Some sweet & funny things

About a month ago, we had vacation Bible School at our church (V.B.S.) and the kids had a great time with the whole week. One of the days, the kids got a Rice Krispie treat with a note on it saying something like, "Thanks for being my Leader." The kids were suppose to give it to someone who is a leader in their life. Caleb and Madelyn gave me theirs and I thought that was sweet. Then, Nathaniel came and gave me one, too. But, what was incredibly sweet was Nathaniel said, "I wish I could tie balloons onto this and send it up to Jesus."

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We have a children's picnic table in our family/rec room. It is a plastic Little Tykes table, and for some reason my kids love to stand on the top of it. I constantly tell them to get down and stop standing on there. Well one day, Caleb decided to hop on up there. I said, "Caleb, you need to get down from that table. You know I don't want you up there, and I never want you to stand up there. Ever. Now, get down."
To which he replied, "Mom, you should make a sign."
I asked him what he meant, and he said, "You should make a sign saying, "No Standing on the table," so we know that we shouldn't stand on the table."

Where did he hear or see that we need signs for things?

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We had our cousins here from Colorado/Washington this last week. They came to our house yesterday and spent the night last night. We took the boys, Nathaniel and his cousin tubing behind the pontoon. We decided to drop them off at the Island so they could go swimming for awhile while we drove around the Island. The plan was we were going to pick them up after we circled around. Well our dog, Lena, was not impressed with this choice~ at all! In fact, she was pacing the floor of the pontoon while barking. It was like she was saying, "You left the boys! They fell off! We need to go back! Hey, do you hear me? We are missing the boys!"
~lol It was very comical!

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Die Dog!

We usually put our dog in the downstairs bathroom when we leave somewhere, just to keep her in a safe location~confined. Well, lately we have let her be out of the bathroom when we are gone. Giving her the privilege of being free. I try to shut the bedroom doors when we do this, because I have "caught" her sleeping on Nathaniel's bed a few times. I can't stand pet hair on beds (just disgusting). So, anyway, we were going to be gone for a few hours last night, and I had shut the bedroom doors when we left. Terry ran back in the house to get his wallet, and accidentally left our bedroom door open.

When we came home, we noticed that Lena (our dog) had dug in the garbage cans, and pooped on our bedroom floor. Talk about being ticked off with her!! We have left her for hours longer in the bathroom, and she has not had any accidents~since we got her over 2 years ago. Actually, there have been a couple of times where she had been in the bathroom 10-11 hours...and no accidents! So, we were shocked, and very upset with her. After Terry cleaned up the mess, he crawled into bed next to me. Then he said, "Get up." Lena had peed on our bed! Ohhh...I wanted to do something terrible to that dog! That was completely uncalled for. As if pooping on our floor wasn't bad enough!! GRRR....She not only peed through our comforter, through the sheets, and through the mattress cover, it got the foam padding wet. I can't wash the foam padding, so now that is trashed!

Terry and I are so mad with Lena!! Needless to say, she has lost her privilege to be free when we are gone...back to the bathroom she goes!

Kids gone for the weekend.

Last night, we met up with my MIL to pick up our dog, who she has so graciously dog sat since before our trip. I think Lena missed us. My MIL was also picking up Caleb and Madelyn for the weekend, too. I just think my MIL is so wonderful! She loves our kids so much, and she is great with them! Thank you, Cheryl! The kids love Grandma, too! It is great that they will get some great one on one time with her and Great Grandma this weekend. Friday night, we met at a Chinese restaurant. It is in the city near where my parents live. The city is huge, and has a monstrosity of restaurant to chose from. So, my point is, while we were there...my parents and oldest brother show up there to eat! How crazy is that? It was great to see them and visit with them, too.
Friday night, Terry and I had a great time just being together. It is nice to have the house to ourselves sometimes. It is much more quiet, but it is nice to just have time to rejuvenate. Today, Terry worked and I slept in. :) It was nice to sleep in and get up when I wanted to. Then, I called up my friend, Lisa, and we spent the day shopping and hanging out. It was fun to spend time with her without kids. Tonight, Terry and I went out to eat, and then we went to a movie. It was such a fun night. I am tired now, so I should get myself off to bed. Tomorrow, we will be off to my friend, Nicole's Birthday celebration. I am looking forward to that. We will also get Caleb and Maddie back tomorrow night. Monday, we will pick up Nathaniel in the evening.
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

We are getting ready for our vacation

Early Monday morning, we are heading out on our family trip to Illinois. I am so looking forward to going out there, getting away from home, and just being together enjoying one another. We will be staying with my sister, her husband, and their 5 kids! They just moved into a new home this spring, and they said we will have a double bed to sleep in. :) I am super excited to see my sister. We haven't seen them since Christmas! I am looking forward to seeing my nieces and nephews, too, and for the kids to have so much time to play together. I am excited to see my brother-in-law, too. :)

I am not really looking forward to the long drive~ at least 8 1/2 hours (that's with out much stopping). However, we have a toddler, and a pre-schooler~ AND THE MOST IMPORTANT...I am pregnant. Just kidding, I am not the most important, but we will need time for stopping. I would like to think that we could leave early~ about 6:00 AM. Keep the kiddos in their jammies, at least Caleb and Maddie. Then, we could stop at a Perkins for breakfast about 8/8:30, and change them into clothes. That way we can get through some of the morning rush hour through the Twin Cities. My niece is coming with us on our trip. Her and my other niece are really good friends, as well as cousins. So, it will be fun to spend extra time with her, too! Plus, when we are out there, we will have sitters (between my two teen nieces and Nathaniel) for when my sister, our husbands, and I go out on a double date! WooHoo!!

We are planning on a few things to do for sure, but we don't have a particular schedule to follow while we are there. I am OK with that, because we can just do what we want. My sister is only 45 minutes from Chicago, so our options are endless. I know one night we are going to their church to hear my niece talk about her Mission Trip. That will be a lot of fun! I am excited to see what she did, hear about her experiences and how they worked for God.



We are leaving one of our family members behind....
Lena, our dog. Grandma is taking her for the week (THANK YOU!!), so she will be well taken care of. We will miss her, and I am sure she will miss us, but she will be happy there, too.
Speaking of Grandma, she is here this weekend. It is nice to visit with her and spend time with her. She took really cute pictures of our kids. Nathaniel is with his Dad, so unfortunately I don't have any of him to show you~ next time. He is coming with on our trip, so there will be pictures to show you when we return.

Caleb and Madelyn love playing in the dirt. So messy, and so fun! We really need to get a sand box set up for them. This is just some dirt from one of our projects, so they are having fun with it for now.
Look at that cute face!
Keep diggin'! I love the expression on his face.
OHHHH, what's that? (Can you pucker like that?)
So happy with his shovel. Maybe he will work in construction.

Round and round with the "bug" and a funnies.

Well, Madelyn is on the mend (still) with having loose diapers yet today. Terry got blasted with the gut rot and running to the bathroom last night. We both felt nausiated last night. Terry did go to work this morning for a few hours, but then came home. At least we both have stayed away from the vomit...that is so nasty! I really, REALLY hope Caleb and Nathaniel are spared from this very unwelcome bug! We have had the stomach bug envade our home 2 times this year, and it is very unnerving! Anyway...we are slowing going uphill from here (knock on wood...better yet, PLEASE DEAR LORD!)

Funny thing today, Terry had sat on our recliner for a bit when he got home, then he moved to the couch. A few hours later (maybe only an hour), I was wondering where Lena was. I started calling for her, then going up and down the stairs calling for her. I thought, "Oh no, did I let her out, and forget about her?" Again, I called her...I heard her chain around her collar jingle, but where in the world was she?? Here Lena...Terry said it sounded like she was behind the couch. That's impossible, because there is nothing there...."HERE LENA!!!! Lena, COME!"
I was upstairs this time for the third time. Terry said, she is under the chair! Oh, my goodness! Poor, Poor Lena!! We are so sorry...The chair got closed on her, and she was trapped under the recliner! ~~She was ok, and I am glad we found her~~but, it is kind of funny!

Christmas Cheer~ and funny times!

We had a fun last couple of days. Terry's Mom came down on Sunday afternoon. It was a very snowy day, and I was a little concerned about the roads. I know the visibility was decreasing, too. She did make it, and she was safe. Monday morning, Caleb, Grandma, Maddie and I were up. We were in the main floor playing on the floor and Lena (our dog) was playing, too. Well, since Terry was still in bed, I thought it was time for him to get up. So, I said, "Lena, go get Dad!" I was kidding with her, and I didn't really think she would do it, or understand. But, she bolted upstairs. Later, when Terry came downstairs, he asked me if I knew what Lena did. I said no. Then he said that she jumped up on our bed (which she never does, nor is allowed to) and walked across Terry's chest. Then, she stood on his nightstand! Can you believe it? What a smart dog! She is so funny! She knew I said to get Dad, and darn-tootin' she was on a mission! Oh, it was so funny. Well, the funnies didn't stop there. At Lunch, Caleb said the funniest thing to his grandma (just out of the blue). Let me re-cap:

Caleb: "Grandma?"
Grandma: "Yes, Caleb?"
Caleb: "You look like Chewbacca!"

It was so funny, and we have no idea where he got it from, or why he said it! Boy did it give us the giggles!
Terry and I got to go shopping (BY OURSELVES) and finish up the last few gifts. Terry's Dad sent us some Christmas money to buy some things for the kids. It was fun picking out some things. We had dinner at Denny's and the food was super. It was so good to eat REAL Ranch dressing with my salad. It has been so long since I had real ranch. (I started Weight Watchers in September). Then, we were off to get Nathaniel back from his visit with his Dad.
When we picked up Nathaniel that night we told him what Caleb said. His response was, "Well, that wasn't very nice. Not nice at all. At least he didn't say Yoda. Great Grandma looks like Yoda with all her wrinkles!"

Oh my goodness~ Kids are so super funny!!

After we got home from picking up Nathaniel, we had the kids go downstairs so Terry could get the Train in the house. Then, we played with the kids awhile before bedtime. Terry wanted me to play some Christmas music on the piano. It was fun, but it reminded me that I really need to brush up on my practicing. After the kids were in bed we wrapped all the gifts and put them under the tree. I filled the stockings. We don't "do" Santa, the gifts in there are from us, but I think the stocking filling is fun. Terry put the train around the tree, and it looked great. Finally, at almost 1 AM, I made it to bed.

Christmas morning was fun and special. Caleb, Maddie and Nathaniel loved to see the train. Maddie kept wanting to touch it. We had the kids open their gifts, and all was appreciated. Caleb only wanted a Rocket Fishing Pole for Christmas, so when he opened that gift, he pulled it out and said, "A shooting fishing pole~ I GOT IT!" I really wish I had that on camera. Where is that camcorder when you need it. It was so funny!

After gifts we had breakfast, then we headed over to my brother and sister-n-law's house for my side of the family. It was great to see everyone again. Our family doesn't get together enough. My sister and family was here from IL, and I haven't seen them since Easter, and that time was a brief visit. My other sister (who is a single mom of 4) didn't come. I was really upset about that, and I will post that in another post later. All in all, it was a great day. I will try to get a picture of all 18 Grandchildren up maybe tomorrow.

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Little Lady

Our little dog, Miss Lena, is such a lady! She even crosses her legs when she sits down! Isn't that just super funny! She is so ugly, she is cute! :)