Beautiful Spring Days!

Hey all! Just writing to update! I am on spring break right now and it has been fantastic! Although I have put off the pile of homework due for next week, so i'm sure the weekend will be a little stressful :-) But this beautiful weather has just been too good to pass up and spend inside! Elsie LOVES being outside! We have probably walked many miles this week so far- up and down the lane many times around 2-3 times (maybe 4!) a day and walking with dad on the farm! When we are inside Elsie stands by the screen door looking outside just waiting until our next venture out!! True farm girl :-) I also have to note that Elsie has turned into SUCH an active and social little girl! She has been nothing but a happy baby the last few weeks just chattering away and even taking her first steps!

We have loved spending our days outdoors. Now I'm getting anxious about planting our vegetable garden, planting flowers, filling up the pool, going golfing, and all the fun things spring brings! It's even more exciting to bring Elsie out to her second summer and introduce her to new fun things!

Her and that tongue!

I had to put this one up because every dog on the farm goes on walks with us- our "big Lily" is in front of me and Betoven and Grumpy are behind me, along with "little Lily" on the leash- they love the walks, too!

A few cows posing for us along our walk :-)

Our Growing Baby Girl!

Elsie is almost 9 MONTHS! Wow! Where did the time go? Next Saturday Elsie turns nine months- it's so crazy to think that her first birthday is just around the corner!



Here are some new pictures of our little growin' girl. These are pictures that a girl currently in the Hawkeye photography program took. She is from Jesup and she asked me if Elsie could be a model for her for some of her school assignments. I, of course, said heck ya! Here are a few of the pictures she took! (Elsie just LOVED the feather boa! She did such a good job for the camera!)

If you are interested in some of her work, her website is:
http://www.kcjphotography.webs.com/



Enjoy :-)

[Her tongue is ALWAYS out :-) ]

Yes she still has the mullet :-)

(my favorite!)

Jesus Loves Me!

Elsie has a new favorite toy! This is a little bear that a good friend of ours mother gave to us from her bear collection when Elsie was really little. It sings "Jesus Loves Me." I just randomly played it the other day and Elsie instantly had a huge smile on her face! We love to clap and sing along with the bear (now that she has just learned how to clap). I just love her reaction when I play this bear so I thought I'd share a few little video clips with you!

[ This is the one where she is sort of "singing" along, too :-) ]

A quick note!

I realized it's been a while since I've updated this thing! Here's just a few things to catch ya up:

Miss Elsie is still growin at the speed of light! Her crawling pace has really picked up a lot lately! That could be due to our new favorite game of mom "chasing" her down the hall way now (crawling of course). Shes starting to really say more and more sounds. She has even started clapping! Ok so I admit I get excited about every little thing she does :-) It's just amazing how babies develop such a little personality of their own! I should mention that she took three steps on her own the other day as well! Lyle kept standing her up (because she can stand on her own) and she took three full steps- then fell of course. She may be walkin before we know it!

Lyle and I are doing well. Lyle is still working a lot outside of course. We have many sets of baby pigs and more lambs! I got to help him a few nights during the past few weeks and just love seeing the baby farm animals!

I have been getting through school as best as I can...and let me tell you it's not easy! I haven't had the best of luck enjoying my classes this semester. I'm taking classes that I really, REALLY am not motivated to take, and some of them requiring a lot of the knit-picky kind of work. I am already looking forward to summer! Then again, this summer I have to take a remedial reading course which according to my advisor today is one of the most labor intensive 8 week courses! I just wish there was something I could do to NOT take that class :-) haha. What a summer it will be.

Anyways, theres a little bit of how we've been doing lately! Elsie just had some pictures taken last night by a girl from Jesup who is studying to be a photographer. I will put some up as soon as i get them! Elsie did such a wonderful job- i can't wait to see them!

Logan the Sky Angel Cowboy

This video had me in tears! What a wonderful and sweet boy! I just thought I would share this moving clip- at least it was very moving for me! It is such a simple message, but SO powerful! Especially coming from a young soul.

Incase you haven't seen this before, Logan is a 13 year-old boy who lives on a ranch in a very small town in Nebraska. Logan listens to Christian Radio station 89.3FM KSBJ which broadcasts from Houston, TX. Sky Angel is the family-safe satellite broadcasting service. Logan called the radio station distraught because he had to take down a calf . His words have wisdom beyond his years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCdZwitrNoY

Pigs, Pigs, Pigs!

The night of January 23rd, Lyle worked another usual late night on the farm. I finally called and wished him a good night and decided to go to bed around 11:00, leaving his supper in the microwave anticipating that he would be in shortly. I woke up at 2:30 am and found that he still wasn't sleeping next to me yet. He actually wasn't to be found anywhere in the house! I was half asleep and I called him somewhat in a panic asking, "Hey are you ok? Where are you?" Lyle happily replied, "Yup! I'm just looking at a bunch of baby pigs right now!" August and Katie arrived here late that night to help out with wiring the electiricty for more lights and outlets in the farrowing house- which we greatly appreciated! August and Lyle stayed out to make sure the delivery went well. So here are some pictures of the cute little creatures! :

It has been too cold to take Elsie out to see all of them yet, but Uncle Augie brought one in the house yesterday morning to warm up a little more in the bathroom. Here are her first pictures with one of the baby pigs. Not the usual farm scenery but we're use to having livestock in the bathroom :-)

A Busy 2009 Already!

Just keeping you up to speed with what we've been up to since the new year began!
Elsie's new favorite bathtub toy!

Little Elsie has just been the happiest baby lately! She has just been talking and walking (along and between furniture) more and more! Her new favorite thing is to smack her tongue against the roof of her mouth sort of "mocking" the sound of a kiss. It is too funny! She has been adding "mama" "baba" and "duhduh" to her vocabulary :-). Isn't it funny how you get excited about those little sounds? haha. We are having so much fun watching her grow- it seems like everyday she does something new! She has also been able to stand on her own for about 10-15 seconds before falling which is an improvement from 2 seconds :-) She has been doing wonderful though and we thank God everyday for our active, healthy, beautiful little girl! Here are some recent photos I took for her "7 month" pictures.













I started back to school last week. I have a feeling it won't be my favorite semester- at least compared to an awesome semester this last fall! In a way it is my own fault since I put off a few gen. ed. requirements until the last semester. I am taking "Africa" and "Environment and Technology." I am sure I will learn a lot, but I just feel sort of like an outsider since I've been so used to having teaching classes full of familiar faces and friends. I am also taking two literacy classes, one being a language development class which is actually kind of interesting because I am able to apply it at home with Elsie and her own oral language development. The other class is an Assessment and Evaluation of Literacy class where I will be doing a field experience with struggling readers and write a lot of lesson plans to assess their reading and writing abilities. It seems like it will be tough and a lot of work, but again I think it will be a good learning experience. All of my college friends are student teaching right now, so I do feel a little alone in all of my classes! I am just hoping that all will go well and I will get through it!


Lyle is of course keeping busy on the farm and at work. It is nice because we've been able to see him more this week. Deere's hasn't been making him work as much overtime now, so he is able to come home shortly after I come home from school. He is waiting patiently for a nice litter of pigs. Over break Alex and him built a farrowing building that looks really great- they put a lot of late nights in! Pat and Lyle worked on putting insulation in the farrowing building the other night until about 3:30 in the morning just getting ready to keep those piglets warm. I just keep hoping that all his hard work will pay off and one of these days we will have a nice litter for him! The sheep are doing well and we've got a lot of cute little lambs up there jumpin around!


Also, Lyle and I are sort of in the midst of trying to find a family church for us to belong to. For the past few months we've been kind of "on hold" so-to-speak in the church department. We just feel like we don't really belong anywhere right now. We haven't found that place to call home yet where we can raise our children to trust and know God, and continue our own journeys in faith. Recently though, we have been visiting Orchard Hill Church in Cedar Falls again. We have gone the past few Sundays and have enjoyed it. Elsie even enjoyed being in nursery- she didn't even crawl over to me when I went to go pick her up today which is VERY odd ;-). It is not a for sure thing that we will become members there yet since we have just begun visiting, but we are starting to really get our focus back to where it needs to be. Lyle's sister Jess and her family go there as well and she gave me some information on many bible study and fellowship opportunities as well. We just have to keep praying and relying on God to lead us in the right direction, which he will.


As Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."


We hope that everyone has been having a wonderful 2009 so far! We will keep you all posted on what is going on in our lives :-)


Here is another verse I came across. I'm not trying to be a preacher or anything, but just incase your facing a hard time in your life right now (which I know of a few of you are right now :-) ) , here are some encouraging words from the One above :-) :

"So do not fear, for I am with you;do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10