Playing catch up...

Here are a few more pics of the last month...family visits, Fall Festival, and Halloween!!

Watching Trent's last soccer game of the season. It was great to finally see Loren after his year of teaching in China!

We picked out a couple of pumpkins to carve with Grandma, but the boys wouldn't get in and take out the seeds! They did enjoy eating them though.

Drew wanted his pumpkin to have lots of teeth!

Loren and Trent had a fierce game of driveway hockey goin' on.

We attended a Fall Festival...complete with 2 moonwalks, lots of carnival games, and need I say CANDY!! Drew had to have 2 glare protectors just like Trent...he wanted to put them on himself.

Nice aim! Lots of practice I guess!

Love the tongue sticking out...such concentration for a 4 year old!

Trick-or-Treating!!!! The boys each managed close to 200 pieces!!!!

Sunsets...

This is just one of the beautiful sunsets we've enjoyed while eating dinner in our dining room. The beauty of nature makes it easy to talk to our boys about the awesomeness of God's creation. Talking of and living out our relationship with Christ, in front of our kids, can be an overwhelming task at times. I'm thankful for the "small" opportunities God gives us to instill truth into the hearts of our children. I wonder how many teachable moments I have just let pass me by. Yet, I'm thankful that tomorrow is a new day. I love the reminder I get from each sunset that His mercies are new every morning. I can't help but think about our son Noah and what he must be experiencing right at this very moment. This sunset reminds me of the majesty and creativity of our Creator, and I am thankful as a stand in awe. I wonder what "pictures" God has shown my Noah...the majesty and glory of God must be truly incredible. This picture doesn't do it justice, but it wets my appetite, and I look forward-with joy-to be in the presence of God.

Psalm 145:3 -7 "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness."

Soccer Saturday

Last Saturday Drew and I went to Trent's third soccer game. They tried hard, but the bigger team (and I do mean like 2nd graders) had quite the advantage. The final score was 1-10. Here are a few shots of Trent playing like a champ - regardless of the score!

Trent threw it in so hard, he fell right over. :)

Birthday Boy!

Well we celebrated Drew's 4th birthday last week. Hard to believe he's already 4. We took him to Tokens 'n tickets because I refused to go to Chuckie Cheese. To my delight we were the ONLY ones there until about 10 minutes before we left - just 2 high schoolers showed up. It was great fun, without the madness of a gazillion other children running around! Of course the boys enjoyed picking out some prizes with the 192 tickets they won. They chose bubble tape...yum...(no doubt I could have just bought 2 at Meijer for less than $2, instead of the $10 I spent on tokens! At least they had fun playing all the games, and I appreciated not fighting a big crowd.) Enjoy some childish wonder...

Grandma's visit!

Wow! This week has flown by. It's been almost 2 years since Grandma Koning has come here to stay for a visit and the boys were so excited to have her. (of course the Wii that Aunt Linda let her bring with her was a bit hit also...they boys thanked God for it every night in their bedtime prayers).

We got to go to Trent's class and read a story and share about our family for his week as Star Student.

We also had a fabulous time watching Trent's soccer game IN THE RAIN. He even scored a goal.

Eating chili dogs at Coney Island was a treat.

The boys thoroughly enjoyed beating grandma at the Wii (or "Weed" as grandma calls it).

They also enjoyed playing UNO, Candy Land, baseball, hockey, and soccer. (with a very brave grandma, I might add!)

Thanks for spending time with us Hoosiers, Grandma. We love you!

New Ventures...

It's been six years since I've worked outside of the home, but starting Monday I'll be working part time at a local YMCA. I'm excited to be working with school age kids again. No lesson plans, just hanging out - helping with homework - and creatively channeling their energy!! This job will allow me to bring Trent and Drew with me. I'm very grateful for this, as I'm well aware of the preciousness of the time I have to spend with them. I'm also ready to take full advantage of a family membership to work out regularly!! Let the fun begin...

I also got a call from the doctor about some blood work that came back abnormal. I was actually really surprised by this, it kind of hit me from out of the blue. Evidently my thyroid is not really functioning anymore. Not sure as to the reason, but i guess its not that uncommon in women. It can be hereditary, though, I don't know of any one in my family who has similar problems. I tell ya, I hit thirty and I'm fallin' apart! The doctor says once function is lost, it doesn't just come back, so I've begun a life long regimen of a thyroid hormone. Thankfully it's affordable, and nothing more serious. Now we just wait for a few weeks for it to "kick in." Hopefully I'll notice a big difference in my energy level. I've been quite tired lately.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

I just wanted to write a quick post and thank everyone for your prayers for Jen and me last night. I believe there were 288 in attendence. Everything went great, Jen and I made it through without "falling apart" with tears, though I saw many men even wipe their faces with their dinner napkins. We were grateful that through our stories, many could see how God truly worked in our lives. It was NOT our own strength. Our prayer is that God continues to use the lives of our boys to touch others hearts. To God be the glory.

I'll try to add some photos later...we decided to post our links and more info we have found helpful in a resource blog of sorts...check out our new blog here.

Thanks again, friends!