Sunday, May 10, 2009

We're moving....

 

I have been wracking my brain for a more creative way to make this announcement but it just wasn't coming.  So, after 17 years in the great state of North Dakota we are now moving to the great state of Minnesota!  

 

Lee has informed me that it has now been 36 weeks since he began commuting down to the cities, leaving the kids and I here Monday to Thursday.   I think we would all agree that it has been 36 very loooooooooooong weeks without a Daddy and a husband during the week!  

 

The Lord has provided a lovely house in the Twin cities, with a bigger kitchen (thank you especially for answering that request of this mom, Lord!) and lots of rooms and lots of yard to run and play.   All of the children and I are so excited to be with Lee and be all together as a family again! 

 

We will miss our friends here sooooo much.  I can't even begin to imagine life without all of you!  You have taken Lee and I through some very difficult times.     When we moved here, we  were newly married with no children and only a cat.  After years of infertility, the Lord chose to suddenly pack in 7 children in 12 years time!    Its been an incredible journey that we have been on, but I wouldn't want it to be any different.   Life with Jesus is anything but boring!   Now, we are leaving with a bunch  of kids and of course, a cat!

 

As of now, the plan is to start the move right after Memorial Day.  It will be crazy busy in our household for awhile and I am thinking the blog posts in the next couple months might be a bit scarce....(ha, ha....like I post that often anyway!)   So, if it looks like we've dropped off the planet, don't give up on us....we're still around!

Fence Painting......

 

So, of course, when you are going to sell your house you want everything to look tip-top shape!

 

Almost all the family got involved in this little job! (even Scooter the cat.)

 

The Painters.....

 

Easter and Fence painting 185

 

 

Easter and Fence painting 186

 

 

Easter and Fence painting 190

 

 

So maybe a little of the paint didn't end up on the fence...

 

Easter and Fence painting 189

 

(By the way, Scooter does not normally sport a white streak across his  tail)

Easter and Fence painting 191

 

 

The "Wannabe" Painters...:)

 

 

Easter and Fence painting 197

 

 

Easter and Fence painting 195

 

The finished product!

 

Easter and Fence painting 207

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

What else to do when you get 2' of snow on the last day of March....

 

If you're little, you bring the snow inside!.......

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 149

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 153

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 162

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 167

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 159

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 156

 

 

If you're big, you play outside!!!....

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 142

 

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 126

 

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 114

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 120

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 121

 

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 132

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 134

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 138

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 136

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

What to do when you get 2' of snow on the last day of March....

 

Bake Cinnamon and Caramel Rolls!!!

 

The Dough rollers......

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 102

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 103

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 105

 

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 106

 

 

 

The caramel sauce makers....

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 107

 

 

One of our resident Iron Chefs...

 

 

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 108

 

 

 

The finished product....

 

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 116

 

 

- rolls by Sam and Andrew

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 110

 

 

- rolls by little ones....

 

 

 E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 109

 

 

 

Full and happy tummies!

 

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 111

 

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 112

 

 

 

E and D B-day,  Blizzard - cinnamon rolls 113

 

 

Mmmmmm...homemade rolls are yummy!!!

 

(and yes that was 2 "feet" of snow! - in 24 hours time) - only in North Dakota!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

11 kids, 2 guys and 1 Wii

We would have had 12 - but Annie was over @ friends for a weekend sleep-over. From this post - you can see we are highly qualified to handle many children.

It was a long week for many of us in the Red River Valley. For those not in our region - we had a 24 hour blizzard (a real one). About 10" of snow - 40 mph winds, 4-6' snowdrifts and bitter cold - it was -16 on Wednesday morning. Normally - this isn't too bad to handle in the middle of winter - but it is supposed to be spring (at least soon). These always seem harder to take at the end of the season. Anyway, 2 days of school missed and the kids get a little cranky. Anyway - the two great ladies that we are married to needed a night out. . . so my friend Roscoe (aka Billy Bob) - the same guy who last summer tried to sell my house (and car, cat, motorcycle, sofa) when we were in Ukraine and I - brought over his lovely daughters: Bernice, Beulah, Bertina and Baby Bertina - and his son Spike - and we had pizza and a Wii tourney.




Proof we fed the kids





Anton (aka Andrew) won with a perfect score of 105. We do point totals and everyone tried to play everyone else - we had a spreadsheet with 36 races on it - and ended up about 80% done - so then we went by finish averages - the totals were:




Everyone had a good night - Spike was a little scared of Scooter the cat - but nothing that a few sessions of counseling won't cover. Rumor has it our lovely wifes had a relaxing and enjoyable evening in the nearby town of Fungus Flats.

Spring is only 4 days away!

120 Seconds



Look at what can happen in 120 seconds (or less) - and this was with 2 (kinda) responsible adults around. The first could be subtitled - self serve cereal (2 kinds at least).

Also, note who was in the middle of both of these! Uff da!

Lee & Karen

Monday, March 9, 2009

More Birthdays

Sharing a birthday cake and a kiss!



Oh the fun you can have with cake!

(puppy cake was courtesy of Daniel:))



Cake with a family must feel as good as it tastes - we love you Emie and are so thankful that you are a part of OUR family!!


With seven kids - birthdays have a tendency to come around often! The most recent set was David (2) and Emie (5). Davids' was on 2 March and Emies' was on 5 March. We celebrated on Friday night.

Emie really likes Elmo - so several her gifts feed that interest - in fact most trip to Wal-Mart are not complete without a stop in the toy aisle for some time watching Elmo say "Elmo loves you!". It is especially fun to push each of the 10 or 15 that are on display and see them wiggle, giggle and do their thing.

Emie also loves books and videos. She was fun to watch - other than Christmas - I am positive that she as never had a present in her life. She knows just what to do and was very deliberate in her unwrapping. She has a career as a confetti maker! Hundreds of tiny pieces those little hands made in the process of unwrapping.

David enjoyed a very thoughtful gift from Sam - carrot bunny and some veggies to go along with the bunny. Believe it or not - David was most excited about his carrots and veggies - he loves 'em!

Kind of amazing isn't it?

Happy Birthday David & Emie -

Love

daddy