link love

I have found myself with some extra time lately (NOT at all) so I have been surfing the blogosphere and have come across some great finds. Normally I don't share but I wanted to remember everything so here are some of my recent finds

(CLICK ON ALL THE THESE AND THIS's)

I love to surround my self with reminders of family- we have photos all over our house. We tell the kids stories of growing up, of grandparents and great-grandparents. We want them to know where they came from. I thought this was a really cool idea...

I have always wanted one of these with our last name.

this is so cute. I think my kids would play it in the car...

I now consider myself a seamstress (ha, ha) I think I need this to hold my pins.

Our annual crab boil is coming up.
Wouldn't Reagan be cute in this?
This is more Carsyn's style.

These tea towels would be cute in my kitchen.

I have always wanted to get some reusable "baggies" like this. Not sure how they will work. Anyone have some?

The kids and I just might be making these cute cases!

This is a cool site with fun paper projects!

I am in love with turquoise and the beach so naturally I like this photo.

This artist has fun stuff too!

Oh and I love these key chains!

sleep walking

Carsyn gets up at least once in the night to go to the bathroom. 99% of the time she comes to get me. She goes to the bathroom while I wait in the hall and then I guide her into her room and tuck her in.

Most of the time she is not awake. Even if you hold a conversation with her she still doesn't remember being up in the night.

Sometimes she will get up before we go to bed. I can always hear when her feet hit the floor and she shuffles (or more like stomps) to the bathroom. Occasionally I don't go and check on her until there is silence. Sometimes I find her in places other than her own room.

Tonight Dale found her snuggled in with her brother. She has done this many times but this is the first time I grabbed my camera. :) She started to "wake-up" after the flash went off. I asked her if she knew where she was. She smiled and said, "In Carsyn's house." Dale said, "Do you want to go back to your bed?" She shook her head no and rolled over. :) We got her up and guided her back to her bed. She plopped down and wouldn't move. She was definitely not awake. I'm glad we got the photo. Sometimes I don't think she believes me when I tell her the things she does or says in the night...

choices

There are many difficult choices one must make in a lifetime. Decisions that, sometimes, change the very fabric of your existence. Painful. Life-changing. Awful. Ugly. D I F F I C U L T.

My family has been through a difficult transitional period for a while now. And I have just come to terms with it- and am ready to share it with the "world".

Some of you, I know, will embrace us. Encourage.

Some of you will ridicule and mock.

Whatever you choose know that I have formed a Kevlar barrier around my heart for THIS moment. A moment, that deep down, I KNEW would come one day.

So it is with a heavy heart that I announce....

that my children have decided to become cardinal fans.

There. I said it.

It still huts a little but it helps to know that when the CUBS are in town my children are rooting for them. AND when they win a World Series (which they WILL) my little cardinal fans will still be cheering for my CUBBIES.

cardinal day at school...

i actually spent my own money on this stuff...
yep. that's how I feel about it too carsyn...


I still love them- even if they choose red.
I might have to rethink things if they would choose black (yankees).
Thank goodness they are smarter than that! :)

playtime

Walseth's came over to play tonight.

dr. beachy

Last Friday when we were camping Luke fell off his scooter and hurt his foot. He did a lot of limping and some complaining. There was no swelling or bruising so we just let it go. Tuesday he was still complaining. It was one of those on the fence mom moments. Do you go to the doctor, pay the $30 co-pay so they can send you somewhere else to pay ANOTHER co-pay to get an x-ray OR do you just give it more time?

I asked a few moms what they would do (2 of them are doctor's wives- it's good to know people). I ended up taking him to an orthopedic surgeon. Now before you get all worked up about the route I chose you should know that this surgeon is a friend AND Dale's original "hip man" AND his wife is one of the friends I called.

SO... we went to the doctor and got an x-ray (1 co-pay mind you).

Now Dr. R is an AMAZING doctor and surgeon. He is well know for his work on shoulders. He is quite over qualified to see if a 6 year old has a hairline fracture in his foot. Although I knew he could certainly handle it.

What I wasn't prepared for was his amazing knack for connecting with my son. He showed Luke his x-ray. Explained every detail to him using big-boy words (adult talk). He then described how God made Luke's bones, muscles etc. to work together to allow him to walk, run, play. He also described the details of growth plates (now I was learning too). Luke was enamored with Dr. R. He hung on his every word- soaking it all in.

After we left he called his dad and grandma to tell them the details of his x-ray (which is his new favorite thing- next to kickball and 4 square). He might just be a doctor when he grows up- thanks to Dr. R (and his not broken foot)!

It reminded me of a time, not so long ago, when he practiced his doctor skills on his baby sister. If only he had had an x-ray of her foot....








WOW they are CUTE!!!!!

will work for $

My sweet Carsyn-girl is currently studying weather. Somehow in the course of her teaching Mrs. R was talking about hot air balloons (not sure why). She also mentioned that she would LOVE to go on a hot air balloon ride. Carsyn LOVES her second grade teacher so she came up with a business plan- all on her own. She solicited her classmates for help. Each child is to work to earn $10 to donate for Mrs. R's ride. I thought it was an amazing gesture from an 8 year old.

her plan...

the participants...


anyone need help that an 8 year old can provide (she takes donations too)...

(fake) camping experience #1

We took our first trip in our new RV this weekend. We had a lot of fun (as you will see by the deluge of pictures)...

Our destination...
Unhooking our rig- everyone had a job...

Our first meal...
We played a lot of ball while there...


We were at the first site on a circle. The kids rode their scooters around it (all by themselves). Reagan actually chose to run behind her siblings. She did it about 50 times during the weekend. She is FAST!
Dale relaxing...
We found a park in Hermann, MO...

After we got back on Friday it started raining. We were glad for the 4 hard side walls and roof.

Luke is talking on the phone to his Grandma- man how camping has changed since I was a kid!
The next day we decided to give the trails a bit of time to dry up so we headed into town to see what was going on. We found a fun antique store and a hardware/deli/carhart/whatever-you-might-need store called Crane's.

When we got back we went hiking...


And ended up at Graham Cave.

Reagan wants to be an archeologist when she grows up so she started her informal training...
Then we found a creek to play in. I think they could have played here ALL day!

After church today we came back and started a fire.
So Carsyn could fix us lunch before we headed home.
We had a great time!
"Fake camping" is my kind of camping!