A Random Monday

What a great weekend we had! We enjoyed having Mr. Will and Miss Morgan over for a long-overdue visit. The big boys loved watching Drake clobber Marist (yep, that is actually a college) in Bulldog football, and Iowans were happy all over the place with a winning football weekend--not that I even pay attention, but my obsessed-with-football-8-year-old keeps me well-informed. We had perfect, if a little chilly, weather for Max's flag-football game and Zoe's soccer game--the big girl scored 2 goals! It was awesome!! She is getting a little more aggressive (in a good way!) on the field and learning to hold her own--something she has already mastered at home! :)

On another note: want to make your kids LOVE you?? Buy some Halloween Oreo cookies. Except that I just found 10 of the chocolate cookie parts in the basement wastebasket with the orange cream part all licked out. :)

Spent a couple of hours yesterday cooking for our cooking co-op. YUM!! What did I make this time? I made Chicken & Chips (yummy easy chicken enchilada-like recipe), Meatball Sub Casserole (Max's new favorite!) and Creamy Chicken & Pasta(thanks, Heidi!). Can't wait to see what I get from my friends. Oh, how I love cooking co-op! I will post the recipes sometime. For now, my house smells like a restaurant. :) At least that's what Max told me this morning.

We also got to visit Baby Hallie again last night. What a precious baby! Each of the kids took turns holding her--yes, even Tate. I was pleasantly surprised at how gentle he was--until he tried to stick his fingers in her mouth. And when he gave her an open-mouth kiss on her chin. Oh, well--maybe we can tell that story at their wedding! :) One can hope!

Oh, I finished an amazing book. Seriously. "The Help" is one of those rare books that make you stay up until 3 AM reading until the book falls out of your hands and jerks you awake. It's that good. I am a little behind the times here--I think most people were reading it about a year ago. But it is definitely, definitely worth that 3-month wait from the library. Read it.

In an effort to simplify (a small effort I know), I pulled Zoe out of her cheerleading clinic. It is on Monday nights and it has been hard to drag her there to go. I don't ever want to make her do something she doesn't want to do. So I talked to the director and she said she had seen the same thing from Zoe during the class. So we both decided it was best to let it go for now. I really think it's more about us being too busy and go, go, go--rushing to get dinner done, rushing to get there--than it is about her not enjoying it. I love simplifying though! It will make our Monday nights a little more low-key.

I do believe that Max is going to be an evangelist (again, in a good way!). Last week at Awana, the story/message for the kids was talking to others about Jesus. One of the leaders told a great story sharing about Jesus with her non-Christian classmates in nursing school. She told the kids that they should talk about our God with all of our friends, so that our friends can know Jesus too. Well, wouldn't you know, the very next day, Max got on the bus for school and started talking to his good friend M, who is also our neighbor and whose family is Muslim. From all that Max shared with me and Buck, it sounds like the 2 of them had a really in-depth conversation about Jesus and about Islam. Wow!! I probably haven't done that ever in my life, and here my 8-year-old does it the very next day. Mrs. Peterson at Awana also stressed the importance of respecting our friends' beliefs while still sharing the truth of God's love...and Max did it perfectly. Taught me a little lesson as well--I shouldn't hate the school bus so much. God's work can be done ANYWHERE.

Happy 1st anniversary to our dear friends Tim and Melissa!! Love you guys!!

So there you go...a very random Monday. I have told you more than you could ever possibly want to know about my little corner of the world. I hope you have a beautiful week--we are living it up in the sunshine for as long as we possibly can. Love to you all,