The Muench Bunch

Feb 23-28 To start the week, the temps were well below zero as Luke ran to the bus. Every morning he runs to the school bus as fast as his little legs will go. I am sure the cold is a good motivator. Today Jacob made hard tack for part of his history lesson. He is learning about the food civil war soldiers ate. Hard tack is as hard as a brick and will last up to 3 years. Yummy. Jayden decided she wanted to make a pie. It took a couple phone calls to Grammer, but she made the pie with pie crust from scratch and it turned out delicious.    Tuesdays excitement, Jacob had a loose dangling molar tooth that he pulled. After he pulled it, he got to messing with another tooth, exactly opposite of the one he just lost, and pop, out that one came and it accidently fell in the sink drain. The tooth fairy still brought $5. Wednesday public school was cancelled before the first snowflake fell, based on the upcoming 6-10 inch snowfall. We still did school and Luke had a few things to do, reading,

2/8/15 The week was cold, bitterly cold by Wed and Thursday mornings,-15 and -22. That is so cold. Friday it started to warm up and Seven Oaks had another Homeschool ski day, so I took the kids and hit the slopes at 3:00. I was a taxi today after Jayden and Jacob did school, I drove them to an art class in Ogden, then drove to Dayton to get Luke from school, then back to Ogden to get the kids, then on to Boone to ski. I knew it would be a great day to ski and it was. The temperature was around 40 so we weren’t cold at all. There was fresh new snow and plenty of it thanks to the recent snow storm. It was great and the kids were all having a good time and nobody fell the whole day. Mark came for an hour and watched the kids too. It is hard for him not to ski. I told him by the time his hip is all healed and he is ready to ski, the kids won’t be beginners anymore and we can all ski together. I still haven’t had any luck getting Luke on the chair lift yet. We alternated going on the big

 Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. It is by faith we understand that the whole world was made by God's command so what we see was made by something that cannot be seen. Faith in God is a gift one must choose to see. Our three children are in different places in their faith. Jayden has had a strong faith and belief in Christ since a very young age. She has grasped some big deep topics with questions and finding answers. She reads God’s word and soaks in as much as she can from the bible, sermons, and youth group. She understand what it means to be a Christ follower. She is what I would call grounded in her faith. Jacob is full of questions; he is confused and has doubts. He hears the Old Testament bible stories and questions how these things could have really happened. He cannot wrap his mind around the fact that anyone, even Jesus could possibly be without sin. His mind is always thinking and questionin

 After returning from Florida the temperature stayed cold, dropping into the negatives several days. It makes me want to jump back on a plane and head to Florida. Although, even Florida was getting cold weather after we left with days in the 40’s. We were very fortunate to have warm weather while we were there. Thursday I took the kids to a horse project meeting and Friday Jayden and I rode horses. In the evening we got out an old (1979) board game called “The Farming Game”. Mark and I played this game at my parents when we were engaged. Jake wasn’t too into the game and after 10 minutes was done. Luke on the other hand was so into it. It is similar to monopoly and moves very slow. After about an hour with Mark, Jayden, Luke, and I we were getting tired. We told Luke it was time to be done. He was so disappointed real big tears were streaming down his cheeks. I told him I would play 3 more dice rolls. That made him stop crying. After I finished the game, he played another 20 minutes b

Feb14-18 Mark and I took a little vacation to Florida. Mark likes to go to the same places, so we flew to Clearwater Beach just like last year. We booked a room at the Sandpearl, a 5 star hotel on the beach. We got the Valentine package so the rates were the same as all the others in the area. I felt like royalty staying there. It was fabulous, but I did feel indulgent, out of place, and wished the kids were along. I don’t think we will have another trip like that for a long time. So for the stay I decided to enjoy it to the fullest. In front of the hotel on a daily basis you saw,  porches , BMW, Camaro, corvette, Jaguar, and very fancy vehicles pull up for  valet  parking. The hotel was elaborate, high vaulted ceilings  throughout  , even the rooms. We had an incredible view from our room, looking straight out over the ocean and over the pool. It was dreamy with the palm trees and view. The sun was shinning when we arrived, but the temperature stayed below 60 and breezy. We took a

This week has been cold and windy, lows dropped into the negatives and wind made the week very bitter. Jayden has been bored in the afternoons and spends too much time on her iphone. The electronics are getting the best of us. They make me so upset. The boys beg to play the XBOX and computer or apps. I just can't seem to keep the kids occupied enough without craving to be on the electronics. I started a weekly schedule and so far 2 weeks in, it is working. Each night of the week we have a designated nightly activity to replace the electronics and tv every night of the week. Mondays we all find a book and everyone reads, tv off. Tuesday is movie night.  Wednesday  I am in Ames all evening with Jayden and Luke for church activities and Mark and Jake have a night together. Jake always has lots of game time and tv.  Thursday  is family devotion night. Friday is game night, preferably board games, and the weekend is free. Even with a schedule the kids manage to get in extra electronic

While we were away the kids t he stayed at the house for a couple days with my parents and a couple nights with mark's parents.   They went to a cattle show in Des Moines with Grammer and Po. They had to walk a long way in the bitter cold 5 degrees. The Ferrari's and Anderlik's showed cattle.  Jayden enjoyed hanging out with cousin Jossie. These two blondies sure are photogenic. Here's a little irony of the cattle shows. It was cold and Jayden and the boys all wore their Carhartt's. This is a brand of clothing for the farmers, and ranchers of the world. It is well known, good quality coats and coveralls and clothing line. Being a cattle show, you would think all these country kids would wear farm coats and Carharrtt. Not so, the cattle showing can be summed up as, "It's all about the bling!" It is so showy, not just how your cow looks, it is more about what the person is wearing and how blinged up they are with fancy cowboy boots, name brand blingy j

  The week started with a 50 degree day. I was so excited to get outside and enjoy it. . The wind was blowing so to me it was not a nice 50 degree day, I was cold the whole time I was out. I was anticipating warm and didn’t have a heavy enough coat.  We had a new little horse the neighbors were letting us try out. Jake got to ride her for the first time today. Luke rode her on Saturday. I think he likes her and he got along well with her. She is little and cute, but has her own little attitude too. She has separation anxiety and gets real nervous when alone.. We had a vet check and she didn’t pass with flying colors, but she is a teenager (10-15), could gain quite a bit of weight, and will need some work, but all in all I think she will be a fit. Jayden rode every day this week except for the weekend. I did some riding too. Friday night the kids spent the night with my parents. My high school was having the very last basketball game and alumni recognition. We had plans, so Jayden took