Scottie bought Victoria some new
fleece jammies, she is so
adorable, warm and snuggly in them!
(by the way. . . she has great siblings)

I love you and miss you, Daniel!

Jacquie was voted on for Student Council and enjoyed
walking in the parade tonight. It was a beautiful
evening, balmy and sunny. Perfect for a parade.

Colson and his buddies waiting for the parade to begin

Colson and Nathan going after candy.
That little Spidey bucket was almost full
after the parade.

~~Brett has RAIDER PRIDE~~
\

Grandma and Victoria!
(doesn't Grandma look good for 75 years old?)

Victoria is finally able to rider her
little pink pony! It makes real horse
sounds and sings a little song! She is just
learning to clap so she trys her hardest
to clap when the song is being played!

RAIDER HOMECOMING!

The kids are ready for "RAIDER" Day
at school!
A day of fun, spirit and Raider pride!
Homecoming parade and football game!

. . . .GO RAIDERS. . . .

We had an unexpected blessing today. NO SCHOOL! We got a whopper of a thunderstorm last night and I guess it knocked out the power to our entire public school! Of course, I didn't know this since I only watch FOXNEWS in the mornings and not our local news. The kids all got up and got ready, and left taking Brennan to the Junior High first, only to find the principal in the parking lot with a flash light informing, those of us who didn't know, that there was no school due to a power outage! My son called and told me and I relayed the message to my two remaining kids at home. Colson was thrilled as he had already asked me if he could skip school today; but Jacqueline was disappointed as her class was supposed to go on a field trip and she had her little lunchable all ready for the day! Everyone else was elated, including me! YEAH, I get my kids for the entire day, no school, no after school sports, no homework!!!!! It definitely is is an awesome blessing! Dave is working in Flint, today is his final day, and he called and asked what I was doing for the morning and I said, " just enjoying the kids being home" and he asked if Casey could hang out with me while he works today? I guess she is having "Victoria" withdrawls! LOL So now we have our daughter-in-law here with us today too! an extra added blessing......she is enjoying Victoria and playing games with Brennan, Jacqueline and Colson! She is such a sweetie to take time and play with them. I am sure most parents don't view school being called off as a blessing, but I SURE DO! I don't mind the routine of school and its rather nice getting back into one after the summer but I don't like the pull against our family time with our kids. The other day when Jacqueline got off the bus I grabbed her and gave her a big hug, I usually do anyways, but I had realized during the day that my little sweetie is gone from home for 8 hours, most spent with people whose values and morals differ from ours; it was like an arrow right to my heart. I just wanted her to know that I missed her and was glad she was home. The same goes for the boys. They leave about 7:15am and don't return until at least 4pm/4:30pm/6pm. I miss them all terribly. So today, with no school, you can see why its the biggest blessing to me! I thank God for these arrows He has entrusted us with, for the way they have shaped and molded me into a better wife and mom, and for a husband who values what I do at home and doesn't insist I work outside the home!

WHEW. . . .this girl is wearing us out!
She crawls on her knees now, and is
getting into even more stuff! But,
isn't she just the cutest little thing ever?
She's already for church! and she
loves this rocking chair.

Everyone has been itching to have a "fall
bonfire". So last Saturday afternoon we
decided to go for it! By the time the fire
was set the temperature dropped about
15 degrees and not even hot flames could
keep us warm. We did manage to roast a
few hotdogs and even get in a couple of smores
before our noses froze! Thankfully we
had enough hot water for everyone to
get warm and cozy for bed! (I didn't even
mind the smell or the dirty smoky laundry!)
It was worth it to spend time with the kids
and Den!

She is crawling. . . . .everywhere. . . . . and this
is her favorite spot!

What a beautiful fall day we are enjoying this morning. I am a bit on the tired side as is all our family this morning. Our electricity went off in the night about 2am. Of course we all run box fans for white noise so immediately everyone, with the exception of Ben and Tori, woke up. Colson was scared! He said, "I can't see. . . .why can't I see"! You never really know just how pitch black a home can get until there is no power. We opened all the blinds to let in some light from the street lamps. Of course everyone around us had power so we were puzzled as to why ours went out! Den called Consumers and left a voice mail, and the rest of us tried to go back to sleep! It was a challenge for me! Colson got in our bed, he has excezma extremely bad and all he does is itch so he scratched and scratched and scratched. I never knew how much Victoria tossed and turned either until there is no fan to mask the noise! How pampered we are to have white noise to sleep with! Somewhere around 5am our power came back on. I came downstairs to see where Den was and he was just walking up the front walk to the door! Consumers had come out in the night, mind you, and fixed our power. They had no clue as to why it went out other than maybe weeds had overtaken the box and shorted the electric out. Den had been up since 2am bailing out the sump pump in the basement. We couldn't put the water in the laundry tub so he had to carry buckets of water upstairs to the kitchen sink and dump it. I had no clue this was going on. I felt so bad for him when I found out. POOR GUY! What our men go through for the family!!!!! Everyone got off to school on time but Jacqueline. She had a hard time falling back to sleep, so I let her sleep in. She finally got up about 9:30 and she made it to school by 10:20! The house is quiet now, Tori is down for her nap and Den is catching up on his lost sleep! Having no power sure gave me an insight on what life must have been like without it. I don't think I ever realized that electricity and gas are a luxury, and one I don't want to be without!

"Another arrow left the quiver"
Daniel left this morning for North Dakota, it was
definitely a bittersweet moment. We are excited
for him as he will begin his job position of
Youth Pastor at an EFree Church in Waupaton, ND.
He leaves behind a HUGE hole in the family
and we will miss him dearly! What a blessing
to parent such an awesome son! He has been
a gift to his dad and I. Here are just a few
shots we have taken of him over the past
week! I know Tori is going to miss him terribly!
(we all will) but she loves to have him cuddle her
and rock her! Even little Colson got in some tears
as I was dropping him off at K this morning,
he said, "I sure am going to miss Dan!" I know
throughout the years I have tried to prepare myself
for the inevitable of my children leaving home,
and at times I think I am doing well with it, until
the day comes when reality hits, and I see
them drive off to a new job, several states away,
and my heart breaks! I am excited for him
as I know God will use this to grow him and
mature him and I pray that his new church
home will embrace and love him! He is so
much like his dad, kind, loving, caring, thoughtful,
helpful, and extremely SMART! We love you son,
and are so proud of you and your commitment
to God!
Its never "goodbye" but we will see you "soon"!

SCHOOL BEGINS!

Our annual "1st day of school pictures"
Blake, 10th; Brett, 11th; Brennan, 7th

Colson, K; Jacqueline, 4th

~LABOR DAY~
We had a great day at some special friends of ours. What
a perfect way to end our summer. Here is a quick shot
of the "Lutztribe".
We spent most of the afternoon rope swinging into a
pond, also the kids road bikes, and played yard games!
God has so totally blessed us with awesome
friends that so wonderfully share their lives with us!

"BABY KISSES"
David and Daniel with Victoria!
I love to see my kids loving on each other, and
Victoria gets lots of it!