Four Happy Campers

The Broadmoor

2011-10-05T21:30:00.009-06:00

So the last 4 days of our vacation were spent at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Wow. Soooo out of our league. We chose it because 1) it's a highly ranked tennis resort; and 2) my mom and dad had stayed there previously and loved it. Once we checked in, we didn't want to leave. So we didn't. Except to go eat a few times. We just lounged . . . . and it was wonderful. Here's some shots of our room:

A dressing "area" -

Seriously could have spent 2 days in the bathroom - beautiful!!

Noah, our little prince . . .

Our other little prince, who actually CHOSE the cot. Said it was more comfortable. (???) I doubt it.

The pool area . . . .

Jack took advantage of the tennis program and had private lessons every day. Noah preferred lounging . . . until the last day, when he joined in on a lesson.

One night we didn't feel like going out for dinner so Mark called the front desk to see if we could order pizza from Dominoes. The mere fact we thought we'd better check first should have been our clue as to what their answer would be. He was met with a "umm, NO." So we had to order from room service. 2 pizzas = $50.00. But they definitely made it fancy:

These fancy little sitting areas and lobbies were EVERYWHERE.

This was our elevator lobby. Gorgeous. We spent a couple evenings here playing games.

On the way to our room were 2 massive hallways lined with hundreds of photos of celebrities that had stayed there. I'm talking EVERYONE from John Wayne to Aerosmith to President Bush. It was fascinating.

We spent these days sitting by the pool, sleeping until 9:30, reading, playing games and watching movies in our room. It was magnificent. I'm still cherishing that time we had together!

This must be a record

2011-09-25T20:15:00.009-06:00

Well. I'm back with another post after only 8 days. This must be some kind of record. But if you were looking for something exciting, you may as well move on to the next blog on your list because I'm continuing on this summer recap until it's all been RECAPPED. For the family scrapbook. Sorry.

A week ago, we left off with our Sioux Falls soccer tournament. During that weekend, I started a course of steriods to attempt to fix my inner ear problem and those 9 days were AWFUL. Some people like the stuff but I couldn't stand it. Yuck. Then, knowing we had a vacation scheduled, a family friend physician ordered an MRI for me so we could go with peace of mind knowing there wasn't something more serious going on. So, at the end of June, with a clear MRI under my belt and the steriods behind me, we headed off down the road to Colorado Springs for a week.

The night before we left, however, we made a quick trip to Cabelas for some last minute supplies and when we returned home, our neighborhood looked like a hurricane had come through. Trashed vehicles, broken windows, branches and leaves and debris everywhere. Turns out we'd missed a massive hailstorm. The kids immediately began gathering hailstones from our yard that were between golfball and baseball size (I wouldn't have believed there was hail that big unless I'd seen it with my own eyes). Meanwhile, Mark and I began assessing the damage to our house. Yikes. Finally got our windows replaced last week and the new roof is going on this week. This was just one interesting photo I got:
The damage didn't deter us, though - we went on vacation anyway! This was our first hotel in Colorado Springs - nights 1 and 2.

Day 1 was spent traveling and at the Castle Rock outlet mall. Oh happy day! :) Day 2 was spent at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. LOVED it. ALL of us. By the end of that day, I would have been happy had that been the whole vacation. At the entrance of the zoo was the giraffe exhibit where we could actually pet and feed the giraffes. AMAZING.

(Jack on the left, Noah on the right)

They were such sweet, funny creatures. Hilarious with all their tongue action.

(This one below was the baby of the bunch)

The zoo had a chairlift you could take up the mountain for a great view:

On the way back to our hotel, we found this house for sale. And promptly bought it. Oh I kid. But seriously, GORGEOUS houses around there.

Day 3 we went to the Royal Gorge about an hour away. SO WORTH the drive. This is the view from the middle of the suspension bridge (that's a river waaaayyy down there):

On the bridge. Quite the experience. The thing MOVES, people. And moves even more when cars drive by on it. Yes, they allow cars on it. Amazing.

That little dark spot over yonder is a tram-thingy that runs across the gorge on a cable. We went on that too.

Another shot from the bridge:

Looking the other direction:

I could have stood there forever taking in the scenery. It was spectacular.

Jack (our fisherman) got a bang out of this sign.

The boys on the aforementioned tram car:

That's a view of the bridge from the tram car . . .

Then to top off the experience, we took this funky traincar thing DOWN into the gorge to the river . . .
At the bottom.

Looking at the bridge from the bottom.

The railway going up/down the gorge wall . . .

The rest of the week was spent in a state of complete relaxation at the Broadmoor. More on that next post . . . .

Back Again . . . (after a relapse)

2011-09-17T19:41:00.007-06:00

Good grief! Every time I think I'm going to get BACK ON TRACK with this blog, something happens to derail my efforts. This time was 1) a relapse with my "condition," 2) our absolutely crazy, certifiably insane fall schedule happened. More on that later. But since we finally have a quiet Saturday night at home, I thought I'd keep going on the summer review . . .

Picking up where I left off, after the boys' birthday, we checked in to our summer escape, Hart Ranch. This is part of why the boys LOVE it there:
Lots of time with lots of their buddies. Just boys being boys. The freedom of riding bikes, scooters, playing on the playground, playing mini golf, tennis, swimming, catching frogs, running around with flashlights at night . . . this is their little city. And us moms don't worry about them - it's a great, safe little environment. Even Murphy enjoys it:
Mid-June, we headed to Sioux Falls for another soccer tournament. This one was really special, though, because Grandpa and Grandma Roisum from MN joined us, and so did Great-Grandpa Bill from Worthington (and he's 87!!!).

So here's a bunch of action shots . . .

They did awesome!

I'm back!

2011-08-11T14:52:00.011-06:00

Sooo . . . hi!

Yep, it's been a while.

And now you are in for like, the longest post EVER.

It's been a wild summer y'all. So many things to update on! My goal is to get all caught up here in the next week or two.

The biggest "adventure" started last spring when I started having trouble with my ears. Yes, my ears. No, I'm not 80 even though I sound like it. My inner ears malfunctioned. At first it was a minor annoyance, but it became a serious issue when the dizziness kicked in mid-May. And didn't go away. And it's finally just in the past couple of weeks I've started to feel better. So, this summer will go down as the one in which I struggled to balance my condition with the needs of my VERY ACTIVE family. It was rough, but I learned a lot.

I learned that each day of "normalcy" - no matter how boring it may seem - is truly a gift from God.

I learned in a first-hand way that we are sooo not in control. And have no say in whether or not we will have another year, another month, another day, or another 5 minutes of good health.

I learned to pray even more than I did. And more. And some more again. And to keep at it and not give up.

I learned to fully rely on God - on a daily and sometimes hourly basis - for strength, for peace of mind, and for the ability to keep moving. It is only by His hand that I was able to keep up with my kids this summer.

I learned to find the good amidst the bad. To focus on what I could do instead of what I couldn't.

I learned I'm stronger than I thought I was.

I learned to have a greater amount of patience and empathy towards those who are struggling with health issues.

I learned how incredibly patient my precious husband is, and what wonderful friends I have.

Even though this wasn't a life-threatening thing, I have learned that life should be LIVED. Right now.

I've learned to have patience with timelines that are not my own. I would have liked to have been done with this in, say, 2 days. But, like I said, it's not up to me.

I'm still not 100%, but at least I'm moving in the right direction, and I'll take that. I've been told that inner-ear issues can take months to resolve. I'm just grateful that I've seen an improvement!

So, enough on me. Let's get to my favorite blog topic - Jack and Noah. We're going to head WAAYYY back to May when we were finishing out the school year. The kids' favorite year-end event is the track meet. I wasn't so great about pictures this year, but these first two are Noah:

And Jack . . .

This year they tried the running long jump:

Then we had volcano-eruption day - the kids built homemade volcanoes (even made the molding dough from scratch) and then put some combination of liquids in them to make them erupt. (Noah is in the red shirt)

(Jack is in the white striped shirt)

And this spring we started traveling for soccer. Our first trip was to a huge tournament in Denver over Memorial Day weekend. The boys' team made it into the championship game - and lost 2-1 - but we were all so excited that they took 2nd place! It was a HUGE accomplishment with all the teams that were there. (Jack and Noah are in the black)

That brought us right up to birthday weekend. Because they were turning 10, we tried to make it a little more special. We started out Friday night with turning the office into a huge fort. Which they thought they were going to sleep in. But that only lasted until about 11 p.m. :)

Saturday morning we took them to the air show at the Air Force base with one of their best buddies, Christi (her husband is the B1 pilot who was deployed at the time).

Saturday evening we had a big party for them at a bowling alley - we invited families who have played a big part in their first 10 years - it was a wonderful time and really reaffirmed for us how blessed our kids are to have such fantastic people in their lives!

One of the things I've been praying for is that Jack and Noah would have really good buddies in their lives, and so far, they do. They have friends who are really good kids, and I'm so thankful for that.

Sunday was their actual birthday, and we let them dictate the day. We started out with church, then went to Taco John's for lunch (Noah's pick), then headed to Flags and Wheels - an indoor go-kart place.

I stood on the side with my camera - didn't want to drive with my dizziness - and came to some conclusions about my kids driving. Noah is very calm and focused and careful:

Jack, on the other hand is a maniac. I wish you could see his face better in these pics. Oh my word.He won't be getting his driver's license while he lives in our house. Meanwhile, Mark was a good sport in his pink car.

Next up: Pirates Cove mini-golf.

Then we had Armadillo's (ice cream place) for supper (Jack's pick). And headed home to open some presents.

I won't bore you with a bunch of gift pictures, but this one was a special one - "real" basketballs (aka expensive) from Dad.

Okay, so I'll be back! Very soon! Lots of summer still to cover . . . yikes . . . .

Today I Will Make a Difference . . .

2011-06-22T13:12:00.002-06:00

This is by Max Lucado - arrived in my inbox at a much-needed moment last week - and had to share it:

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimisim will be my companion and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the 24 hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While itis here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble . . . . I will get up. It's OK to fail . . . I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children and friends.

Today I will make a difference.

AMEN.

And then they turned 10 . . .

2011-06-13T12:47:00.001-06:00

A little behind here at Four Happy Campers due to a health issue that will hopefully be resolved soon . . . but in the meantime, I've fallen waayyy behind. My sweet boys hit double-digits a week ago and this mama is struggling! Even with tears a few times. I was commenting to an older, wiser friend that it's interesting how this growing-up stuff is so hard on me, but doesn't seem to be as difficult for other mothers, and she pointed out it's probably a little more difficult on me because Jack and Noah are it. I don't have other little ones to follow. So each time we reach a milestone, it's the only time I'll celebrate those milestones. And maybe on the flipside, it also makes me a little more thankful for my babies . . . .
So, as is tradition on this blog, here we go:
To Noah, my big strong guy -
You are getting more "guy-ish" every day - there is not much about you that is "little kid" anymore. You are even developing that "pre-teen" attitude, which is normal, but hard on your mom! That look on your face in the photo? I get that alot! You may be an even better "arguer" than me, which spells trouble for the years ahead, I think. :) The good side of that is you come up with many thoughts and theories that often take your parents by surprise. God has blessed you with an incredible - and very quick - mind. You have many, many opinions about everything and you are the ultimate planner. You want to know what, where, when, and how at least 15 times a day. Meanwhile, I'm trying to be more spontaneous, so that doesn't mix so well with your constant planning, but we're working on it. :)

You had a big growth spurt this year - 108 pounds now, and feet almost as big as mine! Eating has become your favorite pasttime - you are always wondering what our next meal will be and WHEN. You are obsessed with NACHOS - I have no idea where this came from, but you are always scoping out concession stands and requesting Mexican restaurants. Other favorites are cheeseburgers, pizza, the DQ, and Life Savers Winto-Greens.

You are still taking piano, and you play it so beautifully. You dislike lessons, but don't seem to mind the practice, and often just sit down to play for fun. I love, love, love listening to you and hope you stick with it. You played flag football this year - most often playing receiver for Jack, along with basketball and soccer. Your biggest news this year was your school-switch in the middle of the year. After witnessing Jack's experience at Calvary, you decided you wanted to be there too, and it's been a good change for you. You pulled straight A's the entire year!

Here are my favorites about you - your HUGS - they just melt my heart, and make my worries fade away. And your beautiful face when you smile - those freckles and huge brown eyes with the loonnngg eyelashes - oh my. I also love your pursuit of Jesus and God's Word - you love reading the book of Revelation, your bible study, and you excelled in Awana this year, taking home the Honor Award, an award in which the leaders vote for the child they feel went above and beyond. We are so proud of you and love you more than words can express.

To Jack, my silly peanut -
You've had a year of all sorts of changes, and you have weathered them all beautifully. You started out with getting braces just before school started - on top of the two hyrexes you already had in there - I've never seen so much metal in one mouth. But you adapted and didn't complain. Then you started a brand-new school - making new friends and getting the new routine down within 2 weeks. You never showed any sign of nerves or stress - we were just totally inspired by you and how brave you were. Then, further into the year, you got glasses. This change was met with a little more resistance, but once you realized how much better you could SEE, you were fine. And you are so stinking cute with them!

You are quite the jokester, even though in your picture up there you look all serious. You really aren't . . . unless you are playing a sport. Then we could cut your intensity with a knife. But you are always wanting to play a trick on us or are giggling about something. And then on the other hand, you took part in three very serious dramatic presentations at school with your class, which were just AMAZING. You are definitely a man of many hats.

This year, you grew straight up. You are the consumate bean pole, and all legs. You enjoy your food too, just not with the same gusto as Noah. Actually, your favorite thing to munch on is crushed ice. You are ALWAYS walking around with a glass of crushed ice. Maybe if we all followed your snacking example, we'd be bean poles too! Your other favorites are pizza, crab legs, pizza rolls, macaroni and Armadillos ice cream.

My favorites about you are your determination - NOTHING gets in your way when you want something - nothing. Your smile, which lights up my world. The way you still call me "mommy" (even in front of your friends) and don't have a clue you probably should have graduated to "mom" by now. They way you still love to cuddle - snuggling up next to me while we watch The Brady Bunch and how you want me to lie with you and scratch your back while you fall asleep. I hang onto these moments for dear life because I know they'll be gone very soon. We are so proud of YOU too, of who you are becoming, and we love love love you.

A LONG overdue post!

2011-05-22T19:28:00.010-06:00

Wow, so I guess my summer resolution has to be to KEEP UP with this blog! My goodness, I can't believe it's been a month since I was on here. I'm determined to get back on track with this, though, because the boys LOVE going back and reading over the past few years. It's good motivation to press on.

We've just been busy with normal, daily life around here, thankfully. We had a nice Easter, a peaceful Mother's Day weekend at home, closed out the Awana year, I finished BSF and a major project at church, soccer season is in FULL swing, and we're wrapping up the school year with all the craziness that May brings.

A few weeks ago, the kids had a major project at school - biographies of a historical figure (chosen from a list of teacher-selected options). They had to write a report, find pictures/artifacts relating to their person, and then dress up like them for their "Living Museum" presentation. Each of the kids had their own "booth" and the rest of the school, families, and friends could come through and tour the museum.

Jack was Harry Houdini. He spent the afternoon doing magic tricks for the visitors. His booth was a huge hit.
Noah was Daniel Boone. Grandpa Horak and Uncle Josh outfitted his booth with animals skins, a trap and antlers - and a wild fur hat that only lasted 2 minutes for pictures. :)

One of their buddies as Charles Lindbergh:

Thomas Edison:Neil Armstrong:

Jackie Robinson:

The whole class:
They were all so cute and worked so hard, it was really fun to see.

Jack doing magic tricks:

Noah discussing Daniel Boone:

Next up was an all-day field trip to Wind Cave National Park. It was quite the day . . .

The first 2 1/2 hours of the trip were spent hiking around the prairie. In 40 mph winds. And about 48 degrees. Wind Cave Nat'l Park earned it's name that day.

Then after lunch we got to the fun part. If you aren't claustrophobic. 21 stories underground.

We went down, and down . . . .

and down some more . . .

It was an amazing cave - 160+ miles underground, if you can get your head around that. We only saw a small portion, obviously, and now the kids want to go back this summer.

Tomorrow is the last day of anything resembling school work - they are dissecting owl pellets and erupting their homemade volcanoes. Tuesday morning is consumed with the school talent show (both Jack and Noah will be playing piano) and Tuesday afternoon we all go ice skating. Wednesday morning they have chapel and awards and then are all done!!!

Another little thing to note - neat story about Jack - this morning in church I had to do a little "appreciation" announcement and gift presentation for our Awana commander - - and that kind of thing absolutely ties me up in knots. The mere thought of getting up in front of 500 people and talking about does me in. Well, Jack decided he wanted to be a part of it. Meaning come up front with me and do part of the talk . . . can you imagine?? So, I wrote him into it, and he did the "opening" and the "closing" of the presentation - - like a professional. Oh my word, I cannot describe how proud I was of him. It was amazing. It's times like that I sit and watch God in action and ache with curiosity about what He's got planned for my kids . . . .

Things that make me happy . . .

2011-04-20T19:09:00.008-06:00

As I was working around the house the other day, I realized I have something in nearly every room of this house that just makes me happy looking at it. Which is important to us stay-at-home moms who can get weary of the day-to-day picking up, laundry, cleaning, etc. And don't get me wrong, I totally do not place a big importance on "things" - we would obviously be very happy without any of these, but these just happen to be my current pick-me-ups:

These little cuties - they have springs in them so they bounce around. They make me laugh.
More Easter decor . . . .
This pile of animals on Jack's bed. He sleeps with them. ALL of them.
This mix of things on Noah's nightstand. It changes weekly. This boy is a COLLECTOR and likes to have his stuff OUT - everywhere - where he can see it. I used to grumble about dusting his room, but now I've learned to appreciate that's just who he is. And it makes me smile.
This random binder full of paper. Which actually isn't a random binder full of paper. Those are my COMPLETED lessons from the book of Isaiah. Which are covered with blood, sweat and tears. (Not literally, thankfully). An enormous amount of work is represented there. And it encourages me to look back and see how far I've come. And it's my reminder to pray that those words would be engraved in my mind and heart so that I won't forget what I've learned.And these shoes that were a treat to ME and are just all kinds of cuteness. There probably isn't another soul who would think so, but I do. They're totally me.

These frames I found online. That I ADORE. And I adore the people in them even more. :)

My boy playing piano. Oh, I wish you could hear him. He's so good. Mark and I totally believe he has a gift. The hard part is getting him to believe it - he's contemplating quitting. Which I think is just summer knocking at the door and he's ready for a break, because he just sits down and starts playing - without being told. Stuff that isn't even in his lessons. So I have to believe there's a part of him that enjoys it.

These little bad boys. Oh my. All sorts of yumminess. And a reminder we have great neighbors (who brought these over). She's started trying new recipes and uses us as test subjects. Awesome.

Murphy. This dog is all sorts of SILLINESS. So cute, so well behaved, so well trained, such a cuddler, so funny - and yet pretty sick, we think. He's on a life-long medication for tummy issues, so we don't know how many years he has, but we're sure enjoying him while we have him.And this reminder of such dear friends that we were let in on a surprise like THIS. Wow. No, these weren't for me. But we got a part in this story, which I hope to tell sometime once I get permission. :) In the meantime, it makes me so thankful for the people God places in your path.

i got me some smart babies

2011-03-29T21:34:00.005-06:00

Yep, I'm going to brag a little about my kids because it's my blog and I can do that here. I don't do it anywhere else, except to Grandmas and Grandpas, of course. :) Plus, they have worked so hard, they deserve some accolades. They both managed to pull straight A's this quarter, which is NO. SMALL. THING. at their school. It's tough. But they take it seriously and work hard. So straight A's means an "Eagle Award," which they are both shown with below. (I posted a couple extra of Jack because he was clearly enjoying the accomplishment and praise). Noah was also the recipient of a really special award - the Christian Character Award for the 3rd grade, for the entire quarter. As the name implies, it goes to the student who most exemplifies the character of a Christian. They award one student per class per week, and then one student per class for the entire quarter. Noah received the award for both the week AND the quarter. Jack recieved the weekly one a few weeks back. By the grace of God, I have got great kids - all thanks and praise to HIM! And basketball has now ended - the 8 week season just flew by and unfortunately I didn't get very many good pictures. Here's my precious friend Christi - who earned the honor of their biggest fan (besides mom and dad, of course). She faithfully attended almost every game. They are, in turn, HER biggest fans. :)

Now we're starting soccer season. This spring they are on a more advanced team, so the dynamics have changed quite a bit. They only have 4 games in April and 4 in May - partly due to several out-of-town tournaments the team goes to. However, they have to earn their spot on the tournament roster - not everyone gets to go. So it will be interesting to see how THAT all pans out . . . .

First, however, it needs to STOP SNOWING HERE. Which has not happened yet. I'm so done with winter but it refuses to be done with us. Uggh. Visions of camping are dancing in my head . . .

Randomness . . .

2011-03-15T16:18:00.005-06:00

So we've had a little bit of snow in the past month. Winter doesn't really show up in SD until Feb/Mar/April. And it showed up big this year. There were parts of our backyard that had 3 feet of snow for a while. The front yard maintained 6-10 inches for a couple weeks . . . and let me tell you how well that sits with Murphy. He hates the snow. He hates having to potty in the snow. He looks at us like "seriously." So Mark actually shoveled a part of our front yard so Mr. Fussypants would go potty outside. Oh the lengths we go to for our pets . . .

I'm happy to report, however, that it's all gone now (except a little in the shade out back) and we are enjoying 60 degree temps this week. Could it really be spring?? I don't want to allow myself to hope, lest we get one of our famous monster spring blizzards. The kids, of course, did not share in Murphy's sentiments about the snow.

In other more exciting news, Jack got glasses!
Is he stinkin cute or what? He'd been having issues with headaches and then gave us all (teacher included) the big hint by squinting when reading things from a distance. I dragged him into the eye dr. and he failed the screening. Big time. Like to the point where Noah was sitting off to the side chuckling and snorting. Poor Jack was highly dismayed - aside from his althletic ability, he's not very confident - so this was a hard adjustment for him. Thankfully, lots of kids in his class have them . . . and we all love how he looks - except he looks too OLD now - not so much like my little boy anymore!!

And we have a new addiction in our house:

Don't laugh. :) We found season 1 and 2 on sale at Target, and thought the kids might enjoy it. Wrong. They LOVE LOVE LOVE it. They are obsessed. It's hilarious. We all cherish an evening at home where we all race around to get our stuff done and then hit the couch for a couple episodes. The funniest thing to Mark and I is that the first season was done before EITHER one of us were born!! Jack and Noah can't quite comprehend that . . .

Florida. Finally.

2011-03-02T22:04:00.017-07:00

So I've heard from some of you that I'm a little behind things and "are you still blogging?" So I'll start out with my apologies that it's taken me FOR-EVER to get back on here. Life is a little crazy these days . . . but then, when isn't it?

Anyhoo, grab a cup of coffee because you'll be here reviewing the family vacation photos for quite a while. Sorry. And believe me, I cut out a LOT.

We'll start out with our "pet" for the week - this white bird we named "Shrimp." He sat with us on the beach, every day, all week. We'd set up our chairs and he'd show up within minutes. He must have known we were fun to hang out with. And he may or may not have known we had fishing bait in the vicinity. :)
Then we'll move on to my CUTE nephew Aaron. He's SUCH a doll. And he loves to pose.

It killed me comparing him to Noah and Jack. He's 3. I remember when my babies were 3. And the difference between 3 and 9 makes my heart ache!

One of the big attractions to Sanibel is the shelling. 3rd best shelling place in the world. My dad has done it for 20 years, and has Noah totally hooked. So they'd occasionally get up VERY early, at low tide, to go hunt for shells. I managed to make it out twice.

Here's what you see if you are lucky: (many times they are further out in the water, or you can only see a portion of a shell and you have to dig it out.)

Grandpa and Noah, two peas in a pod.

The perk of these early mornings is getting to see the sunrise. Spectacular.

In order: Marcy, Noah, Betsy and my Dad.

This the boardwalk heading out to the beach from our condos.

Here's camp Horak. This was our spot on the beach - all week.

This is heading back to our condos.

The 5 Horak-side cousins.

Needless to say, my dad was on CLOUD NINE.

We spent a lot of time at the beach. Other than that, we swam in the pool and rode bikes (there are bike trails all over the island). VERY mellow, and just perfect. Oh, and we ate. ALOT.

This is one of our favorites - The Bubble Room. It's very quirky and full of character. We go here mainly for the desert - cake. You get like 1/4 of a cake when you order a piece. Yummy.

Yes, he at the whole thing. (In two sittings, thankfully)

Here's Mark and the boys at 'o-dark thirty, heading out shelling.

Here's Noah's take for the day. Not bad!

Okay, another favorite restaurant is Cheeburger Cheeburger. On this trip, Mark decided to eat "The Pounder" so he could get his picture on the wall of fame. To be clear, "the Pounder" is a FULL 16 oz. of cooked beef.

Yuck.

Like father, like sons. The boys decided THEY were going to be put on the kids wall of fame and eat the 1/2 pounder. Mama overruled the pounder for them, much to their dismay.

As part of this great honor, you get to have your picture taken with the giant stuffed burger.

I've since called a cardiologist and opened an account to start making payments. Thought I'd get a head start.

Back to the beach -

Uncle Josh was Jack's fishing guide for the week. Didn't have much luck, but he LOVES hanging out with Josh, so I don't think he cared much.

Josh, however, managed to catch a hammerhead shark. LITTLE one, thank heavens!

Here's Josh's son, Cayel. As you can see, he takes after his dad.

The boys played lots of paddleball - although you can't really tell in the photo.

In the pool!!

This was my view for much of the week. Which is really bothersome now with all this WINTER we've had since returning. Dislike.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of this little dude.

This was the last day there, and poor Jack had developed a nasty rash all over his neck. (Thus my Dad's fishing hat that covers the neck). We ended up at a doctor that afternoon and found he'd gotten into some type of pepper plant, which is the tropical equivalent of poison ivy. He got 2 prescriptions and was better a couple days later.

Photo session!

One last trip to our favorite ice cream joint . . .

It was a fabulous trip. The only downside to our trips to Sanibel is that we all suffer from PVB when we get back. (Post Vacation Blues). And let me tell you, it was like pouring salt in the wound when the PACKERS won the Superbowl the day after we returned.

Anyway, we've all since recovered and returned to our normal routine - and are so thankful for this week that we had together!

Yesterday . . .

2011-02-06T22:35:00.002-07:00

Left the beach only to arrive home to snow falling. Not a fun transition. Wouldn't recommend it.

We set foot in 5 different states.

Visited 4 airports.

Flew for 4 1/2 hours.

Waited for baggage for an hour.

Drove 7 hours.

I was awake for 20 hours.

(which is the closest I've come to experiencing torture).

Poor Jack choked back tears for most of the day.

Now desperately trying to recover before hitting the ground running tomorrow.

More on our vacation . . . and 200 pictures . . . as soon as I get my wits about me!

(hint: it was great!)

A Heavy Heart

2011-01-20T20:50:00.002-07:00

A little over a week ago, I came upon another blog that has rocked my world. I was reading Beth Moore's blog, and one of her daughters put an urgent prayer request up for Joanne Heim, the author of a blog entitled "The Simple Wife." She woke up last Tuesday morning like most of us did, healthy and probably expecting a fairly normal day - hit the treadmill for a run, and her life was then changed forever - mere minutes thereafter, she was fighting for her life. She had a stroke while on the treadmill, was found by her daughter, and thankfully got to the hospital within 15 minutes - which evidently makes a difference in survival chances.

I have anxiously read every blog and twitter update her husband has posted, and this family is never far from my mind. Never in my life have I ever prayed so fervently and persistently for people I do not even know. Never has my heart broken like this for complete strangers. I don't know why some stories affect some people and others do not, but this one just tears me up. She's a mom. She has two young daughters. Ages 12 and 9. Can you imagine??

I posted a button over on the right that will take you to their blog where you can read their story and get their prayer requests. This story has affected so many - her husband mentioned yesterday he's received messages from everyone from Beth Moore to Joni Eareckson Tada to Tiger Woods (of all people!). It's amazing to me how God uses technology to bring thousands together in prayer. Awesome.

Please Pray . . .

2011-01-14T12:49:00.005-07:00

Tomorrow our dear friend Tim (the B1 pilot) deploys to the Middle East for six months. Please join us in praying:

For his safety and a quick adjustment to his schedule;
For Christi's peace of mind;
That they both would feel God's arms in a tangible way over the next 6 months;
That the time would go quickly for both of them.

We all often pray for our armed forces in a general way, but I thought this was a great opportunity to attach real faces and names to those prayers. It can be too easy to forget there are real lives and real families invovled in the protection of this country. The sacrifice is huge.

Take care, Tim! We will miss you and we will pray for you every day, and know that we will be here for whatever Christi needs. Godspeed.

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare,
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling -
even the Lord, who is my refuge -
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lian and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
"Because he loves me," says the Lord,
"I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

Amen.

Christmas . .

2011-01-05T11:25:00.012-07:00

Whoa, it's been a LONG time since I updated this. And I have no idea how that much time went by so quickly. During the last half of December, we were consumed with Christmas programs, parties and preparations, and then after Christmas, the massive clean-up and recovery. :) It really struck us this year the amount of time (WEEKS) and effort goes into the celebration of one singular day. By December 27th, we found ourselves completely bone-weary exhausted and resolved to do a major overhaul of Christmas in 2011. It will be interesting to see what we come up with . . .

In the meantime, here are some of our memories from Christmas 2010:

(I love this pic of my dad. Shortly before Christmas, we were at my brother's and he fixed my very masculine, hunting/fishing/outdoors loving dad a PINK cosmo. And he drank it. :) )

Noah's piano recital. He's come so far this year. One day I heard him playing Christmas songs, went and asked him where he found Christmas music, and found he didn't have any - he was able to re-create them from his head.

This is his amazing instructor.

Our tree. We all LOVED it. It's real, and it's "flocked" - meaning sprayed with a white foam material to look like snow. It was a trick to decorate, however.

My new favorite ornament. Found it this year - was over the moon.

Noah's school program - he's in the top row, in the red.

Jack's school program - he's basically in the center of the picture, in red.

A fun night we had with our friends at Storybook Island - they decorate the whole park with millions of lights - it's just beautiful.

(That's a plaster Santa - not the real deal).

Christmas Eve was a great day for us. The four of us went to our favorite place for lunch (Qdoba), spent an hour at Border's spending gift certificates, had coffee at Starbucks and then headed home for a game of Battleship before church.

The boys vs. mom and dad. They won.

All ready for church -

Had a few moments of goofiness . . . .

I love this picture.

Christmas morning, the boys found enormous stockings left by Santa. (which they don't buy into anymore).

Opening gifts . . . .

Is that a look of happiness, or what?

I created "scrapbooks" for each of the kids on Snapfish - each book contained approx. 300 photos from 2010, and they LOVED them. Jack said it was his favorite gift. It was #2 on Noah's list. So many of these pictures they never see, because they don't sit down at the computer and look at them. So it was fun to re-live the year with them.

Later on, we headed up to my mom and dad's in Spearfish. Jack and Noah read the Christmas story from my dad's giant antique bible.

The 26th, the whole family went bowling. I didn't even bowl because I wanted to capture all the fun (and I had a neck injury). It was the first time all the Horak cousins had bowled together. And it was my nephew Aaron's first time EVER, and oh the cuteness!!!

Does he look PROUD or what?

And his older brother Colby nailed it!

Sometimes it was a group effort . . . . (Cayel, Colby, Aaron).

Noah, who looked so huge compared to these little guys -

See what I mean? The biggest cousin and the littlest cousin. Makes my heart hurt to think Noah was once that little . . . .

Again. The cuteness. Can you stand it?

Jack's form. He wanted to bowl on the big guys lane (Dad, Grandpa and his two uncles)

The happy bowlers.

Happy New Year!

The closest I'll get to baking this year . . .

2010-12-15T21:42:00.002-07:00

So two weeks have gone by (how the HECK did that happen??) . . . and all I can really tell you is that it's been total insanity. I'll update more later, but in the meantime I wanted to share my very favorite Christmas recipe with you . . . might want to READ it before you attempt to make it. Perfect for when your Christmas season is a little crazy and you need a good laugh. :O) Enjoy.

Christmas Tequila Cookies

1 cup of dark brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup of granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups of dried fruit, such as dried cranberries or raisins
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila (silver or gold, as desired)

Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup, and drink. Turn on the electric mixer...Beat one cup of butter in a large, fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK, so try another shot . . . just in case. Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit, pick the frigging fruit off floor . . . . Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Check the Cose Juervo. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.
CHERRY MISTMAS :)

It's no wonder mornings are stressful around here

2010-11-29T19:46:00.003-07:00

This morning I took an inventory of everything the boys needed to take to school with them:

homework folders with all necessary worksheets and forms
homework planners
textbooks
reading (chapter) books
library books
Math game binder (Noah)
Christmas book for Jack to read to the kindergarten class
midmorning snacks for both
lunches for both
lunch money (Jack)
art project money (Jack)
water bottles for both
gloves
hats
snow boots
snow pants (yes, they even need those)
coats
shoes
2 cups of cornmeal (Jack - class making a recipe)
props for Christmas program (Jack)
gym shorts and shirt (Jack - has uniform for gym)

Seriously.

This is for a 7-hour day.

It's a wonder we ever make it out the door by 7:55 am, and that the kids don't need a Uhaul to go to school.

When did school get so complicated?!?

And then to get myself ready AND take care of Murphy . . .

Oh yeah, and the kids need breakfast. Imagine that. So demanding.

Anyway, there's no point to this post. (Other than to garner some sympathy for my insane mornings.)

I know I'm no different than anyone else who has kids in school, but when I realized EVERYTHING that needed to be inventoried every morning before we walk out the door, I was amazed. And thought I'd share. Happy Tuesday.

Mario and Luigi

2010-11-25T19:49:00.008-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

And since it's Thanksgiving it seems totally logical to discuss Halloween. Makes perfect sense, does it not? ??

Unfortunately it makes sense in my crazy world where I can't keep up. Today, Thanksgiving, is the first day in a long time where I've had time to just sit, lounge, think, and get a few things read and updated. Thus, we'll go over Halloween since that's where I last left off . . .

This year the kids COULD. NOT. DECIDE. what they wanted to be. Oh my word the drama and indecision that ensued in our household for the 2 months leading up to it. You would have thought we had 2 teenage girls trying to decide what to wear to the prom. Which sort of tells me they are outgrowing Halloween. :( Which sort of makes me sad.

We finally settled on Mario and Luigi - their two favorite video game characters (basically no video game is worth having unless Mario and Luigi are in it). We "settled" on them because I bought them as a back-up plan - knowing full well the kids would not have chosen a costume by 4:00 p.m. on Oct. 31st. But, they ended up liking the back-up plan. Mom always knows best.

And I guess I can now understand why dentists hate Halloween. All the candy really does make your teeth fall out.

Upon arriving home from treat and treating, Noah took a shower and then dove into his bag of goodies. While chewing on a tootsie roll, his tooth fell out. See it in there? :)

Maybe it's not an entirely bad thing if they decide they are done with Halloween . . . .

Someone in this house turned 40

2010-11-17T19:08:00.007-07:00

and to give you a hint, it wasn't me. :) FINALLY getting around to "the birthday post." Mark's big official celebration was our trip to Hawaii this summer . . . but that was a few months ago and I couldn't let an occasion like this go by without doing SOMETHING. I mean the dude is getting OLD. :)

So, I surprised him by bringing his mom and dad out from MN and flew his brother in from Minneapolis. He came home from work on a Friday and found his mom and dad hiding in our office, and his brother hiding in our closet. :) It was awesome.

The next day, my family came over as well, and we had a big birthday dinner and played games. SUCH a fun night - great food, great conversation and we nearly laughed our heads right off.

Mark's unofficial "gift" from the bank was a new office! (Not really a gift, just a coincidence). He's OVER THE MOON - has spent the last 7 years in a cubicle with zero privacy, so this was a huge change. While his family was here, we went to hang some pictures, and found someone else noticed he was turning 40. :)

Here's a glimpse of his office . . .
Everyone played a little football in the yard on Saturday . . .

Noah's quite the kicker . . .

The Roisum clan . . . .

The boys gave Mark some new sweatshirts - and then had to try them on . . .

And this was the coolest gift - my brother and his wife had this made for him . . . !!

Is that the perfect gift for him or what? Now if the dumb team could just win . . .

Friends in High Places

2010-11-07T13:39:00.007-07:00

Before I post about Mark's 40th and Halloween, I HAVE to share an amazing experience we had last week. In the past year, God has blessed us with a growing friendship with an Air Force couple. Christi was in my BSF group last year, and I began praying for her husband Tim before I'd even met him, as he was over in Afghanistan at the time. He pilots the B1 bombers stationed at the base here. When he safely returned, we all got together a few times, and, as they say, the rest is history.

So last week, he gave us a personal tour of the base - and better yet, the $300,000,000 machines he flies. We finished off the evening standing ON THE RUNWAY, watching 3 of them take off.

Oh my word.

There really aren't words to explain the experience. The ground shakes, your whole body - even your insides - shake. It's just breathtaking.

And it needs to go on your bucket list.

I'll remember it forever.

Here we are in the "van" that we took out to the flight line.
Living out here in the Black Hills, we've often watched in awe at flyovers at the fair, the rodeo, etc. So getting this close to one of these was amazing.

Here we are underneath - they only allow certain pictures in this vicinity. What you are able to see here is one of the bays that hold the bombs - where those flaps are open. We also got to see bombs (in 2 sizes!), but I didn't get pictures of them.

Ladder going up into the cockpit.

And the boys didn't need to be asked twice to head on up -

See Jack peeking out? Tim was so unbelievably patient with them - he allowed them to sit in the pilots' seats, explained the controls and answered all of their questions. They were up there for a LONG time. :)

Meanwhile, I took pictures.

The sun was setting, which made the view spectacular.

We got our cockpit tour then, too. And let me tell you, those guys aren't sitting in the lap of luxury up there. Holy cow, it's CRAMPED. Tiny little space. Tim said his longest flight to date is 16 hours. I would have succumbed to claustrophobia at hour 2. Noah was a tad bit mortified that there was a toilet up against the back of a pilot seat. With no curtains or walls. :)

Stinkin' PROUD to be Americans . . . .

The next day, Jack and Noah made thank you cards for Tim. Here's a quote from Noah's: "It was the best time of my life. Seriously." How cute is that??

It was just incredible - it left me in awe of our armed forces - these guys (and women) who give so much to protect our freedom. To see firsthand a small portion of what they are responsible for was inspiring. Can you imagine being responsible for a $300,000,000 aircraft?!

Tim deploys again in January. I'll be posting about it then, asking you to help us cover him and Christi in prayer while he is gone, and in harm's way. The thought makes me shudder.

To Tim - thank you again, so much, for a spectacular evening. And for what you do. We are truly blessed and honored to call you and Christi friends.

Some Great Pictures

2010-11-01T21:50:00.006-06:00

Just thought I'd post some GREAT pictures my dad got of the boys playing football. I love it when he shows up at their sporting events with his fancy camera and big lens. :) Thanks, Dad!

And once I come up for air this week, I'll post Halloween and 40TH BIRTHDAY pics!! :)

Jack wound up playing quarterback A LOT -

And Noah was his best reciever -

I love this sequence of Jack (next 3 pics) showing him scoring a touchdown -

Soccer, Minnesota and HOMEWORK

2010-10-17T21:22:00.008-06:00

The boys ended their soccer season a week and a half ago, and it was a great season - only 2 losses. They had fantastic coaches - really professional, invested guys - who we've had for 4 seasons and we are really going to miss. In the spring the boys need to either "move up" in soccer or drop that sport. Time will tell . . .

They had an end-of-the-season pizza party in which the coaches awarded trophies and gave a nice little talk about each of the boys. It was a proud moment for Mark and I. The head coach couldn't say enough about Noah and Jack - I wish we would have taped it. He said Noah was the best listener, most obedient, soft-hearted guy on the team and that every other kid could take a lesson from his behavior. :) And he said Jack was by far the most determined. Big shocker. He said Jack was "never say die," never, ever gave up and didn't EVER want to quit playing. Yep, that's my babies!
This is Jack, winding up to kick the ball (or do you only wind up to throw?? whatever.)

And Noah

A week ago, we headed to Minnesota to spend some time with Mark's family, since the kids had a long holiday weekend. It was good to get AWAY from our crazy routine. We mainly relaxed, the kids jumped on the trampoline, and of course . . . . some cards were played.

One day we made a quick trip into Minneapolis to Dave and Buster's (think Chuck E. Cheese on steroids with gourmet, grown-up food). Spent 3.5 hours there stuffing our faces and playing all manner of games. Totally fun.

Three generations playing skee-ball. Doesn't get any better than that.

Anyway. Flag football finished today - the boys ended the season with a great win. We are now sport-free. I may or may not be totally over the moon about that. (I'm not mean - it just helps with the schedule).

Somewhat.

What does NOT help our schedule is 3rd grade homework. Oh my word. I distinctly remember a bunch of us girls asking our 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Darnell, if she wouldn't PLEASE give us some homework (we were unenlightened at the time and really thought homework was a sign of being grown-up and cool. Oh the innocence of childhood). Anyway, she assured us we would NOT be recieving any homework until 6th grade.

Well.

Times have changed.

Both the kids came home with HOURS of homework this weekend. Over the WEEKEND. Is nothing sacred anymore?!? It's unreal. I'm just trusting all of this homework at the age of 9 will result in two Rhodes Scholarships.

In other sporting news, it's a rough time to be a Vikings fan. Although today they got a little pick-me-up with a win over the Cowboys.

As for me. . . . . I'm drowning in the book of Isaiah. DROWNING. But there are certainly worse places to be. :)

Fall in Full Swing

2010-10-06T22:02:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I stop and think about how FAR away summer seems now and it makes me sad. It was only a month and a half ago that we were basking in sunny poolside days at Hart Ranch and yet it seems like FOREVER ago. Our crazy routine kicks in and I can hardly remember what it was like to have days filled with nothingness. I subsequently have reached the conclusion I'm probably never going to figure out the elusive concept of BALANCE. :) But yet I'm so thankful I have two crazy kids to chase around and the most amazing husband on earth to support. So, insane schedule or not, I truly have a life filled with blessings from God and wouldn't trade it for anything . . .

Noah started out the school year with a major project on a state of his choice - he picked Alaska. Both mom and dad helped him out and he was pleased with the results (and got an A!!):And his mid-term report showed straight A's. I'm a proud mama.

Jack's doing great in his new school, but he has no time for it. Even while he's there. I had a chat with his teacher this week about how he's always in such a hurry to finish his work, his writing is nearly illegible. He maintains he is NOT going to have homework so he IS going to FINISH his work in school, no matter how it looks when he's done. :) We're now working on this.

After a really bad experience with a trial run at full-contact football, Jack and Noah are back in the NFL Flag Football league run by the local college. Lucky for them, I have a friend who works at the college, and happened to put together the teams, and also happened to know they are huge Viking fans, so she made sure their team was the Vikings. Needless to say, they were HAPPY. Jack has somehow manipulated the coach into letting him play quarterback 90% of the time.

Here's the cute thing. Noah is the one who can catch nearly all his passes. You can tell they practice together. ALOT.

Love love love this picture of Noah (below). That's my baby, scoring a touchdown!!!!

Here's Jack, seconds before scoring. Reminiscent of his track pictures - the feet hardly ever touch the ground.

Running through the parent tunnel at the end of the game - celebrating a hard-fought FIRST victory. :)

And we are really on top of things this year - we already went pumpkin shopping. Sadly we didn't have ANY pumpkins last year because we'd just got Murphy and I was a little preoccupied with all things puppy. So we decided to make up for it this year and get first pick at a cute nursery in Spearfish.

The boys take their pumpkin-picking very seriously.

Thankfully, Grandpa and Grandma were on hand to assist with the evaluations. And had more patience than mom and dad. But that's what grandparents are for, right?

We ended up taking home 8. Who's going to carve all those??

I love fall. :)

The Four BUSY Campers

2010-09-24T21:58:00.002-06:00

Noah - is doing well on his own at the "old" school - doesn't seem the least bit phased that Jack isn't around. He's adjusting to a MUCH heavier workload this year - homework every night and "real" tests. He aced his very first test - Science - and was so proud. Just finished a big project on the state of Alaska. He's back in piano lessons and shows a gift for it - I hope he continues to enjoy it, he's so fun to listen to - and is also taking a drawing class. Playing soccer and flag football, but is having a bout with some form of tendonitis in his feet, so we're having to watch it and take it easy until that heals.

Jack - is doing VERY well at his new school - he truly amazes me. He's so independent!! I'm so impressed with the kids in his class - they are so friendly and nice to him, which is a huge relief to me. He's got a much bigger workload this year too - amazing the difference between 2nd and 3rd grade. He had FOUR tests today - the poor dude was so tired at bedtime tonight he had a good old-fashioned meltdown I'll post about later. :) He got braces a month ago and is so stinking cute, but I totally hate all this orthodontic stuff. It's a pain in the neck. I don't recommend it at this age. He's in soccer and flag football too, but quit piano, which is fine with us since he wasn't enjoying it all that much.

Mark - blew out his knee again a few weeks ago. :( Probably will never run on it again, but is currently in physical therapy to gain enough strength and mobility to stay active. For those of you who know how competitive and athletic he is, you know what a big deal this has been for him - really hard for him to accept! The boy is getting old. :) Work is going well, though, and for that we are so incredibly thankful. Every night the boys pray and thank God for daddy's job. Amen.

Murphy - is now 1 year old and disabled. Found out a month ago he's got two bad knees - they pop out of joint. :( Vet says it's hereditary, and no more fetch, no more running, no more stairs. Very difficult news for our very active family and we're still trying to decide what to do. It's so hard for him to not roughhouse with the boys, so we're debating finding him a quieter home (older couple, no stairs?) but that's easier said than done. Meanwhile, he's getting fat from no excercise. Uggh!

Me - Have become so crazy busy my head spins. It always amuses me that some people think us stay-at-home moms have nothing to do all day. Ha. Monday mornings I'm doing a Beth Moore study at church - Esther - which I love love love but it involves a fair amount of homework. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are filled with BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) where I'm a group leader again - and actually involves another 10+ hours of work each week aside from Tues. and Wed. Then Thurs. and Fri. are my days in which I feebly attempt to do everything else (housework, laundry, bills, grocery shopping, church projects, etc.). After entering our fall schedule kicking and screaming, I've found peace with it and am so grateful to God that I have been blessed with normalcy in my life - raising a family I adore and learning and growing in Jesus. I can't ask for anything more.

Now you're up to speed. Kindof. But that's all I got in me at the moment - my comfy bed is calling . . . .

This is AWESOME. Read it.

2010-09-14T18:41:00.000-06:00

"Live. And Live Well. BREATHE. Breathe in and Breathe deeply. Be PRESENT. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now. On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun. If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool Autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE. Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time. If you bike, pedal HARD… and if you crash then crash well. Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done—a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed. If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year old’s nose, don’t be disgusted if the Kleenex didn’t catch it all… because soon he’ll be wiping his own. If you’ve recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE. And grieve well. At the table with friends and family, LAUGH. If you’re eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke. And if you eat, then SMELL. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And TASTE. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life. Because-it-is-most-definitely-a-Gift.”

Be PRESENT.

Kyle Lake (1972-2005)
University Baptist Church
Waco, TX

Yes we do have another child and yes he DID start school.

2010-09-09T20:01:00.004-06:00

Good grief. I can't believe we are already so busy I haven't even had time to put a post up about JACK'S first day of school. Uggh.

Anyway, he ventured off into a new world a little over a week ago. He's so brave. So determined. And yet so calm.

And his mama is totally inspired by him.

It's like he just KNOWS this new school is where he's supposed to be. I totally believe I am watching the hand of God at work in his life. The whole situation is too far-out to NOT believe that. I mean, really - when you think about it, how many 9 year old kids ASK to go to a new school? It still blows me away.

At bedtime after the first day he expressed some concern that no one would ever get to know him but that was IT in terms of fears or concerns. The next morning when I dropped him off, he ran right out onto the playground into the group of boys in his class. And, thanks be to God, they are accepting him. Now a week into it, he now has some new buddies. :)

I'm 29 years older than him and I wish so much I could be as fearless and independent. What lessons you can learn from your children . . . .

Let's get this over with, shall we?

2010-08-27T07:41:00.000-06:00

Back to our originally scheduled Hawaiian programming.

Keep in mind, I'm doing this for the sake of the family scrapbook, not to bore you even more than you were already before you clicked on this blog. :)

This post should wrap things up and then I can start carrying on about how depressed I am that school is starting and summer is so OVER and my babies are in 3rd grade and where does time go and sunrise, sunset and oh the sadness of it all. (Seriously, have you EVER looked at the lyrics to that song?!? Oh my word.) So enjoy some happy island pictures before things go seriously downhill on the Four Happy Campers.

Here's our beach. The kids LOVED the beach. They've never experienced WARM bright blue/turquoise ocean water and just had a ball soaking it all in.

This was a huge lagoon on the resort property the kids could swim in as well.

Learning how to snorkel in the pool -

We learned pretty quickly you do NOT eat on Hilton property unless you plan on taking out a 2nd mortgage on the house so we had fun trekking to the tourist spots like Senor Frogs and Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.

Before our Luau (and yes, the men really wear the leis and beads to luaus).

Here's that snorkeling place I mentioned before - headed there in the middle of the week. It was AMAZING. 450+ different species of tropical fish and we probably saw 100 of them. The kids did awesome - snorkeled for an hour and a half straight before we made them hit the beach for a break.

Here's a view of our beach from our tower -

And a view of the main pool -

And the beach looking the other direction. You so cannot capture the color of the water in megapixels. Not with my camera, anyway.

Lastly, here are the resort's resident penguins. Right outside the doors of our tower. In Honolulu, Hawaii. Where it's 80-85 all year round. ?? Go figure. They sure were fun to watch, though.

And that wraps up Mark's 40th birthday bash. It was a huge success and something we'll remember forever. Actually I do have about 100 other pictures I could post. But I won't. Unless I'm lacking blog material in the dead of winter.

We interrupt our Hawaiian programming . . .

2010-08-25T22:15:00.003-06:00

. . . . to bring you this special report:

One of my sweet boys started 3rd grade today.

My other sweet boy starts next Tuesday.

Oh my aching heart.

Hawaii . . . Part 2

2010-08-16T21:55:00.007-06:00

So after our Hawaiian lunch, we continued on our tour and unexpectedly stumbled upon the Pirates of the Caribbean movie set.
They weren't filming at the moment, but we saw their trucks, tents, crane and equipment and . . .

Yep - Jack Sparrow's ship, THE Black Pearl. It was awesome.

We then headed up a mountain for some spectacular views . . .

Then down to a couple more beaches . . .

We could tell this area is popular with Hollywood because then we ran into the Hawaii 5-0 set (starting Sept. 20 on CBS) . . . .

If you can see people out on those rocks, that's them filming.

We then saw this AWESOME bay, which as it turns out is the nation's #1 snorkeling beach. We went back later in the week . . .

And then our 10 hour tour came to a close, much to Jack and Noah's relief, and they headed STRAIGHT for the water.

Sheer joy.

Hawaii . . . . Part 1

2010-08-12T20:19:00.008-06:00

So, in celebration of Mark's 40th birthday coming up this fall, we took a vacation to Honolulu, Hawaii. He preferred this instead of a big party, and if you know Mark, you know he doesn't hunt or fish or even golf much (and therefore doesn't sink his finances into those "toys") - his favorite hobby is TRAVELING. So, lucky for us, that's how he chose to commemorate his bday. We couldn't go in the fall due to school and work, and Hawaii's temp is the same all year, so this worked out perfectly.

Disclaimer: Our family uses this blog as a family journal (I have it printed into a book format), so the details that follow about this trip may prove to be boring for y'all. If so, I apologize, but to be honest I'm recording this more for US than YOU. :) Just sayin' . . . .

Day one was happily spent lounging at the pool and beach, trying to adjust to the 4-hour time difference. The kids were up, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 4:30 a.m. (which is 8:30 a.m. at home). :( Each day got a little better, thankfully! We ended the day with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (yummmmm) with our NEIGHBORS of all crazy things. They live across the street from us, and we've chatted on occasion but in 5 years have never done anything socially with them. It took a trip 4000 miles away for that to happen! Isn't life funny that way? It just turned out they were there at the same time (go figure?), so we got together a couple times during the week.

On day two, we took a TEN HOUR tour (the kids had to keep reminding us it was a TEN HOUR TOUR), which included stops at Pearl Harbor, the Dole Plantation, some magnificent beaches, and basically allowed us to see 75% of the coast of Oahu. Really captivating for Mark and I, but for the boys . . . well . . . it was a TEN HOUR TOUR.

We ALL found Pearl Harbor fascinating and wished we would have reserved an entire day for it. I was so thankful the boys were enthralled with it and now Noah has a newfound interest in WWII. Here they are with the anchor of the USS Arizona, which sank the day we were attacked.
We took a ferry out to the USS Arizona Memorial - very sobering experience. I didn't understand this is a mass gravesite - the bodies were left with the ship. It was interesting how quiet, solemn and respectful everyone was upon approaching it and getting off the ferry.

A portion of the ship, sticking out of the water -

This is a picture of oil sitting on the water - the ship is STILL leaking oil - it has ever since it sank. They say it will continue to leak oil for another 20 years or so.

More of the ship from a "viewing hole" in the floor of the memorial -

A list of those who died on the Arizona -

The bright white part of the map is the white memorial we were standing in above the ship - and then a map of the ship sitting underwater.

Afterwards, we headed to the Dole Plantation where they grow pineapples - although not the kind you buy canned at the grocery store. These are distributed fresh, mainly just in Hawaii. And oh. my. word. People. This is my new addiction. This pineapple is UNBELIEVABLE - we were totally hooked. You can actually order it and have it shipped to you, which I am totally doing. We won't get into the cost (Mark reads this blog). But SOOOO worth it.

I had no idea this is how pineapple grows - aren't they cute??

Then we were off to tour beaches. GORGEOUS beaches. If we did this trip again, we would not stay at Waikiki Beach, but would stay somewhere more secluded, rent a car, and hit all of these beaches. Obviously, as is the case with many things, it's hard to capture on camera. The color of the water was just spectacular.

This was about 6 hours in to our TEN HOUR TOUR and they were desperately wanting to JUMP IN.

That mountainous area over yonder is where portions of "LOST" were filmed. How cool is that?? It was BEAUTIFUL, but again, the picture doesn't do it justice.

We ate a traditional Hawaiian lunch at this little place. It was good, but all I cared about was that I got more PINEAPPLE. :)

After lunch, we were all in for a surprise, and Jack and Noah were rewarded for their patience with this TEN HOUR TOUR. More on that in the next post . . .

Where to begin???

2010-08-11T13:56:00.017-06:00

So I'm getting a big fat "F" in blogging this summer, but I've decided not to beat myself up about it because I'm all about NO commitments this summer and I decided to file blogging under that category. Unfortunately several other things have fallen under the "nope, not doing it" category as well, so I'm in for a rocky rehab when our fall routine hits.

Anyway, it's been a MONTH since I updated this, so we'll go waaay back to a couple days after I last posted, when Grandma and Grandpa Roisum came for a visit. They stayed with us at Hart Ranch for a couple of days . . . and then we all headed up to Spearfish for the annual Arts in the Park festival where we shop shop shop and eat eat eat. All the cousins on the Horak side were together, which was one big barrel of laughs (for them, anyway). My mom is a saint for being so patient with 5 boys and 2 dogs tearing around her house for 3 days.

Bye Grandma and Grandpa Roisum!

Two days after they left, the boys and I headed up into the Big Horn Mountains with my mom and dad to some dear friends' cabin. Jack has declared their cabin to be his favorite vacation destination alongside Sanibel Island, FL. That's a big statement. I think it's because he can be ALL BOY there. They shoot guns, dig for worms, go fishing, look for wildlife, play on the homemade teeter-totter and play with one of their best buddies in the world - a dog named Pipa. :)

Here's the backyard:

And the front yard (this place is so incredibly peaceful I just want to pack it in and move here!):

Using the binoculars to scope out some elk . . . .

The boys were shooting guns in the yard, and all of the sudden this moose walks up. Totally not bothered by us - just sauntered up and started licking the salt block. It was AMAZING how close we were to such a majestic creature.

The boys and their buddy. This dog ROCKS. She adores them and they adore her. She stays by their side the entire time we're there. We've concocted a few kidnapping plans but don't have the heart to pull it off. :) Her owners are kind of attached. Hmmph.

Here's our gracious hosts. I've known them all my life - I used to come to this very cabin when I was little (their daughters were friends of mine) . . . so it's awesome that I can now bring MY kids there.

Three days after returning from Wyoming, we were off again . . . . this time to HAWAII. More on THAT trip next - but here's some preview pics.

A Glimpse Into a Roisum Summer

2010-07-12T19:16:00.011-06:00

I have no idea where time goes. All I know is that it's going heart-wrenchingly fast. I can't stand the fact that it's already July 12th. I feel like the boys just got out of school two weeks ago when in fact we're already halfway through summer. Uggh. I've already started praying that God would prepare my heart for the start of school and our crazy routine . . . .

Anyway. We've been squeezing the most out of each day - spending a lot of time at Hart Ranch where the boys swim, bike, play mini golf and tennis and just enjoy the freedom of being a kid. Over the weekend of the 4th, we spent a great few days at the city campground in Spearfish with some dear friends. I love a small-town 4th of July. We then headed home for a couple days of house-cleaning and laundry and headed back to Hart Ranch for a few days with my side of the family. Now we're back at home again, preparing for the arrival of Mark's mom and dad later this week.

Some highlights:
Roasting marshmallows has turned into a favorite pasttime of the boys -

And they are now old enough to sit and enjoy a campfire conversation!

4th of July small-town parade - although we got rained out about 40 minutes into it. Great while it lasted!

On our way to the fireworks - Jack and his "new" buddy Lindsey. She's 12 and was SUCH a sweetheart to the kids.

Waiting for the show to begin -

Murphy hanging out on the couch in the camper. This dog is ADDICTED to camping. It's ridiculous. He knows when I start packing things up to head to the camper and he starts bouncing off the walls. He about drives me nuts.

A couple days after the 4th, all the Horaks gathered for a big group photo. My family was assigned navy blue.

All the cousins -

Moving on to Hart Ranch -

A trip to Reptile Gardens with the cousins -

Cooling off -

Jack getting attacked by his aunts. :)

Here's my CUTIE of a nephew, Aaron. In the past, I have not been his favorite person. Now he likes me!! Yeaaaa!

Everybody in!

Oh, to be a kid again . . . . .

LOVE This!

2010-07-01T09:28:00.000-06:00

So I had to share it with you . . . .

The Choice
by Max Lucado

IT’S QUIET. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.

In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.

For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I choose love . . .
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy . . .
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical . . . the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I choose peace . . .
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I choose patience . . .
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose kindness . . .
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I choose goodness . . .
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness . . .
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I choose gentleness . . .
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I choose self-control . . .
I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek his grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

Time for an Update!!

2010-06-24T22:05:00.008-06:00

Wow - where to start?

Let's go back to the boys' birthday. They turned 9. It was fun. We moved on.

:) ha ha. Just kidding!

They started out with a class party during the last week of school (that's a giant decorated cookie):

Then a couple days prior to their birthday we had their party. Mark and I suggested every party idea under the sun, but they just wanted 4 friends at our house for pizza and sports in the yard. Totally simple. Totally easy. And they said it was their best birthday ever.

We also played a little bingo. For money. Huge hit.

Basketball.

And football.

Sweaty, smelly, happy boys.

And this was the day they turned 9:

Their day started out with a scavenger hunt, compliments of Grandma and Grandpa Roisum. 6 clues. And a $10 bill for each of them at each clue. They LOVED it - had the BEST time. Starting out:

Next stop: the piano -

Then a game in the family room -

Up to the living room TV cabinet -

Outside -

To the dog kennel -

Last stop: the tub. :)

This year, I took the boys shopping seperately so they could each buy something for each other. Interesting experience. Rather than just "getting it over with," they were extremely particular about what they got each other. Noah bought Vikings stuff for Jack:

And Jack bought a Legos set and stuffed dog for Noah:

They have to open most presents back-to-back since they get many of the same things -

On the afternoon of their birthday, they FINISHED A MARATHON. During the two months leading up to this, they each walked/jogged 25 miles around our neighborhood and then ran the last 1.2 miles on the Mickelson Trail and crossed the real finish line. It was awesome. We were so stinkin' proud of what they accomplished!!

Out of approx. 60 kids, Jack came in FOURTH. He was a dude on a MISSION.

Noah finished around 10th - 12th, which was fantastic for him - he ran the entire 1.2 miles, which he had NEVER done before. And nearly threw up. I talked him out of it, calmed him down and got him cooled off. :) What a sport.

We finished off the birthday with a dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Horak's house in Spearfish.

And a few more gifts - neither of which they were very excited about.

(Cabela's Big Game Hunter for the Wii)

(Mario Super Sluggers for the Wii). Crazy kids.

And a couple weeks later, we celebrated Father's Day. Do I have the 3 most handsome boys EVER or what?!?! I am a truly blessed woman.

We are now summering in our camper at Hart Ranch. More on that later.

A Noah Moment

2010-06-13T21:25:00.005-06:00

Tonight we watched Cake Boss with the kids.

Love this show. Turns out the kids love it too. :)

Anyhoo.

The boys wondered why Buddy and crew are so loud all the time. And why they sound mad at each other.

We explained they are Italian and that Italians can be loud and yell alot and sound mad when really they probably aren't.

Now. Here's where I need to mention we were all a tad bit on the crabby side today. Not proud of this. But in fairness to the adults in the house, it was largely due to the sibling rivalary we have right now . . . of epic proportions. Can make a person a little crazy.

Moving on. Here's what Noah prayed tonight at bedtime:

"Dear God, please let this family's attitude move from Italy back to America."

Can you stand it?!?

Happy Birthday my Precious Boys . . .

2010-06-04T20:46:00.011-06:00

It's becoming increasingly difficult for me to wrap my head around how quickly we've gone from this: To this: The speed at which the past nine years has gone is breathtaking. And Mark has now pointed out that we are halfway to 18.

Oh my.

If the past 9 years seemed fast, how quickly will the next 9 go? I seriously feel the muscles around my heart tense up when I stop and think about it. I've started praying that God will prepare my heart and mind for that moment, a short 9 years down the road, when I have to let go and watch my babies (my life!) begin their own lives. I'm trusting Him that I'll be ready and that Mark won't have to spend our empty nest years visiting me in the nuthouse.

All of that said, at the same time it is truly a beautiful experience to watch your children change and grow into their own personalities - and to really view them as God's children, not our own. There's something very freeing in that! I'm seeing Him work in their lives and it's magnificent.

So to Jack - this year we'll start with you! Especially because sometimes we worry that you get lost in the shadow of Noah. :) You are not as outspoken (sometimes can't get a word in edgewise) and tend to be more introspective. We just walked a mile together today and you didn't say more than 4 words - you were just happy in your own world, mainly focused on finding bugs on the sidewalk. You will still hold my hand, which warms my heart, but ONLY if we are NOT on school property. Then any kind of outward affection is not allowed. You will tell me you love me when I drop you off at school, but you say it under your breath because heaven forbid someone should actually hear that you love your mother. :) I'm okay with it though, because at home you are a total snuggler - love to curl up on the couch with me, you still sleep in our bed on occasion, smack me on the rear (?!?) and will always give me a hug or kiss when I need it.

You are into sports, sports, and more sports. Flag football and soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and soccer again in the spring. If you are at home, you always have a ball in your hands. You simply were born with the need to compete. Soccer's been done for a few weeks now and you keep asking when you can start tennis! At one particular basketball game last winter, you were on the bench while your team quickly fell to 10 points behind. Well. When you came off the bench, you had a look on your face and your dad and I looked at each other and said "uh oh." You were determined. You proceeded to hog the ball and made up those 10 points yourself in about 3 minutes, and then scored 2 more baskets, putting your team in the lead. Then you were satisfied. :) And running - oh my word. Child, you can run like the wind and you LOVE it. It lights up your whole being. And it's become really fun watching you - at your school track meet (where you won all 1st place ribbons!) my heart just soared along with your feet, watching you FLY around the track. And it makes you so happy! Then there's fishing - you've definitely caught the bug, and you are so blessed to have a grandpa and uncle who love it as much as you do and are happy to satisfy your fishing cravings!

You are sticking with piano - I gave you the option to quit this year, but you refused. It's not your favorite thing to do, but again, you are determined to stick with it and keep plugging along. I'm so proud of you. You still love the Wii and while you were sick with Swine Flu last fall, taught mom how to play Mario Kart. You finished the Sparks program at AWANA, which was a ton of work - so many bible verses you now have hidden in your heart! You are still a jokester - love calling me "toots" (like short for Tootsie) - and your laugh can make my heaviest worries simply melt away. Your smile lights up your face and the entire room - I have captured it so many times in my mind I hope it's still fresh in my memory when you are 40.

You are addicted to munching on crushed ice, mac and cheese is still your meal of choice (pizza a close 2nd), Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies are a fave, but FRUIT lights up your world. At a recent buffet, you headed off with your empty dinner plate and came back with it heaping with fruit - nothing else. And you were happy as a clam. School is still NOT a favorite - but you are so very smart - you came home with straight A's this year!! And writing is your strength - you write the most creative, magnificent stories. You are currently working on a story with Noah and a friend and you guys have written 18 pages!

Your biggest news in the past year, my sweet boy, began one day when you came to me and said "Mommy, I don't want to be 'Jack and Noah' anymore, I want to be just Jack." I have to say, that was a shocker. And it broke my heart on several levels. But at the same time, we were so glad you spoke up and said something! Shortly after, you asked if you could go to a different school. You are a very independent soul, so after three months of discussing and praying, we are okay with you heading off to a new school in the fall - on your own. You are so brave, I am so incredibly proud of you and I KNOW God has special things in store for you! Oh, how I love you, Jackaroni.

And Noah - there are so many fascinating facets to your personality, where should I start? So let's start with the fact your freckles have stolen my heart. :) I look at your smiling freckled face and I melt. And your belly laugh - oh, there is no sound like it in the world. Except maybe your singing, which you do whenever you stop talking, which isn't very often. You just make us laugh because there is NEVER a quiet moment with you - you are our Mr. Jabberjaws and you are still constantly asking questions, except your quota has probably doubled since last year. But seriously, I often find myself slack-jawed at the questions you come up with - they are like small windows to your brain, and at least once a day I think "how did he come up with THAT?" It is so exciting for me to see how incredibly smart you are and I honestly could not be more excited to see where you are and what God is doing with you 30 years from now. The only current disadvantage to your wisdom is that you are developing your own OPINIONS and have become an expert at catching mom and dad in our inconsistencies and we've decided you would make a FANTASTIC lawyer - not someday, like right now. Nothing gets by you. Oh child, you wear me out.

You learned cursive in school this year and you brought home page after page with high praises from your teacher about how spot-on perfect your handwriting is - a couple times I really thought I was looking at a photocopy of the text book. I think it has something to do with your artistic flair - you are an incredible little artist and love drawing some pretty amazing things. You are a magnet at school - I was able to see this year how kids just flock to you - you just exude a loving nature and go out of your way to befriend those who don't have many friends. Now THAT's having the heart of Jesus, on which I could take a lesson from you! You are so sensitive and kind and softhearted.

You have really taken off in piano - you pick it up very quickly and now love to just go sit down and play - not from your lesson - but just play for fun. And your 9th birthday finds you a lot more confident in yourself than last year. You were so fun to watch in sport this year - starting with football. During tryouts, at the field-goal kicking station, none of the kids were making any of them . . . then it was your turn. You got three in a row. Knocked the socks off the coaches. And it was effortless for you. Then soccer and basketball - you found your groove in both and you were sooooo calm, cool and collected and as a result, your abilities soared. It's interesting how Jack displays sheer determination in sports, you demonstrate peacefulness and yet you both excel. It's so fun to see your differences and how they work for each of you.

Your favorites include: tacos, chips, your buddy Nathan, talking, reciting various NFL facts, talking, watching the Cosby Show, tacos, talking, listening to Journey (?!?), Scooby Doo, talking, getting up at the crack of dawn because you are too excited for each day, talking, tacos, football on the Wii, all things animal, AND . . . snuggling with mom. Despite your size, you still love to try and curl up on my lap and you give the biggest, best bear hugs EVER. It won't be long before you and I are comparable in size - today we were measuring our wrists and yours was 6 inches and mine was 6 1/4. !!! Amazing. I keep asking you if you can't stay 8 for a little while longer and you are so sweet because you look pained, like you want that for me, but can't quite make it happen. :) I love you, Noah!

You both are just the most amazing gifts God has ever given your mom and dad (aside from our salvation!) and we seem to grow more and more thankful for you each day, each month, each year. I have anxiously counted down on the calendar for SUMMER, when I can have you both to myself during the day, commitment-free, to spend time with you, to play with you and to just enjoy who you are becoming. You are absolutely our favorite people to spend time with - evidenced by the fact that when your Dad had the opportunity to plan a vacation for his upcoming 40th birthday, he opted to take you guys with us - just because you are the coolest people on the planet to be around. We count each day with you as priceless, we praise God for the years He's already given us with you and pray that these next 9 years somehow go a little slower than the first . . . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK AND NOAH!!

Camping Season is Underway!!!

2010-06-02T21:16:00.024-06:00

So over Memorial Day weekend, we packed up our kinfolk and headed a couple hours west to Devils Tower, Wyoming to explore and take far too many pictures. Four families + four campers + 6 kids + 5 dogs + 3 campfires + some fantastic food = one great weekend! Wow, it's great to be camping again!!!

Devils Tower ended up far exceeding our expectations - much bigger than we thought it was, much more interesting and much more scenic. We immediately got hooked on two different things: 1) the massive prairie dog field about a mile away - thousands of prairie dogs with babies - so incredibly entertaining!! and 2) watching the rock climbers on the Tower itself. Oh my. Those people have lost their minds. Totally amazing. We were told that it takes the pros 6-8 hours to climb it. I quickly decided that even if I were crazy enough to ever do it, I'd get to the top and immediately panic. How do you get DOWN? I don't know which part looked scarier - up or down. Either way I was immensely satisfied to have my feet firmly planted on the ground and just watch the insanity from afar. :)

Anyhoo, there was a very nice 1.3 mile paved trail around the base of it so we trekked around that twice over the weekend - all the while trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to keep the kids on the ground. There is a "boulder field" around the base - massive rocks that have fallen off the Tower - and the boys were all determined to climb over and around every single rock. One big playground for boys.

Here are the highlights:

(Looking in a prairie dog hole)

(that's Jack peeking over the top)

My brother and his family were camping nearby at a lake, so he was the ultimate uncle and took the boys fishing one afternoon.

The little guys, playing cards

and the big guys playing cards

Our four campsites -

And our big potluck one night - one of the BEST MEALS EVER. Wow. Our friend Nancy made Julia Child's Beef Bourginon - Oh. MY. WORD. Amazing. So yummy. We all brought side dishes. (Jen - gotta get that corn recipe from you!!) What a great evening.

Next up: My babies turn 9 on Saturday. Total bittersweetness goin' on in my heart . . . .

Proud Mama Moments

2010-05-23T20:31:00.010-06:00

Okay so here's where I have to brag up my babies a little, so I don't blame you if you want to just skip over this post. :) On the 14th, the boys had their annual track meet (all the private schools in town - 500+ kids - get together and compete in a day-long event), and they look forward to this . . . all. year. long.

We started out with the field events - Jack did the long jump. And blew me away. He competed against 7 other kids and took FIRST. :)
Noah did the softball throw, and came in 5th. But in all fairness, he competed against some baseball players. Which he is not. :)
All their buddies - Jack's way over on the left edge, Noah's on the right edge.

Jack and Noah's fan section.

Here's Noah running the 200 meter dash (1/2 way around the track) - raced against 7 kids, came in 3rd! (He's second from the left, dark green shirt).

Jack in the 200 - he took 1st. The boys' running events didn't start until about noon and Jack was nearly jumping out of his skin by that point, just ITCHING to get out there and run. He really left everyone in the dust.

Here's Noah running the 400 (1 full lap of the track) - I didn't get very many pictures of him because I WAS SO STINKING EXCITED because . . .

HE WON!!!! 1st Place!! It was a huge deal for him and I was so happy for him my heart nearly burst. He told me afterwards he took Daddy's advice and paced himself - the kids who took off like bullets in the beginning had tired out by 1/2 way around.
Here's Jack running the 400 (in the lead) - the child just flies . . . .
And yes, he got another 1st place ribbon. :)

And last, they ran the 400 relay - Noah, Jack and two of their buddies. Jack was the anchor, which means he runs last to the finish line. Here he comes -

And a 1st place finish for the Zion relay team!!
Then the next day, the boys had their spring piano recital. They've come so far in their 17 months of lessons, we were just so proud of them. This time, they got to do a duet - and at first I was so worried they would just fight about it, but they worked together on it so well, I was impressed.

Jack performing -

And Noah -

The duet -

And with their teacher (who is totally amazing to watch - WOW) -

There. Done bragging. :)

We're down to TWO MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL!!! The camper is in the driveway, waiting to be cleaned and loaded and our camping season officially begins on Friday with a Memorial Day weekend trip to Devil's Tower, WY. Totally, absolutely, completely. . . . CAN NOT WAIT!

Noah

2010-05-18T20:59:00.002-06:00

I believe I've mentioned this before - Noah is CONSTANTLY asking questions. Many are silly, most are valid, several are waaaayy beyond me, and some fall into the serious theological category - but all of them have me in a struggle with PATIENCE. :) The child's brain never never ever stops working. Mine does. Many times a day. And it seems as though whenever my brain is ready to shut down for the day, his is firing on all cylinders. Uggh.

Actually, he recently came up with a biblical question that threw both me and Mark for a loop, and after consulting our in-house resources, we ended up having one of the elders of our church doing some research for us if you can imagine that. The cool thing was, we all learned something new from it. I love how God uses the spirited fresh eyes of a child to clarify a truth that had been fuzzy to us for all of our lives!

Anyway, here's one of Noah's lines of questioning today -

"Mom, does each person have their own SMELL? And what makes each person smell a little different? Do I have my own smell to you? Does Jack smell different than me? Why did God make people smell? And why do elderly people have a certain smell that's different from everyone else? Is it their wrinkles? Or are they just gassy?"

I love this child.

Entering the Homestretch

2010-05-10T12:02:00.009-06:00

And it's funny how as you enter the homestretch, things pick up pace! Uggh! Ever since our kids entered school and started getting involved, the month of May is nuts for us, and this year is no exception. But! That will make the nothing-ness of June even sweeter. :)

Funny story - Jack and Noah recently bought this with their own money (funny because they had one when they were little, but we sold it when they were about 6 and done with it!):

They've been spending HOURS downstairs shooting hoops with this Little Tikes hoop. Go figure.

A couple weeks ago, we headed to Willmar for a visit with Mark's family and a great time was had by all . . . . especially the kids! They got to spend lots of time with their cousins - mostly on the trampoline, but they did take time out to eat occasionally. :)
(Just a random cute picture I snapped of the boys while we were there)

They adore their cousins . . . .

Movie time . . .

Mark and his brother Todd - or as I call him, Toad. :)

In other Roisum news, the boys had a school dance on Friday. Yes, a school dance - no one seems able to believe this, but it was very much a FAMILY event - parents were there and involved and it was

SO.

MUCH.

FUN!

I'm on the PTA and we were a little concerned about how it would turn out, but I was shocked at what a huge success it was! It was amazing. The DJ was amazing. The kids were amazing. The teachers were amazing. (Actually I don't know who was more entertaining - the kids or the teachers! At one point a group of them tried breakdancing - soooo funny). It was a great way to wrap up the year.

The boys doing the bunny hop before the dance even started . . .

A conga line . . .

Noah and Jack and a couple of their buddies -

Jack doing the limbo - never got a good shot of Noah, unfortunately.

Noah wearing an 80's mullet, compliments of the DJ - so funny, but you can't really see it -

Jack playing a blow-up saxaphone. He loves being the center of attention. ?!?

The macarena . . . with a little help from Dad, an old pro. :)

Noah chatting with his buddy Hailey - she is Jack and Noah's biggest fan and she is adorable. She even wears a Favre jersey to get their attention. :) And so it begins . . .

And we are wrapping up the soccer season on Tuesday evening with their last game. I have to begrudgingly admit I really enjoyed this season - it was remarkable to see the progress in the kids - how they learned their positions and how this team really learned to play as a team. Very cool.

Took a few more pics Saturday. Here's both of them - Noah in the blue, and Jack is the goalie. Yes, he blocked that shot. :) And every one thereafter.

Jack's turn to play - he's out front with the ball.

Noah going in for the goal - yep, he made it. And 3 others! The dude has some seriously powerful legs. I would NOT want to be an opposing player on the other side of that ball after he kicks it. Yikes.

Jack . . .

Lastly, I had a great Mother's Day. Look at my handsome boys - I am one blessed woman!!

Oh - and we finished Awana for the year - Jack and Noah finished the Sparks program (grades K, 1 and 2) - in those three years they memorized 165 verses. They worked so hard all 3 years and I could not have been more proud when they received their big award last week. Wow. God is good!

This week: the annual school track meet and spring piano recital. Hoping I can figure out how to post video on here so you can see their duet (sooo stinking cute!). And . . . 10 days of school left! Yippee!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T20:46:00.001-06:00

" . . . She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.'
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31: 25-30.

Oh, to live up to these verses . . . .

"I just felt like running"

2010-04-26T13:25:00.005-06:00

Forrest Gump has been on my mind a lot lately - - funny what comes to mind when you are RUNNING. :) Which is what I've been up to lately - a lot of running. This 1/2 marathon has already been a fascinating experience, and the actual event is still 6 weeks away.

First, it's a great feeling to see yourself improve. I've kept pushing and sticking with it, and it's amazing to me that I can actually progress! Who knew? :) I've always been an aerobics kind of girl - running has never been my thing - and it's hard to measure progress with aerobics, but now I'm loving measuring my progress with improvement in my times and distances. It's actually rather addicting.

Which brings me to the 2nd interesting thing about this - that I'm really getting hooked on it! Yesterday it was drizzling, really windy and cold, and I still went running. TOTALLY NOT ME. The "me" that I know would have used that as an excuse to stay home. I have no idea what pushed me out the door . . ? I actually enjoy it. And I see pictures like this and actually want to go RUN there. Go figure.

And lastly, it's made me totally appreciate my husband's adventurous spirit even more. He's always looking for something new and fun to do (which is how I ended up signing up for this thing in the first place), and I sooo appreciate that about him. We've experienced many things I may not have if it wasn't for his fun-loving, never-sit-around attitude. I am blessed to have him as the spur in my saddle. :)

So, I still have a long way to go to 13.1 miles, but I'm enjoying the journey and all I really care about is that I finish and don't have to be rescued midway or scraped off the trail. We'll see . . .

A Day in the Life Of . . .

2010-04-14T13:57:00.011-06:00

Well, since my hubby thinks blog postings are more interesting with pictures, here's what we've been up to: :)

Homework . . . .A little football in the yard when dad gets home from work . . . .

A LOT of eating . . . .

Practicing piano . . . .

Acting goofy . . . .
Watching The Cosby Show before bed . . . .

Murphy waiting around for someone to throw a toy for him . . . .

Devotions . . . .

And peaceful sleeping . . .

Other than the normal routine, soccer season has begun! Big time commitment . . . but the boys totally love it, and it's great for them to burn off some energy, learn about teamwork, and build some self confidence.

Grandma and Grandpa Roisum made it out for a visit, and were totally at Jack and Noah's beck and call. Whatever they wanted to do, Grandma and Grandpa did!! Aren't grandparents great that way?!?

And the boys were in a fashion show. :) Totally cute - although they didn't get the point of a fashion show - thought the whole idea behind it was silly. It sort of is, isn't it?

Backstage before walking the runway - cool as cucumbers . . . .

What you can't see in these pictures - off to your right - is the hundreds of women in the audience off the end of the runway. But the kids didn't get nervous at all - I was so proud of all of them!

And we had a wonderful Easter. I've been studying the book of John for the past 7 months in my bible study, so I saw Easter a little differently this year. We had an egg hunt at home before church, had a beautiful church service, then went to my mom and dad's for a fabulous dinner - done like only my mom can do!

Jack and Noah helped my mom put out her massive collection of bunnies -

And read out of my dad's enormous ancient bible -

We topped the day off with a fun evening at Chuck E. Cheese with some dear friends we hadn't seen in a while. The perfect day!

And the countdown has begun - 6 weeks of school left! yIpEEeeee!

Jack and Noah-isms

2010-03-28T21:13:00.002-06:00

A couple of interesting things have come out of the boys' mouths in the past week . . .

I was explaining to Noah where your kidneys are (not like I even know exactly where they are, but moms have to act knowledgeable about these things - at least I do, or he makes me go look it up . . ), but I described them as being sort of on the sides of your back.

My sweet Noah, who has developed cute little semi-love handles, said "ooohhhh, is that why my sides are fluffy?"

Loooove it. (and him!)

And then Jack. His comment wasn't as funny. He told us "I don't want to be 'Jack and Noah' anymore - I want to be just Jack." And my heart broke a little for him. An identity crisis at the ripe old age of 8. He's also requesting time away from Noah - which I actually totally understand - they are together for EVERYTHING. They live together, go to school together, Sunday school together, sports together, etc. Can you imagine? I'd need some space too. And the sibling rivalry has gotten really bad over the past few months. So, we're processing this and trying to figure out how to separate them more. Not so easy!

Meanwhile, I'm trying to get serious about this marathon training business (1/2 marathon, that is). Uggh. My muscles are hurting, but I'm determined. Two weeks into it, I've made it up to 3.5 miles. I have a LONG way to go. But hopefully I'll work off some fluff in the process . . . .

A Whole Lot of Normal

2010-03-25T12:11:00.002-06:00

I just realized it's been over 2 weeks since my last post, but it's just been a blessedly normal 2 weeks. We're just up to our regular routine - school, piano lessons, basketball practice, Awana, bible study, church, work, etc. Basically just pressing on towards SUMMER. We are all getting so anxious - especially me and the kids - Jack and Noah . . . . for obvious reasons and me . . . . because I GET MY KIDS BACK and the total lack of commitments summer offers!! We're getting the camping itch, but still have a few more weeks to go.

A few other tidbits:

Jack just recovered from strep throat (2nd time in 6 months) - the poor kid seems to pick it up anytime someone in a 5 mile radius has it. And his tummy does NOT like antibiotics!
Mark "made" me sign up for a 1/2 marathon in June. !?!?? He had such a great time last year he wants me to experience it with him. I'm in trouble. So, I've been hitting the streets with Murphy - training has officially begun. The thought was that I could walk much of it with my dad (he signed up too) but my dad walks about 5 mph, so I'll need to be jogging most of it. I am determined, however . . .
For a few short hours this week I thought I was going to Israel in October. Wow, huh? A great opportunity presented itself . . . . but God was not on board with my plan. I have a tendency to run ahead of Him (which never works) and I'm trying to break that habit. Anyway, I'm not going. But it was fun thinking about for a short while. The long and short of it is that I'm totally addicted to my kids and it became clear I couldn't be away from them for 11 days. :)
Grandma Rayne and Grandpa Paul came from MN for a quick visit last weekend. (Her name is actually LaRayne, but the kids have called her Grandma 'Rayne since they were tiny, and it just stuck). They are great to have around - so attentive to the kids and willing to do WHATEVER Jack and and Noah ask!! :)
This is our last week of basketball, and oh joy we start soccer this week too. No time off in between. Two practices and 2 games a week. I'm trying very hard to improve my lousy attitude but haven't had much luck in that area.

Next time I'll be back with some pictures. Of something. Not sure what. Mark says these posts are much more interesting with PICTURES. Maybe I'll just take some of him.

Basketball

2010-03-09T21:06:00.004-07:00

We are well into basketball season - actually only 3 games left - and I finally decided to bring my camera on Saturday and get some pictures. I drag my feet with sports photos because it's an incredibly frustrating excercise to get a decent picture! It's much better with my new camera, but any suggestions would be most appreciated. Anyway, you get the picture. (ha ha.)

The first four pics are of Jack - unfortunately I always end up with more shots of him because the child ALWAYS has the ball. He doesn't trust anyone else with it (except his brother). To say the boy is determined would be an understatement. We're working on the whole "TEAM effort" concept with him . . .

And while Noah doesn't have possession of the ball as often, he's really come into his own this year and can SHOOT. He's calm, confident and accurate. He leads the team in points scored. After painfully watching his timidness last year, I'm one proud mama!!

Moving on - funny story: the other night we were watching the Cosby Show (our new favorite family show - we're buying the seasons on DVD and the kids are LOVING them) and one of the Cosby kids was discussing writing on the blackboard at school. A couple minutes into the narrative, Noah hits pause on the DVD and says "okay, what's a blackboard??" Sign of the times, huh? :)

Now I leave you with some photos of Murphy. We are loving him and he's driving us nuts all at the same time. Is that possible? I'm just banking on the fact that by the time he's 2 or 3, he'll be the perfect dog. There's a reason God made puppies cute: so you don't kill them. :)

He adores his boys - snuggles with them at every opportunity.

Lounges on the couch and watches me work on my bible study:

Until he gets bored with that and falls asleep:

Is a clown:

Sleeps exactly in this position on Mark's lap on the couch: (yes, that's Mark's hairy leg)

And pretends he's a stuffed animal on our bed (I literally couldn't find him one evening because he just blended right in, sitting there as still as a statue):

Goofball.

What a week . . .

2010-02-26T09:55:00.003-07:00

I am SO GLAD it's Friday, but we are in for a really busy weekend, so I don't know if it will even be distinguishable from the rest of the week! I am getting so desperate for summer and many consecutive days of nothing . . . . so am hoping these next 3 months go fast and we make it through in one piece!

Highlights of the week:

Had a business dinner with Mark's boss who was in town from Sioux Falls - totally interesting experience now that my brother and sister-in-law come to these dinners! (My sister-in-law works for Wells Fargo too and reports up through the same people). Anyway, it was a very nice evening.
Struggling a bit with my leadership role in my community bible study - had to do something in that role this week that was terribly difficult and it put me in a foul mood for the next 3 days. Still sorting out my thoughts.
Signed Noah up for spring soccer and signed Jack up for spring soccer AND baseball. Oh joy. Now we can look forward to spending April and May running to practices and games every night of the week. (Yes I need an attitude adjustment).
I cleaned and did laundry and cooked and did laundry and cleaned and cooked and did I mention I did laundry?? I seriously feel like that's ALL I DO in the little bit of free time I have at home!!
Wednesday, our 7 month old puppy, who from all outward appearances seems to be totally housetrained, peed all over our nearly new sectional couch in the family room. ??? Can't figure out why. Which is an issue for me because I always need to know WHY. In the midst of the ensuing chaos (and in my moment of anger) I mumbled that I was going to kill him (which, obviously, I was NOT), which scared my sweet Noah. He told me I couldn't do that, because that would be a sin. Still under the influence of my anger, I harshly informed him that killing animals was NOT in fact a sin and haven't you read the Old Testament, they did it all the time! At which point Noah says "the only time it's not a sin is if you are hunting." :)
Wednesday night at AWANA, Jack recited John 14:1-6 perfectly. TOTALLY makes up for the rough spots this week and makes my heart happy to see Jesus working in his.
Are beginning to remodel our playroom - the toys are going to get sorted this weekend and 80% of them are headed out the door. I figure if the kids are done with them, we don't need to be storing them!! And we're doing a few things to turn it into a gameroom. May post pictures Monday if it turns out.

Have a great weekend!!

Jack and Noah are making the rounds in the blogging world!

2010-02-22T22:24:00.002-07:00

Want to see what they've been up to?

Go here: http://www.theoutdoorgang.blogspot.com/ (their aunt and uncle's blog)

and here: http://www.gordostyle.blogspot.com/ (go to the 2/18 post).

(More from me once I get done with bible study on Wednesday!!)

I'm getting an "F" in blogging!

2010-02-18T14:28:00.013-07:00

Okay, here I am, MUCH later than anticipated, with pics from our trip. So sorry I've been MIA lately. SO MUCH has gone on in the past few weeks I just can't believe how time flies! I'm already counting down the days until summer where we can have 3 blissful months of NO COMMITMENTS!!

So backing up a bit, we were in Orlando the last week of January and had the most amazing vacation with some dear friends of ours. We did the whole Disney thing, but instead of staying in a boring basic hotel room on Disney property, we rented a 5 bed/5 bath house at a golf resrot which was SPECTACULAR and cost less money! The night we arrived, it took us about 5 minutes to pick our jaws up off the floor . . .
Coming into the house . . .
Dining to the right, family room straight ahead . . .

Kitchen . . .

Family room - that's a 52 inch TV mounted above the fireplace!

Our master suite . . .

Again . . .

Hallway upstairs . . .

Jack and Noah's bedroom (had their own bathroom attached)

Family room shot during the day - doors go out to the pool.

Friend's kids' room . . . Friend's master suite . . .

All of us at Legoland in Downtown Disney . . .

Jack and Noah with the Lego dragon -

While at Downtown Disney, we ate at this AWESOME place - T-Rex - fantastic for kids and the food was great too . . .

. . . there was a massive TRex in the middle of the restaurant that went nuts every 20 minutes.
and there was this cool "ice cave" room that changed colors periodically . . .
Check out the jellyfish . . . .

The four buddies . . .

Dino skeleton in the wall . . . .

Back to the house - we had our own pool and I honestly think that was the kids' favorite part of the trip. That's all they wanted to do!! Here's an aerial view from the balcony -

Happy swimmers! (Jack's sitting next to me right now, looking at these pictures, and wistfully says "oh I wish we were still there . . . .")

Another great feature - the house had a game room, complete with pool table, foosball, air hockey and a Wii (which they never even played!!). If the kids weren't in the pool, they were in here.

On to Disney -

On Big Thunder Mountain Railroad -

Notice the complete lack of people!! No crowds, no lines - it was fantastic. The kids would get off a ride and just get right back on, no waiting.

Ice cream break!

Pluto was the favorite character this trip (Chip and Dale being a close 2nd)

We went to Disney Studios one day mainly just to eat at this restaurant - a favorite from our last trip here:

It's awesome - the total drive-in movie theater experience. You get your very own car to eat in, and they have black & white movies playing. SO FUN!

Turns out the restaurant was not the highlight of the day. Aerosmith's Rockin' Rollercoaster was! This was a mega-roller coaster which, had I known a little more about, would NOT have let the kids go on. Luckily I didn't find out about the 5G's impact until we got home (by comparison, astronauts on the Shuttle experience 3G's when they take off!!!!) No matter - the kids LOVED LOVED LOVED it. Each went 3 times and we left with them still begging for more! They were much braver than their mama who thoroughly enjoyed sitting safely beneath the big guitar basking in the sun listening to Aerosmith and NOT getting my head ripped off my neck.

We also visited with the cast from UP! :)

Mark was nearly jumping out of skin because the resort we were at had CLAY tennis courts. So he and the boys smacked the ball around a bit.

These were some of the boys' favorite rides . . .

Our resort also had a gorgeous water park, which the kids had pretty much to themselves . . . but they liked our little pool at the house better!! Kids . . . . can't ever figure them out, can you?

One night we ate at a yummy restaurant at Epcot where several of the characters came around to the tables for photos -

Can't remember if this was Chip or Dale (I'm told one has a red nose and one has a black nose)

And the boys wrapped up our trip with a ride on the teacups. Which I declined because I can't stand spinning rides. Plus someone had to capture in megapixels my 3 boys in a pretty yellow and pink teacup. :)

It was such a great time - we ALL had serious post-vacation blues. Thankfully I went through it with one of my best friends! And it really was amazing how both families co-existed beautifully together for a week - could have easily stayed with them another 7 days.

Now we're back in our crazy routine, counting down the days to CAMPING SEASON!

Christmas Pics in February

2010-01-17T13:21:00.012-07:00

So, um, Hi.

How ya been?

I know, I'm a tad bit behind. Don't worry, I'll diligently spend the next week or two catching you up. But first, I had to post these Christmas pictures for our sake, as I'm sure you haven't been holding your breath waiting for Roisum Christmas pictures. :) I print this blog as use it as a family journal, so I gotta get all this stuff on here.

We had my favorite tree EVER this year, so you'll see a few pictures of it. It was actually hard for me to see it go.

Jack was so funny about his Christmas outfit this year. I had these gorgeous gray wool patchwork pants for him and a very handsome gray handknit sweater to match - he was NOT pleased. Informed me that he needed to wear RED for Christmas, and what was I thinking? Gray does NOT look like Christmas, mom. So back to the store I went, and he was happy with my next attempt:

I slaved away at making albums for the boys of their entire year - they turned out great, and the boys LOVED studying the pictures of 2009. Most of the pictures they hadn't even seen because they're all on the computer!

After a quiet Christmas morning alone at our house, we headed up to my mom and dad's (and got snowed in). :) This is me and my sis with my mom and dad (missed you, Josh!!)

This was my sister's van. By the time the storm was done, you could only see a glimpse of the back end.

Here's our truck:

My mom and dad's driveway turned into a sledding hill . . .

For New Year's Eve, we had friends over for the night, and they brought their dog and new puppy. He was sooooo cute - and just tiny!! Murphy had a great time entertaining his buddies.

Just a random updated picture of Murphy - he grew up!! He always gets this BORED look on his face when I pull out the camera.

All my boys settled in to watch the 2nd to last Vikings game. That was a happy day. The last Vikings game was NOT.

Whew! There. Got those out of the way. More to come in the next few days . . .

Haiti

2010-01-16T09:40:00.002-07:00

My intention over the past week has been to post the 900 pictures I have on my new camera from Christmas and tell you about our impending vacation, but I'm finding it hard to blog about our blessed little sheltered lives when there is such devastation going on in Haiti. My heart is elsewhere. Last night on the news I saw a Haitian mother, literally on the verge of insanity, because all 5 of her small children had died. Can you imagine? Sometimes it's too easy to separate ourselves from other, "different," areas of the world such as these, but I cannot separate myself from a mother's grief. A mother is a mother, no matter where you live, and her heartbreak is just as real as ours would be.

So, for now, I ask that you pray daily for this country and please consider giving - even a small amount - to help get relief to them. There are many organizations out there, but our personal favorite is Samaritan's Purse. You can donate on their website - www.samaritanspurse.com -very simple. And if you don't choose them, PLEASE be careful - a popular choice has been Wyclef Jean's organization but they are now being questioned by watchdogs, which makes me sick. Samaritan's Purse not only provides relief supplies, but they also deliver these things with the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is exactly what these people need right now.

This comes from their website:
As our teams work in crisis areas of the world, people often ask, "Why did you come?" The answer is always the same: "We have come to help you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Our ministry is all about Jesus—first, last, and always. As the Apostle Paul said, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5, NIV).

Truth vs. Lies

2010-01-08T09:47:00.002-07:00

I'm so proud of Noah, I had to share this with you:

This child has a constant need for feeding his brain. He absorbs information like we absorb air. (I seriously can't wait to see what God does with his mind when he's older). It's fairly exhausting for me, because many times I do not have answers for his many questions. So, he's developed a great fondness for reading, because books, of course, are an endless source of information when mom has run out of answers. As such, he received several books for Christmas - a few of which were the Magic Treehouse Research Guides - supposedly "factual" (and I use that term VERY loosely here) books on various topics - anything from Dolphins to Tornadoes.

After Christmas, he started reading one on Space.

I had a pile of stuff for Goodwill accumulating by the door, and one day found the Space book in the pile. I asked Noah why he left his book there, and he said, with disgust, "Get rid of it."

Me: "Why? Did you finish it already?"
Noah: "No. I started it, but I'm not going to finish it because it's full of LIES."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Noah: "Well first, they claim in that book that they don't know how the universe was created or how long it took. THEN they say that one idea is that the universe was created with one big explosion. That's a LIE."
Me (full of pride, of course): "Hmmm."
Noah continues: "I can tell them exactly how the universe was created. GOD did it, and He did it in SEVEN DAYS."
Me: "Well, you could skip over those parts and read the rest - ?"
Noah: "NO. They LIE. I can't believe anything written in that book."

That's my baby!! I sooooo love to see Jesus at work in him!! He's already noticing those little red flags of discernment popping up in his mind. What a gift for a parent!!

Back to Reality

2010-01-03T13:38:00.002-07:00

I hate it when Christmas is over. Such a bummer. Why can't it last longer? Every year I come up with these grandiose plans of what our Christmas break will look like (what we'll do, what we WON'T do, etc.) and every year I end up feeling disappointed that it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. Welcome to LIFE, huh? Anyone else have this problem? January 2nd rolls around and I always wish I had two more weeks.

But I don't. And normal life returns tomorrow whether or not I want it to. So I'm going to do my best to wake up tomorrow with a positive attitude and dive in!

We had a great - but interesting - Christmas. Many pictures to share but I didn't have it in me to download, edit and upload the 100 pictures I have sitting on my camera. I'll definitely post them later. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with just the 4 of us - started with going out for lunch and then delivering gifts to friends. Then headed to church and had a yummy meal at home - I'd put some effort into it and the kids actually devoured it - what better present for a mom is there? :) The kids got to open one gift and then headed to bed.

Then our night took a downturn.

About 9:30 Murphy started vomiting, and in the first pile we noticed a big long spaghetti noodle.

Which was moving.

Which unfortunately also means it wasn't a spaghetti noodle.

After an emergency call to our vet we learned he had a case of roundworms - which also, as it turns out, is in fact transmittable to humans. This little tidbit of info put me over the edge. I spent the next hour of my Christmas Eve on the internet, reading about roundworms and trying to assess if my children had already been infected. *I'm a bit of a germaphobe.* I also have the small problem of my mind going places to which there is a point of no return.

Meanwhile, Mark loaded Murphy up in the car and drove him to the vet hospital, who were kind enough to take him because we couldn't have him around my mom and dad's dog the next day, or my baby nephew for that matter.

We fell into bed at 12:30 a.m. We did then have a nice Christmas morning, watching a blizzard start building outside. By noon, Mark issued orders that we needed to leave NOW if we were going to make it to Spearfish to my mom and dad's. We threw some things together - forgot more than we remembered - and headed on down the blizzard covered interstate. After a treacherous drive, we made it - just before they closed the interstate.

We had a very nice Christmas there with my parents and my sister and her family. All the while we watched it snow. And snow. And snow. We woke up Saturday morning to it still snowing (serious amounts) and it didn't stop until 3 feet later, late Sat. night. It was AMAZING. We ended up staying an unplanned night, but had fun eating, chatting, playing games and the kids had a BLAST out in the snow.

Meanwhile, Murphy was being treated for his condition and it actually was probably better he was at the vet for the weekend - the snow was so high we would have lost him.

We spent the next week putting Christmas away and getting the house ready for New Year's Eve, when we hosted our dear friends and their two dogs - one of which was a 7 week old Shih-tzu puppy. We had a great evening of watching dogs play. So entertaining!

So all in all, the past two weeks weren't what I had planned (I had visions of laying on the couch, reading a book, watching movies with the kids), but were fun nonetheless.

Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. :)

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas . . .

2009-12-23T13:15:00.010-07:00

Which is what we've already been having around here! Our festivities started a week and a half ago with Jack and Noah's Christmas programs - school and church - which Grandma and Grandpa Roisum made a special trip out from MN just to see. They got to see the church one, bu the school one was postponed due to weather - bummer! But it was great to have them here.

Here's the church one - they don't look very amused, do they? :)
They managed some smiles afterwards . . .

And here's the school one - which was amazing - it always is - they have the BEST musicals. And I love how they are always centered around JESUS. The school program is always one of my favorite parts of Christmas - it's an early present. And the boys loved it too. :)

Later that week, the boys had their Christmas party at school.

(Jack getting ready to dig in)

(Noah and one of his buddies)
And then the next day, we made a "difficult" decision to put Noah's hamster down. He was past his life expectancy, was blind, and had developed abdominal tumors. Easy for Mark and I to decide, but hard for Noah to accept. He accidentally heard Mark on the phone with the vet, realized what was going on, and crawled under Jack's bed (he can't fit under his) and cried and cried. Jack looked at Mark and said "dumb idea, Dad." At least we can always count on Jack's honesty. We had a long talk with him about quality of life for animals and he ended up being okay with it. Anyway, he wanted a final picture with him before we took him to the vet.

Then we headed out to a friend's house to make LEFSE! I had given Mark all of the required lefse making equipment last year for Christmas, and he was anxious to use it. So we teamed up with our friends and rolled lefse for a few hours! (This is her daughter - is she cute or what?)

(Nancy and Mark, the pros)

Next up: on Monday a mini-Christmas with my brother and his family before they headed off to MN. We got the whole family together in Spearfish at my mom and dad's. This is my totally adorable nephew with Jack. He doesn't like me. He does, however, love my kids. Which is heartwarming and frustrating at the same time. Lil' stinker.

I gave my brother a few things this Christmas, but this was the one of which I was most proud:All the cousins . . .

On Tuesday (still at my mom and dad's), we woke to spectacular scenery - a beautiful frost covering everything. We grabbed our cameras and headed out for some photos:

Got home Tuesday afternoon and we had even more frosty stuff at our house - it was BEAUTIFUL. An early Christmas present from God.

When we got home from mom and dad's, Murphy headed straight for a laundry basket and zonked out for 2+ hours. He was exhausted from wrestling with Molly for 2 days. Molly's become his best buddy (or as my mom would say, his hunk o'burnin love). :)

Lastly, I had previously mentioned showing you what a Roisum Christmas looks like. Here's our tree this year - a special gift to me and the boys from Mark - they wanted a flocked tree, and I wanted a big Fraiser - so we got both. It cost a small fortune, but it's beautiful and we have all loved it soooo much.

Here's my candy-cane-Christmas-tree collection and my two favorite Christmas frames.

I love Who-ville looking trees . . . .

And the stockings hung with care -

We are totally loving our Christmas break. We've had great time with family, are having some much-needed relaxation, great food and are looking forward to a quiet Christmas at home. Wish this could last for 3 more weeks!

May God bless your Christmas and may you take some time to reflect on why we celebrate. Merry Christmas!

Jack's at it again . . .

2009-12-12T06:36:00.002-07:00

So on Thursday when we were getting ready to leave for school, I came out of my room and Jack looked at me and said "So I take it you aren't coming in the school today."

Me: "Why do you say that?"

Jack, looking me up and down, eyebrows raised: "Well you don't look pretty."

(at which point Noah mutters "Jaaaaaaack" - in the tone of "are you a total idiot?")

Now, granted I had my sweats on, hair piled on top of my head and hadn't showered yet. But still.

I said "Excuse me??"

And Jack continued unfazed: "Well most people don't come in the school looking like THAT."

Obviously, I did not set foot in the school that morning.

And on Friday, I made sure I had on full make up, hair done and acceptable attire. Jack gave his approval.

It's nice to know I can count on him to let me know when I'm getting a tad bit lazy with my appearance. What would I do without that guidance?!?