Life As We Know It

SPRING!!!!

Today is a totally beautiful day! The sun is shining and it's not too windy (which is pretty amazing for where we live)! I usually hate doing errands but today it was kind of fun going from place to place with the sun shining so brightly. The laundry got put on the line all day long and Amos and Angie both got baths! Not at the same time, of course, but Amos is now running around the yard feeling (and smelling) much better. Angie/Angel/Andy wasn't so sure about his bath but it was more of a sponge bath anyway. Dirk just called and is on his way home so that means I better get a move on and make sure he has supper before he heads off to Bible study for the night. Ally came down with croup from playing kickball with the church crew on Tuesday night so we're trying to keep her plugged into the vaporizer and fully medicated so she will be ok for her last soccer game of the season on Saturday. Please keep her in your prayers!
Hope you are having a great day! Remember, to trust in the Lord and not your own understanding!!!

Life and Death...

We will miss you, Thumper (Phi-Phi) and Sly (Miss Pithy)... The hardest part of having animals isn't taking care of their needs or even training them. It's losing them. On Thursday, Ally lost one of her rabbits. On Saturday, in spite of the love and 24-hour care that Cole and Will poured into the baby raccoon that Dirk found abandoned, she didn't make it. I'm not sure which situation was harder. Ally wasn't home when Cole found Thumper so she didn't get to say goodbye. We knew Sly was going and Cole cared for her through it all. Life lessons are not of our choosing but they remain with us, well, for life...

The Newlywed Game!

This weekend we had a shower for my wonderful niece and her soon to be husband. Some people were just not that terribly excited (the men) that it was a COUPLES shower, so we did our best to change their perception AND have some fun in the process. Dirk acted as the host of the game show and asked the contestants questions not meant to cause friction but bring the couple's together. Their was loads of laughs (and quite a few even came from the men). My mom and stepdad were the winners with the engaged couple coming in second. Of course, after that, there was lots of food and more laughing. So, if you are in need of a host for your next fun night, give Dirk a call! :)

It was REALLY good to be with my mom and sister!

Soccer Saturday!

Soccer Saturdays are starting to be a pretty good thing at our house. This week The Imperial Storm had a double header since last week's game was cancelled. Both games were definite wins with the opposing teams unable to score. In the closing moments of the second game, Ally had a great shot kicked to her so she was able to make her second goal of the season. Of course, photos like that are really hard to catch so we don't have one of that, but here are several others for you to look at. The game ended with Cole trying to help cool Coach Matt off with a cooler of ice water. Unfortunately, he just got a little wet if at all. I'm not so sure if I were Matt that I would think this kind of thing is finished. :) Ally has always loved basketball and continues to but as the soccer season continues, she is inching closer and closer to having two favorite sports.

Visiting Grandma's House

This is my husband and sister. Their relationship began with her accidently calling him 'Dork' instead of Dirk and the joking hasn't stopped since. Dirk is always giving Niceta a hard time about something or other. On this day, he was digging strawberry and flower plants to take to one of my other sisters.
Ally and Kristina are almost exactly 8 months apart in age. They both LOVE basketball and giving their older siblings a hard time so when they get together it's definitely payback time for the older ones! :)
Adam and Cole have been close since they were babies. Adam and his sister would sometimes come stay with us and they've been hanging out and having fun ever since. Adam is graduating this year. That means Cole isn't far behind... *sniff*.
Will just likes hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Friday Night Fun

We were so excited that Dirk didn't have a sale today! *YAY!* Supper came early and we hit the games! Things get pretty interesting during game time and usually progress to even more strangeness and excitement around here as you can tell in the next couple of slideshows...

It's not unusual to have these kind of nights at our house...

It's All Come Down To This...

We always knew it would happen someday...

The Jox

This is my niece and her lifelong partner in marriage and music. They formed their band, The Jox, and are getting ready to go on the road with the gifts God has given them.

They are amazing young people who are committed to God in their lives and I find that very cool. Just when we think there's not so much hope left in the world, you see young people like this come along who are totally sold out to serving God and that just confirms that God isn't finished with us yet. If you want to listen to their music, you can go to http://www.myspace.com/thejoxmusic You can also order their cd or t-shirts from their myspace.