The Muench Bunch

Written by Jayden 1/30/15 To you this looks like a regular horse. Just a plain, ordinary horse. But, you are wrong. He is my perfect horse, the horse I have always dreamed of finding. The horse I hoped for when I was little, and had to deal with a pony. He is my sidekick, my partner in crime, my therapy, my escape route, my best friend. He is so willing, so trusting, patient, smart, and sweet. He forgives me when I give him confusing cues, work him too hard, when I feed him a few hours late, when his cinch is too tight, or his bit is twisted. He follows me without any rope or tie, he is so willing to give his all when he runs, he keeps me company when I clean the barn. He checks my pockets for treats, and always wants attention. He is gentle enough for my little brothers to catch and lead him, but fast enough to place in a barrel race. Every perfect horse has scars, bad habits, annoying quirks. He is petrified of plastic bags and Birds, can be really lazy, or too energetic an all

Luke is very emotional, luckily he can go from tears to giggles in seconds. He has the silliest giggles and laughs easily. He is a happy go lucky kid and most of the time in a good mood. He loves his brother and sister, yet they can drive each other crazy. Luke reads well and has a knack for math. He is involved in AWANA memorizing lots of scripture verses without much difficulty. He is serious about taekwondo, listens to his instructor, practices and does well. He has tested up belts 4 times and has his camo belt. He is my super sweet lovey boy. He is growing up way too fast.

a 1/25/15 We put on a big birthday party for Luke. The idea formed in the last few weeks. In asking Luke what he would like to do for his birthday, he decided on a family birthday party at Hidden Acres. He is not big on swimming and I did not want the responsibility of watching little kids in the pool, so we decided not to use the pool and make sure everyone knew that on the invitation. Luke picked out camouflage army for his theme. Later, the idea occurred to have a nerf gun party.The ideas were endless once I got on pinterest and a fun party was in the making. I mentioned the idea to my mom and she went right to work with decorations and targets. We also came up with fun themed snack ideas. We created some targets and and made a cute invitation. The party was set and I invited family and quite a few friends. The party was at 4:00 and I thought we had the center rented as long as we needed. It put quite a cramp in my night when I realized the whole party had to be over at 6:00. Mom

My little boy is growing up. It is always the hardest to watch the baby in the family grow up. It makes me sad. My sweet, happy go lucky, fun, bright little boy just turned 7.  Luke was up bright and early for his birthday. He got to opne his gifts from us before school. A little tired, but very excited, he opened his Nerf Gun remote control creature. he has been talking about it for a month. I found it on Amazon in a damaged box for half the price, but brand new. He was excited to get it. After school we stayed in and celebrated with a relaxed evening. The big celebration would soon be here. I had big ideas for a fun cake for Luke's party. I was planning on making all the food, beefburgers, beans, chips, sides, and the cake. After attempting the cake I realized why people buy cakes and just how hard it really is. i made homeade frosting and a camouflage cake. It was delicious, but it looked terrible. I wish I could have said Luke made it.

 1/19/15 Monday was MLK day and a homeschool discounted ski day in Boone. We took the opportunity and went. The kids and I skied with Grandma and Grandpa watching. The first half of the morning was not so fun. We were on the rope tow going down the bunny hill over and over. Every time up the rope tow a kid would fall and we would not get all the way to the top. It was such a struggle and I was losing my patience. I really wanted to get the kids off the bunny hill and finally enjoy the real hills and chair lifts. Jake and Jayden were skiing so good and Luke had gone down the hill 3 times by himself. I tried to get them to the chair lifts. I almost had Luke on the chair when he pulled away screaming. There was no getting him up to the top. Jake and Jayden got to the top and Jacob froze, for a very long time.  I convinced him to go down, but he was so nervous and did not enjoy it at all. I was not enjoying myself and did not want to go back on the rope tow hill. The boys took a break wit

1/18/15 The week was mild, very cold on Monday, then gradually warmed up throughout the week into the 30’s and even near 50 by Sunday. The weather has been so sporadic all winter and fall. Wednesday Mark & Jacob tagged along with us for a typical Wednesday night. As soon as Luke got off the bus we headed to taekwondo. After that we took Luke to AWANA and Jayden to her youth group. Typically I would then go to bible study, but it has not started up for the semester yet. I have been doing this same routine for a year and tonight was the first time Mark realized what we actually do. He couldn’t believe Luke goes to taekwondo and AWANA in one night. He was in awe of all the shuffling around that I do. It wore him out just riding along. We also eat sack lunches on the way each night. Tonight Mark, Jake and I went out to eat. I felt guilty knowing Jayden and Luke ate sack lunch while we ate out. It was Mark’s pick and we ate at Texas Roadhouse. Over the weekend, Friday Makenna came an

 It is very rare to have school cancelled due to cold temperatures. I am so glad the schools have enough sense to do so. I kept Luke home on Monday because it was bitter cold and a snow storm was expected with 6-8 inches of snow. They did ended up with an early out, but I did not want him stuck on a school bus somewhere and he is the last one off the bus.  Tuesday was a late start day. Then it got bitter, high of -5, with wind chills as low as -40 on the 7th and school was cancelled.  Schools were delayed on the 8th, but homeschool must go on. If we school on the cold days, we can take off and enjoy the sunny warm days in the spring. The kids have had a hard time getting back in the groove of school this semester. We have been taking it easy, starting an hour later and having a lighter load. It is hard with Luke home and keeping him occupied. He doesn’t think he should have to do school on a snow day. It is hard on the animals in this cold. Jayden put the horses in stalls on Monday a

Mark had gone shopping. He frequently goes to Thiesens, buys some new socks, t-shirts, and maybe more blue jeans. Today he came home with bib overalls. I thought it was a joke. He was dead serious about starting to wear them regularly to work. No!?! I was shocked and could do nothing more than tease him. His Grandpa used to wear them 7 days a week and his Dad occasionally wears them. Oh my word, he is too young to wear them. They are for the over 65 crowd for sure. The more I teased the more he was serious. I told the kids about it and showed them Dad's new purchase. For several days we teased and the kids too could not believe he would consider wearing them. The kids put on his overalls and teased him about old men wearing them.

Money is a funny thing. It is a sensitive subject. You do not ask someone how much money they make, how much they paid for something like a house or car. Money can cause a lot of trouble in a home, spending too much and not having enough. Managing money is a challenge for everyone. In America people have such an abundance, they spend money on electronics, vehicles, homes, and entertainment. Some have so much money to blow they have multiple homes, cars, and boats. While at the same time miles away people are starving, without enough food to sustain them, no money, no cars, a dirt floor home. It is a sad reality. Money is a hard thing even for me to comprehend in my own home. I feel like all money we have is from the Lord. He blesses us with the money we make. He gives us talents, the ability, and the resources. If he blesses us so much, it is not our money, but his so we should use it to bless others. If we are blessed beyond our basic needs, then the money should be given. Most coupl

"Just My Opinion" of  Professional Athletes. I watched a show about NBA and NFL players. The average player makes 3 to 5 million dollars. There are some athletes that get drafted for up to 275 million dollars. This amount does not  include  the amount of endorsements they get. One player signed a contract for 90 million for endorsements of shoes. That amount of money is mind blowing. No human alive should be allowed to own that kind of money.  People place athletes so high on a  podium , they are worshiped and  idolized .  Humans are created to worship. If not God, I guess sports are next on the list.  These same  millionaire  athletes, end up going broke after they get out of the NBA or NFL because they can’t manage money. Are you kidding me?  At the college level the coaches get paid in the millions. I wonder how many of these  millionaire's  give of their money to help the needy, to help in disasters, etc.. Or is it all for their own personal indulgent and luxuriou

Our family headed to Des Moines for a family weekend outing. On Friday, we went to the Jordan Creek Mall, ate at a Mongolian grill, then did some shopping. I have a terrible time shopping. Either the prices seem to high, the quality too cheap, or I don’t like the look or fit. Later we checked in at the Drury hotel and let the kids swim. The pool was an indoor/ outdoor pool and with temps in the 20’s it made the pool a bit cold for us. Jake had no problem, he swam under and was outdoors swimming around. I stayed in the hot tub. Last, we went out for dinner at an  Italian  restaurant.  On Saturday, we enjoyed the  continental  breakfast choice of  giant waffle, oatmeal, fruit, eggs, sausage,  hash browns , or pastries. Next we headed to Bloomfield and on to Brad and Suzy’s for the big surprise party for Uncle LaVern. We celebrated his 80th birthday. Surprise parties always confuse people with the start time. The party was 2-4:00, meaning the guest of honor arrives at 2. However, peopl

I enjoy writing my blogs, it is  relaxing  and something I really look forward to. With three kids always wanting and needing the computer, I rarely get time to type these blogs. I write my blogs to remember. To remember the fun times, hard times, and sad times we have shared as a family. Times we have shared with friends and relatives, special occasions and everyday life. These are moments of our life that we can never do over, that will be lost if not written down. Times are changing all around us from culture, politics, trends, and technology. It is neat to look back in time and see where we were and where we are. Over time, our memories of the details are forgetten, but those things that ware written will not be. I hope that my kids and family will treasure these blogs and share them in the generations to come.