Graci's Birthday

Just going to post pics and I will add some more detail later!

Pre-Birthday Excitement

Yesterday morning, the day of Graci's birthday party, I was busy making her cake and doing all the things I had planned to do Friday, but hadn't because of being stricken with the worst sore throat since the last time I had strep.  I spent all day Friday (after going to the doc for a shot of penicillin) laying on the couch and occasionally getting up to fix a meal for the girls and for Peter.  Thankfully I made a quick recovery because yesterday was full of more excitement than I was expecting.

Peter was off to Manhattan early for the KSU Merit Badge Conference with the Boy Scouts.  Another leader drove up from south of us and parked at our house then carpooled with Peter and the boys.  What I didn't realize was he had brought something along with him...

I knew something was hanging out under his car when the dogs wouldn't stop barking.  As we learned when camping when I was younger, a well-trained dog that refuses to stop barking usually means there is some type of critter nearby.  When I was little, it was a black bear and her cub, but thankfully this time, it was just a young raccoon.

I decided it was a good idea for Graci to have a nap before her party, so I put her down and let the barking dogs in the house.  Missy followed me around all afternoon in an attempt to be let outside.  A couple hours later I was expecting our first guests:  Peter's parents and our nephews, Liam and Duncan.  I let the dogs out knowing I would need to wake Graci soon anyway.  The raccoon was still underneath the car.  Missy's two hours of anticipation was too much for her, so she jumped the fence to check out the raccoon.  At this point, I still didn't know for sure what was underneath the car.  Piper informed me by going to the window and declaring, "I've never seen a raccoon before!"  Oh, boy, I thought.  Sure enough, Missy had jumped the fence, dragged the raccoon out from underneath the car, and was attempting the death shake on it.  I decided to interfere to keep Missy from having to take an expensive trip to the vet (after snapping a couple of pictures, of course, another lesson I learned the day of the bear encounter).  However, once the raccoon actually took a swipe at her, she soon lost interest.  

The raccoon itself appeared to be in bad shape, considering I walked up to it and all it did was stare blankly at me.  Of course now thoughts of guests arriving to a dead or even worse, almost dead raccoon in my driveway were filling my head.  Peter was still going to be gone for a couple more hours, so I called him and told him the situation.  He informed me that he has guns and I could probably figure it out (though I have never shot a gun in my life).  I told him his dad would be there any minute and I was more than happy to suggest his varmit erradiaction services.

When Peter's parents arrived the raccoon actually scooted back underneath the car.  After explaining the situation, Peter's dad was more than happy to help.  We managed to scrounge up one shot for the job.  When the boy scouts arrived later, Peter's assistant was quite surprised to find the raccoon next to his car.  Peter carried him away to the back acre and we have had quite the turkey vulture party ever since.

Graci is 3!

Here is Graci's official picture from her birthday today.  She's not convinced it's her birthday for real, because the cake consumption will be happening on Saturday, but I thought I would snap a photo anyway. She's just so cute!

Taking a Breather

Update:  Our first rehearsal was great!  The cast is very talented and the director, who is just a little younger than me, is quite amazing.  He is very organized and to-the-point, which isn't always something you come across in an artistic field.  Peter asked me the other day how many performances we would have and I said, "Um, four or five?"  Yeah, I think it's more like 8!  I am so grateful to have a husband that is supporting me in this endeavor to use my musical talent and help the community.  I'll keep everyone "posted," haha!

Guys and Dolls

Tonight is our first rehearsal with the cast of Guys and Dolls.  I think I'm nervous.  I don't usually have anxiety dreams about anything, even having a baby, but last night I dreamed that there were about 100 people in the pit, Dr. Tracz, my former band director was conducting, and I left to go to the bathroom (because I'm pregnant!) and he gave my solos away because I wasn't there.  Yeah, pretty terrible.  Plus, my friend, Richard, who is a phenomenal clarinetist was sitting next to me freaking out the entire time that he didn't know where he was and whenever I asked him to cover a more difficult clarinet part out of my book, he would freak out even more!  I woke up so relieved that the first rehearsal is tonight so I can get it behind me.  I think part of it is that I have never been inside the Columbian Theater, which is where we are rehearsing/performing the show.  Anytime I have some big event coming up that is going to take place somewhere I have never been I always have a dream about it.  I think it's my brain trying to sort out the new experience ahead of time to calm itself down.  Dear brain:  just wait until we actually GO there and then I promise, you will have a mental image with which to cope!  Wish me luck!

Soccer

Here come the soccer parents!  We haven't been able to do much as far as attending games and practices, but the ones we have been to have been a good experience.  We may even sign up Piper this fall.  She is anxious to get out there and run around with the other kids.  I love how enthusiastic she is because she really has no idea how exhausted she will be after running around for just five minutes.  Here is an action shot of our foster son at this last week's practice.

New Church Building

Not only are we excited about the new temple in Kansas City, but our branch in Wamego is going to have a new meetinghouse opening in the end of May! Here are some photos I shot of the early construction. It is just a couple miles West of Wamego.

Temple Service

With the completion of the new LDS Temple in Kansas City, Peter and I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve there during the Open House. Last Friday Peter volunteered for security and I played the organ inside the chapel in the temple. It was an amazing and beautiful day as you will see from these pictures! We are excited to have a temple even closer to us.

Let's Talk...Fishing

A few days ago I was driving the girls to Manhattan. Music was off and I guess they weren't interested in reading their books because it was really, really quiet. A couple minutes later I hear someone mention something about fishing. Before I know it, they are having a long conversation about how wonderful fishing is and are recounting their most recent fishing experience in which Graci "caught a big fish, the biggest fish!" Brainwashing complete, dear!

Here are some pictures from Peter's Birthday celebration. One night we had his personal favorite: Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake. Then, Mommy and Daddy went on a date to finish celebrating. We went ice skating, went out to eat at Little Grill where we enjoyed some Cajun style food and live entertainment, then finished it off with some ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. Sorry, I forgot the camera and had to take pics with my phone.

Happy Easter!

Family photo outside the church.

Gage, Piper, and Graci ready to hit the hunt.

Piper examining her find.

A proud little Grubby.

Gage got to tackle the front yard.

I was a little more creative hiding his eggs.

A nice (sanctioned) Easter dinner.

(Roast chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, and broccoli)

"You said these blankets were for the girls!"

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. The weather was just amazing. Church was Stake Conference, so we didn't have to be there until 10:00, which meant sleeping in for everyone. The talks were wonderful. Gage actually came up to me while I was making dinner Tuesday and said, "I heard this neat story about some people that were taking a test and some of the students were cheating and one guy said he would turn them all in." I said, "Gage, that was from a talk in church on Sunday. You have a good memory." "Oh, yeeeeah," he replied. Such a smart little boy.

We skipped the local egg hunt on Saturday to do our own on Sunday. Peter helped the kids dye some eggs for the hunt, the rest were plastic and some of the eggs were numbered for a special devotional about Jesus Christ. Each egg had a small reminder inside along with a scripture that described the object's purpose. The kids really enjoyed discovering the meaning behind each object. We had watched several videos online done by our church prior to the egg hunt and those really helped the kids mentally connect what we read about in the scriptures. The rest of the eggs were filled with jelly beans :)

We had a truly lovely day and feel so blessed to have children that appreciate the sacrifice of our Savior.

Piper at the Dentist

Piper had her first appointment with the dentist on Monday. We have a Little Critter book where he goes to the dentist for the first time and ends up with a cavity. They give him a shot straight away and take care of the cavity, so once I convinced Piper that she would not be getting a shot on her first visit, but instead would get a new toothbrush and toothpaste, she was all for it.

The hygienist was wonderful. Piper's favorite instrument was the tooth tickler. When it came time for fluoride, Piper chose mint of all flavors (melon and cherry were the other options). After her cleaning the dentist came in for a look and gave her a clean bill of dental health, hooray! Then she had some pictures taken of her teeth, which the hygienist immediately put on pull-down computer screen so Piper could see. I think Piper's summation of the whole experience went something like, "Going to the dentist was the best day ever!" and more thank likely was followed by, "in the whole wide world!"

Halloween?!

It appears that I missed posting pictures from Halloween last year. Probably because we had our trunk-or-treat, but the weather was yucky during the day, so I saved my borrowed (yes, you know me and actually thinking ahead about these things--I still haven't changed) costumes for a few more weeks until we had a nice day outside to take photos. Here are some cute little witches for you!

Graci just says it all without saying anything.

Piper and her cute smile. I see Graci found a snack.

At our "front" door.

Oh, boy, those were good cookies.

At trunk-or-treat.

And for next year I have already purchased black tights! Not because I was looking for them or planning ahead or anything, but because I found an amazing deal when I randomly went to the mall for the first time in six months.

Time to Repent

Wow. I see that the last post I made was on Christmas and it was about Thanksgiving. Nice. And now it's April?? I have got some work to do and I apologize to all my faithful blog readers that I have neglected these past four months. Here are some of the things we have been up to:

This January we received our license for foster care and it has been quite the experience since. We have one "permanent" placement with us now, meaning he is here for more than just a few days and the goal is that he will be reintegrated with his family. We love having him in our home. He is 9 years old, loves school, loves church, and is an amazing older brother to our girls. I'm tearing up just writing about him because he is so sweet and we are really going to miss him when he returns to his family, but alas, that is foster care. Most people when we tell them we are doing foster care say something to the effect of, "Oh, you are so amazing. I just don't think I could give them up." Yes, well, that doesn't mean it's easy for us, either! We just feel it's the right thing to do while we can and although we have had some challenges with a few of the kids we have had, they are small compared to the knowledge we have that what we are doing is the Lord's work.

Piper is an intelligent and beautiful little girl and cannot wait until she is five. She wants to go to Kindergarten, though I have made the decision that we will be homeschooling this fall (though we already are!). Really she is most excited about riding the school bus, so if I can make things at home more fun than that, we should be okay! We have several close friends (and some family) that home school and have been excellent resources for us. Right now Piper does one reading lesson a day, can do simple addition, can legibly right all her letters and numbers, and can even spell most words she can read. She would do school all day and not get tired of it. She also started Let's Play Music class with mommy last fall and enjoys singing and playing her bells.

Graci is a little ball of energy. She is taller than Piper was at her age and I believe when we doubled her height at two years old that would make her six feet as an adult. She will be three here in a few weeks but is already wearing Piper's 4T clothes from last year. Most people think she is older than 2 because she can hold a conversation so well. Graci is quite the tomboy. The kids were out in the garden the other night and found a toad. Graci held it, put it on her head, and when it would jump away, then she would scream!

Peter is staying very busy at work. He recently completed an exam for traffic engineers and we are waiting to hear the results. The City of Manhattan is completing a brand new traffic shop where Peter will have his own office and will be in the same building with all the traffic equipment and other employees that take care of the signals and such. He has enjoyed his job, though now he has quite a bit more interaction with the public, so he has been sharpening his communication skills. Peter also has taken up biking to work. It's about 15 miles from our house to his office in Manhattan and usually takes Peter an hour each way. He also plays basketball with other public works employees during his lunch break, but now that the weather is heating up, they will take a hiatus as the gym at City Hall has no air conditioning :( This month he will be a judge for the regional steel bridge competition. Last year the competition was hosted here at K-State and he organized all the judges and loved it.

I have been keeping pretty busy taking care of my family and additional children that come in and out. I think the most satisfying part of foster care is knowing that the children would rather sit down and play a board game with us as a family than play video games or watch tv (not that we have much to offer in that department). It is sad how little time children get to spend with their parents. I am still teaching Let's Play Music classes and will be adding one class next year, which will bring my total to four classes (one first year, two second years, and one third year). I will be traveling to Arizona for the LPM symposium this summer and also to NYC for my sister's graduation with her Master's degree from Pratt, an art school. This last month I have been taking continuing education classes to renew my teaching license this summer. I'm not going to lie, I really miss school. This month I am organizing a Game On Diet challenge for folks at church that are trying to have better habits and get into shape. Actually, this post is a result of that game as I am playing as well and one of my habits is to work on my blog daily, whether in organizing photos, or making posts.

This August we will have a new addition to our family, a baby girl! We just had our sonogram today, and no, we have not come up with any names yet ;)

We still have the dogs, can't forget about them. They have been escape artists lately (well, Missy just climbs the fence, but Xena has to work to find weak spots in our only method of defense: our fence). This last time they really came back a mess. I think Peter has pulled about 60 ticks off the both of them.

Oh, we started up our garden! Spinach and lettuce plants are already about the size of golf balls. Plans for this year are hoards of tomatoes (they are so stinkin' easy to can crushed and I love using them in recipes), cantaloupe (we had an amazing volunteer crop of these last year, so I saved the seeds and now we can fill a whole garden with them!), sweet potatoes, radishes (only to help ward off squash bugs...hope it works, we don't do pesticide), zucchini, pumpkins, cucumbers, and whatever else my friend, Jenny, brings over from her garden adventures for us to plant.

All's well that ends well, so I'm going to sign off and get to work on my other habits for this game and also finishing my final book for my online class!