Blessing: Sibling Love

We are so blessed to have 2 great kids.  I've said that many times.  One of the blessings I pray for and am thankful for (so far) is that they love each other.  Alexis is a great big sister and Austin loves her too.  Here are a few summer pictures that capture their love.

Blessing: "Staycation"

This summer we went to Adventureland.  We decided that since we did Disney last year (exhausting and expensive) we'd just do a "Staycation" this year.  Brenda, Joshua, Nathan (Josh's friend), Kenley, Alexis, Justin and I went. Alexis had a blast as she was FINALLY tall enough to ride most of the "big rides".  She loved the Dragon.  Rode it 3 times and would have more if we would have let her.  It was a beautiful summer day and we LOVED the waterpark they have there now (although we didn't get pics of that).  We are blessed to be able to have the health to ride the rides, have the money to do this with our kids, and have family we love to go with.  Fun day!

Blessing: FREEDOM!

I love the 4th of July.  Maybe it's because it's in the middle of summer and I love summer.  No, that's not it.  It's because it's a celebration of our Independence and I'm so very thankful to live in a FREE country.  I'm thankful for each and every one of our service men and women and their families who sacrifice more than most of even realize.  I'm thankful for my brother, Adam, who gave 6 years of his life to serve in the U.S. Air Force.  I know it wasn't easy for him to be away and miss out on 6 years of his niece and nephew's lives.  It wasn't easy for him to miss family Christmas, Easter, birthdays.  It wasn't comfortable for him to leave our country for an entire year to be stationed in Korea.  But--It's because of people like him that we get the opportunity to enjoy freedom.  THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, to each and every U.S. service men and woman.

                                            My brother, Adam, in the plaid shorts.  Thanks

                                                               for your service Adam!

Here are a few pictures of our family enjoying Independence Day this year!

                                             Sparklers at the Storm Lake fireworks.

                                          Our crew parked waiting for fireworks in Storm Lake.

                                            Austin enjoying the parade in Storm Lake.

                                                    The kids having fun at the parade.

                                           Miss Independence Day Birthday Girl and Papa Cy

                                                                 Happy 4th of July!

Blessing: Swimming Lessons

This summer, my pretty girl got to take swimming lessons at our local Newell Pool (6/27-7/1_).  That pool in itself is a blessing.  We MIGHT have gone crazy in Newell this summer without it!   It was a huge blessing that Alexis could take Swimming Lessons with Becky.  Becky was GREAT with her (she loved her) and she learned a ton.  She was super timid about swimming alone at the beginning of the summer but after lessons with Becky, she did amazing.  She passed her swimming test to go off of the boards and was a rockstar for the rest of the summer. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE to go to the pool and want my kids to be able to grow up loving it too.  So thankful for swimming lessons!

Blessings by Laura Story

I was golfing with my sister and friend, Tab, last night at golf league. During our round, Tab mentioned a song she recently heard called "Blessings". I'd not heard it before. However, while reading one of my favorite christian blogs tonight, this song happened to be at the end of one of her posts. I love it and thought it was appropriate for my blog. It's a great song.

James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Blessing: Surving surgery #9

Alexis went "under" for at least the 9th time today..could be more but this is all I could come up with. So far in her 6 short years of life the poor child has had:

1) Heart surgery
2) G-tube surgery and phundoplication
3) Fix G-tube surgery
4) J-tube surgery
5) Remove J-tube surgery
6) Ear tubes and adenoids
7) Ear tubes again
8) Ear tubes again
9) Ear tubes and adenoids AGAIN!

She did great. Besides the 2 hour wait in the "waiting cell" before the surgery and the hour of crying and being confused from the anesthesia after the surgery, she did great!



Poor child has been through so much. She is SO brave. She is the reason I started this blog and much of the reason I put a smile on my face each day. She's such a blessing in the lives of so many. She's my HERO.



My brave girl waiting patiently for her surgery.

The Blessing of "Mean" Parents

When I was growing up, I used to think my parents were SO mean. I mean, really. We couldn't bring sack lunches to school. If we wanted to go shopping at the Buckle for $100 jeans, we had to work for them. If we were whiny and didn't feel like going to school, they made us suck it up and go anyway. We had bedtimes. The list goes on and on. After almost concluding my first year of teaching in a district with "less involved parents" (different clientele than I was used to in WDM) I've come to appreciate my "mean" parents more and more.

My parents stood for hard work. They stood for making us four kids earn an education and...if wanted $100 jeans, earning money to buy them. They stood for teaching us right from wrong and giving us consequences too. Yes, they spanked us and I thought I had it SO bad. They were SO mean. Why did they care SO much??

I appreciate my parents for so many things. One of the biggest things that I've overlooked all of these years, though, is the simple fact that they made me do things that I didn't always necessarily want to do. They taught me perseverance and hard work. At the age of 30 and having taught Special Ed. for 8 years now, those qualities have certainly come in handy. They're also coming in handy when I am trying to instill values into the lives of young people on a daily basis.

Mom and dad, thanks for everything you did for us growing up. Especially, thank you for teaching us 4 kids the value of hard work and perseverance. We're blessed.



My parents loving the life of grandparenthood. My kids are lucky to have them close.