Little Red Riding Hood

Macy played the part of Little Red Riding Hood in a Kindergarten play last night. I think she was proud to wear the little red hood. All the kids did a great job, some kids had their noses closer to their papers than others.


This is one of Macy's favorite little friends, Drennan. They are such beautiful little girls!!

Kindergarten has been wonderful for Macy. Her teacher loves her and she has really eaten up all the learning. I snuck a chocolate in her pocket this morning for her bus ride. Sometimes she needs a little boost from mom to keep going (don't we all!)!

Bed Head

I got the camera out first thing this morning. Little people were not to thrilled about it, but I thought they were so hilarious first thing all grouchy and messed up. Caden got his head in the sink to wash out his rooster tail as I was reaching for the camera. As I was taking his picture he is yelling, "NO, you embarrass me!"Notice the Panther jersey! Panther Pride today....GO PANTHERS!!

Macy actually had some smiles this morning with her wild hair. She is extremely pokey in the morning. I have to keep on her case for her to keep moving. She is a good sport though, as you can see her cup of vitamins. She takes 7 vitamins in the morning....sometimes I literally have to put them into her mouth for her. As some of you know, she has had chronic UTI's since she was 3 years old and recently has taken a turn for the better. After 1 year of chiropractic care/vitamins (including probiotics, digestive enzymes, kidney cleanse, intestinal ph balance, natural laxatives...we've tried it all to try to keep her off of antibiotic) AND most importantly, the perfect combination of prayer AND faith building lessons with her...she is staying dry at nighttime and free of infection. PTL! We've had a long haul with this girl!

Yes, Julia put on these sunglasses ASAP when she rolled out of bed.

Noelle loves her kitty and has some wild hair and a bad attitude this morning.

Potty Trained !!!!!

This is a huge milestone for our house! Let's see....8 continuous yrs of diapers x at least $50.00 per month = roughly $5000. spent on diapers! Probably more than that when including pull-ups and 4 newborn stages when you change it every hour! This is huge for me!!!! Noelle is OFFICIALLY using the big person potty - all by herself!!

I am thrilled! tOTALLY THRILLED!! (If you can't tell!)

Maybe now we can afford to save for their college OR their weddings!!

GO PANTHERS!!

As UNI Alumni, we are so proud of the Panther basketball team for beating Kansas on Saturday night. We were priviledged to watch the game at a restaurant in Overland Park, KANSAS. We were the only fans screaming our heads off and jumping up and down. I told the waitress I might knock the table over, so she quickly cleared it. Josh and I had a long weekend without the kids and let me say....it was super, duper NICE and a much needed break!! Thanks to our parents, the kids were under awesome care!

Go Panthers! Watch the action in the NCAA tourney this Friday night!!

My Dad's Barn

The little girls and I made a Lumberyard delivery with Josh today. We traveled to my hometown of Keota-over an hour drive-with this 5000 lb load of steel siding and lumber for my Dad's barn. This is quite the big, old barn. I have many, many fond memories of messing around in the hayloft and almost falling through holes as a kid. It was also once the home of ALOT of stinky pigs!


The girls waited patiently in the truck for all the materials to be unloaded. We snuck into Grandma Joy's house and raided her chocolate jar while she was at work!

Anniversary Eve....

What more exciting than to spend it with our kids! (Actually next weekend we will be taking two nights out of town childless :) BUT our kids really did make our Anniversary Eve special! We played basketball at the local community center and ate supper at Subway as a family. No picture of Julia in her darling dress...because she drank an entire bottle of chocolate milk at Subway and on the drive halfway to arrive at the Daddy/Daughter date night at church the entire bottle ended up on her pretty dress (we suppose it was just to much for her stomach, because there have been no sign of the flu bug at our house). So, we turned around..drove 15 minutes home to change her clothes..and then headed back to the party. Macy and Julia had a fantastic time with Josh...lots of girly activities took place for them to enjoy including dessert time w/ dad, making bracelets, crowns, AND shaving their dads face with shaving cream and popsicle sticks. Caden/Noelle and I hit Target for some much needed school stuff for Caden, Hy-Vee (because the fridge was empty at home), and of course, got ourselves some ice cream. Everyone ended up in bed at 11:30.

Josh and I talked about how at our wedding it never even occurred to us what we would be doing in 11 years. Is anyone really ever prepared at their wedding for cleaning up throw-up, buying the third pair of boy tennis shoes in a school year, or shuffleing kids to bed at 11:30 pm?

We are thankful for this time in our life, and praise God that his love and grace are sufficient not only to prepare us for the tasks at hand but to sustain us through them AND give joy to our hearts in the midst of it!

Oh yeah--did I mention we are going to Kansas City childless for 3 days and 2 nights?!

11 Years...

and he still likes me!! He actually says he'd marry me all over again. Awwww....


Most importantly, 4 kids and a lot of life later....we can still laugh!

I am so thankful! So, So, So thankful for Josh and the person God has created him to be. He is a strong person and spiritually sound. The kids and I are so, so, so appreciative of what he does for our family. I'm excited for what God has in-store for the up-coming year of our marriage!

Sick Feet

Julia said that her feet were sick and needed some pampering. I do have to say, it was actually theraputic to have my own feet pampered!

Waiting....

Julia hung this outfit on her dresser Tuesday. She is patiently (you know, asking everyday if it is Saturday yet!) waiting for her Saturday night Daddy/Daughter date night. She hung a dress on Macy's dresser too, Macy took one look at it and said, "Oh NO, Do I HAVE to wear THAT!" Then she proceeded to hang the dress back in her closet. The difference in their tastes is so hilarious! Check back for details on this BIG occasion.....

Looks Comfortable

For some odd reason it looks appealing to sit on top of the dirty clothes basket and read books.

Children Learn What They Live

If a child lives with CRITICISM,

he learns to CONDEMN.

If a child lives the RIDICULE,

he learns to by SHY.

If a child lives the SHAME,

he learns to FEEL GUILTY.

If a child lives with TOLERANCE,

he learns to be PATIENT.

If a child lives with ENCOURAGEMENT,

he learns CONFIDENCE.

If a child lives with PRAISE,

he learns to APPRECIATE.

If a child lives with FAIRNESS,

he learns to be JUST.

If a child lives with SECURITY,

he learns to have FAITH.

If a child lives with APPROVAL,

he learns to like HIMSELF.

IF a child lives with

ACCEPTANCE and FRIENDSHIP,

he learns to find LOVE in the world.

I Love You, Jamie!

My VERY, VERY dear friend-Jamie and her husband Micah- leave for China tomorrow to pick-up their newly adopted son. They will be gone for 2 1/2 weeks. I love you and I will miss you, Jamie! I have been very emotionally and prayerfully involved in this adoption process with my friend for a number of months.

This is Levi. I love you, Levi! I can't wait to squeeze you!
Welcome to the awesome Steele Family!!
Levi will come home to a 5 year old brother and 3 year old sister.

If you want to keep updated on their travels to China, their blog is listed on the side of mine.

Jamie- (with tears)....I praise God for your friendship! Thank you for letting me be apart of your journey! What a lucky little boy to get you as his Mom! God has big plans for your family! Your obedience and faithfulness to HIM has been such a testimony to me!!
I will be Praying and Praising while you are gone!! AND wearing my cute China shirt!
PS. You've inspired me to make whole wheat mac-n-cheese for my kids today!

Free Headband or Flower Clip!

Attn: Girly Girls -- Check it out....
A Front Row Seat to Our Life!: Give-Away!!! Free Headband or Flower Clip!