Christmas & Dakota

We were able to enjoy a nice family Christmas this year. In some ways it was great to just have the four of us and I have to admit in other ways, I missed being with my extended family. The kids enjoyed all their gifts but were especially excited about their new PSP's. They are still excited about Dakota except when he's chewing on their things!

Dakota is doing pretty good. He has at least 5 chew toys plus rawhide sticks, but he still seems to prefer chewing on my rug, the furniture, electrical cords, stuffed animals or anything else within mouth range! He's getting the idea of going potty on his puppy pads. For the most part he's going to the right area...now if we could just work on aiming! If it ever stops raining or being down right frigid, then we will progress to potty OUTSIDE!! yeah! I look forward to that!





Dakota chewing one of his presents!

Kids Big Surprise

Well, we broke down and got the kids a puppy for Christmas. They have talked about having a puppy even while we still had Bandit. We still miss Bandit but we are happy to have enough love for a new puppy too. We picked him up on Tuesday on our way home from KC. He did great in the car. I'm happy to announce he didn't get car sick!

After long debates about a name, I think we have decided on Dakota. That means friend and we may call him Koda for short.

He did ok that first night. He whined off and on all night which we expected. What we didn't expect was for him to poop in his kennel. Apparently Dakota didn't get the memo that dogs don't potty in their sleeping quarters!

Now the hard work begins. It's amazing what all he has tried to chew on and bless his heart...this potty thing just ain't happening yet. He goes outside, sniffs and piddles around, then comes inside to potty. We are trying those puppy pee-pee pads to see if that helps. Pray for ME!!

Well, enjoy the pictures! I'll try and keep you posted on how he's doing.

Christmas in KC

This past weekend we went to Kansas City to visit Allen's family and celebrate our Christmas with them. We had a great time seeing everyone and were able to see Alysa's choir program, see one of Dustin's basketball games and woke up Tuesday morning to snow! Thanks so much Keith & Mindy for letting us stay with you and for hosting our celebrations.

On the way home Tuesday we stopped and picked up the kids BIG SURPRISE! More on that in the next post. Because of the weather we stayed one night in Rolla then come home Wednesday.

Now we are looking forward to a nice, quiet family Christmas!

Celebrations

Well, as hard as it is to believe, we have celebrated another Thanksgiving and Christmas is literally days away. We had a nice family Thanksgiving in between basketball games on Wednesday and Saturday. This weekend we are headed to Missouri for yet another basketball game and to celebrate Christmas with Allen's family in KC. It will have to be a quick trip but we are thankful for the opportunity to see everyone.

It's hard not to be sentimental or nostalgic around this time. We are so blessed in so many ways. At times it seems overwhelming. I'm so grateful to God and all that He has done for my family and in my life.

Nathan & Nicole continue to amaze me as they are growing up. They keep things lively and busy but they are such joys. I can't wait to give them their "Big Surprise" next week!! (More on that later!)

Girls Night Out

On Tuesday, I had the priviledge to spend the evening with my daughter Nicole. Now we have done "girl" things together before but Tuesday night was special. She has been VERY anxious to see the movie High School Musical 3 and I had told her we would go. So we headed to dinner and then milled around a few stores until movie time. She ordered popcorn, raisinetts and a drink and was just so excited. It was so cute to watch her during the movie and see her glued to the screen and enjoying it. It's these moments together I'll cherish forever. I love you Nicole!

More Fall Fun

Well, if Ag Day and the Pumpkin Patch weren't enough, we have also hit MSU's annual Fall on the Farm. This is an all day event but the kids love going. They got to "milk" a wooden cow (lucky for the cow!), play in the corn pit, go through the nursery & greenhouse, slide down homemade slides, ride ponies, visit the petting zoo and "hookie pokey" to shake and make a small container of butter. We also learned about corn, pop corn in particular, soybeans and compost...Uh yep...that was an interesting one! I've posted some pictures of our fun.

A Hard Good-Bye

This past Tuesday was a hard one for the Ward family. Our dog Bandit had to be put to sleep. He had started to show his age in the past few months but he had also apparently developed Kidney failure. The vet told us he wasn't in a lot of pain (which we are grateful for) but that he just wasn't feeling well and would continue to waste away. The kids were able to be with us at the vet so we were able to give him some good love and hugs and tell him goodbye. It was a very hard thing to do, but we couldn't let him suffer anymore. We will always remember what a great dog he was. He was so sweet with the kids, fun and just beautiful. Even at 14 he was still good with the kids. We'll always laugh at the memory of him "asking" Nathan for his treats and his "looking inside" through the back door when he wanted to see what was going on inside. We love you and will miss you Bandit!

Picking Pumpkins

Earlier this week we went with Grandpa & Grandma to a small pumpkin patch. The kids both chose a pumpkin, we bought some Indian corn, and apple gourd and came home with a few handfuls of Buckeyes! It has been perfect weather here recently and we enjoyed our time outdoors.

First one out

Well, Nicole had a big day on Monday. After wiggling and working she managed to get her first tooth out. She was really proud of herself. She worked on it all day and just after dinner she got it out. I've posted a picture of her snaggle tooth smile!

Good Friends

Ok, I promised more pictures of the Ward/Shideler kids. Well, I finally got Allen to help me with a problem getting the pictures in the right place so I could upload them. I think we've got it solved so enjoy the great memories!

Kentucky Life

Today we had some very interesting learning experiences. It was Ag. Day at Murray State and our homeschooling group went. For us "City folk" this was a great way to learn about farming and agriculture. We learned about all sorts of things. Including: Soybeans...what we do with all those soybeans they grow, From Farm to Food, Bee keeping & why bees are important to agriculture, safety on the farm with power lines, tractors and ATV's. Animal health, forestry & wildlife and how they interact/relate to Agriculture and soil and soil erosion. Well, we learned quite a bit and had a good time. Here are a couple pictures of my two city kids on the tractor!!

Family Update

Ok, It's been almost a month since I've done any work on my blog. I do have a few things to run down as to what's been going on.

First: We still really miss our friends the Shidelers. They are doing well in OK and seem to be slowly beginning their new life there, for which I'm very grateful.

Second: Our friends the Crabbs, will be leaving us as well. They are moving back to Iowa sometime in the next month or so. We will miss them a lot as well. Also, they are happily anticipating the coming of baby #4!! I can't wait to see if it's a boy or girl!

Third: My siter & her husband are moving to the Dallas area! I'm a little jealous, but so happy for them! Jaret starts in a couple weeks and Susan & Madison hope to join him by the first of November at the latest. My sister is also expecting baby #2! We will hear more if this one is a boy or girl on Monday! During a sneak peak, they have their suspisions it's a boy.

Fourth: This school year seems to be going well. We are staying very busy keeping on top of it all. Nicole is doing well with her new reading program and I'm very grateful for that. Nathan is plugging along with his work and has started Latin this year!

Fifth: We are all doing well. We are enjoying the new football season. Nicole is still doing gymnastics and Nathan will start UpWard Basketball again in January. Other than that, it's just the everyday stuff going on.

Well, I think that should about catch you up on everything here.

Saying Good-bye

Well, it's been a week now and I feel like I can just now sit down and write this. Last Wednesday, Tina/Dave & Family left for Oklahoma. Saying goodbye to close friends is never easy and this has been a tough one. Tina walked with me through some hard times and her kids feel almost like my own to me. I'm truly happy for Dave's opportunity in OK and wish them nothing but the best! I'm not the best writer in the world...somehow my thoughts never seem to translate well to my fingers, but I can say with my heart: Thanks Tina! You've been a great friend and I am blessed to have you. I'm really going to miss you guys!







More pictures to come later...once I figure out how to get them here!!

Farewell Friends

We had a farewell pool party for our friends the Shidelers. It was a whole lot of fun and we had some good eats as well. Since Dave & Tina haven't left yet, it wasn't a sad goodbye party. I guess we'll have to save that until they actually leave. It was nice though to have an upbeat and happy going away party! I'll save the sad, mushy stuff for later.

More Summer Fun

We recently enjoyed a visit from Keith, Mindy, Alysa & Michael. The cousins had a great time playing, bouncing on the trampoline with the sprinkler and just having fun. We manged to pack in a lot in a short time.

Tuesday of this week we went to Venture River water park. We had a really good time. We had plenty of friends to share in the joy as well. The day started off rainy but cleared up for a wonderful day. It also kept the crowds away so we practically had the park to ourselves. Nathan especially had a good time. He and a couple of buddies were given some latitude and allowed to run together and do the slides. But when he decided to do the cliff hanger and the HUGE water slides, it really hit me that he is really growing up. I don't have any pictures from the day, but if you go to the Venture River website, you'll see what I mean. I about had a coronary seeing Nathan climb up the seeming 20 stories of stairs to get to the slide!

We'll be wraping up the week with a farewell party for Dave & Tina tonight. We sure will miss them!

Her New Do

Nicole has been asking to have her hair cut short. I haven't wanted to give in because I love her longer blonde locks, but I decided to give in...a little. She did go shorter, but not as short as she wanted. She would have been bald at that point! I have to admit, she does look cute and she loves it!

What have you done lately?

June just flew by and now July seems to be following in its footsteps. Last week we went to the river with some friends. We spent the afternoon messing around looking for river creatures and fossils. We found minnows, a baby snake, some sort of water beetle and some tiny frogs. Two of the frogs came home with us. Unfortunately, they weren't part of the family for very long. I'm sure the lack of habitat and food had nothing to do with it!

A friend had us over yesterday. Her husband spent 5+ months hiking the Appalachian trail and he shared his experiences with the kids. He let them see his gear and pictures he took. It was an amazing trip!

This weekend Keith & Mindy will be down for a visit and we are looking forward to that! We have a trip to Venture River scheduled for the following week and are looking into some swimming lessons! Whew!

Along with the regular Monday visit to the library for the summer reading program, we are playing with friends and trying to stay cool! I hope everyone out there is having a good summer too!

Pickin' Blueberries

We recently found out that our very good friends, Dave, Tina, Sam, Caedmon and Sarah Jane are going to be moving to Oklahoma. Dave accepted a job at OK State. We are really going to miss them, but have decided while they are here, we're gonna live it up!! Monday after Library time we went to the park. Today, Blueberry picking and Friday the pool! It got hot on us pretty fast today but we still managed to come away with a couple pounds of berries.

Happy 10th Birthday

Well, this past Wednesday, Nathan celebrated his 10th Birthday! We were able to spend it in Texas and take him to the Ft. Worth Zoo.

I am truly in awe of how fast these 10 years have gone and what a special boy he is. God has amazed me with His blessings! I am so privileged to be Nathan's Mom! Nate, you'll never know how much you mean to your Dad and me! We love you and are so proud of you!

There and Back Again

Wow! We have sure been on the go a lot recently. First the Smoky Mountains, then to AR for a visit with the folks, and we just returned from a quick trip to Dallas. We had a wonderful time in Dallas. A few things have changed, but it still felt like home. It was wonderful to see some friends and spend a few hours catching up. The only down side to the trip was that it just wasn't long enough to see everyone and do everything!

Amy: It was so great to see you! I really enjoyed our time together. Thanks so much for organizing the luncheon so I could visit with other friends. I know the kids had a great time too!

Fred & Barbra: It was so good to visit with you all. Thank you for your hospitality and friendship. You all are wonderful!

Sounds Crazy

Well, we have officially not done school for about a month. We have taken a week to go to the Smokys with family, been to Arkansas to see my family and are leaving for Dallas in two days...yet with all of that I actually miss the "structure"of our school day. The kids of course aren't complaining about the break, but I miss it. Allen says I should take this time to get some special projects done, and he's right, so I'll work on those...but I want this summer to be fun, especially for the kids. I want them to feel like we have had a good break and a fabulous summer!! So fair warning friends, we plan to be calling ya'll! (See, I haven't forgotten my Texas roots! lol)

The Great Smoky Mountains

We just returned from our trip to the Smokies. We had such a great time. We were able to go with Allen's Mom and Dad and his sister and her family. We were fortunate to have good weather and low crowds to deal with. The highlights were seeing 2 bears, several deer, turkies and one mean looking snake. We followed that up with horseback riding, miniture golf and lots of play time with cousins!