A City Life For Me

We are in the process of making an updated video presentation…since we will likely be on deputation for most of 2016.  One of the sections talks about how people are always telling us, “Oh, you’ve sure got your hands full!”  We get this comment multiple times a week as we travel.  There’s a lot of variations, too.  Like, “Are you married?”  Um, no.  We just take five kids grocery shopping together for the fun of it.  “That’s a nice day care you are running.”  Yeah, lady.  They are actually all my kids.  You get the idea. We needed a new picture to illustrate our “full quiver” since Henry wasn’t in any of the old ones.  My mom snapped a few pictures last Sunday before church! Someone is always making a face.  Or fish lips. Elaine was in hysterics about something! Focus, everyone!  Henry was obeying! Yup.  Full hands.  And full hearts.  And tired bodies!

We had such a fabulous time at the Omaha Zoo last spring that Ben scheduled another meeting in Omaha on this trip.  We arrived a day early and spent a much anticipated day exploring the zoo again!  Seriously…if your travels ever take you to, or through, or near Omaha, schedule a day to spend at this zoo!   The Kookaburra – I sang the Patch the Pirate song of the kookaburra to him.  He seemed unimpressed.  Elaine seems like part mountain goat sometimes…and Grandpa would be glad to know she spent a lot of time observing all the snakes! In the Dessert Dome! In Kingdoms of the Night .  I asked them to stand by the stalagtites and stalacmites.  In the process, Nehemiah ended up tripping (or getting pushed…not sure which) and hit his head on the rough rocks.  He has a purple-green knot on his forehead with a gash to show for it!  The sloth.  I thought he was cool.  Ben just did a Christian School chapel on slothfulness .  He found that the Hebrew word for sloth and sluggard really just

We concluded our Colorado trip with another week at my parent’s house.  In addition to enjoying a day at the Stock Show , we also spent time with my grandparents and just hung out aroung the house. Henry with Great Grandma & Grandpa My Grandpa & Henry.  Henry obviously enjoyed the visit! Grandpa (my dad) pulled out his motorcycle tent for the kids to sleep in.  Nolan & Elaine got to use it the most.  The twins had a chance but didn’t nap and got into a lot of trouble, so they didn’t get a repeat night in the tent. Uncle Wesley’s beanies… My parents just moved and since the weather was nice we helped with some projects outside.  My dad had poured concrete on the side, so the boys moved the shed to the proper spot.  The kids helped with moving this gravel from the front to the back.  Elaine was working for pay.  She accidentally knocked off one of Grandma’s Thomas Kinkade collector plates and it broke.  She had to work off the cost of the replacement.  She moved rocks a

Henry turned 5 months old yesterday!  We celebrated by taking a trip to the Omaha Zoo.  This is (in our opinion) the best zoo in the country!  Henry enjoyed the nap he got at the zoo.  He did seem to like the acquarium – he just looked and looked and smiled and smiled.  I think it’s because the tank was bright, colorful, and everything was in motion. Henry continues to be a great, easy-going baby.  He sleeps good (when he’s not in Mommy’s room – not always possible when we’re on the road, but we try).  He eats good.  He’s growing fast and fat.  He smiles and is generally happy all the time. We still haven’t made it back to the doctor for official measurement but I think Henry is around 14 or 15 pounds.  He is a total drool machine, complete with rosy cheeks that often accompany teething. That tooth hasn’t popped in yet, but he working hard on it!  Every toy or object (or newspaper, or napkin, or Mommy’s hair) goes strait into his mouth. This adorable outfit came from Grandma – c

One of the things that we did nearly every year when I was growing up was attend the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo.  This year, we happened to be in Denver at the same time as the Stock Show.  Grandma and Grandpa took the day off to take us, and the grandkids. It wasn’t quite like I remembered it, but I think the kids had a great time seeing all of the animals.  My city kids have never seen so many cows, pigs, and horses all in one place before!  Nehemiah in particular was in heaven and couldn’t take his eyes off of everything going on around him! We tried to go to the petting area, but the line was very long and the area was much smaller than I remembered from previous years.  So we opted for the pony ride instead.  Thank you Great Grandma & Grandpa for the Christmas fun money!  Nehemiah was riding “Dash”.   He spent a good deal of the ride leaning over his horse, checking things out, and patting his horses belly. Elaine chose to ride “Twinkie”.  She also declared t