Life

Not much new at our house. It seems like we are just keeping up with the daily work of kids.
Here are a few pictures of the crew keeping busy!

The cat has not yet been squeezed to death or eaten by the dog. Julia carries it by the neck. At least it has quit hissing at her! I have learned that kittens and two year olds really don't go hand in hand.

Macy dressed up as "Princess Clara" today. She watched the Barbie Nutcracker movie, and immediately went to get dressed up for her Daddy.

Here is Caden having his after school snack today. He had a little bit of an attitude when he got home. So, I sent him back to the end of the driveway for a "do over". I told him to sit at the end of the drive until he decided to change his attitude. He went and sat there for awhile and then came back into the house all smiles and said to me, "Mom, my brain gets tired of being nice.".

I caught Noelle just hanging out in her highchair.

She was as content as can be watching the world go by.

My friend Lindsay Eekhoff and her little boy Griffin made each of the kids these door knob hangers last Christmas. Noelle was not born yet, but Noelle got her own in the mail today. Eventhough it isn't a good chew toy, I had to let her check it out. Thanks, Lindsay! It is really cute!!!

Josh is growing a hunting season beard...the funny thing is that Noelle looks so much like him I can picture Noelle with the beard everytime I look at her!!! Can you see it?

Last but not least....this is our squash harvest. 34 of these suckers...Woo, Hoo! Gold...Gold...Gold!

Adventures for Noelle

Everyday is bringing new adventures for Noelle's little life. She is 7 months old and so excited to be apart of the family! She has her first tooth and has started to eat crackers. I think she would pass on the baby food and go straight to our plates if she had her choice. She is always underneath the table and has many crashes while trying to pull herself up. She has been moving using the army crawl for a month now, but just recently started considering really crawling with her hands and knees. And of course, sitting up on her own makes her laugh and have lots of fun!

There is one thing after another with this little girl!

Kidney Scan

Thank you to anyone who has been praying for Macy. It was a long day for her yesterday as she had a kidney scan done at Pediatric Urology in Iowa City. She has had reocurring urinary tract and bladder infections for the past two years. Two weeks ago she had a fever of 104 along with an infection, which led her Dr. to question that her kidney's were possibly being affected. The kidney scan revealed that the fever had been the symptom of a kidney infection. Her left kidney has a small indentation which is evidence of damage from a recent infection. Her right kidney is working slightly harder than her left, but overall they are functioning normally and the damage will repair itself in time if infection does not return. She will be on an antibiotic for the next six months to reduce the risk of infection. In the meantime, all we can do is pray and follow instructions of keeping her clean and eating a proper diet. We appreciate your continued prayers for this situation.

We put our faith in the fact that God created her and he knows what is going on inside her and he will ultimately take care of her. We have to keep trusting Him.

Psalm 139:13-14
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful."
Proverbs 3: 5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Macy's Field Trip

A friend watched Noelle and Julia for me this morning, so I could chaperone Macy's field trip. We went to a Youth Pavilion Museum in Waterloo. There were a ton of activities for the Pre-school kids to do in the museum...playing dress up and being on this stage was one of Macy's favorites. The red hat was an overall favorite for the girls. Macy and her friend Karlie were little dolls. I don't get much one-on-one time with Macy, so I was really glad to get to go.

Getting closer to a friendship

Chief is curious about the kitty. He is nice as long as we don't turn our backs. Very similar to the relationship between Noelle and Julia. Julia is nice to Noelle, but Noelle SOMEHOW always gets hurt when I turn my back.

Yummy!

This is the biggest Butternut Squash waiting to be harvested in our garden. Squash will probably be Noelle's main course this winter!

We have 5 pumpkins this size that are about ready to be harvested. It is fun to have pumpkins, but I don't know what we'll do with them. The neighbors are having an October party and it's a "bring your own pumpkin" event, so the kids will probably each show up with their own 50 lb. pumpkin.

Midnight

Macy fell in love with a kitty at her Papa and Grandma's house this weekend. Josh said, "What will it hurt." So, now we have a kitty on our porch. She named it Midnight and made it a cozy home. Hopefully we'll be able to keep it out of the dog's mouth!

Julia

This is the attire that Julia insisted she leave the house in this morning. We went to my Mom's group, and she carried the lunchbox with her all morning. I really think she is brave enough to get on the bus with Caden if I'd let her.

She's a Giant Barbie

Noelle found herself a new place to play. She fits perfectly in the lower level of Macy's barbie house.

Macy's Day!

Today was a big day for Macy! It was her 5th birthday AND her first day of Pre-School.

She got a birthday crown at school and they sang to her. She said that she really liked it when her class sang to her. She had a lot of fun and played with many different kids during her time at school. Julia was happy to see her when we went to pick her up.

Prayer Request: Macy will be going to her Pediatric Urology Dr. at the U of I on Mon. Sept. 22nd for a Renal test. This will be a test similar to a CT scan, but will check her kidneys for damage from the past two years of reoccuring urinary tract and bladder infections. Please pray that there has been no damage in her little body so far and that the potty training issue would soon be resolved! THANK YOU!

Macy's Birthday Party!

Today we had an "animal" birthday party for Macy. Macy turns 5 this Wednesday. Macy wore doggy ears, and she was surprised when her Grandma Karla and her Great Grandmas Eunice and Evelyn showed up wearing animal noses and ears. They thought they should be animals if they were coming to an animal party!

Macy's cousin Leah read the birthday cards to her as she was opening presents.

I made Macy a dog birthday cake. It actually turned out really cute, but I cut the cake before I got a picture of it. Duh, me! Here is a picture of the headless dog cake.

We are praising God for Macy! Macy was very sick last week. She had a high fever from Tues. through Friday along with stomach and lower back pain, all because of a reoccuring urinary tract infection. She has a history of urinary tract infections, but just recently has been treated for 3 in a row. Finally, after the Dr.'s changing her antibiotic on Friday afternoon, her fever broke on Saturday. Her Dr. at the University of Iowa Pediatric Urology will be reviewing her medical records from the last couple of years in the next week, and we'll decide where to go from here. She has had alot of infections in her little body! We are thankful that she is feeling better. She is such a sweet girl and a blessing to our family! THANK YOU GOD FOR MACY!