Characters

The Christian school that our children attend does not celebrate Halloween, but because kids love to dress up they substitute Bible Character Dress-up Day. Kelcie wanted to go as Mary, the Mother of Jesus. In the past, I have been one of those parents who waits until the night before to begin discussing characters, costumes, etc. Next was a hasty trip to Walmart for a couple of yards of fabric, safety pins and tape! Throw in the scissors plus a sign with a name and voila! A Bible character was born!

However, this year was different. With the help of my wonderful Mom, I was able to procure a pattern for a simple Bible costume along with some fabric. I truly intended to take up sewing lessons (right where Mom left off when I was about 13) and make the "simple" costume myself. With a little guidance, I cut out the pattern and stitched one or two seams together. But then Mom took over and finished the outfit! Thanks Mom--you are the best!!!! So Kelcie had a fully formed piece of clothing as her costume, and it was finished a week ahead of time! Mom also threw in an old lace curtain for the headpiece to complete the outfit! (Cam elected not to observe Bible Character Day and he was disappointed later when he learned that he could have removed the costume and had a dress-down day.)





A couple of days before Kelcie's "Bible Character Day" Karis heard me discussing the costume and she piped up, "I know where my costume is." I hastened to remind her that the dress was Kelcie's costume; she looked a little crestfallen until I reminded her that we were going to play dress-up at Co-op. (we attend a homeschooling co-op every Friday) So then we went and collected a bag of dress-up clothes to take and share with the other kids in the preschool co-op class.



Here's the crew all wearing one of their own outfits!

All the kids in class brought a bag of dress-up clothes to share. I was amused how they immediately selected their own dress-up clothes to try on when we had free dress-up time. Robin and I had to encourage them try outfits that didn't belong to them. After a few minutes they got into the swing of things and enjoyed their dress-up time!



Ever heard of The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Well, this is The Very Grumpy Lion!

Cam's 11th Birthday--October 28!

Cam was displeased because his birthday fell on a Wednesday this year and we had our Annual Missions International Dinner that evening. So our solution was to start his birthday celebration Tuesday evening. The menu is as follows: steak, baked potatoes, corn, broccoli with cheese and crescents. After our scrumptious dinner, Cam wasn't complaining any longer. There are no cake pictures because I didn't get to make his Mississippi Mud until Thursday. But we still enjoyed it!



Here's Cam posing in his new camouflage pants and shirt. Plus he is wearing new boots that will serve him well in the cold woods on hunting trips.



Everyone's happy--they all love it when it is time to open presents.



Another pose--this time with the gun and the hat.

Our Annual Fall Trip to Michigan

An afternoon at Klackle's Apple Orchard; lots of fun activities for the kids!




Ride 'em cowboy!



Interesting rocking horses.



Jamey tries his hand with the lasso while the kids watch with interest.



Fugitive from the law!



The carriage that took us out to the apple orchards.




Cade, Grandpa and Cam munching on some freshly picked Ida Red apples.



Karis plucking Red Delicious apples from the lower branches.



Grammy and Karis--"Apple orchards are really neat Grammy."



Inside the pumpkin carriage.



Kelcie grabs a big pumpkin at the pumpkin patch.



Some of our favorite people: Aunt "C", Da, and Bapa!

Catching Up

The whole gang is ready for the new school year!

We are well into Autumn and I am suddenly inspired to update my blog, but my chronological self requires that I include the "in-between" times. Our summer to be exact! So here are a few pictures of our adventures.



The first day of school!



Is football season here yet?



Fun times with friends Noah and Kara!



Kelcie giving Grandpa a hug--she is thankful for her birthday presents!



Headed for the Major leagues.



Kelcie and Karis adore their cousin Lauren.



Such concentration; such a lovely reward: Bubbles!



Brooklyn Tabernacle--it was a wonderful experience even if Jim Cymbala didn't preach that Sunday!



Our team at Madison Square Gardens--the trip to NYC was incredible.

Birthday Girl--Better Late Than Never

Karis is 3 now! Actually, she turned 3 on June 1st--I'm just a little late posting her birthday wishes! I didn't want to scar her for life by not acknowledging this milestone!

May Madness

Baseball. Field trips. Outreach events. Picnics. School events. Needless to say our May calendar was packed and I was not sad to turn the page to June. I'm looking forward to endless summer days stretching before me--nothing to do but relax. But alas, June has just begun and already our calendar is full again--mission trip, vacation Bible school, anniversary party. And so it goes. But it is full of good things and our life will be richer for having experienced these events! And now for July....



Kelcie and her good friend Olivia celebrating their graduation.



Kelcie at Kindergarten graduation. She is getting ready to march down the aisle.



Cade is ready--here comes the pitch!



Cam winds up for the pitch!

Let's Go Fly A Kite

Last week we experienced some genuine Spring weather: cool, sunny and breezy--very breezy. We were all outside and it dawned on us that it would be good kite-flying weather. So, out came the kite. Karis was quite intrigued and wanted to try her hand at it. Of course Kelcie took a few turns as well. It was fun!