town. This is the 5th year for the Custer Stampede in which artists are commissioned to paint life size buffalo as well as table tops and other free form art. The buffalo are displayed around Custer SD and then auctioned off in Sept. http://www.custerstampede.com/

Here are pics of her with the 6 lifesize Buffalo this year up for auction:

Here is Adele with a favorite from a prior year:

One residence had a herd - 5 Buffalo:

Adele's picture in the paper

2009-07-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

Adele May made the Des Moines Register Tuesday June 30! There was a small feature about the Des Moines Christian School in the newspaper and Adele's photo was one that was chosen. She was eating ice cream at an ice cream social with Chloe (younger sister of Brett. Brett is in the same class as Adele).

Another First: A Pulled Tooth

2009-06-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

After nearly two weeks of that front tooth hanging on for dear life, Adele let daddy pull it tonight. Count down... three... two... oh wait, let's count down from five... five... four... three... tw...PULL...

Adele didn't even know it was pulled yet.

Way to go daddy... good job Adele!

Lemonade stand for RVAS

2009-06-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

Adele had a lemonade stand at Petco where she sold lemonade and baggies of animal crackers to help the animals.
She worked from 1-3pm on Saturday and her earnings totaled over $76! She saved lots of lives today!

Dance Magic

2009-06-10T03:03:00.000-07:00

Adele and her makeup artist, Suzanne, who is always there to lend her talent.

What a superstar! Our little dancer!

Adele is showered with flowers.

Adele and our very good friend, Marlayna, who hasn't missed a show yet.

Time For Spring Flowers

2009-05-25T02:58:00.000-07:00

Daisies Graduation

2009-05-18T02:51:00.000-07:00

Dixie Quicks Feat. on Diners Drive Ins and Dives

2009-05-12T02:44:00.000-07:00

Paul caught an episode of 'Diners, Drive In's, and Dives' on the Food Network and insisted that we check it out the next time we were in Omaha.

Totally enjoyed the food! And the service was pretty good too. Highly recommend you look up Dixie Quicks on Levenworth down by the Old Market in Omaha, NE.

Trip To The Omaha Zoo

2009-05-11T02:26:00.000-07:00

Sidewalk Chalk Treasure Hunt

2009-04-18T06:39:00.001-07:00

I came home to some fantastic sidewalk chalk art. I was so excited! It said, "Treasure and a real $1000 bill."

So I did what anyone would do and followed the arrows.

The message says, "Please put money in this bag. . . . Oh I'm sorry someone all ready took it."

What a bummer! I thought it was just so cute and creative. I would love to know what goes on in passer's by heads as they read the first message. The last message is at the front of our door.

Training Wheels Come Off

2009-04-15T01:53:00.000-07:00

April 2009, Adele just turned 7 and we have decided that it is time to loose the training wheels. The deal is, no new bike until she learns how to ride without the training wheels.

This means a sore back for daddy! But it will all be worth it in the end.

Adele doesn't quite have the hang of it yet... but she will.

Inquiring minds want to know. . .

2009-04-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

. . .about tombs.

I picked Adele up from school today and she had a question. "Mom, you know when people die and people put their gloves on and dig a hole in the ground. Then they get put in a tomb. How do they write on the tomb?"

I explained about how you can go to a 'Monument Store' and then order what you would like the gravestone or tombstone to say and they will inscribe it with special tools and equipment. I told her next time I drive by one, I will point one out. Adele said, "You mean like R.I.P?" I said, "Yes, but there are many different choices like bible verses or favorite sayings along with a persons name and their born and death dates."

Adele told me that I shouldn't ask her why she thought of this question. I thought it was cute and I have an idea what inspired it. With this being the week of Easter, everyday they have been taking their Bibles and talking about the importance of Easter at school. I am sure the story came up about how Jesus was buried in a tomb.

Palm Sunday Snowy Day and Easter

2009-04-05T14:06:00.001-07:00

I thought that last weekend was going to be our last snow so we would be all clear for Easter. It is tough to dress so "springy" with new Easter dresses and shoes and have to tromp through the snow.

Well, Mother Nature always keeps me guessing. For the record, we did receive snow on Palm Sunday. I thought we might miss it and was hoping it would stay north of us. The rain turned to snow around 9:30 this morning. We are supposed to get up to 3".

Hopefully the sun will be out this week and won't last long. Maybe this will be our last snow for the season!

Happy 7th Birthday Adele

2009-04-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

Adele is now a big 7! And she feels totally different than 6 if you ask her.

We had the girls from her class over to our house for a Hannah Montana birthday party.

It was so much fun. We had the concert playing for the first part of the party and then to a break for pizza.

Then they watched some of the Hannah Montana's sitcom (we have season 1 on dvd). They ate cake and ice cream and opened presents.

We had balloon popping races at the end. All the girls received Hannah t-shirts, lip gloss rings, tattoos, and stickers.

I did not realize how much noise a bunch of 1st grade girls can make especially when you throw Hannah Montana in the mix!

Spring Break in Mexico

2009-04-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

We had a very relaxing fun time in Puerto Vallarta.

I think Adele would spend all day everyday at the pool if we let her. Paul's mom has this cool underwater camera so we were able to take some cool pics of her under the water.

We ate out quite a bit and made some meals in. Paul and Jim May went golfing once.

I took a bunch of books to read. We all just soaked up the sun and enjoyed the vacation and time off from work.

May family - Soon to be 4!

2009-03-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

Yes that is correct. If you may not have heard yet, I am expecting a baby. I will be due Sept. 25. So it was quite a surprise but our whole family is excited about the thought. Adele is more excited at the prospect of having a baby sister than a baby brother. But we will all have to wait until the Birth Day to know for sure! God must have thought our family needed one more person to be complete.

I have not blogged in awhile. Trying to get back to normal after a busy 2 weeks of Valentines Day - which came fast after our week in Floriday.

In 2 more weeks the May Fam will be heading to PV Mexico. We are all excited about getting some warm weather over spring break.

I will be better at trying to get an update on the blog once a week. I have slacked off for awhile.

Helping leashed animals at Petco

2009-02-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

Today Adele and I went to Petco from 11-1 to make Valentines to send anonimously to leashed animals for Dogs Deserve Better. http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/home.html We met Suzanne and Sam there and then Cheri brought Ella by.

Everyone spent some time working on Valentines and then they all decided to get leashed up! That sure did bring awareness (more about where customers were walking then children chained up to cages.) Hopefully CPS didn't hear about this one! :-)

Ella is such a natural salesperson. She sold all the red beads and then went on to sell snack packs. She was so cute and would not take no for an answer. She even said you could pay her in change or cents!All the kids did a wonderful and job and we made so many valentines to send as well as bring awareness that dogs are pack animals and need to be inside and live with families and not leashed up all year long.

DMCS Science Fair

2009-02-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

Here is Adele and her finished Science Fair project. It didn't go exactly as she had planned. She wanted talking notes which I had typed up for her. The judge wouldn't let her use them for her oral presentation so she forgot to mention her verse and do her demonstration with the flower.

But it was still a great experience - especially since it was optional. She was one of 4 1st graders who entered the Science Fair.

I went to DMCS http://www.dmcs.org/new/ that morning to help judge. I judged 5th grade Science projects. It is very interesting because you can definately see a big difference between the students who loved their topic and really got into the whole thing and the others who just entered because they had to.

I learned some great things about "the righting reflex" of cats, DC motors, bridges, and static electricity. Way to go 5th graders!

Junior Cheer Clinic At DMCS

2009-01-31T12:07:00.000-08:00

The Cronicles Of Grandma & Adele

2009-01-27T06:15:00.001-08:00

Thankfully Grandma May was able to travel 10 hours South East to Des Moines, Iowa to spend a week with Adele so that Sandy and I could take some couple time together in Sunny Orlando, Florida.

These entries along with the daily phone calls (by us to them) really help us stay connected and to not miss our precious Adele too much.

These entries are unabridged :-)

Journal 1: January 24, 2009 11:45 a.m.

Adele and I are setting up Polly Pocket world and consulting the web (Toys r us) on how to arrange. Last night after "cheering" at the DMCS Lions game we promptly came home and finished reading "New Year's Eve Nightmare" and proceeded to set up the ENTIRE Littlest Pet Shop village. I fell asleep on Penelope.

Adele said, "take a nap and I will get you when I am finished." She came into the bedroom - told me she was done and decided to go to bed herself. We both were sawing logs until 7:45 am. Like a cat burglar, she crept into my bedroom and whispered, "Wake up Grandma!"

We immediately proceeded to the playroom and entertained ourselves with Littlest Pet Shop for several episodes: berry picking, a day at the beach, meet Miss Alena, visits to the doctor, camping in the forest, and a visit from Puppy in my Pocket. After all the HARD work of setting up Littlest Pet Shop last night within FIVE minutes all were back in the storage closet. Thus, we are brought up to date with our diligent matching of web set with our Polly Pocket So Hip Cruise Ship. We ate a breakfast of Cinnamon Pop Tarts while we were berry picking with the Littlest Pet shop critters.

It is 11:45 a.m. and I said to Adele I must shower before Sam’s birthday party – so we will sign off NOW – send – continue setting up Polly Pocket Cruise Ship. Farewell!

Because it is getting late we will send pictures of cheering and Sam's B-day party LATER!!!
Hope you are having a fun time because we are having a GREAT TIME.
P.S. I left a message for Suzanne that we would be coming to Sam's Party. mcm

Journal 2: January 24, 2009 evening

Sweet Miss Adele is OUT like a light – honest. THAT fast. I set the phone alarm for 10:00 p.m. and when it went off we headed for the toothbrush. She was busy exploring the photos of some vegetable and fruit-art sent to me by a friend on the iPod.

Phone call from Mom and Dad.Following Sam’s birthday party, which was SUPERIOR FUN FOR ME AND ADELE (see attached photos) we shopped Target for food and Adele gifts. I declined the offer to join the Popson’s for wine and pizza.

Home again jiggity-jog for chicken noodle soup, cashews, and juice. We have been brainstorming materials and implementation of the “flower science project”. Both of us are significantly excited to begin the project tomorrow after church. While I called Jim and other Custer calls – Adele explored the Polly Pocket and Webkinz web sites. I am catching up with the Adele Journal before turning out the light.

P.S. I do not think that Sweet Princess Cinderella likes her cat food – Adele and I will look for her other food Sunday. I certainly do not want the feline to report anything but DELIGHT in having me as HER care provider!!! The two of us played a spell while Adele was on the internet!
Since Adele is asleep, I have no quotes from her. Mine is Proverbs 15:30 “A happy face is a joy to the heart.” And thank you for the gift of your daughter. We prayed for you tonight!
XXXXXXOOOOOOO mom

Journal 3: January 25, 2009 9:00p.m.

Adele is out like a light again!!!! Chocolate chip cookies cereal, A day of worship and praise; Sloppy Joes for two hungry May gals; Polly Pockets and their critters on the Hip Hop Cruise Ship play; TWO HOURS working on the Science Project and then ANOTHER HOUR at Wal-Mart shopping for supplies. Dinner of PIZZA – wow. love that new gadget you have. YES, found a bargain for Adele of Littlest Pet Shop and now she has ANOTHER web activity with user name and password.

Before church I shoveled the drive way and sidewalks – invigorating. It felt GREAT clomping around in your snow boots, Paul. Sandy’s sports slacks are a bit “chilly” for this single digit weather – I will have to limit to indoor wear only. Princess Cinderella is eating her chow and drinking water – so she will survive my presence. Will try sending pictures again – been having some trouble.

There are some papers regarding your conference time at DMCS, Carnation sales for Valentine Day and Big Blue Bash information that I think can wait until you return.
Fancy Jan and Dave! So do you think you will be going to another wedding soon???? Dad returned to Custer Saturday before the snows came. 5550 Ponderosa had 4 powdery inches. Later!

Journal 4: January 26, 2009

Up and going, 7:00 a.m., regardless of the fact that Adele did not believe me that it was MONDAY. She was compliant in having me just lay her clothes out for her and by the time she arrived downstairs for breakfast, she was bright-eyed and “bushing the tail of Princess”. She had a slice of ham and Pop Tart for “breaking the fast.” Traffic was SLOWER on 35 because of the overnight light covering of snow. Counted THREE vehicles ditched and abandoned upon the round trip to DMCS.

I came home to FAX my financial report to South Dakota Secretary of State. As Jesus said; “IT IS DONE!” Although HIS was a greater completion then mine, I am glad to be done with the responsibility! Thanks a BUNDLE, Sandy, for letting me use your FINE FAX!

Made some Buffalo Stampede Art Auction phone calls as we are setting up the selection cmte for the February 10th supper meeting. Another phone call to validate an email of the new Vice-chairperson of the Custer County Republican Central Cmte.

Listening to SPA on the SIRIUS

Best ready myself for the trip to the library with “Bucky and Quacky” in tow as I will be going to DMCS around 1:00p.m. and Adele requested I bring as she “forgot” to tote along to share with her girlfriends.

3:54 p.m. The first question out of the “mouths of babes” is “Was I the center of attention when I was born?” Thus our discussion as we exited DMCS was a detailed explanation of the private birthing room, Daddy and Mommy bonding with you, and everyone’s delight in her birth.

While I keyboard her thoughts she is BUSY going through the pages I marked in the books retrieved from the West Des Moines Library for her “What do plants need to grow?” science project. How about this topic for research: Why are little girls soooooooo hungry when they come home from school? “People were distracting me today, they were making me talk and I could not even eat my lunch. And Grandma, you are only to pack ½ of a sandwich for me.”

An hour of diligent experimenting with her Science Project (would the flowers fall over when the “winds blow” Psalm 103: 15-17) and affixing the “floral” on the display board as ADELE envisioned it, we parted for the playroom to continue the Hip Hop Cruise Ship Saga begun yesterday.

“RING – RING!”
“Paul May resident, Claire speaking!”
"It is Sandy and Paul May speaking!!”

Jubilant affirmations of devotion and truckloads of amorous commitment from both sides of the conversation preceded our Hip Hop Polly Pockets Dance, Swim, and Critter weddings. OMG! 8:30 p.m. punctuates the end of our playroom picnic, imagination’s flair, cookies and finale dance. What a gal! Two nights in a row she has randomly selected biblical verses to read before retiring. Sweet dreams, chosen one of the Father!

Journal 5: January 27, 2009

After depositing Adele at DMCS and mailing the hard copy of the CCRCC financial report to the SD Secretary of State, I head home to do a few loads of laundry, phone calls and clean up for school lunch with Adele.

I arrive and am in place by 11:00 a.m. with my nose burrowed in a book when Adele passes me right by heading for the class lunch table. Opps, she obviously had other matters on her mind! She related to me that it had been a rough morning, “some people are so mean.” The best I could do was to say, “A cheerful look gives joy to the heart.” Whew! I was wondering if I would have opportunities to toss the weekly Bible verse around this week! Even threw the quote at Mrs. Wilson today during conversation about the woeful stock market.

We took time right after school to make introduction of Miss Adele to Miss Ellie, “Devine Deva” Marlene’s granddaughter. We are making plans for the two to play Saturday. Maybe the adults will explore the Blue Moon Friday night. Whatever!

“Praise the Lord for “Alice”, the Garmin GPS; it is GREAT keying in the address and heading to dance practice with nary a thought to WHERE AM I????? While Adele twirled, tapped and pirouetted behind shuttered windows, I read a bit in “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”.

“Home again, home again, jiggity jog, 5550 Ponderosa Drive, Alice!!”

Golly, that gal has an appetite after school. Having eaten lunch with her today and aware of her nibbling habits (a little sustenance several times a day), I fully understand the importance of edibles in her backpack.

“Love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” says Adele. After much laughter, seeing the karaoke songs and the spacecrafts on your Facebook, she added, “I want to go there, too.” She had to read EACH caption and then ran through the photos several times. Off to bed for one of the “Babymouse” graphic literature books selected at the West Des Moines Public Library tonight after school today. Light is extinquished and fast asleep with Bucky and Quacky. Adele told me tonight she loves me as "....much as their are blades of grass upon the earth, grains of sand upon the beach and stars in the heavens."

Wednesday chapel clothes are already laid out upon the bed corner. Well, need to send off the agenda for the CCRWC. So fare thee well, one and all, sweet and blessing dreams.

Journal 6: January 28, 2009

It is eventide in the Paul and Sandy May home with Adele FINALLY eating “leftover” pizza while I record the thoughts for the day. We were absorbed with Polly Pockets dressing up for “girls only night on the beach with ‘beverages’”. (I did not think she was on the beach when we “girls” were celebrating Alyssa’s B-day on the Paradise Village darkened beach June 2, BUT she sure has a memory of the occasion!?!?!? Well, these wee dolls kept my fingers busy attiring them for the aforementioned occasion until 7:15p.m., when the alarm indicated time to transitioning to Science project.

WELL, it was dinner first and “while I eat can I watch the Charlie Brown DVD from the library?” and then THE PHONE CALL FROM FLORIDA ----! Pshaw! I have been trying to stick to the schedule!!! Life is what happens when you are making other plans!!

We “agreed” to continue with Science Project FIRST on Thursday followed by “nail painting for Grandma” done by Adele. The seeds are soaking and will go into the soil tomorrow, the PLANT NEEDS illustrated on the display board by Adele AND then compose the ORAL PRESENTATION! Can-t fathom where the time went since mom and dad left the 23 of January for Florida holiday. “Time does fly when one is having a GRAND time.

Chapel was an “inspirational” Mecca for me. The theme of COMMITMENT to Jesus prevailing; “I can do all things in Christ who strengths me” carries me through the day…..and Adele who was a bit teary with missin’ Daddy and Mommy after school. Talked to her about the “goodness” of missing family and how I miss my Cassie daughter and would love to hold her close in my lap. Now THAT puzzled Adele how I could cradle my grown daughter on my lap! Demo is in order, Sandy! Be ready!!

Someone needs to wash their hands

2009-01-18T21:05:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful time connecting at the Singleton's house tonight. Thank you for a great dinner and fun conversations.

The men were talking in the living room and the women were around the dining table. There was a lull in the conversation when we heard some noise from the kids table in the kitchen.

I guess Colin had just used the bathroom. Adele said with a not so quiet voice, "SOMEONE, needs to wash their hands."

No response from Colin.

Adele pointing a finger at Colin, "Someone needs to wash their hands. And I mean YOU!"

The girls just busted out laughing. Yes that is our girl. She is a rule follower and from what I understand, Colin is a rule challenger. Too funny!

Glitter, stickers, and paper - Oh my!

2009-01-17T19:34:00.000-08:00

Adele has a passion for the arts. She loves creating wonderful works of art with paper, glitter, glue, stickers, etc.

We are creating Valentines for dogs deserve better which sends valentines to anonymously submitted addresses to let dog owners know that leaving their pets leashed up outside is not humane. Here is their website to learn more. http://www.dogsdeservebetter.com/home.html

We volunteer for Raccoon Valley Animal Sanctuary and Rescue. Adele is making valentines that we will "sell" for $1. The proceeds go to Molly's fund which is used in the local area for rescuing abused animals. Here is a link to her story. http://www.raccoonvalley.com/Donate/Mollyfund.html

The valentines will in turn be donated to Dogs Deserve Better to send to leashed dog owners to bring awareness to the inhumane treatment.

Adele started on this project for a couple of hours today and our home is an artist's messy sanctuary right now donating time to create these. She has already made 32 Valentines. The goal for Dogs Deserve Better is over 12,000 Valentines this year so we hope we can help meet their goal! I am telling you there is a ton of love and creative outpouring going into this project.

Thank You Adele for making the world a better place and doing a wonderful, impactful,volunteer project!

Brrrrr Cold

2009-01-15T23:10:00.000-08:00

Today school was canceled. Our temp was -16 and windchill at -32.

Also, I was starting to feel very cold throughout the day and my fingers grew numb. I looked at the thermostat and it went from 67 to 62 to 58.

Called Paul. He came home from inventory after I checked our breaker box in the garage.

After a lot of decision (after 10:00 pm at night for a service call - how expensive is that?), we decided to have someone come to look. Replacing frozen pipes vs. a night service call. Night call wins.

Service call: $118.50
Labor: 66.70
Warmer home: Priceless!

Verdict Rendered

2009-01-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

Well after a great 2.5 hour conversion amongst the other 11 jurors, we found the defendent Guilty of possessing a sawed off shotgun. I even got to HOLD IT! Seriously, how many people can actually say that they have done this in their lifetimes? And I am one of them! That sucker was heavy and was very Gangsta in appearance.

It was sawed off both on the barrel as well as the stock. Then a pistol hand grip was taped on covering the entire front part with black electrical tape.

In order to find the defendent guilty, we had to conclude that this person was guilty on the following 4 counts:
1. Did he have possession? There are 4 forms of possession but we logically concluded that he knew it was in his car.
2. Did it operate as designed? Yes. It was even loaded. The police also test fired the weapon.
3. If the weapon is less than 24" in total length and the barrel is less than 16" in length, it must be registered with National Firearms. I don't remember the whole title or acronym.
4. Was the weapon registered? No. It did not have a serial number either. We had a gentleman with this National Firearms Dept. fly from West Virginia to testify to this.

I absolutely loved being on a Jury - especially a Federal Case. I think those can bring big sentences. We have a member of our church that is a Federal employee. They get these cases assigned to them once the jury convicts them and he is going to let me know what happens to this case.

I will serve on the jury any day! I want to be another jury member. How I love this civic duty!

Banned from Talking

2009-01-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

Yes - I cannot talk to my husband!!! Crazy?

Here is the reason why. I was selected to go to Jury Duty. And guess what? I am one of the chosen 13. Actually 12 (I am not an alternate).

The Federal case started today and will finish on Friday.

I can't tell you how much I am so excited about this! I love every second of it. From sweaty palms of not knowing what to expect with Vroi Dai (sp?) and the Judge asking questions to the jury panel - to actually walk in as a formal member of the Jury to start listening to the case.

I am Juror 9! And have an official notebook to prove it that I am taking notes in. Hopefully I can keep as a souvenir!

But guess what? On Friday night when we are done with deliberations, I am sure my husband will want me to shut up again!

I prayed on the way to selection that God will grant me an open heart and ears to both sides of the cases that I may be truly impartial to the case!

New Year's Eve

2009-01-03T20:57:00.001-08:00

We met Paul's family in Omaha at the Settle Inn in Bellevue on Dec 31 and left on Jan 2. It was a wonderful stay with family. The hotel has themed suites but the one we like best is the Presidential Suite because it has a California King bed and fold out couch plus a very spacious room with microwave and fridge. http://www.settleinn.com/bellevue-settle-inn.html
We had fun with Paul's parents (Claire and Jim) and his sister and her family (Cassie, Doug, Alyssa and Ben). We moved furniture around amongst rooms so we could play cards and Mexican Train (is the politically incorrect or what?) It is actually a game of dominos that is super fun.
All the persons under 18 had a wonderful time swimming in the pool. We ate great food! Thanks Cassie for bringing your kitchen to Omaha!
I can now say we made our first Martha Stewart recipe. It is a shot of orange liquor with the champagne for a great New Year's drink. It was yummy and added a different taste to the usual champagne toast at midnight.
I picked up some nice sparkling "chablis" grape juice for all those under the age of 21 to ring in the New Year!
I hope and pray that 2009 brings more jobs, peace, and humility as we are in a deep recession. I also pray that the change of leadership will cause a new resurgence in the faith of the economy and market as well as a renewed growth and excitement that we all want for 2009!
Happy New Year!

First Sledding Trip

2008-12-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

This sounds so bad, but today was Adele's first sledding outing. I guess because #1 sometimes it is so cold to go. #2 Adele has never had a sled until Santa brought her one on Christmas Day. #3 It is so much work taking off the wet clothes. #4 It is tough climbing back up the big hill.

So now you get the idea why the child has never sledded before.

Today was the perfect weather. Warm and still snow on the ground. We went out behind Jordan Creek elementary to this huge hill. We had some good and bad times.

Good times: We got some great distance on the sled.

Bad times: I talked Adele into going down by herself (Santa brought a sled for 2 so we slid together). Adele wiped out. We also wiped out together but she wiped out by herself and was so dramatic about it. I laugh every time I think about it and it hurt her feelings.
I was able to talk her into going down one more time with me. We hit this big slushy spot and snow flew into our faces. It was like going down a water log ride. I thought it was fun and was laughing. She looks at me with these pieces of ice in her hair and drops of water on her face and was so upset.
Needless to say that was the last run down the hill. We went home to strip off our wet clothes and I made hot chocolate. She felt better after that. I think she will hop on that horse one more time hopefully!

Christmas Eve charity work

2008-12-26T20:40:00.000-08:00

On a quick note, Adele and I wrapped presents at Paul's store, Younkers Southridge, for Raccoon Valley Animal Sanctuary and Rescue. http://www.raccoonvalley.com/

Paul was so kind and set up a table by the front entrance and cosmetics. RVAS donated paper and some bows and I brought additional ones from Hallmark because I was hoping we would run out.

We were there from 12:45 - 4:30 and we raised $239 and change! We were so busy, some people didn't wait. Others gave truly from their heart without a gift to be wrapped! I love teaching what it feels like to give others!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-26T20:36:00.001-08:00

It was so exciting at our house on Christmas Eve. Our usual tradition includes finding a Chinese place to eat. Started out bad. 4 locations we checked were closed. Must have converted from Buddhism to Christianity because we have never had this problem in the past.
Adele wrote a note to Santa and also baked a cupcake in her new cupcake maker. We left trail mix of peanuts, M&Ms, and raisins for the reindeer.

Princess kitty started sniffing at the cupcake and Adele decided to build the Great Wall of China to keep kitty out. Of course that didn't work - she just jumped the barricade!
Oh well, after sniffing, the kitty decided she wasn't interested.
What excitement and anticipation it is on Christmas Eve!

Holiday Party at the Cecils

2008-12-22T19:14:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun at the Cecil's house on Friday night.
It was a great chance to connect with people that we don't get a chance to spend a whole lot of time with on Sunday.
The Browns and the Raridons were also there so all the children had a great time playing together.
The boys were in full out "boy mode" and terriorizing the girls who kept trying to go downstairs then upstairs then back down and up. The boys kept following them. Poor girls.
The other interesting thing is having a single child vs. multiple children. Adele wanted to play "Sisters" and Morgan and Dakota wanted to play games. In the eyes of Morgan and Dakota they were probably thinking - we play sisters all the time lets play games! In the eyes of Adele she is probably thinking - I play games all the time with my parents, I am not a sister so I want to play sisters! It was an interesting lightbulb that went on in my head.
Cute Thea is just a little ball of fun! It was so cute to watch her dance and listen to her talking. And oh my lanta - is she just a little dare devil who shows no fear!

Thanks for the fun and fellowship with everyone.

Little Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker

2008-12-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

Adele lost her second tooth on Friday night on the way up to bed.

The tooth fairy left her $2.00 in quarters.

On Saturday she decided to count out her piggy bank plus tooth fairy money. She bought a little gourmet cupcake maker. Thank you to the wonderful patient couples behind us as we proceeded to group quarters in piles of 4 for $1 to equal $27.
They were all wonderfully patient on a hectic day of Christmas shopping and were excited that she was using her own hard earned money to buy this toy. They were so gracious and full of questions for this wonderful baker. We had a great time making cupcakes.
On this same day, we just finished a 3 hour volunteer time with Raccoon Valley Animal Shelter at Petco with Santa. Adele raised the most money ever in her fund raising efforts so far in our fund raising. Around $100 to go to the shelter.
Way to Go! Thanks to all who gave to save a life!

Official Crayola Tester

2008-12-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

As a full time Hallmark employee, I received an email wanting to know if there were children interested in testing out new Crayola products. Hallmark owns Binney and Smith the makers of Crayola which is super cool!
I asked Adele if she wanted to be a tester and she said she did! Adele got picked to test this new Color Explosion 3D color kit. It is so cool but we did notice some little kinks we would like to give feedback on and possible ways to improve upon the product. The Color kit contains black pages and white markers that don't stain or mark on furniture or walls. The kit also comes with 3D glasses. It is so cool! The images are seriously jumping out at you from the pictures. They sell a similar product you can get in stores now but just not the 3D version which Adele is testing.
I thank God every day for my job with Hallmark and now I feel like we have just been given a sign on bonus! Love testing arts and crafts! We love free art stuff!

I Want To Enjoy New Gloves

2008-12-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

Well it is official. We have the first lost glove experience of this winter (okay technically the first day of winter is Monday). The gloves were less than a week old. Adele did have mittens and has kept track of them. This last week she said, "Mom I am the only one in my First Grade class who doesn't have gloves." I remember using this line as the ONLY ONE too.
I told her I would replace them and would find her the exact same pair since they are pink with hearts. I thought she would love that.
"No, I would like to enjoy a different pair, please." So I found 2 more pairs of gloves that are new so she can enjoy them. Thanks to all the retailers who have provided different gloves so that all kids may ENJOY new ones when they lose one!

Grandparents Day at Des Moines Christian School

2008-12-14T21:13:00.002-08:00

So today was a great Day!!! Daddy surprised Adele by showing up at the Grandparents Day Christmas Program at the school.
We didn't think he would be able to attend because of the work schedule. I think he must have gotten heckled by other moms working saying he cannot miss this performance.
Standing room only. We purchased our little performer a flower for her hair and a bouquet for Mrs. Hoogerworth, the music instructor!
Adele and I delivered the flowers before the performance and went to Stellas (a great 50s diner) where they poured a Strawberry milkshake on her head and then she had to open wide for a drink. She received a round of applause from other customers on achieving this feet!
Thank you Lord for our friends Mark and Amy Main. Isabella and Adele were standing next to each other and they came VERY EARLY to secure great seats and video taped the whole thing! Yeah! I love that you captured our daughters moments too! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Christmas Gifts for the Homeless

2008-12-14T21:07:00.000-08:00

Our family has in the past wrapped warm wear for the homeless to deliver in the Skywalk systems in Des Moines, IA. They were well received and even had an article in the DM Register about the Secret Santas that blessed the homeless.
As a church we came together to wrap gifts, eat finger food, munchies, and fellowship. It was a great wrapping party. Christian Walk was delegated as the blanket wrapper since he was "bragging" about his wrapping skills.
We received so many donations for scarves, hats, mittens, gloves, and blankets! Thank you God for this service that we can impact the community.
Most recently there were mini shelters built for the homeless along the DM river. Recently there was a fire and the "shelters or huts" were deemed unfit and were torn down. So we have many people who are not prepared for the winter that we want to help!
Yeah! Building relationships, encountering God, and Serving others is what we are all about!

Daisy Scouts making bracelets

2008-12-07T20:13:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, the Daisy Girl Scouts made bracelets for girls in Africa.
One of the moms works for Blank Childrens hospital. They provide medical treatment to children in one of the countries in Africa. (Can't remember now which one.) The girls will get a bracelet after their treatment as a Thanks for being good. How cool is that?
The goal was set for each Scout to make 7 bracelets so they could give 70. Adele was in bracelet making fury stringing beads. It didn't hurt that she gets a ton of practice at home as this is one of her favorite hobbies.
They ran out of string and made 67 - very close to their goal!
Way to go Daisy Girl Scouts! You will earn a new badge!

New Winter Clothes

2008-12-02T20:41:00.000-08:00

Growing, growing, and growing.

I was informed by Adele that they had to stay on the blacktop only at recess in school unless they had snowpants and snowboots. Well last years obviously don't fit anymore.

Daddy was such a great sport he went shopping in his store for a new pink coat/pants. Then went to Target to find some snow boots.
Adele was so pleased with his purchase. Since we had a good amount of snow, she had to "test" these before she took them to school today to make sure they worked properly.
It was hard to get her to come back inside for dinner!

Black Friday in the eyes of Adele

2008-11-30T21:00:00.000-08:00

First, before you read this blog, you have to know that my husband is a Store Manager of Younkers a retail department store.

Adele: Daddy, do you know what Black Friday is?

Paul: Will you tell me?

Adele: It is when people get up really early before stores even open and stand outside and wait. When the doors open they rush in.

It is so cute because Paul left at 2:00 am to go to his store to ensure customers would get the best bang for their buck yet she didn't even realize daddy knew what Black Friday is! Even though whenever we visit the store, she is sure to point out the portrait of him in the entry way. She even tells people that are entering in the same time as us that this is her Daddy!

Paul - I love you so much and the impact of proudness you have instilled in our daughter. May she marry the man of integrity who has a focus for God and cherishes his wife as much as you do me!

Thanksgiving with Nana and Papa

2008-11-29T18:55:00.000-08:00

My parents came on Wednesday Nov 26 and left this morning at 9:30. We had some wonderful times together. We went for Chinese food on Wed night.

Paul's only day off was Thanksgiving day so we had a wonderful relaxing day with him. He was up and at 'em at 1:00am to be at Younkers at 2:00am. Dad and I got up and left the house at 3:15 to be at Paul's store at 4:00am. We were greeters and handed out fliers. The store was busy and I haven't experienced the "Day After" in a very long, long, long time! It just reinforced my idea of staying home that day.

Friday, my dad pulled out the family recipe for Peppernuts. Peppernuts is a small German cookie that tastes like Gingerbread but kicked up a notch. (Brewed coffee with grinds and all is included in the very stiff batter). Adele had a lot of fun helping Papa make these traditional cookies of our heritage.

Thanks to God for providing food and protecting travelers who spent time with families. We had a very blessed Thanksgiving.

Nana and Papa also brought gifts for Christmas for Adele since we will not be able to spend time with them for Christmas. Adele was thrilled with her new Webkins and the Fairy! Thank you Nana and Papa!

Christmas decorations are now up!

2008-11-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

Yeah! One thing crossed off the busy holiday list. We decorated our house for Christmas today! Adele has been asking us to do this for several days now and today was the day!
Adele was assigned the task to decorate all the small trees. I worked on unpacking and decorating around the house with items and Paul took on the task of decorating our 9' tall Christmas tree.

It was so much fun with the Christmas music playing. I didn't get my regular Sunday nap but this was so much more fun. Adele said, "Mommy I just feel so good. Decorating for Christmas makes me so happy."
I felt happy too but at the same time felt said because just the day before we delived Turkeys to some needy families and couldn't help but feel that they probably cannot afford to do this Christmas tradition we enjoy as a family. I just pray that somehow God will bless them on way or other this holiday season.

Our Day of Serving

2008-11-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

This morning we got together with other members of Jordan Creek Family Church to assemble Turkey Dinner baskets. Many attended and we compiled around 67 dinners in under 23 minutes! Many needy families were blessed that did not have meals to eat. One family told me that they had nothing in their cupboards and were going to make the meal tomorrow!

Adele and I went to PetCo to sell Tree of Hope Ornaments for $1 for Raccoon Valley Animal Shelter. Adele would ask, "Would you like to save an animals life?" We had many people look at me and say, "Well, I can't tell you no can I?" It was so cute. We know how to work our children to find the tenderness in hearts!
Santa was there and she got photos with him! He was so good!!!! Santa had this giant sack of stuffed animals all looked to be teddy bears and around 12" (think Build a Bear size). Adele digs deep inside this sack and finds this teeny tiny black dog. I say teeny tiny because the thing couldn't be but maybe 3" and soooo little.
This just goes to prove her gifts with animals because she finds the one dog (they didn't have a cat she told me later) and "rescued him because the others were squishing him and he couldn't breathe." His name is Tiny.

JCFC providing warmwear for the city's homeless

2008-11-18T21:43:00.000-08:00

On December 12, our church, Jordan Creek Family Church http://www.jordancreek.org/ will be wrapping scarves, mittens, gloves, blankets, hats, etc at our house. I am so excited for this gift to the community who needs it.

We will be dropping off these wrapped presents in the downtown skywalks where the public access areas are used by our homeless to take shelter.

We all hope and pray that we can bless our community in this way. We will also pray and bless this gifts that they may find the right recipients and come to know the Lord and ask His Son, Jesus Christ into their hearts.

Party at the May House

2008-11-16T21:26:00.000-08:00

We invited the Cecil's over for dinner. Of course, I counted on Mandy bringing the best dessert ever! She came through with flying colors on this yummy oreo, whipped cream, bananas, chocolate concoction. (She even confided that it was a recipe but she didn't have the right ingredients so she improvised) Okay - that is her gift! I could never do that because it would not turn out right!

I made lasagna and salad and everything was going just fine. You know how you are always nervous having other people over and you want dinner to taste great and turn out right? Well guess what! Next thing you know I turn around and I burnt the bread! HORROR! With company! I thought the smoke alarm was going to go off so Paul was fanning the smoke detector and I had the vent going above the stove. By the way, I am a regular at burning bread in our house! :-)

I was able to "save" by scraping some of the dark spots. They were very gracious and thankful guests and the kids ate well at their table while the adults enjoyed company at another.

Who would have known that a bag of beads was the entertainment of the evening!

The adults were playing Scene It. We all had such a great time that when Mandy had asked what time it was, I was shocked when I looked at my watch. It was 9:30 pm. Way past all kids bedtimes. I think they will all sleep very well tonight.

Thank you God for bringing such wonderful friends and fellowship into our lives!

Best Weekend Ever

2008-11-08T19:17:00.000-08:00

Friday was Adele's day off from school because of Teacher-in-service day. It was great. We slept in a little. I say little because Adele woke up and said, "Mommy, I have never had breakfast in bed. I know someone who has though." Yes, that would be me for Mother's Day.

So I brought her some fruit, croissants, and juice for the breakfast in bed together. We read then got ready to run some errands and went to see High School Musical 3http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/highschoolmusical3/. Adele thought it was the worst day to go to the movie though because the weather so cold and it was snowing. I said that sometimes these days make the best days to go to movies. She didn't understand though because she got so cold going in and out of the car and buildings! :-)

Saturday we volunteered at Petco to save animals lives. We sold "ornaments" that get posted on the walls of the building for $1. So many takers! I was wondering how successful we would be in spite of the economy but she was a great salesperson (okay, so I was the speaker, she was the "poser") I say that because she had practiced her stance and asked me for critiquing.

The Raccoon Valley Sanctuary http://www.raccoonvalley.com/index.htmwas so proud of her - it was more than they had even expected us to sell. They are going to "feature" Adele as one of their best volunteers.

I am so glad that God has led me to get us both started in serving the community by also serving Him! It made us both feel good despite the fact we were in front of the doors where cold wind was blowing in at us.

We were so blessed to find this shelter and all in God's doing! That is another good story worthy of a whole other blog posting!

Adele's Day Off

2008-11-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

We had parent/teacher conferences this week at Des Moines Christian School. Thursday we had a great conference with Adele's teacher, Mrs. Wilson! Wow! I am so glad that we prayed to have the teacher to suit Adele's needs. Her strengths: Reading - top 3! Her weekness: Social skills

What? Can we get her to stop talking at home and in the car? Adele is very quiet and shy around people she has not had the opportunity to know and likes to whisper in our ears. I do not know what to do with this issue as many parents probably cannot understand this. She is very shy and reserved in school. If anyone has any feedback or input - I would love any advice. (Amy Main can probably testify to the situation when Adele needed to spend the night at her house because of our schedule! Thanks again!)

On another note, she is one of the top readers in school. She is getting all Es (E=excellence) but Mrs. Wilson would like her to speak up and raise her hand more and volunteer answers.

I love DMCS! I am still thinking about what her spiritual gift and talent is and Mrs. Wilson has no idea. I know she has a special desire in her heart for animals and art. So maybe that is it. But will time will only tell!

Please God, Help us grow our child to serve you and know you better. May you use your talents to serve you, Lord!

Daisy's Horse 101

2008-11-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today was an amazing day! Thank you Amy and Alicia for organizing the Daisy outing.

We had an amazing time. All the girls were able to feed horses and Mr. Shawn asked the girls, "Which food do you think horses like better: hay or carrots?" Clearly the carrots won! Mr. Shawn and Miss Terry taught the girls how to brush the horses and how to walk around them.

They also gave them some riding lessons around their inside horse arena. The beautiful Quarter horses were Ruby, Shorty, and Scout. They were the most calm and peaceful horses.

After riding lessons, we went on a fabulous hay rack ride courtesy of Shawn and the John Deer Tractor. We heard some screaming from girls but it was due to a spider that wanted to take a journey with us! Nothing to do with the driver! (By the way - all 3 dogs went too)

After the hay rack ride, we had a peaceful lunch outdoors. (All the girls were so hungry there wasn't much talking.)

We then roasted smores. How can you get more cooler than your choice of regular marshmallows vs. strawberry marshmallows! And to put it between 2 graham crackers and a piece of chocolate?! Talk about heaven!

Afterwards, we were lucky to pick fresh apples from their apple tree.

Thank you God for you have created animals that we can have fun with and play with. Thank you God for providing us fruit trees and the abundance that comes from it. Last but not least, Thank you God for giving us friends that we can praise you for Your Glory!

Trick or Treat night

2008-10-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

Wow! God has blessed us with the best weather to trick or treat in than I can remember. (Oh and I have about 4 yrs of knowledge on that!)

Anyway, Adele wore her Cat costume and the hunt was on. Paul went with us for the first half hour then went to church band practice. Adele was so excited because so many people loved her cat costume as well as her spider bucket!

She was even reciting several jokes that neighbors had not heard. BTW - In Des Moines, you have to tell a joke to get candy. I do like that the kids Trick or Treat the day before Halloween. I think it is just a safer day to have it.

Here are her 3 favorite jokes she told: "Why do witches fly on broomsticks. . . Because vacuums are too heavy" "What is the favorite holiday of vampires. . . Fangsgiving" "What do witches put in their hair. . . Scare Spray"

When we got home, I really wanted her to take a bath but she wanted to sort candy. Mommy acquiesced and we sorted. After she was in bed and Paul got home, I explained that I didn't give her the bath that I intended. He said, "I always had to sort when I got home!" So I guess I made a good decision after all: A dirty kid is a happy kid! Just kidding!

The rule of the night:

Adele: "My feet are so tired"

Sandy: "Yes, it takes a lot of work to earn the rewards."

God and Jesus are our rewards. Sometimes it takes a lot to act like a Christian even if you don't feel like it or have a bad day but the rewards are definately worth it!

Raccoon Valley volunteering at Petco

2008-10-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

Adele and I manned a snack and pop shack for Raccoon Valley Animal Rescue and Sanctuary at Petco in the Jordan Creek Shopping Center. We had a wonderful time. The photographer said Adele was a natural poser.
I kissed and hugged so many dogs! I think my husband is thankful that I got my "dog fix" in.
We fell in love with one in particular. He came costumed in a kissing booth - so big and beautiful. His owner was there and now she is signed on to volunteer also! They are going to do a kissing booth for Valentines Day there! I am so excited to get to know her. We clicked right away. I can't wait to tell her about our church!

The directors were so impressed with Adele and how much money she raised. Seriously, you can't say no to a child who is selling candy and pop can you? They want to sign us up whenever. I am not sure when our next event is going to be but they already are asking her to dress up as an elf for Santa pictures with pets!

Halloween/Fall Cookies

2008-10-24T19:55:00.001-07:00

Adele wanted to make sugar cookie cutouts with sprinkles tonight so that is what we did! We had girls night while Daddy worked late at the store. The cookies are Fall and Halloween shapes with LOADS of sprinkles. She is one great decorator!

Adele: I love making cookies. When I have a little girl I am going to teach her how to bake cookies.

Me: I love baking with you too!

Adele: The only thing that would be better is if Daddy was here. He would be on the couch relaxing and watching TV while we are baking cookies!

Love it! (I wanted to laugh because that is so true!) Out of the mouths of babes!

Helping Out

2008-10-19T21:11:00.000-07:00

So Sorry - there are not any pictures involved with this blog.

It is so funny how God works in mysterious ways. I was on the road to Muscatine IA and I needed to fuel my car so I exited off Merle Hay (lots of homeless people take cover under the bridges here).

I had packed my lunch for the road but ate a small bit so I had some food leftover. There was a sign with 2 people and a dog. It said, "We need food" I had leftovers from my lunch: an applesauce cup, fruit juice box, nut roll, and chips. I rolled down my window and said, "May God Bless you."

I truly hope that God blesses them as I have thought of them over the last couple of days.

What crazy timing - because P. Josh this week has a new sermon series called "The House" He is talking about how we can bless the homeless. It is not how they got where they are but how we can make an impact in their lives. Please check his sermon on this website. http://www.jordancreek.org/ Click on Itunes and you will learn more.

Plus you don't have to pay anything for this amazing and free download!

Dinner with Dino

2008-10-12T20:50:00.001-07:00

So last night, we helped out our best friends, Suzanne and Andy Popson with a money raiser for their Unitarian Church. http://www.ucdsm.org/

They have a great money raiser in which families host dinner parties (all food in which the host couple personally buys). Other Church members sign up and pay $45/head to attend.

The theme of their dinner party was Italian food (including Dean Martin's favorite dish Pasta Fagole) which my friend makes amazingly well from her Gma's recipe. Their was an amazing group of eclectic couples which attended and we all had wonderful conversations.

Dean Martin's variety show played all night long and included an amazing feast of food which I would need a separate blog page to describe plus the pallet of food junkies to describe. Pictures with life size Dean Martin cutout and a disc of his music were sent home as party favors with everyone in attendance.

Paul and I went to help out - by refilling wine glasses and making sure everyone was attended to what they needed - while the delightful host couple was (hopefully) then more at ease by being with their guests.

We had a ball! Well the Belle of the ball was obvious - the elegantly dressed of the host couple - but I have to comment that my handsome husband wore some amazing pastel pink pants with a wonderful pink/brown paisly shirt! It was a wonderful evening with wonderful guests and I believe everyone had a smashing time.

Kudos to the Popsons how you pulled off a wonderful event and gave me ideas for church fundraisers for Jordan Creek Family Church!!! http://www.jordancreek.org/

13 yrs married and we celebrated with Frost/Nixon!

2008-10-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

Paul and I were married 13 yrs. ago on Sept 23, 1995. Wow! We are excited for the next several yrs together.

We didn't celebrate that day due to each other's Managers in town visiting our stores. But we did celebrate later with a fabulous show at the Des Moines Civic Center. http://www.civiccenter.org/

We have season tickets and went to our first show. We saw Frost/Nixon. What a remarkable performance from Stacey Keech as well as the others. We have 3 but needless to say that we left Adele home that night.

The other shows we are excited to see as a family are Hairspray (exchanged it out), Legally Blond, The Color Purple, and the most awaited. . .WICKED.

It was so cute when I asked what she wanted to exchange for Summer Awakening for. I read several choices and we hadn't discussed it for several weeks. I decided at the last minute to do Hairspray over Mama Mia.

Yesterday I received the tickets in the mail and told Adele what I exchanged them for. In Adele's words, "Mama, I am so excited you picked Hairspray over Mama Mia. That is what I was really hoping for."

Announcing "Adele your Mom is here"

2008-10-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Okay - So I pick Adele up at DMCS care program. I walk past the cutest boy washing his hands and he looks at me and says, "Are you with Adele?" I said, "Yes, I am Adele's Mom." And then he says wait for me I want to announce you. (BTW - when you pick the kids up it must be a privilege to identify their parents before anyone else can).

He opens the door to the playground and yells "AAAADDDEEELLLEE Your MOOOOOMMMMM is here. AAAAADDDEEELLEEEE" and keeps repeating until someone hears or recognizes that he has "made his announcement"

The teachers (new) look at me and say which kid is yours - to which I calmly reply Adele!

How cute and sweet that children of God want to associate parents and children. God - Please help me empower these recognition skills when I am on name tag duty at Church! :-)

Filled With Love

2008-09-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a few moments to express how much I LOVE my wife.

As a guy... it is just something that I don't say enough... and I should. So, I thought that this blog would be a great way to surprise my wife with an 'I LOVE YOU!'

Every day I think about her and all that she does. She is amazing!

Right now we are listening to a great sermon series... "My Marriage Is Dead" at Jordan Creek Family Church http://www.jordancreek.org/ and it is such a great opportunity to continue working on ME.

So all you "GUY'S" out there that read this blog post... tell your wife "I LOVE YOU." It is long over due. So with that I say...

"Sandy... I LOVE YOU! Every Day!"

Your Husband... Paul

Volunteering

2008-09-27T17:46:00.001-07:00

I cannot tell everyone how excited I am!! Today, Adele and I took an orientation course for Raccoon Valley Animal Sanctuary and Rescue (website: rvaspets@msn.com). They are a no kill shelter and have been licensed through Ceasar (the dog whisperer).

We will be doing different volunteer things with them but our first one is going to be at the Jordan Creek Petco! Adele will be running a lemonade stand and we will also have Halloween M&M cookies. All proceeds and donations will go directly to this non-profit organization.

Come out and support us!! If you would like to get yourself or your children involved in volunteering (never to early to start plus looks great on college apps) please let me know and we will get you hooked up! Lots of great fun ways for kids to help out!

First Grade Fellowship

2008-09-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

Amy and Jen did a fabulous job with providing food for our starving and growing first graders!

I had an awesome time visiting with some moms that I have not had a chance to get to know yet this year. I have heard a lot about their children but it was so much fun to talk to the moms! Especially the moms of the boys. In the picture is Seth's Mom and Brady's mom and then it is Adele's best friend Kendra's mom, Kristy and then me!

I went nervous and thought I would duck out early but stayed to the end because we had some awesome conversation between us at the "singles table" - none of us in the picture had spouses with us! It was great to see the kids run and play!

The best part was that Mr Lambert - the principle - showed up and guess what? Dr. Stouffer - superintendant - was even climbing the playground equipment with the kids. I wish I had my camera but thanks to Amy she brought hers and caught our 3 cutest girls together in matching pink outfits (Adele, Isabella, and Kendra).

How cool is that? Have you ever gone to a school where the Principle and the Superintendent show up and play to a fellowship with kids and parents?!!

Thank you God for providing a wonderful education to our girls!!

Medicine Bow Springs Ranch

2008-09-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Wow! It was wonderful to be in God's creation without the technology. Our family just got back from spending 7 days in a wilderness. It was so amazing. No TV, phone, Internet, etc! Paul's Aunt owns 2 homesteads (160 acres a piece) in the middle of mountains. We had time for mushroom hiking, four wheel riding, horseback riding, reading, talking, and many more activities (including identifying different kinds of scat - bear, elk, deer, cats!).

This is a picture of Adele "steering my horse by myself."

This is Claire (Paul's Mom), Aunt Mary and myself collecting the largest bunch of Honey mushrooms Aunt Mary has seen since they bought the homesteads in 1971. Aunt Mary and I found Satan's mushrooms. They are poisonous and will give you hallucinations. Needless to say we did not cook or eat them!

Adele lost her first tooth there. Which is amazing because you know the fairies there have so many fairy rings where they live among the forest - Adele was sure to score big! Of course, I forgot to mention that Gma and Gpa were there so I am sure the tooth fairy was inclined to leave a larger sum than normal.

On one of the rainy days, we were bored and Adele found a 550 piece puzzle. I don't remember ever doing a big puzzle like this in over 20 yrs. Anyway, come to find out it was only a 547 piece puzzle because we were missing 3 pieces!

This is a picture on one of our hikes. Paul, Aunt Mary, Sandy, Lowkey, Adele, Gma, Gpa (left to right)

On Saturday the 13th, we wanted to leave in the morning. God has blessed the forest with over 3 days of rain. It needed it because it was so dry. Unfortunately it makes the descent very dangerous and slippery. We had to wait until Saturday afternoon to depart. God knew what he was doing because while Paul, Adele, and his cousin Mike went exploring again on the four wheelers, Aunt Mary, Paul's Mom (Claire) and I hiked up to this most amazing Panarama view. We stopped to sit on the chairs God provided (wonderful rocks covered in moss) and we all prayed together for what God has given us. It was a wonderful woman moment where we each took time to pray for each other as well as our country, church, work, people who impact our lives. It was amazing. Thank you God for the precious time that we had at Medicine Bow Springs Ranch and for the wonderful precious world you have given us until we are able to be with you in a better place!

The above pics are Adele and her friend Rayann (we only saw her for a day but they had fun hiking and using their imaginations as they played together in nature!) The second is one in which we rode four wheelers for some amazing views of the mountains around us.

The Best Bed Ever

2008-09-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

So as parents, Paul and I try to teach Adele chores to help around the house. For example, when she is done eating, bring your plate and load it into the dishwasher. She still needs to work on that as her items are very creatively arranged in the dishwasher. I think my husband thinks I need lessons on this because he likes to rearrange things that I put in there too!

This picture is of Adele's bed that she made by herself for the very first time! Usually Paul and I (actually I mean I haha) help her with this task but as you can see our artist is at work!

Fun at Adventurland

2008-09-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

Adele is an awesome person to take to riding parks. Paul got her on 2 of the big "adult rollercoasters". I think she was a little afraid but with big daddy beside her to keep her safe from harm she did amazing. Adele and I did the spinny rides which daddy does not like to do (or maybe I should say his tummy does not like to do!)

Marble Party

2008-08-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

Adele's first week of school is going great! And can I mention that I think we have a rock star class.

Amy Main and Jen Brausch are the home room moms!! Yeah - I couldn't think of any better moms than those 2!

Mrs. Grandma Wilson "runs a tight ship" and when all the kids line up right and in order as well as behave, they get a Marble Party. She dumps marbles in the jar and when the jar gets full, they get juice boxes and popcorn and are rewarded with a movie. (You have to get 2 Wow cards for juice boxes and 2 Wow cards for popcorn - otherwise you watch the movie with nothing to eat or drink).

Adele was so excited to see that her best friend Kendra was in her class also!

Holy Ravioli school is in 4 days

2008-08-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

We missed the back to school welcome with Dr. Bob the Superintendent. We did however pick up the class list.

I asked Adele "What teacher do you want?" She told me that she did not want Mrs. Wilson because she was "scary". I asked her why she thought she was scary and the answer was that she had gray hair, wore glasses, and dressed in black.

I replied that I love black! It is one of my favorite colors.

We decided it would be best to pray to God that he match her up with the teacher she would learn the most from so we did that!

Guess what? Her teacher is. . .
Mrs. Wilson

Her class will be phenomenal - we have Macy Kennedy, Isabella Main, Meagan, Adam Brausch, and the coup De gra (aka Adele's kindergarten sweetheart) Seth Juhl.

Yes indeed! This will be a fabulous class with the most amazing participating parents. I am so excited to see what first grade will bring. I will definitely keep everyone posted on this year!

Iowa State Fair

2008-08-13T08:54:00.001-07:00

We went to the Iowa State Fair on Sunday night. I tell you if you need a high calorie diet, that is the place to go. Apparantly I must be missing something on the fried candy bars oreo cookies, because that shack constantly had long lines! We had not taken Adele to the Fair since she was 2. It is still how I remembered. The big boar, impolite people, and expensive food. Anyway, we were curious to go back so we did. We did have a good time. It is just so expensive!

Paha Sapa

2008-08-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Well it is good bye to Paha Sapa! We did have a great time in the beautiful Black Hills. We took Adele on an 1880 train (the only one in the world that still runs). It is a great train ride.

We added a set of horse shoes to the cabin and made smores! What else could you possibly want?

Paul's sister Cassie and her husband Doug joined us the day before we had to leave to reality and work. Cassie and Doug rode their bike up to participate in a little known festival in a tiny town called Sturgis! Adele got to test out their ride!

We were out to dinner this night for Prime Rib and saw this sweet car. It was Lotus Eclipse. Man I want this job with Full Throttle (the company that was painted on the car).

Black Hills Playhouse

2008-08-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

One of the things we love to do is go to the Black Hills Playhouse. It is a little playhouse nestled in the middle of the Black Hills on the Needles Hwy. It is a great team that is associated with the University of South Dakota. Thanks to these lovely strangers who took our family picture!

We watched a play of Sherlock Holmes. It was great! We took Grandpa because Grandma wasn't feeling so well. Grandpa bought the tickets and the treats (peanut M&Ms). Thanks Grandpa! Here is also a picture of Adele standing next to the costume sketches.

On the way to the bathroom, Adele spotted these 5 baby birds in the nest. As the mother came by to feed them, they all opened their mouths and chirped really loud. We got to watch this amazing act of nature for awhile and she wanted me to take a picture of it. Looks like they will get kicked out of their nest before too long.

Playing with Grandma

2008-08-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

We have been having an enjoyable vacation. It has been mostly relaxing reading (for Sandy), golfing (for Paul), and playing with Grandma (Adele). We have been to Custer every year now for 13 yrs. So needless to say we really don't need to see Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Needles Hwy, etc. We are just hear to here the wind rustling through the pines and smell that wonderful smell. Sturgis is this week so the hills have been alive with the roaring of the awesome bikes!

Here is a picture of Adele riding horses in the hills on one of their many hikes! Poor Grandma doesn't get a stick horse (unicorn) but only a broom. At least she is a good sport! Adele's stick horse aka unicorn is called Pink Sparkle.

Sleeping on a Bed of Roses - No, Lavendar

2008-07-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the cabin at 3:30 yesterday. What a long drive. Adele did awesome like always!

We were very tired and Adele and Grandma slept in the camper.

Paul and I hit the sack and slept hard. I knew Mom May was going to put lavendar in the pillows (or something) like she likes too.

Well, I smelled lavendar last night but didn't know where it was coming from exactly.

We woke up this morning and my husband smelled so fragrant! Like lavendar!

Turned out he was sleeping on a sachet of lavendar all night!!!! I think it was good for the snoring too!

Packing for the May Cabin

2008-07-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

July 29, Tuesday night, we went out to dinner at Rock Bottom. As we were sitting there, we both felt like we didn't want to pack but we were leaving at 6:00 am for the long road trip so it had to get done.

I came up with a brilliant idea! Instead of packing 2 bags (Adele and Sandy), I just wanted to pack one. So Paul and I decided to write a list down for Adele. While we were at the restaurant we wrote down on a piece paper, 3 sundresses, 2 jammies, 3 flipflops, 1 tennis shoes, 8-10 panties, 3 shorts, 6 shirts, toothbrush, shampoo, hairbrush, etc.

What a great packer she is! While Paul and I were packing, she was reading her list and doing her own packing! Heaven forbid if I came in to check in and start looking at what she was packing. (I secretly wanted to make sure I had a child with matched clothes if we were going to be out in public.) "I want to do this myself, mama" Yeah!!!!

All of the clothes were neatly layed in the landing ready to go. I did have the last mommy's check though. I ended up just leaving things the way they were but added one more shirt because there was a short that did not have anything to match.

It will be interesting this week to see what outfits she is matching together because there were some very interesting selections going on!

Favorite New Place to Sleep

2008-07-27T20:35:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of Adele sleeping on Penelope. This little fad started one day ago. On Saturday we had a nap. When I woke up, Adele was not napping with me in the bed but beside the bed on Penelope. She drug Penelope in from her room to our room. By the way, the dog is not light. It takes quite a bit of heft to move her from one location to the other. So she must have really wanted to sleep on her. We love you, Penelope!

Penelope was purchased in Bay City, MI by Daddy. She was on sale at the FAO Schwartz toy shop he had in his store. I think he must have had to bring her home in the back of the truck. It is great to see how you can buy something that children still love to use since they seem to outgrow toys/stuffed animals so quickly!

Tonight after we tucked her into bed and Paul read a devotional with her, we went in to shut off the lamp and check in on her. This is what we found. The poor bed lost to the big pink dog.

Dad's Birthday and the 515 Alive Event

2008-07-26T20:57:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Dad! I am so sorry I forgot to call you today but a big Happy Birthday to you!!!

Today was the 515 Alive Urban Music Event in downtown Des Moines. The JCFC had a booth setup to give out free water and stickers. Since Paul worked late, Adele and I went to bring water and help give the stuff away! So much fun! Such unique outfits and people. Great people watching event! This was soooo much fun - I will definitely be involved next year.

Adele and Ana were the best sticker giver awayers ever! Who can say no to a JCFC sticker when 2 sweet girls were handing them out! So precious and who knows - maybe we will get some new faces in church!

There was a group of 3 early twenties (I think - as I get older, people look younger!) 1 guy and 2 girls. Adele was giving the a bottle of water and some stickers and we were telling them they were free. They said that they couldn't believe anyone was giving away something for free and insisted on paying. I told them that no seriously it was FREE!! Anyway the guy was trying to read the sign on our tent and asked if we were doing this for a Charity. I said no that we were from Jordan Creek Family Church. One of the girls gave Adele 2 dollars and he gave us a twenty. We told them it would go into the offering bucket. May God Bless these giving young people. I hope that they check out the website on the sticker and come to church. Thank you for the unexpected giving!!!

I forgot the camera otherwise there would pictures. I have a feeling I am going to be like my friend Amy Main now and carry the camera wherever I go so I can post pictures!

Saving, Spending, and Giving

2008-07-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday 7/22, Paul and I went to a membership meeting with the church (2.0 and 2.5). We took Adele since she is such an awesome kid to sit and do things without disrupting things. It lasted 2 hrs. and she did phenomenal! Adele was doing an activity book but also listened to Pastor Josh as you will soon read.

Pastor Josh was talking about the importance of giving. He explained how he and his wife Dara give Ana (now will be in 2nd grade) an allowance of $5. They have 3 envelopes: giving, spending, saving. Then he went on to testify that they had driven by a homeless guy with a sign and decided to buy him food.

After picking up Adele from school, I explained that her requirement was to help me carry things in from the van. I explained we will now be giving her an allowance.

She said, "I know, I know. I will get 3 envelopes. One for spending, one for saving, and one for giving to poor people." I couldn't help but smile since that is such a great idea but I said how about if we give it to God instead.

The actually really funny story is the P. Josh and Dara have Ana give $2 out of $5 which he explained is actually 20% instead of 10% but she doesn't know that yet. Hee Hee! I love it and we are now going to do that in our family. Thanks for the idea!

Adele, please forgive me if you read this later. You were tithing and giving an offering! :-)

Examples at Hyvee

2008-07-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

Adele and I ran to HyVee after school to get some great CPK BBQ Chicken pizza for dinner. What is a better choice for full time working parents than frozen pizza? Anyway - she was hungry. We were shopping and she said, "Mommy, why can't we find examples?" This was so funny since she meant samples - as in food samples.

On another side note we went back the the grocery store later Monday night because Paul is doing a presentation on kitchen gadgets for his Store Managers' Meeting on tomorrow - Tuesday. I usually hate grocery shopping but since we were using the store's money, I wanted to be as cheap as possible. This was soooo fun as I love a challenge. It was great to have an idea list and find out how cheap I could come up with some of his creative ideas that we needed for his giveaways. Then we made a game out of it. He had to guess the price of each item along with which gadget it was used for. He is even doing an Inspector Gadget immitation with the trench coat and the kitchen gadgets and everything. Thank You God for Itunes so my husband could download the Gadget theme song.

Great deals from Children's Place

2008-07-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

Alrighty - Here's the deal! God has a way about him that he knows what you need when you need it! With sending a daughter to a private school and gas and food prices rapidly rising, we still need to clothe our evergrowing daughter! I went to the mall and walked by Children's Place. For some reason I decided to go in. They had just (literally just) decided to take a summer collection to an extra 50% off already reduced prices! We walked out with over 20 pieces of clothes for a mere $80! God you are great!!

The best part was the fashion show the commenced afterwards. The downside is that she is now changing outfits 2-3 times a day so I guess the laundry/water bill is taking the hit for what we saved!

Freaked me out

2008-07-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

July 16, 2008

I was taking Adele to school today and she talked about her field trip experience to Urbandale Gymnastics yesterday. She said she loved everything. The cubes that you "dived into like a mummy" and the trampolines. Adele said, "Mommy the only thing I didn't like were the bars." I asked her why and she said, "They freaked me out!" After inquiring more, I learned they were doing little turns or flips around the bar and she said she thought she was going to fall!