The True Reason

We were able to attend 3 Christmas programs put on by the 4 kids.  Luke & Reagan had their school ones the beginning of December.  They both did an excellent job and put everyone in the mood for Christmas.  The following weekend all the kids participated in our church Christmas program.  This past week, Drew & Lauren had a little program at school.  Lauren was an angel and Drew was a shepherd.  You can't beat a group of 3 & 4 year olds singing Christmas praises! What a blessing to be reminded of the real reason for the Christmas season, the birth of Jesus.

She's Golden

Reagan celebrated her 7th Birthday on December 7.  She continues to be a go-getter, and has a very sweet spirit.  She cares about others and is a great help to her younger brother and sister.  She loves school and it comes easy for her, which is such a blessing.  She is very social and loves art and music.  We are hoping to get her in piano lessons soon.  When she grows up she wants to be an art teacher, although this morning she asked me if girls could be President.  When I told her they could, but we had never had one, she said she was going to be the President someday.  I just wouldn't put it past her!  We are so thankful that Reagan is a part of our family and can't wait to see where God leads her.

Thankful

As I went to create this post, I realized we took very few pictures over our Thanksgiving weekend.  We had a great time at Ryan's parents house though and were able to visit with many family members and friends.  The Noteboom's all got together on Thanksgiving for supper.  It was a full house, but we all had a seat and more than enough to eat.  The kids have made it a tradition to go help Grandpa pick out their Christmas tree at the tree farm while we're there and then decorate it.  I think Renee appreciates the extra help.  The boy's found time for a flight in Grandpa's plane (Luke even took a turn at the controls...ack!).:)  Saturday we finished out our visit by going to the Pizza Ranch with the Faber side and then back to Mike & Renee's for a visit.  Ryan and I snuck in a little time with friends later Saturday night.  We were all exhausted by the time we came back home, but it was a great extended weekend away.  The weather was great for traveling and no one got sick this year, so I'd call that a Happy Thanksgiving in my book! We have so much and more to be thankful for in 2012. 

Taking Flight

Luke & Ryan recently traveled to Omaha with Luke's Cub Scout group for an overnight trip.  They got to stay overnight in the SAC museum in Omaha and then did some Cub Scout activites at the zoo the next morning.  They had a great time and Luke had fun sleeping in one of the planes.  Drew was sad he didn't get to go have boy time with them, but I told him maybe in 5 years or so they'll go again and he'll have a turn!

Catching Up

So I know that I am way, way, way behind what's been going on in our house.  I do have a somewhat good excuse, because I didn't have a good way to update the blog all summer.  Our house underwent major unplanned construction.  But now it's almost December and the house has been put back together since September, so I'm going to try to catch up on what we've been up to.


All four kids are in school this year, which is a big change for us.  This is the first time that I've had my childcare kiddos here for part of the day without any of my own.  They're all loving school though and are doing great, which is such a blessing. 

 Luke-3rd grade

 Reagan-1st grade

 Drew-4 year old preschool

 Lauren-4 year old preschool

 

We also spent part of a day at the Iowa State Fair, attended a baseball game, and went camping with my extended family over Labor Day.

 

 Drew has a horrible gag reflex to bad smells, so he spent a lot of the time in the barns with his nose plugged.:)

The big slide. 

 

We attended a Friday night game so we could see the fireworks after.  The kids got bored during the game, but the fireworks display made up for the boring baseball game.

 

 









Osh Kosh

This is probably a post that I should have Ryan work on, because I wasn't there and I don't know much about the pictures.  But they are memories that Luke & Ryan made that I want to remember, so I better do it.:)  The last weekend in July Ryan and Luke flew with Mike (Ryan's dad) to Osh Kosh, Wisconsin.  There's a big air show there every year and Luke had never been.  He flew into Ankeny and picked them up and then they continued onto Osh Kosh.   They arrived safely and set up their tent and then went out to have a look around.  While they were eating a huge storm blew in and by the time they got back to camp, there tent was blown over and their sleeping bags were soaked.  They proceeded to lay out their sleeping bags and other wet items over the side of the plane so they would be dry by the time they returned for bed that night.  I think they rested for a while and then went out to check out some more things.  They do a movie every night on a big screen outdoors so they settled in to watch.  Partway through the movie it began to rain again.  Unfortunately for them, they had not brought their sleeping bags inside.:(  They were a wee big chilly that night.  Mike and Luke shared a blanket and Ryan used a small towel....not the greatest night of sleep! The next day they took in some more of the show and went over to the air museum.  They did get to make it through the entire movie that night and managed to stay dry! The next morning they left to head back to Ankeny.  On the way home they hit a huge band of storms.  They made a pit stop in Independence, Iowa until after 2 hours they saw a small opening they could fly through.  They finally made it back home.  That day was also Ryan and my 11th anniversary.  We didn't get to celebrate, but we ordered up some wings that night and at least we were together! Sunday morning Mike headed back home with Luke & Reagan in tow.  They got to spend the week in O.C. and we met them up there later in the week for our cabin trip.  They had a great boy's weekend and maybe next time Drew can come along, too!

Relaxation

We were able to make it to Ryan's parent's cabin in Minnesota twice this summer.  We love being able to go and relax and not have any real responsibilities.  The first time we came back home, we discovered our house was flooded (that will be post of it's own).  We were crossing our fingers that this time around things would be as we left them (all was good).:)  The weather was cooler this time, but the water temp was still nice so we could still swim a bunch.  The boys took a field trip Saturday morning, but Drew came back worried that Indians were going to attack, so I don't know if that was such a great idea! Luke's been learning how to drive the boat, too, and he thinks he's pretty big stuff.:)  3 of the kids and I were able to visit with my friend Maria and her kiddos on Monday morning before heading back to Des Moines.  Reagan wasn't feeling well, so she stayed back with Ryan.  It was a nice way to wind down our summer.  Only 2 more weeks until school starts!