Woody Jeopardy--I'll take Religion for $100 please

Last Sunday I drove Zoie and Kai to Chariton for a birthday bbq at my Grandma's house after church. This is the conversation on the way there....

Zoie: Momma, if I tell you something new I learned today will you promise you won't laugh at me?

Momma: Zoie, I would never laugh at you for learning something new. I love to hear about the things you learn.

Zoie: Okay, but please don't laugh. I learned there is this guy named God that follows me everywhere. I mean he REALLY follows me everywhere. He follows me to the zoo, to the baseball field, to Hy-Vee and even to the ocean. But, if he follows me to the ocean he really doesn't follow me because he goes underwater. But he isn't a real person and you can't see him. But Momma, Mrs. Stevens said that his name was just God. Since everyone knows that we all have three names, what is his middle and last name?

Momma: Silence (since I really couldn't think of a good answer to that).

Prayers from a 4-year old

I thought this past week might best be summarized by telling you what Zo's prayer was last night....."Dear God, Thank you for all the people in this house and for all the people who love me and who I love. Thank you for my Grandmas and Grandpas and thank you for Gail and Lori. (daycare queens!)

Thank you for the food I got to eat today and for my house.

Please bless baby Kai and help him to feel better. Please bless Lori and help her to feel better too. Please bless my Daddy with his new job. Daddy, why do you have a new job? What are you doing? Will you still have the baseball boys? (I had to interject here and keep her on task)

Thank you for Lucy because she is teaching me to swim and because she said she is bringing me a surprise next week. Momma, can I take Lucy a surprise too? Momma, she said I can call her Luc because we are friends. Momma, did you know that Luc has lots of different swimsuits? I like the red one the best. (Again, interjecting to keep on task). Amen"

It was a crazy week here. Ryan accepted the position as Athletic Director and Assistant Principal for the Davis County High School in Bloomfield, Iowa. The position requires us to move, which is hard since you can tell by the picture above, the basement renovation is FINALLY coming close to an end. And, it seems, just in time for another family to enjoy it! I love this house, the memories that come with it and I will be sad to leave. We are so proud of Daddy though and happy that he is able to put his advanced degrees to great use. So we decided as a family that being together is really all that matters. We can buy another house, find another great neighborhood and hopefully add some great new friends to our extended family, but this family comes first and we are willing to accept that this has all happened for a reason. (Okay, so we don't know what that is yet but I will let you know when we figure it out!) SO--anyone want to buy a house??? :)

Pretend Tea Party Anyone???

8 Months

Kai turned 8 months last weekend. Our chunky monkey is back on the charts now. Yeah! He is 97% in both weight and height. He has 8 teeth and feet so chubby he can't fit into shoes. Gotta love it.......

Race for the Cure

We spent Saturday morning at the 13th annual Southeast Iowa Race for the Cure. I had been the co-chair of this event for a few years but this year I attended solely as a participant. Much less stress!! Ryan's dad, Dick, and step-mom, Linda, (and lil' bro Brennen) came with us again this year.

This year was all about my Gramsy, Barbara McCormick. She is a survivor!! I thought of her all morning and how lucky I am to have her around. She survived massive surgery and 8 weeks of terrible radiation but is now CANCER-FREE! We love you Gramsy and we raced in celebration of you.

Okay, time to spill. We didn't really race. But we wanted to! About 200 feet past the start line the stroller broke down, both kids had a massive melt down and we bee-lined back to the car. Dick, Linda and Brennen were able to finish with one minor spill that required the first aid people to take care of. Wouldn't you know it was the 13 year old that spilled and NOT the adults! :)