Micah turns 7

Micah has been waiting for this day all year :) Finally, the big day!

He asked for crepes for his birthday breakfast. I was thrilled because I don't make them, Rob does so I was off the hook, ha!

He asked me to come to sing along at school because they do something fun to the birthday kid, and he wanted me to see. So, Creed and I went and it was fun. I have a video of the special song they sang to him. After sing along they headed to the gym for P.E. and I had the chance to play "battle ball" with the K-4th graders. I still suck at that game :)

Micah wanted me to bring "Gushers" in for the birthday snack. How does he even know what they are, we have never bought them before?! I finally, found some and they were a hit!

It is just so hard to believe, my son, my baby boy is seven! How does that even happen! He is just grown up so nice, he is kind and gentle, smart and decisive, athletic yet still pensive. Oh, such joy he has brought to this world, my world. I never thought to begin with that I would be a mother, and to get him first...no wonder there is a second and a third.

Ok, enough of the ball bag!

Tomorrow, we are having his party here at the farm. He planned the whole thing out himself; he even made his own invites...he just forgot the little details like where, date and time. He got all the import things like that it was his birthday party and they were invited!

It is a football themed party because that is the main event, a big football game. He invited two of his older cousins to come and be coaches and refs, they are thrilled to be a part of it all!

Domino's pizza is on the menu and of course, the chocolate cake with chocolate frosting!

Such be a grand time. I will blog about it tomorrow!

Creed at 11 Months...

This little ham wont sit still for a picture anymore. He instantly starts to go for the camera and I get so many pictures like #2. He is doing well, walking more and more steady everyday. He hates wearing his winter coat, it is so bulky that he can't walk around with it on. He is so in love with his bro and sis, he can even say "sis". He really is exploring his sounds, I can understand when he says "all done" he doesn't sign it ever, he just says it, it is cute. "Dog" is his favorite and, of course, "Dad" and I think he calls me "baba." He is a singer, he loves to make sweet songs in his crib, bath or just when he is sitting and playing with something. We have named is "lovey" "Oley" we were pretty surprise at how quick he picked up on it and now when we say go find "Oley" he heads right for it and brings it to his little cheek and starts sucking his thumb, it is so precious. I will be introducing whole milk to him next week, I am so excited about that, formula is so expensive! Then next month he will be 1 year old! I can't believe it!!!

girls and their shoes

On November 11th we laid to rest the beloved shoes of Emma.

She literally loved these shoes to pieces. From the picture you can't really tell that they were in tough shape, but they were. The tops were just frayed and she had played so hard in them they were just dirt colored. They were darling shoes and looked so cute on, but there is a time when we must let our precious go. She asked me if we could take a picture of them before we put them out of their misery and I said, "Of course." ( I totally know how hard it is to give up shoes I love.)

I actually was going to suggest the picture, but she asked first :) That's my girl!

Beet Party

I feel bad, but I was too busy to snap pictures last night. Everything went really well, we had enough food-which is always my biggest concern-and the fellowship was wonderful. Rob read a verse from 1Thessalonians and had a nice time sharing highs and lows of the very stressful harvest this year. I was so blessed hearing the crew thank Rob for being so calm and not crabby or mean during a time when everyone is usually crabby or mean. We had 2 guys that came in to work only for about 6 hours on the Saturday that was probably the hardest day of the whole harvest and Rob and Ethan had told them how "spent" they were, they were tired and crabby and those 2 guys said that they would never had known that R and E were running on empty. They worked hard and still had a spirit of love and it was felt by all. I couldn't help but be so proud of my husband as he was receiving such positive feed back.

We usually give a gift to the crew along with their pay and this year both Rob and I were so excited to give this years gift. I stumbled upon these very nice sweater jackets and brought them home to show Rob and he loved them. So, Dawn, Rob's sister did some embroidery work on them and they turned out wonderfully.

A Couple I Would Share

I know I am late getting these posted, but I wasn't sure if I should at all, I am just a bit self conscience ;)

My friend Lisa on the right of me was Garth from Wayne's World, her husband was Wayne, they really pulled it off! Alyssa was the "the cutest pumpkin" in her farmer husband's garden, that was pretty cute. I, of course, went solo so I didn't have to worry about the couple theme. I went as an 80's dancer (flashdance inspired). We had a load of fun!

I haven't had so much product in my hair since I was in the 10th grade. I couldn't wait to get home and wash it all out!

Happy End to October...

Beet Crew (Minus Chuck) 2008

October 25

10 PM

Tollefson Farms Shop

Chili Feed

Bring your appetites :)

I told Rob that having it out in the shop was going to be a great new tradition :)

I normally bring all of this out to the field they are on, but this year it was 10 pm and windy along with mud, yeah, not a good time for all.

Plus, the kids were all tucked away in bed and I figured 100 yards wasn't too far.

This is the only pic I took of Micah in his Indiana Jones costume.

Emma was a traffic light this year.

Here she is going thru the costume parade.

This year I hosted the fall party for the 1st and 2nd graders. It was a great time. I brought in one of our big pumpkins from our garden for the boys to weigh and measure. We played a game "Boo am I" it is basically charades with a halloween twist and the for a snack we made

"boo cups" I highly recommend this recipe for you to try with your kids.

3 1/4 cup milk

2 pkgs of chocolate instant pudding

8 oz of thawed whipped topping

20 crumbled oreo cookies

30 mini chocolate chips

Mix up milk and pudding; stir 1/2 of the whipped topping into the pudding.

Placed the crumbled oreos down in the cup first, layer the pudding mix on top, then another layer of oreo, sprinkle with chocolate chips and dab with a spoonful of whipped topping. Enjoy!

It is a good thing Halloween isn't in November or Creed wouldn't have fit in his costume, it was a struggle to put on .

He sure looked cute tho.

Goodbye October *waving*

Creed's a Walker

Can you even believe it! He has been doing this more consistanly the last day or so.

Creed walking at 10 1/2 months old.

Emma's a PRO

People Respecting Others, that is.

This highly coveted reward is given once a month to students that show "exceptional Christian character and a positive attitude toward others at school both in and out of the class room."

The teachers nominate the child and so E had no idea she had won this reward until we told her. We had no idea until we got a letter in the mail with the certificate and an invite for Emma to dine with Miss Trittin the school Principal on Wednesday to a resturant of her choice, within Crookston.

We are so proud of our girl!

Practice makes Perfect

Our Night Time Routine

Playing with dad before bed
Cuddles before bed

Getting ready to lay Creed down. Here the three of us are praying together, Awww

Never ThinkYou Are Done

I created a new blogspot for my 12 week Eating For Life Challenge. This way I can keep this as a family update blog. The link is www.neverthinkyouaredone.blogspot.com I plan on logging in everyday's menu and workout schedule, my ups and downs and my weigh in's plus the hard to post before, mid way thru and after pictures.

Eating For Life 12 Week Challenge

Ok, so, I am not going to use my blog to get on a weight loss ego frenzy or anything like that, but I have come across something very interesting and I want to share with you from beginning to end so that if you feel like you are looking for a change you can have a reference.

For the past 14 weeks I have worked very hard to get my baby weight off, and with much success. Today I am down 24 lbs and have released 16 total inches off of my body! However, I am sitting with about 26% total body fat; the healthy total for a woman is 17-20%. This is something I would like to change for my over all health and well being.


I came across the book Eating for life by Bill Phillips and his non-dieting philosophy has me hook line and sinker, because it is practical, it is family friendly (baby friendly), so I will not be making 4 different meals every day ( that is important to me!). The "right recipe" for this challenge is 4 basic steps: 1. Right Foods 2. Right Amounts 3. Right Combos 4. Right Times.

Up to this point I have been following the "balanced" meal plan so the "right combos" is not a new concept for me, I am also used to eating smaller meals 5 times a day so eating 6 times a day isn't going to be inconvenient either. That is it! Easy! Oh, and did I mention the "cheat day"?


I encourage you to check this book out or go to his website at www.eatingforlife.com and let me know if you are with me. I will give monthly updates to let you know how it goes. My end date is the 17th of January a day after my 10th anniversary and I think health and wellness is the greatest gift to give to my husband and my family.

March 2008

October 2008

Update

I have been so bad about keeping this blog updated. I don't have any pictures, so this might be a bit boring for some; anyhow...
Last weekend Lisa and I took the kids to Bemidiji. She had a Cookie Lee Jewelry show on Friday night, so I tended the kids. Looking back on that, we concluded that our kids have no idea how spoiled they are, they got their own room...at 3, 5, and 6! For spacious sake we reserved adjoining rooms, Creed stayed in our room while the 2 boys and 2 girls had the other. It was a great time, swimming, pizza, staying up late & listening to Ella talk to herself while the others were sawing logs-fun times. Creed did pretty well, he was catching a bit of a cold and was awake from about 2-4 in the a.m. only to wake up for the day at 6, but he fell asleep for the whole ride home.
Friday night around 11:30 Rob called to tell me that they were shut down for rain. We were already saturated so the total rain for the weekend sent us over the edge, there were flood warnings and the whole bit, it was pretty apparent that beets were not going to be hauled for the next whole week.
So, watching Rob wait for the fields to dry out was torture for me, I mean he is a pretty patient guy, but it is tough especially when Wednesday came along and neighbors were starting up again. Our field was just too wet. We lost most of our crew due to the fact that harvest usually last 2 weeks that is what most take off from their regular jobs. We started up again today the 20th and we are going only about 15-16 hour shifts rather than 24, just for lack of help.
Now, you are up to date on the farming bit...is that clear as mud? Good :)

2008 Beet Campaign

It is very hard for me to believe that we are in October, let alone Beet harvest! But, with the 1st of October comes the 1st day of campaign. They started at 8 a.m. yesterday and will run now for 24 hours until there is either a heat shut down or rain (like hard continuous rain) they work through sprinkles and, believe it or not, snow. If they get "sticky" with rain they pull the trucks through the field with a tractor. We pray against that :)

This is the beet lifter.
The beet lifter dumps the beets into a truck that takes it to the beet piler where they store all the beets till Spring.
It is quite the production. Alot of long hours riding in a truck or a tractor, but we so appreciate everyone that comes back to help us out year after year. This year Rob is actually behind the equipment, he is driving the Semi from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. He usually is the maintenance/supervisor/fill in guy. I think he likes the change this year. Of course, if something breaks down he has to stop driving and fix whatever needs fixing, so that is the risk. I am praying for an uneventful campaign, please join me!

Sunday Afternoon Snippet...

Wide eyed and bushy tailed...

Rob and I don't take many pics together. I don't know why; I need to change this!

Micah took the pictures, we had him stand on a chair for the one above :)
What a little cutie putie!

E telling me a very interesting story, sound effects and everything...
I miss you Mom and Dad! Happy Birthday MOM ♥

9 Months

It has been a while since I updated about Creed; so here are a few new things he has begun doing since becoming 9 months old.

1. He can now stand without holding on to anything.

2. Claps

3. Give 5

4. Says Dada

5. He has mastered climbing the stairs this week, we are now working on going down.

6. Can sign "More"

(I have heard him on more than one occasion say "all done" but, he never repeats it so that I can know for sure.)

7. Started watching Little Einstien (his very own "t.v. time")

He has his two bottom teeth and within the last week or so has pushed out 3 more on top.
He started "school" last week. He loves it. Right now he is the only mobile one, but he is fast making friends with the other 3 month old boy that goes as well. I was told today that another mother with an 8 month old will be joining us soon. That will be fun.
He gets to explore the whole room with so many toys and books. Francine reads stories and sings songs and plays with them while the mom's do some fun crafts. Today we painted little shirts for them and made photo books for them to look at with zip lock bags. It cuts right into his morning nap but he cat naps when we get home and then is back on track for the rest of the day.

He has really mellowed (except for when he is ready to eat). I have really been enjoying my time with him here at home. He is growing way too fast, as they always do when you don't want them to. He is so cuddly and smiley, but is very busy. He doesn't have time to sit still, there is too much to do and see.

The love that continues to grow with the siblings is so wonderful to see. They can't wait to play with him when they get home from school and he has certainly missed them.

I love it!

If For Just ONE Reason...

NOT to feed you children ( or anyone for that matter) boxed mash potatoes...

Micah: " Mom, don't be jealous, but the school's potatoes are better than yours."

Piano Lessons and the Healing Touch...

I am amazed at how well M has healed up. I seriously can not see it. I doubt if he will even have a scar. I am so thankful, a parent always worries when it is a wound on the face. I haven't taken a close up of M in a while, I will have to do that soon so that you can all see.

"Loving a music man" has been very good for me. I love the sound of Rob playing the piano in the evening while keeping Creed happy during the older kids bed time routine. I believe that it is because of that special time with Dad that Creed feels comfortable with the sound of the piano and wants to make music of his own.

Micah will begin his piano lessons tomorrow. I don't know which one of us is more excited. I know that on some days it will be stressful hearing the same notes over and over again for 30 minutes, but it will be worth it in the end.

Friday Night Trip to the ER

I was upstairs when I heard screaming, yelling and crying from both Micah and Emma, so needless to say I freaked and ran down to the basement remembering to latch the gate so that Creed didn't follow and tumble down the unrailed stairs that leads down the basement. Nothing could have prepared me for the amount of blood that was streaming from Micah's mouth. He was on his knees crying and screaming; Emma was on the phone talking to Reise crying and screaming. I was not getting any help as to what happened so I grabbed a towel and started to clean the area where all the blood was, not knowing if M had busted out all his teeth or what. Finally I got a very unclear explanation of what happened - bottom line M had a hole on the side of his mouth that needed to be closed up before he ended up looking like the Joker with a crooked smile.

This picture is of M in the ER just about ready to get stitched up. You can't really tell how deep or bad this hole really is, but it was really bad. He was soooo brave, you guys. I know that I wouldn't have been nearly so brave. I was with him during the whole thing this time and I had a hard time afterwards. When M was about 3 we took a trip to the ER one Sunday after Church because he had gashed his head open right between his eyes. Rob was with him during those stitches and I was with Emma. So I didn't realize how it was going to effect me.

I watched them put on the 3 stitches. Crazy!

This is the Dr. that stitched him up. He is numbed up so that is why the smiles.
This is Lacy his nurse. She could relate to M because when she was about his age she was mauled by a dog that took off her jaw and bottom lip. YIKES! You couldn't even see her scars.
The Doc did a fantastic job and hopefully will heal up well enough to not even notice.
Trying to get to the ER was nuts. E was a mess, she couldn't handle all of the blood and the knowledge that her brother was in a lot of pain was definitely not helping, so I was calling around to the Aunties to take her and Creed, but it was Friday night and the boys had games, I am sure. I couldn't get a hold of Rob to even tell him we were on our way to the ER. Then there was Creed, did I mention that it was supper time. I had pizza in the oven, a hungry baby and two screaming children and I had to be calm. Poor M had to just stand in the entryway with ice on his wound til I got organized enough to head out the door. I was able to see Rob in the yard once I pulled out of the garage, so he took Emma. We live 15 miles away from the hospital, so I am pulling about 80 miles an hour, hoping no cops are out and then we have to stop for a train. I told M it was a good thing his life wasn't on the line. Finally we reached the hospital and from there some one else took over and I was thankful.

As you can tell I am no good at drama and this was enough for me. When I got home I didn't have an appetite and I was every edgy. I like my life without the wrinkles, but I have this one under my belt and hopefully next time ( and there will be a next time) I will be better equipped.

Hit the Ground RUNNING!!!

And they are off! NOT like a turd of hurdles...I mean, a herd of turtles! School is IN; and just like that I have a Kindergartner and a 1st grader.

They are just a little excited!
E looks so grown up with her long hair flipped out.
M is getting so tall.
This is E's "2nd" teacher Mrs. Halos, she will be helping Mrs. Luckow while she is with the preschoolers on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Emma is the only girl in her class this year.
This is a glimpse into M's room. He didn't even look back to take a pic. His is the desk top that is open in the front. His teacher is Mrs. Bohler and she is the only girl in her class this year.