The Muench Bunch

Our home is becoming more and more of the horse farm I had dreamed of having. I am still in awe that Mark is making all these changes. It took him getting back into horses and having a good ‘ol horse he can call his own. As for me, I lost that good ‘ol horse and it will take awhile to replace him. Anyway, today the dozer started moving dirt for the site of our future arena. Can’t believe it myself.

Nov 27 2011 After some thought and prayer we have decided to sponsor a child. Thanksgiving seemed a fitting time to start. Our family pays monthly to help provide education, bible sudy, clothes, and food for a child. I found an organization called “Compassion” through a Christian speaker at Cornerstone. After hearing her, I continually felt a tugging that we should do this. Jayden and I got on the computer to find thousands of needy children. It was heartbreaking and you wanted to help them all. How on earth do you chose a child. We decided to chose a child who had a birthday today and there was only one. His name is Jean and he is 6 years old from Togo Africa. I talked to the kids about him and we pray for him. Jayden went right to making him a homeade greeting card. I think this will be a small way to give hope to a child in need.

At the end of church today one of the three pastor’s made an announcement. Pastor Paul is leaving Cornerstone to go help plant a new church in West Des Moines. My heart sank when I heard it. I have not met the man personally or really even know him, however Pastor Paul has been my favorite pastor since we started attending Cornerstone 2 years ago. I enjoy his sermon’s so much and look forward to hearing him. Not only that, he is also the youth ministries pastor that I was looking so forward to the kids joining next year. His wife, wow she is truly amazing. She not only stars in most all of the productions, but she writes them and directs them. She has an amazing voice and talent! There family will be greatly missed by so many. They have been there since 94. I know the church in D.M will be so fortunate to have him and will gain from them being there. The lump in my throat remained until I got to the car after church.

The day was planned and us girls, Jayden , cousin Kellie, and I were going to do some black friday shopping. Our first stop was in Ames where we met my mother and she took the boys for the night. They were super excited as always to spend time at Mawgee and Peepaw’s house. Black friday shopping was pretty fun. We didn’t have too crazy crowds, probably because we didn’t begin shopping until after lunch. After shopping in Ames we went to the Jordan Creek mall where Kellie shopped with Suzy and Kallie. I got some Christmas hopping done. Later Mark, who had been roping in Ankeny, met up with us for a nice dinner out. We took Kellie to Johnny’s steak house. It was a nice day and fun to chat with Kellie.

Thanksgiving this year was held at Karen and Orrie’s. Our numbers were down from most years with 18 people. Anderlik’s, the Ferrari little kids, Chris and Teresa, Suzy and Kallie, Lavern and Verna Mae, and our family attended. Verna Mae was very sick with the shingles and had a miserable time. There was an abundance of wonderful food! We had turkey, butter horn rolls, mashed potatoes, homemade noodles and so much more. Karen made 6 pumpkin pies. Everyone ate all day and night, visited and played board games. There was a tour of the big new shop and Kellie and I walked back from the shop. It was a nice 60 degree day, but the winds were strong. Later it was decided that we watch a comedy that many had already watched and thought it was funny. It was very inappropriate for family and especially kids. It is so hard to find good movies these day. The language is terrible and they are so raunchy. Maybe I am too strict, but that is not the kind of stuff I like my kids watching. What ever happ

I went to the school to see Jacob in a cute little Thanksgiving play. It wasn’t a parent day, but Jake really wanted me to be there and it was so important to him. He planned his outfit out the night before, complete with vest and tie. He said he is a Senator and needed to dress up. The play was about a Turkey that wanted to pass a law to abolish the eating of Turkey. Jake was a Senator from Colorado. He played his part pretty serious.

The school janitor was taken life flight to Des moines for his lungs. The next day he had a heart attack and is still in ICU. Jayden’s teacher talked to the kids about it and mentioned to pray for him. I am so proud of Jayden. The kids sat down at lunch and they themselves decided they should pray together out loud. There were 7 boys and girls that prayed out loud together.

Our kids really haven’t shown much interest in sports. We talked to Jayden about trying basketball before she gets into Jr. High to see if she likes it. She thought it was a good idea and wanted to give it a try. Most kids start in the 3rd grade with practices and games. She also found out late that the season had already started and she missed 5 practices. That and the fact that we had not been playing or practicing at all at home worried me. I knew we were in trouble when I took her to the first practice and the coach told the girls to start with some lay ups. Jayden looked at me and said,”Mom, what’s a lay up?” Really she has done well and is picking it all up quickly. I am proud of her for trying and she has a happy look on her face as she practices. Jayden had her first game the day after her first practice, so she was a spectator.

Today Jake turned 8 years old. He was a tiny little guy all 6.2 lbs. when he was born. Now he is into riding his bike, old antiques vehicles and what I call old junk. Jake has become a very good reader and still loves to draw with such detail. His book of choice is "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". He likes to look at all the comic illustrations as much as read it. He likes to be outside organizing old junk he collects. Jake has an interest in the past. He likes to hear about when mom and dad were kids. He likes old vehicles and pays very close attention to the makes and models of cars and trucks. He specifically asked me to have his picture take in front of the Old Ford truck for his birthday and so we did. This morning he woke up to his birthday surprise, a brand new orange bike. After school and until bedtime, he was a roller coaster of emotions. From being happy to super grouchy. I think that in his mind since it was his birthday everything was supposed to go just the way he wanted

I Spent the day cleaning and preparing for a birthday party. In the middle of the day we had Luke’s friend Colton come over for a couple hours of play. It was in the 50’s so they played outside.It was a nice break from house cleaning. In the evening we had a dinner and cake party for Jacob and Grandpa Po Po.

We wanted to squeeze in a birthday/ going away party for the kids and Alice. After school I loaded up the kids to head to Williams where we had a little party. Grandpa brought the pizzas, and Grandma and Carina made the cakes. The kids got flooded with gifts. So many I thought it was Christmas. Even Alivia and Luke got a little gift. We all said our long goodbyes with lots of hugs as Auntie Alice prepared for her winter stay in Albuquerque.

Wade had a very close call today with anhydrous. He was in Blairsburg when a hose came loose and anhydrous shot out. He jumped from the tractor and ran to get out of it. He called 911 and took this awesome photo on his phone. How eerie! The fire department even evacuated the area. Wade was so lucky!! Two weeks ago in our area a man was killed from the exact same thing.

Today our preemie girl turned 12. I can remember every detail from the day Jayden was born. We have enjoyed the past 12 years of her life. She is an amazing little girl that is so exceptional. She is kind and tender hearted, responsible, mature, intelligent, and we love her dearly. After the first night stay in the hotel, today we split up, the boys went to the science center with Mark and the girls went to the mall with me. From trying on spike heel shoes to buying smelly lotions, the girls enjoyed their day. We roamed the mall, had lunch at the food court, and tried on dresses. They were most interested in the lotions from bath and body works. The boys had a great time too building rockets and watching the IMAX movie about an orphaned elephant. Luke got to be one of the big boys today. Later we made a stop at the arcade. With one quarter, Luke hit the jackpot on his game and out rolled 150 tickets. We ended the day with dinner out, cupcakes, and more swimming. What a great way to cel

I got a really good deal on a 2 night stay at a hotel with a water park in Des moines. I thought it would make a great place to celebrate the kids birthdays . We let Jayden and Jacob each bring a friend. Jayden took Claire and Jacob took Rylie. To make it even better, the kids didn’t have school today so their friends came over after lunch and we headed for Des Moines in the early evening. We ate supper at Famous Dave’s on the way to the hotel. The Ramada hotel has a small indoor water park. Just right for the kids, two large tube slides, a volleyball/basketball pool, hot tub, and pirate hip pool area. It was all very nice and we stayed in a nice pool side suite with 2 rooms . The kids played in the water and had a fun time. Luke was leery of the water and would’nt try any of the little kid slides. It is hard to see these tiny toddlers zip down the slides and so many go under the water without any problem. All three of my kids were scared of the water until they hit 5. How are some kid