Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Boys & Girls Revelation

Abby has been interested in "who's a boy" and "who's a girl" recently. She makes sure that she lets everyone know thier gender from time to time....."Dada, you a boy" or "Sissy, you a girl" She even has to know the gender of pets, babies and anyone else that may come over/church, homeschool group...it can be exhausting to answer her questions of, "Is he a boy?" "Is he a girl?" Sometimes we tease and say that daddy and bub are boys and boys are stinky...
well, she had a revelation in the bathroom the other day (which is where most revelations take place...come on...you know I'm right) She says, "Mom, I know, I know....potty is a girl and poopy is a boy!

Other than bathroom revelations ....we are snowed in and it is freezing here. Kev still got out to do inspections though....he is determined to not get behind. I'm completely over the wet boots, snowpants, hats & gloves that are constantly lying around to dry... making my kitchen floor wet (I keep stepping in it and getting my socks wet.....I am remembering to wear my slippers a little more often now). The time it takes to get everthing on everyone vs. time spent outside before they come in crying because their glove has come off isn't worth the effort! But, the good mother inside me trys to understand how much the kids want to get out there and enjoy winter while we have it. I take comfort in the fact that winter is only one season here in the Midwest!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Midwest Snow Removal

This is the name of the Snow Removal business that Zach and Jord started last year. Their profits last year were around$50-$60. This is the first time the flyers have gone out to the neighborhood this year and so far we have a couple of takers. Rach has joined them so the profits are split 3 ways now! My husband's business is called Midwest Apprasial Services...hence the MWSR.
As far as MWAS goes, we are over 100 orders for the month and counting...we are getting some help this week from a dear friend & neighbor that used to work for us, but has since went back to school to get her nursing degree. She has agreed to help bring us back to a level of sanity! She will come in a couple hours a day to help us manage the orders coming in and going out.
Other news:
  • My mom and dad are in Florida ...they have already called to rub in the 80 degree temps
  • Our van is now in Indiana...it was picked up over the weekend by my cousin....hopefully he can get it back into working order. I have been able to borrow a suburban that belongs to Kev's dad as needed. Thanks Papaw!
  • Abby had been taking Singular for her asthma, but had to take her off as she was having night terrors and mood swings during the day.
  • My hubby played the drums at church today...filling in for someone else. I also played the piano for one of the songs that we sang today...It was great to be in a "band" with him!
  • Pray that we find a solution to Abby's asthma (God's healing power would be best)
  • Pray that we continue to follow the Lord as the business grows...we need His wisdom to make the right decisions.

Hope you all had a great weekend and I pray that you all would have a blessed week!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

"No mom, I not eat de donuts"


Hostess white powdered donuts.....Abby's favorite!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Cincinnati Weekend














This is the gang watching the scuba divers in the shark tank!

We had a great weekend trip..despite Abby having a bout with asthma. We never go anywhere without her breathing machine & medicine so we were prepared, but the first night in the hotel she coughed and coughed for hours. Which means she and everyone else were very tired the next day. We started out on Sat after BB games and headed straight to the Creation Museum. A homeschool friend of mine has lifetime guest passes so we knew we could get in Sat and Sun. We only had time on Sat to see a snake show and look around. We headed back on Sun and went through the rest of the Museum. AIG (Answers in Genesis) has done a really nice job of presenting creation from the Biblical perspective! It sparked alot of great conversations with the older kids. The Noah's ark section was a favorite of the littler ones.

Kev's mom, dad, brother and his family, sister and her family all met us at the hotel Sun afternoon and we spent the rest of the day swimming, eating and running from room to room. We had to be asked to quiet down and shut our doors....it was bedtime anyways. It's hard to keep 10 kids from getting too loud when they are having a good time.

Monday we headed out to the Newport Aquarium...it was crowded! We saw lots & lots of fish, frogs, sea otters (which were very playful and cute), sea horses, jellyfish & crabs. One favorite was the shark tank. We watched scuba divers up close as sharks, manta rays & huge sea turles swam around them. Another favorite was the penguins....waddle, waddle,waddle....as Abby says. We grabbed some lunch just outside of Cincinnati and headed home.

Kev had tons of orders to come home to ... a record 88 orders for the month right now (remember that an average month - 30 days - is about 40 orders). He went straight to work when we got home and I did too. Getting ready for school & doing laundry.

Tried to watch some of the inauguration yesterday....I had Z and Jord watch some as well, just for the history of it. We had followed the election so closely, read books about our election process and studied the candidates so I figured that I had better see the study through and cover the inauguration yesterday. The Obama's have got to be exhausted after going to all those balls and staying up so late after such a busy day....and they started today with a church service and prayer...so far so good!










Friday, January 16, 2009

History & Science Weekend

We are heading out tomorrow for Cincinnati. We really need a weekend away...hopefully K will not have to bring to much work w/him and he can relax a little bit. I know the kids & I are looking forward to having him all to ourselves. He works nights/days/weekends. Right now he is at 69 orders for the month. That makes this a record month and we're only 1/2 way through it. Thank you Lord for the business. We'll take it while we can get it!

We'll start out the day tomorrow with Basketball games. Zach's first, then Jord's. Then we will get on the road and make it to the Creation Museum in the afternoon. Then back to the hotel for some dinner and pool time! Sunday we make try to find the IKEA store and maybe go back to the Creation Museum before the rest of K's family arrives in the afternoon. Dinner and pool time again. Monday we are planning to spend the day at the Newport Aquarium. We will head home in the evening when we are finished there. So, you see ...a little bit of history (biblical history) and science! We'll take lots of pictures to share.

Well, I still have lots to do to get ready so I stop here.....oh one more thing....we were trying on bathing suits and Abby REFUSED to take hers off. She wore it the entire day! I begged her,even tried to bribe her into taking it off. I was cold for her. She was even in the basement where it is chilly (especially when the temp outside is -2 degrees). Nothing was going to get that "baby soup" (as she still calls it) off. Even the pizza delivery man had to make a comment as he stepped into our house out of the frigid cold to see a little girl running around in a bathing suit. Finally, a shower is what convinced her to take it off and I quickly packed it away!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Pets in the Snow











I took these pics today when the pets were out in the snow! The bunny kept trying to get close to the dog for warmth I think, but the dog kept trying to play. They were so quite outside in the snow! Now the kids want to go out...so I'm heading to the basement to pull out all the "stuff" to play in the snow. We have a couple of inches here so it should be fun!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Monday, January 12,2009

We are back into full days of school this week....I've already heard protests from the little people in this house.

Kev's apprentice is back to work for him this week, so his load should be lighter....God has blessed the business... we have more work than we can handle. An appraiser friend of his is also starting to work for him this week and we also have a lady that works for him in Cincinnati. We have enough orders to keep everyone busy! I remember when he decided to go out on his own...we would wait so anxiously for a fax/e-mail...could it be an order??? We would run to check and be so excited if it was!

Tonight, Z has BB practice and the girls will go to Awana. We have our first homeschool group meeting of this semester on Thurs so I need to prepare for that and then on Saturday we are heading to Cincinnati for the weekend. Creation Museum and Newport Aquarium. For Christmas w/Kev's family we decided to put all the money that we would spend on each other in "the pot" so to speak and take a trip somewhere. With the kids having no school on MLK day, we decided that this was the weekend we should go!

I know you are all thinking that we must have exploded our entire house up since I haven't posted anything about the volcano that we were building ...but I kept forgetting to get the club soda that is needed to make the explosion so our volcano sits dormant right now awaiting the right ingredients to make it explode! We were so busy last week w/all of us trying to help daddy get through the massive amount orders and spend as much time as we could with moving neighbors that we didn't get around to much else! We will take pics and let you know when we get it all together and make this volcano erupt.

Have a great week!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

School Starts TODAY!

Yeah! We have finally started back to school in this new year! It has been a great productive day and I'm surprised at how much every retained from before the break!

Our neighbors behind us (the Lorow's) stopped by to say goodbye as they headed out of town for good. We all stood in our doorway and cried. How wonderful it has been to have such wonderful Christian homeschooled boys for Zach to play with every day...their girls are wonderful as well. They were the Youth pastors at Maranatha Baptist Church and lead the Awana Club there. What a great impact they have had on my children....they will be missed.

So, life moves on and we have to stay on the path that God has laid out for us. On that path He has provided us with many wonderful friends that we have been close with for a season and then either they or us have moved on. These are lifelong friends we continue to love and support across the miles. What a blessing to have been a part of their lives for that season. We are still surrounded by neighbors, family and homeschool friends that are wonderful and supportive....we may have to call on them a bit more often now!

It's snowy here! Not enough to really play in, but the ground is covered!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Still No School!

Well, school didn't start today, despite what the calendar says. I'll have to explain...Our dear friends and homeschoolers that live behind us are leaving for VA for good on Thursday. Zach is best buddies with the two brothers and the girls sometimes play with the two sisters. Kevin, Kaleb and Zach have spent almost every afternoon together, either at our house or theirs for the past 3-4 years. Anyways, last night was a good night for the boys to stay all night, so school was postponed to spend time with friends before they leave.

Kevin is swamped with work...even I was typing up orders last night trying to help get orders out the door on time. We are thankful for all the business and are praying for God's strength and wisdom to keep up the pace. The apprentice that we had hired in the fall had taken some time off around the holidays and took a warehouse job while we were slow, but now we need him so hopefully he can get back in here quick.

We constructed an exploding volcano last night, but have to wait 24 hours for the mold to completely dry before we actually explode it, so tonight if you see smoke coming from our house, don't worry we are just doing a little science experiment. We also just watched, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" which is also about volcanoes. It is a good movie for boys! Anyways, I'll take pictures so you can all see the mess and excitement!

Monday, January 5, 2009

No school yet!

We are NOT starting school today despite all the calendars that I wrote it on! I am not ready! Since we took a trip to Indiana I haven't had a chance to take down Christmas yet. That really needs to be done before we pull out the school books.
Zach and Jord are at Great Grandpa (98) and Marcia's right now...having lunch, playing games and working on AWANA. We had made plans for them to spend some time with them after the first of the year and today was the day! AWANA is tonight and also the Buckeyes are playing in the Tostito Bowl tonight...so I know the guys around here are going to want to watch the game. I need to run to the store for "game food" ...you know..chips, dip & pizza rolls....something like that anyways. So, it will be a late night tonight and so there may not be school tomorrow, but definately Wed! I'm going to put it on the calendar for Wed!
Well, I need to get busy taking down the Christmas decorations! Hope you are all off to a good start in 2009! We are getting there...I just need a few more days!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy New Year!

I am in Indiana right now at my parents! My mom came over for a couple of days and was heading home on New Year's Day......it wasn't enough time with her and we hadn't gotten to see my dad or brother for Christmas......so we decided to come home with her. Kevin is swamped with work, but he packed up his "mobile office" and away we went following my mom home. It was nice because we had a couple kids and a dog and she had a couple kids. We had a little more room that usual. We met the family and some grandparents, aunts and uncles last night for dinner for my mom's birthday.... What a great way to start the new year!
My Grandma Fogle just stopped in so I'm going to stop this blog to chat with her.
Here's to 2009! Can't wait to see what God has in store for us this year!