Piano has really taken off. Gaz (Noah) now heads to the piano without prompting and even asked if he could look ahead and try new songs "cause I already have the ones I'm supposed to do ready!" Our favorite thus far is "The Happy Halibut." He's able to play much better than I imagined he would at this point. How fun to see these abilities emerge from our children!!!
 
 

Faces in the Night

 

Jake and the kids carved jack o' lanterns while I was at work last week. They drew the faces, then carved away. Gaz (Noah) did his own carving for the first time this year! 

Just a little update...

We are all well in the Dahl house. I haven't updated for awhile, other than telling you I'm comparable to a frog and complaining about my blog. My apologies.

Noah is doing very well in school. Many more pros than cons at this point. He's adjusted well, has a great teacher and we even found out he has a knack for running! (definitely not inherited from his mama's lazy-bones!) He had to do a mile in gym class and came in at 8 and a half minutes... Then repeated it a couple weeks later, shaving four more seconds off! I went and watched the second time (a perk of being at home) and his stride was beautiful. Maybe I could give him the screen-name Gazelle. Gaz? The Gaz. hee hee.

Doodle is doing well, too. We're working hard at diligence (time management) and this week I bought a phonics supplement to his curriculum. He's been doing well with it, and I hope hitting the short vowel sounds will help him feel more confident in reading. I know we get to it in our curriculum eventually, but I hate to have the kid held back from reading when I know he's there, on the brink, ready to bust out into rapidly reading every box, sign and label he sees!

Bella is great- she's busy as usual- diving in head first to everything she does. She's been dressing up and imagining a lot- usually in the animal world. Most often she's a kitty named "Rose" or a puppy named "Cassie" who just mews/barks when she is spoken to. It's been fun...

I'm off to work. It's slowing down as the fall color fades, and I'm thankful for more family time.

What cute fuzzy creature are you?

You Are A: Frog!

Independent yet still part of a large community, frogs are unique creatures known for their distinctive sound and ability to hop. As a frog, you spend your days sitting on lily pads or climbing trees, searching for delicious insects to eat. While there are some frogs that aren't exactly cute, you are certainly not one of those!

You were almost a: Parakeet or a Duck
You are least like a: Groundhog or a BunnyCute Animal Test!

Ok, this helps a bit...

I changed some margin number and a font size, and at least now the title is legible. It's getting there...

I'm Throwing in the Towel

I give up. I have tinkered with that template, tried a new template, tried to follow advice from the help page and altogether have spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME ON THIS THING... I just give up. The Navigation Bar at the top of this blog is destined to block our title forever. Being borderline OCD I am considering throwing in the towel on the whole blessed blog...

Please Help Me Fix This!!!

Does anyone know how to fix the Nav Bar at the top of this blog? I don't even know how it got this way, but 1)I don't think I changed anything in the template and 2)It's driving me nuts! Techy friends out there... I NEED YOU!

Change in Plans

We were really looking forward to having Grandma K (my mom ) and Great Grandma Penny up tonight and tomorrow morning. However, at this point Grandma Penny is in the hospital with a bladder infection and dehydration... please pray for her as her body can't take a lot!

I got to see Noah in action in his classroom today as he was the "Star of the Week." He asked if I would come, and at this point I'll go in for everything I can... the time may come when he doesn't want me there and I'll eat up every chance to show my love and support. He has a great teacher and seems to be doing well his first year in the public school. More thoughts on that topic in another post... My "boys" are home now and I've got hugs to distribute!

Doodle and Jakey

 
Doodle got Jakey in the emergency room when he broke his leg and since then there aren't many photos (or moments, for that matter) that Jakey isn't in or around. 

Pumpkins in the Sun

 
Here is one of our little pumpkins with her pumpkin. 

Innocent Thoughts on an Amputated Leg (the dog's)

I guess we didn't explain the whole amputation process to our kids very well. I just told the little ones that we had to finish up lunch so we could head to the vet to have Mattie's stitches taken out.

Ellie: So then they can sew her leg back on? Cause it's better now, so they'll put it on again.

Dawson: NO! (thoughtful moment) But can I see her leg when we go to the vet?

Me: Well, they've thrown it away by now, honey.

Dawson: I bet when the garbage men came they were like- "Oh, gross, there's a leg!"

Me (in Dawson language): prolly, Daws, prolly... :)

A fun photo meme!

Borrowed this fun meme from Mama! All you do is go to Google and search their images for pictures to match the following:
*Where you were raised*
*Where you are now*
*Your name*
*Your mama's name*
*Favorite food*
*Favorite drink*
*Favorite song*
*Favorite smell*
Let me know if you played along! I'd love to see your pictures!

Born and raised Wisconsin!






I am in the northwoods of Wisconsin.





My name is:
Molly








My mama's name is Kathy (mom... I didn't know you had posted this!) :)






Favorite Drink: YUM!!!






Favorite food: (goes with the theme of the weekend)






Favorite song: (How about a favorite artist?)



Favorite smell: Fresh cut grass

Scrappin' Again!

Well, he did it again. My DH packed up the kids and headed to the home ranch and left me home to eat taco dip and scrapbook. Oh- I mean work. Work. :)

He left yesterday at noon and I headed to work early- before two- to get some extra hours in. The time went so quickly that I volunteered to go in early again tomorrow. The work is easy, it's not taking time away from my family and we are SUPER busy tomorrow- so it will be a win-win situation. I hope to get tomatoes canned before I have to leave. Cold pack or juice- that's the big question!

Here's the best part of the weekend... my college bud HM came up last night and we scrapbooked until 3 am! Now, I can't divulge how pitifully few pages I got done in that 5 hour block of time- but I think I was just getting my scrappin' blood flowing again because today went much better. I'm up to 8 pages for the weekend. AND COUNTING. My goal of 30 was a bit far fetched, but at least I've started for the year. So many pictures...My goal would be to do all of 2005 and wrap up the loose ends on my 2003 and 2004 albums this fall/winter. That would probably require a miracle and/or a maid, nanny and chef. On second thought... I've got all of my empty nesting years to "catch up" and only one short season to LIVE the memories. I'll live 'em while I can! Can't wait to see you, kiddos- Mama loves ya!!!

Photo Updates

Our first photo update is Doodle and his first missing tooth! He was very excited! The new tooth was not waiting for the old- it was already coming in behind it!

Some of you are aquainted with our sweet Mattie. Her nose got her into trouble this summer and her leg was terribly hurt in an ATV accident. After much vet care, four pins and many x-rays there were still loose bone fragments in her paw and the vet recommended an amputation. She's back home and doing very well. Still the same sweet Mattie!

We had the chance to go horseback riding yesterday. It was a beautiful fall day to do it. Here's my favorite photo of our flirtin' cowboy:

And finally, what is fall without jumping in a pile of leaves. Here are our bookends enjoying fall to it's fullest:

Retirement of the Coach

Soccer is over!!!

As a mommy, I love soccer. I love the fact that my kids love the sport. I love getting out of the house and watching them interact with other kids. I love watching their little bodies run around the field and their bright eyes dance when they do something well- and they know it!

However- this season my role of mommy shifted into that of coach for the other 8 kids on the team. Don't get me wrong- it's a volunteer organization and I am happy to have been able to do my part. I just didn't volunteer to be the head coach this time around and so resented that part of it. It was a boundary thing. Coaching #2 meant I didn't see #1 play until last night- THE last night. For. 5. Minutes. It meant our 3-year-old just kind of floundered onto and off of the field... Not really knowing what to do. There were rewards- as I got to hear calls of "Coach Molly!" and got tackled on one occasion by a big team hug gone wrong. The kids were precious, and I'll miss them. But...

I am looking forward to watching both of the boys in the spring. And skipping if we need to. And being there for Bella on the sidelines when she has to go potty. I'll appreciate my spectator role in a new light... And in a different season I'll be happy to slip on my coaching shoes again.

We enjoyed a wonderful family weekend. Daddy and I had a date Friday night. Saturday morning we loaded the bikes, kids and a picnic and headed southeast to a beautiful trail. We biked 13 miles... Bella in the luxury of the bike trailer... joined by Doodle after 7 miles. The weather was downright summer-like! Sunday afternoon we went apple picking with friends- another gorgeous day!  

This one just may end up in Christmas cards, remember you saw it here first, folks! 

Family Fall Photo... our thrilled 7-year-old (he wasn't as miserable as he looks), mama, bella daddy and doodle. 

Thank You, Lord.

Lord, I thank you for the day this week that You brought Jake to school early, and the opportunity I had to curl up next to my eldest and read Your word together, he in his Bible, and me in mine. Thank you for the verses shared-- he sharing his and me sharing mine. You knew how much I miss him during the day and what a treasure those moments would be. Thank you.

Thank you for waking the younger two just moments before we left. Thank you for their hugs.

I know that You knew the moment the door clicked shut that I didn't have my keys in hand. You also knew the door was locked. Thank you for your grace. It is usually so like me to immediately point a finger and find blame, but only in You can my reaction be what it needs to be... Extending grace because you gave it to me.

Thank you for the moments that followed when all four of us tumbled through the rain to the shed, only to find that the spare key wasn't where it should be. Again, thank you for the grace you gave when the words, "The last time we were playing with it, I think we had it..." came from the mouth of my child.

Thank you for the moment we all stood together and prayed. My children need to see my eyes turn to you in trouble. Thank you for your grace... On my own I'm so much more prone to start problem solving rather than turn control over to you.

It was a cold morning, Lord, and I knew we locked all the windows the night before. I knew. Yet after about 15 minutes of contemplating and door checking, attempting to pick locks and praying, You brought us to one lone window, which was easily accessible- its screen was easy to remove and lo and behold, it wasn't locked. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you for Your Spirit that brought us to prayers of Thanksgiving together as we headed off to school at last.

Your grace is sufficient. You supply us with all we need. Thank you, Lord.