Halloween – Spooky and DUCKY!

OH WHAT A NIGHT! Ducks beat USC 47 – 20!!! All trick-or-treaters to our house tonight got an extra handful of candy if they cheered for the Ducks or commented on the Ducks beating USC!  If they were dressed up in DUCKS gear, they received their choice of a monster candy bar!

Our Halloween Open house was definitely a success! Lots of food and fun with friends and family We definitely had the cutest trick-or-treaters in the world were at our house!

Annie and Nathan were so excited this year for Halloween. Daddy took them around the neighborhood and were gone over an hour knocking on doors for their candy! 

Annie dressed up as her “cousin” doggie, Bailey! Aunt Sarah helped deck her out with a matching scarf!  Bailey was perfectly dressed for the evening also sporting a Duck jersey!

Nathan was thrilled to be a Star Wars Clone Trooper this year. He was proud as he could be, as he strutted down the street with his clone blaster and pumpkin bag in hand.

Cousins Garrett (AKA: Spiderman) and Micah (AKA: Little Frog) came trick-or-treating with us tonight!

We had LOTS of very cute trick-or-treaters that came to our house tonight…but we voted, and the Schaap family took the grand prize! Batman (x2), Super Girl and Wonder Woman! Thoroughly impressive costumes!

Fall is Here!!!

 

My favorite season of the year is here! I love looking out our front window to see the row of bright red leaves turning and falling from the maples trees across the street. I love brisk, cool mornings and days that I can throw on a sweatshirt and sit down and snuggle up with a warm drink. Today was one of these days. Annie came home from school and we all three sat down for our warm drinks of choice. Today it was hot chocolate for Nathan and Mommy and  Chai Tea for Annie.

After our warm drinks were no more…the kids and I decided to surprise Daddy by raking up all the leaves in our yard. Granted, as I looked up at our beautiful maple tree, there will be many more leaves to fall in the days ahead!

My helpers!

Fire The Soul

I am hoping that as I write posts in my blog…I can share life with you. Funny things my kids do, milestones they make it to, along with significant experiences I have with them. Someday, I am hoping to print these pages and make a book of our lives. I am so behind on scrapbooking I am wondering if this might help…at least to get stories down that I won’t forget. Anyway…I didn’t want to miss this story:

During the Month of August, our church, Salem Alliance had 3 amazing prayer experiences/walks called “FIRE THE SOUL.” We were able to come in during the week to the church and walk through; each week had a different theme. This is my experience taking Annie and Nathan. I wrote this out right after it happened…but forgot about it. I just came across it again and wanted to share it with you. This experience really impacted me. Kids are so sensitive to the Spirit…I really want to be more like them!

Annie – What does FIRE THE SOUL mean?

Rochelle – Well you know that Jesus lives in your Heart right?

Annie – Yes

Rochelle – A soul is the place where Jesus lives…kind of like how we say Jesus lives in your Heart. You could also say that Jesus lives in your Soul.

Annie – Like a shoe?

Rochelle – No…like your heart. It’s just a different way to say it.

Annie – OH. So “Fire the soul” is kind of like heart burn!

Rochelle – (stifling laughing out loud) No…(pause) It’s just another way to say that you are excited. That your heart is excited about Jesus…and praying sometimes helps us get closer to Jesus and makes us excited about what HE wants for us or the people around us.  So when we go to FIRE THE SOUL we will be seeing what God wants to say to us…that might get us excited about praying and learning to see the world through HIS eyes.

Annie – OK…sure we can go.

SO… when we went to Fire and Soul…I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I took both Annie and Nathan.

We walked in and saw the piles of rice on the tables.

Annie – Mom, what’s the rice for?

Rochelle – Well…let’s see.

We walked over to the table right in front with the “Super Bowl rice” – noting the number of people were who watched the Super Bowl at the stadium…small pile of rice #1, then a gigantic mountain of rice (pile #2) representing the number of people who watched the Super Bowl on TV

Annie – Wow…mom that’s a lot of people.

Annie, Nathan and I walked quietly through and Annie read each of the white labels on the table, each explaining what each pile of rice was representing. As we got toward the back of the room…I had to explain what abortions were, the countries that had been mentioned she had never heard of, etc. She was very quiet and was just “taking it all in.”  We got to the table with the mound of rice representing the number of people that eat at McDonalds each day. Annie laughed out loud and she and Nathan had a conversation about how many people that was…”thousands…or millions…or ka-trillions!?” They went around the other side of the table and read the next label…”number of children who die each year of hunger.”  Annie stopped. She instinctively put her hand on the pile of rice and held it there firmly so grains of rice were in between her fingers.

Annie – Mom, all these kids die because they don’t have food?!

Rochelle- Yes Annie. There are a lot of parts of the world that kids don’t get meals like we do every day.

She stood there in silence, tears forming in her eyes, with her hand pressed firmly in the mound of rice representing the children. Then she turned to me and said

Annie – Mom, I think we need to pray for these kids! Can I pray for them?

Rochelle – OF course!  (I was standing there thinking…why hadn’t I been doing that as we walked by other areas…why wasn’t that my idea?)

After she prayed…we continued through the room. We prayed for at least 4-5 more areas that either Annie, Nathan or I felt the Holy Spirit directing us to pray.  Each time with our hands on the mounds of rice! It really was an AMAZING EXPERIENCE! AND to learn through, and from, my daughter!

Sometimes I am amazed at how clearly children, even my children, can simplify things to see things through the eyes of Jesus and with the heart of the Holy Spirit. Their little hearts are not influenced in the same way that adults are de-sensitized to the ways the world tells us to process or look at things. They can see a problem, need, or someone hurting and just simply pray. AND their FAITH is so strong so completely able to TRUST in God and his plan for us!

I love that my kids are teaching me more of how to listen to the heart of God. This experience with Annie and Nathan truly opened my eyes in a new way to what Jesus was saying in Matthew 18. Jesus called a young child to himself and said, “I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Toothless Grin

Annie lost her two front teeth!  So now she is singing, “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!” 

The cutest thing is that her ability to pronounce her “s” and “th” sounds has become more difficult. I have to say I giggle a little…because it’s so darn adorable!

A Weekend Getaway!

I have to say I am so very blessed!  I have the best life! Married for almost 13 years to my very best friend, I’m mom to two incredible children (and after a weekend away at the beach without them, I can now appreciate them more)!

Ammon and I got away for the weekend. Knowing fall was going to be quite busy, I made reservations when I thought that things would have slowed down a little. Timing was perfect, AND it was a BYE weekend for the Ducks…so we didn’t watch any TV!

We went to Lincoln City and stayed at snazzy hotel, “The Odysseus.”  The weather cleared for a short time while we enjoyed a long walk on the beach…before the significant wind and rain storm that unleashed itself on the coastal shores! 

We ate our way through the weekend, trying new restaurants and new foods that we have wanted to try together. We took 2 new books to the beach and actually sat and read for a couple of hours (without interruption).

Time flew by and yes…we had to come back to reality. We retrieved our well-spoiled children from their grandparent’s house and now I have settled in for the evening before my crazy week starts! More laundry, more activities, more dates/meetings on the calendar to make sure I make it to…

BUT for now…I am resting in God’s goodness and provision for me. My heart is full and happy. I am feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on the week!  You can all remind me of that next week ok?

Nathan’s picture day

Today Nathan had his first school pictures, but mommy also decided he needed a picture with his teachers.

You know how the first day of school is in every classroom? I didn’t forget to get this very important picture of Nathan with his new teachers, Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Rose on the first day of school. I just chose to take it when things were less chaotic. So this morning of school pictures was it! 

Nathan is loving his class in the Pre-school 4 year old class he attends. He often doesn’t have much to say about his days, though I can often find out from him at least what he had for snack and only sometimes what story was read in class.  He says that his favorite thing to do is play on the playground, which I have to say doesn’t surprise me at all! 

He is learning to identify and write his ABC’s and has come home with some impressive art work! “B” is for Bear and “C” is for Caterpillar!

My boy is growing up before my eyes. I am still so thankful for the special times I have with him while he is not in school during the week.  Our trips to the park, dates we go on to Starbucks, reading books with him, playing Legos (and letting him teach me how to make spaceships cause his dear mother has very little imagination and is definitely not a Lego engineer), and just hanging out together.

Nathan can be stubborn and silly. He is shy and yet affectionate! He is learning and growing and becoming who God has made him to be!  I love it, despite the craziness I feel when Nathan is having a “difficult” day…I DO LOVE IT!

Annie’s Jog-A-Thon

Annie ran her heart out today! A 20 minute run and my girl ran almost 2 miles!  A 10 minute mile for a 2nd grader is pretty good! Thanks to all of you who sponsored her!

GO ANNIE!!!

Annie’s teacher, Mrs. Hansen ran the entire time with her class!

Annie with her friend Alivia after the jog-a-thon.

Nathan being the “cute” little brother!  Though I do have to say he cheered Annie on during her race.

Nathan’s 1st Field Trip

Today, Nathan was the “Apple of my eye!” We had such a fun time together today at EZ Orchards Farm. Nathan enjoyed his first field trip and getting go on a hay ride, pick out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, pick an apple right off the tree and enjoy a yummy donut and apple cider at the end!

I love being able to be at home so I am able to attend these memorable events. However, I think Nathan will probably remember wearing his boots and running through the mud puddles more than anything else!

Nathan took quite a lot of care in the pumpkin that he chose to bring home. It couldn’t have too much mud on it and he looked them all over to make sure there were no slugs or bugs…like on the first one we saw.

Apple Cider and apple cider donuts! MMMMMM! MMMMMMM! Good!

The coolest part of the morning for me was when I prayed with Nathan on the way to EZ Orchards that God would help it not rain till we had finished our time at the farm. Then, after we were all done and heading back to the car I asked Nathan what the coolest part of the morning was. He told me it was “Cool that it didn’t rain.”  I said, “Yep, just like we prayed huh?”  He responded by saying, “YEP! All we had to do was ask HIM.” 

Ahhh…childlike faith. To tell you the truth I was holding my breath the whole morning thinking it would probably rain any second. I guess I have a lot to learn from my son!

Proud Kids

 

Annie is excited because she lost another tooth.  A good one too, right in the front.  (A the one next to it is starting to wiggle as well.)

Annie is also proud to be taking Pre-ballet at the Kroc center.  She is learning quickly and doing very well.

 

Nathan is proud because he is a defender of the Galactic Republic.  He got to open his Halloween costume early, and he could be happier.  He loves Star Wars!

First Day of School – September 9, 2009

Annie and Nathan had their first day of school and were both very excited! Nathan started 4 year old pre-school in Mrs. Brown’s class and Annie began 2nd grade with her new teacher Mrs. Hansen.

 

Sporting his new Clone Wars T-Shirt and Backpack he was off to a great start!

Annie wore a new sweater she had picked out, despite the end of summer heat.

It’s hard to believe how fast time flies. Both kids in school now. What’s a mom to do? Hmmm. I have plenty of ideas to keep me very busy. Hearts at Home is getting started soon and many projects around the house hang in the back of my mind. Is 2 1/2 hours MWF going to be enough time to get everything done? I doubt it.

Blog Test

Just testing the new blog to see if I can upload some text and files.  Hopefully all will go well…