The Muench Bunch

 Titus turned one! His first year went so fast. Ali and her family went to Thanksgiving down south with her grandpa and family. Several of the family had Influenza and were very sick. Back home little by little each of the kids were sick, including Titus. Ali ended up cancelling Titus's birthday party with all the Muench relatives. She had planned to do a party at Pizza Ranch. I asked her how she would be doing the party, if they were providing pizza. She said they would just be having a cake and they could just reserve the room and not have to make any Pizza Ranch purchases. I thought it was a little strange. Titus did have a birthday party down at Ali's relatives in Missouri, one with Blake's family. Eventually we gave Titus his John Deere ride on for his first birthday. He was pretty excited. He is so close to walking any day now. He really hasn't said any words but jibbers and makes noises. He is a messy eater. Ali doesn't use bibs or utensils and he will eat ev

 Our Thanksgiving was very different this year.  It felt like a typical visit from Lavern and Verna Mae when they come up from Missouri and have lunch at Karen and Orrie's. The only difference, we were eating Turkey. Don't get me wrong, it was a delicious meal & good company.  Karen made her famous homemade noodles, lots of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, apple and pumpkin pies for dessert. It was a heavenly meal and I tried really hard not to eat too much. It was sad not gathering with the relatives near and far like a typical year with nearly 40 people, and it was hard seeing photos of Jayden miles away in Texas. She is so good about keeping connected, sending photos, videos, and calling. She made 5 pies on her own for the Thanksgiving meal and a corn casserole side dish. Karen just asked me to bring a green salad. I brought a lettuce salad and had a fruit tray with grapes, fresh pineapple and raspberries. My contribution was minimal. After the meal, Orrie read some ou

 Ali wanted 1 year photos taken of Titus and I offered to give that to them for Christmas. My friend Sarah took the photos and did a really good job. Ali got new shirts and boots and squeezed in some family photos too. These are some of my favorites.

 When I asked Jake what he wanted for his birthday he asked to have a mom and Jake day shopping. I said I could do that! We had our lunch at Applebee's. We did a little shopping at the mall, OVerflow, and Theisen's. He wanted insulated coveralls of his very own. It's nice to have a little one on one time with the kids. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving I had a mom and Luke outing. I wanted to take him shopping before Thanksgiving rather than after. The whole Black Friday madness is not worth shopping with the large crowds. We ate at the Grove Cafe, a little hole in the wall diner in Ames I had never been too. At first Luke looked around and questioned if we should be eating there. It was old and rough. When we left, he told me it was the best breakfast food he has eaten. It was unique. You sat at the counter and watched the one cook fix up your food right in front of you.We went to a few stores and ended the day at the Rec center where Luke worked out, Mark met with his tra

 With Luke in braces, there are frequent orthodiontist appointments, at least once per month. The nice thing , his dentist has an office in Boone. I schedule his appointment close to noon, that we we can have lunch while he is out of school. It usually takes 2 hours by the time he leaves school, has his appointment, eats lunch, and is back in school. I have enjoyed y lunch dates with Luke too. I miss having lunch at home during the homeschool years with the kids.  One day, Luke told me he needed wamer gear for riding his snowmobile, he wanted his own snowsuit. I reached way back into my closet and pulled out my ski snowsuit from the 90's. I picked it out in Keystone Colorado while skiing with my parents and got it for my birthday. Luke tried it on and took his snowmobile for ride with his warm gear. After getting his snowmobile stuck twice on cold blustery days, he has learned to dress warmer. 

 Someone posted this and I could'nt agree more. It is so important to get kids to church, to start them at a young age and make it a routine, make it a priority. Skipping church is easy and people can find every excuse. Satan would love for you to stay home on Sunday's and sleep in and focus on yourself. All  kids need to be in church  hearing., learning, and knowing Jesus. To all the  Mamas (and Daddy’s) out there... Bring them to church. Saturate their lives with the Word of God. Even if they lay in the floor. Even if they need 2 cups of milk and 437 goldfish and a sucker to be quiet. Even if you stand in the back swaying back and forth holding them. Even when it’s hard. Even when when your bench looks like a small hurricane just came through. Bring them to church. Let them see you worship. Let them see you pray. Let them see you running toward the Savior….. because if they don’t see and learn these things from you, who are they going to learn them from? The world will teach

For years Grandpa Muench AKA Po, has loved his free birthday ice cream sundae at Hickory Park. He loves it so much, he will take his grandkids on their birthdays and make sure they get their free sundae. He has even been known to make multiple trips, maybe a day or two before and a day or two after his birthday, to get a couple extra free sundaes. It has been tradition to go to Hickory Park on birthday's. Grandpa and Jake have birthdays just 3 days apart, so sometimes they celebrate together and both get their free ice cream sundae. In addition to the ice cream, the staff will come and sing to you. Hickory Park has been a family favorite for years. They have some great smoked meats and ribs.

 This year we took a post harvest trip to Dubuque. This would be our second year in a row to stay at the Hotel Julien in Dubuque. We like the hotel and the area and it was Mark's pick. Our first night we found an Italian restaurant recommended by the locals, "Marcos". To walk in, you would not be impressed. It was like walking back in time and had not changed since the 80's. It was small and dark, but the food was awesome. Mark had pizza and I had pasta. They emphasize that everything is made from scratch, and you can tell. We checked into the Hotel Julien for the night. We like the history of the hotel and the atmosphere.  Day two we went to the local western store and drove out of town for lunch. The views were so beautiful with the rolling hills and dairy farms along the river. you could see for miles and miles. Brietbach's is another historical restaurant we have previously visited and today had lunch. In the evening we went to Monte Rest in Bellvue. We had a

 Now that I help Mark in the office more regularly, MWF mornings,  I get to see first hand his chaos. He handles it well, is very organized, and a good business man. His Salford sales have taken off this year and he has done exceptional. He gets phone calls, and people stop by all the time. There is no such thing as down time. It is more than I could handle! Of course, running them in the field is the easy part. At the end of harvest, Mark sent me lovely flowers and thanked me for taking all the meals. He is the one doing all the hard work, making meals is small in comparison. He is very thoughtful and spoils me in flowers often. 

  11/12 On a Saturday evening, as Luke was driving, he saw something moving across the highway and though it was a corn stalk. He stopped and saw a cute little kitten all alone, scooped her up and brought her home. She instantly snuggled in and wanted to climb from the floor to his shoulder. Whenever you put her down, she would climb back up. She was so tame and loveable and wanted to be right by his face. We put her in the back bathroom until we could figure out what to do with her. She has big blue eyes, and four white paws. She is so friendly and fearless. She is not bothered by anything, not even the dogs. For the past 4 days, I have let her run around the kitchen multiple times to play and roam, then put her back in the bathroom. She honestly is just like a baby, having to have naptime. She wants to be by my head and neck all the time. She is happiest on my shoulder and has fallen asleep may times on my shoulder while I am on the computer. She stays very close to me. While on the