Days With the Duerksens

Believe it or not, we ended up having 4 snow days in a row - amazing!  We actually handled them pretty well, but I'm weary of bundling up a 2 year old only to have her make it outside for about 3 minutes.  Luckily, Caiden and Cambry are old enough to get dressed on their own.  And Caiden and I got pretty good at starting fires in the shop stove so we could play basketball!  A second snowstorm blew in on Monday afternoon, and the result was absolutely beautiful when we woke up on Tuesday morning!  It was a much wetter snow and it piled up on everything.  I'm also including pictures from some sledding over the weekend.  Caiden hit the hills, but Cambry was content to watch! A Winter Wonderland This is the fence around our chicken pen Sledding with his cousin, Mace.  They were working on building a jump! I know the cows are made for the outdoors, but I still feel sorry for them in weather like this - well maybe not the cows so...

We enjoyed 2 snow days at home last Thursday and Friday.  Chelan even got called off of work - that never happens!  Over 12 inches of snow sure shuts down a lot of plans for everyone!  We did so many things that I made a collage for each day.  Here's a list of things we did - can you find them all?  You may have to open them in a new window to see all of them.  It sounds like another round is coming tomorrow evening - will we actually have 3 snow days in a row? Snowballs Dancing Shows Lego's Zwieback baking Snow Angels Indoor snowman experiment Chelan busy clearing off snow with the tractor Cuddling with new blankets from Great Aunt Kathy Playing with snow indoors Exploring the farm yard - amazed at how the cows handle the cold and snow! Checking on cows and new calves Choring the chickens who have to remain indoors chopping ice so the chickens can drink Finding that a grain bin with snow on top looks a little like a giant cupcake Board Game...

Last Sunday we got to have a bowling outing with my side of the family.  My mom and I celebrate birthdays in February, so that was our excuse!  The kids had one lane, we had another.  We found out that Ty is a pretty good bowler, I'm not such a good bowler, and that Delaney can indeed wear cute little bowling shoes.  Then we enjoyed ice cream at Braum's - what a treat!  I hadn't been there for a long time, so I savored every bite! Waiting for Delaney's ball to get to the pins! Cousins Thank goodness for big cousins like Addi! Blue birthday cake ice cream is a favorite with boys! Happy Birthday, Mom and Grammy!  We love you!

Chelan and I actually went out on a date last night - a real, honest-to-goodness, no children, movie-watching date!  He had never been to P.F. Chang's, so I introduced him to it last night - oh, so good!  Then, we went to see The Silver Linings Playbook .  Despite the horrible, horrible language, it was the best movie we have seen in a theater for a very long time!  In a way, it reminded me of the TV show, Parenthood .  It was funny, sad, raw, emotional, real - all the good things wrapped up into one movie.  I thought I was going to actually make it through a movie without tears, but the very end got to me, and they spilled over! Thanks for a great date, Chelan!  I needed it!

In a continuing effort to teach Caiden and Cambry about serving others and not just thinking about themselves, I took them to the high school on Saturday morning to help package meals.  The FFA was sponsoring a Numana event, and the community was invited to participate.  They very reluctantly came with me - unhappy to be spending their morning doing this. After we got to the school and Caiden saw how many other kids were there helping, things turned around.  When our table finally got organized and he had his job, I even heard him say, "This is a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be!"  It always goes that way.  :) In an hour and a half, we filled over 100 boxes which equals more than 18,000 meals.  It was a good morning! You can find out more about Numana here:   www.numanainc.com Ready to pour soy, rice, and dried beans into bags.  There is also a vitamin packet that goes into each bag.  They say each bag is 5 servings. ...

Friday was my birthday - 34 years!  Wow!  It was a super busy day, but I was okay with that.  Sometimes my days here get a little long.  It feels good to be out in the world and talking to grown-ups every once in a while! The day began with a trip to the library.  Our Parents-as-Teachers program had a special Pajama Day for kids birth-age 4!  Delaney was so excited to wear her elephant "jamas" to the library!  Lori (of PAT) was there and had planned all the activities.  Delaney had so much fun! Eagerly waving her picture from the story Dressing up in cold weather clothes Playing "I Spy" in the "snow" Cousin Levi playing with his magnifying glass Painting with "snow" (flour, salt, and water) Delaney even won a door prize - the book that all the activities were centered around! Bouncing "snowballs" Delaney and I then headed to Hesston to eat lunch with Chelan.  He eats at D'Angelo's every Friday wit...

Valentine's Day was a little different for us this year.  The kids had a school music program in the morning and evening which meant that their parties at school were not until the 15th.  Cambry also had a doctor appointment in the afternoon (Happy Valentine's Day to us)! I always thought the school parties were the culprits of crazy behavior, but I think it's just "that day" in general.  Caiden and Cambry were like little crazy people after school - nonstop talking and noise-making, complaining one minute, excited the next.  I could not wait to get everyone in bed last night.  What a day! On a brighter note, we did give Caiden, Cambry, and Delaney their boxes of chocolates in the morning.   And this year, we gave them the children's version of Heaven is for Real .  I had just recently read the book and it's such a beautiful illustration of what Heaven could be like.  The children's version focuses on how "Jesus really, really loves children....

On Saturday night, Chelan and Caiden attended the Men & Boys Banquet at our church.  Actually, both grandpas and most of his cousins were there, too!  This was Caiden's first banquet - kind of a "grown up" thing to do.  After they finished eating, everyone headed up to the sanctuary to hear from some guys have been involved with sports:  refereeing, coaching, or playing.  Weston Hiebert was one of the guests, and everyone was looking forward to hearing from him. Some people got to ask questions of the presenters, and Caiden's cousin, Mace, asked Weston if he gets to keep his football jerseys.  Weston said they get to keep the jersey from each bowl game they play in.  So, he has a white jersey from the Cotton Bowl last year and a purple one from the Fiesta Bowl.  He brought it along and the boys got to see it!  I'd say it was a successful father/son evening!

This past Saturday, Caiden wrapped up his first season of organized basketball - games, practices, everything!  He had a total of 8 games - which seemed like a lot, but it was amazing to see their progression from the first game to this last one.  Up until Saturday, they hadn't won any games.  In fact, they rarely had more than 8 points in a game.  The boys never seemed to care, though - they just had fun playing.  They ended the season on a high note, however, by winning their last game.  It was amazing!  We're so proud of you, Caiden! Caiden is looking at the scoreboard in amazement because they are actually ahead! Only the 2nd time they led a game this season.  The final score was 18-13, I think. Thank you, Dallas and Joe!