Halloween is officially over. We were able to have some other kids over for the day and they all had a great time playing with eachother and passing out treats. It seems like we had less kids this year than others. Knight came home and slept. He did stay up to help make supper and then he laid down on the couch with 7 kids running around and fell asleep. Even when the kids' dad came to pick them up, Knight didn't wake up. I guess this means that all of the business talk will have to wait 'til morning. Good night.

Forgetful Fridays???
Last night I was on the computer and realized that I didn't post my thanks giving for the week so here it is.
1. My kids. It always amazes me what they come up with and how they can cheer my day. I called home from work yesterday and DJ answered. When I asked what she was doing she said "I'm in Rara's bed and we are trying to hear what eachother are thinking."
2. Family. We decided to have Thanksgiving this year at our house. Some can make it and some cannot. While wishing everyone could make it, it makes me realize how special each person that God gave us to make up our family is to us.
3. Change. Reading Dahls blog on how this country has changed in 100 years had me thinking about how God changes me little by little, day by day for His good pleasure. I could not do it on my own, but he gives me his word, his people in my life, books, music, and even my mistakes to create something better.
4. Consistancy. Many of those that know me, know that I love my routine. I love the routine of the day, even though I do have to make adjustments throughout my day sometimes it's nice when things get "boring". That means there has been little drama.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. We have not set our plans yet, but I know we want to do something one of the two days.

This is a picture of Knight with his birthday cake. I do have all 38 candles lit. As one of the kids put it; "HeHe, it looks like a bonfire!" We gave him a birthday dinner and played some video games with him and he took a nap. He must be getting old! Nice family day spent together.

Yesterday we went for a train ride on the Osceola Train. It was fun to have our first real train ride for the whole family. We started out in the caboose but at the halfway mark they took the engine off and brought it around and hooked it up to our car. Some of the pictures in our photo album show the process. There are also other photos, including one of the back of J-Birds mohawk. We cut it into a mohawk for wacky wednesday at church and he has decided he would like to leave it. Also Happy Birthday to Knight. Today he gets one step closer to old. I won't tell you how old he is but I can let you know that he is only 2 years away from the big 4-0. I love you, my prince!

We went to the pumpkin patch with the homeschool group today. We had a lot of fun and it stopped snowing in time for us to really enjoy ourselves. If you would like to see our picture album of the day go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/dew4kids/PumkinPatch

Thankful Thursday
This week has been a week full of blessings
1. I am thankful for the people willing to open their hearts and lives to encourage and steer someone cl0ser to Christ. Someone stopped, talked to, and prayed with Knight this week and it really encouraged him during a rough morning.

2. Silly games. Whether it's just goofing off with the kids or try to get someone else wondering "wha..? How..? Huh???" makes me just smile.

3. Health. There has been a variety of sickness in our house and it really makes me thankful for healthy days with no one sick.

4. Butchers. After cutting up an animal this week it makes me thankful that someone else is willing to do that full time as an ocupation so I don't have to every time I want some meat. It gave me a new appreciation of that career choice.

5. That I'm NOT M right now. I wish here well with her little man coming soon but I remember those days well and I don't envy her. But I am praying for her!!

There is so much to be thankful for. I am so blessed.

This is a great story!
It's about what you can do with one red paperclip

Somedays I get the notion that living like they do on Frontier House is probably not as bad as they make it out to be. (For all of you saying "WHAT!?! Your idea of camping is pitching a tent in the backyard for the kids and you sleeping with your bedroom window open to hear them!", Yes, I have actually thought that frontier living looked fun) You know, the men do the hunting while we do the gathering. So Knight goes out and drags home Bambi (ok, actually Bambi was offered to us by Elmo's mom, skinned, de-boned, and frozen and I went and got it) We let it thaw for a day and then since Knight was off hunting again I ended up cutting up this carcass and grinding it into hamburger on my kitchen table with the music playing, the furnace on, had an electric meat grinder (thanks JoGirl!) I'm sitting there thinking "wow, this takes a long time. I wonder how much it costs to have the deer processed". Ok, I guess I will have to admit that maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't be cut out for the frontier.

Thankful Thursdays
I decided that I am going to have more theme days. Somedays I know I should update the blog but I am not sure what to type so Thursdays will be about thanksgiving. Here are the 5 things I am thankful for this week. 1. Technology-I love the fact that between cell phones and internet I can talk to just about anyone I want any day I want.
2. Furnaces-the snow has arrived and yet I am not shivering
3. Homeschooling-I know, somedays I complain but I love having the kids around and watching them grow into great people
4. The written word- I love the fact that a good author can bring me to a new place or different time, can teach me something, entertain me, convict me, etc and the bible is the ultimate to help me to grow, show me my shortcomings, remind me of my blessings, and help me see my Lord
5. Mail- We have ordered different things online lately and when the mail comes we don't know if that box will come too. Brings some excitement to the day.
Have a great and blessed day.

This morning we are getting our first snowfall. The kids are excited, Knight is enjoying since he allways enjoys the first snow of the year, and here I sit wondering, why do I live in Wisconsin??? Yes, the trees are pretty when they change, yes, there is a lot of family and friends around, and even yes, it helps us to enjoy spring and summer that much more. But I'm thinking is that worth it? I think not. Snow has to be from Satan, don't you think? :-)

Look who's having a golden birthday today!!! J-Bird is 6th on the 6th of '06! Amazing isn't it. Him and Daddy get to go watch Menomonie play tonight. Happy Birthday J-Bird.

I found this on just about everyone's blog on my list and it looked fun. If you care to give it a try, copy and paste it- then put each one you have done in bold. Let me know if you play along!
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales (they didn't specify LIVE--TV's great)
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music

87. Eaten shark

88. Kissed on the first date (SHHHH!)
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone (isn't that every house with more than one kid?)
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children - still raising!
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth (helped the dog take puppies out of the sack)
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone (collar and foot)
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours in 48 hours (flu)
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head (ONLY the bottom half!)
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Sometimes I see things that touch me and I just feel like sharing. There is a wonderful couple that are newer members of our church that have 2 boys and the younger one has cerebral palsy. Micah is a sweet boy but he doesn't talk much, walk, etc. There is a small group of us that take turns sitting with him in class so his parents can enjoy the church service. I have had Micah in my class during vbs, childrens church, etc and the kids knew who he was and didn't say much but never seemed to get too close. Yesterday I was in class with him and the kids were playing a game where they pick a kid to join them in the middle of the circle. Not only did the kids pick him without being told (twice!), they held his hand, and just included him. It's nice to see the kids getting comfortable with him.