Earn Your Stripes 5k, 2015

It's our hope and prayer that during the summer of 2017, we will be able to move our family to Zimbabwe, Africa, where we hope to serve and work at the Nhowe Mission and Brian Lemons Memorial Hospital.  Erik went with the Lemons family when they dedicated the hospital in memory of their son, who was tragically killed in a car accident.  This hospital was his dream and his family saw to it that it happened after his death.  In September every year, the Lemons family, along with their supporting church congregation, oversee a 5k walk/run that raises money for an orphanage that they are currently in the process of adding at Nhowe Mission.  This year was our second time to go down for the 5k and we couldn't have been more happy to be there.

Skogen and I ran together for the second year in a row.  We were trying to beat last year's time, but Skogen ate two donuts before we started the race (without me knowing) and he felt sick the whole first mile!  A little while after we reached the first mile mark, Skogen threw up, so we stopped to walk and catch his breath for a little while.  After the drink stand, we were able to start up running again, but a short while later, he had to go pee!  He cried the whole last mile.  I encouraged him to pee his pants like real runners do sometimes, but he didn't want the pee to sting his legs!  It was a loooooooooooooooong 3.1 miles for him, but we made it (although several minutes later than last year's time) and it felt good to cross the finish line!  I was so proud of Skogen for sticking it out, even though he was uncomfortable.

 Maida and her cousin Kinley and Uncle Brandon ran with Erik for the first time.  This was Maida's first ever 5k and she was very nervous.  However, at the finish line she was all smiles and says she's doing it again next year!

After the 5k, our family headed to a trampoline park for some more fun!

 We were so thankful to have Erik's mom come up for the run!  And had lots and lots of fun with her at the trampoline park, too!!

After the trampoline park and showers, we headed downtown Wichita to watch a water and light show!  It was a great ending to a wonderful day!

Pictures from September 2015

August was a whirlwind.  The kids started school a week and a half before we were planning on, so it snuck up quickly.

 Skogen was so excited to go see his school!  He picked out his clothes for Meet the Teacher Day and had a great time running around his school and getting more familiar with it.  He almost cried when we had to leave because he wished it was the first day of school already.

 Maida, on the other hand was very nervous about her Meet the Teacher Day.  When I told her to go get dressed, she came up wearing a dress!  When I asked why, she said, "I thought if I dressed like I was a business woman, I would feel like I was going to work and not to meet my teacher and it might make me feel better about it."  Ha!  Meeting her teacher went fine, but she is still very nervous about starting school because her school is so so big.

Erik's dad visited us after we first moved in.  He helped with many projects, one of them being to start fixing up the kids' playhouse in the backyard.

The first day of school came so quickly, but Skogen was sooooooo ready to go!  He was excited to explore his new school and make new friends.

 Maida was excited, yet nervous.  Dropping her off at her new school was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.  I think it might have even been harder than sending her to kindergarten!  She was just so scared and there was nothing I could do about it, other than send her.  Kicking her out of the car that day, I felt like a mama bird kicking her baby out of the nest when it was time to fly.

 Klaasen and Torsten wanted their picture taken, too.  They were excited to start homeschool!

Over the weekend, Erik and his dad and the boys met one of Erik's friends and his daughter up in the cities for a car show!  The boys thought it was way too much walking and not enough being able to sit in and drive the cars, but they still had a blast!

We went back and visited our old church family so that they could throw us a going away party!  It was a very special time together.  We were so blessed by so many friends there.

I had been praying and praying for friends for Maida.  She is used to having lots of friends to play with and so the move has been very hard.  One Saturday morning, three neighbor girls showed up at our door to play!  What an amazing answer to prayer!

The last week in August, I found myself back at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for the removal of my wisdom teeth.

 The surgery was worse than expected!  Apparently they just didn't want to come out and the surgeon had a very tough time.  I looked like a hamster for nearly two weeks after the surgery.  No wonder I didn't meet any friends!!

Maida met more friends in school, but she really struggled to feel settled and happy.  She got her first love note, which brightened her up for a bit.  Too bad Vaugh isn't someone she really wants to hang out with, but I appreciate the little ways God has made her feel special through this.

Homeschool was a challenge.  Klaasen enjoyed it when Torsten wasn't destroying everything we were trying to work on!  It seems like I can't find a good balance with the two and after you add in their short attention spans, it gets difficult to get anything done.

Maida bravely joined dance again this year!  It was very brave of her to do this year because she knew absolutely no one in dance when she started.  I was proud of her for not letting this hold her back.

 We finally found a few homeschool experiments that both boys could do together, which helped a lot.

On Wednesday mornings, Klaasen and Torsten took gymnastics!  Klaasen did a fabulous job, but with Torsten never being in any sort of class like this before, he didn't really know how to follow the teacher.  He got better and better each time we went, though.

Homeschool sometimes involves helping mom make dinner for the family!

Maida's teacher from last year sent her a sweet "Box of Sunshine," to brighten her day.  A couple weeks into school and Maida was still really struggling.

Skogen  tried basketball for the first time!  Improvement needed, but for his first time, he did well!

One weekend we joined Bumpa, Grandma, Uncle Jay, Aunt Nancy, and cousins Sarena and Natalie up north to camp before it got too cold!

When we got home from camping, the kids got to stay up past bedtime to watch the lunar eclipse!

Daddy came home from his friends trip to Utah with lots of fun gifts for everyone!!

 The boys got their hair cut!  Klaasen was so cute on the way home from the barber when he said, "It's weird because I got all my hairs cut off, but I still feel like myself!"  I love this kid!!!