The Muench Bunch

Jayden had a school spring concert. She had a solo part and did really well. The concert was very long, way too long. Sadly by the end there were ,ore than half the parents gone. Jacob went home with my parents as he has no school Friday and will stay until Sunday. That night, the weather was stormy with wind and thunderstorms. It even hailed right before we went to bed.

Had Luke dressed in his Easter outfit and posed him for his 2 year photos. He enjoys the camera and has been so good for me. I can pose him and he is pretty cooperative. He knows when I set up my equipment and he goes and sits right in the middle of my backdrop and starts saying “cheese”. I took a few in his little blue chair that I thought were cute. He is really growing up too fast. He is my last baby and he is already a toddler, makes me sad.

Church and potluck. If our church never had another potluck ever again, I would be thrilled. Blah! Every month is way too many. We only go to potluck 3 times a year and I do NOT like them! After church my parents came down for Mom’s birthday. The kids made her a cake and we went out to dinner. Rainy day. Guess who got sick again and I blame potluck. By the next morning Jayden was over the toilet. Poor girl. I decided we are DONE with potlucks!

Weather was very nice, 65-70’s. I told the kids we would go feed the horses and maybe ride a little. Jake went and got all decked out like a little cowboy with handkerchief and all, and Luke followed. We took some photos at the old barn on the property we bought. What a great photo site. Wish we could keep the barn just for that. Ha! The kids all took turns riding the pony Dakota. We all had lunch with Daddy on the deck and enjoyed the afternoon outside. Late afternoon we had cousin Abby babysit so Mark and I could go to a Bio-diesel party in court avenue of Des Moines. We had social hour at Bill Horan's condo on the 21st floor of the plaza, very nice! Then it was out to dinner at a nice restaurant with a group of around 25. Larry and Rebecca Breeding are moving so everyone toasted to them. Fun time, fun conversation, and good food. Mark enjoys those guys so much and they think highly of Mark too. We had to run through the rain down the streets to find our car at the end of the nig

April 17th a volcano erupted in Iceland. This volcano spewed ash into the air causing a lot of chaos. Due to the ash, all flights were canceled. This caused people all over the country to have cancelled flights leaving many people stranded for days and days inside an airport. Mark read that the volcano caused more pollution than all the cars in the world to this day can give off. Whoa!! April 20th an oil drilling rig exploded in the gulf of Mexico spilling 210,000 gallons of oil into the ocean every day. The damage is going to be awful. These are acts of God, I think he is trying to tell us something…

The entire week was wonderful sunny weather. I wish everyday could be like this. Another busy week, dance, AWANA, Jake finished a 5 week session of swim lessons and Luke and I water babies, and we had our first 4-H horse meeting at the arena. Whew, glad this week is over. Rain came in on Friday, so Mark had a break from planting and we got to see him a little.

Sunday, Today was a wonderful day. I think it was as close to perfect as you can get when it comes to weather. It was around 68 to 70 degrees without any wind or bugs. It was wonderful! We started the morning off with church in Stratford and the three kids sang a trio. It was so sweet. They had on there coordinating Easter outfits in blues and yellow. They sang, Oh how I love Jesus. Jayden sang all the verses and Jake sang with her on the chorus. Luke kind of froze when he stood up front and didn’t sing. He was cute as a bug standing there looking out at everyone. At the very end, Jayden put the microphone down to him and he sang one time, Oh how I love Jesus. They did great. After church we set up for the AWANA store, then ate lunch at Karen’s. It was almost 3 when we got home, and then we spent the rest of the day outside. Jake and Jayden helped Grammer in her garden, while Luke helped me plant strawberries and Mark sprayed the asparagus patch.

Sunny and beautiful weather today. We had Megan Snyder babysit for the first time. She is 13 and goes to our church, very mature and responsible,and I am hoping to have her babysit this summer. Jayden and I went to a 4-H tack sale, took lunch and supper to the guys in the field, and she rode her pony. The boys loved having Megan here, so that makes me so happy. A prayer has been answered!

Luke has been riding in the tractor as much as possible. He gets sooo excited! He yells ”Lukey’s turn!” over and over. He has been riding with Mark for about an hour at a time. He thinks he is pretty big stuff sitting in his own little buddy seat. At home he runs his toy tractor and combine all over the house farming. He is a true farm boy! Jake enjoys riding too, he is fine as long as he has a notebook or something he can draw on.

I had my first MRI. I never imagined I would have to have something like that done in my life. There are so many tests that have to be done and so much more than i ever imagined. For the MRI, I had to lay on my stomach and be completely still for 30 minutes. The worst part was the noise. It sounded like jack hammers and emergency sirens going off and it was so loud! So far thankfully all the testing has been normal. When I think about all this testing, I have to think it really is a blessing in disguise. Unlike my aunt who had the cancer, I get to know before I get it. I can do preventative things that she couldnt. She had to go through so many surgeries and chemo and sickness that were horrible. Myself, I get to know so that I can take steps to prevent all that from happening. I have to tell myself this is a good thing.

I wanted to try this for a cute photo. I think Luke was amazed that mommy was letting him get paint on himself. I am usually very particular about how paint and markers only go on paper. After a short amount of time, he was loving it!

Today is the first day of planting for Mark. I am praying for a nice planting season. The boys have enjoyed riding with Mark doing field work. Luke seems to like it the most and sits in his buddy seat for a nice long ride. He is all about tractors and combines right now!!

The kids and I went to Wade and Carina's to celebrate Alivia's 3rd birthday. The party was held in the big shop and had a princess theme. The kids had fun playing and riding around on all the different play trikes. Luke had never pedaled anything before today and discovered a tricycle. In just a few minutes he was pedaling all over the shop. Alivia has some pretty neat stuff, Carina made a big play area in their corn crib complete with slide, monkey bars, and kitchen. She also already has her own battery operated gator. The kids had a great time playing. Jayden got to see Santanna too. This was the first we got to see Aunt Alice since she arrived back from Albuquerque. We all missed her and were so happy to have her back home. To finish off Alivia's birthday, she will be going to Chuckie Cheese AND build a bear for her birthday. WOW!

Tonight was Allie's senior prom. She stopped by with her friend Stevie for photos. SHe looked so pretty in her teal blue dress. Her hair was all up and make-up pretty. She looked lovely. I cannot believe she is a senior and this is her last prom. The boys kept calling Allie a princess. Jayden missed seeing Allie as she went to her friend Claire's slumber party for her birthday.

Today we had the doctors appointment to get my test results as to whether I am a positive carrier for the BRCA2 gene that causes breast and ovarian cancer. Mark, Luke, and I went to the appointment. As soon as the nurse came in and started taking my height, weight, and asking my full history, I pretty much knew. I am a positive carrier. I have known for a year about this gene, what it is, what it means, and what the options are, however I really was praying and hoping I had nothing to worry about. It was a heavy blow. There is a lot to think about and talk about. There is a lot to pray about in my life right now. Our day was not a good one, after we left, a car rear ended us at a stop light. It was a pretty light hit and no damage to our vehicle. Matthew 6:34 Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient is the day and its own troubles.

I have been in the hunt for a new horse for quite some time. I was able to take a horse for a week to try him out. I knew about him for several months from a friend and I had high hopes. He was a pretty palomino, my favorite. The price was pretty high, however I thought if he fit everything we were looking for, I would be okay with that. No such luck, he spooked at cars when passing on the road. It was not once but every time. He spooked when cars came at him. We have steep and deep ditches and a lot of trucks and farm equipment pass, I knew it wouldn’t be safe. Another letdown, I am getting so tired of horse hunting and very frustrated. It is hard on the kids too as they get excited and hopeful too. There has got to be a horse out there….

He is Risen! Today is the day we celebrate Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. The kids went through the 12 resurrection eggs prior to today to retell the story and the meaning up to this day. We awoke to the excitement of the Easter eggs the bunny left around the house. Jayden and Jacob gathered up their color of eggs in their Easter baskets and Luke opened every egg as he discovered them, filling his mouth with all the candies. Chocolates, and sugary sweets. I was worried he was eating too many and wanted him to eat some breakfast. It was too late, he wouldn't eat anything and cried for more candy. He discovered a large chocolate bunny in his Easter basket that I forget to hide. We heard him saying "I love it" and realized what he was eating it. He has a sugar tooth!! Jayden and Jacob had maybe two pieces of candy all morning. On to church where I ended up in the nursery as usual. Mark and I usually take turns. There are designated nursery providers each week, but so

I thought Luke would be old enough this year to join in on Easter egg decorating. As I prepared the colors, this year I used vinegar to really make the colors rich, something I never did in the past. Each kid got a dozen eggs right out of the fridge. Within a matter of minutes, Luke dumped an entire cup or bright green coloring on himself and everywhere around him. The colors are bright and Luke had a bright green leg and it did not wash off. Not long after, he broke an egg and I quickly realized this wasn't going to work. I got out the easel and some paint and told Luke he could paint. He was thrilled with that, even though it turned messy very fast. Jacob and Jayden had fun decorating their eggs, but it was super messy. They broke egg after egg too. Later we went to Boxholm for the annual Easter egg candy hunt. The kids came home with lots of candy. Luke sure seems to like the sweets. He can't seem to get it in his mouth fast enough. The kids all took tractor rides in the aft

My Dad was out of town helping my Aunt Alice move back home from Albuquerque and would be gone over Easter. Our family took my mom out for Easter to the Cornerstone church service. They had a drama called “Goodbye Charlie.” It was very well done and to our surprise, my cousin James Laugerman was in it.

The weather has been wonderfully warm. Today it reached 80. The sunshine was so nice and the last piles of snow have finally disapperead. The wind has been whipping, so it takes the nice out of the weather, however I will take sunshine any way I can. I get Mark every year for April Fool's. This year I didn't have much for ideas, so had Jayden call and say she was at school, missed the bus, nobody is home, and needs a ride. Got him, but it wasn't too exciting.