African Journey!

The zoo in our city is fantastic! If you are ever in Fort Wayne, you definitely don't want to miss it! Most of it is arranged by country/continent--there is the Indonesian Rain Forest, the Australian Adventure, and now the African Journey! The African Journey opened today to the general public, but we were fortunate enjoy to enjoy a "sneak peek" on Wednesday evening!

This exhibit has been a few years in the making, and cost over $9 million dollars to create. It was well worth the wait! The zoo used to have an African area prior to this exhibit, but nothing like what there is now!! The exhibit boasts lions, zebras, wildebeests, hyenas, servals, and more. (I just wish there were African elephants, too!)

We went to the sneak peek reception as guests of my parents, who donated to the exhibit. I'm not sure, but I think they have contributed to all of the new exhibits that have been built over the past 20+ years! They are very generous, and the giving to the zoo is certainly an excellent way to give back to the community!

We enjoyed this special time at the zoo as it was not open to the public, so we had lots of space and time to roam through "Africa." We also enjoyed the free drinks and hors d'oeuvres! The kids were also able to ride the "Sky Safari" for free and make cool African bead necklaces. It was fun to spend the time with my parents and all enjoy it together.

One of the neat things about the new exhibit is that you can hand-feed the giraffes! They seemed to be very hungry for lettuce when we were there! I need to add the video of our kids feeding the giraffe--it has a LONG tongue!

All in all, it was a great evening at the zoo and we are looking forward to many return trips to the new African Journey!

Today . . .

Owen was being difficult today. Eh--what's new?? He's absolutely adorable, and absolutely challenging! As I picked him up this morning (after he finishing throwing a fit), I exasperatingly said "Owen, you are a really difficult child!" He looked at me and very slowly and clearly said:

"Mommy, you are really a spider."

I kid you not! I burst out laughing and from that moment on, we had a much better day! And I'm not sure why he thinks I'm a spider? I don't have eight legs and I don't think I'm that hairy! :)

New Room!

Our boys have a completely new room! Gone are the crib, changing table, and dresser . . . and now it looks like their "big boy" room! One of the best things about moving old things out and rearranging is that you can now see their gorgeous wall mural much better. We put this up in 2006 but you coudn't see it as well because there was a bed in the way. Now you can see all of the animals, which is good because I think my boys belong in a zoo! :)

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to two great loves in my life--my mom (today!) and my husband (tomorrow!). I won't disclose their ages, but suffice it to say, they are both older than me. :)

I love you both bunches! I hope you both enjoy your special day this weekend!

New Bunks!

Our boys received new bunk beds today and they are too fun (the beds and the boys!). Other than making the beds--which isn't the easiest thing--we love the new beds! It's just one more thing that reminds us that our babies are growing up. We took apart our crib and got rid of our changing table. It is finally looking like a boys room and not a baby room . . . it's a fun change! Once we have everything else moved back in the room, I will post pictures of the complete room.

We ordered the beds from my uncle who owns a furniture store in Ohio and gave us a good discount (thanks, Lynn!), and my parents also gave us some really nice furniture (desk, chair, two dressers) that complete the room (thanks, mom & dad!). It's coming together, and the boys were so excited to go to bed tonight--let's hope that keeps up! :)

God of This City

Have you seen this yet?? Do you watch American Idol? How AWESOME it would have been to have heard this beautiful song on the AI stage, sung by a Christian! I have absolutely loved this song since I first heard it at our church awhile ago. I have it on my iPod and listen to it often . . . very powerful! If you haven't yet seen this video, or aren't familiar with Kris Allen--the recent winner of American Idol--I hope you will watch it. I think you will enjoy it!

Hands-On Science!

We recently started a new science curriculum called "God's Design for . . ." by Answers in Genesis (yes, at nearly the end of the school year!). We are studying the human body and so far, the kids are really enjoying it & learning a lot! Some recent highlights include: writing the names of the bones on Riley, walking on our hands, checking the speed of our reflexes, and trying to write our names on paper with our toes!




School is winding down (today was scheduled to be our last day but we took too many days off during the year) and everyone has been ornery--the teacher included! It makes our days a bit sillier, but the kids are still learning--and that's all I ask!

Welcome!

You've made it! Welcome to my new blog and new look! I would love to know what you think of it! I moved to Blogger for many reasons, and decided a new look was in order, too. :) Here you will find my thoughts: everything from politics to parenting, homeschooling to football. I plan to blog more regularly and am working on a more regular blog schedule. Please be sure to visit often! For now, feel free to browse around, check out my links, or visit some of my favorite blogs!

Help Protect Kids!

Pardon the interruption while I delve into a not-so-happy topic! I was headed to Target this week (a frequent occurrence!) when I nearly burst into tears in my minivan. I was listening to the radio when a commercial came on that I will likely not forget. It was from an organization called "American Humane Association" and was a very realistic and emotional commercial about child abuse. The basic premise (complete with hearing a parent yell and hit and then hearing a child cry) was "What would you do if you saw or heard a child being abused?"

This is unfortunately the reality that many kids face. I love kids so, so much and cannot imagine abusing a child or even seeing a child endure this! It breaks my heart to even know it occurs in some families. I hope that I would immediately step in and say something, and yet, what do you say? How do you handle this situation? I have never been in this situation--and hope never to be--but the website from American Humane Association addresses this very thing. They have tips on what to say and how to handle this very situation. My hope and prayer is that we never encounter this--but if we do, here are some ideas on how to intervene.

Step in and be an advocate for kids! Love 'em and protect them!

Told Ya...

Told ya she was beautiful! I'm completely biased, I know. :) My computer is *still* not fixed (my slaptop screen is broken and it was too expensive to fix it, so I am once again hooked up to an external monitor --ugh!), but since I have it back, here are some photos of our pretty girl! Love ya, sweetie!!

Getting her face painted at EPCOT, and helping make homemade strawberry jam last summer. She's sweeter than the strawberries were. :)