Preschool Christmas Program

Those hand bells are just too interesting.

Rowan had her hair done in one singular curl.

I thought it turned out cute.

And in lieu of a traditional picture on Santa's lap, Rowan's preschool teachers took a photo of her sitting next to Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

If I'm not mistaken, this is look she always makes when she's around Santa.

Fall Leaves 2010

The large mature trees on our property gave us an abundance of leaves again this year.

The children had a great time playing in the leaf piles.

They are lucky they are so young and don't have to help rake.

Maybe next year Rowan will be given some outdoor chores.

Maverick is enjoying the time outdoors too.

Andy is making it "rain" leaves on the kids.

Ah, to be a kid in a leaf pile!

Thanksgiving 2010

This year we spent Thanksgiving at Janea's parents place in Janesville. Janea's siblings and their families were there as well as her Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Darrell and cousin Sean Hart.

It was a full house.

The kids enjoying a game of Uno.

Ursula is eating dirt cake. We think she enjoyed it.

Sorry the photos are out of order again. (Sigh)

Grandma reading a story to Ursula before bed.

She loves to tinker away at the piano.

Ah, another dirt cake photo. Messy.

Of course, all the men have to watch the big game....even Harvey.

Elijah, Lauren, David, Rowan and Maylie having a bit of fun.

Grandparents and grandchildren.

Ursula watches on as family plays football outside.

This Thanksgiving, we made a collective Nativity project.

As the Christmas story was read, each family member got to put on their own designated character by the stable. They had created their characters ahead of time and got to use their imaginations. It turned out to be a pretty cute piece of art.

Since we were not to get everyone together again until after Christmas, I think we all were thankful for the time spent together for Thanksgiving.

Everyone had a good time, the food was great and the hospitality was, as always, outstanding.

"New" Bunk Bed

Towards the end of October, Rowan and Harvey got an upgrade in their bedding. They had been sleeping in a toddler bed and converted crib. Thanks to Andy's Aunt Julie, we acquired a nice sturdy bunk bed for them to sleep in.

They were really excited when they first saw it.

We've had no problems with their new bunk bed.

No one has fallen down or dropped items onto persons below.

Here are some other shots from October. The problem with getting so far behind in posting pictures is that you sometimes forget why you took the picture in the first place.

I wish I could remember why all three kids were in the Camry. They usually all ride in the van.

Ursula cannot wait for the day that she is

old enough to play the PS3!

Harvey is now an old pro at the controller.

Rowan's 5th Birthday

So, yes it has been a long time since I last posted. I think I'm going to try to pick up and go from Rowan's 5th birthday. I forgot that when you select photos to post on this blog, that they appear in reverse order of how they are chosen. Let's hope I order things properly next time. I don't have time to switch these around, so maybe you want to start at the end and work backwards? It's really not too big a deal as this all happened on the same day.

Rowan invited all the girls (all 3) from her preschool. There are 12 boys as well, but she didn't want to invite boys and that was fine by me. As it turned out only 2 of the girls could come and that made the party and other details more manageable. We took Rowan to a children's farm after her cake and presents.

In this barn, you could learn how to milk a real, live cow. None of the girls wanted to give it a try. Ursula was happy just to sit on her daddy's shoulders and restyle his hair.

Here's Rowan (in pink) riding a pony. She was all smiles about that.

We also took a tractor pulled wagon ride. It got quite bumpy because of the hardened dirt ruts on the trail. Ursula was snugly placed on mom's lap, which was probably safest.

I know it doesn't look like it, but the girls did have a good time. I think they just had a hard time looking into the sun and smiling.

Here's Rowan blowing out her candles. She got a My Little Pony" cake this year. Poor Andy got to share his birthday with Rowan and didn't get a more manly cake himself. He told me that he was okay with that though.

What a guy!

Happy Birthday to Rowan.

She's growing up so fast and each day

more capable of many things.

You'll be a big girl in school before we know it!

Why Would I Want to Be a Homemaker? Part 1

I received a link to this blog, this morning through facebook. I thought it was interesting.

Many days, I feel that I sink into a repetitive drudgery and feel my role as "just a stay at home mom" has lost value. It's nice to hear someone else's perspective on this, in a biblical setting.

Kind of brightened up my morning.

http://raisinghomemakers.com/2011/why-would-i-want-to-be-a-homemaker-part-1/

Top Photo

I'm attempting to correct the sizing of the family photo displayed at the top of the blog. For some reason, even though I resized the photo with photoshop, I just cant get the pic to appear any smaller than what you see.

Hope it's not too distracting for you. It bothers me and I'll keep working on it when I can.

~ Janea

It's been a while...

It's been quite a while since I have posted anything on our blog.

I think this winter has been overwhelming. Having 3 small children at home, heaps of snow and sub-zero temperatures has been trying to say the least. I'm tired and usually the thought of posting on a blog is the first thing to be forgotten.

I hope to get some time this next weekend to update the blog. Since I have missed a lot, I will probably make a handful of condensed posts. Uploading photos takes a long time with Blogger.

I look forward to accomplishing this task as much as I look forward to warmer temps this weekend. I hear that we might even get up to 40 degrees!

That would be wonderful!

I'd love to win a Madsen bike!

I hope that I am able to figure out how to post a link to these bikes. If I get it right, I will be entered to win! (fingers crossed!)

Hermanson's Pumpkin Patch

We're kind of telling the story in reverse order. Prior to going to the cabin with the Weisensels, the kids and Janea stayed with the Allords for a few days.
Andy was refinishing the floors, so it was necessary to get all our feet and paws out of the house.

We took a trip one day to Hermanson's Pumpking Patch. They had hundreds and hundreds of several varieties of pumpkins. They also had many other gourds and crafts.

Inside one of their barns, they set up hale bales for a mini-maze for kids. Many of the skeletons, monsters, witches and cats moved and talked. The kids were not frightened by any of these things.

At the entrance of the maze, we almost passed up this kitten and her offspring in this basket.

There were also a dozen different types of animals they had on display. Here are a few...

Ursula really had a good time petting the calf.

Not pictured: llamas, rabbits, a pig, and koi fish.

Ursula didn't want to sit still on the bench.

The kids decorated some pumpkins back at Grandma's house. From left to right:
Rowan's kitty, Harvey's monster, and Janea's monster.
I told Rowan to make some scary faces.

We are looking forward to Halloween this year.

End of September Vacation

Dennis and Darlene's new steps leading down to (what will be) a new dock location.

Rowan did a great job fishing. She was very patient although she didn't want to reel in her hook.

She really wanted to hold up her dad's perch for a photo. She was fearless.

All 3 kids loved going on 4-wheeler rides with a grown up.
They nearly begged to go.
Ursula has now lost her fear of the 4-wheeler.

On our way home.
This was the sunset over a farm field just North of Watertown.

We had a great time up at the cabin.
Many thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Weisensel for taking care of us while we stayed. And thanks for watching the kids so Andy and I could go out on the 4-wheeler and the canoe, and to go fishing. It was a nice change of scenery.