FINALLY....a new post!

Finally, I've posted! I know...it's taken forever! I wish I was posting with pictures of all the stuff that has been happening in our lives. But for some reason, our camera is not uploading to our computer normally. Hopefully we can get that fixed very soon. I can't wait to share them all with you!

Since the last post we have had many upgrades and downgrades:

**We finished our first soccer season with Kariana - UPGRADE (for the parents)DOWNGRADE (for Kariana)

**Heidi started a new career on the side, At Home America - UPGRADE!!!

**Celebrated Grandma Beck's 95th Birthday in Blue Springs, MO and a visit with Eric, Carri & Savannah and other relatives - UPGRADE

**Experienced our 1st Parent-Teacher Conference - mostly UPGRADE! :)

**Halloween 2008: We celebrated with Hannah "Latina" Montana and Princess Belle - UPGRADE

**Freedom to vote - UPGRADE

**Our choice of President didn't win - DOWNGRADE

**Kariana's improving behavior at school (she has done awesome the last 6 weeks!). She earned herself a trip to Dairy Queen for a chocolate dipped ice cream cone and a movie rental. Way to Go! - UPGRADE

**The worsening economy and market up and downs - A LITTLE OF BOTH, DOWNGRADE/UPGRADE

** Celebrated Bronalea's 3rd Birthday with lots of pink, purple and princess (and lots of friends and family too!) Can you believe she is 3? The time has flown by! - UPGRADE

**Family visit to the Pumpkin Patch. The girls loved the slide, rides, corn maze, and picking out special pumpkins. - UPDGRADE

** Studying FPU (Financial Peace University with Dave Ramsey) through our church -MOSTLY UPGRADE, SOMETIMES DOWNGRADE!

But in all of these upgrades and downgrades, God continues to love us & provide for us. He has blessed us in ways that we could not and cannot do by ourselves. We are so thankful that we can rely on Him through our ups and downs. Thank you Jesus!

Our Western KS visitors . . .

My younger sister, Beth and her family, along with our mom were able to come down and visit for a weekend in September. We do not get to see them as often as we'd like but the weekend was fun. It was fun to see her boys and how much they have grown. We feed the ducks and geese, played in a new park, and hung out with them. I am super excited to meet the new little one in Jan (their first girl, hey!!!).

Here are some of the shots from the weekend with them:

Bronalea and Henry pretending to be airplanes.

Random shots of the kids at the new Lions Club playground.

Playing with the cousins some more.....hang on Henry!

Picture Day!

Kariana had picture day today. She was so excited that we did her hair with my hair straightner. She looks so much older than 5 in this picture. Our little girl is growing up! She wanted to practice for the pictures so this is what we did.

Play Day

Kariana and Bronalea having been play extremely well today. Since we got back from the garage sales, they have been playing mommy and baby. Kariana is the mommy and Bronalea is a mostly compliant child who sometimes acts up. Her mommy made this very nice bed on the fireplace and was taking very good care of her.

Here's the homemade bed. They said the sign really says, "Don't take my baby away."

Mommy trying to get her baby to lay down and sleep.

She sat by her pretend mommy at lunch and her mommy helped feed her and even took her to the bathroom after lunch. I am the doctor and they have visited me 3 times already, as well as going to the library to check out books.

It is so nice that they are playing so well. We are also waiting for our apple crisp to be done so we can eat with ice cream! Then it's off to take naps.

For Daddy!

Thurston has been checking our blog off and on while in Honduras. He requested some more pics of the girls. We decided to make him a big sign with a extra special message for him. Kariana even put the finishing touches on it with heart balloons. kites, and butterflies. I think she did a great job!

The Sign!

Here's a special message from the girls:

Daddy,

I love you and I miss you. We got to finally get out of the house today and went to a couple of garage sales. That was fun. I got another Hannah Montana shirt and it's pink. We have been doing stuff with mommy. Bronalea and I made a picture for you. I miss you bunches and love so much. Love, Kariana

Daddy,

I love you. Kariana and I have been being good. We have been playing stickers, and playing house in the tent. I miss my daddy so much and he is my best friend. Love, Bronalea

Yesterday while we were locked-in, we played in the rain, painted toenails, did laundry, played in a blanket tent, took a ling nap, watched a movie, and made chocolate chip cookies. We were very excited and appreciative for a special delivery we received in the evening. One of our small group friends, walked all the way across the park and through a little water to bring us some more milk and basket full of goodies. Thank you so much. It was so thoughtful of you to go far out of your way to do that for us.


As for today, the water has gone down and we were able to get out of neighborhood for a little bit this morning. I think that worse part is behind us. Thank you so much to all the phone calls, thoughts and prayers we received. You are all awesome.

Take a Hike, Ike!

No, we're not getting a hurricane here and I know that isn't the first time you have heard that or seen this little slogan, but that is how I feel (at least for today)! Last night I woke up to the storms at 3am. I thought I'd check the radar and from there it progressed to checking email and so forth. I received a couple of emails from Thurston. He just wanted us to know that all his flights were cancelled and that he would be in Honduras with the rest of the Mission Trip team for another...another....4-5 days! I had to read that part a few more times, the more I read it the blurry it got with all the tears. I, as well as the girls are so ready for him to be home. I was prepared for a delay of some sort, but this completely caught me off guard and tore me up. How was I going to tell the girls that we weren't going to the airport today and that Daddy won't be home for several more days? Needless to say I tried to sleep but couldn't, so I'm tired. The following situation distracted them enough that they have not said much about Daddy not coming home tonight. The team will try to get a flight out Tuesday or Wednesday next week.

The girls and I got already for school and was starting to load them in the van, when one of our neighbors was returning.

He said, "Have you looked out the back of your house this morning?

"No," I thought.

"You probably don't want to go anywhere, you might not get back. If you do go, you should probably pack a suitcase."

There are three ways to get into our neighborhood. Our neighbor tried all of them to get to school (he is a teacher). Two of them were closed and he thought I could possibly get out through the park, but not back later in the day. The flooding is crazy. Then I think, even if Thurston was coming home tonight, we wouldn't be able to go and get him or we'd get out there and then we all wouldn't be able to home. Right now God has us where He wants all of us. We are safe and are taken care of, whether or not we like the circumstance. He is in control, not us.

I quickly called a co-worker, and she said not to worry about it. I was only suppose to work until noon anyway today. I called Kariana's school and let them know, even though school had started 20 minutes ago. They were receiving many calls of the same nature. I talked to a few friends and family members before I realized I totally forgot to call the babysitter....oops. Jaime (our next door neighbor) offered to keep the girls for awhile to give me some time to myself. He has two girls who are 14 and 9. Our girls think that are just great! I think I'll take him up on it. How thoughtful!

I really needed some more milk if we were going to be holed up for a couple of days and if I can run to the store real quick then I could be back before it got worse. The girls and I loaded up in the van and set out to the grocery store. I made it through the first area of flooding and got scared at the second crossing as people were in it and it was pretty deep. I turned around quickly. I don't think they will know much difference if I add a little water to it to make last, do you!? :) (our little secret!)

I emptied out the rain gauge last night and there was 2 1/2 inches of rain in it. This morning by 9:30am, there was over 5 1/2 inches of rain! Since then it has started to refill yet again.

The girls and I decided to go for a walk in the rain and take some pictures of the park, playground and a stalled truck. While we were out in the rain, Kariana was having a great time splashing in the puddles but Bronalea wasn't so interested in it.

"Pick me up Mommy"

"No, you're OK."

Very matter of factly she said, "No, my not. This is not fun."

Shortly thereafter, her sister was enjoying herself in the puddles, then it looked like fun. They played for a while and both were soaked from head to toe. We headed back to the house and my sweet Bronalea says, "Pick-up me up, the rain is getting me wet." She's silly. They both like to look our the back door and say, "This is NOT good, not good at all."

This afternoon we watched many people walk as far as our yard to see the flooding and take lots of pictures. There were many City trucks and police around the area as well. The rain has let up more this afternoon, it was very heavy this morning. We are headed for a nap. The humming and roaring of the water I hope will make for a great nap. The sounds makes me think that I'm on vacation at a waterfall, to bad that isn't the case! Here is some of the footage we shot. It should be noted that it is much higher now than it was when we took the photos.

The view from our backyard today.

The park in our backyard with baseball diamonds and more underwater.

The stalled vehicle on the main route we take to and from anywhere. They had to rescue this guy at 6:30am today(on Highland St. little bridge).

The playground that the girls frequent. If the water wern't rushing through, it'd make a nice little outdoor waterpark! Kariana thought that slide would be fun with water at the bottom.

Mission Trip

Thurston is currently on a Missions Trip to Honduras with our church. So far the girls and I are doing great. We do miss him and they think he is coming home everyday, but so far we have not had any meltdowns in regards to him being gone....granted it has only been 3 days! However, that may change and get more difficult as the days go by. We pray for him often, especially at bedtime. We will not see or talk to him again until we pick him up at the airport the end of next week.

Daddy's main concern while he was gone was that mommy would kill the new grass that he just planted in the front of the house. He'd be proud, mommy remembered to water it at least once a day and it still looks pretty green! However, the city had two water main breaks yesterday that limited the water supply but thankfully mommy water it a lot early Sunday morning before all the water issues happened. The water main breaks made for a great excuse not to do laundry. Down side is that there is just more for me to do this week! Ughh.... According to the City website, it should be back to normal this evening! Yeah!!! We are still under a boil order, though.

I'll post again after he returns, but until then, it would be great if you would keep all of us in your prayers. According to his schedule for today, he'll be climbing a mountain and will be lead by the executive director of HTH, then the rest of the day they will do construction on a house for a pastor.

More Soccer

Some of my family had a great idea about putting the game times on this post. So, here it goes. Therefore if any of you would like to come and watch a soccer game, this is the game schedule through mid-October. Let me know by email if you're coming and I'll give you directions to the game. All games are played on Saturdays.

September 13 @ 9:00am
September 20@ 9:00am
September 27 @ 9:00am (she may not be playing in this one, due to daddy's HS reunion that day!)
October 4 @ 8:00am
October 11 @ 10:30am

**We will have some to reschedule due to weather, but those aren't scheduled yet.

First Soccer Game

We watched Kariana play her first soccer game this morning. It was a little chilly but quickly warmed up with an exciting soccer match. She did awesome and even scored the first goal for her team! I believe they even won, 5-4! Here's a little bit of the action...

Kariana and most of her team. By the way, she was so excited to have a purple and pink shirt!

Go Kariana Go!

She was very tired when this was all over. She didn't even finish lunch before she asked if she could take a nap!

Kindergarten, Here comes Kariana!

Kariana had her first day of school on Thursday, Aug. 14. We met her teacher, Mrs. Dodds, took all her supplies and visited the school on the 12th. Kariana loved her first two days of school and especially enjoyed riding two different school buses to get to the YMCA After School Program at a local church. We were very proud of her and ourselves...not a tear was shed!! She was off to Kindergarten after a quick hug from her family. Here are some pictures of this once in a lifetime day.

Kariana dressed and ready for her first day of Kindergarten! She could hardly wait to use the new backpack either. She had it packed for the last 3 weeks with all her supplies!

Kariana on the way into her new school. She and mom went shopping earlier in the week and she picked this shirt all my herself. It is so her!

Kariana and her teacher, Mrs. Dodds

Duck, Duck, Goose

Our new house is pretty close to the Augusta City Lake so one of our favorite family activities is going for a walk through the park and up by the lake. Another purpose of these walks is to also feed the ducks and geese at the lake. They love bread! The last time we were there, they were getting a little more aggressive with the girls and trying to grab the bread from there hands and also peaking at their backs and hair. Needless to say, the girls did not like this! Here are some pics of the last feeding we had the ducks. Enjoy!

PS: Thanks Grammy. We fed some of the bread you gave us to the ducks!

Slumber Party #1

Thurston suggested to Kariana that she should invite a friend over for a slumber party. So she decided to ask cousin Chisholm over this past Friday. We met Aunt Charlotte and Chisholm north of El Dorado. On the way home we stopped at Braums for ice cream cones and then fed the ducks and geese a loaf of bread. Once home the girls had a surge of energy! It was good in the long run...they slept all night without a peep! We wanted to play at the playground but it rained and rained all day. Instead of the playground, the girls got in their swimsuits for some fun in the rain. All three of them rode in the bug car and had a grand time! They also played dress-up complete with make-up and watched a movie. And the best part was that they got along really great with very few arguments!! Woo hoo!! At the end of the visit, we met up with the rest of the Waner gang at a great Chinese buffet restaurant in El Dorado. Enjoy the pictures of the day...

First Soccer Practice

Kariana started soccer the first Saturday in August. She loves it and is a good kicker and pretty quick out there too. They drew names for the K-1 division. Just happens that a girl from our small group was also drawn to play on the same team. How awesome is that! Here is a pic of Addi and Kariana sporting their soccer gear prior to practice, along with Addi's little sister, Elle.

Our recent lake visit

We joined most of Heidi's family for swimming and a BBQ at the Wilson Lake the first weekend in August. Even Grandma Thies stopped by for a quick visit. Uncle Max and Aunt LeeLee brought along the boat for some tubing, which all the kids loved. I even enjoyed a couple of rides too! It was a great evening to spend at the lake, even with a visit from an unwelcomed non-threatening snake that decided to slither by and surprised Kariana, Aunt Gwen and I. Yikes!!

It was a very quick trip but was fun to see the cousins, aunts and uncles and Grammy and Papa (oh, and let's not forget Kariana's favorite...Buzz the cat).

Kariana and her clam shells.

Our view for the evening.

Cooling off in the water.

Heidi, Bronalea and Baby Emma enjoying the shade.

Uncle Milton and Uncle Conrad supervising the lake activities.

Kariana and her favorite farm pet, Buzz.

4th of July

We spent the 4th out at Grandpa and Grandma's house. We had a great time with most of the Aunts and Uncles and lots of cousins. We missed Aunt C, Uncle T, C, M and K. We enjoyed playing croquet, cards, eating great food, visiting with extending relatives, homemade ice cream, fireworks, swimming, loving on Baby S, and playing in the park!
The weather made for an even better holiday weekend!

Watch out...a very competitive game of croquet. Who won???

B hanging out with Cousin S! You'll make a great babysitter one day! What a smile :)

K being Grandpa's helper...or could she be waiting to try the ice cream first?!?!? Humm...

Trying to figure this all out!

Starting a blog....can't possibly be as hard as I am making it out to be! I thought that this would be a great way to keep in contact with our family and friends. But it is proving to be a bit more of a challenge for the me! Yughhh!!! Anyhow, I hope to eventually post some photos here too along with occasional updates of our family.

Kariana starts Kindergarten in 17 days! She is so excited and already has her backpack packed and ready to go!! She is also going to start soccer the beginning of August. She likes to practice in the yard with Dad.

Bronalea does a pretty good job at keeping up with Kariana. She is fully potty-trained during the day, we'll still working on staying dry at night. She is taking a lot and loves to play Elmo games on the computer. She is getting quite good at using the mouse too.

As for the parents, we are working....at Edward Jones and an Optometry office and also keep busy working on our new house. We all love it!

This is new...

So I thought that I would join the tech world and begin a blog for our family. This is so foreign to me, I'm figuring it out as I go. Check back later for more entries and pictures of the family. I'm so excited to get it started!! Whoo Hoo!!