Getting Big

Adrian’s Half Birthday is today! We are going to enjoy some ice cream and potato chips that he picked out.  We are also going to watch a movie that Adrian choses.

The other day Allan was helping the kids get all of their bikes tuned up.  Adrian mentioned that he did not like his tricycle anymore.  He made it sound like it leaned a lot to one side. Allan told him to bring it to him and he would try to fix it.  When we went to look at it, we discovered that the handle bars had come off!  Of course it leaned to one side!  We took the tricycle to Opa to see if he can weld it together for Adrian.

Mark found the training wheels and put them on Audrey’s old bike.  The bike is a little big for Adrian and he has trouble peddling, but he likes to try and he does a good job.

The Wheel

This is one of the kids favorite toys at the playground.  It is sort of like a merry-go-round.  The kids start on the green bar, and see how many times they can walk around it at a normal speed without falling.  It is a lot harder than it looks! As you move on the wheel, the wheel is turning also, so if you want to experience being a hamster on a wheel, this is a great toy to try.

I can usually get around it once or twice.  With help, Adrian can do it a few times.  Mark is the champion and we have to set a limit on how many times he can go around. His challenge is to start going faster without falling.  Andrea and Audrey both do very well, but their coordination is not as good as Mark’s yet.

When the children are finished showing off, they love to lay down on it, and have someone push them around in circles. Care to join us one day and see how much fun this toy is?

More Field Trip Pictures

Unfortunately, only a few of the pictures we took yesterday turned out the way I wanted them too.

But, considering that Adrian was exhausted–he took over a three hour nap when he got home and had to be woken up–his smile is great!

Audrey’s picture is beautiful, but makes me wonder where my little girl went. I love her toothless grin, and her self given nickname “the Toothless Wonder”.

God has given me some wonderful children!

Field trip to Park

We needed a break today!  So we went to the park. I was hoping to get a good walk, enjoy the weather and get some good pictures of the kids together.

The kids took their school books. We played some, did some work and then got some pictures.

Our day did not go quite like I hoped, but we were able to get a few good group shots.

Brotherly Love

I have trouble carrying Adrian for his “midnight bathroom break”, so Allan has been taking him.  But Allan is away for a few days.

On Sunday night, Mark was having trouble sleeping because Daddy was gone.  He crawled out of bed and took Adrian for me.  Mark could not figure out how to get Adrian back into bed, so just plopped over and Adrian crawled over him to a comfortable place.

Last night, I had given Mark permission to read in bed for a little bit.  He is reading Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. It is a collection of Tolkein’s work that his son put together after Tolkien died.  Mark is enjoying the book, but wishes it had more details in it. (I have not read the book, but it was recommended to Mark. I think his response about details is funny because it is a thick book!  He says the battle scenes are only a sentence or two long.)

When I went to get Adrian, Mark was waiting for me and jumped out of bed and helped his little brother for me!

A Boy and His Toad

The kids were helping me clean out the garden for winter.  We did not have a very good garden, except for all the mystery squash that grew out of the compost pile, on our fence and around the yard.

While they were helping, the girls found this huge toad that Adrian really liked.  He played with it for a long time!

9 on 9/9

Happy to Birthday to Andrea.  She is nine years old today! Andrea loves pretty things, getting flowers from her boyfriends (she has a few very special ones), kittens, helping others, playing with her siblings and riding her bike.

Andrea is a hard worker. She loves to do things around the house.  She is learning to bake and makes wonderful cookies.

She likes school most of the time.  Reading is hard for Andrea, but she is improving a lot! She loves math.

Andrea loves to be outside.  She enjoys riding her bike and exploring the woods with her brother.  Right now they are making a fort in the woods together. Yes, they know what poison ivy looks like!

I am so thankful that God gave Andrea to our family!

Today’s Smile

I never know what to expect with my children.  Adrian came upstairs after playing by himself for awhile.  I had to laugh!  He had stuffed his shirt with two blankets!  After seeing me he decided that was not good –I think he thought “not big enough”, so he exchanged it for his Tigger stuffed animal. Looks pretty close to me!

What Do you do with a (Lost) Hungry Kitten?

My girls love kittens, especially Andrea!  She would love to own a kitten.  She knows that Daddy and Mommy do not want one so she collects stuffed animal cats and has a very nice sized collection of them.

So, what do you do when you hear a small kitten meowing pitifully outside your window for a long time?  Do you ignore it?  Or do you let your children feed it, hoping that it just needs a little more food to get home?

My children were so excited when I gave them permission to feed it some milk (two bowls full!) and then some water.  They watched the kitten all afternoon. He was not mean to the children, but he was extremely shy of them at first.  He would run away whenever they came near.  After the third bowl they took out to him, he would start coming to them, but never let them near.

We then decided to make a sign saying that we found a kitten, hoping that someone would come and pick up their lost pet.  I had each child draw a picture of the kitten so that people driving by would know what he looked like. The kids prayed that the kitten would find his way home and we left for the evening.

Next morning, I thought I heard the kitten a few times, but we have not seen him since.  For one short day, Andrea was able to pretend that she had a kitten for a pet!