Thoughts on Christmas

As I grow older, have babies of my own and grow in my knowledge and love of God's word, my thoughts on Christmas have changed. Some of this is influenced also by books I read and songs I hear. One song, Labor of Love by Andrew Peterson, moves me to tears every time I hear it. As a child, being innocent, as all children should be, I, of course, did not have a clue what Mary was going through. I just looked at nativity scenes that showed a woman who looked to be in her 30's kneeling and praying to a fat baby in a very clean manger with a halo around his head and thought that must have been what it looked like, right? Not even close. She was a teenage who had been through a traumatic 9 months, traveled a long journey with her new husband, given birth to her first child in a barn on some smelly hay with an audience of livestock. She was probably in terrible pain, bloody, cold, filthy, scared out of her mind and no clue what to do. Then she has this baby who is the son of God but he looks just like any other baby. There was no earthquake, no royalty, no purple robe to wrap him in, just an occasional moo and neigh. What must she have been thinking? The promised child. The one she and her people had been waiting for for hundreds of years to save them and here they are in a barn, in the dark, in a small town. And who should show up to see the baby but some smelly shepherds saying some angels had told them to come. Shepherds, the riff-raff of society. THAT is who God sent his choir of angels to to proclaim that the Messiah had come. Not to a palace, not to a large city to tell hundreds of people. No, to some shepherds on a hillside in the middle of the night. Think about it. The whole thing is preposterous. BUT this was the grand plan of God put in place before the stars that gave them light that night had even been created. What a picture the whole thing makes because I can see myself so clearly in it. I am the smelly stable, the scared girl, the riff - raff shepherds. I am the one He came to redeem. And He wasn't just any baby, He was "the maker of the moon, the Author of the faith that could make the mountains move." He was the Son of God who grew into a man who hung on the cross in terrible pain, bloody, cold and filthy. But unlike his mother He knew exactly what he was doing. All praise to God with His crazy plan to save riff-raff like me.

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow

We woke up to about 3 inches of beautiful snow yesterday. The wind was NOT blowing so it lay peacefully. So much more enjoyable than last time. I don't have pictures of the kids in it because they never went out to play. Like I said before, life goes on even when it snows and we had too much going on. You can't really see it in this picture but my favorite thing to see is the snow in the trees. I love how it lines each limb white on brown or how it lays in the pines like a "flocked" Christmas tree. I would start singing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas", but we are heading to B'ham where it has been in the 70's for the past week. Oh well, maybe another year.

Paint or not to paint.....

Looks like a dang Christmas card if you ask me. But that is not why I am posting this. We have now been in our house for almost 7 months and I have been prego almost the whole time which means I have done little to make this house mine. I re-did a bathroom and painted the downstairs bedroom and playroom and had carpet put in but have done almost nothing upstairs. I desperately need to paint the den and plan on doing that (I mean, have Matt do it) before the baby comes. I will probably do it a light khaki. This is a dark room with just 1 sliding glass door and no windows. At one end of the room is the fireplace and bookshelves. The big question is do I paint them a lighter color? Some kind of paint treatment, not just plain white. The floors are hardwood laminate and did I mention it is dark in here. So what do y'all think? And no I won't be doing it until after the baby is born.

Our First Wichita Snow

Right after we got up Tuesday morning it began to snow. The kids loved watching it come down. It continued to snow most of the day. The wind was also blowing hard so it was almost impossible to be out in it for more than a few minutes. Knox looks happy hear but he wasn't a big fan. Right after this picture he picked up some snow and said "it's cold, it's cold" and burst into tears. And through his sobs he was saying over and over "go inside, go inside".

When you live outside of the South and it snows, life still goes on. We went to MOPS (a get together for Mothers of Preschoolers) that morning and everyone was there. But I chickened out of driving EC to school. Matt went to work but came home early to enjoy a few minutes of snow and a lot of time in front of the fire.

EC warming up with a cup of hot chocolate. I can't believe my baby is drinking hot chocolate.

Christmas Around the World

Last week Emma Caroline had her school Christmas program. It truly was the best kindergarten program I have seen. They sang a few songs and did hand motions. Everyone sang and everyone did the motions. It was great. The theme was Christmas around the world and they showed video of missionary kids around the world and what Christmas was like for them. Great program. This is EC with her wonderful sweet teacher.

Happy Thanksgiving

I have only been away from home on Thanksgiving 2 other times. The first time I was in Sydney, Australia celebrating with my best friend, Abby. The second time Matt and I were in St.Louis and I was very pregnant with Emma Caroline. This was #3 and we are in Wichita Kansas celebrating with the Tappans. We may be in Kansas but we at least celebrated with Southern friends who make cornbread dressing. All jokes aside, we have been so blessed by our friendship with the Tappan family. God has always been faithful to provide us with good friends wherever we have lived and he has done that again with the Hugh and Beth. As Hugh prayed before we ate, God gave us new friends who have become family. The 3 little monkeys
A spread even my mama would have been proud of. There was so much food for only 9 people, we hardly put a dent in it.

New Haircut

Well, I have had it. I can't take it if one more person calls my little boy a girl. No matter how much blue clothing with trains, footballs, and animals I put on him, he is still called a she. So I did it and I didn't cry...... at least not at the salon. He looks cute, just so totally different. He aged before my eyes. OK, I need to stop typing before I start crying.

Great Big Turkey

So, I am rather proud of myself. I made these cookies for EC's Thanksgiving party and they turned out cute if I do say so myself. But if you ever decide to do this, buy your candy corn at Halloween. Because if you go looking for them the week of Thanksgiving you will be out of luck. Thanksfully, my kids had some left over and it was just enough. I also thought I would share a little song with you that I grew up hearing my mom sing. It is a family favorite:

There's a great big turkey on Grandpa's farm and he thinks he's very gay.
He can stretch his tail into a great big fan and strut around all day.
You can hear him gobble at the girls and boys
cause he thinks he's singing when he makes that noise.
He'll sing his tune another way
up on Thanksgiving Day.

Hot Apple Cider

A lady from my Bible Study brought a crockpot of cider one morning and I think I had 2 or 3 cups. It was wonderful. I LOVE cider but am always let down by the packets or store bought jugs of cider. This recipe is great. I actually half the recipe. Then after Matt and I drink a cup or 3 I pour the leftovers back into the apple juice jug and store in the fridge. Then all I have to do is warm it up a cup at a time in the microwave. Enjoy!!
1 gallon apple juice
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups orange juice
6 Tbs lemon juice
7 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 cup sugar
-Mix and simmer 20 minutes

Dragon Tales

So ever since Halloween, Knox has wanted to wear his Spiderman costume everyday. His "sissy" has about a dozen costumes to wear but unless he wants to be a princess he only has the one, Spiderman. I was telling this to a friend of mine and so she surprised me with this cute dragon costume for Knox. He wanted to put it on immediately. So what is up with that face, you ask? I have no idea. But he had the most pitiful look on his face the entire time he was wearing it. I kept asking if he wanted to take the costume off and he insisted, "NO". The next day he wanted to put it on again but this time no sad face. Who knows what goes through the mind of a 2 year old. Thanks, Julieanne, for the costume.

Oh, The Things They Say

So, I'm walking into Walmart this morning with Emma Caroline and Knox when we pass a place in the parking lot where someone had spilled an entire can of white paint. Emma Caroline saw it and loudly said, "Mommy, that is the biggest bird poop I have ever seen!" Oh my.

Another EC Update

I realized today that I never did post the final diagnosis on all of Emma Caroline's tests. After having CT scans, MRI, blood work and an upper GI she was diagnosed with Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome. I can't quite explain the range of emotions that went through me when I was told that. My first thought was "no duh". But that isn't nice to day to a doctor (right, Jonathan). I am, of course, so glad that it isn't something terrible. There are no tumors in the brain or tears in the stomach. But to go through all the pain, time and expense to find out that she just throws up from time to time is, well, a bit frustrating. But we got some new drugs and plan of attach for the next time it happens. If that doesn't help we will consider a daily medication. The best hope given is that this is not something rare and crazy. Our doctor treats other kids with this. Plus, she should grow out of it.

About the same time as all of these tests, EC had a new speech evaluation. That went really well. We have seen such improvement over the last year and she is doing really well in school. The speech therapist recommended 3 to 6 months of therapy just to "tweak a few things". But thinks that may be all she needs. We then had her parent teacher conference and it couldn't have gone better. All in all she is doing good and we are so happy to see her growing into such a sweet young lady. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and words of encouragement.

It's a boy!!!

For those of you that I have talked to about this baby, you will know that today was a shocking day for me. I have been so sure that this baby was a girl I even told people that I was going to have an ultrasound to confirm it was a girl. Imagine my surprise when we are told it is a boy. Matt actually spotted "it" before the lady told us. My first response was, "what"? I am thrilled to be having a boy, just surprised. Emma Caroline on the other hand was not so pleased. She has been saying since day 1 that she wanted it to be a girl. When I asked her if it would be OK if God gave us a boy and not a girl she said simply "no". But she enjoyed seeing the baby today and was easily appeased with the promise of going to Panera for lunch and having Sprite.
One of the coolest parts was getting to see the baby with the 3-D ultrasound. It was like looking right at him. That is the picture above. The ones below are the regular ultrasound. Sorry these aren't real clear but I don't have a scanner hooked up.
All in all the ultrasound went good. He looks to be healthy and growing as he should. Now the hard part starts...... deciding on a name.

Pumpkin Muffins

I got this recipe off the blog of a friend of mine here in Wichita. It looked too easy. My kids love muffins and EC keeps talking about pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie etc.... The problem is, Matt does not like pumpkin in any form or fashion so I thought this would be a great idea for us. The kids and I can eat the muffins and then I don't have tempting pumpkin pie sitting around my house calling out to me to eat it. So here is the recipe:
1 box yellow cake mix (or butter or whatever you feel crazy enough to try)
1 2/3 cups of Pumpkin Pie filling (NOT plain canned pumpkin)
-Mix the DRY cake mix and the PP filling together. The batter is thick, just keep stirring to get it all incorporated. Then fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Makes about 18 muffins.
THAT'S IT!!
If you wanted to jazz them up even more, you could add nuts or a cream cheese frosting. The other great thing is that the can of Pumpkin Pie filling has enough to make this recipe twice. We will be having these again next week. Thanks again for the recipe, Sharon!!

Fall Family Festival

This past Sunday was our church's Fall Family Festival. There was a car show (for those reading who don't live in Wichita, rebuilding old cars is a big thing here), face painting, pony rides, a petting zoo, lots of inflatables, a hay ride, prairie surfing (another one I should explain but won't do it now), a chili competition, bonfire and smores. It was a lot of fun and the kids (I'm including Matt in that - see below) had a blast.
You can't see it but this is EC and Knox sitting on a pony. EC took a ride and Knox said he wanted to do it too. I doubted him so when EC got back we just sat him up there. He immediately started yelling "no Mommy, no". So we got a quick picture and moved on.
Here is Matt in an intense competition with 2 other men in our church. If you want a good laugh, click on the picture to enlarge it and take a good look at their faces.

Trick-or-Treat

Here are my 2 cuties dressed up for some Trick-or-Treating. I was thrilled that EC wanted to be Snow White again (one less costume to buy) and that a friend gave us the Spiderman costume for Knox. Am I cheap or what? Actually, Knox was not at all interested in his costume and a little freaked out about the mask when we first got it. So I put him in front of the full length mirror and helped him put it all on and then wondered if I would ever be able to get him to take it off. I thought he was going to try and eat dinner with that mask on. He LOVED it. Honestly, I don't even know how he knows who Spiderman is. I think little boys are just born knowing that stuff.It was a fun night. Probably my best Halloween as a mom yet. We went to a friends house and ate dinner together and then the Daddys to all the crazy kids out while the Mommys stayed at the house to hand out candy (sitting in comfy chairs, eating candy, and having uninterrupted conversation - it's a tough job but someone had to do it.). But I am glad to report that the kids had a great time, were polite to other trick-or-treaters and said thank you. I'm so proud.

Happy Birthday Matt

Yesterday was Matt's birthday. I don't think I took a single picture to document the day. I am really slacking on the picture taking lately. But anyway, I was leaving the house with the kids to go eat lunch with him and I looked down, on the garage floor, and saw this. It was so tiny I thought it was an earthworm. Then I poked it with a leaf and it raised it's head up and I could see it's little tongue hissing at me. No doubt this was a gift left to us by our cat. Thanks a lot, Aubie. I wasn't sure what to do (besides take a picture so I could post on my blog about it). Then I remembered it was my sweet husband's birthday and if there is one thing he HATES in this world it is snakes. So I grabbed the spade and wacked the little snakes head off. Happy Birthday, Honey!!!

I Love Fall

I just love Fall!!! Maybe it's the beautiful colors. Maybe it's the pumpkins. Maybe it's the food - soups and hot drinks. Or maybe I love Fall because it is the end of the God forsaken season called Summer. For whatever reason, I love Fall. So here is my post to toast Fall. The below picture is for my mom. This is what you see when you look out my kitchen window. While my mom was here she said, in a few weeks you will have a beautiful view. She was right and since she isn't here to see it I thought I would post a picture. Just think, if one season can be so beautiful, what will heaven be like? I can't wait to see it.Honestly, I have been a bit surprised at how cold it has already gotten. No snow YET but we had a freeze last night and tonight it is suppose to go into the 20's. So a few nights ago we had our first fire in the fireplace and a big pot of some scrumptious (EC's favorite adjective) chili.

Did I mention that I really like Fall???

God - Our Great Provider

Sorry for another post with no picture but the only picture I could think to add to this story is one of my already big belly and who really wants to see that.....NOT ME!!! So, this is pregnancy #3 and you would think with the 2 big bags of maternity clothes that I moved here with that I would be in good shape. Well, I have taken them all out and washed and sorted. Granted I have a lot of hand-me-down clothes which I have been so thankful for BUT Sunday I am trying to find something to wear and I have nothing.....NOTHING. I realized that all my clothes are stained, very dated, stretched out, have holes in them, or are too big. I was almost in tears by the time I got to church. Being pregnant is hard enough. I get big, my skin looks like the average 13 year old's and my emotions are all over the place and now I have nothing to wear and frankly can't go buy a bunch of clothes. The very next day I get a card from my sweet Mama in the mail with money inside for maternity clothes. Being the prego that I am I immediately burst into tears. I also realized that I had not even prayed about it, just worried (which is what I do). So I decided to start praying about it. Today I get a card from a couple in my church with a gift card to a maternity store. Yes, you heard me. Our God is an awesome provider. I had not said a word to anyone (except Matt) about what I needed and yet God moved in them to provide for a need that I had. Don't you just love it when that happens? I hope this has encouraged y'all like it encouraged me.

Curtain rod

OK, let me begin by saying this is one of my very random posts but it is such a good tip, I had to share it. So does anyone out there buy those 8 ft wooden curtain rods from Bed, Bath and Beyond? You know, the ones that cost $40 to $45 dollars. I have bought several in my day. After this last move I lost all my curtain rods because leaving them was part of the sale. Well, I was watching one of my favorite shows, Designed to Sell, the other night and they said you could buy an unfinished rod at the hardware store for $10. I couldn't believe it. So I headed to Lowe's (which I could spend forever just walking around) and found the "rods" in the lumber section. They were back with the crown molding and hand rails for stairs. You can buy them in various lengths. I bought an 8 ft piece for $12. Then you can either stain it or spray paint it. That adds on another $2 to $5 depending on what you do. Is that not AWESOME!?! So, since I saved so much I decided I needed to get the word out to anyone else out there who spends WAY to much money on curtain rods.

"Christmas" Pictures

For those of you who are so lucky as to get a Christmas card from us, here is your preview. Yes, I already have gotten my Christmas card pictures made. If you are impressed, you are not nearly as impressed as I am with myself. I am that mom doing the mad scramble mid December trying desperately to snap just 1 good shot of the kids in a cute outfit in the back yard or in front of the tree. This year, being way past due for some family pictures, I decided to take them with Christmas cards in mind. I love Portrait Innovations because just when all is going bad, they some how manage to get 1 or 2 good pictures. Here were some of my favorites. Sorry the white background is not showing up good on the blog. If you want to see a larger version, just click on the picture.

Christmas CD

So EC has a CD with 2 Christmas songs on it that she needs to learn for the Christmas program at church. We have now been listening to this CD for a few weeks, 2 songs over and over and over...... you get the picture. The only thing getting me through is hearing my 2 kids sing, sometimes at the top of their lungs. One of the songs sounds like this:
Jesus, Jesus Oh what a wonderful child
Jesus, Jesus so lumpy (lowly) meek and mild......

Then Knox chimes in on the chorus:
Bory (glory), bory, bory to the newborn King

I hope I never forget these times. OK, maybe I could forget some of the things.....

Visit from my mom

I looked forward to my mom's visit for a while and now it has come and gone. We had a great time and it was wonderful having the extra help. We didn't do anything touristy except eat out a few times. Mainly we sat around and talked and played with the kids. I think it was exactly what she wanted to do. Thanks again for coming, Mom. Wish it could have been for longer.

The Andover Parade

One of my favorite things in Greenwood was the annual Christmas parade down Grand Blvd. I will probably cry the first Friday in December this year since we will not be there. But here in Andover they have what is called Greater Andover Days. It is a weekend full of activities including a parade. No, we weren't bundled up drinking hot chocolate in front of the Smith's house but it was fun just the same. We met up with the Stout family who had scored a great spot under a tree and we enjoyed the cool breeze of the morning. EC was ready and excited since she remembers the Greenwood parade and it was also one of her favorites. Knox on the other hand wasn't so sure. When the motorcycles started us off he jumped in my lap and put his hands over his ears and said "I scared." But once the parade started and he realized they were throwing candy from the floats all fear was gone. And boy do they throw a lot of candy. We came home with a big bag, Halloween came a month early as far as I'm concerned.
One of the things we always had in the Greenwood parade was a really big tractor (or whatever it was. I never was good with the names of farm equipment.) Well, we had tractors in this parade too.
But NEVER in my life have I seen a military helicopter in a parade. This picture does NOT do it justice. It was HUGE. Very impressive and definantly the highlight as far as I was concerned. And yes that is a very big gun the nice man waving is sitting behind and it didn't shoot out candy.

Mommy in Training

So, last night I am laying on the couch with the usual nausea that I have been battling for what now seems like forever. EC wanted to play tag and I was trying to explain that my tummy hurt but she kept asking. So I reminded her that when her tummy hurts and she is lying on the couch we don't ask her to get up and run around. We let her just lay there. This explanation worked. She walked out of the room and came back with a bowl and said "Mommy, when you need to throw up, just throw up in the bowl." Then she walked back to her room and brought me her newest favorite stuffed animal. "You can have it. It will make you feel better" she says. Then she brings me a book and says "sometimes I like to look at a book". This went on until I had most of her favorite things around me. Then she said, "Mommy, I need to look in your mouth......yep, you have a red throat. I need to look at your tummy.....yep, it looks like it has a baby in there." By this time I have almost forgotten the nausea and am trying not to laugh. A little later I am struggling to get them ready for bed when she says "Mommy, I will sleep with you tonight to make sure you are OK" (Either Matt or I always sleep in her room when she is sick to help her during the night). This was the best to me. It is so obvious that she has picked up on every thing we say and do and I was so touch that she wanted to show that same love to me. It made my day.

EC update

We finally heard back from the blood work that was taken while EC was in the hospital. The Dr. said that everything was within normal range and she didn't see anything that stood out to her. So the next step is to go see the pediatric gastroenterologist. Sounds like loads of fun to do with your 5 year old who has already been poked, prodded and tested more than most. Please pray that this next step will go well and mainly that we will get some answers, preferably before she has another "episode".
Today, I took EC to the dentist for a normal checkup. Thankfully, I think she inherited her Daddy's teeth and all looked good (no cavities). Then just as I am feeling good and have only a slight death grip on my wallet he hits me with this bit of info. You know those little kids you see who have gaps between all their teeth and you think to yourself, "poor thing, at least they are only baby teeth and the next round should fill up all the spaces". Well, turns out those kids probably wont need braces. Then there is my precious little girl who appears to have beautiful teeth all close together and the dentist telling me to start a college fund and a braces fund (I kid you not). She hasn't even lost her first tooth and he is prophesying doom and gloom. For pete's sake.....I need a nap.

First Football Game

We live in a town called Andover (sort of a suburb of Wichita). About 7 years ago the Andover school got too big so instead of building a bigger school they split the school in 2 - Andover and Andover Central. When they did this they created an intense rivalry between the schools. Once a year these 2 schools play each other in what may be the biggest game of the year. The Stout family invited us to cook out with them and then head to the game. I was afraid that with the kids this would be miserable. But, much to my surprise, they did great. This was their first ever football game and everyone had a great time. Or maybe I should say our side of the field did since we were on the Andover side and they one (for the first time since this rivaly began). Good times, Thanks Stout Family!!!

Kraft Food

The lady who lived in this house before me was signed up for about a dozen different catalogues. Most do not interest me until I got this one. It is a free catalogue that is sent out by Kraft Foods. It is genius of them to do because it is full of recipes using their products. Now I really do love to cook and I love to be adventurous and use crazy ingredients. Problem is I have 2 small kids who's idea of adventurous eating is picking it up off the floor and eating it. This little catalogue is full of easy recipes that don't require a lot of ingredients. I have only tried a few so far and have had some success. Don't expect gourmet here but if you need a few easy new things to try for dinner you might want to check it out or just go to their website www.kraftfoods.com

Sick again

Many of you know that our sweet Emma Caroline has dealt with stomach problems since she was 2. She has been hospitalized once before for dehydration and has come really close to it several other times. We have scratched our heads over this problem and have never been given any good answers. Well, the sickness struck again last Thursday morning. I called our new Dr for a appointment. I wanted her to see it first hand in hopes that she would run tests or send me to a specialist. She took some blood and called me 2 hours later and said that EC was already dehydrated and we needed to take her to the ER. My wonderful friend Beth went with me and we spent the next 4 hours in the ER. They gave her nausea medicine and a liter of fluid by IV and sent us home. But EC immediately got sick again. She did sleep through the night but still couldn't keep anything down in the morning. So I called the Dr. and they admitted her into the hospital. The Dr on call agreed that this was not viral and not normal and wanted to run a bunch of tests to find what was really causing this. So first she had a CT scan and then an MRI to rule out anything wrong in her brain. THANKFULLY nothing was wrong there. So they drew more blood for other tests but we won't get those results for a week. After several hours of fluids and sleep and then some crackers, EC started to perk up. Once she turns that corner she gets back to herself very quickly. They let us go home late Saturday afternoon. Many of you knew about this and have been praying. We can not tell you how encouraging that has been to us. We are so thankful for friends who pray and for our Heavenly Father who hears and answers. I will keep y'all updated when we hear back from the tests. I guess the only think I would ask you to pray for now is that we would get answers so that we can help EC not have this problem anymore.

Labor Day

There is a park here that has a name but no one calls it by its name. Here it is called the "Duck Park" and with good reason. There are SOOO many ducks. The weather on Labor Day was just perfect so we decided to go to the Duck Park. We took our bread along with us which is the best way to get all 200 ducks attention. These ducks will actually chase you down to get fed. They have no fear. The feeling is mutual when it comes to Knox. He LOVES the ducks and he also has no fear. Hear he is trying to get close enough to either hug or grab one, not sure which. Did I hear someone say AFLAC?

Not sure who ate more bread Knox or the ducks. "Some for you, some for me..."
Our superstar EC on the playground. They love this playground and I do too. Mainly because I can just sit and watch.
A different shot of the park. Here we are on the top of the waterfall. You will be able to see it in the next picture. Again, notice Matt keeping Knox from falling in....no fear.
The pretty waterfall. We had a great time and decided to go get a Papa John's pizza, which Knox ate 2 whole pieces of. Not sure where he puts it.

Mr. Redmond

Please be in prayer for my father-in-law, Robert Redmond. They were vacationing out in Yellowstone when he started having some heart problems. He has been plagued with this for years. They started driving back to Wichita and stopped for the night in Hays, Kansas, about 3 hours northwest of here. They ended up having to take him to the local hospital during the night. Thankfully it turned out to be a really good hospital. The original plan was to do a heart catheter on Friday and then possibly release him. But they realized that they needed to replace his pacemaker with one that has a defibrillator in it. The plan is to do this on Monday or Tuesday. Please pray that this goes well. Pray for peace for Mrs. Redmond, as well, since they are far from home. Also, we may be having some of Matt's family flying up for the surgery. Pray for safety all around. We have so many times called upon our brothers and sisters in Christ to pray with and for us. It is always such an encouragement to know that we have friends, literally all over the country, praying. Thank you to those who have already been praying and for the encouraging words we have already received.

The Keeper of the Plains

I guess this is like Birmingham's Vulcan or New York's Statue of Liberty (just maybe a little smaller). This is the Keeper of the Plains. It is a beautiful metal statue down by the Arkansas (pronounced ar-Kansas here) River. We took the Redmonds down to see it while they were here visiting but somehow I managed not to get them in a single picture. Sorry about that.
Before we moved here we had an informational book about Wichita that had a picture of this statue on the front. EC use to look at that book and ask us questions about Wichita so she was very excited to see "the Indian" in person. Walking across the really cool bridge to get there.
Don't ask me what I did to deserve this pose and smile. He volunteered it and I took advantage of the moment.