Don't Mess With Her!

Mom saw this picture on Pinterest of a family of four boys and

 one girl and was so sad that she didn't have the right number of kids to make

 it work... but then she used the math she's been teaching us for the

 past eighteen years... which brings us here.

This is the picture Mom saw and loved. Turns out she does, actually,

 have four boys and a three month old daughter. I picked out the

 clothes and props and Glynne volunteered to take the pictures.

The boys' air soft fort made the perfect backdrop!

The signs the boys are holding were super blurry because of the glass, so I tried to

 photo-shop new ones on. It took awhile but at least you can read it.

Jonah decided to be a pill even after Mom bribed him

 with chocolate. He's so stink'n cute though!

Jenna was actually happy! She doesn't really look it in this picture, but she was.

Awww...

It's awesome to see how much the boys adore Jenna; she is one lucky little girl!

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols

 on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children,

 talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the

 road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 11:18-19 

Road Trip!

Isaac's birthday was yesterday, and Mom knew that he had been trying to

 decide if he wanted to get presents or go on a short field trip like last year- we went to

 the salt mines in Hutchinson and then we went to the space museum.

 He kept going on about how it was his best birthday ever, so Mom

 decided to make the decision for him.

The morning of Isaac's birthday, we got up at 7:30,

 loaded into the car, and took off!

Isaac had no clue where we were going. Dad instructed Jack to

 answer any questions that Isaac might ask with,"The sky is blue."

As we drove through the Flint Hills, I occupied myself by taking pictures.

 Did you know that Winfield is the first town in the Flint Hills on the south end?

 I always wondered why there was a "Welcome to the Flint Hills" sign

 just outside town. It makes sense now...

 

Kansas is so pretty! I absolutely love the flat land and the

 open skies, and how you can see forever. You feel like

 you're on top of the world!

Hay-bale minions...THAT'S how you attract attention.

Jack got bored so I drew a face on his hand.

Crossing the Mississippi into Missouri! Annnnd...

We made it! Isaac was super excited! He never once suspected

 anything during the four hours it took to drive there.

Skiing!

It started out rough, but we soon all got the hang of it. By the end of the

 day, Landon, Ally, and I were parallel skiing down blacks (not very gracefully I might add),

 and Jack was going down blues. I mean, he was terrified and he fell down

 a ton but... he did.

It was 60 degrees outside! We all wore hoodies and

 jeans and still got hot! It was AWESOME!

We left after 6 hours of skiing, drove to Topeka for dinner, then began the 3 hour

 voyage back home. We had a great time! I don't think Isaac will

 be forgetting this birthday anytime soon.

"Do you now believe?" Jesus replied. "A time is coming and in fact has come when you

 will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone.

 Yet I am not alone, for my father is with me.

John 16:31-32

Take Nothing for Granted

Okay, well, a lot has happened since the last update so this

 is probably going to be a long post...bear with me.

Isaac and I made his valentine box really fast when we realized he

 needed one for the party he and Kate were invited to the next day. 

I think Kate and Jack's boxes beat ours in the creativity genre...

They were pretty cool!

On Valentine's morning, Mom surprised us

 with individualized bags of chocolates!

We soon realized the bags were an early peace offering...

Our parents decided to refinish the kitchen floors yesterday.

 They left last night to go to Salina for a doctor thing, leaving us 

with floors we couldn't walk on and sawdust everywhere.

It's been a struggle to keep Jonah out of the kitchen. I

 don't think he understands the purpose of the tape.

No kitchen means no dishwasher/sink, utensils, cups, oven, good water, or

 refrigerator, etc. We did manager to create a makeshift kitchen in the laundry room

 (Mom's idea) and fortunately we have a fridge in the garage

 that we can put milk in. 

Yup...

The boys' most recent obsession is building ramps for their RC cars. It's pretty

 cool to see what they come up with and watching as the ramps slowly

 start to grow bigger and bigger every time I see them. At one point

 they were making the couches into ramps...

I promised Jack I would bake a heart cake with him on Valentine's day, and when

 we realized we couldn't use our kitchen, we were super happy when Grandma

 Jeannie let us come over and borrow hers. Thanks, Grandma!

  So before Mom and Dad left we, Ally, Jack, Jonah, and I, left on a sugar mission!

I saw this heart cake on Pinterest and thought it looked like a lot of fun to attempt.

When we were finally done, we went home to say goodbye to Mom,

 Dad, and Jenna, then Ally took Jackson to his soccer game.

I miss her so much already!

After everyone was kind of settled down, we all

 squished around the TV to watch the Olympics.

Why do boys feel the need to show you their food-filled

 mouths when you try to take their pictures?

It was a long day and I think most everyone was happy to go to bed.

Though, I don't think they were very happy when I got them up the next morning.

Well, I can't wait to see what crazy thing life throws at us next!

 Have a great day, and remember to not take your kitchen for granted.

Everything in the word is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for

 granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your

 life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything.

1 Peter 4:7-8