A Buck for Huck...plus a million more

$1,063,771.41
That is the amount of money that Mike Huckabee's campaign has raised on-line in the month of October. This amount has EXCEEDED the goal of $1,034,487.
WOW!!!
And how was the goal of $1,034,487 determined???
After the growing momentum following the Republican debate earlier this month and other boosts for Mike Huckabee to be the next President of the United States, he decided to set a (crazy) goal to raise $1 million more than the campaign had raised in the previous quarter.
Of course a campaign needs money, but I think this ginormous goal was to show the MEDIA that Huckabee has supporters, enthusiastic supporters, and that the support is growing.
For a largely grassroots campaign, this definitely makes a statement.
Have I mentioned that I LIKE MIKE???
The challenge is running until midnight tonight....
Will you contribute a Buck for Huck???

Macy-Baby is HERE!!

I am SO happy to announce that Macy Claire Miller has arrived!
She is daughter #2 for by cousin Chris Miller and his wife, Paige.
And I hear that Chloe is a very happy and proud big sister!!
I hope to have pictures soon....

Beggar's Night

Isabella in the "fairy costume" she created herself"Knock Knock"
"Who's There?"
"Isabel"
"Isabel Who?"
"Isa bel broken? I had to knock!"

"Go Hawkeyes!!!"

"Knock Knock."
"Who's there?"
"Hand."
"Hand Who?"
"Hand over the candy!!"

Sweet Sisters

Trick or Treating...Napa Valley style

Lisi at her cutest

For those of you who continue to talk about how "Stinkin' Cute" Lisi is, this is a picture of when I find her to be at her cutest....

conversations with Lisi

So last night Isabella, Lisi and I are driving home from Sandy & Adele's house, where the kids played with their cat. And this is part of the conversation that transpired...
Isabella: "Mom, do we need to take a tubby because we played with the cat? Or can we just wash hands?"
Me: "Oh, you can just wash hands, if you want."
Lisi: "Ya, I can just wash hands because I pet the cat. And because I picked my nose."

Baby Shaylee

We had the pleasure of having Shaylee at our house earlier this week. Bummer that her Mom, Melissa, was sick, but totally our gain to have the best baby on the planet staying with us:)Shaylee and Lisi

Shaylee & Isabella immediately after Iz coming home from school!

Shaylee, Iz & Lisi

Thank goodness Isabella is old enough to be a huge help to me!

Lisi's Therapy Session # 142

Maybe I needed to have 'before' pictures to give the full story. But Lisi's actions, attitude and poor choices have led to her having her room stripped...of everything. No toys, no stuffed animals, no pictures on the walls, no books...
...not even clothes in her drawers.
She has lost all privileges.
I am open to all suggestions on how to better parent her.
All stories of how "stinkin' cute" she is will fall on deft ears.

OATH dinner

Just a few pix from the dinner we hosted for Micaela and friends from Evangel University's Oath Ministry last Monday night. Again, it was our pleasure to have them here, and we are so thankful for the help that they offered for our Fall Family Festival!!Coop-Dog and Pastor Lori

Micaela, Joshua and the K-Train

Pastor Lori and her ORIGINAL kids

My Husband ROCKS!!!

Just a quick post as Baby Shaylee is spending the night tonight so her momma can get some rest and hopefully avoid the sickness that lingered with both myself and Dara for 2 weeks. YUCK!! But totally lucky for me that we get this sweet babe for the night and tomorrow!

Anyway, my husband ROCKS!!! And not just because he did not question my phone call to ask him to set up the pack and play and the swing:)

He got us tickets to see Rob Bell in Kansas City in 2 weeks!!
Woo Hoo!!!
I am not just a Rob Bell groupie, I think I have to admit that I am a Jesus Freak.
Rob is the Teaching Pastor for Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI. I really enjoy listening to his podcasts, and have shared them with family and friends. We also have the entire Nooma collection, and have shared those with family and friends, too. And, finally, if you have met my husband, you have probably been given a copy of Velvet Elvis. Even my 94 year old grandpa got one!!
Needless to say, listening to Rob in person should be AWESOME!!

Pictures of sweet Shaylee tomorrow...

Who Wants To Be A Fire Fighter???

Lisi and I were able to tag along for the fun when the Urbandale Fire Department visited the DMCS Kindergarten classes~ A great time was had by all!!
And as much fun as it was to watch the kids "ooooh and aaaah" at the fire truck itself, I thought it was GREAT that the firemen had one of their own go from their fire house 'blues' to full-fire attire, complete with the oxygen tank and talking thru the mask, while the kids watched. That way, should the kids ever be in a fire, they will not be as scared to see the fire men in action. It was a really good demonstration.
But no surprise that what the kids liked, was being outside with the truck. And just before the firemen left, they turned on the lights and siren, too!!

Wild West Family Festival

This past weekend was the Jordan Creek Family Church Fall Family Festival, and it was a wonderful Wild West party!!
Isabella and her friend Macy were perfect cowgirls ... complete with a horse for a costume!
And although Lisi had an adorable pink cowgirl outfit, and opted to be a Hawkeye cheerleader. That's our Lisi girl!!
Cale was voted "Little Kenny Chesney".
I just love the expressions that Colin comes up with!!
The festival was pulled off by our amazing Pastor Lori, her volunteer staff, and a group of college kids from Evangel University in Springfield, MO. Our family had the pleasure of hosting 3 girls for the weekend, and having ALL the kids over for dinner last night. Iz and Lisi have already told me that they wish the girls were still here, and I am already missing them, too. It was fun to have that energy in the house!

Grab Yourself a Cup of Coffee,

hot tea or a nice sweet tea, because I am getting caught up on my blogging! Had I posted each of these in a timely fashion, there would be so much more commentary. But instead, mostly just pictures to document the past month. It has been busy, but, oh!, so much fun!!!Happy 5th Birthday Miss Mia!!!

We had SO much fun celebrating with you at Chuck E Cheese

Making A Wish

Isabella, Marlee, Glenn and Lisi
at Alex's Birthday Dinner

CowGirl Lisi

Isabella and Alex
I think she is happiest when she is with him...but I'm not jealous
OK, maybe a little jealous:)

Happy Birthday 2 Emma!!

I almost lost my 'favorite cousin' status with Heather when I did not publish a 'birthday blog' for Emma last month...ooops! Thankfully our birthday gifts arrived in time, and were a big hit with Miss Emma...I think I have been redeemed!

Oooooh!! She is so stinkin' cute!!!

Nick, Heather and Emma in San Francisco on her birthday

sweet anticipation

California girl strollin' on the beach

Jordan's 7th Birthday

Our sweet friend, Jordan, turned 7 this past month, and invited Lisi & Isabella to join her at Build A Bear for a FABULOUS birthday party!!! I did not know what to expect, but was totally impressed with what a FUN party it was for everyone! BONUS: Isabella and Lisi brought home new 'friends' that still have a place of honor on each of their beds.

Jake and Lisi @ Build A Bear

The Birthday Girl
Getting Ready To Make A Birthday Wish!!

....and finally caught up!

Sweet Sisters at Jordan Creek Family Church

Why I LOVE Lindsay!!!
And I am sure she had just been telling Randy that it was "for the baby"

Michael and Sweet Reese.
The Young family recently 'left us' to move back to Omaha. We were able to have a reunion dinner last month, and as much FUN as it was, it really just left me wishing for more time with them. PLEASE MOVE BACK...or at least commute to church on Sunday mornings.

Lisi and Reesey-Piecey

Manndy, Mackenzie, Grandpa Bill, Nancy, Isabella and Lisi heading off for a nature walk

Playing Hookie

Last week was the first 'early out' for Kindergarten, and as a Mom who is missing her girl, we took full advantage of the time and went to paint pottery! Our car-pool buddy, Ellie, and her Mom, Amy, joined us (we left the younger siblings with friends~ woo hoo!!) I could have spent an entire day there, and albeit too short, it was a great afternoon.
Have I mentioned that I love being a Mom???

I Like Mike!

Tonight did it for me. I am officially supporting Mike Huckabee for President of the United States in 2008.
For the past several months I have been talking up John Cox for president, and I still think that he is a great candidate, but, unfortunately, he has not received the media attention that is needed to even let people know his name.
That said, I have been reading up on the other conservative candidates. Mark likes Fred Thompson. I am not as impressed.
I have liked everything I have read about Mike Huckabee, but quite honestly, I was afraid that he would sound like a preacher. I am all in favor of preachers, but not so sure it would play well for a president. But tonight at the Fox Republican Debates, Mike Huckabee showed me that not only are his views conservative, but his ideas are solid, he is articulate, and he has 'what it takes' to be president.
I Like Mike!!
And as if that were not enough, I learned how to vote via text message, too!!

don't ask why

In chatting with my good friend, Dara, about the day to day challenges of parenting, she said something that really resonated with me.
When your child does something wrong, don't ask "Why did you do that?"
They probably do not have a good reason as to why they did it.
That is the foundational problem we have of being born into a sinful nature. And try as we might to wish that we are all fundamentally good, the reality is that we are not. Bummer to hear that, I know. But true. As any 2 year old will demonstrate to you, if left to our own devices, we are more likely to do harm than good.
So what is a parent to do????
Instead, ask "Do you know why what you did was wrong?"
And then follow thru on the punishment.
Again, it is a bummer! What parent actually wants to do these things???
But establishing effective rules and boundaries, and then punishing the disobedience to those rules, is possibly THE key element of effective parenting.

reason to celebrate!!

Mark your calendars:
December 18th the Main Family will have not 1, but 2 girls in the Attic Door Theater production of Thank You, Santa.
Isabella has been perfectly cast as an elf named MerryThought.
Lisi will be a "life like doll".
Of course we had to stop for ice cream on the way home from getting this great news!

just sickly

If anyone reading this has been waiting for a returned phone call or e-mail from me this week, I apologize. I have just been sickly this week. Nothing horrible. Not sick enough to be bed-ridden, but sick enough that taking care of my 'mom responsibilities' has been about all that I can do. It has been about 8 days of this, and I am finally feeling better. YIPPEE!! I will do my best to get caught up with everyone this week!

R.I.P.

Last Easter our family experienced our own resurrection with our fish, Flounder. And that little fish has hung on, floated on his side, swam, rested on the bottom of his bowl, and generally astounded us for the past several months. But earlier this week, he swam no more.
Rest In Peace, Flounder.

Ribs Ain't Just For Dinner!

To know me is to know that I enjoy
*my family
*our church
*chapel day @ Des Moines Christian
and today I got all 3 rolled into 1 when Pastor Lori spoke at chapel this morning!
But let me back up a bit. When Mark and I began dating 10 years ago, he had video called Guard Your Heart, and, honestly, I thought that was the goofiest thing I had ever heard of. Never watched it. Never even asked him about it. Just thought it sounded goofy.
And then I read the book Boundaries, and again saw the phrase Guard Your Heart. It did not seem so goofy then, but I still did not really get its significance.
A couple of weeks ago I was cleaning out our video cabinet, saw that same video from 10 years ago, and began to wonder if there was something to it, but forgot all about it when tidying became my priority:)
Fast forward to this morning.
Pastor Lori spoke on the importance to Guard Your Heart. And now I get it...
As Pastor Lori so wonderfully illustrated, God gave us ribs to guard our physical heart. Because although we can live without a finger or various other body parts, without our heart, we cease to live.
And if we do not guard our heart spiritually, we will cease to live the life that God intended for each and every one of us.
So how do we develop "spiritual ribs"?
By prayer, studying God's word, worshiping God through song, giving praise to Him in all things, carefully choosing friends and friendships that honor God.
Conversely, we need to guard our hearts from unforgiveness, self-centeredness, placing money & things before our family & God, and relationships that only breed negativity.
What's the Big Idea???
Ribs Ain't Just For Dinner!
And by remembering Pastor Lori's very clever word picture of the verse, I can even recite it by memory:
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life"~ proverbs 4:23
and that may be the first full scripture I have ever memorized!

How Much Do I Really NEED????

OK, I was not going to admit to this 'challenge' I have placed upon myself. Honestly, I was too afraid of failing~ and I had not even begun! But when I mentioned it to (my favorite cousin) Heather, she immediately said that I need to blog about this. She said that someone else might be inspired to take up the challenge with me.
I guess that by blogging this, I am creating accountability. I am not sure that accountability is what I really want...
So here is the deal. I am trying, no I am going to, curb my spending for the month of October.
Whew. Wrote it. So much easier to go on now...
I am going to curb my spending for the month of October.
Groceries~ Yes.
A killer deal on a t-shirt at Target~ No.
And if you know me, you know that I am all about finding a good deal at Target:)
But for the month of October, good deal or not, I am not buying it.
Whew. I think I need to write that a few more times for it to really sink in.
I am not going to buy it.
I am not going to buy it.
I am not going to buy it.
Included in this challenge is to at the very least cut back on the number of purchases at Caribou and Starbucks. I mean, my cutie husband bought me a sweet coffee machine! I need to be using that more, and the drive thru less.
I am not going to buy it.
I am not going to buy it.
I am not going to buy it.

Aunt Matilda

Mark's Great Aunt Matilda died this past week at the age of 100.
She had been living in CA for years, but her family is bringing her home to Grinnell to be buried. The Pierce family (Mark's Dad's Mom's family) owned a farm in Grinnell. When the Interstate went thru, it divided the farm. The Pierce family donated a chunk of land to their church. It is that land that has the cemetery where Mark's Mom, Kay, is buried, and where Matilda will also be buried. And that is the church where Missy & Glenn were married 12 years ago. I have met many of these CA relatives at a family reunion (Estes Park) and just think the world of them. So we are meeting family in Grinnell for dinner tomorrow night, and then will go back for the funeral on Wednesday.
I was telling Isabella our plans, and telling her how special Matilda was (she danced the Charleston at the reunion just 5 years ago!) and how we were going to her funeral where she will be buried.
And Isabella asks me, "How can someone be buried AND go to live with Jesus?"
wow.
That sweet girl really stretches my own understanding.
But it was good to talk to her about that although on the outside she is so cute and has a left 'elf' ear like her Daddy, and a 'wonky' toe like Grandma Kay had, those things are just on the outside and will be buried when she dies.
But the person that she is on the inside~ how she cares about people, and always wants to lend a helping hand and how she loves Jesus~ that is who she is on the inside, and that is who will go to Heaven to live with Jesus.
She kind of nodded her head like she understood. My guess is that we have not finished that conversation...