Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Nicholas is so inquisitive - he asks approximately 12.3 questions every 8 minutes or so. Josh says he thinks he was the same way and can remember bombarding his dad with questions. I think we are paying for his raising now. But of course we are happy Nicholas is a bright and curious kid who thinks things through. I hope this always serves him well (like it has Daddy).

Here are some recent questions:
(Kindly insert "Hey Daddy" or "Hey Momma" before each one)
1. Why do we need clouds? Are they just for pretty or for God to eat?
2. Why did God have to be confusing and have rain, ice and snow...aren't they all just water?
3. Do brown cows make chocolate milk? Where are the pink cows who make strawberry milk? (asked before I had a chance to answer the chocolate milk question) Does Momma make white milk or chocolate milk for Naomi?
4. (Question asked of Momma in what could only be called a condesending tone) So why don't you work like Daddy does? He always works and you just stay here. (Oh brother, if he only understood)
5. Why are babies in Momma's tummy if its God that makes us? Followed quickly by - How does God make the babies? Are there instructions to follow?

So as you can see...he has a lot on his little mind. He also has a great imagination and the things he comes up with keep things interesting. We were driving between Joplin and Pittsburg the other day and there were a lot of trees on the sides of the road.

Nicholas: "Those trees look like shapes."

Daddy: "Oh, what kind of shapes do you think they look like?"

Nicholas: "Well that one looks like a cowboy riding a dinosaur. And that one looks like a pig choking."

Right, right - we see that too. :)

Whew - Glad that is settled!

I took a break from updating our family blog so that I could use all my spare time to get the house ready. But we are back at it again as we are finally "settled" into our new house in Pittsburg. It feels good to have things in their places, boxes unpacked (for the most part) and pictures up so the place feels like HOME. The kids have adjusted really well and love being so close to family in Galena.

Nicholas has already had a sleepover with Colton (Sammie's cousin Shannon's little boy) and is asking for another one. I have a feeling those two will be thick as thieves...wonder what they have in store for us? Here is a recent picture of the boys when they came downstairs after playing dress-up in the playroom.

Not long after this picture was taken, there was a scuffle in Nick's bedroom and I heard a large crash which could only be a body falling from the top bunk. The thud was quickly followed by a high-pitched scream belonging to Natalie. Long story short it appears her collar bone is broken. She will heal up soon - and probably run right back up the ladder to the top bunk!

Kids make things interesting that is for sure!

Moving Weekend!

I am writing our last post from our home in Wichita and when I post again we will be in Pittsburg! The house is empty and the moving truck is PACKED. Remind me again why we have so much "stuff"...

The kids are in Galena and Nicholas thinks its fun that he got to move before we did. The picture on the left was taken right before they left.

And as I said before we tried to pack in a lot of fun activities before we left Wichita. Below are some pictures of our recent adventures - enjoy! We will pick up this blog again and post pictures of the new house as we get settled.

Nick sitting in a space capsule at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson.

Anderson "on" the moon..

Nicholas is driving the wagon at Old Cowtown!

Anderson and Natalie checking out Devore Farm at Old Cowtown. We got to see a Momma cow named Rosie who will be having a calf anyday now!

Summer Fun

With T-minus 5 days and counting left for our time in Wichita...we decided to try to cram in as much FUN STUFF as possible this last week. So Monday night we headed out to the Old Town Fountain and let the kids play. We came prepared with swimsuits, but met two cute kiddos that were there playing impromptu in their clothes. It was so much fun! More cities should have these fountains. Enjoy! Next on the list? A visit to Old Cow Town...stay tuned!

Good Family Photos

I have resigned to the fact (borrowing words from my husband here...some of you will know that story)...that we will not get another good family picture of the five of us until the kids are in college. What about getting the camera out makes Nicholas turn into Spiderman and makes Natalie melt into tears? And Naomi just wants to know what in the heck her crazy brother is doing. Josh looks constipated from trying to keep Natalie in his arms and if you look hard enough you can see where I am saying "just take the stupid picture" through gritted teeth. One for the scrapbook for sure.

Smart People

Over the past several weekends our family has traveled far and wide to watch those we love graduate with advanced degrees. This means that I now have the least amount of education when compared to my husband, brother, sister-in-law, and cousin. Hmph. Makes me feel like there's a lot I don't know that they now know and maybe I need to go back to school. Hmmm...no, I don't want to do that, not right now anyway. I think I will take a photography class next fall semester at PSU (what a free-spirited thing to do...take a class that won't get me closer to a degree, who would have thought). My little bro commented (in an effort to make me feel better) that I have a doctorate degree in motherhood. Wouldn't I be better at this if I had a doctorate??? I feel like I am "winging it" on most days! But, with all that said, I am still very content with the honorary degree I earn daily seeing the world through the eyes of my kiddos.

Congratulations to Uncle Bubba who graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Master's of Pastoral Counseling degree.

Uncle Bubba and Aunt Vicky (who are expecting the arrival of Baby Girl Ezell ANYTIME now!)

Congratulations to Aunt Shannie who graduated from Pittsburg State University with her Master's in School Counseling.

Aunt Shannie and Sammie after graduation

Oh - and Batman stopped by the house the other day too...never a dull moment here.

Our New Home

Well after a whole heck of a lot of negotiating (I mean it is a buyers market right?)...we finally have a contract on our new home in Pittsburg. We move in June 1. Whew...so glad we don't have to sleep in our van with three kids, two dogs and a one obese cat.

As I update our blog today the kids are sleeping peacefully...in our bed...how does that happen? I always said, no way would I be taken advantage of and be forced to share my bed with my kids. But somehow when Nicholas stumbles in sometime between 2am and 4am my willpower is lacking. And when Natalie starts to cry at 5am I am usually just quick to grab her out of her crib before she wakes up Naomi. However, I now realize that the days of my kids wanting to "snuggle" with me will probably be over sooner than I want or expect. So I am happy and content to have them here with me while it lasts...

We are headed off to watch Uncle Bubba (my brother) graduate from Dallas Theological Seminary this weekend! I am sure we will post pictures once we return.