Days With the Duerksens

Football season has arrived!  We headed up to K-State for the first home football game - most of us excitedly, but one, rather reluctantly (Cambry wasn't thrilled with the idea).  Thanks to the Jr. Wildcat Club that Caiden belongs to, we had pretty decent seats for a really great price.  It was warm - very warm!  But that didn't stop Delaney from cheering with her pompoms the ENTIRE game.  Seriously, she only sat down for about 30-45 minutes of the almost 4 hour game.  It was quite something! Our own little tailgate before heading to the stadium! Watching the warm-up For four years, we've been watching Weston Hiebert, our hometown guy, play for the Wildcats.  He went from walking on as a freshman and getting gray-shirted, to suiting up and standing on the sidelines at home games, to making it into a game 2 years ago and starting every game ever since.  Now, in his fifth year, he is one of 6 captains on the team.  Talk about ded...

We've been to the field 3 times to begin corn harvest.  Only one time did we actually cut anything.  It kept raining just enough to keep the combine out.  The third trip, however, resulted in some actual cutting - before the combine got plugged up, that is.  Needless to say, it's been a slow start.  The kids and I headed out to the field just in time to watch the harvest underway.  The one part of one field that has been cut had a fairly decent yield - we'll see how the rest does.  If we ever get around to finishing!     

Finally - the first day of school!  We have watched so many first-day-of-school pictures for 2 weeks, and now it's our turn!  We have a third grader and a fifth grader this year.  They were both ready to go back - I even got smiles from Caiden.  We're hoping for another good year, although slightly healthier would be nice!  Caiden's homeroom teacher is Mrs. Abrahams, otherwise known as his great-aunt!  He is very excited to be in her class this year, and I am too. I gave the kids this word to focus on for the year:  CARE.  I want them to care about their learning, to do their best, to care about and for others, to care about the space around them.  It's a tall order, I know, but I'm hopeful! Delaney has to wait a few more days for her first day in pre-school.  She's very ready to begin!  I think she misses Caiden and Cambry during the day - at least a little bit.  I've already been a student of hers many times at "school." ...

Almost a year ago, my sister asked if anyone would be interested in going to a "Women of Faith" conference in KC.  I immediately said yes, always ready for a reason to get away for a weekend.  I didn't really know what to expect, but I knew I would at least hear good music and listen and learn from great speakers.  This last weekend, 5 of us traveled to Kansas City to see what all this was about. The theme of this conference was "From Survival to Revival" - a perfect way to end the summer, I think!  And as I thought, the worship music was incredible!  I am easily moved to tears whenever there's good worship music around.  We even got to hear some songs from Natalie Grant and Matthew West. And the speakers were excellent, too:  Lysa Terkuerst, Lisa Harper, Sheila Walsh, Christine Caine, and others.  Sometimes, it seemed as if they were inside my head and knew exactly what I needed to hear - and sometimes things I didn't want to hear.  Chal...

I think I recall a post last year about looking down at my plate and realizing we had grown everything on it.  Well, it's that time of year again.  The other night we were eating a totally homegrown meal!  I feel like such a pioneer when that happens! Cantaloupe, Sirloin Steak, Potatoes, Okra

Way back in June, Cambry had the idea to create a "Children's Garden" in a recently-cleared space.  For a couple of days, I just smiled and nodded.  Then, we got to thinking it would be the perfect space to plant some pumpkins.  Grandma and Grandpa had some extra seeds, and I had just bought some seeds for tiny pumpkins (Jack-be-Littles).  We even borrowed some Sunflower seeds.  The kids (mostly) raked the area free of branches.  Then, they hauled bricks over to divide the space into 3 sections.   Finally, we planted.  Well, Caiden and I planted while Cambry commented, "Wasn't this a great idea I had?"  Yes, Cambry it was!  Unfortunately, I did not have a camera at the time of planting. I do have one now, though, and we have some good things happening: Do you see the bee buzzing away? Jack-be-Little The standard "Jack-o-Lantern" The Big Mac - they are BIG! Delaney was not too thrilled with me! Look how tall ...

The days of summer are winding down - although we've still got a week before school begins.  Most schools around us have begun another year, and we're still swimming!  This feels like the first week it's been hot enough for me to get in the water, so I was happy to have a few days of summer left! We've enjoyed our pool time with good friends, and finally, yesterday, I remembered my camera so I could capture a few memories: I can finally touch the bottom!  And I don't need my "tube!"