Ian and School

Well, it's been a little while since I've posted anything about Ian's schooling. I think I've mentioned we're studying American History and that's been fun. We've both been learning lots and especially as some of our American holidays come and go (Thanksgiving) it's nice to know the WHOLE story behind the tradition! Ian continues to amaze me with his creativity that goes beyond his actual assignments. Let me give you an example. A couple of weeks ago he had to write a paper as a speech writer for George Washington based on a book he read "Phoebe the Spy" that is about a young black girl who saves George Washington's life by being his housekeeper and keeping her eyes and ears open. Well, he wrote his speech and didn't stop there. He came into the area where we were and opened up his box of scrap paper and started tearing and stapling away. I had NO idea what he was doing. Then, he digs out the hat we bought him while we were at Williamsburg, grabs one of Ellie's bows and Voila!

He is now George Washington ready to give his speech! Notice the paper is curled and the bow is in the back. AND he did this without us ever actually talking about the wigs the men used to wear - he just has seen all the pictures and created it from paper. Wow. I was VERY impressed!

Ian's favorite subject, though, is science because he LOVES all the experiments and hands-on stuff. So far we've been learning about electricity. We've been doing experiments with batteries, foil "ribbons" and light bulbs. He's really good at trying all sorts of different ways to make the bulb light up. We've also learned about magnetism and energy.

This is a picture we took when Ian first figured out how to make the bulb light up without any help! And, yes, the picture was from September shortly after his "hair cut!"

Ian memorized all of Psalm 103 and it was fun to hear him come back from church or Wednesday nights and say, "Mom, we were talking about ____ and they started giving us a verse and I thought, hey, I know that one! It was from Psalm 103." Then some of the other ones he's learned have also been timely - isn't God amazing?!

He also continues to be quite the playmate for Ellie. The other day while I was busy doing something, they were busy in his room and kept telling me not to come in. Then, they came out ready to "jog" with Ellie's jogging stroller! One day this past week they were dressed as a king and a princess. He wouldn't be able to do all of that if he were in school all day and Ellie wouldn't be able to spend all of that time with him, either!

Halloween 2009

We have had a fun halloween just being able to hang out with friends while enjoying some festivities. Last year I wanted Ellie to be a ladybug but couldn't find one here that I wanted in time, so this year I was a little more proactive about it and found her not one but TWO ladybug outfits. She was able to wear both of them. One was a little more suited for warmer climates so she was able to wear it to the trick-or-treating that the medical clinic puts on here. Ian had a tough time deciding what to be this year. Everything he kept deciding on they didn't have in his size (even on-line) and there were a couple of things I just didn't want him to be. Finally one day after trying two stores for costumes he finally says, "What if I just dress up as a hockey player?" I said, "That would be great!" So, that's what he was this year. Here's a picture of him and Ellie at the clinic yesterday. Ian's not smiling because he said you couldn't see through his helmet!

Here's a picture of the back of Ellie's costume - just because I think it's cute!

Here's a picture of Ellie in her costume to actually go trick-or-treating tonight. This outfit is a little more suited to the cooler weather! This is her with our neighbor - ready to go!

Just in case you can't really see her costume in the above picture, here's one of her by herself!

For Ellie this was the first year she really was aware of what to do and she really enjoyed carrying around her bag of candy!
Well, it wouldn't be halloween without a costume for the dog, right?! So, here's Bella in her pumpkin costume. She did really well having it on she just kept pulling my arm off wanting to go! What a little ball of energy!! But, a cute one, though!

Fun Fall Photos

I was heading home from town one day last week and was really appreciating and enjoying the bright flaming colors on some of the bushes right as I headed into the neighborhood. I remembered that Ellie had on a colorful halloween outfit so I decided to stop right then and there and get some photos before it was too late! Here are a few that I took:

What I love about these pictures (other than the fabulous colors) is that Ellie's not giving me one of the cheesy smiles she loves to give but it's a pretty genuine smile! In case you can't read what Ellie's shirt says it says, "Who needs a costume when you're already a princess?" A friend gave it to me and it's been fun during this time of the year!

Eliana and her paci

Well, the day finally arrived for us to say goodbye to Ellie's pacis. We had planned to take them away after her 2nd birthday like we did with Ian but because she was still teething and really seemed to "need" them more than Ian, we kept putting it off. I did keep telling her that they were going to have to go soon because she is getting to be a "big" girl and we discussed giving them to a baby. Well, a boy in her Sunday school class, Jacob, must have a new baby sister because Ellie has talked about giving her pacis to her. Yesterday as we were getting ready for church she said, I give my pacis away? I asked her, "Are you ready to give them all away?" She nodded her head so we got them ready and put them in a plastic bag to take with us the downside was (we have four of them) we were missing one - couldn't find it anywhere! On the way to church, though, we realized we'd forgotten the bag BUT Ellie didn't seem to remember. When we got home from church she was in the play room and got all excited and came to show me she'd found the missing paci! I said, well, we should put it away, too! So, Brian put it in the bag with the others and hid the bag somewhere. After we got home from the pumpkin patch and tried to put her down for a nap she asked for her paci. I said, "Remember we gave them away?" To which she replied, "I want the yellow one (the one she'd found)!" I said, "No, I put that one away, too." Needless to say she cried for quite a while before she finally went to sleep and then we had to wake her up around 5 because we had some company over for dinner last night. Boy was she grumpy when we first got her up! Last night I put her to bed without her paci and wondered how the night would go. She did cry for a while before she went to sleep but I didn't hear her in the middle of the night and she wasn't up early asking for it, either! YAY! Today there has been no mention on the paci but at naptime she cried for TWO hours before she finally gave in and went to sleep! I will say, though, that she never asked me for the paci! I'm hoping that she'll be like Ian and after a couple of days of this, she'll get over it and not have to cry herself to sleep every time. So, we're definitely making progress and she's becoming a "big, little" girl!

Pumpkin Patch

The kids and I were supposed to go to the pumpkin patch with MOPS on Thursday last week but we woke up to the ground being covered in snow so I said, "Think I'll pass!" I told Ian we would try to go over the weekend. Well, yesterday ended up being an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day and we were able to go to the pumpkin patch after church yesterday. Here is a slide show with the pictures we took. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Minneapolis over Columbus day weekend

I'm a week late but I did want to post some pictures from our trip to Minneapolis over the Columbus day weekend. We realized on the way there that the last time we were in Minneapolis as a family was Thanksgiving! WOW!! Still can't believe that! We were so happy to be able to get away and enjoy some down time together! We left here Friday night and got home Monday night. Saturday we went to Ikea first then spent the rest of the day at the Mall of America. One sad thing we discovered while at Ikea is that Ian is now too tall to be able to go to the kids play area while we shop! Hard to believe he's getting that big/old already!

At Ian's request we had lunch at Bubba Gumps at the mall (see picture on top). The rest of the day we enjoyed going into various stores. Later in the day, we divided up a little and Ellie and I went to the American Girl store to look around and have some fun. While there, Brian took Ian to go ride the rides at the park. Ellie had fun playing with the babies and I ended up buying her her very own Bitty Baby to bring home! She has named her baby Amy (after going through a list of names with her she decided she liked that name) and she's pretty cute playing with her but still gives equal attention to Essie (the 1st doll we bought her when she was around 3 1/2 months old) and her "cat" which was mine that my dad gave me back when I was in college! We also got to have Ellie's picture with Dora! She loves Dora and wasn't afraid to hug her and have her picture with her!

Sunday we went to a nice place for breakfast in downtown St Paul then headed to the Children's museum! The kids had a great time there for a few hours then we stopped in at Mickey's Diner to have a milkshake (Mickey's Diner was shown in the Mighty Ducks and has been featured in various Food Network shows). After that, I did a little more shopping then the boys dropped Ellie and I off at our hotel then headed to the Twins/Yankees game - game 3 in the playoffs and the Yankees were 2-0! They were in the "nosebleeds" but had a great time and enjoyed seeing the Yankees win - plus the crazy fan that jumped on the field in the 9th inning added some extra stories for them!

Monday we started loading up the car and walked out to - SNOW!!! YES, snow!! It continued to snow for most of the morning. I just can't believe it wasn't even the middle of October and it was snowing! Pretty sad to see leaves on the ground (before it snowed) that were still GREEN - they hadn't even had a chance to change colors yet!! Anyway, after we loaded up, we went to the Minnetonka General Store - what a neat store! I loved it but Brian was a little disappointed (I think he was looking for a little more nostalgic sort of stuff). It had a lot of unique stuff that I could have spent even more time than I did going through! From there we went to the outlet mall and then headed home. While we were gone, Bella was at a doggy-hotel. I was a little nervous about leaving her at first but she did well and has done a great job adjusting to being back home.

Wondering

Well, I am starting to wonder if, perhaps, I've missed a window of opportunity with Ellie and potty training. Last week she peed and pooped in the potty (not all day but once or twice each day) and now she'll sit on the potty but then she'll say I don't have to go. Perhaps I didn't push it enough or maybe I pushed too much?! We bought big girl panties hoping it would motivate her even more but it really didn't seem to do anything. We've talked about being able to paint her toenails once she goes potty all the time but, again, doesn't seem to matter. I did start giving her a gummy bear when she goes on the potty but even that doesn't seem to make her want to do it more - although she definitely wants it when she goes! Both the boys were almost 3 1/2 when they were potty trained so I didn't even have it in my mind - she's the one that started. I suppose we'll see. I did buy her some pull-ups today and we may try those tomorrow just to see.

The other day in the car (Saturday) it was just Ellie and I and she was being quiet. Then, all of a sudden she asks me "Are you little?" I have no idea what might have prompted her to asking me this or in what way she was thinking so I just said "Well, I'm short but I'm a big girl." I can't help but wonder what goes on in her two year old mind! She just amazes me with her vocabulary and her level of understanding.

Anybody have any ideas or suggestions on how to make a child STOP talking when he shouldn't be? That has been mine and Brian's biggest frustration with Ian for the last few months. He argues and talks when he really shouldn't and we'll tell him to stop talking and he'll just keep going or have ONE more thing to say. Hmph. I'm at my wits end. I feel like we're constantly telling him to STOP talking but I'm afraid that could backfire. We give him Bible verses and he prays about it but he continues. I pray I'm doing all that I should be to help him learn how to be obedient and not always talk when he shouldn't be.

Ellie's Learning!

Yesterday in the car on our way to church Ellie wanted some gum. I told her I didn't have any, we were all out. She sat there quietly for a few minutes then she says, "We pay gum?" In her 2 year old mind she put together that we didn't have any and we needed to buy some! Amazing!

Yes, we're alive!!

Gee, the last time I posted it was a "catch-me-up" post and now I'm at it again! Life has just been crazy for the last month or so and although it doesn't show signs of slowing down, I have a moment to catch up!

Brian and I had the opportunity to drive Josh down to Florida for college. My mom came and stayed with Ian, Ellie, Downey and Bella - bless her heart! (Thanks so much, Mom!!) While we were in Florida we enjoyed a quasi-honeymoon and had a wonderful time.

His college is 9/10 of a mile from the ocean and, as you can see from the pictures, the water is beautiful! So far he is loving college life - but for some reason classes and reading are getting in the way of all his fun! :) He's doing ball room dancing and enjoys it. Although he went as a marine biology major, it sounds like he'll be changing it within the next couple of months.

Ian and I finally started our school year this past Monday and so far things are going pretty well. We're studying American history and we're learning all about the Native Americans. He's a 4th grader this year and a big nine year old. Still active as ever and will be starting hockey again soon. The picture I'm including of Ian was taken last week after a friend's birthday party where they did the tattoos. Well, if you look closely at his hair, you'll see a little "cut-out" in his bangs. He did that unbeknownst to me in order to show off his tattoo better!! Oh, my!

Ellie continues to charm and entertain although this week has been a little rough. I do believe she's finally getting the rest of her teeth and, of course, they all had to come in at once. So, she's cranky, has a runny nose, and did I mention cranky? She has gone pee-pee on the potty quite a few times in the last few days and we're really excited about that. She amazes people all the time with how well she speaks and she comes up with some of the cutest stuff. The other day in the car she was singing "Jesus Loves Me" and it went something like this..."Jesus loves me as far as I know!" She loves to sing and dance around and make you laugh.

Bella. Where do I begin with her? She's now over 4 months old and probably about as big as she's going to get. She's a bundle of energy and just doesn't stop. Still wondering how she's going to cope with the cold. We've taken her to the dog park in town a couple of times and she seems to enjoy it.

Our Life

Life here in the northern plains has been quite hectic. Just when we think things might settle down a little, they pick right back up again. From work socials to kids functions and church activities, life stays pretty busy! I had every intention of being able to keep up our blog so that I would have a detailed description of all that's been going on but it just hasnt' been happening nor can I make any promises that it's going to get any better! It's hard to believe we've wrapped up a year here and have only one more to go. We have no idea where we'll head to next - especially since we never really get what's on our "dream sheet" so it always leaves things wide open!

I don't really know where to begin since I'm so far behind so I'll start with me! I have been busy - the Lord has blessed my Stampin' Up! (R) business while we've been here and I've been so thankful for it! I've met lots of great ladies and enjoy stampin' and getting to know them. I taught a 3rd/4th grade girls class at our church on Wednesday nights and had a fun time. I am on the steering team for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) this coming year doing hospitality. Thank goodness my friend Sarah is co-chairing that one with me and she lives up the street so that should be okay. I attend lots of functions with Brian and it's weird to be watching friends leave this summer - I'm used to being the one leaving since it has been a while since we've been on a base! I'm still getting used to the fact that my oldest will be headin to Florida for college in the not to far off future and I'm interested to see how the coming year goes with Ian as a result of that. In all honesty, too, I had a not too great event happen to me this past spring (please don't think anything too horrible just some issues with people) so it has left a bitter taste in my mouth for this place so I won't be sorry to leave next summer but I have been able to move past it a little and enjoy our time here. I've never been treated in such a way and I hope to never treat anyone in the same way as I was treated. But I digress...Life with three kids, a cat and a dog can be pretty stressful but I am thankful for the little things: nap time, bed time, etc! :) The Lord had a plan in sending us here and I just hope I'm learning and doing whatever it was we were supposed to do while are here!

Josh is getting really excited for college. I don't know if I'd said it before but he'll be attending Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL, majoring in Marine Biology with a minor in Graphic Design. It's a private Christian college on the beach - I told him we'll visit HIM for spring break! He'll be about 6 hours from my parents so at least he'll be able to go visit them for Thanksgiving and such. He just got his dorm assignment and roommates name so they're already facebook friends! (Gotta love technology!!) This week he's off at Sonshine Fest with a group of guys from church. They're camping and having fun - at least I think so since I haven't actually heard from him since Wednesday! In a little over a week he's leaving to go to Orlando to meet up with a friend of his from Alabama and his parents. Then, we'll head to Florida with him in late August to get him settled. I'm excited because I'll actually get to go to Florida and it's just going to be me, Josh and Brian so we'll be able to relax a little!

Ian is doing well. The event I mentioned about me earlier really affected his world, too, so it hasn't been easy but he's stayed positive and is doing well. We hosted a backyard Bible club this week and he enjoyed it and is looking forward to going to a camp soon that's sponsored by the same group. He has a friend who will also be going so that will be fun. He went to another camp earlier in the summer and had a great time so 2 in one summer is even better! We've pretty much finished up the school year and are just pushing forward into the next curriculum as time allows. He's started reading one of the new books (one thing about Ian is that although he can read well he typically doesn't enjoy sitting to read by himself but enjoys to sit and read with us) in the curriculum and it's a chapter book (he hasn't really read any by himself) and it's been fun to see him get into it. I've made him do 30 minutes of reading (when we haven't been really busy with other things) and he'll ask me at the end of the 30 minutes, "Can I keep reading?" To which I reply - you can keep reading as much as you'd like! I'm hopeful that he will begin to love reading more so we'll be able to get through this years curriculum without any trouble. He is grade level wise a little behind in math so I'm going to really work with him this year to see if we can push forward a little more. He just really doesn't have his math facts down as well as I'd like. He's been doing baseball and continues with piano. He'll be doing an archery "camp" later this summer and he's looking forward to that. If you think of it, please say a little prayer for him as he adjusts to life without his big brother!

Eliana. She is our little cutie - she brings a smile to all of us and we so enjoy having her around. She had a little surgery this week - had to have a tooth removed that somehow or other was coming in broken! I was a little nervous about the fact that she had to be put to sleep for it but she did really well and you wouldn't even know anything had happened. She loves to be with her family, be outside, ride her little bike, "run", see Bella, watch tv (much to my dismay), eat popsicles, and pretty much rule the roost! :) Schooling Ian with Ellie around is challenging and I'm really praying I'll figure something out to help it go a little smoother.

Well, I'm sure there was more I was going to say but this is already long and the puppy's whining and Ellie's crying to get up from her nap so I better run!

Our Trip to the Cabin

Last week we had the opportunity to stay at Brian's uncle Steve's cabin. His cabin is in Hayward, WI, so it's about a 7 hour drive from here. We left on the 4th of July and were there by that afternoon. We had a wonderful time! We relaxed, fished, saw the fireworks, went out to lunch at the original Famous Dave's on Round Lake and a place recommended in the Food Network magazine (there's a story about that so stay tuned). It was such a nice, relaxing vacation and we really didn't want to come home! The story about the place we went for lunch is that I bought the Food Network Magazine while we were there to read while at the cabin. It just so happened that there was a letter to the editor by a man who says he's traveled across the US and he thinks the best hamburgers ever are at a place called Farmer's Inn in Hayward, WI. How crazy is that? So, we decided (being the hamburger eaters we are) that we should check it out. So, it's a little bit of a hole-in-the-wall but that's normally where the good food is anyway. While we were sitting there looking at the menu we just happened to hear the folks at the table across from us talking about the Food Network Magazine and a feature they'd done the previous month about the best places in the US for hamburger and the man commented that he'd written in a letter telling about this place!! SO, it just so happened we were sitting next to the guy who'd sent in the letter AND he and his wife live in CA but have a cabin in Hayward they come to for a few months every year and this was their first day back! How crazy is that?! Needless to say, Brian's hamburger wasn't cooked to his standard (he prefers medium rare and it was more on the medium side) and so we thought the burgers were okay. Mine was pretty tasty but not sure I could say it's the BEST I've ever had - just a fun story to share!

Here's a slide-show of our time at the cabin.

Newest Addition

It's been almost a week since we got the newest addition to our family - Bella. She's a (as of yesterday) 8 week old Miniature Pinscher. She's a real cutie and is a really good puppy. She's been doing well with her crate training and house training although we're not calling her "trained" by any stretch of the imagination! We're working with the whole nipping thing, too, but she is a puppy and we know it's going to take a while! Here's a little postcard I made with some pictures of Bella!

Make a Smilebox postcard

Ellie is 2!!!!

I know I'm way overdue in updating what is going on around here and I don't really have time to do so now either, but I did want to post a little photo slide show of pics of Ellie in the last two years. She's two today and we're having her little party tomorrow. I'll make sure to post pics of that, too!
Without further ado, here's Ellie!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's Here!!

The week we've been talking about since last year about this time is upon us! Josh is graduating this weekend! He has his last day of school today. He was actually a little nervous about it - I think reality is sinking in PLUS he was driving the Catalina to school today and I think he was a little nervous about that, too! My parents arrive tomorrow night and then my brother and his family arrive sometime Saturday. The graduation party we're having for him is Saturday and then graduation is Sunday. Still no decision about college but I think we're a little closer. He's leaning toward Palm Beach Atlantic in Palm Beach, FL. It has Marine Biology as well as Graphics so he'll be able to do both! We're just waiting to get all the necessary paperwork in to make sure he's been accepted. We've already decided that if he goes there, we'll be going to see HIM for Spring Break! (LOL!) Here are a couple of pictures of him leaving in the Catalina this morning for his last day of high school!

Happy Easter - 2 weeks late!

Yes, I am VERY behind on my posts but I didn't want Easter to completely slip by without posting anything so I am doing it now.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Yes, it's another scrapbook but it's the easiest way to share all of the photos. We were in Bemidji, MN, for Easter. We rented a cabin and enjoyed just being away. It was just what our family needed - especially with the crazy schedule in the next month! For those of you who don't know, Bemidji is home to Paul Bunyan and also the first city on the Mississippi! We had a wonderful Easter although I must admit it was a little strange going to a "new" church for Easter where we didn't know anyone.

We hope you had a wonderful Easter celebrating our risen Savior with your family!

SOOOO not funny!!!

I can't believe it, I just really can't! Yesterday was a beautiful day. Josh had Prom and we were able to get some outside pictures - the sun was shining it was in the 50's and it was so nice. Then, about an hour ago it started to ... you guessed it - SNOW!!!!! I thought even if it did snow there was no way it would stick - boy was I wrong! Just to show you the difference, I'm posting the "scrapbook" I made of Prom pics for Josh, then I'll post the pics I took today of the snow!

Here are a couple of pictures of the snow at our house!

Too crazy!!

Josh Update

It has, once again, been a while since I've had the time to sit and blog and I do have lots to blog about - it's just finding the time to do it that's the problem! After talking to some family members, I realized I haven't mentioned much about what is going on in the life of Josh - our soon to graduate senior! We still have no idea as to where he will head for college in a few short months, but here's a list of the ones he has applied to: Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, MI, Cedarville University in Ohio, Palm Beach Atlantic University in Palm Beach, Florida, and Northwestern College in St Paul, MN. They are all christian universities and part of the problem is not knowing where we'll be after next summer. He's pretty much ruled out Cornerstone although he really liked it due to the fact it doesn't have a graphic arts program. He's in between wanting to do graphics, something with science and theater. I think I pretty much have him convinced NOT to major in theater but he's not sure between the graphic arts and science. The one in Palm Beach is supposed to have a program in Marine Biology which is something he used to say when he was 7 that he was going to do and he's back to thinking about it again! So, that's the update on the whole college search stuff as it stands right now.

Although he isn't currently in any theater productions he is staying busy with a new activity - working! He started working at Coldstone Creamery a few weeks ago and seems to really be enjoying it. The job almost "fell in his lap" because the owner of the store goes to our church and helps out with the youth so he already knew Josh and didn't need to interview him! The owner also told Josh that if he goes away to college, he can still work for him when he comes home on breaks, so that's nice!

Josh is also gearing up for Prom!! It is a week away and his date's name is Amanda. They met through a mutual friend because she goes to a different school. We got to meet her when we went to help pick out Josh's tux. She's going to be wearing a pink dress so he'll be wearing a pink tie and vest. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all comes out.

If you'd like to see a sampling of his senior photos, you can click here.

Update and Cute Ellie

Well, life is getting a little more interesting here. Effors to fight the flood have stepped up quite a bit so there's a couple of extra hundred people that we're housing, feeding, etc. that are here to help out. Josh missed school the other day on an excused absence to go help sandbag. Brian's working long hours and will be working through the weekend. All activities have been cancelled/postponed until further notice. The gym that we normally go to every day is closed because it's one of the locations that's housing folks. And with the snow/cold there aren't a lot of options of getting out and getting the kids out. I'm considering going into town today just to get out of the house for a little bit and mix it up! Needless to say, please continue to pray for our communities here - people have already evacuated houses and there are houses in Fargo that have already been ruined. So, families are going to be in great need.

All of that said, I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of Ellie from the last couple of days that I thought were pretty cute. This first one she was just being cute sitting in her rocking chair and "reading" the little book.

This next one is a picture of her with her very first lollipop. The only reason we let her have it is Ian was having one for dessert and had gotten it from a bag in my bathroom (not normally there just happened to have a couple there). A few minutes later, Ellie showed up at the table and had gotten the other one that had been there. So, we decided to reward her efforts! She enjoyed it but I don't plan to make it a habit for her!

This last one was taken the other day when we were having a blizzard. She can be found like this pretty frequently.
Yes, that's the cat's bed but for some reason, Ellie thinks it's hers. She'll sit in it, put her toys in it, put her doll in it for bed, etc. It's pretty cute.

Update on our weather

Well, we got a brief look at what spring in ND might look like and were lulled into believing it was really here, only to be back into winter weather that continues to come down!!! Having a bit of forethought, I took a couple of pictures yesterday to show you what it looked like...
This is the backyard yesterday - as you can see, the only snow really left was the big snow drift that had accumulated at our bird feeder.

This is our front porch - all of the snow was GONE!!! Amazing but true - also a reason the locals are concerned about flooding - it's all melting quickly!

So, after seeing what it looked like yesterday... here's what it looked like this morning!!!

As you can see, this is the backyard and all the snowdrifts are back where they were as if they never left! I just couldn't believe it!!

And, the front porch - the elephants are almost gone again!! CRAZY!!

All of that said, please be praying for our area. The president has issued a National State of Emergency for the Fargo area and now it's being moved up our way as well. Although we are pretty safe where we are, everyone who lives in town is uncertain what the next few days will hold and there's a lot of sandbagging happening to try and keep the flood from impacting everyone. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!!