The Muench Bunch

Jake has been part of a great group of boys in his youth group for the past 3 years. They are good freinds to him and he enjoys hanging around them. He has wanted to have the boys out to visit our farm. We talked about it last summer and tried to plan something but just got too busy. This spring semester the small group encouraged the boys to have get togethers and with that we were trying to get a plan in action. The weather just wouldn't cooperate for the month of April with cold and snow. We finally got a date on the calendar and started planning. All 3 youth leaders said the could come so we sent out the invitation and started working. We picked up sticks and gathered brush even from Grandmas. We were going to have a big bon fire. We mowed, weeded, picked up, and cleaned up. Jake organized and swept the shop. He got his truck cleaned and shined inside and out. He couldn't wait to show his truck, his new puppy, his chickens, his 4 wheelers, his room,  the whole farm. This wa

 We had the most graduation invitations ever! Typically we have 2 or 3 in a year. This year we had 26. Several were obviously classmates of Jayden, however there were a lot of friends and family as well. My college roommate Teng's daughter Jasmine, high school friend Jolene's daughter Jordan, and high school friend's daughter Emma, were all graduates. Crazy! Some of the graduation parties we had time conflicts, and some were out of state or too far to travel. The ones that were close and we could get too, I tried my best to make an appearance. It was super fun to see how each person decorated and what food the had and pictures were displayed. We had a party every weekend the whole month of May and into June. Jayden made an extra effort to make sure to attend one of her Dayton friends parties and showed up an hour early so she could see her friend before leaving for a rodeo. Sadly the friend made not attempt to attend hers or give recognition of not being able to make it. I

The heat is on.... It is much too soon for this kind of heat. We are still in the month of May and have been in the 90's several days in a row. What happened to spring!?? We went from several days of snow in April to hot summer temperatures in May. I am beginning to dislike living here in Iowa more all the time. The forecast calls for more heat and humidity. The heat feels like the 4th of July heat, not Memorial weekend. The weather meteorologist said the record high for this date, May 27th is 91 degrees, well we shattered it!! It was 91 degrees at 8:00 in the morning. Currently as I write this, the temperature is 100 degrees and will remain that until 6PM. Those bugs!!!!!!!! Tuesday May 22nd, the heat was in the high 80's and the bugs came out of nowhere. The little tiny flies I have heard referred to as black flies and buffalo gnats. There were swarms of them that would get in your face, ears, hair, and you couldn't get away from them. That was bad enough, but they also

My back locked up on me... I googled what I could about my back and without any recollection of an injury or trauma, the only other obvious cause was stress. What!? You could say I have stress going on in my life and it seems these last few days it has just piled on! Graduation is nearing and with it, Grandma sends a daily text or two or three and a phone call with something new to think about with graduation. It is on my mind daily as it draws near. I didnt want to want put all my time and focus on it for weeks and weeks,  and not worry over it until the week before. That isn't happening. Jayden has been searching for a horse and is on mission  to drop everything and go. On 3 other occasions, she was ready to go look and each time the horse sold before she could go see it. Mark was ready to send her on an airplane to go see one. I kind of thought he lost his mind. Jayden wants to go now, like take off literally tomorrow. Mark originally said he could go and now says she should

God knew I needed a best friend, so he gave me a daughter... Jayden is my best friend. We get along like sisters, probably better. We dont fight, just get annoyed with each other, but very rarely. We have the best times together. She makes me smile and laugh. She can cheer me up and put me in a good mood. She is an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on. I am the same for her. We think alike, sometimes all it takes is one glance and we can read each others mind. We can see something or someone and one glance is all it takes. Nothing needs to be said because we are both thinking it. Sometimes that oe look can makes us laugh hysterically. WE can finish each other sentences. We can share each others clothes, shoes, and jewelry. I find myself wearing clothes that she no longer likes to wear. I can wear all but her jeans. Some jeans, however, I can fit into. Her legs are longer. We are always doing hair and make-up side by sine in the mirror. She spends much longer on her make-up, I dab on

2018 Graduate... On May 19, our family attended a graduation ceremony for Jayden. It was held at a church in Des Moines for high school graduates that were part of the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators (NICHE). I wanted to have a special celebration for her graduation and for her to be recognized, cross the stage, and get her diploma. I signed Jayden up and we ordered her blue hat and gown. She thought she looked like a giant blueberry the first time she tried it on. Both grandparents, minus Po who recently had surgery, along with Aunt Alice attended. None of the other relatives attended, however Jayden's teaching supervisor also came. It was a great ceremony with a guest speaker who gave a great talk on valuing your time. He gave examples of how quickly our life goes by and to make the most of our lives for the glory of God. Then each graduate walked to the stage along with parents and we gave our child their diploma. Jayden handed me a rose and we hugged and stood for a

A year ago Jayden went to a Cody Keller horsemanship clinic and really enjoyed it. She has stayed in contact with the clinician and asked him questions over the year. She has been anxious to attend another one of his clinics. She signed up for a 4 day clinic, but could only go for 2 of the days due to her graduation. She was sad to miss out on the whole time, but happy to get to go. She had two horses she wanted to take with loads of questions to ask. She took her young horse Summer just turned 3 and her big bay gelding who just turned 5. She took the big Bloomer all by herself and drove down to Osceola and stayed for the clinic. When you really think about all that entails, it is dedication. She packs the trailer with all she needs for herself and horses, hay, feed, buckets, tack. She loads two horses and hauls over 2 hours to a place she has never been. She has to back and turn into a tight area in the driveway and set up her trailer for the night. She unloads horses, tacks up, rides

A Typical Day... The alarm goes off early, bright and early at 5:30 AM for Mark. He gets up and starts his morning routine of watching the news, getting breakfast, doing some stretches and he is out the door by 7. He heads to the shop where he starts his day and will either be running the planter or the Salford. My alarm goes off at 6:45 and I am slowly out of bed before 7. I say my goodbyes to Mark and start to get moving. I wake the kids at 7:30, Jake and Jayden are the last out of bed close to 8. We start school at 8:30 with morning devo, then a little Spanish. We are winding down the school year so trying to keep it simple with Math, Writing, and Reading. We finish up by noon and I try to get lunch on the table at 12:30. Lunch is my biggest challenge of the day. I have never enjoyed cooking and always scramble to whip something up. I don like quick easy mac cheese, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, or ham sandwiches, which most families do. I want to be healthier in our eating and I want

On May 14, I had my 10th Krav class, which meant I had to pass my first test. We had a large group for class that night, 13 all together. I am really enjoying the class and so is Jayden. She wasn't so sure at first, but has grown to love it. I really enjoy the mother daughter time and also a great work out. I feel my muscles getting stronger and my body getting in better shape. Things that hurt and made me sore at first, aren't bothering me at all. The other day, Jayden looked at me and said, "Wow mom you've got some big gins!" She had me show them off to her and we decided to take a picture in the mirror of the two of us. I figured I better get some pictures now because I may never be this fit again. It does feel pretty good to be 43 and in better shape than I have probably been in for 20 years. I also like the fact that the class is self defense not only for myself but also for Jayden. It makes her more aware of her surroundings and prepares you in a position of

Grandpa Wahlert (Peepaw), wanted to help Jake get his Farmall M going. It has been a work in progress. Grandpa took him to pick out tractor rims and tires. Together they went and picked them out, then one day Grandpa surprised Jake and showed up at our house with a trailer and the tires on back. WOW! That was quiet a surprise and Jake was excited. That was very generous of Grandpa to get those tires, a big expense he paid for Jake. That is something Jake will always remember!

Jake had been wanting a dog for over a year. Our requirement was that he attend a few dog obedience classes and research a dog. He found a breed that he really wanted and found a pup in Iowa. It is a Japanese bred of dog called a Shib Inu. Jake had to work for the dog and pay for half. All his money he earned for 45 hours in the field went to pay for half the dog. Mark and I helped with the other half. He was a high priced little dog. All 3 kids were excited to see the little dog, so they made the trip with me to get him. We drove an hour to Arcadia, Iowa. We saw the puppies parents and Rosco. He was a little 10 week old small ball of energy. He was making laps around the kitchen table. He was so excited you could barely pet him. That made me nervous, I am not a fan of hyper little dogs. We got in the car to have a family conference and talk about the dog. Jacob was already in love and there was no turning back. Jake handed over the money and they handed over the pup. Jake was all smil

The weeks kind of roll together. Monday and Wednesday nights we head to Ames for taekwondo and Krav Maga classes. Some nights we take a sack lunch and some nights we eat out. Some nights are sunny and warm, others are storming and raining. The first week of May was lightning storms and not long ago it was snowing and now 70 and 80 degrees. During the week the boys had a homeschool art class on drawing animals. Both boys had some awesome drawings, Jake a wolf and Luke a fox and a horse. They really enjoyed the class. Mark and I had a date night because he got rained out of the field. He was tired from planting and I was stressed from homeschool and we both needed it. We had a half hour massage and went out to dinner. Jayden took her brothers to 209 Main so she didnt have to cook. The first of May Orrie had knee surgery and we went down to see him the following day. He never stopped talking to the nurses the whole time we were there. 5 different nurses came in and out and he told us a