Sept 24

First things first...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR AUNT JO!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!

The lady is amazing...just saying.

Thank you, Aunt Jo, for helping us with everything!

Thank you for being a bright, happy spot in Mom & Dad's lives. =)

I hope you had an absolutely fabulous day!!!

Ok, so, I could go on and on about my family and how fabulous they are.

Really, I mean, you might think you're family is great...and you are right.

They are.

However, mine is just FABULOUS!

This morning though I had mentioned the possibility about some moo-cows which are very different from your standard cow or even your chocolate milk cow.

We have a sweetheart of a neighbor who is dating this sweet guy who happens to have a dairy farm. Before we picked the kids up earlier in the summer, we visited the farm and met a bunch of the adorable calves. Of course, because we are so sweet to our children, we sent pictures to the kids. Uhmmmm, so that was a mistake. Since Abigail spotted those pictures it has been non-stop, "Can we go visit Mr. V and his calves!?!?! PLEASE!?!?!" Holy smokes, the girl is tenacious! Well, yesterday after our fabulous date =) , I made the kids dinner. Typical kids, they talked NON STOP until Stephen mentioned going to visit. 10 minutes later they were done, we were loaded and headed over. Mr. V was moving calves from their little pens into the big barn. He took no time in telling Abby she needed to take the rope and haul the reluctant calf to the barn. We quickly learned just how strong those  little babies are! It took Stephen, Abigail, Mr. V and Miss C (I think that's the first letter of her name) to get the calf moving and into the barn. Kyle was much more reluctant to get involved. I stopped to visit with the Momma of Mr. V. She is such a sweetie and a hard working lady! Within a few moments, Mr. V had Kyle working the wheelbarrow full of corn. He (Kyle) also had to do teamwork with Stephen & Abigail to wheel a wee little calf not even 24hrs old from one barn into a warmer barn. That little bugger was doing its best to kick and flip its way out of the wheelbarrow. Abby and Stephen had to work to hold the front legs so the calf was on its back and couldn't flip out. Sounds treacherous...right? But it is the safest way apparently to transport a calf.

Abigail was also chasing kittens. One is now named Whiskers and one is named Cookie Dough because it is white and that brownish coloring. Mr. V attempted to pay the kids by sending home a cat. Praise God Stephen put a stop to it. We spent well over an hour there. It was so great to see how the kids went from timid and shy to quickly telling me how things worked and what went where and how to feed the calves. So precious!

Tonight was just another example of how great this area is where we have moved.

The kids have discovered that people up here are just so sweet. Of course, you still have your typical kid moments at school, but the kids are doing SO well at school and church that their confidence has gone THROUGH THE ROOF!!!!!! =)

For example, he will probably kill me for this, but I just LOVE this story SO much!111

Ok, the other day we were at hour well check appointments for the kids. The NP asked Kyle what activities he enjoyed:

"Well, I like to play basketball, chase the ladies and play football."

"What!?"

"Basketball and..."

"Yes, I heard that and football, what else did you say?"

"Oh, yeah, I like to chase the ladies."

Back to how great the area is....at Awanas tonight, the kids learned that their schoolmates also go to Awanas. They came back tonight just SO excited that so many of their buddies attend. The adult leaders are a great example of just how sweet this area is.

Sweet dreams!

Sept. 21

Where to begin...

Well, the kids have started school.

Mom has successfully completed two home treatments.

I am in training for a job.

Dad is still rocking out at the house. (That's like a 5 post topic.)

Sarah is doing fabulously in cosmetology.

Esther is loving her internship and is, I believe, in her final semester.

Jonathan is now employed at LU. (I wish I could remember his official title! He has his name on the door and a sweet ....name plate (plaque? plack? I don't know.)

Sol, Katie & the boys seem to be doing great in TN.

Abe, Lauren & Cooper (he's 4 legged baby - so no one needs to go getting all worked up about not knowing about a family addition.)

Stephen is loving his new station!

Aunt Shawn is like an iron horse! Nothing gets her down!

Aunt Jo & Uncle Dan are still loving FL and have travelled all over the US.

Jim & Connie are loving retirement in FL. (Ha! & they lived there before ...so no...they aren't snowbirds!)

Jake, Kelly & kids are loving TN! Kelly is taking courses and being a full time mommy/housewife. (Props to her & Katie....I've no clue how you two keep up with so many littles!)

I have SO many topics that I am working on writing about.

As I take moments to sit down and write, this blog will grow and I am so excited to do it!

...well, let me clarify, IF I  stay focused it will be great!
However, I tend to not sit long enough to do much of the writing.

Sad really, I do so love to write. Think about it, you have an audience completely at your leisure. It really doesn't matter if they simply skim through a post or read each tiny morsel you write. They are yours. The space is yours. No one can impede upon it.

Technology is a wonderful thing...truly. For instance, family. Family that is as large as ours (Kafoure/Langenmayr/McKee) has a tendency to have many schedules. We branch from Indiana to Florida to Missouri and more...New York! Ha! Love that. =) Anyways, technology (quit distracting me!) is fabulous. There are some cousins that I very rarely get to see. Primarily, because we live in Missouri, Florida, Indiana and New York. It is just hard to coordinate the logistics of geography, work, and you get the idea.

However! The other day (Labor Day Sunday) God was so kind as to smile upon us! You see, my parents have always had the central location. My cousins from FL & MO came to IN to visit my folks. It JUST happened to work out that my aunt, and those cousins all descended upon my parents house at the same time! Thanks to FaceTime (and Steve Jobs) we were all able to visit and laugh and see each other!!!!! =)

Other times technology is a pain in the tail. Seriously. Have you tried traveling lately?

Without Google Maps or GPS or whatever?

Just using a paper map?

Pretty sure that is a lost art.

Also, kids! Kids have NO clue how to communicate, spell, interact, disengage from their thumbs and enjoy the good ole fashioned outdoors!

(Are you shaking your head and chuckling yet? I am, after all, only 32 and saying this...)

It was hilarious today. We had the kids well-check appointments. And by we, I mean me, Stephen was at work and I am sure very thankful he didn't have to go!

Well, the doctor asked me how much screen time the children acquired in 24hrs. I sheepishly said more than 3. In my defense, ...well, that's an excuse and as we all know excuses are like belly buttons (That's for you, Daddy!) She shook her head at me! Seriously! She also asked if the kids were active. They immediately said yes, Tae Kwon Do, Gymnastics, Basketball, Football, Cheerleading!

I said, "Is there pizza or ice cream involved?"

I clarified TKD (tae kwon do) was 2x per week and 45minutes each time. The other activities were past activities that hadn't been done for enjoyment or sports team purposes since last school year.

Needless to say, both children are healthy but are being strongly encouraged to get a more active lifestyle with fewer screen time hours. ;-)

I will try to get back on and write some more soon.

Like I said, I have some topics I am just DYING to write about.

If you find yourself the central character in one, you're welcome.

If you don't appreciate...well, you are still welcome.

I will only write the truth as I see it and as I see it, there are a LOT of you who deserve to be celebrated.

You.Are.Welcome.

TOODLES!