Laid Back Thanksgiving

We had the family in for Thanksgiving as usual. I unfortunately do not have a whole lot to say about it. We had food and hung out. I was asleep for the rest of it. Warning...TMI possibility if you proceed to read....

Pic of Chad and Elin acting as your buffer before TMI

On Tuesday of last week I had breast reduction surgery. It was the best decision I have ever made. I was fortunate that it was something my insurance would pay for as well. Since having both kiddos my boobs were HUGE. Like scary huge LOL. They were causing me a lot of pain and issues so I had it looked into to reduce them. It was done Tuesday morning and I couldn't be happier. The major bandaging/dressing came off Wednesday morning. I just wear a super tight sports bra now for the next 3 weeks, 24 hours a day. This is intended to help the healing and keep the swelling down. I am amazed at how good I feel. I instantly felt the relief in my upper back. I would say to anyone that has issues like this to definitely check with your insurance company if this is covered. It is worth every penny. I have a week check up on Wednesday. So, this explains my lack of much for the long weekend.

I was able to get out with the kiddos and Chad for a bit to go to Bass Pro. Aidan loves the Christmas village they have this time of year. He was able to make a bobber ornament and do some target shooting, race remote control cars and run around. It was a nice break for everyone!These are all cell phone pics so excuse the not so greatness of them (well they probably are better than what my crappy camera would have done anyways LOL)

It was a long week/weekend. Aidan and Elin had lots of fun with the grandparents, Elizabeth, Mark and Rebecca, Becky and Hannah and Granpa Ward. Aidan was exhausted to say the least! We went last night over to the O'Rileys for dinner and some relaxing. Aidan had to check out Kennedy's newest addition for her birthday...a hamster. He definitely wanted to verify that when he turned 9 he could get one too. Oh Lordy.

Blog Stalkers

It has come to my attention that I have some unwanted blogstalking of my blog :) Not like crazy stalkers, just people that read that really have no good intentions with their reading. I will never understand people that read blogs that don't like anything about what they are reading. If you don't like it, DON'T READ. THANKS. Therefore, I have decided to take this private. I really don't want to do this, but I think it will be a good change for a while. If you would like to continue reading (which I hope you do!!) just leave a comment with your email address (it won't show up AT ALL, I have comment moderation) and I will add you to the list. Thanks for understanding :)
You can also shoot me an email at: kvanroekel@gmail.com

Skating and MORE Deer Hunting

We had a busy weekend!! Friday night we went out to dinner at Kostaki's since we hadn't been there in a long time! We came home and met Lee. He came into town for some deer hunting of course! Bedtime came early as we all had a big day planned for Saturday.

Saturday morning the men left way earlier than I care to ever experience. Aidan, Elin and I hung out until the afternoon when it was time to go ice skating! Jenah and Dawson met us at the house and we headed to the rink. We met Dawn, Cooper, Kennedy and her friend, and Tracey and Grace. The kiddos were so excited. I was pumped to see Aidan try out skating. I had my skates sharpened since they hadn't seen the light of day since before I was pregnant with Aidan. I was certain my feet would be aching after 3 hours of skating. We got there and the boys were besides themselves with excitment. Aidan and Dawson getting ready... Aidan practicing walking in the skates...
Dawson and Jenah headed out for our first attempt!

Cooper, Aidan and Grace taking a break in the hockey box

The Crew

Dawn and Cooper

Aidan showing off his skills

Aidan and mom

Dawson, Grace, Aidan and mom

Dawn, Kenndy and Hope taking a break

The Mommas

Hot chocolate and popcorn break...

Cooper calling it quits for the day

We all lasted an hour and half. Poor Dawn got to stay the whole three hours because Kennedy and her friend were loving it :) That night, everyone got back together at our house to watch the MU game (and some of the Mississippi State game of course). We had a houseful and it was a blast. The kiddos ran like crazy. I was shocked considering the amount of activity from skating and NO NAPS!??! It was such a fun night of friends and food. Nick made some INSANE BBQ that we all ate too much of.

Sunday, the men went hunting AGAIN. It ended up being the most beautiful day ever. It was near 70 degrees!! We did some walking at the mall and got some much need grocery shopping in. This is going to be a big week! We have people coming in and must get ready!!

This is Lee and his deer:
The men were pumped to add some more deer meat to the bounty. I think Chad is finally ready for a hunting break!!! Only until muzzleloader season of course ;)

Practice

Last night was the final day of pole class. Rebecca and Mark drove in and surprise Aidan. Elin clearly didn't know the difference LOL. Rebecca, Dawn and I headed to class for the evening. It was the last night so we did 2 hours straight. OMG. It. Was. Hard. We did realize that we gained a lot of strength in the past month. Well I did at least. Bec already is buff and Dawn, well she's a pro ;) While we were workin' it, the boys were at home in charge of the kiddos. Chad sent me this: Mark was working on his baby feeding skillz. I love Aidan's face in the foreground (well what you can make out). Too cute. I know they had a great time. We got home late (we were STARVING after class obviously!!) and Mark and Bec headed home. It was fun. Can't wait to sign up again in January!!!

Biggest Loser Check In

We had our Week 1 weigh in for our Biggest Loser competition. I am please to report that we are in first place. Good ol' Chad is carrying our team LOL. He lost over 7 pounds in a week!! Not too bad for someone that still will enjoy his biscuit and gravy with his hunting buddies, and a Bud Light (well, not at the same time of course!). Me, yeah, 3 pounds. I LOOK at a cupcake and the weight just holds on for dear life! Actually, I am very happy with 3 pounds. Hopefully we can keep it up so we win. We looooove a good competition!!!

The Food Bank

Last night my work had a volunteer night at the local Food Bank. Aidan and I went over to help out (while Chad hung out with Elin at home). OF COURSE, it had to be hot dog night. Imagine walking into a room with the overwhelming scent of hot dog. DELICIOUS. NOT. Aidan was excited to put on the hair "net" and gloves (PS you will not see any pics of me with a hair net lol):

In the assembly line, helping staple labels to the bags: Just dropping off some finished packs of dogs:
All the volunteers

It was such a busy night! We were there and there were also multiple church groups. It was chaos

We lasted about an hour and it started to get crazy busy in there with more and more volunteers. It was time for bath and bed for Aidan anyways :)

These were all taken on my phone so they aren't the best, but you get the idea. Aidan was so excited to know he was helping other people. He kept talking about how the people could then come and get food. He understood he was helping people who couldn't necessarily afford to eat. It was great. We so want him to understand his blessed life and how others aren't always so fortunate.

Shakespeare's!!!!

Today, Aidan had a field trip to Shakespeare's Pizza. They got to ride the city bus down there and I surprised him! The kids were all so excited to check out the pizza place. It is definitely our favorite place to eat pizza. The kiddos first got a lesson in pizza dough "technique."

After playing with dough, they got to go on a "super secret" tour of the place. Aidan's little group waiting to go behind the counter:

This is the pizza girl giving them instructions to stay back from the ovens. They cook their pizza at 550 degrees (which is probably why it tastes so much better there than when you cook one of their frozen ones you can buy at the store!)

Walking on back to the pizza assembly area. The whole back wall is one giant window and the sun was shining in it, so these pictures are kind of awful.

Aidan's group's pizza:

Next stop was where they shredded all the cheese. They use provolone instead of mozzarella.

Hey Zenny!

This is the other kitchen in the back

The kids thought the walk in freezer was pretty intense. They were all pretty hesitant to go in at first. I am sure the grown ups would have been fine as there were walls of kegs in there ;)

Yay! Finally braved it!

This was the last stop on the tour. They then went back to work with their dough while the other group took their tour. They were then able to eat the pizza they helped make at the beginning of the tour. It was a really neat little trip for them. I know Aidan was sooo excited. I didn't even have to bargain with him to get him out of bed!! Score!!

In Which I Get Religious for a Moment

I was reading a blog today (terribleandbeautiful.blogspot.com) and truer words have never been spoken. I have copied them here. From Lorri Steer:

"In silence before the Lord we are humbled. We are brought face to face with our shortcomings and if we listen long enough, and our sorrow is TRUE, we will receive instruction on how to proceed. Very often in scripture, God's instructions begin with "go to." Go to the person or people who have been wounded by our words. "But I spoke the truth" you might comfort yourself. But did you speak it in grace? Did you speak it in love? Was it spoken at the proper time and place? What were your motives for speaking it? Sometimes only God himself can show us our motives and we're not going to get any insight if we just. keep. talking. Hush dear child of God. Let your Father speak. Lay your heart before him and let him show you what's inside.

Close your lips. Close your laptop. Put down your iPhone. Turn off the radio, tv and unplug the phone. Even the busiest mother with a nest full of little birds can carve out quiet time in that sublime hour known as "nap time." We are doomed to repeate tomorrow for what we do not deal with today. The Heavenly Father is very serious about the words we speak. "Out of the heart the mouth speaks," He says. If our words have hurt another, the Bible says it's on US.

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." -Romans 12:18 NIV

"I have the right to do anything," you say-but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"- but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others." -1 Corinthinans 10:23-24 NIV

"Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." - Matthew 5:23-24 NIV

Our words have the power to build up or tear down. When we have wounded someone with our words, whether it was intentional or not, if we are made aware of the hurt, the sincere response is an apology to the person or people wounded and to the Lord.

A fully-ripened apology is cultivated with our lips closed, our typing fingers silenced and our body laid out on the ground. In that humble position, with amrs reaching up to the Lord and out toward the people He died for, we conform to the image of His Son. Our thoughtful, humble apologies reflect God's kindness in a way that is undeniable and unresistible. The wise woman whose words have wounded chooses a pregnant silence bowed before the Lord from which golden, healing words will flow. The foolish woman babbles on.

SILENCE IS GOLDEN.

While we are at it, let's take a look at this too:

The Seven Deadly Sins (from http://whitestonejournal.com/index.php/seven-deadly-sins

Pride: Seeing ourselves as we are and not comparing ourselves to others is humility. Pride and vanity are competitive. If someone else's pride really bothers you, you have a lot of pride.

Avarice/Greed: This is about more than money. Generosity means letting others get the credit or praise. It is giving without having expectations of the other person. Greed wants to get its "fair share" or a bit more.

Envy: "Love is patient, love is kind..." Love actively seeks the good of others for their sake. Envy resents the good others receive or even might receive. Envy is almost indistinguishable from pride at times.

Wrath/Anger: Kindness means taking the tender approach, with patience and compassion. Anger is often our first reaction to the problems of others. Impatience with the faults of others is related to this.

Lust: Self control and self mastery prevent pleasure from killing the soul by suffocation. Legitimate pleasures are controlled in the same way an athlete's muscles are: for maximum efficiency without damage. Lust is the self-destructive drive for pleasure out of proportion to its worth. Sex, power, or image can be used well, but they tend to go out of control.

Gluttony: Temperance accepts the natural limits of pleasures and preserves this natural balance. This does not pertain only to food, but to entertainment and other legitimate goods, and even the company of others.

Sloth: Zeal is the energetic response of the heart to God's commands. The other sins work together to deaden the spiritual senses so we first become slow to respond to God and then drift completely into the sleep of complacency.

And from Proverbs 6:16-19 (New International Version):

16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Just thought this would be a nice time to reflect on ourselves in the coming season of our Lord.

Have a blessed day :) Return to regularly scheduled ridiculousness tomorrow!!!!

Deer Hunting with no deer

We had a super weekend. Chad and his brother, Lee, went hunting. Friday night Aidan and I went over to the O'Rileys so Aidan could party it up with Cooper and Kennedy. Elin hung out at home with Lee and Chad. The picture is fuzzy because it is off a cell phone. This was the first time he had seen her since she was just a week old!

Chad and Lee went hunting all weekend as it was opening season. They didn't kill anything. Saturday, Aidan and Elin and I spent the day running around. Nothing too exciting. It was pretty cold out so we tried to not leave the house! Saturday night was spent at home. Sunday, the boys went hunting again. We had an open house (which I am very tired of!!) and drove around town after going for some Mexican (yum). We went over to Justin and Dawn's Sunday evening to check out his big buck he shot. It was impressive. Chad was jealous :)
This was super fascinating, I know. BUT this week, Aidan is going ice skating for this first time. Woo hoo!! This momma is excited :) It is also the last week of pole dancing :( We have two classes this week since next week is Thanksgiving. I will definitely be signing up again in January.

Oh The Pain

Last night was class #2 at Pole Fitness. It was better because we all got our own poles as opposed to last week where we were 2 to a pole. We did pole things (tricks? manuevers?) for an hour. It was an intense workout. My thighs and arms were shaking!! We did a lot of "climbing up the pole." I am 99% sure my entire inner thigh is going to be a giant bruise!! We got a MAJOR workout!! Sore today, but I guess not AS sore as last week, but with more bruising LOL!! 2 more classes left this month!! I am putting a couple pics of class on here because they are blurry enough that you can't totally see who they are (hahaha, unless it is you in the pic!!) New skill of the night was a back spin down the pole: I totally suggest this class to anyone wanting an awesome work out that is so fun and totally doesn't feel like you are working out! It isn't skanky or anything like that if you are worried about it...all girls having lots of fun, laughing and sweating your butts off!

6 Months

Elin had her 6 month appointment today. Hard to believe she is that old already!! She is sitting up, eating baby food, rolling over, squealing, smiling, laughing, grabbing things (and putting them all in her mouth, of course)...Here are her stats:
Weight: 18 lbs 1 ounce (80th percentile)
Length: 26 inches (50th percentile)
Head: 44 cm (80th percentile...we make babies with big heads LOL...Aidan was always in the 90th+ percentile!)

She is doing great! Both kiddos also got their flu shots. Aidan was lucky enough to get the FluMist and poor Elin got her shot on top of the 3 other normal vaccinations she was scheduled to get. She handled it like a champ though :)

Losers

Today we (Chad and I) are starting the Biggest Loser competition with some friends. It will last through the end of the year. Weight loss % will be determined every Thursday. We are going to kick everyone's butt. Chad is soooo thrilled about this, hahaha.

On another fitness note, tonight is class #2 of Pole Fitness. I am finally funtioning again from the soreness and only have a few bruises. We will see what tonight brings!!! Hoping to get some photos LOL!!

Hermann!

This past weekend we met our friends in Hermann for some grown up fun. The weather was perfect. We headed out with Dawn and Justin, and met everyone there. We stayed at Schiller Suites. It was a guest house in historic Hermann. It was so adorable. We stayed there with Mark and Rebecca. Justin and Dawn had the "fancy suite" up the road, hahaha wink wink.

This is the back entrance to our guest house:Our room was the loft room. Mark and Becca had the Library Suite. They were so cute MINUS any TV. SHEESH!! Best part of our room...the claw foot tub!!
Our door :)

This is the main area of the Library Suite. It was super cute with a fireplace and the wood floors in the building were gorgeous!We met up with the rest of the crew at Hermannof Winery

Rebecca, me, Dawn, Jamey and Jenna

We were at the winery until it closed and then went back to our rooms to regroup and head off to the classiest establishment you have ever experienced

My favorite picture ever

me and Dawn

Jamey, Deric, Chad and me

Justin, Rebecca, Mark and Dawn

Jamey, me, Dawn and Rebecca, the "dancers" LOL

"Pierre" and Jamey

Like I said, we headed over to The Corner Tavern and set up shop for the night. They had some of the best dang bar food ever. It was the tiniest, hole in the wall and we had the BEST time.

Chad and Mark getting ready to watch some of the game

Laura, Bec, and Jamey

We were there FOREVER. It was a loooong day :) There was dancing, singing, broomsticks, old ladies, bartending and general foolery. It was great.

Jenna and Deric

Jenna, me and Bec and our Lemon Drops

Chad learning his bartending skillz with Jeff, the bartender

Nice job!

Deric's moves

Dawn and Chad breaking it down (apparently they are robots)

Since we saw our tub, let's review Dawn and Justin's FANCY suite and their tub :)

Their place did have a sweet campfire with marshmallows that we checked out on the walk home from the bar

It was a super time. We woke up Sunday and headed home. We stopped at McDonalds because I was starving and just wanted a hashbrown. IMAGINE THAT. Their fryer CAUGHT ON FIRE so they couldn't do hashbrowns. UGH. We made it home without any other incidents.

Grandma and Grandpa were with the kiddos at home. They were having a blast. We hung low on Sunday and that was about it. Lot's of things going ont his week. Will post more later :)