Funny Andrew quote #567......

Today while at the park, Andrew helped Mariah off the slide. When Amber told him how good of a helper he was, Andrew proclaimed "you know why I help, mommy? Because it's my pleasure!"

Not sure where he got that phrase, but it sure cracked us up!

Laptop??

Last night, Jayden asked me how long until he gets a laptop like mom and dad have... Any ideas on how to respond to that one????

More Family Pictures

Some of you requested more family pictures, so here they are. Brittany Zeltwanger took these - She does such an awesome job and we love her!!!!

I had to add this as requested. :) I will be submissive to my husband and not order this as our main family picture, but I might have to sneak a 5x7 or something. I still like it even if he thinks it's very unnatural! :)

A Buzz church moment we won't forget!

Bear with me on this one. This is typical of our 2nd son......

Andrew has had a bad habit the last few months of having to "go stinkies" right in the middle our afternoon church service. I have told him numerous times that he needs to hold it in or go before we go in to church, as we are sick of taking him out all the time.

The last few times he has tried this, I have noticed that he kind of makes a game out of it and doesn't even do what he should be doing. Smelling a rat, I told him last week that from now on, if he says he has to "go stinkies", and he doesn't go, he will get a spanking.

Now we come to yesterday in afternoon church. In the middle of the service he tells me "daddy I have to go pee". I said no, hold it in. He then proceeds to say "I have to go stinkies". Again, I said no, just hold it until church is over. After dancing around and whining for about 3 minutes, I finally took him out with the condition that if he didn't go, he would get spanked.

We head to the bathroom and he sits on the toilet. After about 6 or 7 grunts, he tells me "daddy, I have to sit here a long time so I can go stinkies". I knew he wouldn't go, but decided to wait and see what happens.

After about 2 more minutes of grunting, he starts whimpering. Finally he cries out "daddy, I don't want to get a spanking!".

I had to stick to my word, so, while trying to hold in my laughs, I got him dressed and we went to the basement.........It's always hard to follow through on discipline like this, especially when you see the fear in their eyes, but he definitely learned his lesson!

Hopefully this post generates a few laughs and brings back memories to some of you!

Family Pictures Summer 2010

We had family pictures taken a few weeks ago. The kids did well enough considering how it could have gone. Dad probably drug his feet more than anyone, since I love taking family pictures about as much as getting a tooth pulled.....

I cooperated until we started doing the "family holding hands while walking next to the lake" and then "sitting on the dock and splashing water with our legs". None of those will make the family album or the Christmas card.......

With Jayden turning 5 and the twins 1, we look back and say "wow, we made it through the last year with baby twins". It is getting more fun all the time with the 2 little squirts running around with their dolls, shopping carts, toy cell phones, and blankets. Man, how are they programmed to like babies, shopping, and cell phones already. I guess girls will be girls, huh.


Buzz looks very innocent, but that is just for show!

Grandpa Wiegand goes to his reward!

Grandpa Wiegand died early this morning. We rejoice with the Angels that he can go home, but we will all miss his great example here on earth. A few thoughts that come to mind when I think of Grandpa:

--He was a man of few words, but when he talked, everyone listened!

--He had a simple but yet super strong faith in God. His greatest joy at the end of life was when one of his grandkids turned to the Lord in repentance.

--He knew EVERYTHING about farming, animals, hunting, plants, trees, etc. He hated deer because they would eat his corn. One year, we asked him how many deer he got that day during deer season. Instead of saying "3", he said "well, 2 got away".

--Quality time with family was his greatest enjoyment in life.

--He faithfully preached the Word of God for 30 + years.

--He HATED big cities. Another one of my favorite grandpa quotes was when talking about Chicago, "I never lost anything there".

--He showed up early to EVERYTHING. Sometimes 30 minutes to 1 hour early! He always said "its better to be 20 minutes early, than to be 5 minutes late".

And probably his favorite saying toward the end of his life........."Take your time going home, but hurry back!".

We will miss him but rejoice that he is now at home after serving Jesus faithfully for over 70 years!

My 3 girlfriends and their protectors

My 3 "girlfriends", Amber, Mariah and Macy.

Their "infantry regiment" that offers daily protection. Jayden and Andrew.........

I couldn't resist posting these 2 pictures.......

Jayden turns 5!

Jayden wanted a cake with marshmallows and chocolate on top, so we came up with a lamb that used miniature marshmallows for the wool and chocolate chips for the face, ears, and feet. I thought it turned out really fun!


We had the Sauder boy cousins come stay overnight. They got to have a pool party and eat pizza.



The next day we took them all to the Children's Museum in Bloomington. They had a lot of fun!

Jayden got a fishing pole from Mike and I. He loves fishing and was thrilled to get his very own pole!

Where is pizza hut?

A few nights ago, I was telling the boys about our sponsor child from Guatemala. Jayden wanted to know where Guatemala was, so I went downstairs and got the globe. I showed him where America is, where Mexico and Canada are, and finally Guatemala.

Jayden thought for a moment and blurted out "but daddy, where is pizza hut?".

The pool is up!

This Saturday we started early and got the pool set up. Mike and Buzz are shoveling sand into the wheelbarrow to use to level the ground for the pool. Jayden and I got to rake the sand that was dumped and get it "level".

Next came laying the pool out in the right spot - the boys were VERY excited by this point! Then we filled it up with water - bring on the sunshine!

Something tells me I might have my hands full this summer! :) This is Buzz Sunday after church. He just couldn't resist checking it out!

I had to throw in this Sunday morning picture of the girls. Bows and dresses are so fun!

Are you Rich?

A very interesting article that puts our worldly possessions in perspective. Makes me feel guilty for ever wanting more money/possessions. It's human nature to seek after more wealth, and is probably one of the hardest things about living in America. We have it so good, it can hurt us spiritually if we are not careful.



How Rich Are You? Most likely richer than you think!

It is our firm belief that living in a country that still supports our freedoms (at least most of them) helps make us the richest in the world.

However, in looking at purely "money" - the World Bank Development Research Group released some calculations as to how rich we really are. The article was featured on Yahoo a few days ago:

How Rich Are You?

As the article reports, the Group has posted a wealth ranking website. If you are earning the American median income for 2009 ($52,000), then you are in the top .97 percentile of all moneymakers.

Here is the wealth-ranking website:

Wealth Ranking Website

This site invites you to share your wealth with others. Of course, there are SO many ways we can help those less privileged that we. Helping those who have legitimate needs is our desire. We are not endorsing any of the organizations of the site, but we do agree with the concept that we are "richer" than we think, and this gives us added responsibility.

Another Buzz Moment!

Recently we visited the Gridley Apostolic Church. I had both boys with me and we happened to sit next to a respected, middle aged minister in the audience.

After the service, I was introducing my boys to him, and Andrew promptly blurts out "you are old!". The minister thought it was hilarious, but still made me want to crawl in a hole!

Another memorable moment with Buzz. They just keep happening!

To all Buzz lovers!

Thought you would enjoy this. . .

Garage Sale!

I plan to have a garage sale this Thursday the 22nd at 8AM (Congerville garage sales) and then again May 1st for Goodfield garage sales. I would love for you to pass this info. along to anyone who would benefit and like to come!
- Boys 0-2T
- Girls 0-9 months
Lots of brand name clothing (Old Navy, TCP, Gap, Gymboree, Polo, Tommy)
- Boys/Girls shoes & coats
- Infant car seat/bouncy seat, infant bathtub, swing (needs fixed), walker, toys, etc. . .
- Medela electric breast pump
- Mens/Womens clothing & coats
- Household (curtains, pillows, bathroom decor, lamp)
- A few NEW sewn items (hooded towels, hotpads)
- Bake sale!
Hope to see you there!

If anyone knows someone who recently had a boy named Andrew please contact me! I have Pottery Barn pajamas (too cute!) and a blanket with his name embroidered on them. I would love to pass these items along for FREE! Thanks!
amber

The Innocence of a child

God often tells us in His word that we should be as little children. A perfect example of this is what happened at lunch today. Andrew (Buzz) asked Amber if he could have the prayer. So in his typical loud 3 year old voice he bellows "DEAR GOD, UM UM UM PLEASE HELP ME DIE BECAUSE I WANT TO SEE YOU AND GIVE YOU A HUG"

"Girls Weekend Out"

Megan and Michelle Knapp were nice enough to take 2 busy Mom's (Joan Plattner and Amb) to Chicago last weekend overnight. They took the train, saw a musical, and of course shopped, shopped, and shopped some more. Needless to say Amber loved it. Above is Megan and Joan on the train.

Amber and Michelle.

Hanging out in the motel.

Coffee anyone?? Oh yeah, are you wondering by now where all our kids spent the weekend while Amb was gone? See below..............

Actually, it went very smooth for my brother Matt and I (the above picture is actually staged.....). Amber's mom was nice enough to take the kids for 1 day, then we had them Friday night and Saturday all day. Things went great until about 4 pm. We couldn't take it anymore, so we packed up, ate an early supper at Busy Corner, and proceeded to take a "Saturday afternoon drive" for about an hour and a half until it was time for bed. Do I have a new appreciation for what my wife does everyday? You betcha!

Macy's 1 year picture

I had to redo Macy's 1 year pictures, so here it is now (even though she still isn't smiling!)

Surprise! Mike is 30!

I invited Josh Wyss from Phoenix, AZ and Tim Wiegand from Leo, IN to come help surprise Mike for his 30th birthday. These guys haven't spent an evening all together for years, so it was a definite surpise and great birthday present! We all had pizza together before the second surprsie of about 60 more people showing up for the evening.

After supper the rest of the birthday crowd showed up to help celebrate Mike's birthday. Mike had just been getting used to the idea that Josh and Tim were really in his house when everyone else started coming. He was quite shocked by it all!

Many from Lighthouse came to join the fun.

Potluck friends and family also came.

I had asked people to bring 30 of something to help Mike celeberate if they wanted. He ended up with 90 cans of Dr. Pepper, 120 oreos, 30 individual bags of chips, cheese curds, $6.00 in dimes, $30 to Dairy Queen (along with 30 DQ napkins), $30 to Farm and Fleet, a family picture frame, 30 "Ford" Matchbox cars, more candy, etc. . . People were quite creative - thanks everyone who helped make this such a success!

This is Mike walking into the house after work. As you can tell, he was TOTALLY surprised!

Macy and Mariah are 1!

Happy 1st birthday to my baby girls!!!!


Here is Mariah's 1 year picture. Macy's didn't turn out and I need to retake them. I will post hers later when I get it done.


We celebrated the girl's birthday last night (on the 16th). I think they were a bit overwhelmed, but it was still fun for me to spoil them and throw a small party for them!

The girl's weren't too sure what to do with all the presents! Thank you to all who gave such wonderful gifts!!!

With the girls being born on St. Patrick's Day, I chose clover cakes :)

Mariah and Macy in their "Lucky to be me" shirts.

They totally didn't know what to do with their cake. They looked at it, then at us, then got scared, and Mariah started crying. We tried a couple of times to get them to dig in. Dad is helping Macy figure out what to do (just stick your finger right in and lick it off!)

Someone finally came to the rescue and gave them spoons. Macy had a ball then scooping the icing off the cake and eating it. Mariah never did get too into it. We should have known -- they are such ladies!!! (don't dirty their fingers!!!)

By the end, Macy did have quite a mess. And I think she enjoyed every minute!

God has brought us through 1 year! Wow! What a milestone! I can honestly say I feel so blessed to be experiencing "life with twins". Continue to pray for us that we can make wise decisions and raise all our children to know and worship our Lord and Saviour. God's blessings to all . . .

You know your getting older when.........

You looked like this during your engagement.......

And your brothers looked like this at your wedding...........

Time marches on. Am I ready to meet my Lord?

Gettin "Naptized"

Tonight at the supper table, our son Andrew suddenly proclaimed: "mom, when I get big, I'm gonna get my swimmin' suit on, and my goggles, and go on the pulpit and get "naptized".

Minneapolis

Spent last weekend with Amber's sister and brother in law in the twin cities. Had a great time and the kids absolutely loved being together. Everything was great, until the 7 hour ride home with 2 tired girls......

Kids getting ready to go. Say Cheese!

Buzz "the fish" enjoying the pool.

Hi Macy and Mariah!

The girls were not too sure about the pool at first, but finally got used to it and enjoyed it.

The hotel we met the Joos's at has an indoor play area that is like the Mcdonald play land times 10. It is huge! Why was there nothing like this in the 80's when I could have enjoyed it? Oh well, I guess we did have the Hardees merry-go-round "puke machine" back then, huh?

This slide is about 1/2 way up the play land. Adults were able to go up with the kids, so I sent Amber to take the pictures. Mallory sure is enjoying it!

You can't visit Minneapolis/St Paul without going to the Mall of America. Here are the boys with the "Rainforest Cafe" frog. Where is Amber? Oh yeah, it is a mall. Hide the credit cards.

Leaving the Rainforest Cafe after finding out we would have to wait 3 hours to be seated. Kevin is just loving the mall, can't you tell?

The boys with the "Bubba Gump" Shrimp guy.

Back home safe. This picture sums up what goes through my mind about every other day. "Where did all these kids appear from?" While driving home, it hit me as I looked in the back of the van. I told Amb "this van is stuffed full of people". Life goes so fast. Before long, we will be having weddings and saying goodbye. We must appreciate every moment God gives us and not "waste" life looking ahead or wishing we were in another stage. Easy to say, hard to do, when kids are puking, crying, pooping, and fighting. Am I right, mom's??