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We had spaghetti for supper tonight. Harrison was at the table with his plate, and Kelly and I were getting a few things off of the counter to take over. I look over and Harrison is DUMPING the parmesan cheese onto his plate of spaghetti. I didn’t realize Kelly had already set out the cheese. He had to have at least a cup of it on top of his spaghetti, and he was ready to eat every last bit of it! He loves it so much, and was disappointed that he had to share it with daddy!

Filed under: Uncategorized on July 13th, 2009 | No Comments »

As I looked through my mail the other day, I noticed I got a catalog from a company that I sometimes order from.

It was a Christmas Preview 2009.

Yes, a Christmas Preview in July. But I’m kind of glad that it was there. It reminded me of what happened last year with Water 4 Christmas and how so many people came together to raise tens of thousands of dollars to provide wells for people in Liberia who desperately need clean drinking water. It can be hard for me to not spend money at Christmas; I can really get sucked in to all of the fun things to buy, bake, etc. And even when I got this catalog, for a moment I thought “Oh, fun. I can just take a quick look.”

But then I was reminded of this post by my friend Jody, and how it really is about so much more.  People have continued to give through the year.  One school held a talent show and raised over $6,000 for Water 4 Christmas.  People are starting to plan for this next year…crafts, projects, fund-raisers.  I would encourage you to read the post and think about what you could be doing to help out this year.  We could blow away last year’s total.

There is also a really awesome article in the New York Times about charity:water and the founder, Scott Harrison.  You can read it here.  It really is worth the time to read it.  You get to see a little more of his heart and why he started charity:water.

And the Water For Christmas/300 Voices website is www.water4christmas.com.

So even though it may not feel like Christmas right now, it is on our minds.  And it will be here before we know it.

Filed under: Uncategorized on July 13th, 2009 | No Comments »

from Harrison. He picked them out and everything!!

Maybe the mug (filled with coffee, of course) will help cheer me up on those mornings where I have a hard time getting out of bed.

Wait…that’s pretty much every morning.

I guess I’ll be washing it every night.

Filed under: Uncategorized on July 9th, 2009 | No Comments »

Kelly is selling his scooter (so if you know anyone looking for one…it’s a 2006, and it gets over 60 miles per gallon!!)

He is selling it because he wanted something with a little more power.  (Can’t you just hear Tim Allen doing his sound?)

Last night he got this:

And once I get a helmet, I’ll be hitching a ride.

Filed under: Uncategorized on July 9th, 2009 | No Comments »

“When God seems silent and our prayers go unanswered, the overwhelming temptation is to leave the story–to walk out of the desert and attempt to create a normal life. But when we persist in a spiritual vacuum, when we hang in there during ambiguity, we get to know God. In fact, that is how intimacy grows in all close relationships.” ~A Praying Life, by Paul Miller

Filed under: Uncategorized on July 6th, 2009 | No Comments »

Because it felt more like Halloween.  I don’t think it got above 65 degrees, and we got a lot of rain.

Except for the fireworks.  I guess that would mean it was the 4th.

But, really, I do not EVER remember sitting at the fireworks with a shirt, sweatshirt (with a hood), and under a blanket.  And still being cold.  Seriously.

It was craziness!  We needed hot chocolate instead of a nice icy beverage.

But we had a good time, and Harrison enjoyed the fireworks, too.  We weren’t sure at first, but I think he liked them.  While cuddling with me under the blanket, in his jeans and sweatshirt. 

And today??  85 degrees and beautiful!

This is Iowa.  It will probably be 90 on Halloween. 

Filed under: Uncategorized on July 5th, 2009 | No Comments »

all in one post.

We did a lot more swimming, Kelly and I got to spend an afternoon & evening together (by ourselves, thanks to Nana and Papa) and we did a train ride with Harrison and our nephew Dusty. We ended up having a great trip, and enjoyed the time together. It was a little crazy and busy at times with the kids, but that’s pretty typical with a 12 year old, 5 year old and almost 3 year old. We loved being able to spend time with them.

Here’s some pictures from the rest of the trip.

The train ride with Kelly, Harrison and Dusty and me. (It was like a zoo train, but we went a lot farther, and through some woods and stuff. It was fun, and the boys enjoyed it.)

Most pictures of Dusty looked like this:

I don’t think he was unhappy…just didn’t want to get his picture taken. But I got one of him with a natural smile.

He made us laugh so many times that week. One morning he came out and ate a little breakfast, then said he was going back to bed so he could finish his dream. How cute!

Hey, what’s down there?

Feeling the steam from the steam engine.

Wheeeee!!!!!! Go faster!! (I am going to be in so much trouble when he is big enough to ride the roller coasters.)

After the train ride, we all went swimming. Papa G and his boys.

He LOVED getting completely drenched this year, even in his face.

Skyler (who was a great help with the younger boys!) and Harrison. How sweet is this? We didn’t get too many pictures of Skyler…probably typical of a 12 year old boy?? We so enjoyed spending time with him, though!!

In fact, we got a lot of this when we pointed the camera his way.

And the boys being silly with their new goggles.

Filed under: Uncategorized on July 2nd, 2009 | No Comments »

And it is almost exactly the same temperature as it was 11 years ago.  How do I know?  I’ll never forget the feeling of being in a wedding dress and all the ‘accessories’ on a 95 degree day.    And it stormed that night, too.

Today is our 11 year wedding anniversary.  I love this man. I respect him immensely.  He loves me no matter what, and puts up with me.  He loves me unconditionally.  I am so blessed to be married to him.  Couldn’t imagine being married to anyone else in the world. Can’t wait to see what the next year brings! I love you, Kelly!

By the way, we did make it back from our vacation. I know I was a little lax on getting the last few days up on the blog, but they will be coming soon! Hey, I was on vacation.

Filed under: Uncategorized on June 27th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

he’s so excited he got to go down the big slide! And he wants to do it again!!

Filed under: Uncategorized on June 22nd, 2009 | No Comments »

Another busy day today! We rode on a Duck…a vehicle that goes over land and water. We rode through the Wisconsin River and through Lake Delton. After that we went swimming again. All the boys, besides Grandpa, went down a big slide on a huge tube. They had so much fun! I have a video I will put up later after it uploads.

Here’s some pictures from today!

The Gubser boys waiting for the Duck ride.

This is fun!

Some of the scenery on the Duck ride.

He was getting kind of sleepy!

We’re ready to go swimming!!

Our nephew, Dusty.

Harrison

Filed under: Uncategorized on June 22nd, 2009 | No Comments »