The Muench Bunch

 The 4th-20th of January we were hit with some very wintery weather. On the 21'st we were in the 20's and the forecast was looking good. As the week began we got into the 30's and snow began to melt. This was a great thing, however in the evenings, the temperatures dropped below freezing making for some ice covered evening roads. Each day we melted a little more snow leading to heavy fog. This too made evenings a challenge and some days just so foggy it was dangerous to be out. There was a lot of snow to melt and things have been mushy and foggy all week. Today we had a full week above freezing and there is still a lot of snow to melt. The sun is out and it feels a bit like spring. There are even birds chirping. It has been a nice change from all the arctic cold and heavy winds and snow. Sunshine always makes one feel better too.

 Levi had his 7th birthday. He got an aircraft carrier and Grandpa was showing him how it all worked.  Everly turned 3 and had a party at Great Grandma Karen's, also known as GiGi. 

 Luke likes to work. He doesn't like to be home and he doesn't like to "waste time" as he puts it.. When he has a job he will work until it is done even if it means long hours late at night and hard work. Many nights I have to tell him to come home well after he should be in bed. A typical week consists of him going from school directly to the shop night after night. He spends time every week washing 2 to 3 semis and then other odd jobs. This week the weather had been good and he has started cleaning out horse pens. This is done with the skid loader and much hand shoveling. In addition he is clearing rocks out of the grass. This is a big job and very laborious and hard on the back. He has a tool that spins the rocks and throws them out of the grass. The tool is like a weed eater with a spinner. It is heavy to hold an hard to maneuver. I couldn't handle it for 5 minutes. Luke has been working diligently at the shop clearing the rocks and then will start at our hous

 My Luke is 16, O where has the time gone? I miss the kids being little and wish time would slow down.  It is nice to know that he can drive anywhere legally now! We had a couple birthday outings, one to Des Moines shopping at the mall and Luke picked out his shotgun. He had an outing to Hickory Park for dinner and ice cream with the Wahlert family and Grammer fixed him a home cooked meal of fried chicken. Id say he celebrated well!

  WINTER STORM WARNING now in effect from 9PM Thursday-10AM Friday. BLIZZARD WARNING will replace the Winter Storm Warning starting at 10AM Friday to 6AM Saturday. All counties in Central Iowa included! On Monday I let Luke stay home from school in the morning to help pull the motor out of the Dodge Dually. The plan was for him to go back after lunch. Due to the weather coming in, his school was letting out early, so he skipped the whole day. He probably learned more working on his motor anyway. The snow came in late afternoon and schools were cancelled for Tuesday. Wednesday started as a two hour late start and Luke had a dentist and orthodontist appointment in Ames. We took all gravel to highway 30 and it was 70% ice covered. I was not liking the roads and questioning my decision. I later learned that the surrounding schools including Ogden closed school. We saw 13 cars in the ditch on 30 from the day before. Once we were a few miles from Ames, the roads were all clear. Thursday was

 When I graduated high school, I had a family friend make me a quilt, Patty R. I kept the quilt and pulled it out once in awhile in college and as a newlywed and all through the years. I liked all the many pieces of fabric and it was soft and cozy. in 2019 when my aunt was in the hospital and then in hospice, I grabbed that blanket out of the closet for her to lay over her in the hospital. I wanted it to be something that was cozy, had a feel of home and love. She had that blanket over her covers each day. It was hard after she passed away and the blanket started to remind me of her. It went back in the closet and over the next several years it became Luke's favorite blanket that he always wanted over his bed. I never asked him, but I am pretty sure he too thinks of Alice with that blanket. 

 In this world it's hard to stay humble and kind when we are surrounded by division, critcism, pride, and arrogance. This song by Tim McGraw is one of my favorites and the lyrics ring true. If there is one lesson I would love my family to act on, it would be humble and kind. I pray that our kids can reflect what it means.  Humble & Kind You know there's a light that glows by the front door Don't forget the keys under the mat When childhood stars shine Always stay humble and kind Go to church 'cause your momma says to Visit grandpa every chance that you can It won't be wasted time Always stay humble and kind   Hold the door, say please, say thank you Don't steal, don't cheat, and don't lie I know you got mountains to climb but Always stay humble and kind When the dreams you're dreamin' come to you When the work you put in is realized Let yourself feel the pride but Always stay humble and kind   Don't expec

Positivity is my new goal. With the New Year, it seems only right to start fresh and work at it. I am surrounded by so much negativity, that soon, I have a negative outlook and negative attitude. It's not good and its not fun. You see the glass half empty, you let the bad consume the good. The joy gets stolen when we focus on the negative. I recently had a lot of quiet time and reflection and it made me realize how negative I have become and how much negativity is constantly coming at me. It is around me in conversations and on television and right in my home. We aren't meant to point out all the things wrong, the problems, the brokenness.  So for 2024, I am going to leave the problems, worries, negatives to the Lord God who is in control of all things. I can only focus on me, my behavior, my attitude, my joy. I want to, Lord willing, find the good in everything!   

 While still in Texas with baby Colt laying sweetly on my bed at 8:30am, I had a strange text from a friend come through on my phone, " Is your son OK? There is an active shooter at the Perry school, I wasn't sure where your kids went to school?" I immediately googled to find out what was going on. ***** (Internet info.)  A 17-year-old student at Perry High School in Iowa fatally shot a sixth grader and wounded four other students and a school administrator Thursday before apparently killing himself, officials said. Police responded to an active shooter around 7:37 a.m. at the high school in Perry, a city of around 7,800 around 30 miles northwest of Des Moines, police said. The shooter was armed with a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun, police said. The identity of the student who was killed has not been released. Everyone else who was injured is expected to survive, officials said. A total of seven other individuals received wounds or injuries of varying de

Professional Photo Session Jan 4, 2024  

 For three weeks I was Nanny Nana for Jayden. I so enjoyed my time with her and Colt. I am so thankful that I could be there with her after the arrival of her son. How fortunate I am not to have a full time job where I would have to schedule vacation time and may have only been able to stay for a short time. I am thankful Jayden wanted me there and allowed me to be part of Colt's first days. I am thankful I had a great place to stay and that Noah's parents were so accommodating and made me feel at home. It was a lot of laundry, cleaning, babysitting, but it was also a lot of quiet time.  I had quiet time, lots of chats and time with Jayden, baby cuddling, holding and feeding Colt, and reading and resting with a cat that loved to be by my side. It couldn't have been much better.  Colt was changing right before my eyes, going from a teeny little guy to filling out and getting longer. He was so precious and perfect in every way. He slept and slept. We had to work to get him to

 Jayden's 2 year old palomino Colt got its head caught in a door where she boards her horses. The horse pulled back so hard nearly strangling himself. He severely injured his eye among other things. The boarder didn't tell Jayden for a week because he didn't want to bother her by worrying about a horse when she just had a baby. It was day 8 when I went with her to take a look. I told her we needed to get him to a vet ASAP. The next day Noah took him to the vet and it was also the day the boys and Mark arrived. Luke went along to help Noah. After a full week of treatment and assessment, the vet didn't have great news. The eye was in bad shape and the vet put a tube into the eyelid so as to treat the eye with medicine 4 times per day. We also knew that the horse had a droopy ear and droopy lip which caused us to wonder about neurologic problems. The vet confirmed there was nerve damage. The horse's face was paralyzed, he could not close his eyes or even bling. He also