Can You Guess the Character?

 

It felt a little like the end of October for our KIDS ALIVE program.

It was “Dress as a Cartoon Character” night . 

Can you guess our characters??

 

 

The kids had tons of fun trying to decide which one to be!

OK . . . here are the answers. . .

(Left to Right . . . Bob the Builder, Mario, Yosemite Sam, Angelina Ballerina & Curious George)

Sweet little characters they are

Short, But Sweet.

 

Mike came to visit us for a day.  Yes, a day.  24 hours almost exactly. 

We haven’t seen him in 6 months so we were SO glad he made it up this way to spend that time with us. 

Of course we had to get a family picture.

 

The kids especially loved wrestling with him and we loved just hanging out.

Short, but so so sweet. 

We love you Mike and miss you already!

New Years Eve Fun!

This was our second year hosting Fort’s TruNorth Interns for New Year’s Eve.  We had

tons of fun!  We again took time to sled & snowmobile all over the yard and neighborhood.

And this year our kids even got to stay up until midnight!

Here is the crew….

Since the weather was so warm, the snow was wet and heavy.  Great for packing; Justin

headed up the building of a GIGANTIC snowman in our front yard.  The snow rolled up

like sod. What a treat to pull in our driveway to this sight.

All 9 feet froze solid the next day so it might greet all our visitors this winter. Maybe you!

In less than two weeks. . .

 

We went from this:

 

(Left to right: Skunk, Packer Fan, Clown, Bat Girl and Lady Bug)

 

To this:

 

 

It’s Wisconsin. Actually, it’s Northern Wisconsin. And we like it!

A hunting we will go. . .Mason’s first hunt.

Opening day of Mentor Hunt. 72 Degrees – almost unheard of for early October. Dad and 10-year old Mason head out into the woods!

Dad said that he’s never seen mosquitoes worse in his life! Hence, they needed to cover up every inch of skin they could. And then they were still swatting and swatting and swatting.

 

 

Mason was a trooper and stayed in the woods a long time with Dad. Just before dark (and with the mosquitoes nearly picking them up and carrying them away), he suggested they go “stalking.” So, they got up and took a little quiet hike.

 

 

A short while later, they found another spot to sit. Hearing noises in the woods and then more noises, they waited. Is it a squirrel? Is it a plane? No, it’s a deer!

 

 

Dad couldn’t see the deer, but Mason did. “Dad, it’s a doe, can I shoot?” “Yes.” And down she fell! You have never seen a bigger smile in your life.

 

 

Right next to Dad. His first hunt. Success.

 

Another Birthday. .

Miles turned 9 on October 7. 

He had a few of his friends over for our traditional birthday ice-cream cake. 

Ahhh and this time I had candles!

I am trying to post more often . . .

Life is full and time goes by faster than I can write :)

Happy Birthday, Miles!

Double digits!

Mason turned 10 so we had a Birthday Party!!

13 Boys came with TONS of energy. Thankfully, Dad was in charge of game time.

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GAME #1 - A shooting contest. Each boy had their own target and collected points depending on how good of a shot they were.

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GAME #2 – A fire burning contest. Yes, only a dad. . and a bunch of boys would enjoy a fire burning contest. The boys were to build a fire as quickly as they could and the first to burn the rope, got the points.

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GAME #3 – A running race. . . they were too fast for pictures!

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GAME #4 – The boys had to throw the football and make as many baskets as they could.

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GAME #5 – A football game!!

The Football Teams : Shirts and Skins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I just love all the faces in this picture

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GAME #6 – A Pinata. This game was for candy only. . no points.

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We also ate dinner, opened gifts, and had our traditional Ice Cream Birthday Cake.

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After all the points were tallied, the big winner is. . .

Yep. . the Birthday Boy!

Way to go and Happy Birthday!

Tina

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A Pile of . . .

Puppies!!

Just before Christmas our neighbors told us their brown lab was due any day.  Well, Christmas morning she had 11 puppies! 

 

What a treat!   4 black and 7 brown little lab puppies.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dad warned us that we would NOT be getting one, but of course the kids want ALL of them.

I am a sucker for anything so sweet and small.  I will even admit to liking the smell of their sweet puppy breath.

::sigh::. . . Maybe someday.

But if your interested in a puppy, let me know ;)

 

 

Two front teeth

Marea lost her two front teeth. I actually pulled them for her.

She was so brave. Today she is enjoying her new lisp :)

Harry Takes a Bath

 

I can only wonder what he is thinking as he “reads” this book

Happy Monday!

Say “Cheese”

Last week I went to a Christmas party and loved an appetizer that a friend made.   This week I had another party to go to, SO I called up my friend and got her recipe.

It is amazingly easy . . . .

Here is how easy:

Cheese Spread

2 - 14oz containers of Cheese Spread (I used Port Wine. . next time I will try plain Cheddar)

1 - 8oz pkg of Cream Cheese (or more to taste)

Mix together well.  Line a small bowl with saran wrap and scoop the cheese in.  Dump out on your dish and remove the wrap. 

Add a topping of your choice.  I used almonds.  My friend used parsley.  Both were really good to me.

And of course you need crackers to dig in.

This was a nice alternative to all the SWEET treats being served this time of year :)

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ALSO, Mike came home for a few days.  SO yesterday we had a good friend take some family pictures for us. 

You can have a sneak peek Here. 

We were careful NOT to say the word “cheese” because it makes pictures look like this:

 

 

 

Thanks Mrs. E for enduring the cold with us and blessing our family with your gift of photography! 

Tina

Days like these

 When the temperature is SO cold outside (-4 right now), this is where you will find the kids. . .

I find myself standing in front of the same vent to warm my toes :)

I am so thankful we have shelter from the cold. .  on days like these!

Not my idea of a good time. . .

But the kids LOVE it!!

This is the second year a friend lent us a snowmobile for the winter. The kids really enjoy taking rides as the snowmobile trails are about a hundred feet away.

Well, the trails aren’t groomed yet, so Dad made a “trail” in our back yard. He also rigged up a sled to be pulled behind so everyone can have a turn at once. Like I said. . NOT my idea of a good time.

Here they are. The fluffy falling snow makes it safe, or so Dad says!

They were frozen when they got in!

An extra blessing today was that a carpet cleaning friend stopped by randomly. He said he had just enough time to clean our carpets - something I have wanted to get done all Fall! So while the kids were “having fun”. . I got to put the house back together, which is my idea of a good time. :)

Tina

From the 17th at Lambeau

Or Laaammmbbeauuuuu as Craig would say.

This past Monday night we traveled down to Green Bay for the big game between the Packers and the Ravens.

Craig wanted to take me to a game since I have never been to one in all my years living in WI. So when we got a gift to do something special (alone), he started searching for tickets. He found seats in the 17th row for a GREAT price.

We knew it would be cold. We didn’t know it would be 20 degrees! So I started worrying about what to wear. . . I hate to be cold and thought it would make for a LONG evening sitting outside on bleachers.

Craig helped me dress. . . layers, boots, hat, mittens and those neat little foot warmers. I can honestly say I stayed warm the entire night.

(Players on the field just before the game)

We had such a great time! Our seats were so close to the players. Each Lambeau Leap was just below us.

(Half time honoring Service Men, Women and their families ~ VERY cool)

It is amazing to me the camaraderie that Packer fans have. It felt like one big family. The lady next to me (in black) thought so too as she enjoyed my cushion for part of the night, much to my (short-lived) frustration.

We didn’t mind the roughly 3-hour drive home, even though it began not long after 11PM.

It was a night to remember, and Craig & I still had a trip home to go over all the cool stuff we enjoyed…together…from the 17th row.

HP Touchsmart Giveaway

Do you want to have a chance to win your very own HP TouchSmart 600!!!!!!

Go HERE to see how.

Tina

A new BLOG to share.

I keep telling myself that life will slow down and I will actually sit down to write a post.  HA !  I have a few posts started and then life interrupts again.  I don’t think it will ever really slow down, but maybe sometime I will finish those that I started and actually post them

For now, I will just leave you with a new blog that I am following.  As you read in my last post ehhhemm. . over a month ago, my son went to Ensenada, MX for their Discipleship Training School.  Well, he started a blog. 

You can go HERE to see all that he is learning. 

It has been exciting for me to hear of his growth from afar.  I hope you will enjoy reading as well.

Tina

Saying goodbye. . .

Our oldest is off on his first real adventure away from home. . . 

 

 

On a recent missions trip to Ensenada, Mexico, Mike’s eyes were opened to the next step in the path God has for him.  Discipleship Training School (DTS). 

The YWAM DTS is designed to encourage students to develop in personal character, to cultivate a living relationship with God, and to identify their unique individual gifts and callings.

The program aims to prepare strong messengers of the gospel, helping students to know God in depth. The goal is to form Christian character and establish Biblical relationships while developing a daily walk with God.

This intensive training course begins with a 12 week classroom phase followed by an 8 week outreach.

Yes, I pulled the info off the website, but I can’t say it any better than they do :)

  

It was a day of mixed emotions as we said goodbye to Mike. . .

. . . we will miss you!

You can go here to learn more about DTS.

Tina

While we were off visiting to Grandma and Grandpa’s. .

We helped them build a deck

 

We finished even though it rained HALF the time

Maccoy turned 4

 

  Of course we did some fishing and playing too

 

 

 

 

Thanks to some good friends who lent us a pop-up, we got to camp out. . you can see the path we made to keep dry through what became 3 inches of rain runoff.

A worthwhile trip, it was!