The Muench Bunch

Jacob has a talent for drawing. I don’t know what his future holds, but with his interest in drawing and skill, I think art may be in it. He could be an architect or some type of engineer, maybe a cartoon artist. Jacob spends time drawing every day. He comes home with school work that he has added his own artwork to. He draws every time we get in a car. He has a notepad and pen in the car and draws on short or long trips. He draws with a lot of detail in his pictures. Mostly vehicles, trucks, tractors, and old cars. He will draw cars from the front view, side view or back view. He also draws action, such as a car crash pile up or a semi sinking in a flood. We think some of his ideas come from his interest in Richard Scarey Busy books that he has looked at over the years.

Jessie, the new horse of Jayden’s came down with a nasty snotty nose, sinus infection. Our local vet told us to go to the ISU vet school for X-rays. Today Mark took Jayden and her horse to the vet school to have her examined. I got to hear all about it when they returned. The horse had a bad sinus infection, so the vet put a little hole in her face and inserted a tube and flushed all the crud out. She had to have this done twice a day for the next 3 days plus antibiotics. I am so glad we do not have to go through all that for a sinus infection.

I have started attending a bible study at the Cornerstone church in Ames. The bible study leader invited me to her home for lunch today. She has a 4 year old daughter, so Luke had fun too. Carolyn and I visited for hours. The most interesting, we discovered we both were attending Iowa State at the same time, the same year, in the same dorm, on the same dorm floor. What are the odds!? Carolyn is very kind and has an awesome personality. She has a great knowledge of the bible and a great way of teaching. I am really enjoying the bible study and I am learning so much and look forward to getting to know the other ladies in the group. I am thankful that God has guided me to this group and is teaching me through this study.

Funny describes Luke's personality. He is so full of life and always being silly. He is such a happy kid, always smiling and giggling. He can make just about anyone smile. He is fun to take places, quiet and obedient. He is very social and can talk to anyone. Luke is very photogenic!! Not only is he cute as can be, he loves the camera, lets you pose him, and cooperates. . Luke cuddles and gives hugs and kisses. He loves to come running as fast as he can into you with big hugs and laughs. He likes to tell you he loves you whenever it pops in his mind. He likes to play and farm with his big brother and just adores his big sister. She is very good to him and they are best buds. He likes his television shows and being outside. He loves to sit in my lap for a good story or two or three. Luke likes to be superman, from wearing pajamas to running around the house saying”Superman can fix it.” He likes to tear off al his clothes and run around in his "undie pants". He does not lik

Since I was having my weekly doctor appointment in Des moines, Mark thought it would be handy to take the horse along to rope in Ankeny afterwards. We also had lunch and went to look at a horse trailer sales place. We saw a really nice 3 horse trailer. Next we went to the Ankeny arena so Mark could practice roping. I took my camera to play with while they practiced. Mark is doing well and learning more about his horse. It was kind of neat as Chuck and Mark roped together. Chuck was the guy who taught Mark to rope abround 14 years ago. He had 'nt seen him in over 10 years. Mark asked me what I thought of the trailer and what we should do. That trailer we saw was very nice. It is the kind of trailer I have wanted since I started barrel racing in high school. I have waited and wanted one like it for so long, of course I said,"Let's do it!"

Jake and Luke stayed the weekend with Mawgee and Peepaw. One of their planned activities was kite fest. They drove to Clear Lake and watched hundreds of cool kites flown over the frozen lake. They also stumbled upon a fire house that opened their museum so the boys could see an old time fire truck. The boys got a photo with a fireman in uniform and sat in a fire truck and ambulance. Fun times and fun memories.

With the boys at my parents, Mark at an all day team roping clinic in Ankeny, Jayden and I decided it was time to get to work on the little bathroom. Our tiny little bath shower was in need of a makeover. Recently I went shopping with Jayden and let her pick out the decor and paint for the bathroom. Today we painted. I did the trimming and edges, and she filled in the rest. I was happy I was able to do all this without pain or discomfort. I am really feeling pretty good these days. The bathroom was white everywhere you looked. We painted a teal color with brown. It sure looks different and super cool. Now for the next room. There are so many rooms in this house that could use a fix up. In the afternoon, the wind was blowing, but the temps were upper 40's, so we went to work with the horses. We took them out and brushed them and cleaned their feet. We worked Jessie in the round pen and Jayden rode a little. Mark enjoyed his day of roping and felt he really learned a lot. He is so d

Today Mark surprised all of us with Valentine's for everyone. He came to the door with a half dozen red roses for me, a red rose for Jayden, and heart balloon's for the boys. What a wonderful Daddy and husband. We ended the night cuddled in front of the TV watching an animated movie "Open Season 3" the kids other gift.

It feels good to get outside and feel the sunshine. We still have a lot of winter yet to come and it is still plenty cold. The past 3 days have gotten into the upper 40's and 50 degrees. It feels like a breath of fresh air. I have been in the house so much for the past month, it feels great to be outside. Mark has ridden his horse a couple times this week. Luke and I only take a short stroller ride down the road, but it is enough to refresh me. It feels a bit like spring. Goodbye snow! Jacob usually gets home from school, throws his backpack in the door and is off to play. With all the snow melting things are very sloppy. I didn't think much of him being outside until I glanced out the window to see him pushing his once yellow dump truck that was black. The front of Jake was black as if he had gone and did a belly flop in the mud, maybe he did.

THe AWANA club held a skating party at Gowrie. This was Luke's first time, Jacob's second, his first time he was 5, and Jayden is pretty good on her wheels. Mark went too, so he could help the boys. I took my camera and stayed on the sidelines. Luke had his skates on for 15 minutes, went 20 feet and was done. Jacob didn't like the idea of holding hands with his Dad and wanted to roll like the other kids. There was also a birthday party going on of all girls from his class. I think he was embarrassed. He would get so angry if Jayden tried to help him. At the end of the day, he was making more attempts on his own and really starting to get a feel for it and decided it was fun.

Tonight we went bowling with some friends. Heidi was one of my college friends and roommates. Her family met us in Des Moines at the Brass pro Shoppes bowling restaurant. I visited and watched everyone bowl. It was fun to talk with Heidi and to see her girls. Heidi and Lance live in Leon and farm. Heidi recently opened a neat coffee shop in town. The kids had a great time. jayden and Riley warmed up to one another slowly and were very talkative by the end. Jacob was so taken by the two girls. Riley is 9 and Hadley 5. He thought they were such neat girls and calls them his new friends. Luke was happy just to be around new kids. After the bowling, we ate at the restaurant, then explored the Shoppe. With kids along, that means shooting range, aquarium, and climbing on all the boats and 4 wheelers.

Today was the first day I drove since surgery and it was good to get back into things. I started the morning by attending a bible study in Ames at Cornerstone. I met a gal recently who invited me. It is on Thursday's 9-11 with childcare for Luke. It is a group of around 20 young Mom's. I am excited about it and know I will learn a lot. It seems very deep as we will be covering the book of Romans. Next I met my mom for lunch, then headed to Des monies for my weekly reconstruction visit. Mom and I had some time to do some shopping before heading home.

No School! Feb 1st we knew the weather was to get bad, so we kept the kids home from school. Sure enough, the school let out at noon. I was glad to have the kids home and safe. However, they somehow manage to make their way to grandma and grandpa Muench's. It is nice as they get to be out of the house and having fun and spending time with grandparents. The wind really took to blowing and things drifted in. Feb 2nd was a no school day for the kids too. It has been 2 weeks since my surgery. No pain meds., the drains are out, I am sleeping in my own bed (not comfortably) and my range of motion is still pretty limited. This has gone much better than what we all expected. I get a pillow and hold it across my front and the kids can sit with me and cuddle.