only in Winfield

will you see someone camping in a tipi

stages set up by random people hoping to gather a crowd
and an annual rock, paper, scissors tournament (that's what the big bracket is for)

a guy wearing a skirt

a giant spoon hanging in a tree

an army camp

kids daring each other to swing out but not fall in

homemade showers

campsites with official signs and names

people gathered at any hour of the day just pickin' and singin'

Only in Winfield will you see this guy

and this chair

and a random game of dodgeball

and a camp made out of wood

After this camp had a write-up done about it on the back of the daily schedule...Dave was very interested in it. We've walked by this camp every year...but never actually went in.

When we did, we found this guy carving a scooby-do head

that will be added to this collection.....he carves a head every year

This bike rack belongs to this camp

they had some other fun stuff made out of wood too



This camp pretty much just lets people come in and enjoy their things anytime (that's just how people at this festival are) But they DID have this sign....

Only in Winfield will you find a full-sized kitchen fully stocked in the campgrounds

and the kitchen sink

and not just homemade showers...but REAL showers with a screen door put on them.

need any bread??

The bed of this truck was FULL of loaves of bread. I'm not sure why anyone has that much bread unless they happened to have robbed a Wonder Bread store on their way to Winfield.

That's just a FEW of the interesting things you'll see in Winfield.

I'm not scarying you from coming am I?

down to Winfieldtown

Another year at Winfield over. We had such a great time, and the kids did AWESOME!! It was so much fun to have them there with us for most of the time.



I'm not sure how fast I'll get our pictures sorted and edited and posted. So for now, here's one of my favorites from the weekend.



We were at Stage 1...the grandstands. The kids really weren't as interested in the music as they were climbing up and down the benches non-stop. So we went down to the ground instead and let them run around and dance.


Here's a song that I've been singin since I heard it...Taylor dancing around singing it too. It's from one of my favorite artists at the festival, Tom Chapin. It's more folk music than bluegrass music. It's a song all about going to Winfield for the festival! Those of you who are from Winfield...I'm pretty sure you will LOVE this song! And those of you not, it will make you want to go next year!

Down to Winfield Town - Tom Chapin


Hopefully this link will work. It may only allow a certain number of hits...but just try and if it doesn't work, I'll try to figure something else out.

More from Winfield Town coming up!

I'll leave you with one more song/video from Tom Chapin...dedicated to my teacher friends. He sang this again this year and I LOVE it...it's so true...all about THE TESTS!!!


If you go to YouTube, you can find a video where he does a "musical testimony" for the New York State Senate, during one of their sessions...wearing the hat of an activist fighting for the arts being taken out of schools. This song about the tests was also sang for the legislators!

my first go at canning

This is only our 2nd year of gardening...but we love it! Our favorite are the tomatoes.

But they are so hard to keep up with. I had TONS and was trying to figure out what to do with them. Last year I froze some and used them in chili and soup. This year I really wanted to try canning. I know nothing about it and knew I needed some help, at least my first time.

Dave's Aunt Barb had tons of tomatoes too, and in talking, we decided to can them together. So she could teach me how. So a week ago, I took all my tomatoes to her house.

First we pitted them, and cut all the bad spots. out.

Then took the skin off.

I diced them, cooked them and then poured them into the hot jars.

Aunt Barb added the salt and put on the seals and lids.

I got 3 quarts and 1 pint. Man, with all the tomatoes we had, it seems like you'd get more than that. But regardless, these will be VERY yummy when it's time for chili and soup.

The next day, I headed home and did some more canning...this time I tried SALSA! This too, was a first. I got some great tips and a great recipe from my friend Alyssa.


Everything here is from the garden too! I just had to add some extra onion from the store.


I ended up with 7 pints of salsa!!


I think I'll try to can some more in the next few weeks, when I have enough tomatoes again. It's fun having jars of stuff that I know I did on my own.


Thanks for your help Aunt Barb...I learned lots...and you were a GREAT partner to work with!

Winfield, here we come....

Ahhhh....the 3rd weekend in September. It's finally here.

For me, it's like going home. Although my parents no longer live there, they will BE there. Winfield is where I grew up and lived for the first 18 years of my life.

This may just be one of the most relaxing weekends of the ENTIRE year. It's fun to escape "real life" and just head to Winfield....it becomes a different world.

We'll be attempting camping with the kids....in a tent. It's a HUGE tent. And Taylor wants to take her pink butterfly tent too. So we'll probably have that set up inside our tent. Maybe that will help her feel better about going to bed. Hopefully Mason will be good in his pack-n-play.

When I think about fall....this weekend is one of the first things that comes to my mind. Especially when we can actually enjoy fall weather. You can pretty much expect ANYTHING from the weather in mid-Sept. There's been years we get sunburned and are in tanks and shorts, having to drink water to stay hydrated. There have been years we've had 5 layers of clothes on at night and we were STILL cold by the fire. And then there have been years that look like this...


(not sure who this guy is, he definitely doesn't hold the camera very still...but he definitely gets a good look at the flood)

The flood was last year. The river went back down just in time for the festival to begin. But no camping was allowed. Needless to say, it just wasn't the same. Here's what it's supposed to look like. The area in the bottom half, right side, is the area that was on the video above.

We'll have Dave's parents joining us for the first time on Friday...to see what this "winfield thing" is all about. And we have some friends joining us on Saturday.

I'm SO ready for this weekend. No work. No house to clean. No phone. No email. No computer. No makeup. Hopefully jeans and sweatshirts. Campfires. Camp food. Family. Friends. Music. Hot cocoa in the mornings. Roasted Corn. Birthday.

Winfield, here we come!

pray today

For those of you who have been following this story, you probably know what a big day today is.

Today, little Kate McRae gets an MRI, scheduled for 3pm. This MRI will show whether or not the first rounds of chemo are shrinking the brain tumor. It will let them know if anything they have been doing is helping.

Kate's parents are asking everyone to rally in prayer tomorrow. Her dad has a great message on his blog.

I continue to be amazed at Aaron and Holly's desire to make God's glory be the ultimate goal. To have his name be exalted through all of this. Just as I continue to be amazed by Joel and Jess....who reminds us all that "GOD YOU REIGN".

What would life be like if we could all stand and say this NO MATTER WHAT!?!?
In the midst of suffering....in the midst of chaos...in the midst of confusion...in the midst of loneliness....what if THIS was the first thing that came to our minds??

Good thing that our ability or inability to say this has no affect on it's truth. Whether we can say it or not, He does reign. He reigns over ALL.....even horrible, scary, awful brain tumors.

Take time to pray for Kate today. Pray for her parents as they anxiously await 3:00 and the news they will hear.

remembering 8 years ago

This is long...but it's my way of remembering.
I PROMISE you'll find something good if you read through.

I've always been a pretty patriotic person.
But September 11 made me love my country SO much more.

I can't believe it's been 8 years, it seems like it was just yesterday in so many ways.

I remember it so vividly.
I was driving back to my sorority house, with the radio on, early that morning.
Early enough that nothing had been confirmed yet.

The radio people had barely begun to talk about it.
They said that they were trying to get confirmation on a plane that hit the World Trade Center. Possibly a small plane that was out of control.

I sat parked in the Pi Phi parking lot, in my assigned parking spot (that I had EARNED may I add...so I didn't have to park on the street and walk a block all the time) and listened as confirmations began to come in. I walked inside that big black door on Todd Street to a sight that is not normal at all at 8:00 in the morning in a house full of 80 college girls. 30 or so girls, surrounding the TV.

I approached the living room slowly, noticing the absolute silence, and just stood at the back of the room with my eyes glued to the TV along with everyone else's.

I almost just needed to sit. There was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I'm sure you felt the same. All of sudden all of the girls in the room seemed to dissappear and the only thing in that room was me and that TV. Tears streamed down my face.

There's an Alan Jackson song called "Where Were You" that was written about the events on September 11. One line in that song has stuck with me ever since I first heard it...
here's just a small portion...

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her
Did you dust off that bible at home

That bolded line is the one that I felt the most. That's where I was. In a crowded room, but yet felt very alone. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to get in my car at make the 2 1/2 hour drive back home. But I didn't.

I couldn't take my eyes off the TV. One by one, other girls would walk in to find the same sight I did in the Pi Phi living room. But no one spoke.

We watched as the 2nd plane hit.

I watched until a few of us had to head to a class that was NOT being cancelled (years later, I found out that my future husband was sitting in this same class!) It was so hard to sit there and listen to anything being said. I think later that day, classes were cancelled.

So far, I have not only lived to see the tragic events of September 11, 2001...but also the Columbine massacre in 1999 (I was a junior in HS), the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 (I was in 7th grade) By the way, did you know that those 2 events happend on April 19 and April 20...WEIRD! These, I'm sure are just to name a few.

I've only been living for 28 years (well, next Thursday will be 28). And I have seen some pretty scary and painful things. It makes me wonder what my children may see. I could sit and worry about this all day. It's so scary. Thank goodness God's Word provides hope that we cannot find anywhere else.

So today, in my quiet time, I searched and found some verses. Some verses that I find peace in, that allows me to rest assured that my children will be perfectly fine in this horrible, sinful world, no matter WHAT they see and experience...as long as Christ is in their heart. I have to let go of this. I will not be with them always. I won't even be with them while they are at school, and that will be here before I know it. So I have to put my trust in the one person who WILL be with them, and will never leave them, and who loves them and cares for them.

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Psalm 27:4-5
One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

Romans 8:28-39
This is GOOD...look it up for yourself, it's a bit long to include here.

But how wonderful to know that as a child of God, this world is not our home anyway...we are just passing through....what hope we have that we will spend eternity with our Savior and all of the pain and suffering of this world will be gone forever.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Isaiah 65:17
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

2 Peter 3:13
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

So today, I will remember those who lost their lives in and around those towers, at the pentagon, and in the plane that crashed in the field.
I will remember the heroes who gave their lives.
I will think and pray for all the familes who lost a child, a spouse, or a parent.
I will pray for our president and our nation.

(being the daughter of a fireman, this photo has always touched me in such a special way)

But I will also thank God for his promises that all these things will pass away, and those who choose to live for God, will live for eternity with the King.

(I love how these beams of light or pointing UP)

cabinets

Dave has been working SOOO hard on this project.
He has pretty much finished building and staining the cabinet/shelf unit on the sides of the fireplace.

This one has adjustable shelves so we can move them depending on what I find to decorate them with.

This is where our TV will be.
He hasn't finished the cabinet doors yet, but soon.
That will be where we store (or stuff and hide) the kid's games and toys.

Here's a view of the entire wall.

The stain was a little off what we thought we had picked. A little more red in than we wanted. But maybe it's because it's against a red wall. We don't love it, but it will be fine.

We are waiting for our new fireplace/stove to arrive.
Stone will be ordered this week.
I really think this will be ready by the time we are ready to have fires this fall and winter!

he's brave, and that's scary!

Yesterday morning I decided to head to the garage to say hi to my 2 guys....Dave was working and Mason was hanging with his Daddy. I hadn't seen Mason yet that morning, as he headed out with Daddy as soon as he got up.

I was in the kitchen and could hear Mason saying "dada! dada!" from the garage. I could tell Dave was in the attic working on wiring so I figured Mason was just waiting for him to come down.

I opened the door to say hi to him and didn't see him at first. I looked all over the garage and then looked UP...

I think you can tell from the picture how high he was. Obviously, higher than that freezer. He was so high he was almost in the attic. Dave was not actually there at the time I found him. He was somewhere in the rafters working. I yelled for him to come fast so he could make sure he didn't fall while I ran and got the camera.

What a brave little guy.
Good thing I came out when I did. Otherwise I think Dave would have looked over to find his little sidekick BESIDE him in the attic.

Butz and Gutz, oh how I love thee

I hope I'm not boring you too much with 2 posts in a row with no pictures.
But really, pictures would NOT be good on this post.

I'm embarrassed to share this story as is, let alone with pictures. Thank goodness there AREN'T any.

So far, the few friends who know about my incident yesterday, have had some good laughs. So I figured I'd share it with you too. Just in case you need a laugh. It will give more purpose to my suffering.


So here goes....


My friend Kendall suggested we do an exercise class together. She was very careful to let me know she was NOT suggesting it because I looked like I needed it. Isn't she thoughtful?



So yesterday was the day. Our first day.

Of Butz and Gutz class.


I should have known I was not setting myself up for success when I updated my facebook status BEFORE class to read something along the lines of probably needing to be carried out when I was done.


Pretty funny after looking back now.


Class went like this...


I was feeling pretty good for 39 out of the 40 minutes. Honestly, it wasn't THAT bad.

In that last minute we were stretching and cooling down and I began trying to convince myself that I DID NOT need to throw up.


We finished, the other ladies in the class left immediately.

I told a lady that I knew that I was going to throw up. She laughed. She thought I was kidding.

I replied "no, really, I think I'm going to throw up, where's the bathroom?"


I ran.


After my head was in the toilet for a few minutes. I couldn't move. I was clammy and flush feeling. I felt white as a ghost. I couldn't stand up or move. My arms and legs were shaky and felt like jello.


They brought me some candy and a packet of sugar that I poured into my mouth.

I continued to sit on the bathroom floor of the rec center as cold cloths were brought to me.


I knew Kendall needed to get home to allow her husband to go back to work. I felt bad that she was having to stay with me. But I was thankful that she did. That's what good friends do, right?? Watch each other throw up.


After about 10 minutes or so I attempted to get up and walk so we could leave. I made it to the top of 2 flights of stairs and had to sit down.


Then ran back to the bathroom.


We were not gaining much distance towards our cars.


Then some grapes were brought to me. And another wet rag.


I finally felt okay enough to make it down the stairs, with Kendall carrying my purse and hunting for my key. I was doing good just getting my feet to move and not pass out.


Drove home, ran in the house and puked like crazy....pretty much all the water I had been drinking in the process of trying to feel better.


I had a hair appointment 10 minutes later.
And I made it.


I finally started feeling okay, ate some crackers and drank more water.
Then went and got my hair chopped off...I think she said about 4 inches.


The teacher of the class even called later in the afternoon to see how I was doing. Isn't that nice of her???


Talk about embarrassing. I was serious when I said I hadn't worked out in like 10 years. I warned them before-hand. I think I sent my body into shock. But I'm pretty sure the biggest problem was that I just didn't eat well that morning before I went to class. I'll do better next time. I had half a bagel as I ran out the door to class, figuring I had better had SOMETHING in my tummy, since I had forgotten to eat all morning.


Now, I realize that pictures would have been quite humorous, but I'll just leave you with the mental picture of my pathetic self pretty much being carried out of the rec center.

Next time, maybe I won't jokingly predict an outcome on my facebook status.

playing in the rain

(sorry no pictures)

Taylor has been BEGGING to play in the rain. I mentioned it one day, we went out but then the thunder scared us all back in. (for the record, I wasn't scared...but my 2 little ones WERE).

So this evening, as we were sitting at the table eating dinner, we looked out and noticed it was down pouring. Very weird, because it was sunny.

Immediately I heard "mommy, mommy, can we play in the rain?"
I looked at Dave and he he said "you better hurry, it's not going to last long"

So we dropped our spoons, right in the middle of dinner, and ran outside to the driveway.
OF course, by the time we got out there, it was barely sprinkling and even that stopped after a few minutes.

But that didn't stop us from finding puddles to jump in. We didn't have many in our driveway, so we walked along the curb and stomped in the water in the ditch. Daddy joined us even though he was feeling pretty sick with that yucky allergy/sinus stuff. We found some BIG puddles in the little cul de sac a few houses down.

I forgot my camera. Well, I didn't grab it on purpose because I thought we were going out in the pouring down rain. And then I was too lazy to go back in and get it.

So you'll just have to imagine how cute these 2 little ones were stomping in puddles.
Mason was trying to jump like Taylor, but he can't get off the ground.
They ran and ran finding new puddles and just screaming with joy!

Stomping in the water led to sitting in the water and ended with laying in the water.

On our way in, I said "we'll have to go in and take baths now".
And Taylor responded "I just took a bath in that puddle over there."

It was fun...pictures would have been nice. But it was fun just playing with them and not worrying about capturing their first time playing in the rain on camera...I'll get it next time.