What's Happening?

It's a reoccurring theme around here...  Busy, busy, busy!  That's the name of the game for now and I don't look for it to change anytime soon.  And to be very honest, I don't know if I'd know how to handle "boring". 

So, here's the run down on our busy and fun-filled lives:

Chad is doing great.  Loving his job.  Changed to a new position.  Graduating in a few weeks with his Associates degree.  Will continue on to UCM this fall to get his Bachelors in Industrial Technology. 

I am doing well also.  Love my job. :-)  No new position for me.  I have one more semester left before I graduate with my Associates in Business Management.  I've decided to continue on after I graduate to get my Bachelors in Business. 

Cody is playing baseball this summer.  Looks like he'll be rotating between the pitchers mound and 1st base.  Archery is done for this school year.  He had a blast and plans to continue with the Archery team in the fall when he starts 5th grade (WHAT?!).

Samantha Grace just finished her Spring Soccer season.  She continues to love drawing.  We've bought her three drawing portfolios and she has filled two of them already.  She definitely has a gift for drawing.  Can't believe she'll be 9 in a few weeks and finishing up with her 3rd grade year!!

Chloe Faith also just finished up with her Spring Soccer season.  She absolutely loved soccer this season!  She scored a few goals and was able to kick around the ball quite a bit.  Kindergarten Round-Up was a couple weeks ago, so she is all ready to start school in the fall.  It's definitely going to be a change for all us, but very exciting too!

Bubbles is doing great.  He doesn't move as fast as he did a few years ago, but then again he will be 13 years old this August!  He's getting a bit more sassy in his old age, but we love him more and more everyday!  Such a sweet "furry" soul. 

Well, that about does it for the updates.  I hope everyone has a wonderful summer!!

Easter Service

We stayed home for Easter this year.  Our church's renovations were far enough along that we were able to have service in our new sanctuary.  We were also staying because Chad and the kids were going to be a part of the Easter service.  Chad would narrate during the Cantata and the kids were going to sing and recite scripture.

Our day started with a sunrise service early in the morning, a potluck breakfast, an Easter egg hunt, bible study, and our main service.  A very busy morning, but along with it came many blessings.  We hope your Easter activities were as wonderful as ours!

The front of the new sanctuary.

Cody, Chloe, and Samantha  ~Easter 2012

The sanctuary. During the Easter Cantata.

Chad is narrating.

Our Family  ~ Easter 2012

 Some of our Church Family.

Catching Up

It's certainly been awhile since I've given an update about our crazy days.  We've spent the last month or so getting sick, getting well, going to school, trying to keep up with college classes, getting sick again, getting well again, running the children around to their activities, and just plain trying to keep our heads above water. 

No doubt that it's been a long and interesting month, but we've made it out the other side in one piece.  There were definitely many times during the last few weeks that I've had to constantly remind myself, "This too shall pass".  And, it did.  Thankfully!!

Keep a look out for my many posts to follow.  I have pictures coming out of my ears.  Just have to get them uploaded.  I'm hoping that it doesn't take me another month to do that.... 

Family Time

We had some visitors from Nebraska last weekend.  My dad, mom, grams and niece made the trip and stayed for a few days.  It's always nice to catch up and spend time just hanging out.  The kids loved having their cousin here and they played from sun up to sun down.  Where they get the energy, we'll never know!

Hanging out in the kitchen.

Playing Uno and messin' on the computer.  Grams likes to watch.

These two are so ornery together!!

Chloe and Maddie are painting in their dresses.  (They spend the majority of the weekend playing dress-up)  Love it!!

It's a serious game of Uno.

Grams keeps everyone in line. 

Our Family

We bought a new camera.  It's wonderful!  There are so many features and settings that I will probably spend the better part of the year trying to figure it out.  But, it's still awesome!  

So, in honor of our new camera....

Here are some family pictures.

  Chad & Chloe

 A daddy and his girls.

Chad and the three amigos.

Samantha, Mom, Chloe and Cody

I love them so much!!

Favorites

I'm very thankful for cell phones with cameras.  I am usually the worst at remembering to have my camera near me just in case I spot a "Kodak Moment".  However, I normally always have my phone.  These are a few special pictures that I caught while just hanging out with some of my favorite kiddos!

A tub of moon sand gets their attention.

Cousins Rule!

Some of the best memories are made on four wheels!

The pig-tail girls!!

Fun with Grandma

Grandma Sillman came for a visit.  She was able to stay for four days and we made sure to pack it full of fun!  By the time she left, we were all exhausted...and wondering how soon she could come back.  Time with Grandma never seems to come often enough!

We shopped, ate out, attended soccer games, baked cupcakes, carved pumpkins, played with toys, watched football games, made crafts and just hung out.  It was wonderful!!  Thanks for visiting, Grandma!

Making cupcakes.

Working on carving the pumpkins.

Samantha's cat.

Cody's bat.

Chloe's ghost.

Fall 2011

Thanks for helping us, Grandma!

Finished product.  Happy Halloween!!

Unexpected and Wonderful

During one of our days in Hannibal, Missouri we decided to go see the Lighthouse just a short distance from our motel.  When we arrived at the top of the hill and spotted the Lighthouse, we also noticed that there were two women up on the platform too.  They were taking pictures and enjoying the views of the Mississippi River too.  

We offered a friendly hello and they quickly replied with a hello and we struck up a great conversation about where we were all from and how long we had been visiting Hannibal.  The conversation was so wonderful and pleasant, we were still talking a half hour later.  

One of the women was Noriko and she is from Japan.  She is doing a type of student/teacher exchange program.  Noriko is a teacher at an after school program in Japan and was very interested in learning and seeing more about Mark Twain.  

She talked with the kids about how American and Japan schooling is similar and different.  She had a Mark Twain book that had both English and Japanese words in it.  

Noriko also made each of the kids something in origami with Japanese paper.  Chloe got a crane.  Samantha got a bird.  Cody got a ninja star.

Samantha's bird.

Chloe's crane.

Cody's Ninja Star.

Before we left, she also performed a Japanese street show with sticks.   

Fishing pole.

Fish.

St. Louis Arch.

Two flags.  US and Japan.

Fishing net.

Cody wanted to try.

He made the fishing pole.

And a fish.

A fish for Samantha.

And, a fish for Chloe.

It was amazing and such a learning experience.  We exchanged addresses and definitely plan on keeping in touch. 

A Visit to America's Hometown

On our way home from Chad's family in Iowa, we decided to stop in Hannibal, Missouri.  Hannibal is the the hometown of Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain.  Hannibal sits right on the Mississippi River and has so much to see and experience.

The small town feeling is so welcoming.   The view of the river is amazing.  And, the amount of history here makes kids of all ages feel like there is a time long ago that would have been so amazing to experience.  I've never been one to enjoy history, but when you are able to see and experience the sights and monuments, it makes it so real.  So captivating.

The first evening we got there we went for a walk down to the River.

Mark Twain was a Steamboat Pilot

The Mississippi River

We had supper here the first night.

Belly's are full.

Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain's father's law office.

The town was bursting at the seams with charm.

The Lighthouse.

We went on a trolley ride around town.

Mark Twain statue

Mark Twain Mississippi Riverboat

The view from Lover's Leap was breathtaking.  Hannibal is in the background.

A view from Lover's Leap.  Hannibal and the Mississippi River.

We also got to see "The Unsinkable" Molly Brown's birthplace and museum.

Her trunk and clothes would have been similar to this when she was on the Titanic.

She was on her way to Hannibal when the Titanic sank.

We really enjoyed our visit to Hannibal and plan to return sometime soon to visit the cave's and maybe take a riverboat ride.  There was so many things to do and see, with just not enough time. 

The relaxing and slow pace of the town was a perfect getaway from the bustle that will be starting with school and fall activities just around the corner.