Little Red Riding Hood

Getting my hair done every 3 months has become quite a joy to me. I love having those 2 hours to relax, chat, read a book, whatever, and know that when I'm done my hair will look cute again. :-) Being, of course, that the last time it was actually cute when the 3 months prior when she did it, because truth be told I am AWFUL at doing my own hair. I'm not happy about it, but at nearly 35, I've come to accept my limitations. Just hoping it's not a trait I pass down to my girls. Maybe I'll have their Aunt Jill teach them the finer art of hair and make-up, since she's so good at it. Anyway, I've been blonde-ish for the past 6 months or so and figured I might as well try a little red.



In my living room it looks more like my regular hair color - dark brown. But, in the light and the sunlight in particular, you can see the red tones. It's really fun!...

...as you can see by my excited face here. ;-) Now, you will notice I am wearing my "I hate broccoli" shirt. I will tell you loyal fans I put that on as soon as it was time to take the picture, because I wouldn't want to wear just any 'ole shirt. No! Must continue to support the cause, you know. Because I wear it so often, it's starting to fade, so a new one might be in order soon. Anyway, back in the spring when I got my hair done for the first time (in years!), I showed up to the pick the kids up and Noah couldn't believe I was blonde. He said, "You used to be a little old lady and now your Goldilocks!". Cracked me up! So, I figure now I must be Little Red Riding Hood with my red tresses. Maybe next time I'll go blue and be Cookie Monster! Fun!!!

Prayers

First I want to thank everyone who has been praying for Micah and Cara during this incredibly sad time. Like Micah posted on Facebook yesterday "I want to thank everyone for the support, prayers, cards, flowers, beautiful words of encouragement, and everything. Cara and I and the boys feel the love of God from so many people. Thank you so much." I too have seen the outpouring from those who don't even know them, yet have lifted them up in prayer. Thank you to all my friends who have done that. I think all of us can only begin to imagine the grief that comes from losing a child we're carrying. The love and kindness many of you have shown means so very much. God is their refuge and their comfort and they are hiding in his heart, as are we all. I wanted to come on here though and not only thank you, but ask specifically for prayer for them tomorrow. Tomorrow they will have a memorial service for Lincoln and lay him to rest. Though we know he is no longer here on earth, but is instead in the loving arms of Christ, we still need to hold Micah and Cara up as their say their final goodbyes. Pray for them and for their boys as they go through that difficult day tomorrow. Thank you again for all of your love and prayers during this time.

Scarecrow Fest

Today in Ottawa, we had the Scarecrow Festival. I've heard about it, but we never have gone to it. But, since Livie has dance on Sat at 12:30, we figured we might as well check it out when she was done. I had a jewelry party to go to, so I joined them when Livie got done at 1:30.


When I got there, Pete found the Thirys (our friends that we went on vacation with in MI) and was talking to Jayson.

This is the booth they were by. A man was making barrells with using any nails or anything. The kids really enjoyed watching him and found it really interesting.

Then we headed to a small petting zoo they had set up. They had goats, chickens, ducks, a bunny, and a donkey. They were all small animals and so, so cute!

It's called "Scarecrow Fest", because lots of different businesses and churches make scarecrows and line them up and down the street. I'm not which group did this one, but "Elvis" won 1st place! They even had a CD player set up playing his music. It was really fun! Of course, I said to the kids "Go over by Elvis, so I can take your picture." They had absolutely no idea who Elvis was. So, looks like I'll have much still to learn. :-)

We didn't just visit the booths lining the streets downtown. We also headed into a couple of the shops. This is one of the kids' favorite places to go downtown. We call it the "Thomas Store", because of this wonderful Thomas the Train table they have set up. It's really called "The Classroom" and it's got fun and interesting toys and educational things for kids as well as teacher supplies. They even have a section of Sunday School and church supplies. I love this store!

Here was the Opportunity School scarecrow display. Noah and Livie are showing off the white cakes we got at our church's booth. We also got popcorn, which I got all of one bite of. They scarfed it down fast!

They watched cotton candy get made and thought that was really cool! Livie cried though when we didn't buy her any. But, I figured after popcorn, white cakes, cookies, and italian ice, they had had enough.

Then we headed into "The Bookmouse" which is a great little bookstore downtown. I love going here as well. They always have a great selection of both adult and kids' books. I let each of the kids pick one out. Noah got a chapter book about Ben 10, Madie got a chapter book about Star Wars, and Livie got a new Sandra Boyton book. She loves her books, so she was very excited to find a new one.

We had to go to the fountain too, since they love to throw pennies in it. I've told you before about this fountain. It commemorates the debate between Lincoln and Douglas that took place in that very spot back during the campaign for senate, I believe. I gave each of them a handful of coins.

While they were throwing their coins, Pete took a picture of the two of us. :-)

Got a super-cute shot of the kids by the fountain. They were getting a little tired of the pictures, but thankfully they let me take one more without to much complaining.

Lastly we went by the courthouse. They wanted their picture taken here. They thought it was cool! When you grow up in a small town, big building like this are pretty exciting. Can't imagine what they'd do if they stood by a skyscraper in Chicago!!

Flashback Friday

Halloween is coming up, so I thought I'd do some FF's all related to Halloween. This picture was taken in 2004. Noah was 1 and Madie was 3. Noah's outfit I got at a garage sale and I do believe this was my favorite costume of his ever! He was so precious in it. He would hide behind those ears and it was so sweet. Madie was Snow White. A costume I also got at a garage sale. Garage sales are the best places to get costumes. To buy them in a store, you're look at $25-30 minimum. Garage sale? $4. Pretty sweet deal! Em and Jeff were out visiting this year and walked with us as we went around to the different houses. I don't know if the kids remember that or not, but it was pretty fun.

In Memorium

In Loving Memory of Lincoln Abbott Drexler
9-22-09

We may not ever know why he wasn't strong enough to join us in life. But he was loved before we even knew him. We grieve the loss of the promise your life had. The memories we don't get to share on earth. But, we will meet you one day in Heaven and what a day of rejoicing that will be. God bless you sweet Lincoln. We love you.

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday is here again! This picture was taken when Madie was 2, I believe. I had her put on my veil and hold my flowers and then wrapped her up in my shawl. This picture actually didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I was trying to get her to look at me, but when I snapped it, she was looking down at the flowers. It was a happy accident, because what I ended up with was this beautiful picture of my little girl. My dad enlarged this and put it in his office and I remember Pete's mom telling me it brought tears to her eyes. Hard to believe that sweet little girl is now my ever-growing 8 yr old. Time goes by so quickly.

ZONE Kick-off

This past Sunday was our kick-off for Sunday School. We call our SS program "ZONE", which stands for Zeal for God, Oneness in Relationship, Nuture with Truth, and Express Love for Others. I didn't come up with that. Someone else did, but it's fun, catchy name and it's stuck. :-) Our SS program goes from Sept to May, so when it starts up again, it's always a fun time for me. Busy! But, fun. Love getting to see the kids again and get started in the new year. I've been the director of this program since it started 3 yrs ago. This is my 4th year doing it and I really enjoy it. The past 2 yrs we have had an evening extravaganza, where it took lots of volunteers, lots of money, and LOTS of time. Well, with our turnouts not being quite that extensive, I opted instead to just do a kick-off on our first Sunday together and I think it turned out great! We are starting with the story of Creation. Since our program is for children ages 3-5th grade (even including some 2s as well), we have to come up with creative ways to teach such a wide range of kids. For the kick-off I had games/crafts/etc.. for each day of Creation. I should've put the pictures below in order, but I didn't. Sorry. I started off by reading Genesis 1 - condensed version - to explain what each day was about. Then introduced them to all the different activities before releasing them to go enjoy them. For Day 1 - Day and Night - I make chocolate and vanilla swirl cookies to represent day and night. They didn't look like Martha Stewart made them, but they tasted good! :-)



Here was Day 3 - Water, Land, and Vegetation. The kids made globes using sticky earth shaped balls and tissue paper. Because we had 7 stations, the kids moved through each project quickly, so they could move on to the next one. All splitting up to go to different places throughout that hour.

This was Day 4 - Sun, Moon, and Stars. We had a fishing wall with stars on it and the kids would put their fishing poles over and get a prize. This was a favorite!

I almost didn't do Day 7. I didn't know what to do as a craft. Then I thought, why not make a place for them to rest? So, I propped up a bunch of pillows and put mats on the floor and set some big bible books nearby. I didn't know if the kids would do this or not, since there were other games and things to do, but this was a popular one! Every time I looked over, there were at least 2 kids laying down. It was so cute!

For Day 6 - Animals and Man - I had a playdough table. The kids LOVED this one! There was never less than 6 kids at this table and I only had out 4 chairs. :-) They made men and bees and horses and all different kids of things. All representing what God created during those 6 days.

This was Day 5 - Birds and Fish. I had a big page that looked like a jungle with different animals stickers, so they could make it look like the Garden of Eden.

Lastly was Day 2 - Sky and Atmosphere. I had a creation matching game. Each card had something about God's Creation on there. The kids liked this a lot, because everyone loves a good matching game! Plus, they got lollipops when they were done. Lollipops and kids go hand-in-hand. :-)

All in all, it was a great way to start off our program! We'll continue for the next couple of weeks talking about Creation and Adam and Eve's sin before moving into the story of Joseph. Excited to see what the kids learn this year and to welcome several new faces into our midst. I have such a passion for this and love that Pete helps and my kids learn and that it's become such a fabulous program!

Dance Class - Madie version 5.0

It's hard for me to believe that Madie is getting ready to start her 5th year of dance! But it's true! Today she started her 5th year at Patty Gray's School of Dance. She started when she was just 4 yrs old. I was pregnant with Livie and would sit upstairs for that hour while she danced and crosstitch or read. Now, she goes for 3 hours every Monday - just like last year. She absolutely loves dance and has several friends that she's made over the years there.



Dance class days are always hectic, because we have to race home from school, get homework done, get changed into her leotard, and get a snack, because her class is in Ottawa from 4-7. We always make it on time, though it's gotten close at times. Here she is, ready to start up again. :-)

She's old enough now that I don't have to walk her upstairs. It's an old building and you have to walk up some very steep steps to get to their studio. It's not a huge deal to go up there, just not fun to take 3 kids up there with me! So, for the past couple of years, I've walked Madie to the door and sent her on her way. I think she likes that bit of independance. She goes inside by herself and gets her shoes on and MP3 player ready and heads to her class. Can't wait to hear how it goes today!!

Dance Class - the "Olivia" Debut

Today was Olivia's first day of dance class. This is our 4th year at Patti Gray's. Livie was in my tummy when Madie first started going and since Livie was born, they've been waiting for her to get old enough to start as well. And, boy, was she excited to go! We had a busy morning with the garage sales in our area, but we got back just in time to all get showers and Livie dressed and ready to go. Here she is with her new dance bag. We figured if she had to wear hand-me-down shoes, she might as well get to pick her very own dance bag. It's pink with a glittery ballet slipper on it. :-)

Here she is about to go inside and upstairs for her very first day. It's her debut!

When we got inside, she put her bag on the hook, got her shoes on, and Miss Patti was there, ready to take her upstairs. Patti said, "It's finally your turn, isn't it?". :-)

While she was there (which is only for an hour), Pete, the kids, and I went to the church to get it ready for our SS kick-off tomorrow. We got done just in time to head back and get Livie. Since I dropped her off, Pete picked her up and this was the face we got when she got inside the car. Total and utter happiness!!! She absolutely loved it and couldn't wait to tell us all about it. She's so excited to finally be big enough to participate in the things that her brother and sister have. Whether it's school or dance or VBS - she's having a ball!

Flashback Friday

Today's Flashback Friday is a picture of my Grandpa Drexler, with my great-Grandpa Drexler, taken, I'm guessing, probably sometime in 1909. My grandpa was born in Jan of '08. And, that's not 2008 obviously. I love this picture. Just a sweet little boy with his dad, blowing flowers as my kids all have done and still do. He was the firstborn, and ultimately only child, born to my great-grandparents (Charles and Bertha Mae), so they took many photos of which we still have. His mom died during the spanish influenza that took so many lives in 1918. Gramps also came down with it and was very, very ill, but survived.

As a grandpa, he was eccentric and unusual compared to most grandpa's I knew. He didn't take you to the Toy Store when you'd visit him. Instead he'd take you to the Office Supply Store - which is probably why I still love shopping at them! If you ate anything with onions in it, he fret and fuss until you washed your hands. Not wanting a drop of onion to be any where it shouldn't. 'Course, I feel that way about broccoli, so I understand where he was coming from. ;-) And, the way he's worry about it, just made us laugh more, which is partly why I think he did that. He wore a long-sleeved dress shirt with dark pants and suspenders every day of his life. Whether it was 20 degrees outside or 120. And to counter that heat, he'd have 20 fans all over the house, blowing to try and keep some of that awful NJ humidity out of the house. Why he wouldn't get an a/c, I'll never know. He loved books and covered his house in them. Many times buying more than one copy, so he could share with others. He was a unique and wonderful and godly man. My grandpa passed away shortly before his 92nd birthday and it still makes me sad that he's not here. I would've loved for him to meet my kids. For him to see how happy I am in my life. He died a few months after I got married and I remember going to the house and seeing a picture of me in my wedding dress, next to Pete, hanging on the fireplace. I know he loved me, even if he wasn't a demostrative person. And, I love him back. So, this Flashback Friday is all about my grandpa and a picture of a sweet little boy that grew into a man who I deeply respected and loved.

Committee Meetings

Back in the spring, I headed up a group from church that worked on handing out scholarships to the graduating seniors and beyond. The 2 women on the group with me the year before had moved, so I had to find 2 women to take their place. I asked a gal that I was good friends with, who then suggested another friend and somehow our committee moved from being a short 1 hr session at church, to a 3 hr dinner at a local mexican joint as we sat and chatted and yes, eventually discussed scholarship. Well, it was decided then, between the three of us, that we needed to have these committee meetings more than just the once a year that we required. We decided that it needed to be monthly. Well, we all took the summer off, then met in August for our first non-official committee meeting. There were 4 of us at that time and we all had a great time, talking well into the evening. Just so much fun! Tonight was another one of those "meetings". We leave the husbands at home, the kids at home, and just enjoy spending time together - talking about anything under the sun. I brought my camera along this time and plan to document our growing group as we continue to meet. Tonight we had 5 people. :-) From left to right above, it's Lee Ann, Gwen, Shawn, Jennifer, and myself. After 8 yrs of being a mom, with only a spattering of nights out with girlfriends, I'm learning it's important to have that time to fellowship with friends and am taking the opportunities to do just that. And, I'm loving every minute!

Lincoln Park Zoo

Michelle and Ricardo spent the night in a hotel on Saturday night, so we were all able to head up to Chicago and go to the zoo. We woke up to it raining and the forecast saying "showers" all day, but there wasn't a drop of rain the entire time we were there, so we were really glad!

The kids were sooooo excited about going to the zoo. We've been to Brookfield, which is also in Chicago, but more on the outskirts of it. This one is right in the heart of Chicago, so Livie got to see all the skyscrapers for the first time. They all thought that was really, really cool! We went right by where we stayed on our anniversary trip, so we showed the kids out the window where we were. After driving around a bit, we found a parking lot and got everyone situated and down to the zoo. Here we are when we first walked in. You can tell they're pretty happy to be there!

Here they are looking at the zebras, I think.

There were beautiful flowers all around the zoo.

I love when they have little places like this at the zoo. Just perfect opportunties for pictures. The kids climbed up on those gorillas, finding the perfect spot for picture taking. Yes, there was a bit of a fight about where to sit, but we had all smiles for the photo.

Here are the Guerreros - Ricardo, Michelle, and sweet Alexander. He's such a doll!

I told Michelle, as we stood back to take pictures, that it's always us moms who take the pictures, while the dads take the kids to see the animals. I saw this happen with several of the families around the zoo. :-)

For a few brief minutes, we were the only ones in this little enclosed space, so Michelle was able to get a couple pictures in. I promised the kids this would be the only family picture I took that day, so they were pretty cooperative. And, of course, as soon as we were done and I was about to take a picture of Michelle and her family, the people started pouring in, so we didn't get one of them.

Here are the girls in the wagon we brought. The boys had gone to take a potty break, so we were watching the monkeys swing on their ropes.

The jaguar's cage was so close! He was right in the front, behind a glass wall, so it was really fun to see how close he was. He just kept pacing back and forth.

Alexander took a nap during our trip, so he's in his stroller sleeping in this picture, but it was a nice opportunity to take one of them all. We were by the bear cages.

Here's one of the bears. He got really, REALLY close. I know there was a huge drop off by the fence, but if he had jumped, he could've gotten us. He was THAT close!

Madie couldn't wait to see the giraffes the whole day, so she was really excited when we saw them. Here we are together, checking them out. :-)

Their favorite part by far was the carousel. It was big and beautiful and they loved it. Michelle and I stood on the sidelines and took pictures. Their faces when they were going by were so cute! Here's Ricardo and Alexander in the swan chair. Noah's right behind him, hanging off his warthog.

Livie waved everytime she went by. She sat on this gorilla. Even though it didn't go up and down, she wasn't disappointed. She was loving it!

Madie's on her jaguar. She loved it too. Always smiling and waving as she went along. I don't think Noah looked at me once when he was going by. He was having too much fun hanging off the thing and looking at himself in the mirror he was by. ;-)

After a little while Alexander woke up and was smiling at everyone. He was such a good baby. Only crying for a short while the whole time we were there and that was because he needed his nap and they had forgotten his binky. And, in true daddy form, Ricardo RAN all the way back to our parking lot to get it. And, trust me when I say, it wasn't a short trek. Mommy comforted him, before handing him over to Uncle Pete, who he bonded with the day before. He warmed up to our entire family and really liked us a lot. And, of course, the feeling was mutual. He is a sweet little boy.

This is right before we headed home. I was inside the food area, getting a smoothie for the way home, when Michelle took this picture of the kids with Pete. Isn't it funny?! Love it! We walked back to the parking lot - tired, but happy - having had a fabulous time with our friends! We ended up leaving, but they stuck around and headed to the lake and had dinner. Just a really great way to spend our Labor Day weekend. Can't wait for our next adventure!!

Friends

This weekend was so fun! My best friends since elementary school came to IL for a visit. Teresa came on her own, since her husband had to work 3rd shift the night before. Michelle brought her husband and little boy, who both stayed with Pete and the kids while we went out for the first time in YEARS - just us 3 girls. We've decided this is going to be an annual thing we do. So fun!! Since they both live in or by big cities (Indy and Ft Wayne), I tried to think of what I could do with them that might be fun and unique. We decided to just enjoy shopping in downtown Ottawa. I took them by the fountain in town where Lincoln and Douglas had their very first debate. While walking up there, Michelle pointed out a cicada on the ground, which Teresa promptly stepped on. TOTALLY gross!! It was actually 2 mating cicadas that she disposed of. I support the deposing, just not the disgusting cracking of their deaths. After that, we headed over to some of the shops. Sadly, some of them were closed that I really would have enjoyed taking them to, but we found one that they really liked. It's called Deja Vu and it's a really cute gift shop. Bought a few things then headed over to The Rowhouse for dinner. It's actually part of a set of rowhouses right by our church and is really cute and quaint and has great food.



Our waitress took our picture. :-) Thank goodness Michelle and Teresa remembered their cameras or I'd have no shots of this. You'd think my blogger mind would have thought to bring my camera, but I was so excited about going out with my friends that I forgot!

Here's Michelle and I in my booth.

And, here's Teresa and Michelle looking beautiful as ever! We had such a great time. I know it's going to be hard to wait until next Labor Day to do it all over again. Michelle came up with the great idea of calling it our annual "Friendship Day" and we all thought that was a fantastic idea. So, this will become our yearly thing, with visits in between with each other when we can make them. Teresa left that night and thankfully got home without any problems. Michelle, Ricardo, and Alexander stayed in a hotel that Sat night and the next day the three of them and the 5 of us headed to Chicago to the Lincoln Park Zoo. I'll post about that soon.