Cub Scouts

Sam and I ended up being Cub Scout leaders for the 2011/2012 school year.  We were in charge of the Tiger Cubs (Jonah's troop).  Henry was a Bear Cub in another troop.  I'm not exactly sure how we got signed up to be the troop leaders, but we did enjoy the experience-especially the super cool shirts.

 Jonah was the reason we got involved with cub scouts in the first place.  

 He had heard about it and thought that it would be the very best activity for him.  Since Henry was involved in other sports at the time, we initially told him that he couldn't be in cub scouts, but it turned out that he could go on the same nights that we were there with Jonah.  So it actually worked out wonderfully for everyone!  Bridget came along with us to Jonah's class and was able to participate in the crafts and snacks and games.

The meetings were fairly structured but required a lot of parent participation-and our group's parents weren't very interested in participating.  So we just tried to keep it fun and get the requirements done as best as we could.  :)  We set up a snack rotation, planned games and crafts, and made sure the kids were earning their patches and beads as we went along.  We were also required to set up one field trip a month.  We went fun places like the fire station, and the local Christian radio station:

The cub scouts also had a chance to be in a parade!  When we got to the meet-up place the morning of the parade, it was raining and kind of cold.  Both my boys decided they wouldn't prefer to be in the parade after all, so we opted to watch from the sidelines. 

 Some of the meeting were super fun, like the one where they brought in "The Creature Teacher", who let everyone touch a tarantula.  Yuck!

Before the big cub scout camp out, we had a tent-building meeting.  The kids really enjoyed learning to put up a tent, and we packed them each a s'mores snack in a ziploc to enjoy while they played.

Near the end of the school year, we had one final meeting and had everyone come to our house for a bonfire.  The kids roasted marshmallows, met our goats, and ran around outside for a while.  We had mostly city kids in our group, and they all really enjoyed coming out to our place and having some freedom to enjoy nature a bit.  They all had so much fun!  

   It was fun to be a cub scout leader for a season, but at the end of the year Sam and I passed the torch to another parent to take over the leadership.  We decided that since we have so many other activities throughout the year that cub scouts wasn't the best one for our family.  We also spend lots of time outdoors and enjoy the experiences they were focusing on as a family.  We are thankful for the year that we had with such a fun group! 

Fishing

Sam works at a ranch that has a great lake on the property. The camp uses it for all sorts of water activities (boating, jet-skiing, water slides, etc...), but to Sam, it's greatest benefit is the fishing!

Sam recently took us all out in the boat for an afternoon of fishing. It was planned to be a date-day for just Sam and me but our babysitter canceled at the last minute. It wasn't too disappointing as we just easily made it into a family day!

Sam has taken the boys one at a time and together, but this was our first outing all together. The funny thing was that Bridget was REALLY nervous about being in a boat. We spend a lot of time during the summer at the lake and we are often in and out of boats, but I guess Bridget has avoided any boat time for the last few summers. She didn't want to get in, and when the boat started moving she started screaming. It was kinda funny, but it just made me realize we need to get her out there more often.

Sam rigged me up with two lures on one line...and I caught two fish at once! That was definitely the highlight of my day. :)

Bridget didn't catch anything because she wasn't really interested in fishing, but she did hold a fish that someone else caught. She is so brave when it comes to creepy-crawly or slimy things.

Jonah had quite a few bites and brought a couple fish into the boat. He is by far our most patient fisherman.
Henry got a few bites as well. He loves fishing because it's something he can do with his dad. He's a little less patient, but I think it's just because he doesn't like to be still. :)The weather was beautiful, the fish were biting and it was a perfect day!

Happy Birthday Sam!

We like celebrating things at our house. Sam's birthday has actually been re-classified as one of the major holidays in our family. ;)

This year was no exception. Sam opened presents (lots and lots of presents!) from us and friends and family. His biggest present was one that Sam gifted to our entire family...a new camper!

Which, of course, required a 'camper-cake' to be requested by the birthday boy. And who am I to say no on this most special of occasions?

Another important factor to a birthday party in this house is that cards must be played. We had Sam's parents and Jon and Kelly over to celebrate, share cupcakes and play cards with us.

Since the celebration was spread out over a few days, we had cupcakes in addition to the camper cake. Here's the birthday boy with his candles:
I love you, Sam! I love the fun you bring to everything you do, the passion you have for life, your devotion to your family, the intensity you live your life with. Happy Birthday!

The Mighty Dam (Sam)

A while back, Bridget took to calling Sam by a new name. She sort of combined "Dad" and "Sam" to come up with the lovely sounding "Dam". We didn't notice it at first, attributing it to toddler-speak (even though Bridget is better known for her clear speech), or thinking we were not hearing her properly. Sam was the one who finally pointed out that she had re-named him. This went on for a few months, and has since passed, but it sure gave us reason to giggle for a while. Seriously, it is hard not to laugh when you hear your three year old calling her daddy 'Dam'. ;)During that phase, Sam was working on fixing up his tractor. He got everything running in tip-top shape, replaced the seat and tires, and gave it a fresh new coat of paint. I love that he has such skills...he can fix anything! He chose a lovely shade of bright orange (so perfect!) and then asked the kids and me to come up with a good name for her. We came up with the perfect name, forever commemorating the months of laughter..."The Mighty Dam". I can only imagine what the people at the sign shop thought when they printed it out.

One thing I really appreciate about Sam is his sense of humor. He shows our kids that it's okay to have fun and not to take themselves too seriously. He's willing to do just about anything for a laugh, and he is always trying to get people to smile. It's one of the things that attracted me to Sam in the first place and I continue to be amazed at how quickly he makes friends and earns people's trust.
Another of Sam's finest qualities is his work ethic. I've never known anyone who works harder than Sam. He always has a few projects going on and lists upon lists of more things he would like to get done. At times I can find it frustrating, because I like to have nothing to do when I relax...but Sam is most at peace when he has something to work on or figure out. It's something I've grown to truly appreciate about him.It is beautiful to see Sam teach the kids how to do things around the house, yard, shop, etc...they love helping their Daddy and he enjoys passing on his knowledge and showing them how fun it can be to work. :)
Thanks for being you, Sam. We love you and appreciate everything you do. I could not imagine a more perfect father for our children and I am incredibly blessed to be your wife. :) Love you!

Sam and I just LOVE playing cards. This has been a favorite pastime since the early days of our relationship.

We play at family gatherings, friend's houses, at our campsites, and here at our own house. We'll play by ourselves (if we HAVE to) but we prefer the company of others.
There is something so relaxing about sitting around the table with friends and chatting about our lives.
We've been blessed with wonderful friends and family who are up for cards many times a week. Because everyone's lives are busy, we don't have a specific night set aside for cards (although we were able to do that over the summer!) so we just call a few people when we have time to play and they show up in a few hours!
I don't often take pictures of card nights, but as I was going through some pictures today I found these...and I thought it's about time I posted them. This is an important part of our lives. Lots of things get discussed over cards. It isn't just for the fun of the game, it's for ministering to one another, sharing burdens and laughter, and getting to the heart of what is really on our minds. I always feel happy after a card night. :)Every now and again things get serious. ;)

I'm so thankful for our friends and family. If you have ever been over to our house for a card night, please know that I thank God for you and hope you were blessed as well! And any of you who haven't made it over for cards yet? You're invited too. :)

Sam's wood pile

A few weeks ago our neighbor mentioned that the people digging her pond were going to be knocking down a big tree on her property. She said they were planning on burning it, but if we wanted it we could come and get it.

So Sam took the trailer over there, cut the tree into large sections and brought it home. It was a LOT of wood!
He spent the day splitting it (we have a splitter, which speeds up that job tremendously) and tossing it all into a big heap. I wish I had taken a 'before' picture of the pile!

The kids and I pitched in then to help stack all the wood. We stacked it three wide and fairly high...it was really a lot of wood, but made for a fun family project.
In History we have been studying George Washington, and Henry was dressed as him here. The other kids just wore their tricorn hats.
Not sure if I mentioned that it was a lot of work to get it all stacked up so nicely? Well, two days later I went outside to find the whole stack knocked over! We had left space in between each of the three stacks and not carefully stacked the pieces tightly together...and the result was that the whole thing came crashing down. I am so thankful that the kids were nowhere nearby when that happened!

It took one more evening of stacking wood (and doing it properly this time!), but now we're all stocked up for the winter. :)

Florida Vacation Part 2--favorite pictures!

Mary Beth felt the need to clean the outside of the door to the public restroom.

I felt the need to take a picture of her doing just that.

My father in law is a goofy guy. Here he is announcing that he's ready to go for his morning walk.

We took the kids bowling for their first time ever. Henry loved every minute of it.

Jonah enjoyed bowling too; but then again, he enjoys everything.
My sweeties on the beach. I try to take this same picture every year. There is something about it that I just LOVE.

Sam and the kids resting at the airplane museum. I have the best family ever!

I am totally and indescribably blessed to be this awesome man's wife.

Cousin love.
Somehow I missed getting Henry in this picture, but this shot shows how well they all get along.

Matthew and Bridget had so much fun on this roller. It's some kind of miracle that neither one of them got hurt on it.

The whole crew.
These are the fun people who are crazy enough to vacation with us! :)

We are so grateful to have had a chance to go to Florida once again with our very favorite people. The Lord is so good to us...to HIM be the glory!!!

ESOAL XII

This past weekend was ESOAL up at Teen Mania. It is an incredible event put on for the interns every year. Many alumni come back for this event every year, and this year was especially exciting because Sam's brother David (who created and runs this event) decided to participate for the first time ever. He asked Sam to be the major of EZ company, which was comprised of forty-some former staff and interns.

Sam enjoys facilitating this event. He is very gifted when it comes to leading people and he has a way of getting right to the heart of issues that people are dealing with. In the past years that Sam has been a major, those in his company have always been extremely grateful for his particular leading style and the way he pushes them to grow and stretch their faith. (Last year he was even chosen as ESOAL Major of the Year!) This year was no different but was a little more challenging for him as Sam had his brother in his company.

David did an excellent job and really became one with his company. We caught up with him yesterday out at the lake (after the end of ESOAL) and it was so fun to hear his stories and what he gained out of the event. We are so proud of him for going through this!

We went up to visit with Sam one night and spent some time watching everything that was happening. It's very entertaining to see what these people will do voluntarily! :) I can't talk though, because I went through it myself two years ago. While we were there we ran into David's kids, who had come up to see how their Dad was doing. It's always fun to have a little cousin time!

My kids missed their Daddy so much. He was gone from Wednesday night until Sunday morning. We had a wedding to attend on Saturday evening, so he showered and cleaned up, we picked him up and went to the wedding, then dropped him back off.

Sam, David, and all of the other facilitators and participants: I am so proud of you! I hope you learned and were stretched and challenged...and I pray the lessons you take away from ESOAL will remain fresh in your minds all of your days. :)

Flower Beds

Sam's latest home improvement project was the flower beds in front of our house.

Ever since we moved in I have fought a losing battle to make these 'pretty'. Between the dogs and the kids (and even the adults around here!) someone was always walking THROUGH the flower beds, riding a bike across them, kicking up bark or DIGGING holes in them.

Twice I replanted the areas with beautiful perennials, but the flowers really didn't stand a chance. It was just too easy and convenient to walk on through there.

On the left side of the sidewalk, we ripped everything out and replanted the two things that still showed signs of life elsewhere. Sam redid the landscape fabric and ground cover and planted two nice, hardy bushes flowering bushes. He left lots of space in between them, so if people STILL feel the need to walk through there, they won't trample the flowers.

On the other side (which was really the disaster area), Sam poured concrete and filled in all but three little squares. In those squares, he placed whiskey barrels and surrounded them with bark. He let me pick out flowers to fill them and they turned out beautifully!

Sam ran a drip system to all of them so that I don't have to try and remember to water them, since I'm not very good at that!

It's taken a few years, but we finally have COLOR in front of our house. Sam also put up hanging baskets on both sides of the porch (with a drip watering them too, of course) to add a little more beauty. I think he did an amazing job of prettying up our front porch! :)
Thanks, Sam! You always have the BEST ideas. :)