Eyeball Fun

THANKS AUNT SUE ANN, for telling us how to make these COOL Halloween treats! Ethan can't WAIT to take them to school tomorrow!!

Nilla Wafers
White chocolate, melted
a tube of blue icing
a small tube of red icing

chocolate chips.Dip the Wafers in white chocolate. When it dries, squirt a dollop of blue in the center, and press a choc. chip in the center. Then, drizzle the "bloodshot look" around on the whites of the eyes!

Pumpkin Carving Fun

Not much to say about these photos....the pictures say it all :)

Yay, he's HOME!

After a long, drawn out layover in Paris, with no news for sure of when he'd get a flight home and standing in line from 6 am til 3 pm or so, Ron finally left Paris several hours late. He then missed his flight from Chicago to Cedar Rapids. Cameron, Rachel Ethan and I were waiting for him at the airport when we got a phone call from him saying he'd just landed in Chicago. So, he got a hotel in Chicago, the kids and I got a hotel in Cedar Rapids, and we finally met him at the airport on Sunday morning at 11. What a joyful reunion!

While on the way home, we got a phone call from our "Iowa family" saying that Simon, their 22 year old grandson, had killed himself that morning. So, after a very "up" morning, we were quite "down" pretty quickly. We are so sad for Grandma Marge and Grandpa Richard and their family. We love them dearly, and it hurts us to see them hurting so badly. We knew Simon well, having shared Easter dinner and visits with him for many years. He was in my 5/6 confirmation class several years ago. He was a troubled fella with a great heart...kind heart, and always was willing to sit and chat. We continue to pray for them, and do what we can to help them in this horrible time.

Homeward Bound...

I did hear from Ron yesterday, saying he was in Cotonou, Benin, West Africa. He assures me he's being safe, feeling well, and all is going quite well. About 50 minutes ago (if all went as planned) his plane took off to bring him home to us! YAY! He'll arrive in Cedar Rapids at 7:10 tomorrow night!

Waiting....

to hear from my husband in Africa again. He's sent a couple of pictures and a few updates which I've posted on the church blog . Nothing new since Sunday afternoon. I always try to assume that no news is good news, right? I believe that he is in Benin right now...at least that's what the plans were. Hopefully tomorrow will include another email.

Kelly and her boys left this morning. What a fun visit we had for the past few days! We always have a good time, and NONE of the kids were ready for them to head home today. Praising God for safe travels for them, as Kelly called a little while ago to say they'd made it home.

Last night was Lydia Circle at church. No one was scheduled to hostess, so I said I'd provide treats. I made the chocolate mousse cake, and some dilly oyster crackers and some taco seasoned oyster crackers. I served Friendship Tea for a beverage. It's great weather for hot tea. Here's the recipe.

Friendship Tea

1 (21 oz) jar orange breakfast drink mix (Like Tang)
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. sweetened lemonade mix (like kool-aid)
1/2 c. unsweetened instant tea
1 pkg. apricot jell-o
2 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground cloves

Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

To prepare 1 cup of tea, dissolve 3-4 t. of tea mix in 8 oz boiling water. Stir well and enjoy!

The Maize Maze

We headed to Elgin, IA on Sunday to visit the Corn Maze there. We had beautiful weather, and lots of fun!

The string maze is a favorite activity every year.Getting directions for the maze, so we don't get lost!And they are off on the search for mailboxes, where the answers to the quiz are "hidden"."We FOUND it! We found a MAILBOX!"Kelly braved the string maze.Aaron, Aidan and Ethan puzzle out the number maze.Aidan, Adam, Kelly and AaronHere's my crew...Rachel, Cameron, Caleb and EthanWe picked Indian corn and popcorn.Then we shelled the popcorn, using an old time shelling machine!

Saturday, In The Park...

How did they get this big??

Saturday at the Pumpkin Patch

We had a great time (and finally...BEAUTIFUL weather) on Saturday at the Great Pumpkin Ride. Here are a few pictures.

What HEAVY pumpkins!!!Adam and the Great PumpkinAaron chose a great one, too!Man, do these two adore each other!Delicious!Petting the horses was fun. They are so soft!

Thank God for Good friends!!

And I do thank Him for my friend Kelly and her family! She and her three boys are visiting here this weekend. We talk a lot, and laugh even more!

Kelly and I got to enjoy lunch at a Chinese restaurant today. Then we went to a candle outlet store to shop. While shopping, my cell phone rang. It was Caleb, giggling so hard he almost couldn't talk, saying "Mom! HOW do you put a diaper on???" Rachel was in the background, also laughing hysterically, and I could hear Kelly's youngest, Adam (3) just a giggling away! After finally talking them through putting the thing on, Adam walked away (and by this time, Rachel was on the phone), and Rachel just roared, and hooted, and ...while gasping for breath said "MOM! His BUTT CHEEK is hanging out!" But they survived, and when Kelly and I got home, Adam was angelically napping in Ethan's bed. (But we had to laugh when Rachel told us that it took both her AND Caleb to get him to lay still, and that "Caleb fell asleep before Adam!") Rach and Adam

Ethan and Aaron play with ooblickCaleb preps for the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment...Cameron drinks the "spraying Diet Coke"...eeewwww!
Aidan enjoys some Diet Coke after it exploded due to Mentos being added :-)Way cool, huh?

Africa update

We got an email from Ron saying that he (AND all his luggage...woo HOO!) made it to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on Wednesday evening. He spent a couple of days with the May family there. Thursday he and Rev. May attended a Bible Study, and then were invited to a dinner at the home of one of the Bible Study attendees. In a remote village with no running water or electricity. He said the people were very hospitable.

Today (Friday) he traveled (or so I think...I haven't heard for sure yet) to Togo, where he will teach at the Seminary tomorrow (Saturday). Hopefully we'll have another update over the weekend!

Ron is off and running

to Africa again. He is, at this moment in mid-air between here and Paris. He left Cedar Rapids at 4 this afternoon (complete with 2 suitcases that were 50 pounds each, and a carry on suitcase that was 100 pounds...or so it seemed!) So far, all has gone very well. Here's a photo from the airport.
He will arrive in Paris at 9:45 am, Wednesday (Paris time, which is 2:45 am, Wednesday, Iowa time). He will be in Paris until 4 pm Paris time (which is 9 am Iowa time), and will arrive in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso at 7:40 pm on Wednesday (Burkina Faso time, which is 2:40 PM on Wednesday, Iowa time) (I am hoping I'm giving you all correct information...that's what I figure, doing the math--although math was never my strong suit, LOL)

Just for your information, the high in Burkina Faso for the next few days is Wednesday-102, Thursday-106 and Friday-104. On Friday he'll head to Togo, and on Monday he'll be in Benin.

Keep checking back, because as he sends photos and emails telling me what's going on, I'll be updating the blog!

E's Turn!

Ethan has really enjoyed flag football this fall. It is "coached" by the Varsity football team, which is cool...their role models are helping them learn the fundamentals of football! It has also made him more interested in actually watching football games. He's learning the terms and rules of the game! Here are some pictures of him playing. He's the one that's all in gray in these photos!