A Half Marathon Finish & Cora's Playground Dedication....

You've heard me mention our friends Seth & Sarah and their two kids, Collin & Natalie. Well, Seth has recently taken up some long distance running with an ultimate goal of completing a marathon next month. Today, however, was the Wichita Half Marathon. Seth decided to run it as a training run, and Marc ran it with him. Just to be clear for any of you non-runners out there -- a Half Marathon is 13.1 Miles or 21.097 km (for you non-USA readers).

Marc & Seth left early this morning for the race.

A little while later (we didn't get up quite as early), Sarah & I loaded up three small children into our "New" Trail Blazer and headed to Wichita to watch the two guys finish.

Because our Trail Blazer is the extended variety, we have the third row seating. It worked out well for what we needed it for today. Here's a photo of Collin clear in the third row and Luke & Natalie in the second row -- right behind the front seats.



Though the trip to Wichita isn't far from out little town, the kids still did WONDERFUL on the drive there. Once we got near the finish of the Half Marathon (which was in the beautiful Central Riverside Park area of Wichita), we walked the short distance from the vehicle to the finish line with a couple of strollers. Again, it all worked fairly well.

We got there in plenty of time to watch the guy finish. So, the three kids were fairly content watching other runners come in, clapping with the crowds of people, and ultimately, playing and getting dirty.



I LOVE this photo of Collin, standing up in the stroller and clapping. Is he a 4 year-old boy or what?





Eventually, Luke and Natalie wanted out of their respective strollers. This is where the dirt part came in. All in all, though, they really didn't get too dirty -- for being outside near a park.

Luke continued to clap whenever he heard or saw other people in the crowd clapping.





There were over 1,000 people entered in the race -- in fact, there were 1,060 finishers -- not too bad at all for a Wichita race (Wichita's not THAT big of a city). So, needless to say, there were quite a few spectators -- quite a few people and quite a bit of activity with small children.





All of a sudden, amongst all of the chaos, Sarah said, "I think the guys are coming in." So, I quickly picked up Luke, grabbed the camera out of my pocket and turned it on, and moved forward to watch.

Yep, they were coming in with a vengeance.....Here's the best shot I could get. I feel very fortunate to have even snapped this photo because I discovered that it's not quite as easy to get a good photo with a squirming toddler in your arms.



**FUNNY story (or at least it was to Sarah and me) -- Natalie saw her Daddy running in and wanted to go and see him. So, she darted straight out into the finish line area -- where the runners were sprinting in. Sarah was unable to get a photo because she was desperately trying to keep Natalie out of the way -- basically so that Marc would not fall over on her. You can see her head a bit on the photo above.

Seth finished in 175th place, and Marc finished in 177th (somebody got between them). Marc just said to me, "I couldn't keep up with Seth's sprint at the end."

Their finishing time was around one hour and 45 minutes -- GREAT JOB Seth -- for your first half marathon! There's only more fun to come next month with the full marathon (26.2 miles).

Afterwards, there's always the obligatory food line of which both Seth & Marc went through -- I think more than once.



There was a live band -- "Mumblin' Jones." I'm sure it was a local band (correct me if any of you readers know about this band).



Both Seth & Marc received finishers' medals. Collin proudly wore his Dad's medal.



Luke was content just inspecting and playing with his dad's medal.



Here's a cute photo of my two guys -- Usually, Luke smiles well for the camera. But, I think there were way too many distractions at this point.



And, here is a photo of the two guys -- after the finish. They look pretty good (not too sweaty) after running 13.1 miles.



At that point, the guys moved carseats around to the proper vehicles. Our two families went home separately. I'm assuming that Seth, Sarah, Collin, and Natalie went straight home.

But, Marc, Luke, and I ultimately decided to make a quick lunch trip to DQ -- yep, the DQ I just quit a couple of weeks ago. Nope, I'm NOT at all having withdrawals. BUT, my brother does work there, and so, it's a good opportunity for us to see him. Also, because he works there, we qualify for the "Friends and Family" discount. SOOOO, we can eat VERY affordably.

We didn't stay long, but we did stay long enough for Luke to have a cone after his chicken and applesauce.





At that point, we headed home so that all three of us could take naps.

*****

Now, skip ahead to after our naps today...It was the "Cora's Playground" Dedication. Yes, it was indeed a busy day for the Friesen's.

(And, let me say first that I know there will most likely be quite a few blog posts on this event with probably much better photos -- but, I definitely wanted to share what I thought was special from the dedication).

We got there fairly early. Fortunately, the weather was very nice, and so, the dedication could be outside as planned. We were actually one of the first to arrive (not usually the case for us). Luke had to just play on the parking lot (for those of you not there, this parking lot was blocked off for the dedication -- I didn't want anybody to think we just let Luke play in parking lots).



Finally, some others began to arrive.



Musicians were warming up at this point.



Pretty much right on time, the dedication began.



The first thing -- I didn't feel was an appropriate time to take photos at this point -- Joel and Jess got up and personally thanked those who were heavily involved in the design and construction of the playground. What a special time for Cora's parents to thank those who helped bring a way to remember their precious little girl.

This sign is wonderful -- hanging right around the equipment!



Next, Pastor Dave gave a brief devotional. What I remember best from this devotional was his analogy of the playground to our spiritual lives. I hope I don't butcher this, but I feel like I must repeat it -- at least in some fashion.

"Like all of us being created special by God, the playground equipment was created special by people with the gift of creativity. The playground has a soft floor so that when kids fall (which they will), the fall is softened or cushioned. Like kids falling from playground equipment, we all sin and FALL short of God's glory. BUT, because of God's never-ending grace, our sins are forgiven. There's a canopy over some of the equipment for protection. Just like that canopy, we have Jesus -- God's son who came to earth as a man to ultimately die as an atonement for our sins."

GREAT ANALOGY!!!!

After that devotion, Pastor Adam led us in some worship songs. After that, a bunch of guys handed out balloons -- 341 one of them to be exact.



While the balloons were being handed out, another worship song was sung. Luke (as well as some other children) stayed content through this whole process by playing with the balloons.





At Pastor Adam's count of FIVE, all 341 balloons were released. It was a BEAUTIFUL sight.



The 341 balloons represented all 341 days that Cora was with us here on earth -- the 341 days of her life here on earth.

Afterwards, everybody ate cupcakes....all to honor Cora!

I know that Joel and Jess as well as the rest of us would give anything to not have this playground to have Cora with us, but that was not God's will for her little life. But, what a legacy has been created in Cora's name.

This playground will be wonderful! It will be used to teach other little children about Jesus. It was such a bittersweet sight to see the children playing on the playground after the dedication.

One of these days, Luke will be walking and running around. Then, he too can do a bunch on this playground and ultimately learn about the love of Christ.



This final photo of the playground was about a month ago -- before it was all completed. It's a photo of Marc and Luke, looking at the playground. It's the best one I have with the equipment.

A Bicker, More Child-Proofing, and A Walk....

As you all know by now, I am watching two other little kiddos (Oliver and Lily) -- one to two mornings a week. Oliver is almost 2 1/2 years old, and sweet little Lily is 8 months old. PLUS, Luke is 13 months old. This all makes for interesting mornings when they're all here.

I am amazed at how this one little toy can cause such a bicker. Most of you probably know this toy, and most of you probably have one if you have small children.



It's really a great toy! There are many developmental things worked on with it.



Luke's enjoyed playing with it each day since I bought if for him some months back. Now, 2 1/2 year-old Ollie really enjoys playing with it as well. Though Lily hasn't figured out how to open the "surprises" yet, she does enjoy closing them if somebody opens them for her.

I don't have photos from yesterday morning (that was impossible at the time), but believe me when I say that at one point in time, all three children were trying to play with it.

Oh my....it might just have to be put away when Oliver & Lily are here. We have baskets of toys, but this one toy seems to be the ONE.

*****

All of you who have had or currently do have mobile babies and/or toddlers know what it's like to child-proof your home. You can take all of the "expert" advice: cover outlets, install child-proofing devices on kitchen cupboards, cover doorknobs, etc. etc. etc....

It seems like, however, you do all of that, and then, your child finds something else.

I was WARNED of that before Luke was mobile, but I didn't fully understand it at the time.

In our kitchen, we have this stainless steel shelving unit that we really LOVE! It modernizes (sort of) our out-of-date kitchen decor. It's been great for some extra storage. It's handy and easy to get to.

We bought it shortly after we were married, and we even said then that this will be interesting with children someday.

I don't have a full-blown "before" shot of this shelving unit -- we've child-proofed this several times. But, here is what it looked like this morning.



I've been saying for several weeks now that something will need to be done. Luke keeps trying to get all of the cereal on the second shelf from the bottom. (BTW -- this shelving used to have quite a bit more on it, with all shelves filled. Luke has changed that).

I turn my back for a mere 10 seconds this morning, and Luke once again has knocked some boxes of cereal down. Only this time, cereal has come out. I find Luke eating cereal off of the floor.



GROSS! Now, for those of you who have been in our home, you know I'm not the cleanest and tidiest person around, but I do my best to keep it somewhat sanitary. I mean, we're not gross here in the Friesen Household. We're just not necessarily immaculate.

I also, by having a child, have had to learn to "let up" a bit on keeping Luke always properly cleaned and sanitized. I mean -- he is a BOY, afterall.

So, this afternoon, as he's been napping, I've been searching for the PERFECT place to put cereal. I searched and searched...BUT, I really couldn't find a decent place without reorganizing my entire kitchen (not going to happen now).

SO, I know this is quite a boring end to this part of this blog post, but ultimately, the cereal simply ended up on the top shelf for now....



I told you -- B.O.R.I.N.G. But, I also know that someday sooner than later, Luke will once again find something he shouldn't be getting into. So, we'll once again be doing some more "child-proofing."

So, why spend too much time and effort on something as simple as cereal? Right?

*****

Luke has been taking the "later, but still normal" route on learning to walk. Slowly, but surely, however, he's getting there.

He's now pushing chairs around (by walking with them) on our tile floor in the kitchen (sorry -- I don't have a photo of that).

We've been borrowing this "walker" type toy from our friends, the Smith's. He's always just crawled with it or walked on his knees with it.

Today, however, I once again tried to show him how to walk with it. And, my teaching him FINALLY worked. He's been walking all over the family room/dining room with it -- albeit walking straight into walls and not figuring out what to do from there.



He definitely needs encouragement to do it. If I'm not there encouraging it, he'll go to simply walking with it on his knees.

SOOOOO, Luke is getting there for all of you who keep asking if he's walking yet.

A Comment, A Bump on the Head, and Naptime....

1) Several posts ago, I posted a bunch of photos from my (and Luke's) walk through town. Then, just a couple of days ago, I was in Wal-Mart, doing some grocery shopping. I was browsing over the variety of yogurts when a woman (whom I did not know) came up to me and said, "Aren't you the cute gal who walks all of the time with your baby in the jogging stroller?"

I said, "Yep -- I walk all of the time with our little guy."

She replied, "You always look so cute when I see you."

*****

I think I had mentioned at one point in time that we live in a small town, but it's not that small -- around 17,000 - 18,000 people. Apparently, people do watch what you're doing.

I only had to post this as a message to my husband -- he always has to BRAG a bit when somebody notices him or calls him cute, or etc......So, I merely am pointing out that people do notice me as well :) I Love You, Marc!!!!!

2) The other day, Luke got his first "goose-egg" on his head. He's not a real risk-taker; therefore, we haven't had too many falls yet (we figure that if God blesses us someday with another child -- that child will be the risk-taker and will completely make up for Luke's conservative nature). Anyways, it's amazing how fast after a fall, in the midst of the all of the crying, that a goose-egg will form.

This photo was actually taken the day after -- the swelling had gone down substantially. But, there is a nice bruise. Fortunately, Luke hasn't seemed bothered by it since the initial accident.



3) Marc and I feel extremely blessed to have a child who sleeps sooooo wonderfully. We actually think we've done a good job of "training" Luke to do so. He first slept through the night at 8 1/2 weeks old. I actually haven't had to physically pick him up out of his crib at night in almost a year now -- yep, almost a year. And, there have only been a hand-full of times that I've even had to get up at night to check on him -- since he first slept through the night. He routinely sleep 12 hours at night, and he doesn't get up early.

O.K., O.K. -- I'll stop talking about that. Our next child may be the daredevil as well as the "non-sleeper." Who knows?

We'll love them all the same.

Anyways, moving on -- Luke, up until the last 6 weeks or so, has also been a fairly decent napper. All of a sudden, about six weeks ago, that drastically changed. We figured out that he was ready to move to just one nap a day. That transition didn't come easy, but it's slowly, but surely, getting better.

Then, he started only sleeping roughly 30-60 minutes the entire day -- WHOA!!!! That is definitely not enough for a 13 month-old, and our evenings with him were proving that point. Our late afternoons and evenings because not so very fun in the Friesen Household -- all because of Luke's short naps. Can we just say "Mr. Cranky Pants" was with us?

I started talking to other moms. Various pieces of advice were offered. Change his nap time; Purchase a white noise machine, etc. etc. etc.

Marc and I experimented around with naptimes (what time we put him down). That didn't seem to help.

I then purchased this....



A white noise machine -- I know, I know -- a fan will do the same thing, but I wanted something with some real volume control.

That helped a bit, but it didn't help enough. Finally, I started watching some things a bit closer -- like his window.

I don't yet have a curtain in Luke's room, but we do have some new blinds that we put up shortly before he was born.



I realized that there was still a hint of light -- even with the blinds closed (I'm not sure how well this photo looks on this blog, but you'll have to just trust me on this one).



So, I made his window ugly -- just to see if it would work. I hung up some dark fabric as well as a dark towel.



Now, even during the day, his room is DARK with the lights out. It worked for two days. He slept for 2 1/2 - 3 hours each day. We're now on day 3. As I'm typing this, Luke is still asleep, and he has been for close to 2 hours.

Marc and I refuse to believe this is the answer until Luke does this for at least 5-6 days in a row. If this does solve the nap dilemma, I will work diligently to find some VERY DARK curtains.

Do any of you experienced mothers or grandmothers out there have any other suggestions?

I'm praying for answers on this one....

Thanks.

Remembering and Multi-Tasking....

When Marc's around for the day (not working on weekends), he typically puts this outside our front door....



Yes, the American flag -- something to be oh so proud of....Marc typically doesn't put the flag out when he's working because Marc is very particular of the USA flag "code." He just doesn't want to have to work late, have it get dark, and then, not have the flag properly lit.

I just really should start putting it out daily since I am around home full-time now. I can get it in before dark.

But, even though he was working today, he put it out. Today, it is 9/11 -- a day that will always be remembered in our country. Eight years ago today, there were some senseless attacks on our country -- both in New York City and in Washington, D.C.

Just for my benefit, I must write what I remember about that day.

I was 25 years old. I was single, living alone in an apartment in Wichita. I was working for International Dairy Queen and traveling quite a bit with that job. I had not yet met Marc.

That particular Tuesday, I had taken off work for some reason. I happened to be driving down Rock Rd. (a major road) in Wichita, running an errand, when I heard of the first plane hitting one of the Twin Towers -- I heard this news on the car radio. I remember thinking, "Whoa -- that is really weird." -- I thought this in a sense of, "What's going on? That is sooooo not right."

When I got home, I turned on my TV and saw the other plane hit the other towers as well as the plane hit the Pentagon. I just sat there the rest of the day, watching the coverage, shedding a few tears, asking MANY questions. I really don't know of any other time that I was soooo glued to the TV.

The next day (Wednesday), in the evening, I was at church, working with the Jr. High kids (I was a Jr. High sponsor back then -- where did I get that patience?).

The kids were asking so many questions. To this day, I prayed I answered their questions in the best way possible -- as a Christian.

Why did God do this? Well, God definitely did not do this, but He did allow it to happen.

Are we going to be O.K. here in Kansas? I don't know that for sure, but we must trust God that He will take care of us.

Will we go to war over this? That's an answer I don't know. Again, we're going to trust God that He will help our country's leaders with that decision.

Why?
Why?
Why?

I certainly don't know all of the answers. But God, I know, always has a plan. We must trust Him. Perhaps someday, we can ask him all of the questions in heaven. But then, I have a feeling I'll be enjoying the beauty of heaven so much that I won't care about the answers to life's toughest questions :) In the meantime, I am thankful that I have a Savior and that because I have repented and trusted in Him, I will be going to heaven.

*******

On to a bit more lighter of a subject (sort of)....

Today, I started one of my stay-at-home jobs of watching two wonderful little children -- Oliver and Lily.

Admittedly, I was a bit nervous about having a 2 year-old (Oliver), a 1 year-old (Luke), and an 8 month-old (Lily) in our home all at once. I used to baby-sit multiple children when I was a teenager, but for some reason, this scenario was going to be different.

I learned several things this morning --

a) This set-up will be very good for Luke. He will definitely need to learn that his mommy can't always run to him anytime he whines or cries.

b) This set-up will be very good for me. I need to learn that I can't go running to Luke each and every time he whines or cries. I realize that's an obvious statement, but when you only have one child, that's hard NOT to do.

c) I won't plan on getting anything done in my own home when I have all three children here. I wasn't planning on that anyways, but I know FOR SURE now.

d) Two year-olds are busy people.

e) This set-up will be great at teaching me to be a better multi-tasker.

After about an hour or so of being here -- Lily went down for a nap. She went right down, and I was oh so impressed. Luke doesn't do well sleeping other places. Lily acted like she'd been here a bunch of times.

Oliver, Luke, and I went outside at that point (we only did that when Lily was sleeping as I really don't want to take a 2 year-old and two other children who aren't walking yet outside by myself). Oliver played with a few toys we have in our garage, and he also wanted to do some sidewalk chalk drawing.

He merely drew some squiggly lines. I asked him if he wanted me to write his name. He said, "No, write 'Luke.'" So, I did....Here's all we ended up with.



Then, quickly on to other things. We played with bubbles for a bit...Don't have a photo of that one.

Then, we went back inside and had a little snack.



I have a booster seat for Ollie. It must have been new and exciting. He got in and out of it -- probably close to 10 times. I finally had to say, "Ollie -- either get in or get out." I'm sure the newness of the chair will eventually rub off.



I did turn on the Praise Baby DVD for a bit. Luke loves watching that, and Ollie really wanted a "video." I figured that was O.K. Luke just sat and watched part of it (until he got bored and moved onto something else). I'm posting this photo also because Luke wore his flag shirt today -- in honor of those who lost their lives on 09/11.



Ollie and I built a few things with the Duplo's. He wanted me to help him build an airplane with steps, a building, and a lion's den (presumeably from the Daniel and the Lion's Den story from the Old Testament). Later, Lily destroyed that one. Fortunately, Ollie was on to bigger and better things, and I don't think he even realized the den was destroyed.



Lily is the most layed back baby I personally have ever been around. She was a challenge at all. After her nap, I gave her a bottle. Then, she sat in Luke's chair and ate a few Cheerios. Fortunately, Luke didn't see her do this. Therefore, he didn't get too jealous that somebody else was in his chair.



BUT, the most precious part of the morning was with this little magnet....



It's a magnet on our refrigerator. It's a red van -- advertising a local HVAC company here in town (we don't even use this company anymore).

But, Ollie found it. He was calling it a firetruck. I just let him use his imagination on this one.

Here's what he said -- "If we were inside this firetruck because of a fire, we shouldn't be scared because Jesus would be sitting right beside us."

I said, "Ollie, you are exactly right. Jesus will take care of us."

Oh how, at that point, I realized that I do have too much nervousness and worry on this earth. I need to remember that Jesus is walking right beside us. He will take care of us.

Jesus wants us to have faith like a child....There are so many verses in the Bible about that. Here are two of them....

But Jesus called the children to Him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs tosuch as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdome of God like a little child will never enter it." Luke 18:16-17

Ahhhh....the brilliance of a 2 year-old!

Something New.....

Before I get to the point of this blog post (with photos), I must say that "Murphy's Law" has hit the Friesen Household this week.

It's my first full week at home -- you know, staying at home full-time. One of our vehicles had a problem and ended up in the shop -- Nope, fortunately, not the "New" Trail Blazer, but our other one. Thus, I'm home without a vehicle because Marc needed the Trail Blazer to get to work. Fortunately, the problem with the other vehicle wasn't toooooo major and won't cost a fortune. We should get it back Thursday evening.

Yesterday (Tuesday), Marc got up in the morning to get ready for work. As always, he went to spend just a bit of time on the internet before work. No can do -- the modem had NO power going to it. The modem is finished. The kind we need had to be ordered. Nobody in town carried it. We must wait until Friday.

Last night, my parents were over to watch Luke (I'll explain that in a moment). My dad brought over an old modem they had. We tried it out last night. It ended up not working quite right for us, BUT we did try the power source from my dad's modem. It DID work with our modem. So really, it was just the power source on our modem not working (we'll send back new modem when it arrives -- it's already been shipped or else I'd cancel the order).

That's how I'm making this blog post from our home with our internet service -- especially since you know I'm not driving anywhere right now.

Thankfully, it did finally decide to stop raining (we have received an enormous amount of rain the last day or two). Luke and I went for a nice long walk this morning to at least get out some :)

Third, we have a lovely video monitor that we really LOVE for Luke. The "video" part today decided to quit working. Fortunately, we still can hear Luke on the monitor. We know this company is wonderful (the company who makes this monitor). They should replace it at no charge (we've already had to do this once).

So, don't come around here this week -- things seem to be breaking.

BUT, here's the good news. This all is NOT a crisis in our household.

I don't know how many of you know this, but this semester, we are co-leading a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Class with two other couples -- Joel and Kendall and Eric and Carla. In this class, Dave Ramsey, in his DVD teachings, talks about having emergency money saved up for weeks like this.

Then, crises aren't really crises.

So, while it's aggravating to have a broken down vehicle and such, we're O.K. with it financially.

And, that Dave Ramsey class is why my parents were watching Luke -- they've graciously offered to watch Luke most Tuesdays this semester. And, our friend Sam has offered other Tuesdays when they can't :) God always does provide.

Now, onto the real reason for this post....

Yesterday (Tuesday), I finally started using bowls with Luke -- to eat. I'm not sure why I hadn't started it sooner. I think it was because I didn't want to deal with the mess. But, I knew I had to do it sometime.

Now, I so very much wished I'd done it sooner. He did GREAT with them. In fact, I haven't swept up his food off of the floor now in two days -- he'd been in this stage of throwing food. He doesn't seem to throw food when it's in bowls.

I've been using those bowls with suction cups.

First, here's his breakfast from yesterday -- scrambled eggs (with I think some cheese in it) and toast.



Here Luke is -- eating out of the bowls.



And, just for fun -- my favorite photo from the series. For some reason, he looks soooo much older in this photo. I e-mailed Marc at work to tell him that we definitely didn't have a baby anymore. We have a LITTLE BOY!



Next -- eating with silverware. I can wait on that just a bit, right? That just seems so messy for right now.

Our Walk....

We live in Newton, KS....many of you reading this know that, but some of you may not. The town was officially incorporated in 1872. So, it's not that old (especially by east coast standards), but it's also not that new. According to the 2000 census, this town had 17,190 people. It's not very big, but it's not too small, in my opinion. It's a town where I know quite a few people, but I don't know everybody. And, everybody doesn't know me.

I've only lived here a little over 5 years -- I moved here when Marc and I were married. Some would say this town doesn't have too much to offer, but I actually don't mind it. It's the place we call home. It's the place we've established our "Friesen Family." It's where Luke was born.

This summer, Luke and I have been walking A LOT! We have several different routes, but our "downtown route" has become my favorite. It's a four-mile route from our house, and many of you locals have seen us -- as told by your honks at us (which I do appreciate, by the way).

So, I thought I'd share a bit from our walks. These photos were actually taken last Saturday, August 29. It was a Saturday morning.

BEWARE! There are a lot of photos to share.

First, here are Luke and me -- getting ready to head onto our street. Marc happened to be home on a "Pepsi break" during his long run. So, we were able to get him to take a photo of us. Yes, Marc got Luke to blow "raspberries" for this photo. Is Luke a boy or what?



Luke likes two things on our walks -- a sippy cup and his "bwankie" (blanket). So, we always take both. I usually walk 4-5 miles at a time, and so, those two items typically keep Luke happy for the duration of the walk.



After we turn the corner onto the "main" road, we see this. It's the local Girl Scout house. Sometimes, we see Girl Scouts, having their meetings -- with outdoor activities. Sometimes, we see family events -- people rent out this house for events. This particular morning, nothing was going on to watch.



One thing about this town that I believe could be improved (however, I don't necessarily want our taxes to go up for this) is that this town is definitely not "fitness friendly." Many of the sidewalks are in poor shape. Thankfully, our jogging stroller has really good shocks to avoid Luke getting bumped around too much. And, at this part of our walk (and I'm EXTRA careful here), the sidewalk is right next to the road. This is a busy road, and so, I'm prepared to go on the grass at any time if need be.



Soon, however, after we pass that mess of a sidewalk, we see a house that I would LOVE to see the inside of...it's a house with a label of "Circa 1908." So, it's an old house by my standards. I just think it looks neat. I enjoy seeing it each day on our walks.



This past summer, Luke and I have seen many cyclists. This town is a popular crossing point for cyclists who are biking across the USA. We've given quite a few recommendations on eating places for those cyclists. A place where we frequently see parked bicycles is here....



This restaurant, called the Bread Basket, is a restaurant and bakery. They serve very yummy food, and they're known in town for their Friday and Saturday night all you can eat "German Buffet." I think it must be on the "Cycle across the USA" list of places to eat. There seems to always be cyclists there. However -- not this day.

Newton, KS, is a big railroad town (in fact, the school's mascot is based on the railroad). To cross town, one must cross tracks, and frequently, there are trains crossing. By living in this town, one will learn some patience as one waits for frequent trains. This day, just as I was approaching the tracks, a train was approaching. Fortunately, it wasn't a long one this time.



After crossing the tracks, we hit downtown. Newton's downtown is nice -- definitely the small town feel.



We have a health food store (I guess that's what you would call it) called Prairie Harvest. It's a cute little store, and they often have local produce and other things.



Then, we always look at the Et Cetera Shop. It's a thrift store where the money raised goes to help hungry people around the world. Great cause, isn't it?



For being a not-for-profit, volunteer store, they sometimes have some pretty good window displays that I enjoy looking at. This particular Saturday, they already had a nice fall display up. Oh -- how I'm so glad fall is approaching....



There are several antique stores in this town, but my favorite is Layman's. They, during opening hours, usually have some items out on the sidewalk. So, it's fun to look almost everyday we're out.





Newton isn't a real big "Catholic" town, but one of the Catholic churches, St. Mary's, is pretty to look at.



Soon, we reach the "North Sonic" (we have two "Sonics" in town). However, just before reaching "Sonic," you have to go by a mechanic shop. One must be VERY CAREFUL here. "Sonic" traffic (actually, the people driving here) don't necessarily expect pedestrians. So, we stop and look closely here.



Our next place to see quite a few people is of course, McDonald's. There's usually a pretty good line of cars at McDonald's. This Saturday morning was no exception.



Shortly after that, we reach Blockbuster Video. Just beyond that is our turnaround point -- two miles. Then, we turn around and head back two miles home.



Here was a great photo of Luke at that point -- Happy Luke!



A little while after starting back, Luke usually wants his blanket, of course.



Every once in awhile, he'll fall asleep (he used to all of the time when he was younger). Most of the time, however, he stays awake and watches everything.

But, I do enjoy looking down at Luke in the stroller. Here's what I see once he gets his blanket.



This particular day, after we got back across town and almost to our street, we did finally see some cyclists. However, these weren't cross-country cyclists. I think they were all out for a Saturday morning ride. They were all very friendly and waved at us.



After a couple of miles back from Blockbuster, we turn up our street. Our street is wonderful. It's a quiet little cul-de-sac off of the main road. Eight families live on our street, and we all know each other. Everybody's friendly, and we trust them all. It's great!



We live almost to the end of the cul-de-sac. When we get to our driveway, I open our garage door. It was a great walk!



We go inside, and Marc's just returned from his long 35-mile run. Yep -- I said 35 miles. So, he's "resting" on the floor with the TV on. Luke crawls right over to him to see him -- very cute!

And, BTW, Marc's always super nice and puts an old town down after his runs. That way, all of his sweat doesn't get all over our carpet :)



So, for those of you who see us walking often and those of you who don't even live here -- there's a glimpse into our MANY walks we've taken lately.

Fall is coming. I do plan to keep walking. We may have to adjust our times a bit for daylight. However, Marc's also working on getting reflectors for the stroller. I also already do own a reflective vest to wear. Also, I'm working up Luke's wardrobe to handle cooler weather. And, fortunately, compared to other places, Kansas doesn't have too many extremely cold days during the winter.

You'd think with all of this walking, I'd be extremely skinny. Hmmmmm....maybe if I'd stop eating too much.

This Morning and Today....

This morning, Luke slept in unusually late.

Usually, he gets up between 8:00 and 8:30. LOVE THAT! We hope it lasts -- a little while anyways.

This morning, however, he was still sleeping at 8:50 A.M.

But, I had to get to work; AND, I had to get Luke to Andrea's first.

So, I walked in on this....



I took this photo, and then, I woke him up. He didn't like that. In fact, he cried for a bit. It was sooooo sad. But, on a good note, he wanted to cuddle for a bit to wake up. Luke's not a real cuddler, so I must take advantage of it whenever he wants to.

Why am I blogging about such a morning?

Well, it was a big day in our lives. Today was my last day of working outside the home with Luke being watched by our friend Andrea. Today was my last day being officially affiliated with Dairy Queen. That's a little weird because pretty much anybody who knows me knows that somebody will probably want to etch a DQ cone on my tombstone someday. Yep, for the last 17 years, I have been affiliated with that brand in some way.

But, DQ is definitely not the point to this blog.

My staying home was really never in our plans. I know -- weird for some of you who always wanted to stay home with kids and who currently do stay home with kids OR those who are working and would like to stay home with kids.

My mom worked. I always thought I would -- even with kids. When Marc and I were dating and talking about marriage early on, the plan was for me to keep working even after we had kids. I enjoyed working. I enjoyed bringing home my salary.

It's amazing how things change. Various people and various circumstances in our lives have shown us that for OUR FAMILY, me staying home would probably be the best thing. I can honestly say that is one thing God showed me (I believe) during our little bout with infertility and my miscarriage with our first baby.

God does truly have a plan for each of our lives!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-12

Now, please understand this will be a HUGE adjustment to me. I have always been the "go-getter" type with jobs. I enjoyed leaving home each day for a job.

Now, God has taught me that my full-time job is this....



Yep, being a full-time, stay-at-home wife to Marc and mother to this little guy pictured above --

Now, just so you do understand...I do still have two little jobs for income outside of my stay-at-home full-time mother thing.

a) I will be watching two cute little children (Oliver and Lily) 1-2 mornings a week.

b) I will continue my position with Graber Backhoe (an excavation company) as their safety administrator as well as back-up payroll person. Most of this work can be done at home, and when I do need to go to their office, Luke can come with me.

Our family is a part of Grace Community Church. Marc and I also continue to lead a Community Life Group (starting up on our 4th year). We're also co-leading (or facilitating) a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class. I'll still be in our wonderful Young Mom's Bible Study on Tuesday mornings. Luke's signed up for Kindermusik this fall. We'll work diligently on getting to the toddler story time once a week at the library. Marc runs A LOT! Marc still does Taekwondo twice a week. I've been walking A LOT lately. I'm on Community Life Council at church. Marc's on the tech team at church. Sometime, we need to spend time with each of our families. And, how about spending time with each other without Luke every once in awhile?

WHOA!!!!! Yes, we're busy...It's nuts sometimes. But, we wouldn't have it any other way.

**I would like to say one more thing in this already long post -- Somebody recently told me that "there seems to be a dividing line between working mothers and stay-at-home mothers -- especially in this town at our church."

Well, I personally have heard things like that NOT just in our town or at our church. I think that's a common perception everywhere. I really don't think there's a real division other than with that perception -- or at least I hope there's not a real division.

Motherhood isn't easy at all. It's something we can all support each other with. I do NOT at all want to come across to anybody that I think I'm better or superior to other mothers because I will be staying home with Luke. This situation we're embarking on happens to be what we feel is best for OUR FAMILY. It doesn't mean that it's the "end all be it all" situation for every family. Some families may not financially be able to do it. Some mothers just want to work outside the home. We just are very GRATEFUL right now that God has helped us work it out so that I am able to stay home.

The important thing is that we be the best mothers that God intended us to be.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24