Thanksgiving 2011

Well, Thanksgiving was a little different for my crew this year, but we made do and it was wonderful.  I hosted my first Thanksgiving, but it was only my parents and my kids, so it was a perfect trial run.  They are pretty easy to please!  Mickey had to work so it was my mom and I in the kitchen.  We made all the usuals, but my best contribution was mashed sweet potatoes (a recipe I found on Pinterest) and my mom made some yummy corn pudding casserole and pumpkin pie!  It was a great day.  I got to run with my dad in the morning, watch the parade with my kiddos, and just relax (after all the cooking and cleaning of course!)  My mom and I don't do the Black Friday thing but thankfully, my in-laws do and they scored me a $180 carseat for $99!  Woohoo! (Thanks Cathy and Cari!)  Alea is ready to move into a big girl car seat so this was awesome.
We left for Omaha on Friday morning to spend a couple days with Mickey's family at a waterpark hotel.  We swam, ate lots of food, had a mini-Christmas, and just enjoyed catching up.  Unfortunately, Ev got a little sick on Saturday night and we had to head home early.  He is doing better now, I think it was just his allergies and asthma bothering him.  :)

Anyways, made it home safely and Mickey had to work today, so the kids and I had a bum around home day.  We did nothing!  And it was just what we needed after some busy days.    

Finally, my thankful list-These were the 1st 10 things that came to my mind in no particular order and is not a complete list whatsoever, I have so much to be thankful for.  

1. Staying at home this year to become a better wife and mom and servant of Jesus Christ-I LOVE being at home!  

2.  In this season of us not having two paychecks-God has provided for us over and over again.

3.  My marriage is improving-not perfect by any means-but God has us right where He wants us!

4.  Health-I take this for granted sometimes or overlook it, but I shouldn't.

5.  I have two of the most beautiful, amazing children-they bring smiles to my face everyday and I still can't believe sometimes that I get to be their mommy!

6.  Our church and our small group from church are my lifeblood for staying in the Word and drawing closer to the One who gives me Life.  

7.  Prayer runs-I have been running a lot and I purposely don't take music most of the time so I can just pray.  God has really used this time in great ways.

8.  Titus 2!  This group of women at my church that I meet with on Tuesday mornings to learn how to be a Titus 2 woman never cease to amaze me.  So thankful I know these women!

9.  I have incredible, loving, and generous parents.  They would do anything for me, my hubby, or my kids with no strings attached.  

10.  Peace and contentment from Christ alone.  I am so thankful God takes my fears and worries upon Him.  I wouldn't know any other way except to give them to Him.  
Happy Thanksgiving!

Beggar's Night

Beggar's Night was so fun!  Mickey didn't have to work so we actually got to trick or treat together.  (kind of)  I took Evan and Alea around the cul-de-sac, then came home with Alea.  Daddy took Evan and they were gone for an hour and a half.  I couldn't believe Evan made it that far.  He walked the whole way and carried his little pumpkin of treats.  Too bad he can't eat 90 percent of them because of his peanut, tree nut, and egg allergies!  There were a few things he could have, like Skittles, suckers, and Smarties so he was still happy.  Evan went as a firefighter (just like last year-he insisted even though I tried to tell him he can't be a firefighter every year just because that is what daddy does-haha!) and Alea was a little ballet dancer.  Enjoy a few pics below!

 

A loving and talented daddy!

Well, when my son said he wanted a Lightning McQueen pumpkin carving this year, I laughed and said, "Ask your father".  And that is what he did!  Mickey said, "Sure, why not?"  And he went to work.  He found an image online, then free hand drew it and carved it,  I am so impressed with how it turned out!

Evan loves it! 

Now, what to do for Alea's pumpkin?  Well, she is not old enough to have any favorites, so Evan chose for her.  "Alea wants Mater, daddy."  Oh my goodness... So, my hubby, the wonderful daddy he is, went to work at 9:00 at night after a long day of harvesting at his family farm.  He worked his magic again, and he accomplished the Mater pumpkin.

Apple Orchard Fun

Fall is by far my favorite season of the year (even though I am not too fond of what it leads up to...brrr!).  We have had such a beautiful fall here in Iowa and we love taking advantage of the great weather and scenery by going to apple orchards.  Our most favorite place to go is....Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge.  Oh my goodness, it is an orchard on steroids!  :)  I first discovered the place because a former co-worker of mine from Terrace Elementary (Trisha Romig) grew up there!  It is her family's place.  They have done an amazing job making it beautiful, fun, and festive.  They have animals for the kids to look at, a pool filled with corn kids can dive into, a humongous jumping pillow to flop around on, and a super duper huge slide to go down.  Oh and they have apples too!  haha!  We bought season passes this year and have already been there about 5 times and have plans to go many more times while we still can.  Below are some pictures of my kids (and my hubby and me) having a blast at Center Grove!

Alea loves making noises back ath the animals! Hilarious!

I love the corn pool, it is a good workout to wade around in!

I am just so happy she never even tried to eat the corn! Good girl!

I honestly think my hubs enjoys the jumping pillow more than my son!



Look of pure delight and terror on his face, priceless!



Alea is 10 months!

My precious baby girl is now 10 months old as of September 12th (the same day her new best friend Vera Port was born!).  She is up to all sorts of new things, like saying momma (love this!), and dog (she will point at the dog or say dog when she hears a bark).  She loves waving and waves every time she hears someone say hi or bye.  She is also all about the clapping!  If others are clapping or if she hears music or if someone says Yeah!, she will start clapping.  I think she is going to be musically inclined too as she starts bopping her head every time a song comes on and she tries to sing along with me when I sing to her.
She is still pretty tiny; I am not sure how I have such a petite little girl!  She weighed in at 18 pounds, 11 ounces and was 27 1/2 inches long at her 9 months appt.  This was approximately the 40th percentile.   I think she is going to be an athletic little thing, she is very coordinated-not walking yet, but will be anyday.  She is also quite the daredevil, wanting to climb on anything she can get her feet up on! 
I love having a daughter and I thank God for her everyday! What a beautiful gift God has given me in Alea. 

   

The Good Old Iowa State Fair

Yes, we made it to the Fair, the only day it was raining I might add, but we made it.  It just worked out we couldn't go on any of the nice weather days, but we still had a blast!  The highlight was the Little Hands on the Farm, Evan could have done that all day!  He also loved going around and getting "tattooed" in the Varied Industries building.  This is where he got to see Clifford too!  He hammed it up with him and it was hilarious!  Alea didn't care for the fair too much since she was in the stroller most of the time, but I know she will have a great time next year. Mickey and I gained about 5 pounds a piece after eating giant tenderloins, fries, and chocalate chip cookies, (we could literally feel our stomachs expanding with each bite!) but it was sooo worth it! 

Smores and Cupcakes

As most of you know, my son Evan is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and fish.  I know, it is not fun!  But we make do and we are finding some treats he can have and ways we can make treats so he can have some.  For the most part, I don't encourage sugary treats, but c'mon, I gotta let my kids have something fun to eat once in a while!  So, we made Smores on the grill the other night and Ev, of course, loved them!  Believe it or not, he can have the 3 main Smores ingredients!  Also, we have found you can replace the eggs in cake mix with a can of pop (light colored pops for light cakes, dark colored pop for chocolate cakes), so we made cupcakes tonight to honor of one of his favorite books: "If you Give a Cat a Cupcake..."  Pics are below!  (Daddy even snuck Alea a few bites of cupcake, her first taste of sugary goodness!)  Notice we ate outside and for the most part, without shirts on!  :)

What Have We Been Up to this Summer?

This summer is flying by in a whirlwind!  I have meant to keep this blog up a lot more regularly and hopefully, I will do a better job now that basketball is almost over...  Coaching high school girls travel bball for Kingdom Hoops has kept me quite busy the last few months!  Between that and having an active two and half year old little boy and a 8 and a half month old baby girl, there hasn't been much computer time.  We have managed to have some fun at the Mall of America and Lake Minnehaha in Minnesota, hanging at the farm for Mickey's bday, Ankeny Summerfest, swim lessons for Ev, Alea learning to crawl, stand up and cruise along furniture, wave, and give kisses, swimming in hotel pools, a cousin's wedding, hanging in the backyard, going to the park, enjoying Chicago and downtown Naperville, and so much more.  Since I am so behind in posting, I am just sending you too look at some pictures if you would like, since there are way too many to fit on here!
https://picasaweb.google.com/MKinzenbaw/Summer2011SoFar?authkey=Gv1sRgCMfXs_uPzoeVSw#
 My fave ones are below though: 

A Belated Father's Day Tribute

Daddy the jungle gym

So...I am a little behind on getting this posted, but our computer got a virus after trying to use internet in a hotel last weekend!  We got it all taken care of so now we are up and running!  I just wanted to share a little bit about the "fathers" in my life-the father of my children-my hubby Mickey, my father-Rick Evans, and my father in law-Fritz Kinzenbaw.



Loving on his little girl




Top 5 Reasons my hubby is an amazing father:
1.  He loves to teach our kids things and wants to give them great experiences.  Evan knows so much already because of daddy! (at 18 months, Evan could name and point to about 25 states on a map!)
2.  He is an excellent disciplinarian-he expects our children to listen and obey and enforces rules.  He does this out of tremendous love and hope for them. 
3.  He changes diapers, potty trains, makes baby food, cleans up puke and spit up, puts car seats in cars, adjusts the crib, puts batteries in toys, and a million other little things that help me out so much!
4.  He is awesome at the "physical" side of raising a boy-wrestling with Evan, taking him on hikes, running around the house with him, teaching him how to play sports,etc- while at the same time being awesome at the "emotional" side as well- reading to him, carrying him when he is tired, caring for him when he is sick, etc.
5.  He is a godly man who so badly wants our children to know God and live a passionate, servanthood life for Him.  He doesn't want to just tell his children to do it, he wants to do it and lead by example.  He knows that the best thing he can do for them is to know God, love Him, and serve Him. 
I love him so much and my kids couldn't have a better daddy!   

Taking Evan canoeing

Top 5 Reasons my dad is an amazing father:

1.  He would drive all over the place (such as the northern tip of Minnesota and the middle of nowhere in Nebraska) to see me play basketball.

2.  He took his family to church every Sunday, prayed for us and with us, led us in devotions, and tried his best to set a godly example.  (he still does this!)

3.  He loves ice cream and passed on that love to me and he loves a good chick flick and will watch with me. and my mom :) 

4.  During a time of great disappointment for him when he had to pick me up from a high school football game because I had been drinking, he still forgave me, loved me, and gave me the grace I needed, but most definitely did not deserve.

5.  He cared enough about me to scrutinize every guy I ever dated (at the time I found it annoying), but now I know exactly why he did it and I am so grateful.

And a quick shout-out to my father in law-he is an amazing father because he is extremely generous (I have never known someone to be so giving and selfless) and he raised a wonderful son by teaching him loyalty and the importance of family.  I am blessed to have in as my father in law! 



Fritz and his daughter Cari