The Muench Bunch

On black Friday I took the kids to my parents and they stayed for two nights. My Dad has been slowly improving from his surgery but has a long way to go. He is still so tired and weak. For the time that I was there he slept more than he was awake. I can tell he just doesn’t feel good yet. The kids got some grandparent time in. It may have not been the best for my Dad. My hopes were that the kids would cheer him up and get his mind of everything else. The first night Alivia woke my mom and my kids up at 4 in the morning. Mom couldn’t get her to go back to sleep so she played on the computer until 7. The second evening mom and Alice took the kids to see the Disney movie Hero 6. While the kids were gone on Saturdya Mark and I went out to dinner in Des Moines with Dan and Angela. We went to Bone Fish Grill and had an amazing meal. 

11/27/14 Thanksgiving is a traditional feast at the Anderlik’s. Just as Mark was about to get ready, his Dad came and asked him to go take hay to Anderlik’s cattle. This is very aggravating on so many levels. 1) They are Anderlik’s cattle, not ours. 2) Mark’s Dad could have asked him yesterday. 3) It’s cold, below zero cold. Never on Thanksgiving has it been this cold in my lifetime! 4) The cattle are in a corn field, and the loader tractor wasn’t ready to carry the hay, so he had to switch the loader. 5) It’s Thanksgiving and that made us late, the last to get there.  It is Thanksgiving and a time to be thankful, but hard to hae an attitude of gratitude. I guess it  bothered  me more than  Mark . Mark is used to his Dad, so it was nothing out of the ordinary to him.  Allie had arrived at our house while Mark was taking care of the cows. She drove the 9 hour trip last night with her new boyfriend. They got in around 6AM and came to our place at 10:00. Allie introduced Matt and he sh

11/26/14 Each year for Thanksgiving we have company stay at our home. Typically Darrell and Lauren, sometimes Doug, and sometimes all 3. It is the same routine every year. For three days I clean, vaccuum, dust, mop, launder sheets and prepare from the basement on up. The kids get in on all the cleaning and get very excited at the idea of company. We rarely ever have company and to have someone staying overnight is a big deal to them. They start asking when will the company come, when will they get here? They are excited and can't wait for them to arrive. Every year the kids are tucked in bed before the company arrives,usually very late. The next morning, the company, having the day off and getting to bed late, sleeps in until just before we leave for Thanksgiving dinner. The kids are up early in the morning of course excited that there are guests in the house.  They wait and wait and want to wake them up so bad. They end up seeing them as the walk to the shower, then leave the hou

Ferguson,MO has struggled to return to normal since Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, on August 9. A grand jury's decision not to indict Wilson prompted new waves of protests in Ferguson and across the country. The man was stealing from a convenient store and attempted to grab the officers gun. However the man was unarmed when shot and killed. The entire issue turned into a racial clash. The sad thing is, these angry people are rioting, burning business and looting in their own community. The only one they are hurting is themselves.

We are still in the season known as fall, however it is full blown winter outside. Cold in the low 20’s and the new snow is not going anywhere. We missed out on fall, that’s for sure. Today we  delivered  26 shoe boxes to the church for Operation Christmas Child. We started doing a shoebox each year since Jayden was 3. When Jake was little we did two boxes, then with Luke 3 boxes. The kids enjoy helping buy the items for the boxes. We always stock up when school shopping on supplies. Then we get toys, hygeine items, candy, and cram as much as possible into each box.. They like to help stuff the boxes too. This year, Jayden made it into a project and wanted to see how many boxes we could make. With the help of 4H and friends she gathered quite a few. At her birthday party the girls helped her stuff many shoe boxes too. In the end we had 26 boxes ready to ship over seas to kids in countries where they would not normally get gifts. Each box also will have a bible and the gospel will be

Rylie spent the night, so the boys were hard at play all day. They were outside, even though it was only 22 degrees. They played video games and farmed with the toys. In the afternoon Rylie stayed with Karen and Orrie so our family could go visit Peepaw (Dad) in the hospital. It had snowed quite a bit and the roads were not very good. We saw several cars in the ditch driving to Ames.  Wade and his family were already at the hospital and I was suprised to see Dad up walking the hallways. He already looked so much better to me. Sure he was still tired, but he sure looked better! The kids and I visited awhile with Dad and gave him more cards. I know Dad can't wait to get out of there and now he is one step closer. We also had plans for Jacob's birthday in the evening. Anderlik's, Ferrari's, and Spillman's called to say they wouldn't make the party due to the roads. Obviously Mom, Dad, and Alice would not be there so our party was small. We ate pizza at the Pizza R

11 years ago today, Jacob was born. I always  reminisce  the day and tell the kids lots of details. He has really matured and is a great kid. It is fun to see his unique  interests  in things that are vintage and antique.   Today it feels like January. It only got up to 18 degrees today, very cold and wintery. The ground is covered with a fresh layer of glistening snow. The kids didn’t mind the cold. We stayed home today, no church. Rylie got to  spend  two nights and the boys have had so much fun. They made several trips out in the cold to pull sleds behind 4 wheelers. Sounds crazy I agree. I would make them come in after an hour, so cold and red cheeked. That didn't stop them. After they warmed up and I dried gloves, they were back at it some more. Jake told us this was one of the best birthdays.

 I got a full report from Mom, that Dad was able to sleep and today he is showing improvement. He had been up walking and starting to eat soft food. Getting that gall bladder out made a big improvement. We did not go to the hospital today. I stayed home and cleaned. Jayden helped Karen and cleaned at the shop, Jacob washed and  vacuumed  her Suburban. In the evening we went to Tim’s 50 th birthday party with all the relatives.  Mark stayed home and rested with a head cold.  We brought Rylie home to spend the night so Jake could have a special birthday. Luke stayed with Karen and Orrie, so the "Big boys" could not be bothered by a little brother. They went to bed late and were having so much fun giggling while playing Xbox racing games.

Jayden watched Jacob and Luke to Mark and I could go to the hospital. My dad’s surgery started at 3 and finished around 5:30. We got there around 4 and sat with Alice and Mom to  help  the time go by. The doctors removed his gall bladder and  removed some fluid on his bladder that has been preventing his bladder from working after his last surgery.  We got to hear the doctors reports after surgery. They think he still has a small stone embedded in the bile duct and are going to leave the stent in for a month or so. At a better time when he is healthier they will go in and remove both. HE did not need to go straight to the ICU after his surgery, which was the initial plan. It was a relief and answered prayers to finally get him through the surgery.

Is this the forecast for November or January? I can’t believe the cold for this time of year. We dropped from 60 to 20 with snow in a big hurry. It looks like it is here to stay. It came so sudden we didn't get a chance to winterize anything. The horses need to grow a winter coat in a hurry. The cats and dog have been sleeping in the garage and don't want to go outside.  This changes a lot of plans. No running strip tills all fall for Mark. In a few days the ground will freeze.I guess it forces us indoors to rest. Just look at this forecast. Jayden was supposed to go to a breakaway horse clinic on Monday in an unheated arena. Brr. Just look at the lows each day.

We woke up to a white snow covered ground and temps in the 20’s. Today Dad was scheduled for gall  bladder  surgery. They took xrays and did a CAT scan  in the morning and decided he was not ready. His lungs are giving him trouble and there is fluid in around them. Jayden and I went over to the hospital to see him. He was so weak he could barely talk. It took such effort to say anything. He did not know the surgery was delayed when I first got there. He said staying one more day is not going to make him any better. He said every night there is hell. It broke my heart to see him so miserable and then to hear he wasn’t going to have his surgery for two more days. He is feeling so discouraged. His CPAP quit in the night and I suspect that played a role in his lungs. They got another one up and running for him today. As soon as they got it up and running, he strapped it on and slept. I pray that will help a lot. The doctors also put him on stronger antibiotic. Alice has been rotating with

At 2:00 it was 60 degrees, the sun was shinning and it seemed kind of nice out. Jake went with Grandpa Po to help move Anderlik’s cattle. He was happy to go and drove his 4 wheeler. Jadyen and I caught the horses and went to ride in the indoor arena. After about an hour the temperature seemed to drop and the wind picked up. You could almost see the cold front moving in. By 4:00 Jake had driven home because Po had left him to go get something and he got tired and cold from waiting. He said he felt like he had been waiting an hour, which was probably true. The temps kept dropping. Jayden and I rode then gave Alivia her riding lesson. At 5:30 when lessons were over, we walked out of the indoor arena to a blast of cold. It was frigid out 33 degrees and the strong wind made it feel much colder. We hurried to get horses unsaddled, put away and fed. I could not believe the weather change, it was like the middle of winter. I think I almost frostbit my hands. When I came inside my hands were r

After church we met with the Burr’s for lunch. It has been a long time since we have gotten together because of harvest. Although we did not meet for bible study, we did have a great time catching up. We ate at Hickory Park and celebrated birthday ice cream for Jake, Jayden, and Angela. After lunch we went to see Dad at the hospital. He just had such a sad look in his eyes and makes me feel so bad. He has just been so miserable uncomfortable for so long. He was in his chair constantly changing position. You can see that he is discomfort and he said most of his pain now is his low back. Friday night the doctors gave Dad a tranquilizer for pain and he had a bad reaction. It made him act angry and out of sorts. Mom and Alice had to see him like that and he had to have a nurse in his room constantly monitoring him.  Fortunately  he is over that and his test results are looking better. He just has to gain some strength and get his lung capacity better before he can have surgery. Luke was

Wahoo, we can celebrate we finished harvest today. We got the corn in before the snow fell. It is always a big relief when harvest is over. I know the men are exhasted tired and it has been a long, hard, intense fall. I ran out to the field with Luke to make the very last pass in the combine with Luke.

Jayden had her first babysitting job for the neighbor kids. She was not looking forward to it and was very nervous. Two years ago she was begging me to find someone, anyone that had kids she could babysit. The neighbor kids all ride the bus with Luke and adore him. Jane is in his class and one of his best friends. They live about 3 miles away, so mom could make a quick dash there if she needed anything. Jayden took her babysitting "Fun Kit" that she put together for 4H. She babysat from 5:30 until 10:30. It was a long night for her and she was extra tired from her sleepover the night before. I think she enjoyed it and the kids were good for her. She said they had made cupcakes for her since it was close to her birthday. They also had a goodie bag of treats for her. Jane made a crochet string, and Levi painted a mini pumpkin for her, It was sweet. Katie paid Jayden $60 which was way more than expected. I thought $5 an hour would have been sufficient. She paid over $10 an hour,

Jayden wanted to celebrate her birthday by having a sleepover and making cupcakes, so that is exactly what she did. Makenna came around 4:00 and the two girls baked and decorated 3 dozen cupcakes. The had fun and giggled as they decorated. At 6:30 Maggie and Jaynie joined the party. I had mini pizza crusts made for the girls so all they had to do was top and bake. The boys were in the field with Mark until later when I brought them home. Luke was pretty excited, which transfers into pure goofy. Jayden also has been collecting boxes and items for Operation Christmas Child. She had the girls get in on stuffing the boxes. They had a system of organizing and packing that made itfun. In total they had 15 boxes packed.  Next they decided to do each others make-up. Around 10PM they started the movie “Divergent” which I had pre-watched and knew they would all loved it. The movie got over around 12:30 when Jacob crawled out of the secret hiding place by the fireplace and exclaims,”that was

Jayden had her orthodontist appointment to get her new braces, or should I say the modern version known as invisalign. When I was in high school I had to get braces and most kids that get them even today have the metal braces. The new modern invisalign are smooth invisible liners that go over your teeth. They are so slick. She has to take them out before she eats or drinks anything. That may not be too handy, but it has to beat getting food caught in your braces. Jayden will have to wear them up to a year. Jacob was with us today too. After the appointment, we went to see Grandpa in the hospital. He was sitting in a chair and very tired. He didn’t talk much, told Jake he wasn't good company and got to his bed to sleep. He looks so miserable and sick. He is still in so much pain and his back is the worst. The bed is uncomfortable and he can do nothing but lay on his back. I feel so bad for him and we all pray for him to get better. He was so wiped out, he just wanted to sleep. Mom

Today was Jayden’s 15 th birthday. My little girl is growing into a beautiful young lady. I am so proud of her in so many ways. She is a great kid and we are so blessed.   She got to sleep in and have a short school day. She opened her gifts, most of which were horse related. I would say her horse got the goods today. She received a big balloon bouquet delivered to our door from Grandma along with some cash. Grammer came by and gave her a cute new purse and more cash.   Today Mark got the combine stuck twice in the new field by Dwights. He also was running and sunk in a soft spot causing the auger head to bump the grain cart and come off. The 4 th   time this fall that has happened. After Luke got home from school we headed to Ames for taekwondo and AWANA. While Luke was in AWANA Jayden and I went to visit Grandpa in the hospital. The kids made a get well banner they put in his room where he could look at it. Wade, Carina, and Alivia, and Alice were there too. Grandpa looked pr

 The string of problems continue. Today the clutch went out on the semi. We thought Dad’s surgery would be today, but it has been postponed because of problems from the scope they did yesterday. Some of the fluids got into his pancreas and now he has pancreatitis. This is very serious and he has to have another scope done and they will put in a stent to keep the fluid from going into the pancreas. All talk of surgery is on hold until his pancreas heals. I went to the hospital in the late afternoon to see Dad and brought him some balloons. He had the second scope and was still pretty relaxed and pain free from the sedation. He asked me questions and talked to me. He knew what was going on and for the most part he said he didn’t know if he was in any pain. He would talk to me for a few minutes, then sleep for a few. He did this the whole time. I held his hand and prayed with him, Alice, and Mom. Mom and I  went  for supper before heading home. Mom plans to stay with Dad, and Alice, bein

 Today the grain cart had a breakdown. This time there was no easy fix and a cart had to be brought from the Harcourt dealer to finish harvest. My Dad started  having pains Sunday and went to the hospital. These pains were the same excruciating pains he was having after his last surgery. Today they discovered it is his Gall bladder. It is all making sense now. Instead of doing surgery right away, they did a scope. He has sludge in his gall bladder and is very  jaundice .  

While Jake was riding in the field up at the Dayton farm, somehow he got hooked up with cousin Rylie. The two of them were having a great time and I got a phone call asking if Jake could spend the night with Rylie. Sounded like a plan to me. i was happy for Jacob  because  he only gets to their house about once a year and is so  excited  when the chance comes up. They were supposed to go coon hunting with Troy, but that never happened. The boys had a blast anyway. They played outside and in the timber, and watched a movie until late. Jake told me several times the next week that Rylie told him he wished he lived closer. That made Jake feel good. I think they had some much needed  cousin  time. Jake told me he slept in the basement on the couch. He also told me to my disapproval that Torrie and her boyfriend  slept  next door in her room. Wow, that was disappointing to hear. I don't want to hinder Jacob from going to their house, but that is not acceptable.