The Muench Bunch

Tuesday we had roping practice at our arena. This was a big deal,roping with live cattle in our arena using the new alley and chutes Mark bought and installed himself. I was not there for the very first roping night, but this time I was. Tucker and CJ brought the steers. They were a handful and it took several runs for them to know where to run into the chute and get used to things. Jayden roped with Astro a few times. It made me nervous to watch her go so fast! I am used to her on Tex and doing hot heels. I rode Tex and Summer just to give them some exercise. Tony, Tucker and CJ all roped and all had their wives there and Cash to watch. At one point I was chatting with the ladies, Amanda, Kahala, Tuckers mom, and Katie. I saw Jayden chasing a steer on Astro roping. She looked like she was absolutely flying. As I was watching her horse went past the end and kept running around the corner going so fast!. I thought, oh dear, she can't stop him. He kept flying full speed and was head

I was childcare helper for church in the 3/4 year old classroom. My class the 3/4 lead teacher did not show and the 2 year room, which is adjacent, the teacher did not show either, so we combined and had 17 energetic kids. That was way too many for two adults. Remember we are talking about ages 2 to 4. When one teacher was changing a diaper and a little girl told me she needed to go potty bad, I knew we were in trouble. I ended up pulling my 3 kids out of the service to help in the class. It was a zoo in the class with that many kids. They were busy playing and all over the room. One of the two year olds' favorite thing to do was to hit everyone or grab their toys out of their hand or throw toys at them. It was an interesting time. I am trying to do my part and serve, but sometimes it isn't easy. In the afternoon Ali had a wedding planning day with both grandparents, Blake's mom and grandma, Anderlik's and Ferrari's,and  my mom all came to help.  We went over a lot

RVP~1875 - the world’s leading historical furniture shop and museum, is located in the century-old Milligan Lumber Grain & Coal building in Jefferson, Iowa. Owner, Robby Pedersen, is a Master Furniture Maker with over 25 years experience, who has built over 800 pieces of historically accurate furniture using only the tools, techniques and finishes used in 1875 Iowa. On display is one of the largest working sets of 19th Century woodworking tools anywhere. The shop features an 1860’s foot-powered lathe, an 1870’s hand-crank ripsaw, and over 500 different hand planes. The showroom displays over 100 pieces of furniture, each with a story of historical significance. Robby passionately shares his love of historic furniture making and how it relates to Iowa history with his visitors.  Our homeschool group got to be part of a great workshop at the 1875 historical furniture shop. We were given the history, tour, and got to do a hands on project. The boys loved every bit of it. They got

Bright and early Sunday morning Mark took Jake to the Cornerstone church where he departed at 6AM and headed to South Dakota. In January the opportunity to go on a spring break trip to the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota appealed to Jake. I told him he could see if any of the guys in his youth group would be going. He told me even if they don't he still wanted to go.  I was so excited for his enthusiasm and his obedience to God calling him to serve. As it got closer he was a little nervous but still excited. The unknown is something that makes anyone anxious. We had him all packed and ready with the agenda and do's and don'ts of the trip. There were lots of instructions about what to bring and not bring along with how to deal with the inevitable head lice and bed bugs. Oh boy! They rolled out of Ames in 2 vans pulling Uhaul trailers loaded with supplies and gear. It was a long road taking them 12 hours. They did have time to drive through and see the Badlands. Jake

Typically we don't take our spring break week like many schools, we just take off when the weather is really nice in the spring. Since Jake was going to be gone all week on his Pine Ridge trip, and Jayden was home from college for the week, we took a Spring break. Our week went fast and was full. Monday, Jayden, Mawgee, and I went shopping in Des Moines. Our first stop was Stacey's bridal to look for a mother of the bride dress. The first one I saw on the rack was the one I liked and the one I bought. It was a size 4 and fit like a glove. I loved everything about it, the color, the material, the length even has a little train. We had lunch and went to the mall. I didn't make another purchase all day. I find it hard to shop in the mall, Jayden feels the same. I made it back in time to drop Jayden off at home and head back to Boone for my last bible study of the semester. We went through the book of Acts and discussed Paul's journeys. Tuesday Luke worked at the Jones&#

I was asked through a freind at church if I would consider speaking in a discussion panel at church during a Women's night. I had been to womens retreats and seen discussion panels at Cornerstone. These Women were always well spoken, confident, and knowledgeable of the bible women. This was way out of my comfort zone and the last thing I wanted to do and  no way was my instant thought. I knew that I should not respond with a big No, which would have been the easy way. Instead I prayed about it and I pondered over it. I was nervous every time I thought about it. I was asked a month ago and had so much going on with my aunts, that I felt I had a good excuse to get out of it. Then I realized, God doesn't want my excuses, he wants me, he wants me to be real. I was asked for a reason and I should not turn it down. I figured if God wanted me to do this, he will help me get though it. It was way out of my comfort zone, but maybe that was the point. The 4 of us that were asked were all

Jayden's horse Joker needed to get his shoes done before taking him to Oklahoma.  Jayden had to drive to our farrier's home in Stratford. He lives in the country and his driveway is down off a hill. The roads have been snow packed. When Jayden got to his place and went to make the turn, she started sliding. As she did the trailer swung around and jack knifed. She said it was very scary and if she had not went into a snow drift, she may have gone farther down the hill and into the ditch. She was fortunate for that and not being hurt or her horse hurt. However, it did some major damage to the truck. Mark told Jayden she would have to pay the insurance deductible and worried it may be totaled. This would become her truck to make payments on and own and take to OK. Thankful it was not worse, bust scary all the same.  

We managed a couple ski days in the winter. Mark took Luke once and I took the kids another time for homeschool ski days where the rates are greatly discounted. We pay $25 for the day,  the standard rate is $68. Skiing really is a rich mans sport. The average skiier has a coat of North Face or Spyder , then add on some name brand snow pants, Under Armour or Oakley ski goggles, Columbia or Dakine gloves, some wear fancy helmets . It's all about the brand and it all adds up. I've tried not to put a lot of emphasis on name brands with the kids, so they dont have to have the expensive trending name brands sprawled across their gear. In fact Jake pulled out his "Shucks" stocking cap from my old ski bag. It's probably as old as I am. The kids are getting pretty good on their skiis. I am still ahead of them, but it wont be long and they will pass me up. Jayden was the funniest. It has been awhile since she has skied and she was a little more like a beginner. We all had

While we were away in Florida, the boys went between the grandparetns, each staying at seperate places. Jake stayed close eo he could do daily animal chores until Jayden got home for the weekend. The boys were invited by Nelson's to go to a mini PBR in Ames. It worked out well, Morgan came and stayed with Jayden. Jayden also had to help run the conessions at the PBR as part of the rodeo club. Jayden and Jacob did horse/animal chores while we were gone. For an entire week after getting back from Florida, Mark was a grumpy grouch. It started Monday morning as soon as he got out of bed. The entire week, he was not in a good mood, I don't think he smiled the whole week. He was angry that he had to be back in Iowa, endure the cold, deal with the daily stress, push all the snow, have all the aches and pains that cold and stress intensify. It's the aftermath of getting to be in paradise. Back to reality. March 5, I turned 44. My birthday got lumped into going to Florida for our

There is just something about a getaway that lifts the spirits and fills you with joy, especially when there is a beach and sunshine involved. Florida has been our destination for a few years now. Hawaii is absolutely amazing and a true slice of paradise, but Florida is as close as you get on the mainland, it's also easier on the wallet and closer to fly to. I am not big on flying, so the less time in the air and on an airplane, the better! Florida has the white beaches, and warm sunshine. Mark and I planned to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Our first plans were to go in early February. We had our entire vacation booked for early February, but as the time drew near, I continually felt reluctant about our timing. God was making it clear to me we needed to stay home. One day I finally told Mark, I just cant leave right now with both aunts health, so I called our travel agent and canceled our whole trip. We had insurance and only had a small penalty. Everything happened during those