Our Christmas Tree

We put our Christmas tree up the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day. I was heading to Colorado on Thanksgiving day and if we didn't get the tree up before I left we weren't sure when it would go up. We put it in a new spot this year. Our 12ft Christmas tree - looks nice but it is hard to decorate when you have to use a ladder a lot! I was thankful for Eric's height and help!
Levi adding some of his ornaments.
Both boys on the ladder at the same time... a little scary but they were having a great time! The tree looks great and I am so glad we put it up because I still don't have any of my other decorations out yet!

Homeschooling

Justin is taking a science class at Blandford Nature Center once a month. Here they just completed their lesson on leafs and had a tour of the animals and birds at the Nature Center. Justin takes this class with his friends Isaac, Carter, Sam & Caleb. Sam, Caleb & Justin watching the turtles.

Halloween - I know it is almost Christmas!

My cowboy & fighter pilot. They were too cute!

Hunting Season

In the past two months my boys have hunted and hunted and hunted some more... Squirrel Hunting
Justin's first kill - a chipmunk with his Daisy Red Rider B-B Gun.
Success - Eric shot a doe Saturday, November 3 - once again Justin was with him and was able to fully participate in the hunt. Eric shot it with his long bow and arrows that he made out of cedar and turkey feathers.
You would have thought it was a 12 point buck - they were both SO excited!
One of the many days that Eric & Justin headed into the woods - Justin went out at least a dozen times with Eric. He is definitely a chip off the block!
Levi had a chance to go on his first hunt too.
With bow and arrow in hand (both Eric & Levi) they were off.
This is the face of a little boy who just had the time of his life hunting with Dad!

November 15 - 5:30 a.m. ready for firearm deer season.

Now they are back to bow hunting for the month of December - we'll see what that may bring us!

I'm Still Here I Promise!

Hello to those have been checking and finding no updates.  There is no picture to go with this blog because I actually am not sure how to resize photos using iPhoto yet.  Which leads me to sharing that about two weeks ago my lovely PC puked on me!  The ball-bearing part of the hard drive broke and left the computer un-useable and all not backed up documents GONE!  Twice I was told by computer companies that 99.9% of the time data is salvageable at least some of it... no not me I have to be that little .1% - God has taught me some great lessons through this and has tested my faith - which sounds petty - but it really did hurt when he didn't answer the many, many, prayers that I prayed for my computer.  But we are good now - he allowed me to "find" a lot of info that I thought had been lost - so it didn't turn out as bad as it could have. Now I have a new MAC and my old PC has been restored and has a new hard drive in it. So we are up and running now - we are just a bit behind!  So that is my explanation for my delinquent blogging - I do have lots to share so once I figure out how to resize in iPhoto (any wisdom would be appreciated!) I will be sharing lots of pics.  

Also, in a matter of hours I will be on a plane headed for Colorado without my husband and boys - pray for me - I have never been and most likely never will be good at good-byes - and flying scares me (even though my husband continually reminds me that flying is safer than driving!) - Eric will be flying out to meet up with me on Saturday pray for his safety too!  Thanks!  I promise to be a better blogger soon!

HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!!

Proud Parents!

Yesterday I walked to the mailbox and I ran all the way back! I could not believe what I saw in the mail - my little bowhunter was on the front cover of a magazine! If you remember back in August I blogged about him winning a bow competition. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that he would be on the cover of their magazine! He was also in the magazine several times and this is what they wrote about him - "Justin a six year old boy (he is only 5) not only had better form than I do, but I am pretty sure he could out shoot me at the range." Let's just say that his parents are pretty proud!

I've Been Tagged!

I was tagged by Lia.
Here are the rules that I must post first.
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog for the rules.

And my middle name is Joan.....

J - Juggling - At this point of my life I seem to be juggling a lot of different things - Husband, Boys, Homeschooling, Family, Friends, Photography, GEMS. All are in important and all need to be taken care of... if there were only a few more hours in a day!

O - Organized - I would often beg to differ but most people insist that I am organized!

A - Anticipate Reunions - some of my best friends I see only once or twice a year and it is those times that I REALLY look forward to! Reunions with people who are so special to me are the best!...but along with reunions comes good-byes and those... I am not so good at!

N - New - I can't imagine living with out God's grace - daily I am amazed that His mercy's are NEW every morning! Even after the crappiest of days the next day is a brand NEW start!

I tag: Easier Said than Done, Schaaf Family Stories, Sifting through the Grey, Meengs Family

Post Family Farm

Last Monday, we went on a Field Trip to the Post Family Farm. The day was unbelievable nearly 90's and sunny - crazy for October 8! It didn't stop us from having a lot of fun though!

Donuts!

Levi thought that I needed to share my cider with him because he drank his too fast!Story Time

How does a pumpkin grow?
Playing on the Hay Bale Maze
Justin jumping from one bale to another.
Sam and Justin trying to get up enough nerve to pet the cow. Riding the Pumpkin Train

Levi hated it - Justin loved it!

Picking just the right pumpkin!
On the hayride with their carefully chosen pumpkins.
Playing by the pond - notice all the bare bellys! It was SO hot!
Sharing lunch with friends.Yes, this is me - in the black, actually attempting the zip line! Notice Justin on the ground making sure that we were okay! I made it and I actually beat Joy!
Justin LOVED the zip line! Levi stuck to riding on the horse!

All in all we had a great day at the farm!

To see Sonny catching a pig - visit The Church Lady blog.

Big Boy Bed!

As some of you may remember way back in March I blogged about whether or not Levi was ready for a big boy bed. Well the time finally came this week! Levi's crib turns into a full size bed frame so we decided to use that for his bed. He is less likely to fall off a full size right!? He doesn't look excited at all for this new adventure does he!?
All ready for his first night in his big bed! Of course Justin thinks it is pretty cool too.
Here he is pretending to be in his tree stand! Wow are my boys into hunting or what!
It worked! It took him a little while in his new surroundings to fall asleep but when he did he slept great!
This has nothing to do with the new bed - he didn't fall out yet or anything like that. But he is definitely my accident prone child. He really likes to encounter corners as he and Justin "race" through the house. Last week it was a little higher on his head and a little bigger! This week it is front and center!

Swimming

Justin is taking swimming lessons once a week. He is doing well - it is most definitely not his favorite thing especially when they make him get his face wet! They are trying so hard to get him to keep his face in the water. I laughed - on the way home the other day he said - "I'm getting really good at swimming with my arms and legs - I just have to keep my head up really high and then my face doesn't get wet!" I think that defeats the purpose that they are trying to teach him! He's definitely gaining we'll see how he is doing at the end!

First Week of Hunting Season

Eric has been out at least once a day this week in the woods. Justin has gone 3 times and lives for the next time he can get out with Dad. They have seen a lot - so far they have seen deer every day - but just not the "right" one yet! Justin getting his face painted - the face mask bugs him too much so we had to try this!
Ready for a night in the woods!
And they're off... I'll keep you posted on their progress!

Thanks!

Many of you have prayed for me the past few weeks and I just wanted to stop and say thanks! As we have been focusing on prayer in church through the 40 days of prayer - prayer is an amazing thing and God is so powerful! So thank you for lifting me up! September for me was the craziest on record and I hope I won't have another one like it. In September I...

Celebrated Labor Day

Held my first GEMS counselor meeting

Presented two Sectionals at a GEMS workshop in Indiana

Coordinated and Hosted a GEMS workshop at Caledonia for almost 400 ladies.

Completely cleaned and reorganized the facility following the workshop.

Coodinated and Hosted a GEMS workshop in Holland for 200 ladies.

Changed my clothes in public bathrooms 5 times!!

Photographed two weddings.

Photographed 4 families.

Coordinated my first GEMS Kick-off.

Assisted with the Car Hop.

Babysat my precious niece Tessa 3 Wednesday's while her Dad was teaching.

Spent an evening at Noel celebrating my Grandparent's 60th Anniversary.

Had a two dentist appointments and an eye doctor appointment.

Took church directory pictures - again!

On top of all that I homeschooled Justin almost every day!

And I tried to be good wife, mom and friend!

Needless to say I made it and I am still smiling! I am thankful again for all your prayers and the support and encouragement many of you gave me to get through it all! I am really looking forward to getting back to my normal routine! Thanks again!

More Bow Hunting Pictures

The boys can't wait for tomorrow they are SO excited about being able to bow hunt. Unfortunately Justin has 4 1/2 years and Levi has 7 1/2 years to wait before they can shoot their own buck! But for now they are living vacariously through their dad! Justin will be in a tree stand right next to Dad tomorrow morning at first light!

My camo boys! I am so blessed that camo is in-style these days!
Practicing in their tree stand!

My Hunter Boys!

Hunting season officially starts on Monday and boy are all my boys ready! They can not wait. Eric hung a tree stand for them and they think they are on top of the world. Justin wants to do everything just like Dad as you can tell in his video he even had to tie his bow and pull it into the tree stand. Then there is Levi who has to do everything just like Justin "Tie my bow..." Levi has truly mastered the art of shooting his bow and now no one or anything is safe. We are really working on making sure the area he is shooting is clear but occasionally he forgets. So if you are in the area of our home - beware!

"Faw Down"

On Wednesday I take care of my niece Tessa while her mom is going through orientation at the hospital. Once orientation is complete she will have a great job and a great schedule. But these weeks of orientation are very hard! But, I am blessed because I get my weekly girl fix and the boys love playing with her. Tessa loves it when Justin and Levi fall down - she laughs and laughs! Every time she comes the first things she says is "Faw down Justin, faw down!" And the sounds of this video clip are what bubbles out of her! It is so great to hear!

Happy Birthday Alecia (& Shelly too)!!!

Shelly & Alecia both celebrate birthday's Today!To my dear friends and sisters in Christ!

Happy Birthday!
I hope and pray you have a wonderful day! Thanks for being great friends even though lots of miles seperate us! You never seem too far away!
Love ya, Lis