Conversations I Love !

I called out to the kids, well, Morgan and Ethan anyway, to come and wash thier hands before supper. Morgan comes in nicely and goes to the basement to wash her hands. However, Ethan comes in whining, I finally get him to listen to me and stop whining for a minute and he tells me "There is a spider, a live one" Mommy says, "It's ok" Ethan says, "no its a live one" Mommy says, "Go wash your hands so you can eat it" Ethan stops in the hallway and says, "What" Mommy says, "Wash your hands so you can eat the spider" (he is done whining now) and in a very serious voice, and poking his head around the corner, Ethan says, "It says no, in the books, No people can eat spiders, just dogs." Mommy says "Why" Ethan says, "Spiders aren't good for people, just dogs can eat them" and he turns and walks to the bathroom to wash his hands.

I love talking, having conversations with my kids, they always make me smile! To be completely honest, I really miss having adult conversations throughout the day as well.

My Prayer for Today

Dear God,

Please give me the patience I need to deal with my blessings.

Amen!

Adventures coming soon...

My 3rd post for the day should be a charm, right? I still haven't gotten the hang of this yet, but I am working on it. I have had to redo multiple posts tonight, I am going to try to get this right the first time! On our anniversary we purchased this camper, a new adventure for our family. Today we were able to pop it up for the first time since bringing it home. It hadn't been used for a while and needed a good cleaning and airing out. Jason and I spent a better part of the morning vacuuming and scrubbing and we have it looking very nice. I thought I would take some pictures, after the cleaning, to share on my blog. Enjoy!

http://s635.photobucket.com/albums/uu78/idahangartner/Camper/?albumview=slideshow

It's Official...

My Baby is 1 & 1/2! Lucy is 18 months today and the bad parent I am, I did not get her pictures taken. I snapped these minutes before she went to bed. We had a rough night last night ~ poor Lucy has a small bout of loose diapers, I don't really understand it much though. She has been as happy as a lark, one might say, and she wants to eat all the time and doesn't act sick. I am hoping this will pass very soon. This little bout of whatever she has, has also given her, her very first diaper rash! This evening, however it was much better. I am looking forward to Jason and I's *Alone Time* next week, I hope this sickness leaves as fast as it came! She is becoming such a little person, and she is really starting to say lots of words, and understands so much! Her newest is to tell me to buckle, (before I even have the car started) and she doesn't quit saying "buckle" until I buckle. There are many words she says that I am very impressed with her pronunciation. I am sure she will be a talker, much like her sister, Lucy is showing us the similarities often. ~ Note to self, keep the fingernail polish up! ~

Birthday Party

Morgan was invited to a birthday party this past weekend, and she had a blast! She loved every minute of it! The girls had plenty to do, waterslide, trampoline, and a swingset to go between. They loved jumping on the trampoline while they were wet, the girls all loved just having an afternoon to play together!

Sunday Afternoons @ the HangartnerHouse

I love Sunday afternoons! The setting right now is one that doesn't come often. My husband is out riding his motorcycle, and all my kids and the dog are sleeping! The only thing I would change is the dog sleeping behind me... Snoring! I stayed home with Lucy today while Jason took the rest to church. Lucy is feeling a little under the weather, and I don't feel the best either. We fed the kids lunch when they came home (Logan made the sandwiches ~ they love to help) and Jason prepared the rest. All of us went outside for an hour or so and then everyone laid down to rest and it worked! It is not every Sunday the older two fall soundly asleep in the living room. Since they share rooms with the younger ones that always sleep, Morgan and Logan rest in the living room, sure to not disturb Lucy and Ethan!

YouTube Video... Our Family Song

This is a song that was made especially for our family at DisneyWorlds Animal Kingdom. Our kids think this is so cool! With Jason's prodding I finally thought that it would be fun to do, at first I was very hesitant. I am so happy that we were able to bring this home with us, it is most definately our best souvenir!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs77bQFGC5Y

Strike! Spare! Gutter!

The kids and I ended the evening bowling with our church at Cedar Rapids Bowling Center. I am so thankful our church puts forth the extra effort to allow us to have activities that are in a great family atmosphere! The kids loved going bowling, they have only gone a handful of times, and with bumpers they are improving! Logan and Ethan were able to get a strike or two, Morgan did great, although she loved running with her friends too! It was a great evening, the only way it could have been better would have been if Jason could have been there. Lord~Willing, someday (sooner, rather than later) Jason will be able to attend activities with us when he is eligible for a first shift position. Until then, we make do with the schedule we have.

Anniversary Flowers

I love my husband! Jason came home from work a few minutes later than normal and brought me Ice Cream and Flowers! I was totally shocked that he brought me flowers, for some reason I always like more pricey gifts that don't die. I do however, love flowers too! Morgan loved seeing my flowers when she got up this morning. She was smelling them and giving them a good looking over. Thank you for my flowers, honey, I love them!

Its Our 10th Anniversary!

Who would have thought we would have made it this far - ME, of course! I cannot believe that it was 10 years ago today that our wedding took place. At this time 10 years ago, we were unloading the limo to enjoy - the hot, sultry, June afternoon @ the Pinicon Ridge Park. We had to rush and start with the cake, as it was being cooled with fans and the cake person was worried it was going to slip ~ I didn't add a picture of the cake to my slideshow ~ hmm! Anyway, it was a wonderful day and one I hope to never forget, I want to be like my grandmother and have my memories with me as we grow old together. To celebrate our anniversary today, we got up very early (while the rabbits were in our backyard) woke our kids, and traveled to Floyd, IA. We purchased a popup camper. Before having kids, Jason and I did quite a few tent camping trips to different places in Eastern Iowa, camping has been rekindled as Logan is in a program at church and gets to go on overnight campouts for Bible Memorization. As well as, spending time at my parents camper. (they have a fancy trailer) The kids have enjoyed being at the campground, having a campfire and going on hikes. Jason and I thought it would be wise to start with a more basic model of camper, rather than biting off more than we can chew with a large trailer. What we have got, should pull easily behind our Odyssey and not take up too much room in our yard. Also, with the kids being small and messy, we didn't want to invest in something that would soon, become part of the outdoors! *Mud* We are hoping to get it cleaned up and ready to use a time or two still this camping season. The kids think we should have just driven to a campground on our way home. I will be sure to post pictures when Jason is home and we set it up. The rest of the day Jason will be at work and later I will be taking the 3 older kids bowling with our church. We plan to go to Wisconsin Dells *ALONE * in July. It will be the first time ever leaving Lucy overnight, and the first time Logan, Morgan and Ethan will have a sleepover without either Jason or myself. We believe this is a well deserved 2 days away! I can't wait 'til we go! I love my husband ~ he is truly a wonderful guy and an awesome Daddy!

Ending of a Busy Day!

Today was a day full of lots of play and gardening in our backyard. I am very thankful for the house and lot that we have. We are on 1/2 acre in town and it is excellent for our family. Today the kids played and played with water. The older ones went back and forth from the Slip N Slide to the couple kiddie pools we have. Lucy played with everything, swinging, sliding, balls, pools and touching the water sprinkling from the slip n slide. While the kids were playing in the yard, I was able to get lots of weeding and pruning done on my multiple tomato plants. My garden is coming along nicely. Today I found my first green pepper, the kids were just as excited as me to see how God allows plants to grow into useful vegetables! My cucumbers are getting taller and taller too! The beans had a set back, the bunnies got to them. This past weekend we put additional chicken wire around our rabbit fence and it finally helped in keeping the wonderful creatures God created out of my garden... a.k.a. bunny buffet! After a very hot and sweaty day, the kids came in with some sunburn, after two dosings of sunscreen, I did forget to put sunscreen on the tops of Morgan's feet ~ fortunately the boys feet stayed sun free ~ however Logan's kneepits got a little red as well (too much slip n slide for him). Ethan shoulders got a little red and Lucy she was smart enough to take a nap for a couple hours and stay out of the sun. They all were very willing to go to bed by 8:45pm this evening. Overall, we had a very good day, did I mention I even got 3 loads of laundry done!

We are family!

I love the family that God has given me! I couldn't ask for a better, more active, and loving family! I am truly blessed. Tomorrow will be our, Jason and I's, tenth anniversary. It doesn't seem like it could possibly be 10 years ago that we were married. It was a beautiful, sunny, very hot and humid day, just like this week has been. In the past 10 years, we have grown closer together through every valley and mountain we have had in our journey. We have grown, not only together as a couple, but together as a family with our kids. Our family is just the family God had planned for us and we wouldn't want it any other way. We have been blessed with our two boys, and our two girls. They each have thier own awesome personality that we throughly enjoy! I can't wait to see what God has planned in our next tens years!