tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33297164869045568292024-03-14T03:53:52.362-05:00The Manne Family Newsa family of six celebrating the everyday ordinaryMegan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.comBlogger266125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-33642697411505249682017-06-26T09:18:00.001-05:002017-06-26T09:18:19.046-05:00A New SparkJune also brought with it a somewhat new adventure for Maurah. She joined MainStage Academy of Dance in the winter and showcased her work throughout these past months in a beautiful gala. We truly didn't know what to expect, as this was our first time having a child in a dance academy, but these performances blew us away! The stage Maurah performed on is the same one where we see the Nutcracker every year....a large stage with a large audience for such a little girl - I wasn't sure if she would make it through the performance or not! I minded the rules to not take pictures while the dancers were on the stage, but I can tell you that she had the biggest smile on her face the entire time she was up there, no nerves at all. It was one of those moments where you see this little flicker inside of your child and you can tell that something is definitely lighting up within them. These are some of the moments I love the most about parenting.<br />
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The younger girls' dressing room door was decorated with these stars by their teachers...so sweet!<br />
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Maurah's 3rd grade teacher got to see her do her thing on that stage because her daughter performs in the same academy...we love Mrs. Shaver!!<br />
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Grandpa Dave came in for the night so he could cheer Maurah on as well!<br />
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Maurah and her sweet friend Lola:</div>
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Director Bray leading Maurah and her classmates onto the stage so they could be applauded. <br />
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Maurah's teacher, who instilled this newfound love in her, did an incredible job being the Black Swan in Swan Lake. At 16, she has been accepted to an all-dance school in Florida and is moving away this summer! We will miss her!<br />
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Some more of Maurah's cheering squad:<br />
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While most of the above photos were taken with my phone, I had to have Maurah do a photo shoot and use my good camera. She's just too beautiful to not capture!</div>
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We're not sure where this new spark for dance will take Maurah, but it sure has been fun cheering her on this year. We're so thankful for MainStage and its influence!<br />
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<br />Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-49448599192024792432017-06-20T15:44:00.002-05:002017-06-26T09:18:39.523-05:00A FarewellJune has brought with it a LOT of excitement and newness around here. The very first day of this month was one that still brings me to tears as I write this post. My oldest, my boy, officially closed out all of his years in elementary school with a 5th grade celebration.<br />
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The families of all of the fifth graders packed into the gym for a luncheon and celebration of all of these kiddos and these last six years. Cole and his class sang a few songs, ending with What a Wonderful World. I'm not posting the videos because, to be perfectly honest, I was shaking so badly, I was trying to keep all of my emotions in. Because of that, the video quality is less than sub-par. But my goodness, was it sweet to hear their voices sing words that are so meaningful.</div>
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Love all of those sweet faces adorning those cupcakes.</div>
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Cole and his buddy Jack:</div>
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This is what they REALLY wanted to be doing during the luncheon! ;) </div>
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Jake made his schedule so he could pop in and be here in the middle of his work day, and of course, I missed getting a picture of him with Cole. I am still bumming about that! But, the way our schedule worked out, Jake's mom was able to be here with us. Living hundreds of miles away from grandparents doesn't usually afford us the opportunity to celebrate things like this with them, so that was a rare treat!<br />
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Cole and his good friend Austin:</div>
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Fabulous teacher and director of KM Explore, Ms. Dahm:</div>
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Cole's first-ever male teacher....who totally "gets" Cole's personality and made learning so fun for him, Mr. Fronk:</div>
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A bunch of almost-6th graders (and a few of their siblings!):</div>
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Crazy crew of boys:<br />
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Out of all of our kids, Cole is the one who has had the most transitions in school. He started 4K when we lived in Michigan, and moved to Wisconsin where he finished out his last 6 weeks of preschool in a district we no longer live in. We then moved to another town where he went to the local elementary (still within our current school district), but once KM Explore Charter became an option, we believed in their vision of learning so much and moved our kids again to have them attend this school. <br />
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I can't even begin to put words to what a journey it's been and how all of the teachers here have supported our family and loved us through numerous seasons, both joyful and difficult. We have watched Cole grow immensely within the security and love these teachers have provided. Jake and I have grown as parents too, gleaning much wisdom from some of these teachers who are ahead of us on this journey. <br />
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I can still remember the day I signed Cole up for preschool, feeling like we had made it...we were finally in a season where our kids were in elementary school. It sounded so grown up; like we were actual adults raising actual people. But now, with us saying goodbye to elementary school, I feel like we're so young. We're not ready. Because, you know, middle school is only 3 years...and 3 years are like blinking.<br />
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Still...I look at this guy and I know <i>he's</i> ready. And that's what matters. We're so proud of him and the person he's becoming. I know this is just the beginning of some pretty awesome adventures with him. And I couldn't love that more.<br />
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Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-62468214689970690292017-03-16T17:15:00.000-05:002017-06-26T09:18:55.102-05:00February Little ThingsFebruary was a month packed with lots of fun.<br />
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We kicked it off with some Superbowl fun. Jake made a Superbowl Bingo game for the kids they filled out with Starbursts. Any time they got a Bingo, they were able to get a load of candy to eat.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">This was our very unhealthy spread...</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Which this girl was totally jazzed about!</span></div>
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Laina had a sleepover with at her friend's and I got this text from my friend about the girls' afternoon:</div>
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She said one of the neighbors is an elderly gentleman who they've never seen smile or be incredibly warm. My friend was a little hesitant to have the girls stop at his place, but she said he smiled hugely and was so touched by their thoughtfulness. These girls are world changers, I tell you. We ended up taking Sophia with us to watch Cole play basketball that morning. I love how they always hold hands anywhere they go.</div>
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Hayden spent a lot of time making origami butterflies and decorating them beautifully to hang above her bed.<br />
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I check on the kids each night still before I head to bed myself, and this particular night, my breath was taken away by this guy. I see this amazing young man he's becoming and my baby boy who made me a mama all at once. <br />
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We watched that amazing kid play a lot of basketball this month with an amazing coach and team. This is one sport I can never tire of watching, and Cole's season did not disappoint.<br />
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We did a special Valentine's hairstyle for school...<br />
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And that face of that little love bug makes me smile so much!<br />
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This one does too, all dressed in her red for the day!<br />
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The weather has been unseasonably warm for Wisconsin winters....well, unseasonably warm for anything that contains the word winter! We got up to the 70s and these kids were so grateful to get to be outside on the trampoline sans jackets!<br />
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The weather had us outside a ton, and we all LOVED getting that fresh air. Maurah is thinking about playing softball this spring, so she was all about playing catch.</div>
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Our friends have been watching the kids after school on Tuesdays and I got a text saying they were just taking their babies for a walk. I love how Maurah is crazy and Brooks looks like he is wondering what's going on! ;)<br />
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We went back to our daily charts which helps us get ourselves organized around here. I get away from doing these so often, but am always so glad when we get back on track. The kids don't typically mind doing their jobs when it's laid out like this and it helps us keep up with all things house and home.<br />
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The kids have to do 30 minutes of reading to mark off of their charts, and I love hearing this little lady read with all of her inflections.<br />
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Hayden helped me make cheesy bread for dinner one night...it's so fun to have the kids getting older and able to truly help more, making the work more fun for us all!<br />
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Maurah has been working hard at ballet and I LOVE that this experience has reunited her with a great friend who started at a new school this year.<br />
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Cole had a friend over and the boys went to town with their bball skills.</div>
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This guy is just the sweetest and I'm so thankful for his friendship to Cole.</div>
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Maurah and Hayden had a friend over too and the girls set away promptly getting their nails beautified.</div>
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The kids made personal pizzas which is what I did almost all of the time that I spent the night at my best friend's house growing up. These guys were amazing little chefs!</div>
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Laina still amazes me with the things she comes up with to create. This was her little mural she made for her friend who had been away from school for a few days:<br />
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We went costume shopping for the kids' musical (posted <a href="http://themannefamily.blogspot.com/2017/03/flat-stanley.html">HERE</a>) and Cole proceeded to scare the bejeebers out of me with this:<br />
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This was during Laina's sleepover so it ended up being a really fun date with these older three. After all of our running errands, a visit for froyo was a must!<br />
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This was definitely a great way to wrap up this month!</div>
Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-14353632543264867562017-03-06T13:06:00.000-06:002017-06-26T09:19:07.498-05:00January Little ThingsJanuary is always the month where I fall behind on record keeping. I'm not sure if it's because the fall months are so busy with all of the holidays and January brings a "hush" that we're all ready for, but it's definitely quiet on this side of my camera as well. Still, we had some fun things happen that I want to be sure to remember.<br />
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Laina has grown very attached to the babydoll I grew up with. This is big for us because our girls never really played "house" as of yet. However, they're really getting into this imaginative play this year. My parents got Laina a stroller as one of her gifts for Christmas and she pushes it around like the proud little mama she is! :)<br />
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We've been doing a lot of bird-watching because these guys are the most colorful thing we've had this month! We love cardinals and talk about my grandma all of the time as we watch them because they've always been her absolute favorite. This cardinal is the one who has stolen the show this year though - we noticed that one side is red like a typical male, but the other side of the cardinal is brown, just like a female. Thanks to Google, we found out that these birds are called Gyandromorphs - something happens to the egg that makes the bird equally male and female!<br />
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You can more easily see the color distinction here:</div>
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We learned that gyandromorphs have a call, but no other birds respond to it, which made us very sad. We decided this bird must be lonely, so we make sure to fill our feeders to the brim to keep it coming back! We found out they're incredibly rare, so we think it quite special that this beauty chooses to come to our little feeder!<br />
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We headed back to the pediatric opthalmalogist to check Laina's eyes. This is the third surgeon we've seen and we're still not done. She's already had two surgeries on her eyes and there may be another in the near future. The fear is that her eyes still aren't working together and now it's causing problems for her at school. If her eyes continue to work separately, one eye could lose its vision. The activity she's doing here focuses on her depth perception where she points to a butterfly's position with her 3-D glasses. This was the first appointment she struggled to do this, saying "I don't know" for many of the pictures. <br />
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From this appointment, we were referred to "the best" surgeon in Madison where she will be evaluated. He is incredibly difficult to get an appointment with, so we were initially scheduled for an appointment in the late fall of this year. However, after reviewing her file, the office called and she has an appointment in April. I am so grateful we are getting her in and can hopefully get the answers we need sooner rather than later. She is such a trooper.<br />
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These guys were troopers this day too. Short is never a word to describe Laina's eye appointments! This was the first appointment I had all of the kids with me, but they kept themselves busy with knitting, coloring and "capping" a marker.</div>
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Maurah and I played around with new hairstyles...<br />
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While Laina added some new selfies to my phone...<br />
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We started Cole's basketball season at the YMCA with his incredible coach and team...<br />
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Maurah and Hayden learned how to play chess and pulled out our board any free moment they had...<br />
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The girls received a "bride's" dress from my parents. The headpiece I wore from my wedding was out, so Laina was excited to put the full outfit together...<br />
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Winter means snuggly movie nights in this family...<br />
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Cole had his first band concert. The kids did great!<br />
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Check out this handsome trumpet player...</div>
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We celebrated after with custard...<br />
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I have a leadership class this semester and one of our assignments included listing struggles that school leaders are saying they are facing. The list is really quite overwhelming and I'm sure it doesn't cover everything...</div>
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However, we walked into another class that afternoon and this quote was the first thing we were faced with. It definitely gave us fuel to be the ones who make some changes to that overwhelming list above. It reminded me that I have more power than I think, and that can be wielded in my classroom in some pretty meaningful ways:<br />
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Finally, Laina had an epic last week of January with her book club...<br />
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And with losing her tooth! She always writes the Tooth Fairy letters and that fairy is the sweetest and writes Laina back! I loved this interaction between the two of them:<br />
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And for January - that's a wrap!</div>
Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-73665771301311444562017-03-03T07:04:00.003-06:002017-06-26T09:19:58.590-05:00Flat StanleyMarch is always a busy month for our family with three of the four kids' birthdays landing smack dab in the middle of it. But the last few years, we've kicked off this birthday month with an all-school musical, too, and that's just what we did yesterday! <br />
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This year's chosen play was Flat Stanley. In previous years, we've done The Magic Schoolbus, A Seussical Musical, and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. All of these are written musicals already and the kids did a phenominal job. We honestly weren't sure how Flat Stanley would turn out compared to those.<br />
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Can I just tell you it was still amazing? I think even more so because each of those kids up there wrote every single line for the play. The teacher in me squeals with delight because there's so much literacy, science and social studies happening as Stanley travels around the globe and learns about each country's customs, weather, and history along the way. Not only that, I'm always amazed at the teamwork they use to pull this thing off each year. The enthusiasm they bring is incredible, even from these fifth graders who think they're too cool for this sort of thing! Ha!<br />
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The kids put on two performances, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. I was solo for the first performance, but got to sit with my little buddy for the second! Jake was actually there too, but Cooper was my "official date!" :)<br />
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Our beloved Miss Wendy came to cheer on the kids as well. I'm so grateful we have some Wisconsin family to fill the void of Michigan family in times like these!</div>
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One of the songs is called "I Wish" and Stanley dreams of being a hero like Harry Potter or Luke Skywalker and having victory over the "bad guys." Cole played the role of Voldemort, the ugliest character you could possibly be in the play! </div>
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Still, that sweet Cole smile came through every once in a while and we got a glimpse of the cutie under all of that makeup.<br />
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This is the last musical Cole will do with Explore because he'll be in sixth grade next year. I think he's pretty happy he got to go out as Voldemort, even though Harry killed him!<br />
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Laina met Stanley as a surfer girl and rocked out to "Surfin' USA" by the Beach Boys.<br />
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Maurah met Stanley in Mexico and sang a song called "De Colores" all in Spanish talking about all of the beautiful colors you see there.<br />
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And then Laina performed a song from Israel using rhythm sticks and voices only.<br />
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Hayden met Stanely in China where she told him all sorts of interesting facts about the country.<br />
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Cole's class then performed a dance with these yard sticks that was phenomenal. Each of them ended up carring them as a star pattern in the end. The kids were excited to have the audience clap for them before the dance was even done!<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Maurah rounded out the play with having a role in "What a Wonderful World." I didn't get great photos of her because I was capturing the video (which is apparently much too large for the blog), but there is nothing sweeter than children's voices singing like they were.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">And it wouldn't be an experience if we didn't get a shot of these girls all together! They were so proud of themselves after their first performance!</span><br />
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More and more I'm just so thankful for the school we attend and that my kids get to have opportunties like these. I know the realities that many schools don't have the budget or don't have the staff who wants to do anything "extra" when it comes to working with and teaching children. I've been in a lot of those classrooms. But Explore teachers always go above and beyond and these musicals showcase that in a major way. Love our school and love these sweet kids!Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-27461536628757909722017-01-11T10:29:00.000-06:002017-06-26T09:19:45.637-05:00December Little ThingsI'm almost caught up and actually writing about things that happened this year! Woohoo! It sure is hard to type with one hand as I pat myself on the back! ;)<br />
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We knew this month would be a good one when we got this guy back from Nature's Classroom! He had an awesome time and it was SO nice to pick him up and to get to have a little date catching up on all he did while he was gone.<br />
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We started doing little Advent readings as often as we could during dinners and realized that we had a gift for Laina. In Westbrook, kids would get their very own Bible in 1st grade, which is the grade Laina is in now. We were somewhat saddened, because all of our other kids received Bibles from Westbrook and were signed by our former senior pastor and friend, Scott, as well as our Children's Director and friend, Wendy, and then, of course, by Jake.<br />
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Well, Wendy found a couple of Bibles left in the Children's Ministry closet and gave one to us to give to Laina, signed by all of these very special people who have played such important roles in her young life already. We were so excited to have our own little Bible giving ceremony and to give her this incredibly meaningful gift.<br />
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We decorated Christmas cookies and promptly gobbled them all up. I think they might have lasted about a week and a half...</div>
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The end of semester means a fun date for my friend, Katie and me! We went out to the Paint Bar in Delafield and had such a blast making these little birdie families. Another little fun thing I got to do with her was go get our nails done.....so that her nails were set to show off the bling her boyfriend was giving her soon! It was all I could do to not mention a word of it to her. I'm so excited for these two who will soon be Mr. and Mrs.!!</div>
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The kids had their usual Breakfast with Santa event at school. This is our last year of having a little Navigator sing for the audience! Laina rocked it out, though!</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">We had an overnight with Jake's parents here. Because a couple of our cousins wouldn't be with us in Michigan, Jake's parents brought gifts to our kids that they would be opening with the other grandkids on Christmas day. Maurah was my tester for taking photos:</span></div>
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Each grandkid received a quilt to put on their beds. This made the twins, in particular, very excited. They'd been complaining to me for some time that their white quilts were boring. How happy were they when they realized I'd been holding out on them for a reason?!?</div>
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Before we knew Jake's parents were coming, I had planned a girls' date to see the Nutcracker. This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions to do with the girls and we didn't do it last year. I wondered how it would go, because Maurah and Hayden's class actually went to see it on a field trip the very day before! I was initially disappointed, but I think seeing it twice actually made it more magical for them!</div>
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We got all dressed up and headed out on the incredibly snowy roads. Another fun thing about this event is that Maurah's ballet teacher played the role of Clara. She was divine.</div>
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The girls each got to pick out a Nutcracker of their very own. I'm happy to report that they handle these guys with the greatest of care.</div>
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The next day was Cole's Christmas piano recital. Jake's parents had never seen Cole play "live" before, so it was fun to have them here for that. I'm so sad because I accidentally deleted the video of him playing, but just know that he played Lorie Line's version of The Little Drummer Boy as well as a fun rendition of The Witch Doctor....holiday themed? No, but super fun. :) I'm constantly impressed with his playing. He doesn't admit he likes it yet, but I'm seeing glimmers of this love of piano developing in him and I'm so thankful for the gift of music he can have with him his whole life.</div>
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I actually got my act together and got Christmas cards out this year. Thanks to these helpers, it wasn't quite such a painful task!</div>
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Maurah and Cole shoveled our long, hugely covered driveway. I think they were trying to earn some screen time, but I was just so proud - the driveway and sidewalk were as filled with snow as the yard there. This was quite a ways into their progress. They worked as a team and did a great job!</div>
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Both were incredibly proud of their hard work!</div>
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On one of our last days of exams, Katie and I decided we needed some retail therapy, so we browsed Wal-Mart, (because that's the only store in Whitewater!) and found these cute blanket scarves! We *may* have needed help from our friend learning how to wear them, but we were so excited!</div>
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Laina did her own retail therapy when she got to go to a birthday dinner, celebrating her friend, Lily. These two crack me up!</div>
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Lots of beauty shop happening around here!</div>
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The kids did their annual caroling with their school. This year, we broke up into three groups and went around the community caroling. Our group went to the hospital here, and one of the sweetest things was going through the cancer center. As the kids belted out their songs, we walked through stations of patients receiving chemotherapy. Nurses and patients alike broke into tears as they saw these children in their Christmas get-ups singing about hope and love and joy. This was my very favorite place we've caroled for that very reason. The kids and I got to reflect on this time later and talk about how they can bring joy to peoples' lives with very simple acts like this. I want them to know that they might be young, but they are already making impacts everywhere they go. I'm beyond thankful we're a part of a school that teaches the kids this as well.</div>
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Laina and Lily begged for a sleepover while we were at caroling, so we set one up for over Christmas break. Maurah and Hayden were at their friend, Mila's, birthday sleepover, so it was the perfect time for Lily to come over and for Cole to have a friend over as well. Jake said I was crazy because this was the night before we left for Michigan. The actual conversation went something like this:</div>
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J: Nice! We'll only have two kids so that'll make it easier to pack for Michigan!</div>
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M: Oh, about that - actually, I invited a friend over for both Cole and Laina.</div>
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It ended up being super fun and super easy, though, because these kids just have fun together and entertain themselves!</div>
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When the girls' movie was done, I found them like this in Laina's bed. Melts my heart.<br />
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The next morning was filled with pancakes, Trivial Pursuit, and fort-building!<br />
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Now, this story is incredible. My friend, Lindsay, asked me if we were going to be home between the 30th of December and New Year's because she was going to be home from North Carolina. I was so sad because those were the exact dates we were gone! Both of us had just resigned ourselves to the fact that we'd have to wait to have a visit until the spring or summer. </div>
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Then, we had to run into Target because Hayden had nothing to wear for our family photo at my parents'. I was trying to go to Target all that morning, but it just kept getting put off as I had so many other tasks to accomplish. We finally got to the store that afternoon, and GUESS WHO WE RAN INTO?!? Lindsay was walking out of the store at the very moment that we were walking in! Only 30 seconds later, and we would have completely missed each other.</div>
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She had only been in Wisconsin for about an hour! We screamed and hugged and screamed and hugged some more. We made quite the scene and my kids were completely embarrassed! But oh my goodness, it was so exciting and so fun to have those few minutes together! That, I have to believe, was a complete Divine appointment.</div>
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After we said our goodbyes, we rushed through the store and found something for Hayden to wear as well as some snacks for the road. And, it's never a complete shopping trip until Laina finds all of the accessories! She came around the corner dressed like this. We teach the kids to bring the fun with them, and this girl does not disappoint!</div>
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And now we're REALLY onto 2017!! I'm so excited to see what this next year holds for our little family!Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-60552450394774619932017-01-11T09:30:00.003-06:002017-06-26T09:19:28.485-05:00Family Christmas and New Year'sWe headed to Michigan for a whirlwind trip to celebrate Christmas with each of our families. We started with my side, and arrived at my sister's place at 2AM. I kept saying everyone didn't need to stay up, but of course they did! The kids were so excited because this was their first time seeing their cousins' new house. It was really fun to get to stay there and start making memories in that beautiful new home. <br />
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My sister and brother-in-law sent up this magical Christmas wonderland in their basement for the kids to camp out over the weekend. How fun is that?!?<br />
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The next morning, we went to my mom and dad's. Their home is always like a holiday haven around Christmas time, beautifully decorated everywhere you look! We knew we wanted a family photo and snagged it before everyone went their separate ways. And by "someone" I mean the kids, and by "went their separate ways," I mean ran around the house causing complete chaos and messing up their hair and outfits. Love this group so much!<br />
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Adam and Heather brought a saran wrap game for the kids to play. The intensity every one of them had was hysterical!<br />
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One of our gifts for AJ was a Detroit Tigers hat much like the UofM one we got Cole for Christmas. And darn if I didn't get a picture of them together like I had wanted to!<br />
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Maurah and Hayden have been needing bags to put their knitting things in and Grandma and Grandpa got them that very thing! </div>
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Maurah made my grandma this scarf that she knitted. She and Hayden learned how to knit on the needles my grandma gave them, so this was a thank you and a pretty sweet gift.<br />
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The kids gave my dad a "Grandpa for President" coffee mug. And again, I'm so bummed because I didn't get a photo of their gift with my mom! Opening gifts became a *touch* chaotic, so I think there were a lot of moments I missed. But the memories are still sweet!<br />
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I made this sign for Heather and Adam after she mentioned to me that she saw one similar to it in a store and thought it was really cool. It was so fun to make it and hopefully it can add another personal touch to their new home.<br />
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Zoey was ready to get her Christmas loving!<br />
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One of my favorite things of Christmas is how the kids gather around mom and dad's table and work away at their gifts, building and crafting. I remember playing games with my cousins growing up and know that these are precious memories they're creating together!<br />
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We headed North to visit Jake's family on New Year's Eve. Sam was cracking me up because he kept saying "Take my picture." Then, he'd crawl on his mom's lap and give me thumbs up. Once I took his picture, he'd hop down and say, "Let me see it!" Then, he'd giggle with glee when he saw himself. <br />
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Laina received the next books in the series Jake and I got her for Christmas. She was pretty excited about that!<br />
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The adults have started a tradition where we have to make something for the person whose name we draw. It's amazing every year what people come up with. Jake made this lamp for his dad completely out of steel pipe.<br />
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Emily (and Matt!) made this sign for Jake out of nails and thread. So cool!<br />
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Other gifts included homemade yard yahtzee, I received a beautiful wreath and picture from my sister-in-law, and I made a wooden coffee mug holder for my other sister-in-law. I can never get over what people come up with each year. We're not sure how long we'll be doing this, but it's so fun while it lasts.<br />
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These pictures crack me up because Cole was silently playing by himself on the floor and Roy walked up and just laid on him. His stoic personality is so funny!<br />
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The above picture quickly turned into a pile-on and Cole was crushed! I love the looks on his and Sam's faces!<br />
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Jake's aunt and cousin from Alabama were in visiting their other Michigan family and made a stop by the house for a couple of hours. It was so great to see them! It's been years! And this is one more moment I missed on this Christmas weekend! But, just like at my parents', they're still memories we'll record here and keep with us.<br />
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Our kids were completely exhausted, and we were *terrible* parents because we made them go to bed earlier than the New Year. Little by little, everyone fell asleep or went home until it was just Jake, his mom and myself staying awake. Honestly, the only reason we did this is because it was 11:40 by the time we got everything cleaned up and said goodbye, so we figured we should just stay up the extra 20 minutes to say we did. Big partiers here! :)<br />
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The next day we loaded up and the kids got in one last game of Farkle with their grandma before we left. From the first game to this one, their sportsmanship definitely improved! We went from tears in the first game to saying "Good game" once they were done. Slowly, but surely, good sportsmanship will sink in, right??<br />
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Leaving Michigan is never easy for our kids. I honestly thought it'd get easier as they got older, but it's the exact opposite. We had a lot of tears and emotions on the way home. I always wonder when the trip will be that they just can't get over their sadness and feelings of homesickness. Thankfully, as soon as we got home, they settled right in and it really did feel good to be here. And the next day was school, where they were so excited to be back with their friends and talk about their holidays. I'm always grateful we've got such a great place to live, because it would be absolutely wretched to leave MI if we couldn't look forward to anything here!<br />
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And just like that, the holidays were over and we were on to a New Year! Welcome, 2017!<br />
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Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-14737828726405976772017-01-10T17:05:00.002-06:002017-06-26T09:20:12.019-05:00ChristmasDecember flew by and here we were, ready to celebrate Christmas. Christmas Eve turned into a busy day, baking and cooking ahead of time so that Christmas day wasn't spent in the kitchen. I was pretty moody, and finally realized I was struggling with not having a specific church to attend with my known and loved church family. In tears, I shared with Jake just how much I miss Westbrook. After 5 Christmases, this was our first where we weren't a part of planning the celebration or sharing in it with our close-knit community. No matter where we went, we would be strangers. This was hard.<br />
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Jake and I decided to attend a Lutheran church, one which, from its website, appeared to be similar to the service I grew up attending at my Grandma and Grandpa's church. With my feeling of homesickness, I was sold. Our kids were surprised at the "up and down" nature of a liturgical church. They thought it was fun to find the hymns in the hymnal and I had to laugh as they struggled to follow the verses without them being on a huge screen in front of them. The icing on the cake for them was definitely the candy cane they received during the children's sermon! Still, I loved hearing them read the Lord's Prayer and recite scriptures printed in the bulletin.</div>
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When we got in the car, a Christmas station was on playing, "Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas." Cole immediately yelled, "Finally! Some Christmas carols I actually know the words to!" Wow. We really need to work on that. I guess I've taken for granted that my kids knew the songs that are about the actual person Christmas is all about! I'll be piping O Little Town of Bethlehem into his room for the next few months! Ha!</div>
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Before we left for church, we set the camera on the tripod and got our family photo. It's so rare that all six of us are in the picture, so this is always a treat, even if no one else in my family agrees with that!</div>
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Whenever we get back from our Christmas Eve service, we find little packages that Rudolph has left for the kids during his routine weather check. We weren't sure if he'd stop this year since the church service we went to was so much earlier than typical for us. But he was here! Laina even looked outside and said she saw a little red light over at our neighbor's house! She said she saw it and then it disappeared into the air! So we *just* missed him! We were sure happy to have our cozy jammies for Christmas Eve night! We made some yummy food and snuggled in to watch The Santa Clause 2 before we went to bed and slept with sugarplums in our heads.</div>
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Christmas morning came super early at our house and I was so glad because even I couldn't sleep the night before from excitement! Nothing screams excitment like an eight-year-old with an emoji pillow though!<br />
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Maurah and Hayden got their much coveted, very real cameras.<br />
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When you ask Santa for a teddy bear, he definitely delivers!<br />
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One of my favorite things we've started doing at Christmas is have the kids pick out gifts for one another, drawing names out of a hat. Hayden made Laina a wordcloud filled with words that describe Laina and then put it in a Paris frame. She also gave her a sweet elephant. Laina gave Hayden a new skein of yarn in her favorite colors along with a nice new pair of knitting needles.<br />
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Cole also got Maurah a new skein of yarn and a new pair of needles. Maurah got Cole an old-school football game as well as making him a wordcloud filled with nice words about him as well. I love watching the kids think through the <i>how</i> of giving gifts - choosing gifts that the other person would enjoy, not just getting them something they would enjoy themselves.<br />
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I got Jake a record player this year and the kids contributed a Beatles and Chris Stapleton record to his collection.<br />
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And he got me the sign I've been pining after for two years! I was so surprised and so ecstatic!<br />
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Much of the rest of the day was spent putting our new gifts to good use. Cole built his own video games, Maurah and Hayden worked on their latchhook rugs, and Laina built her K'Nex sets. It was a beautifully lazy, relaxing day full of love. <br />
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Later that evening, friends came over for dinner and we celebrated with good food, good games, and lots of laughter. This 2016 Christmas was simply wonderful.</div>
Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-58462823574905540622017-01-10T15:11:00.005-06:002017-06-26T09:23:05.371-05:00November Little ThingsWe are plugging away and getting so close to being caught up!<br />
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November was another month that was filled with some pretty great things. Sometimes I feel badly putting these events in the category of "little," because many of them are anything but! Again, if I kept up with recording these events, they might have their own post - - - again, something to work on this year! For now, I'll just enjoy these sweet memories all wrapped up together.<br />
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On the very heels of Jake coming home from the hospital, I had to rush Hayden to the ER to make sure she didn't have a fracture or break anywhere in her arm after she did her zillionth attempt at a back bend. I've never seen her in such pain, but admit that I was *somewhat* frustrated with her because I had told her to not practice such moves without someone spotting her. As any good mother would, I reminded her that she was not, in fact, Gabby Douglas. In one ear and out the other, and the next thing I know, I hear a terrifying scream from the backyard. I had to crack up when the nurse asked her what happened. "I was showing my twin sister how I completely mastered backbends!" The irony of that statement as we sat in the hospital room was not lost on me! Thankfully, she just had a little sprain and we were out of there.<br />
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I had written about Cole playing football and have had photos throughout, but it was this month that I made him pose for his "official" pictures. I never like the ones the photography companies do and that we are supposed to pay big bucks for, so I had him put all of his gear on the day before he had to return it, and took some photos in our yard. Seriously, he's got to be the cutest football player ever!<br />
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One of his last games was under the lights on the high school field. There is a special kind of energy at a night game. It was such a fun way to round out the season.</div>
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We are so proud of Cole. He began football not really sure what he was getting himself into. He came out of this season being willing to work harder than we've ever seen him, and his respect for authority was even greater. I wasn't so sure in the beginning either, but football was a great experience for him and hopefully one he'll repeat next year.<br />
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I came home one day and was on the phone with my sister. Laina had been begging me for a playdate with her friend, Jillian. Since I was ignoring her attempts at interrupting my conversation, she got the sidewalk chalk and drew this in front of me. That girl knows how to get herself noticed!<br />
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There was one night this month where all of the girls had sleepovers so we had a date with Cole, which never happens. We picked up his new bed and then went out to dinner. Time with just this guy was so fun and so sweet. We shared a TON of laughs and had great conversation. We need to make this sort of time happen with each of the kids more often!<br />
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Hayden began reading my book, Wild and Free, and was sending me emails referencing what she was comprehending. It is so fun to be at a stage in life where we can talk about these serious, deep truths.</div>
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I always say how I love the kids' emails to me - and how awesome that they cheer me on when I'm at school and nervous about things I have going on there? They're simply the best!</div>
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Speaking of nerves, Laina had the amazing opportunity to get to participate in the CESA 1 conference in Milwaukee where her incredibly teachers were presenting. Laina's class was able to come to the conference and show these educators from 14 different states around our country just how they do their personalized learning every day. Laina was very nervous initially, but she completely rocked it! Superintendents, teachers and parapros were incredibly impressed with her work! I was so proud of her for overcoming her fear and sharing her learning!<br />
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After the conference, we rushed back to pick the big kids up from school. We decided we needed to celebrate Laina's accomplishment so we headed to Culver's where each of the kids told me something about their own days that we could celebrate as well. I love making time like this with them. Staying connected like this is so important to me, especially as they're getting older. Time with them is so great.</div>
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The girls had an awesome opportunity to meet Gary Hogg, author of the Charlie Bacon series. Jake took the girls to Author Night at school where Mr. Hogg spoke about becoming a great writer and the girls were incredibly inspired and came home ready to write their own stories!<br />
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We had an unseasonably warm November - yes, these photos of my kids in shorts and t-shirts really ARE in November and in Wisconsin! It was a gorgeous day to go outside and play in the leaves, which makes me so happy they still love to do this!<br />
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Once they were done wrestling in the leaves, they got the idea to play The Boxcar Children. This.was.awesome. I nag our kids always to use their imaginations (cough, cough, instead of the dreaded screens) and this was so fun to watch. Maurah had my camera because I'm a brave, cool, mom like that and <strike>didn't</strike> tried not to nag her at all about how careful she needed to be with it. I'm so glad I let go of some control because these are some photojournalistic shots she got of their play as well as Cole rocking it on the trampoline.</div>
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Unfortunately, sickness didn't just touch our own family, but our friend's too. While their dad was in the hospital, we had our friends' four little girls over for a slumber party. Count it - 8 kids. And did I mention Jake was out of town hunting? Yep - at a little crazy but a whole lot of fun.</div>
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Cole started band this year and I love walking past his room to see him practicing his trumpet. I feel like this picture encompasses so much about my boy. Still a lover of superheroes and his puppy dog, but growing older and more mature each day.</div>
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We had Jake's sister and her family come join us for Thanksgiving which was such a treat! They hadn't been able to visit for a couple of years, so it was so fun to have them here, despite the fact that it was my turn to be crazy sick. These guys were wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving, so don't be fooled by the boys' expressions - they really were happy to be together!</div>
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Aunt Rachael is the best at coming up with crafty ideas for the kids to do! This was them making their roll-a-die photos.</div>
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Right after Thanksgiving, we went to get our tree together. We waited until Cole got back from his trip to Nature's Classroom last year, and the poor guy was so exhausted, he didn't care one bit about the tree. Me and my desire for everyone to LOVE all things Christmas decided we'd go beforehand this year! We had another beautiful day, which was good because it took us a *long* time to find the perfect tree!<br />
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Hayden had the honor of cutting down the tree this year.</div>
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And Maurah swooped in when Hayden's arms got tired!</div>
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Each year, the kids insist on carrying the tree to the car themselves. The adults are not going to argue with that!</div>
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Look at all of those faces so excited to trim the tree! Ha!</div>
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Laina was our star-topper this year!</div>
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And just like that, we were saying goodbye to November and to Cole as he left us for a week. It was another week where there was this huge hole in our home while he was gone. I will not be ready for next year when we send two away!<br />
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<br />Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-73867750056102430332017-01-09T17:37:00.003-06:002017-06-26T09:22:51.239-05:00October Little ThingsIn my quest to be all caught up here before I head back to school, I'm going to have a ton of posts over these next few days. My Type A personality cannot handle that I'm still writing about last year at the beginning of this year! Still, I can't bear to skip over all of the events in our lives this past fall.<br />
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This first event really isn't a "Little Thing" - Laina turned 7! All she wanted was to have a birthday where she could "actually be with her cousins." As she was falling asleep one night, she turned to me and whispered, "Mommy, please don't let me down." Well, how could we ignore this request after that?!? We made arrangements with family to pack up our bags and spend that early October weekend in Michigan. And boy, was that girl celebrated or what?!?<br />
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We started our trip at the Mannes where Laina got her dream "animal party." She has always loved animals more than anything, so this was perfect for her! My sister-in-law Rachael made fun animal decorations, came up with some amazing (and hilarious!) animal games, and even included face painting. It couldn't have been anymore like Laina's personality if she had tried!<br />
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We then traveled to the Ainslie side where we celebrated the big 7 year-old at the pumpkin patch. My mom and dad had rented out the place for a couple of hours so we got to have all of the rides to ourselves. Ziplines, tractors, large slides, picking apples, eating donuts and cider, and even trying to walk through their spooky haunted maze (emphasis on trying - we're not the biggest fans of scary things!) made for a great day for all!<br />
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After the apple orchard, we headed back to my sister's house where we could celebrate Laina's birthday with cake and with my Grandma, who turned 95 at the end of October! What a gift it is to have my daughter be able to share a birthday celebration with my grandma. </div>
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Laina had her THIRD birthday celebration on her actual birthday at home. I think this girl knew what she was doing when she asked for a cousin party - - - what is usually one celebration quickly turned to three! We started the day with birthday donuts and later opened gifts as a family.<br />
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We got our little artist a pottery wheel and this was way more fun than I even thought it would be. It even made me want to take a real pottery class! I see a mother-daughter date coming up!! :)<br />
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Gosh, we love this girl to pieces. She has added so much joy to our family since the very day she was born. I cannot believe it's been 7 years since that day!</div>
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A family in our school allowed the kids to use their home for a barn dance as a fundraiser. I was a little skeptical, but it was one of the most fabulous things I've ever been to! Their barn was simply magical! The kids went on hayrides, fed the animals, and danced under sparkly lights to music from a live band. It was truly such an awesome night!</div>
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This little guy was my date the night of the barn dance. He is the son of good friends of ours and he was in the classroom I student taught in this past semester, so we toured the barns together and even showed our moves on the dance floor! What a little cutie he is!<br />
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The night wouldn't have been complete without these girls having a sleepover! All these cutie cowgirls went to our friend's for the night and had to stop at the store for treats along the way. The sass just cracks me up!</div>
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Here they are the next morning, still as smiley as can be! I think I've said it before, but these girls are like sisters. They sometimes fight, but they love each other so deeply and always work through everything. It's so fun to watch this foursome's friendship!</div>
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Cole was invited by our neighbors to go to a preseason Bucks game where he got to sit right in the fourth row and eat our neighbors out of house and home. Ha! I kid about the last part, but he was pretty darn close to doing that. As much as he loves sports, that boy's favorite thing about sporting events is the food!</div>
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Jake went to his first ever NFL game, the Packers game, with our friend. There was a bit of drama because his ticket was actually pickpocketed, so they had to go to customer service and just hope that they got there before the other person got into the game. Thankfully they did and he was able to watch from the inside of the stadium instead of sit on the outside!</div>
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I came home from grocery shopping one day and was on the phone having an important conversation. Of course, the kids can't stand it and have to climb on the car and make silly faces at me. I love how they welcome me home!</div>
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I found this prayer and it so fit my heart this month. We left our church in October after it merged with another and Jake resigned. We're still in a season of searching for where God would have us go, but this prayer still brings me so much encouragement.<br />
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As we were contemplating leaving, my friend, Erin, was a great source of encouragement to me. The very morning after Jake and I made the decision that he needed to resign, Erin sent me this post from Jen Hatmaker, knowing that I'm not on Facebook to have seen it. Again, so much encouragement for God's leading us, even though it's so scary to walk out and not have a lifelong plan of where we're headed:</div>
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I still love getting emails from my kids. Cole's emails are rare, so it's always a fun treat, especially because he's always so darn funny:</div>
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Maurah and Hayden came grocery shopping with me and I couldn't resist having them put on these Halloween masks. This is so creepy and so hysterical all at the same time!</div>
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I went to the Belong Tour in Minnesota with these lovely ladies. It was such a sweet time of connecting with them and with Jesus again. So thankful for each of them!<br />
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While I was gone, we needed some help with the kids, so some friends took our kids with them during their Saturday activities. This photo is to remember our kids' first time at Taco Bell - - - - our friends were stunned they had never been there! Remember last month and our attempt to give them REAL Mexican food (at Los Tacos, which Cole now affectionately calls Gross Tacos! Ha!)? Well, these tacos they LOVED of course! I think Taco Bell is basically like a school's hot lunch tacos, so they must have tasted familiar to them!<br />
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Jake began his new job working at Hartland Overhead Door. Our friend sent me this photo from his first day on the job putting in these huge doors. Definitely a way to initiate him!<br />
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Right after Jake began work, he came down with a terrible case of pneumonia. By the time he went to urgent care, his oxygen level was at 85%. The urgent care doctor told Jake to go to the ER because that was really dangerous. I had friends come and take the kids while I rushed to the hospital. It was so scary seeing him hooked up to monitors and hearing the nurses whisper about his condition when I passed them in the hallway. We were worried that he was having a pulmonary embolism, but thankfully a CT scan ruled that out. I honestly sat there, watching my husband's oxygen levels not raise even though he was on oxygen, and I could picture myself with our four kids at his funeral. It was one of the scariest days of my life. He was finally able to raise his oxygen level and we were sent home with him on multiple antibiotics and inhalers. His health still hasn't been the same since.</div>
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With all of this going on and our kids doled out to all different families, we realized that it was the only night left in our town to trick-or-treat. Our amazing friend and Wisconsin grandma, Wendy, made sure the kids were all taken care of so they could trick-or-treat. Maurah and Hayden went to their friend, Ally's, and had an amazing time. </div>
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Soccer player Hayden - I'm so thankful for all of these friends of mine taking photos for me so I could see them on their Halloween! </div>
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Vampire bat Maurah!</div>
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Check out that loot!</div>
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Laina ended up with our friends, the Voigts. We didn't have her costume with us, so they let her rummage through their daughter's dress-up and she found the perfect dress. Of course, her favorite part of this trip was the dog and the fact that she got to walk the dog as they went around the neighborhood!</div>
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Laina and Lylah!<br />
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Cole opted to not trick-or-treat and instead went to see the Chinese Lights downtown with the Jones'. He had a blast!<br />
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The end of October was not what I expected at all. But we have such a village that rose up to love us and support us during this time. Cole ran into one of his teachers when he was out with the Jones' and I soon got an email from her offering to clean my house, cook us meals, do laundry, anything! I still well up with tears of gratitude for our family here who steps in in the most beautiful and perfect ways whenever we need support. Community is everything for us and this community is just the best.</div>
<br />Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-20063863185721273862017-01-06T15:09:00.000-06:002017-06-26T09:22:19.774-05:00September Little ThingsWhile it seems a bit ludicrous to be writing about September 2016 in January 2017, I've got a few minutes before I have to pick up the kids from school, and you'd better believe I want to get these memories down somewhere concrete. Besides, December photos aren't even imported into Lightroom yet, so this is as good as it gets for now! <br />
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I should have made my resolution something about keeping up with this blog....<br />
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School started for us at the very beginning of September. Every year I say that the summer has flown by, but this was a year where I meant every word of it. I could not believe I was sending these kiddos off to school! I was so sad to see the summer go. Here are our first day of school photos!<br />
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Cole, 5th grade - this is our last year in elementary school with him. I cannot believe it. I woke up the other morning and realized that I won't even hit another decade before he is graduated! He will be graduating the same year I turn 40 - let's all start stocking up on Kleenexes NOW.<br />
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Maurah, 3rd grade - she just looks so grown up to me - how can this be happening? Someone needs to hold me.<br />
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Hayden, 3rd grade - she changed the most since last year, adopting "sporty" as her "style." She certainly is my natural little athlete and as sweet as can be.</div>
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Laina, 1st grade - love that toothless smile of hers! She's growing up, but she's still our baby and that helps when the other three resemble nothing of babyness!</div>
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My heart.</div>
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My friend took this pic of the BFFs on their first day of first grade - love these girlies and their teachers!</div>
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Laina decided to play soccer this year since her friends were doing it. After we traumatized her with tee-ball, she was really hesitant to play a sport. Thankfully, a love affair swiftly grew and now, amongst all of the other career choices she wants to be, a soccer player is at the top of her list!<br />
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It helps that her coach is one of her besties' moms. This picture just cracks me up! Coach Wolbert's own mini-me! :)</div>
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The sisters of these future soccer stars find some fun during games too!</div>
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Laina and Jilly - hand-in-hand whenever they can be. Love it.</div>
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I got to go on a mommy date with all of these lovely mamas. And oh my gosh, we were a MESS trying to get a good selfie! The number of outtakes we had were hysterical! We definitely realized our age when we attempted this groupie!</div>
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It only took a half hour, but we finally got one! Ha!</div>
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We got a new toaster oven, which is huge for this family. The ability to heat things up easily and toast multiple slices of bread in the morning is huge for us! Clearly, Maurah was ecstatic about this purchase! </div>
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The twins and I went on a much needed date. We headed to the Chocolate Factory and then went for a walk along the boardwalk. What a beautiful September evening we had laughing and sharing about of the new things happening in life. I love nights like these and cherish them deeply.<br />
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We headed to Michigan for a quick Labor Day Weekend trip. We soaked up the last of the summer days with our cousins we miss so much.</div>
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We headed to my sister-in-law's for a campfire and s'mores. The kids played some silly games together and Roy cracked us up looking like a little Babushka with his Thomas the Train shirt tied around his head.<br />
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Love these three Musketeers so much - just missing one!<br />
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The sunset was absolutely gorgeous and I had to take a photo. It made me miss the Michigan fields and orchards we grew up surrounded with.<br />
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A beautiful way to round out September!<br />
<br />Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-68070765478787579372016-12-28T09:49:00.002-06:002017-06-26T09:21:31.768-05:00ReflectionAs I wrote the previous post, I saw this draft in my unpublished section of blogs. I really don't remember when I started this post, but it's still incredibly relevant to how I'm feeling now, particularly at the start of this new year...<br />
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<i>I came to this place a few months ago completely intending to write things out again. To get life printed so I don't forget. After two posts, I walked away again. I've been nothing if not inconsistent this last year. So, for this year, I want this to be a regular thing. Not necessarily an every day sort of thing, but at least something that happens once a week. I've just perused through my old blogs and it's incredible to see the things that I've forgotten already. Those little details that escape your memory as soon as a new day dawns. I'm so thankful for the things I've written here so that I can remember.</i><br />
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<i>I also can't believe how much I can learn from my younger self! So many of the posts that I've written before have challenged me yet today and I've needed the encouragement more than I can say. I know it's true that God works in mysterious ways but if I ever thought He'd use my words years before to teach me truth now, I'd think I was going crazy! I love how He works, though.</i><br />
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<i>I am beginning this year feeling like I'm trying to crawl out of a dry, dark cave. This last year has been one of many challenges for me. Ultimately, I see it as a year of failure. My husband, awesome guy that he is, says I should instead see it as a year of learning. He's so sweet to me to pull the good out of something I see as completely horrid. </i><br />
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<i>This year, I am seeking to be renewed. I want to have a renewed sense of purpose and for my hope and excitement in Christ to multiply times a thousand. A big goal for this year is to stop thinking so hard about how I'm representing myself but instead how I'm representing Christ and the gospel. In no way do I take this lightly and want this to sound like it's a piece of cake to do this. While it is a joy and is such an honor that God entrusts us with His message, it's not easy to represent Him well when life is hard. And, while our pictures are cute and everyone is usually smiling, life can be pretty hard at times. I guess that's where my prayer and goal come into play, though, isn't it? If I'm going to have a renewed vision, that means looking beyond the hard and looking ahead at Christ and His plan for me instead. </i><br />
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I'm still in a place where I want to represent Jesus well. I was reading through my journal this morning and this time last year I was noting how I was allowing the outside world to have such a strong influence in my life, particularly social media. My prayer was that I would weed out the things that brought me down. I've done this, disconnecting from Facebook and Instagram so that I wouldn't be constantly comparing with those around me. This has helped me immensely in both my contentment and my gratitude for what I've been given.<br />
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Still, we're in a huge season of transition, not knowing at all what is to come for our family. This is scary and this fear robs me of faith in Christ. Will we be okay? Will He really provide for all of our needs? Why would He care about these small things when there are huge things happening in the world - Aleppo comes to mind right away. There is true suffering all around us, and I'm seeing the words of the Caedmon Call song to be true in my life right now - "My faith is like shifting sand, changed by every wave, my faith is like shifting sand so I stand on grace." <i>Grace</i>. That's the point of it, right? That God's grace covers all of the things I deem so insignificant? That His grace runs deeper and further than I could possibly imagine? It's through His grace that my shifting-sands-faith is still in tact. It's through His grace that people show up - Christmas cookies made, meaningful cards given, texts checking in. <br />
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I hear it whispered through these little things.<br />
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<i>I'm here. I care.</i><br />
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And then I remember - if He works through little things, He cares about them too. <br />
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<i>And He's carrying us.</i><br />
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So, this year, while my prayer is still to have renewed vision, it's not as much about what I can do - I'm so good at wanting my efforts to be what matters. But what's most important is <i>what He can do and what He is already doing</i>. That's where I want my vision renewed - to see clearly that He is here. <br />
He is Immanuel. God with us. And I need to cling to that truth more than anything right now. <br />
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How grateful I am for his grace and that it's with me as I enter this new year and new season of life.Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-73481405872029832362016-12-28T09:28:00.001-06:002017-06-26T09:22:33.702-05:00August Little ThingsThis post should actually be called, "All the things that happened in August crammed together!" For the next couple of posts, I'm playing catch up because these last few months have gotten away from me again. I am in this space of realizing that blogging our family moments brings life to me, but that life moves so quickly when I'm in school, I have trouble keeping up with it. Until I figure out how to juggle both of these, I'll probably have these really long posts!<br />
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We started out the month watching Hayden cheer in the Dousman Derby Days parade. She took a Pom Pizzazz class in summer school and totally knocked it out of the park!</div>
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Maurah took over my camera and got some other great shots of the day:</div>
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The temps were SO high and whoever was in charge of the parade placed these poor girls at the very end of it with no water stops along the way...not the best planning, but these red-cheeked cuties were still smiling and cheering the whole way through!</div>
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Easily the best part of the parade.</div>
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Cole and I got to have an at-home movie date, just the two of us. I'm soaking up time with this guy as the days are go by more and more quickly and I know he'll be grown and gone before I know it. Love moments like these with him.</div>
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I had the kids take their obligatory photo after registering for school:</div>
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After registration, I wanted to surprise them with an end-of-summer mystery trip. Little did I know that this mystery trip was almost a two-hour drive one way! I wasn't so sure they would be thrilled with the location once we got there, but we were all pleasantly surprised! We went to Bookworm Gardens in Sheboygan. It has these beautifully manicured gardens with storybook scenery woven all the way throughout. The kids loved exploring each of the stories they've grown up reading!</div>
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The Giving Tree stands front and center of the gardens, welcoming everyone who passes it by.</div>
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Maurah made a stop to Pooh's house:</div>
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The kids got to hang out in the Magic Treehouse, favorite first chapter books of theirs.</div>
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Laina made some pizzas with Curious George:</div>
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And Maurah and Hayden visited Mr. McGregor's garden:</div>
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My very favorite was the <u>Charlotte's Web</u> barn. The attention to detail throughout these gardens was extraordinary.</div>
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Inside of the barn, Maurah found a typewriter to become a part of <u>Click, Clack, Moo, Cows that Type</u>.</div>
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We sat in a beautiful memory garden to take a rest. Again, the thought and detail was so beautiful.</div>
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I loved the idea of books being etched to remember and thank the people who contributed to this garden or in other parts of the community.</div>
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This is Laina's Mona Lisa pose, in case you were wondering!</div>
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The girls loved getting to match their feet to the ballet positions they found from the book <u>Degas and the Little Dancer</u>.</div>
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We ended our trip at the gardens by taking turns driving the Magic Schoolbus. The best part was opening and closing the door to head off on a crazy adventure!<br />
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Clearly, from my ridiculous amount of photos from this day, the two-hour trip was definitely worth it. It was so fun watching these kids get excited about something that wasn't a screen and wasn't a huge expense (did I mention the gardens are free?!?). It reminded me of going to visit the Frederick Meijer Gardens with my grandparents when I was their age, only this was even more kid-friendly. Great memories to be had for sure!</div>
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Back on the homefront...</div>
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Maurah and Hayden got super crafty with their sewing machines. Maurah made a glasses case and Hayden sewed a bookmark and a pillow. So fun to watch these girls tap into their inner creativity.</div>
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August was filled with football camp for Cole. Every day, he had two hours of practice! This was a huge commitment like we had never had before with the kids and their activities, but it turned out to be a great experience.</div>
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We sure do love that #88!</div>
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Because of Cole's football camp, he wasn't able to do Spring Hill's camp this year. But the girls did, and absolutely loved it!</div>
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Our lifegroup got to host the Spring Hill counselors for dinner again this year. Our kids love getting to see their counselors outside of camp and get extra time swimming and playing with them! Many of these counselors are college students who give up their summer to love and serve kids like mine. I'm so thankful for the impact they make in our kids' lives in such a short amount of time!<br />
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I took a trip to Minnesota for the Influence Conference and had an AMAZING time with these AMAZING ladies. We had such rich conversation from the beginning to the end and I'm still pondering some of the things we talked about. So thankful to have such strong beauty in my life!<br />
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We had a garage sale to raise money for Cole's trip to Nature's Classroom this fall. Our little helpers are the cutest!<br />
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I took two online math courses over the summer which practically killed me, and no, I'm not being dramatic. ;) But I had some helpers along the way so that gave me some smiles throughout...</div>
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Jake preached his last sermon at Westbrook Church. I have so much to say about that, but the emotions are still raw and the grief is still deep, so I'll just leave this photo here and say that I'm glad I had the forethought to take a picture. </div>
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In the midst of our sadness, some friends had fostered some puppies. We decided that puppy therapy was just the thing to bring extra joy to our lives, and we were right!<br />
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Picnic lunches are always more exciting, especially when you get ice cream sandwiches!</div>
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We had a visit from some of our very favorite people! The Krygiers and Bakkers came and hung with us for a day. Getting together with them is always like being with family. This was right before DJ took a job to work with the Toronto Raptors, so we soaked up each moment we could before they moved. Love these guys so much!<br />
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On top of football, Cole also had band camp. His choice of instrument was the trumpet, which we were told by a babysitter makes sense - she said all the boys who play trumpet in the band are cool and cute. Ha! Imagine how red Cole got when she teased him about that!<br />
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Jake and I took the kids to an authentic Mexican restaurant where we devoured our food and the kids scoffed at it. Slowly but surely, we're going to make them see how awesome REAL ethnic food is! At least Maurah was willing to smile for a pic even though she thought her lunch was torturous!<br />
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Our family is a marketer's dream - we HAD to buy Ecto Cooler, one of Jake's and my favorite treats from when we were kids. Unlike Spaghetti-Os, this childhood treat was favored by all!</div>
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The girls wanted to have a garage sale to raise money for a new house. Their sweetness and creativity in setting this up made my heart melt. Unfortunately, we live on a street that isn't conducive to garage sales, so we brought all of these things back inside. Still, their hearts made all of this worth it, more than any money made from a sale possibly could.</div>
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A trip to the doctor's isn't complete without getting to wear these "fun masks," especially when you're not sick! Ha! It's the little things, right?</div>
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We had our back-to-school block party and these guys are the kings of the school this year - 5th graders!<br />
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And just like that, summer was over! We had just about the best summer to date this year. As I reflect and write about this in the cold month of December, I'm already yearning for the adventures we'll have this next summer! <br />
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Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-4618431910151339872016-08-23T13:43:00.000-05:002017-06-26T09:20:38.700-05:00Challenge AcceptedToday has been a challenging day. I realize it's only 1:20 PM as I write, so there's still so much left in this day. But there have been many challenging days leading up to this one, so it's easy to allow it to get the best of me.<br />
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Just as I was writing in my journal about how challenging today has been, I heard my kids playing outside with our neighbors who came over for the afternoon. After a brother/sister scuffle between our neighbor kids, my girls were left with no friend over because their little buddy went home with hurt feelings from her brother. This sort of thing is not uncommon, and, oftentimes, my kids are the culprits of these kinds of situations. I thought it would just be commonplace for my kids and that, while the girls would be disappointed, it would just be what happened. End of story. <br />
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BUT...they turned their disappointment into ACTION.<br />
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The next thing I knew, Laina was in the kitchen trying to find ANY ingredients we had to make her broken hearted friend a treat. She ended up finding the ingredients for a strawberry smoothie.<br />
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Meanwhile, Maurah and Hayden put their creative hats on and created a "happy bottle," - a recycled lemon juice bottle filled with water and art supplies to shake and watch float.</div>
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When our neighbor left, she was not smiling like this! All it took was some thoughtfulness and compassion from the girls to show her that she was loved and that she was wanted. </div>
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It took ACTION.</div>
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Sometimes, on these challenging days, I look around and don't necessarily feel blessed. It's easy to look at the problems in front of me instead of the goodness. I can easily get stuck in this space, especially when the days don't seem to get easier.</div>
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But today, the girls taught me that sometimes it's best to take your disappointments and turn them into ACTION. Take what's hurt and turn it into LOVE. </div>
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This day that I had labeled as being so challenging has now turned into a day where I'm CHALLENGED. </div>
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What a gift these little ladies and their huge hearts are to their mama.</div>
Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-90682532268672390642016-08-04T11:44:00.000-05:002017-06-26T09:24:30.714-05:00July Little Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
July was another full month around here, and that will be clear from all of the pictures on this post! Full of life and celebration and full of some pretty heavy emotion. We had my sister and her family coming to Wisconsin to celebrate the 4th of July. Laina decided she was making a campsite and would be waiting for them all day long. Unfortunately, we had to have her move because we had some important things to do first. </div>
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This was our important thing to do - send off our friends, the Grabendikes. We waited with Chloe and Caleb while their parents signed the final papers on the sale of their Wisconsin home.</div>
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We were not happy about this move...<br />
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But God made Himself and His beauty known to us even on this sad day.<br />
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And these last few minutes with these people we love so much will be treasured forever. </div>
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The impact these two have had on our kids is indescribable. Possibly unbeknownst to them, they really became like older siblings that our kids look up to with stars in their eyes. Caleb instilled a love of snowboarding in Cole, and Chloe has shared so many fun memories with our girls. Beyond this, there has always been a natural bond as these six are kids whose dads are pastors. There is something unique about this, that not many people understand. There are a lot of eyes on these kids as they grow up, and it's not always easy to live up to other people's expectations. Chloe and Caleb were such a good example of what it's like to have a dad in ministry - and Scott and Kara taught Jake and me SO much about parenting. We are going to miss these guys so much!</div>
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Scott and Kara came a couple of hours later, and darn it if I didn't get a picture of our last moments with them. We did a cinnamon roll hug with everyone and then squeezed each other individually. We drove away with our last sight of this sweet family holding hands and praying together before their trip. That's a scene I won't soon forget. On our way home, I sat in the back with our kids, who were so sad. They're now at ages where goodbyes mean something and they can really know and experience the pain that comes from losing loved ones. Hayden especially had tears, so we just held hands and silently cried together in the back seat.<br />
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Thankfully, we had something to distract us once we got home because my sister and her family were already at our house! We were not expecting them yet, and I fully believe God blessed us with that sweet surprise. We had planned on going to Little Amerricka Amusement Park that day, so we ate a quick lunch and loaded us all up in our two vehicles to head there for the afternoon. Tears were gone and it was smiles all around!<br />
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Total random sidenote - the water boat that our kids are spraying right here actually had my college geology professor and his son in it! It was hilarious for me to watch these two worlds of mine collide and to see my kids completely soak my professor!<br />
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Let's all take this moment to acknowledge that my sister and Maurah are defiitely the bravest of our crew - I will NEVER get on this ride! Love their love for adventure!</div>
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What a great way to spend the first day of July.</div>
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Throughout the week, Jake and Laina worked hard on a dining table Jake was building for some friends of ours. Laina took her painting job very seriously.</div>
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While these two worked hard, the rest of the crew starting playing some pretty awesome yard games - like jump through the hoop as it rolls by!<br />
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Laina decided that this type of game deserved some attention and she took a break from her work.<br />
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We then went to our favorite parade in Stone Bank with some of our very favorite people. <br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">Poor AJ had an accident on the trampoline the day before and got four stitches in his lip. That is another July memory that will not be soon erased from my mind! He was such a trooper.</span></div>
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Maurah had my camera and took this beautiful shot of her cousin. That girl has a future in photography, I tell you!<br />
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We went to the Waukesha airport to watch fireworks that night. It was a long day and we were all EXHAUSTED. Can you tell? ;)</div>
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All of the girls had manicures and pedicures together. The way these two were waiting made me flash forward a few years because they looked so old!<br />
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Maurah cracked me up as she played with the massage chair during her pedicure.<br />
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Lots of plays were put on and Laina took the role of "Miss Wendy." They all sang about Jesus and how He loves them - made us melt.<br />
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Give this girl a character, and she will take it all the way. Clearly, they were playing "spy."</div>
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We taught the kids how to play Ghost in the Graveyard while we waited for the sun to go down and make s'mores.</div>
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Once we put the kids to bed, it was time to play some grown-up games! I'm always begging for people to play board games with me, and having family be our overnight guests is the perfect excuse!</div>
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Jake and I went to a wedding in Michigan of our former youth group students, Jordan and Alyssa. They actually met in our youth group and what a JOY it was to watch them get married and to see so many of our students who are full-fledged adults and making such amazing differences in the world. We took our time getting there, stopping in our favorite city, Chicago, for lunch. Our day was filled with great conversation as well as great silence. We're finding the older we get, the more special it is to just get to be with each other, not saying a word. I am so sad I didn't take any photos, but seeing their faces was such a gift to us. We'll never forget our first youth group - the best bunch of "kids."</div>
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While we were at the wedding, our kids were back home having the best time with friends! So thankful for amazing families who take our kids when we need them and make it such a great time for them!</div>
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Laina performed in her ballet/tap recital on the last day of summer school.</div>
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Jake and I had an hour to kill after the recital so we stopped at church and took a selfie with the last time the name Westbrook would be on the doors of our church. What a gift Westbrook has been to us. So bittersweet.</div>
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We had lifegroup at our friends and Beckett completely fell in love with Cole, even to the point of feeding him his pacifier! It is so sweet - I watch them and realize that Cole is playing the role for some of these younger boys that Caleb played in his life. The seasons keep changing...<br />
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Maurah had a great daddy-daughter date.</div>
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We finally had a day where we could sleep in. Hayden made it the longest (in our bed, I might add!), sleeping in until 9:30. Woohoo! We're getting closer and closer to us getting to sleep in too!</div>
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The girls helped me get our DISASTER of a basement organized and all of these things ready for a garage sale. I'll have to post an "after" once we have the sale because it's amazing how different it looks!</div>
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Love finding these sweet treasures when we're cleaning. All of the arguing wouldn't make you believe it, but these kids love each other. I'm so thankful.</div>
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We also finally organized the craft room. This is now my favorite room in the house because everything has a place and it's so calming to be in!<br />
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Cole participated in Apple Camp and learned how to code a robot.</div>
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I know this is sideways, but I had to share because Hayden and I had a great conversation about setting goals. I loved her interpretation (and spellings!) and how she really strived to put these into action this summer. This girl and her diligence are going places!<br />
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Hayden did poms class in Summer School and walked in the Dousman Derby Parade.</div>
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Then we enjoyed a perfect summer birthday party at our friend's house to cool off!<br />
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These two have quickly become two of my closest friends throughout this last year in particular. We're just missing one from our little group of four (love you, Terri!). I can't even describe the role they've filled in my life! Beauties on the inside and out!<br />
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I'm pretty sure I will never tire of finding these selfies on my phone.</div>
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Hayden mastered the art of handstands.<br />
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We had an evening where we just needed daddy time, but daddy was at work writing a sermon. We decided we could do dinner together at the park and I'm so glad we did!<br />
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It was the most glorious evening for summer exploring.<br />
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Laina worked and worked at getting her tooth out. It FINALLY came out at summer school and here is her amazing grin after!<br />
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Hayden worked hard at jobs around the house to save some money.<br />
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Laina made her own plane...<br />
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More gymnastics tricks...<br />
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Laina was missing AppleJack even before we left for our week at the cottage!</div>
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Now, THAT was an amazing week (posted <a href="http://themannefamily.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-cottage.html">here</a>).<br />
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When we got back from the cottage, Laina had another eye appointment with Dr. Patterson. We have not been able to figure out exactly what her eyes need, but I'm encouraged by Dr. Patterson and believe we're getting closer to an answer! She's such a trooper with all of this.</div>
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Afterward, we had a bit of downtime while we were waiting for Jake to bring the older kids from school to church to meet us so I could bring them home. Laina and I sat under our favorite willow tree on our church's property where I read books to her while she swung on the branches. It was one of those times where you just felt God's hand of blessing over you, and I'm so thankful for those sweet, few moments.</div>
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Laina then insisted that I take a photo of our church, so here it is. I love our kids' love for this building, but even more for what the building represents - a safe place where they learn about an amazing God with people who love them beyond what words can say. We're in a season of a lot of transition and a lot of grief, but His love stands sure and we are so comforted by that.</div>
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<span id="goog_668680002"></span><span id="goog_668680003"></span><br />Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-75775649650340298212016-07-28T09:40:00.000-05:002017-06-26T09:25:13.120-05:00May Little ThingsI know it's almost August, but I just wanted to put these May memories into words. After all, May was a pretty eventful month for our family. <br />
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Since school wound down for me, I was able to get some time in the kids' classrooms. Laina was especially fun to watch. This is her with my sunglasses, the first pair I allowed her to borrow and she proceeded to lose...I'm on my third pair this summer. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...<br />
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We watched Cole play a lot of spring soccer. He has grown so much through the season. I'm a bit bummed that he won't be playing in the fall, opting for football instead. But man, has it been fun to watch him grow a love for this game.</div>
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Maurah and Hayden worked hard on their first project fair. I did not know how big of a deal this was until we got the instructions for their projects! Wow! Each project is "graded" by AP high school students and the girls both got rave reviews. I'm so proud of these ladies and all of their hard work!<br />
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Maurah's project was about Rosa Parks. Her ultimate goal was to find out how Ms. Parks became such a courageous woman. What was it that made her so strong? You can be sure it made my heart so glad when Maurah read that it was her faith and her belief that we're ALL made in the image of God. We had just watched the Disney movie on Ruby Bridges over spring break, so these discussions of integration and racial reconciliation had been on our hearts since then. This is such a crucial time in our history, and it has been so amazing to see our kids process some of these issues. What a great, new hero for Maurah to have in her life.</div>
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Hayden's project was about justice in another realm - why aren't dandelions considered flowers when they're so pretty? She found out some pretty interesting facts about dandelions and just how useful those things are. They're not only great for flower crowns and bracelets, but Native Americans found them to be incredible for medicines as well as a tasty main course meal! </div>
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The days getting longer mean our shadows do too. Laina and I loved the evening light.</div>
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We hosted our lifegroup and the girls proceeded to show their friends their sleeping bag ramp. Racing down the stairs in sleeping bags and sheets can provide hours of fun!</div>
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We were the hosts for Laina's monthly book club and we made flower crowns to go with the book, "Bloom with Mi" by our friend Amy Kavelaris. Maurah and Hayden graciously helped make the prototypes. They turned out so sweet!</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">The end of the semester means my friend, Katie, and I get to celebrate!! Date nights like this with her are one of my favorite new traditions. We went to Matzatlan for a tasty Mexican dinner and then we headed to the Paint Bar in Delafield to try our hand at contemporary cork painting. It was just the two of us in the class and we had SO much fun! My art skills are even less than stellar, but what I lacked in artistry, we made up for in fun!</span><br />
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Here are our crowns in action! These girls are just precious. I'm so thankful my friend, Caitlyn, came up with this idea! It's been such a gift to Laina and to me!<br />
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As we're going through so many changes in our lives right now, I was encouraged by this quote. Mother Theresa for the win - always. <br />
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We had our last service as Westbrook Church where Scott and Kara honored Mike and Jan Franz for starting Westbrook all those years ago.</div>
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And another shot of people who were there from the very beginning.</div>
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We celebrated Westbrook's 33rd Anniversary with a huge party after church. I can never find our kids at these events because they're always off with friends, but I did snag this photo of Laina enjoying the huge slip and slide.<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-irhHQVPMRK8/V5oF1vRuuWI/AAAAAAAADno/-7QhDIjT-rAHQkFIACQpqXwFov9ZKaJewCLcB/s1600/untitled-15-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-irhHQVPMRK8/V5oF1vRuuWI/AAAAAAAADno/-7QhDIjT-rAHQkFIACQpqXwFov9ZKaJewCLcB/s640/untitled-15-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And I enjoyed these ladies - mentors and friends beyond what words can describe. Our last Sunday with Kara - tears flood my eyes as I write that almost two months after that fact. When we're so sad, it means we had something so great, right? Yep - definitely a lot of greatness I got to be with in this pic.</div>
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#pastorpatandhiscat</div>
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We love this girl and are going to miss her so much!</div>
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Gosh, I love this place and what it has meant to our family these last five years. And this is not photoshopped, but God showing off, as He's done so much in this place.</div>
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Beautiful lilacs from our hugely overgrown bush. So much beauty, even though it's such a short time.</div>
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I found this on my phone. Our sweet neighbor girl was the victim of an outdoor makeover - and apparently then she was being held for ransom by a lily leaf. It's so funny what these kids come up with!<br />
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We shocked the Grabendikes with a surprise party put on by our church. Maurah is chilling with Chloe and Lindsay - two girls I'm so thankful she has in her life!<br />
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Lindsay stayed with us for a couple of days while she was in town. We went out for lunch and then realized that Maurah and Hayden were on their field trip at the knitting store across the street! We promptly scooted over there to see what they were up to with their Knitting Club.<br />
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As we were heading back to the restaurant, I got a call from school that Laina's eyes were really bothering her. We just haven't been able to figure this out for her. So - we changed our lunch plans and brought her with us! These two have been buddies from the very beginning - they make my heart melt!</div>
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We celebrated my birthday, and there never was a more perfect way for me to feel loved. Lindsay and I drove to Pewaukee to have lunch and Lacey met up with us there once she got out of work. The girls treated me to lunch, and then to getting our nails done. We then came back to this little beachfront cafe where we had coffee, treats, and amazing conversation. Really, all day was filled with amazing conversation that was challenging, encouraging, and just all around beautiful. I'm so lucky to have these two girls in my life!<br />
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We came home from our time together and I quickly changed my clothes to head out with Jake and the kids, having no idea where he was taking us. We ended up at the Thirsty Duck, which has mini-bowling and the most amazing bar food. It was a BLAST! The perfect kind of fun our family enjoys together!!<br />
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We returned home to Lacey and Lindsay having cleaned our entire house, mopping and all, and a relaxing Pandora station playing with candles lit. The kids were so excited, they kept asking Lindsay if it was "time." They ran into the office where Lindsay played and the kids sang a song they wrote for me. Tears were flowing! Beyond blessed and totally don't deserve their kindness. Love their hearts.</div>
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Maurah and Hayden made the most beautiful fairy houses for one of their seminars! What creativity!</div>
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We ended May with a much needed Memorial Weekend spent quietly and together. We went to Lake Michigan and had some great family time.<br />
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These are the very best days. May was a rollercoaster of emotion, but we always come back to thankfulness for health, togetherness and these four right here. They keep us going and lift our spirits. Couldn't love them more.</div>
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Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-21327667824050393572016-07-25T09:18:00.000-05:002017-06-26T09:21:59.127-05:00The CottageEvery year, we are so blessed to be able to go to Townsend and stay at our friends' cottage for a week. This week, we stayed from Thursday night until Tuesday. When we first started going to the cottage, the kids were 6, 4, 4, and 2. I remember enjoying that time, but it definitely had its challenges. In fact, I think we left earlier than we originally planned both that year and the year after. We thought that's just how we vacationed and that our family wasn't one that could stay so long. <br />
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Now, at 10, 8, 8, and 6, we realize that it was our kids' ages, not our personalities, that made it so challenging. Seriously, every moment is SO much easier and SO much fun with them. Part of that is their ages, but I think it's also that they know our expectations of our time at the cottage after being up there so many times. We have no TV, unless we're doing a family movie night. No screens at all, we completely unplug. And it's my very favorite thing to do. We color, play cards and board games, swim and jet ski, build puzzles and read. And, we eat a lot of good food. It is some amazing family time, and my heart is always so full on these trips. It quiets so much of the noise of life. I realize that our kids really DO enjoy each other, even if I don't always get to see that in the rush of day to day. <br />
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This is the trip I look forward to so much each year because I really believe it strengthens our ties to one another. I know that it's these times our kids will look back on and remember with fondness when they're long grown and having families of their own. Their childhood is now, and Townsend, WI will always be one of the sweetest parts of it.<br />
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We couldn't contain our grins, even as packing the car was NOT an easy feat. We couldn't wait to be up North!</div>
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We got in late Thursday night, and started Friday morning off right by getting right into the lake! I thought the water was a bit chilly, but it didn't stop these guys from swimming right out to the dock!<br />
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Maurah's arms got tired swimming back, so Cole said, "Grab onto my legs! You kick your legs and I'll use my arms!" It made for some great giggles on their way back to shore!<br />
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Cole took this of us and it's one of my favorites. Jake said to me at one point, "I love you on vacation." I right away took that to tease him that I'm glad he loves me one week out of the year. Ha! But we really do just get to be US on vacation - the responsibilities and noise of the real world are drowned out and we get such good time together. So thankful for this guy.<br />
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This year, we had a special treat and got to have some friends come and hang with us for one of the days. They were staying at their cabin the same week, and were only a half hour away. And what better place to meet up than our favorite candy shop?!? I made the Lindmark kids get in our obligatory family picture. Every time we drive to the shop, I say, "What's the candy store rule?" And the kids begrudgingly say, "No candy unless we take a picture." Sure, it's bribery, but it works!</div>
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Oh boy - these two right here are trouble with a capital T!<br />
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Once the evening glow came in and the adults were done jet skiing and swimming, the kids entertained themselves with mudpies galore.<br />
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Lots and lots of cartwheels were done...<br />
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That light! I couldn't get over it...<br />
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We had a beautiful boat ride all around the flowage. Love this photo of my friend and her baby girl.</div>
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And then there were the "tweens," who we had to keep reminding to turn off their screens and see the real life happening right before their eyes! How we got to this stage, I have no idea! I blinked and it happened, it seems...<br />
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Then, we finally just said, "No screens allowed!" And look at these beauties - love them to bits.<br />
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One of the huge highlights for me was that a bald eagle flew over us. I have never seen one in real life, aka, outside of a zoo. He was absolutely breathtaking.<br />
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Just majestic.<br />
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The loons are a favorite of the kids' too. We love hearing them at night as they lull us to sleep and in the early morning - well, we love hearing them in the night - but I could appreciate them more in the morning if they had a vacation alarm clock like I do!</div>
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This guy is growing way too fast for me. He is going into the fifth grade and is getting ready to start tackle football next month. Five nights a week, plus Saturdays. Again, I blinked and we're here. I love who he's growing to be, and find so much joy in the relationship we have together, but can't help but reminisce about when he was 3 and 4, just like our friends' littles.</div>
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Like this guy! Everything he does is so cute, even when he's naughty. That's the best part about not being the parent of a preschooler! You can appreciate the funny in the naughty so much more and not have to be all serious and doling out consequences! Ha! This guy is a treasure.<br />
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My friend kept telling us to look at her hubby as he drove the boat. Definitely a happy captain right there!<br />
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All the Lindmark boys...</div>
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These photos of Laina are completely out of focus, but I love them because she is just a crazy nut and they showcase that perfectly! Joy follows this girl wherever she goes!</div>
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That toothless grin - she melts me!</div>
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We got back from our sunset ride and started a fire for s'mores. I'm kicking myself I didn't get photos of those! I was too busy roasting the perfect marshmallows! ;) The girls played lots of Concentration - I love this game because it brings back memories of playing clapping games like it with my friends and it always includes a lot of giggles!<br />
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Luke kept a good eye on the fire...<br />
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We had SUCH a great visit with these friends. I'm so thankful they made the trip to be with us this day! It was easily one of the best days of summer this year!!<br />
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We settled back into "normal" life at the cottage, which truly is not that difficult. We headed to our favorite ice cream stand. It was super hot, so we struggled to eat our ice cream before the heat took care of it!<br />
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Laina finished her ice cream and was in her own little world. I love this capture of her because she is just loving life. It's such a picture to me of enjoyment and gratitude.</div>
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Maurah was playing with my camera and got this photo of me. I'm thankful for having moments like this captured because this is some of the sweetness of real life that sometimes gets buried and forgotten. All of my kids are huggers, and I'm so thankful for that. Sometimes, I want to not be touched and want to say, "not right now," but then I see this where I've got my bookends - my youngest and my oldest - and I am reminded of how quickly this time goes. How I thought that Cole was so big when he was six because we had two four year-olds and a two year-old. I'm sure I didn't carry him like I am Laina in this photo. I'm thankful he still comes to give hugs and I hope that never changes. And, I'm going to continue to work on making time and space for hugs whenever they're asked for. <br />
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We drove to Antigo to see The Secret Life of Pets. We were all tired and a special movie theater date was just what we needed. We had gotten goggles on the way to have back at the cottage and it cracked me up to turn around and see the view...<br />
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The girls have been reading old Babysitter's Club Little Sister books, both mine and some that I've salvaged at Goodwill. I feel like it's a piece of my childhood that I get to share with them. It connects us in this unique way as we talk about the characters I felt so fondly about at their age. I absolutely love it.</div>
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The next day, we spent most of the day in the water. These two came up with the most fun imaginative play and were as happy as could be for HOURS as they came up with ideas together. They play together so well and it's so fun to watch.</div>
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Cole and Maurah are at a crucial point in their relationship. Both are alpha personalities, Cole because he's the oldest, and Maurah because she was born a fighter. This paddleboat trip started off with a conflict, but Jake and I decided the best thing for them would be to sit on that boat for a good length of time until they could connect in a positive way. Those smiles coming back into shore show that the time was worth it and paid off. I'm confidant that someday they'll learn that they can have so much more of an impact on this world if they work together, rather than argue about whose way is the right way. We all have to learn this in some capacity, and what better training ground than right here in a safe place with your family. <br />
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Evening fishing...</div>
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More cartwheels...<br />
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More bald eagle sightings...<br />
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More Concentration...</div>
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Some highlights from the trip: We played Catch Phrase with the kids, and we weren't sure if they would all enjoy it or be able to play it. It's challenging to find a family game where a ten year-old and a six year-old have the same shot at winning and enjoy it. But, this game turned out to be a hit! Laina was actually the best clue-giver out of all of us! Hayden had a couple of laughs as she tried to describe her words. The first was that she was pretending to wipe off her bottom, only very dramatically, so we had no idea what she was even doing. Jake looked at the word, and he said, "No, this is the OTHER kind!" She was trying to describe paper towel, but using motions for toilet paper. No wonder we got it wrong! Then, she would kiss her hands and then act like she was baking something, slapping her hands together and on the table. We had NO IDEA what she was doing, so Jake again looked at her words and said, "Nope! Don't do that one!" Let's just say there are some adult ideas in Catch Phrase we didn't know about! We all got a really good laugh out of it, though!</div>
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Jake has been working through a book where he draws every day, working on a new sketch. He has been doing some side work with graphic design for some friends here, and really wants to stretch his abilities. Laina was incredibly impressed with his sketch one morning and said, "Wow - I thought you married a guy for looks, but I guess you marry for the skill like mom did!" We about died laughing! She always keeps us on her toes with her commentary!</div>
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Hayden and I were scheduled for a date during our time at the cottage. I gave her the option of going to the local coffee shop or going on a run. She decided going on a run, so we got all ready and headed out. As I started a jogging pace, she sprinted ahead of me. I said, "Wait! We have to run slowly because we're running for a few miles and we can't keep that pace the whole time!" She just kept running as fast as she could and said, "I don't know how to control my speed!" I caught up to her at the end of the road and she was panting like crazy. She said, "Can we just do the coffee shop instead?" We raced each other home and got ready for a coffee shop date instead. And I'm so glad we did because that time together was so special.</div>
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We got our drinks and then walked around the little shop. Hayden was particularly captivated by the blingy hats. In true Hayden form, she wanted to get something for everyone else. So, the girls each got a little bracelet and Cole got bear poop, (chocolate covered sunflower seeds). We had the best conversation, and I love how she is just open and thoughtful about her answers to my questions. I'm so thankful we're instilling dates into our schedule again. They're great for the kids, but they're great for this mama's heart too. And they teach me so much. </div>
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So grateful for this girl right here. I can't help but get reminiscent at times when I remember that we almost didn't have her or Maurah. I can't imagine what this life would be like without them. This girl is going to change the world with her love and compassion for others. We all need her.</div>
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This place is glorious. It captures my heart in a new, deeper way each time we are there. We left with hearts full and already anticipating the next time we get to be together in this place.</div>
Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-20085628330817234132016-07-21T15:20:00.003-05:002016-07-21T15:24:08.127-05:00June Little ThingsI am so thankful for iPhones - I think so many of the things that seem small would go unnoticed if we couldn't capture them with a click of a button. As I look back at these grainy photos, I'm overwhelmed with thankfulness and see how full our life really is. June was no exception.<br />
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I started the month getting this email from Cole while he was at school. Here is the original post I had put on Facebook: "<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "san francisco" , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px; line-height: 18px;">Last night I was asked if Cole likes being a big brother. I laughed and said, "I'm pretty sure he does, but you would never know it just from watching him with them!"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "san francisco" , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "San Francisco", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px; line-height: 18px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "san francisco" , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px; line-height: 18px;">This guy picks on his sisters to no end. He probably needs to to survive in a house where he's sorely outnumbered by girls. But, he always checks on them when they're having a rough time, and that's when you see his heart for them. I hope they realize how special it is to have him looking out for them. </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/olderbrother" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: "San Francisco", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">#olderbrother</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "san francisco" , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/momofboys" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: "San Francisco", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">#momofboys</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "san francisco" , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/lovethiskid" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: "San Francisco", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.24px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">#lovethiskid</a>"<br />
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I really do love his heart for those girls.</div>
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My school year had ended, and I was able to be around for some fun days at school. This was Crazy Kid Day and these kids sure were crazy!</div>
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Loved getting to hang with these sweet girls on their turf.<br />
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These guys finished an amazing season of soccer with a double header. So proud of them ALL!</div>
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The second game happened during a torrential downpour. I volunteered to stay in our car with these cuties to pass out snacks and watch a movie. I love the progression of our friend's son and Laina in the back - I had no idea he had done that until a few minutes after when I was looking through the photos! Too funny!<br />
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The car movie date turned into a real playdate day. Cole went to a friend's house and these little ladies came to our place. Here's our friend's daughter watching Barbie with the "babysitters." They were in Heaven.<br />
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The rain cleared up and the girls all decided it was time to wash the car for me! I went outside to find them all like this. Seriously too cute!<br />
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This was Laina and Jillian when they found out their playDAY was going to turn into a playNIGHT. We went over to Jillian's house for some more good time with our friends.</div>
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We had the most amazing moscow mules made by my friend, Caitlyn. YUM.</div>
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My friend Colleen has chickens and the girls treat them like puppies. Those poor birds didn't know what to do with themselves, but when this crew wants to snuggle you, it's hard to argue!</div>
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One day, right in the midst of a difficult season and a difficult day, God gave us this reminder that He is here and His promises never fail. I so badly needed it, I ran out after the thunderstorm we had and just started crying and ordering the kids to go outside and see the double rainbow.</div>
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His love shines brightest in the midst of the storm.<br />
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Jake and I were gone for the last week of school at an assessment for our new church. My friend snapped these photos of these four besties on their last day and I couldn't love them more. Their friendship is so special.</div>
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We went out for our last dinner with the Grabendikes. I still can't put into words what it was like to say goodbye...but just look at this terrible picture of me where my eyes are as puffy as can be, and you get the idea. ;)</div>
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I had to return a lens I had rented from a photoshoot I had and decided I should definitely reward the girls for the hour drive there and the hour drive back. We stopped at Bakers Square because I was remembering it as being a full-fledged bakery. As in, ONLY little treats. Well, I was remembering wrong, and suddenly we were seated and ordering large meals that none of us had the stomachs for. Oh well - it was a sweet, impromptu date with these favorite ladies of mine!</div>
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In their packing, the Grabendikes gave us the most fun kind of box - a COSTUME box! And this box was HUGE! The girls and their neighbor friend had so much fun going through all of the outfits. Laina especially got into character as she meditated!</div>
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We had another book club with Laina and her friends. Caitlyn hosted an amazing night where the girls got to make their summer bucket lists and then cross off the first thing on those lists, with their very first sleepover! The moms stayed way too late, having the best time and laughing hysterically. There is nothing like good friends to take a "blah" day and make it amazing. Love these ladies - both big and small - so much!</div>
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Jake is helping a friend with her website and we had the best time with her two kiddos. Cole and her son played the Wii and they were just the cutest.<br />
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I have no idea what this photo is from, or if there was any purpose to begin with, but man, do I love this girl!</div>
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We had lifegroup at our friends' home. It was so nice to just hang and catch up as summer can be so busy and it's difficult to get us all together. Cole enjoyed watching our friend Nate shooting bow. </div>
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I am so thankful for our friends who engage our kids and take the time to do things with them. These little deposits they're making into their lives will add up to so much someday. I watched these two in their own little world and was so thankful.</div>
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Jess and I attempted taking the kids for their first ding-dong-ditch! The first attempt did not go over so well, due to a naughty little puppy of our friend's. BUT - we made up for it and took the kids to Jess' neighbors just so they could get the experience. We left a bottle of wine and then ran as fast as we could back to the house, laughing the whole way. It was SO.MUCH.FUN and we'll definitely be ding-dong-ditch gifting again!</div>
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We went to a friend's house for a goodbye party for Scott and Kara. One of the activities was the French Fry Challenge. It was just too fun watching these guys try to figure out where these fries came from!</div>
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Summer means cherries.</div>
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We celebrated Jake for his birthday and for Father's Day by going to the drive-in, our annual summer trip. This time around we saw Finding Dory. I was completely skeptical, as Finding Nemo wasn't one of my favorites, but this sequel was definitely enjoyable.</div>
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This little girl comes out of Summer Academy every day with some sort of crazy get-up on. She has no care in the world and just skips to see her mama. I hope she always stays this confident in who she is and I hope she's always this excited to come and give me a hug.</div>
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We went to Chicago (back <a href="http://themannefamily.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-full-weekend-part-2.html">here</a>), and the girls met this little lady in the train station. She walked right up to the girls and said, "You have American Girl Dolls too?? I'll be right back!" She ran away quickly and then returned with her dolls and right there, smack dab in the middle of Union Station, our girls were having a tea party with their dolls and a total stranger. It was beautiful. I have so many thoughts from this one moment, but it was mostly this: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -0.24px; line-height: 18px;">Their willingness to lay down their insecurities and make a new friend is something I look up to. As we grow older, we learn a lot, but we also miss a lot because we allow so many things to hold us back. Let's look around. Let's start noticing. Let's be a friend.</span></span></div>
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We had a Manne/Marshall marathon day and this little lady did not disappoint in the cute department!</div>
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Cole had basketball camp after summer academy for a few weeks, so there were some afternoons with just the girls and me. Hayden climbed up to the front seat and we had some good girl time while we were waiting for Cole to be done.</div>
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We also got the time wrong on when Cole was actually done, so we headed across the lot to the elementary school and got some good park time in. These girls are so strong, and I love watching them do their tricks on the monkey bars.</div>
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MEIJER is in WISCONSIN!! Woohoo!! This is a BIG deal for this Michigan girl! Yes, it's all the way in Sussex, but it's worth it! We stopped there after summer school one day and had a great lunch date at the pretzel shop. Because warm pretzels and cheese is definitely a summer meal.</div>
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I told Maurah she could grab a box of Rice Krispies. I couldn't figure out where she was and I turned around and saw this. Apparently, there was a special gift in each box. She pulled out all of the boxes and started shaking them, seeing if she could hear the gift inside or if some boxes were larger than others! Nothing gets past this girl!</div>
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The girls and I went to school early for Cole's pick-up ON PURPOSE this time to get some park time in. It was another beautiful June day! There were some conversations that I recorded on my phone because I just giggled at the comments. As we pulled up and the girls ran out of the car to get to the park, Laina said, "When I was in my littler sixes, I couldn't reach that slider thing. But now I'm in my bigger sixes, so I bet I can grab it!" And - she sure could! It's amazing what your "bigger sixes" can do for you.</div>
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Maurah was showing me a trick on the monkey bars, climbing on top of them and Hayden said, "Oh, I can do that trick too! Mom, we climb on top of the monkey bars all the time. Except we only do it when the recess teachers aren't looking because we'll get in trouble." It cracked me up thinking of these girls and all of their second grade friends being such rebels and doing these tricks at recess!</div>
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Laina was thinking hard and said, "Mommy, if I die holding my blankie, do you think God will let her into Heaven with me?" And I said yes. :)</div>
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Yes - June was a pretty spectacular month.</div>
<br />Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-59759517103757882102016-06-29T08:58:00.001-05:002016-06-29T09:02:58.974-05:00A Full Weekend (Part 2)After our grand adventure to the serenity of nature, we woke up early the next morning and drove into Milwaukee where we met the train to take us to Chicago for the day. It was an early birthday celebration for Jake, since we were both booked with work on his actual birthday.<br />
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This was the kids' first train ride, and I'm not sure they actually experienced much of it! Ha! They were so tired from the week before, it was actually a great way for them to rest before we rushed around for the day. I love this photo of Cole and Maurah. She kept picking her head up, looking over at me, and smiling with stars in her eyes. She was over the moon about snuggling with that brother of hers.<br />
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When we arrived at Union Station, I took the kids to see the Great Hall. I wish I had photos of it, because I love that room, but the kids really weren't that impressed! To them, it was just a big room and they wanted to go outside and actually see some things!<br />
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We took the L-train (again, another first for them!) to Lincoln Park Zoo. This is my all-time favorite zoo I've ever been to. </div>
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It's a tradition of ours to take a picture at this spot in the zoo every time we come. We've been doing this since Cole was two years old!<br />
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I'm sad to say that I think our zoo days are close to an end. It could have been that they were all tired (who planned to do this trip after such a crazy week anyway?!?), but they weren't that impressed. We made it to maybe half of the zoo before we decided to sit in the shade, take a break, and then move on to our next destination.<br />
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We did manage to see a baby zebra while we were there though! That mama zebra stayed as close as she could and every time the baby moved even just the littlest bit, she turned to look at him and moved even closer. I love seeing how mamas have that protective instinct even in the wild!<br />
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Big sisters sometimes have that protective instinct too...<br />
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We then took a bus downtown to Michigan Avenue. The kids were so excited because they had earned money for some large purchases they'd been saving for. Maurah and Hayden in particular worked really hard to save up for American Girl dolls. Jake and I told them we would pay half if they came up with the first half. Lo and behold, they did! <br />
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A few months ago, Maurah wrote a letter to our neighbor, and has been doing odd jobs for her ever since. She has spent hours picking up sticks in their yard, she babysits their goldfish when they're gone, and she picks up their mail. Hayden wrote a letter to our friends the Hoffmans and she spent an entire day working at their house, weeding the garden, dusting the whole house, and organizing. These two were SO PROUD to get their dolls, something they've wanted for so long!<br />
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This smile from Maurah says it all. She has fallen in love with Julie, her American Girl. Check out those stars in her eyes!<br />
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Laina, at six years-old, has not quite learned the value of working hard for something. However, she had enough saved money because of birthday and Christmas gifts. SO....the lesson wasn't quite learned, but a doll still made it into her hands. We're working on her! </div>
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Cole had saved his money to go to the Nike store and darnit if I didn't get a picture of him. He walked out with two pairs of socks (his latest obsession) and a cool soccer jersey since our team is in the Olympics this summer.<br />
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We then went to Milennium Park and enjoyed the "fastest slides ever!" I'm pretty sure this girl is </div>
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going to own the city some day! </div>
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It was hot, hot, HOT so the kids begged us to go to the restaurant and sit in some air conditioning. We went to Giordano's for dinner and introduced the kids to what pizza should always taste like! Then, we just went back to Union Station, even though our train wasn't due for a couple of hours. Still, the adventure continued there! We love this city!</div>
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Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-47038876740893180382016-06-29T08:30:00.000-05:002016-06-29T08:30:13.307-05:00A Full Weekend (Part 1)This past weekend is one I want to remember forever. There was nothing flashy about it, but it was a few days put together where the world just seemed right. The summer has not started off on a "smooth sailing" note for us, so getting away as our little pod of six was just what we needed. Sometimes when you feel like you're on everyone else's time and trying to meet everyone else's needs, it's so good to just stop and take a minute to breathe.<br />
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We did this first on Thursday night as I went to scope out a spot for a photo session I had coming up. It was at Schlitz Audubon, a nature center in Milwaukee that I quickly found out is AMAZING. The kids were exhausted on the 40 minute drive there, having just finished their first week of summer school. Cole was especially tired, having done summer school, then basketball and football camp, all back-to-back-to-back all throughout the week. There was so much nagging and fighting over even the littlest of things. I thought for sure I had made a mistake having them come with me. But then, we stepped out into nature, and what a miraculous thing nature is. The fighting ended, the energy in my kids came back, and we were suddenly on a grand adventure together, one that everyone enjoyed!<br />
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The waves in Lake Michigan were especially awesome that evening...<br />
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These two bicker like the best of them, but it's so funny to me, because I have photos of them holding hands or hugging on every single trail they hike. Maybe that's my new plan of attack when they're at each other! ;)</div>
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I couldn't get over the light and all of the beauty that was around us. We would come up over certain hills and it was just breathtaking.</div>
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We climbed a tower that seemed to go on forever and were able to see for miles and miles on end.</div>
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How this kid got to be 10 and start acting so old, I'll never know. But we're definitely eating up this stage with him! I love that even though he's getting so big, he's still our little loving man who holds his dad's hand. </div>
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Laina quickly found a turtle shell she was enamored with and Cole couldn't believe the Queen Anne's lace that was bigger than his head!</div>
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We ended our hike night with a relaxing drive along the coast of Lake Michigan and then getting ice cream. The weekend started early with this little mini-trip....and only got more and more exciting.</div>
Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-71801089692055500892013-02-21T08:56:00.002-06:002017-06-26T09:24:51.580-05:00January I realized as I go through pictures from last year that I can't remember the memory that goes with each of them. So this blog has to be a recording place for me and I just have to keep up with it. So many things I want to remember are found in the little things that quickly slip the mind. So, even if it's mainly just with pictures and a quick caption, I'm going to try really hard this year to write and remember here.<br />
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With the weather being so crazy this year, we've gone from fluffy snow to total ice in our yard. We have tried so many times to make a snowman and haven't gotten it to work once yet. It hasn't kept us from being in the chilly air, though! The new thing for the kids this year is trying the "blowing snow" picture...I did it with one of my clients and the kids have been wanting to do it ever since. The snow was too wet in these pics but Hayden's effort is definitely there. ;)<br />
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A typical Laina face...so silly<br />
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Trying the snow blowing again<br />
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The blowing didn't work, so let's just throw it!<br />
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I've learned very quickly that anything can be turned in to a light saber.<br />
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Laina and Apple Jack have become best buddies and have a snuggle time each morning while the bigger kids are at school. <br />
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Hayden and Maurah are REALLY into dress-up and they play their parts to a T. Here are our little bakers.<br />
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Laina is such a waterbug. I have to watch her very closely in the bath because she dunks herself all the way in and "swims." I'm ready for her to start her swimming lessons this spring.<br />
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We have princesses in our presence practically every day. Maurah and Hayden made these crowns at school and Hayden was gracious enough to let Laina borrow hers. <br />
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It's hard to believe this photo was taken in January just like the photos above! We had one day where it was in the 50s. Laina took that opportunity to splash around in the puddle between our house and our neighbor's. She was so sopping wet when she came in, she took off her boots and dumped out a ton of water. That made her day, especially when she dumped the first one on our hardwood floor and made a puddle inside. Thankfully, I was quick enough to stop her before she got the other off!Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-9891235734969969822012-05-14T14:47:00.000-05:002017-06-26T09:23:24.727-05:00Happy Mother's Day!This Mother's Day was one of the best days I've ever had. I'm not sure if it's because my kids are older and they're more in tune to how special holidays are or what, but they and Jake made it so sweet for me. We didn't do anything too much out of the ordinary but it was still wonderful. I woke to Cole giving me snuggles and as soon as everyone else was awake, they gave me their homemade cards, which I always love. We went to church and then Jake and the kids took me out to one of my favorite restaurants in town, Water Street Brewery. Yum!<br />
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Then, we came home and all of the kids did an INCREDIBLE job getting pictures with me. I have decided for the rest of the year that my goal is to try and be in pictures with the kids more. Cole was the photographer for all of these (except the ones with him, of course!) and I'm thinking we have a photographer in the making! <br />
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Truly, after getting these photos, I could have been done celebrating because I was so giddy to have these memories. But we decided it was time to do a family bike ride to the ice cream shop in town. Not really thinking about it, we hopped on our bikes (with Laina in the trailer behind Jake) and paraded our way to the ice cream shop. It was quite a sight and we got a lot of smiles and some "Are you crazy?!?" looks from cars along the way. Once we got to the shop (which is quite a trek for three little bike riders), Jake and I were kicking ourselves because we completely forgot that the ice cream place was CLOSED! Thankfully, quick thinking man that he is, Jake ran to the gas station on the corner to get us some Crunch ice cream bars. So, we just visited the ice cream shop and I of course saw it as another opportunity to get some photos of my sweet kids.<br />
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Cole got this sticker at church and wore it all day...<br />
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Check out those baby blues! I was in heaven with the light we had!<br />
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We rode back home where Cole, Maurah and Hayden put on a magic show for me in the backyard. It was one of the cutest things ever. Cole would whisper in Hayden's ear and she would repeat him. My favorite part was when she said, "This is desicated to Megan Manne!" Then, they would say, "Abra-cadabra!" and Cole would make each of the girls disappear...a.k.a., I would close my eyes and they would run and hide under the slide. I can't even describe how much fun I had watching them.<br />
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We played for a while more and then it got to be dinner time pretty quickly there after. Since we had big lunches, the kids asked for cereal outside at their picnic table...easy enough! :) As they were eating, Cole stopped and said, "Mom, can I pray?" And then he went on to say this: "Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for this food. Thank you so much for this day that we get to celebrate our mom and show her how much we love her because we love her so so much. Thank You for the best day ever. In Jesus' Name, Amen."<br />
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Okay...I had tears in my eyes. How could my SIX year old be so sweet and genuine?!? Seriously, Cole ate up the idea of this day and blessed me all day long by wishing me a Happy Mother's Day and giving hugs or saying his new phrase of, "I love you more than anything, Mom." I was even told he loves me more than chocolate ice cream...if that's not love, I don't know what is!! <br />
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Jake was out running while the kids had supper and we finished up and went inside where they snuggled up together to watch a Christmas movie Laina had picked out. Yes...Christmas. After the movie was finished, we read Max Lucado's book, You are Special. I LOVE this book for children. After we read, I got to tell each of the kids exactly what makes them special and how they are just like the characters in the story. I then got to thank them for making ME feel so special all day long and how I'm so thankful that I get to be their mommy. As I tucked them all in their beds, I felt like I could have burst with the thankfulness I had for my family. I realize it's a gift not many have.<br />
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As Jake got home, he and I decided it was in home date night for us. We ordered out, rented a movie and promptly fell asleep halfway through just like the old feeling parents we are! Maybe we'll try to finish it tonight. :)<br />
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I'm pretty sure we couldn't duplicate the greatness of this day if we tried. But I'm so thankful for the times that God gives us these "perfect" days together to remind me of what I have. Because what I have is SO incredible.Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-595124779089117582012-05-08T13:39:00.000-05:002017-06-26T09:24:04.011-05:00The FourthWriting again. <br />
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I'm not sure if I have anything worthy to say but I started this blog to get my thoughts down and especially to remember this life that is passing by so quickly. The other day I was talking with Jake about how our kids are growing so very fast. I don't really remember the twins being two and now they are four...practically grown up, or at least they think! I realized that I haven't been writing down how the kids are changing, what their interests are, what's challenging about them and what I especially love. Poor Laina, in particular...pretty sure she doesn't have one of my special "bullet posts" about her like the other kids do! I'll have to go back to check...<br />
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Anyway, she's the very reason I'm back on here today. I want to make a bullet list for little Laina at 2 1/2 years old. Right now we're working on potty training. Oh, potty training! You would think that the fourth child would be a cinch to potty train but I have proof from having to mop multiple rooms in our house today that it's not as easy as it would seem. But <i>potty training</i>? How are we here already? I know there will be many many benefits to having her out of diapers, money being a main one. But I haven't had a diaper free home in 6 years! Once she is out of diapers, there will officially be no more baby things in the Manne house. I'm not sure what I think about that one!<br />
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But oh, Laina Rose, you are not a baby anymore! I am reminded of this by how long your legs dangle down when I hold you. And your little feet that are already in a size 8 shoe - the same size your sisters wear and I'm pretty sure you will surpass them. You walk around in a dress-up dress practically every day and let all of us know that you are a princess. We would never disagree. :) <br />
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You are definitely not a weak personality, which is good, considering you're the youngest in the family. You are definitely not one to be walked on and, in fact, you fight back harder than any of your siblings. Sometimes I have to laugh inside when Cole is telling me that you pushed him or you hit him because he is twice your size, four years older, and you refuse to back down to him. Your tenacity for what you believe is right is so strong already, I can only imagine how that will grow with you. I really hope your dad and I can encourage you to use that fight and that strength toward things that are really worth fighting for.<br />
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Your laugh is infectious. You have the cutest little smile and your eyes sparkle. You are mischievous and playful and definitely bring the fun with you wherever you go.<br />
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Your fits are something else! Today you cried - no, <i>screamed</i> - for 20 minutes straight because I put your blankie in the wash since you had an accident on it. I realized the logic wasn't there for you to understand why I had to do that, so I finally just picked you up and snuggled you. After about 5 more minutes, you calmed down. It was like you just wanted to be heard. I understand that now because I know sometimes I throw fits of my own over things that upset me and I just want someone to hear me. I'm working on not "shushing" you and the other kids as much as I tend to before really hearing you out. <br />
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I gave you your first real haircut a few weeks ago and cannot believe the amount of curls we chopped off! Thankfully, your hair has stayed curly and I just love it. However, getting a trim truly made you look older.<br />
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I'm loving how you march around outside in rain boots and dresses. Most of the time, your clothes don't match and I love it because you independently picked out what you were wearing for the day and it doesn't matter to you yet what other people think. This too I hope stays with you as you grow.<br />
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Laina, you are beautiful. I love to see you play with your brother and sisters. I love that you're just one of them and not the tag-along baby sister. They are so good to you and you love that the "big kids" let you be one of them.<br />
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I am loving watching you grow. Even today as we sat and snuggled in the rocking chair, I got a piece of time with my "baby." As much as you are my baby and I keep calling you that, you are such a big girl and the older you get, the more joy you bring to our family. I love you, Laina Rose. And you're one of four reasons that I'm back here...<br />
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...writing again.Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-76225866308903101022012-01-06T12:00:00.000-06:002012-01-06T12:00:26.142-06:00Christmas, part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T_UjuCcZSoI/TwZliuvrxZI/AAAAAAAACxU/XX0b7rP4RWg/s1600/IMG_1031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T_UjuCcZSoI/TwZliuvrxZI/AAAAAAAACxU/XX0b7rP4RWg/s640/IMG_1031.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br />
Still in Michigan, we went to our home church on Sunday morning. The girls were super excited that I let them wear their Christmas dresses a week early. The funniest thing about church, that I wish I had a photo of, is the fact that the preschoolers were singing in front of church that day. So, Leto and Cole ended up right up front with the other kids, singing songs they had never heard before. At one point, bells were ringing when they weren't supposed to be...but I'm <i>sure</i> it wasn't the visiting kids...I'm just sure of it. :)<br />
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Who are these kids on this ornament? Where have they gone?!? <br />
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The girls' table...<br />
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On our way back from Michigan, we made a quick, but so wonderful, surprise visit to my Grandma's. It was so fun to knock on her door, walk in and see the look on her face. The kids walked in like they owned the place, too. So much so, Laina had the wise men from Grandma's Nativity set giving each other kisses. Ha! My Grandma is 90 - can you even believe it? Check out these pictures...no way!!<br />
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Grandma spoiling the kids with sugary snacks and Hayden being her big helper:<br />
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On the road again, back to Wisconsin we go! Beautiful sky to light our way...<br />
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I just love this messy little face!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tolnTMvxeWg/TwZl6mBRAOI/AAAAAAAAC0U/nTWoeM1KPtM/s1600/IMG_1113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tolnTMvxeWg/TwZl6mBRAOI/AAAAAAAAC0U/nTWoeM1KPtM/s640/IMG_1113.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3329716486904556829.post-21786848032934895152012-01-06T08:46:00.001-06:002012-01-06T08:46:00.396-06:00Christmas, part 2In the middle of December we took a trip to Michigan for the big Manne Christmas party. I am kicking myself that I didn't get more photos of the actual party! But I guess we can only handle the Christmas cuteness in smaller doses.<br />
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Don't you love Maurah's look here? She totally screams "Christmas spirit," don't you think?<br />
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And here's another one, straight at me. The problem with this child? She wanted to have her OWN photo taken...so, no, she's definitely no diva. :)<br />
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Oh, THERE we go! A smile! Merry Christmas to me.<br />
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Cole and cousin Leto decided they would get in on the picture action as soon as they heard me bribing the girls with M&Ms...gets 'em every time. :)<br />
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Sweet cousins<br />
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Rach and I were so hot in our Target boots, we just <i>had</i> to take a pic! LOL<br />
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At the party making reindeer food...<br />
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They look suspicious of something, don't they? I think they were closely watching wrapped presents being put out, as any good Christmas detective would!<br />
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Maurah was Grandma's snuggle bug at the party...so sweet.<br />
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Laina's favorite part? The chocolate!!! I'm telling you, I'm totally rubbing off on these kids in all the right ways.<br />
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Okay, this one needs an explanation. The adults had the kids downstairs while we did our gift time together. The game: bring a gift, white elephant style or nice, wrap it up and put one word on the label that describes the gift. We then auctioned each of the gifts off, based on the word, and raised money for a family whose house had burned down. The kids ended up coming upstairs in a line, as if we were being invaded! The sat right down and, all of the sudden, started raising their hands for the bids, bidding their parents' money. It was hilarious! So this photo just cracks me up.<br />
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I'm sure these girls will just love that they're the grand finale to this blog post but aren't they just pretty? I love them. And I love this picture.<br />
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More Christmas fun to come! Are you tired of it yet?Megan Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486259584707938247noreply@blogger.com0