Well, I would have to say the very best gift I have ever gotten from my children is the gift of being a part of the life God has planned for them. This year my children gave me a gift they assured me I would love and were so eager for me to open it, they were asking if I would open it on Friday.
What I opened today was a deck of cards, it was hole punched and held together by a ring. The top card said '52 Reasons Why We Love You'. Each card on the inside has a typed message attached with clear tape. They were touching and funny both. They were like a reflection of our lives, how I love to live simple, enjoying what we have while we have it, and it quite possibly the best material gift I have received. They worked together for the majority, and each one had a specific card. Here are the reasons I am loved:
1. You live life to the fullest every day.
2. You're motivated.
3. You're adventurous.
4. You help us with boy/girl issues.
5. You give good hugs.
6. You're content.
7. You're hilarious.
8. You love us.
9. You're determined.
10. You give great advice.
11. You're beautiful.
12. You had Mackenzie.
13. You make good bread - Quincy
14. You wipe my butt - Kyler
15. You had Quincy.
16. You teach us how to save money.
17.You had Jaycie.
18. You buy Arnold Palmer - Cael
19.You drive us places.
20.You had Addelynn
21. You're our teacher.
22. You take care of us.
23. You love life.
24. You had Kyler.
25. You showed us King of the Hill.
26. You do our laundry.
27. You're buying us a moped - Carter
28. You take me for walks - Cade
29. You dance in public.
30. You give me medicine when I am sick - Addy
31. You had Carter.
32.You're patient with dad.
33. You're strict with neighbor kids.
34. You're my best friend - Mackenzie
35.You're always there for us.
36. You had Cael
37. You give great nicknames.
38.You get me juice - Jaycie
39. You had Cade.
40.You're a good cleaner.
41.You take me to Kacha's - Reegan
42. You have a great balance beam routine. (you would need to have been here to understand)
43. You're the best supporter.
44. You feed us well.
45. You help deal with drama.
46.You're a great cheerleader.
47. You make sure we have clothes.
48.You have a great taste in music.
49. You had Reegan.
50. You are a bad driver.
51. You're great at yelling across gyms.
52. You're a cowgirl hippie.
I am going to treasure this.
Happy Mother's Day!!!
The Happel Crew
October 2011; Front row Addy, Cael, Kyler, Reegan, Cade, Quincy. Back Row Mackenzie, Dawn, Jaycie, Dean, Carter
Psalm 127:3-5
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
The Circle of Life
It's a great song to go along with a great movie; The Lion King. But this weekend, I had to really reflect on life in general. Again, being reminded of what a precious gift life is, a true blessing. What we do with it while we are here is our gift back to God. We honored a man yesterday who took this to heart. A man with a past, a man who spent time in prison, a man who turned his life around. While in prison this man accepted Christ into his life, and his life began to bear fruit right away. We got to hear more about this on a personal level yesterday, about what a servant this man was, how on fire he was for God, what he meant to his brothers and friends. Why did we get to spend a few hours yesterday honoring this man? Because my step brother Wayne Hartman Jr passed away last week, at the young age of 34. Make your life count, and be thankful for each day you are here. God knows the numbers of our days here, live them out for Him.
http://www.lunningfuneralchapel.com/obituary/91422/Wayne-Hartman-Jr-of-Cedar-Rapids-Iowa/
http://www.lunningfuneralchapel.com/obituary/91422/Wayne-Hartman-Jr-of-Cedar-Rapids-Iowa/
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Who done it???
Raising a family has it's share of daily mysteries:
Who left the cupboard door open? (11 suspects)
Who left the empty box in the cupboard? (8 suspects)
Who left the toilet seat up? (6 suspects)
Who used the last of the toilet paper and did not put a new roll on? (10 suspects)
Who used the bathroom towel and left it on the floor? (8 suspects)
Whose wrapper is on the floor? (8 suspects)
Who clogged the toilet? (10 suspects)
Who did not flush? (10 suspects)
Whose pencil is on the floor? (5 suspects)
Whose clothes are on the back of the couch? (3 suspects)
Who ate my candy bar hidden in the freezer? (2 suspects)
Who put their vitamins in Jaycie's hair, behind the toilet, behind the couch? (3 suspects)
Whose socks are laying outside by the trampoline? (5 suspects)
Who tracked mud in the house? (8 suspects)
Who wrote poop on the wii remote? (according to Quincy - 1 suspect, Addy since she says fart and poop all the time)
Who left a marker where Jaycie could find it? (4 suspects)
Who unrolled the toilet paper? (1 suspect)
What I have come to discover through these daily mysterious events, is that we have a 12th person who lives here. Their name is 'not me'. Not me is responsible for the majority of the above events, in fact, maybe even all of them.
Who left the cupboard door open? (11 suspects)
Who left the empty box in the cupboard? (8 suspects)
Who left the toilet seat up? (6 suspects)
Who used the last of the toilet paper and did not put a new roll on? (10 suspects)
Who used the bathroom towel and left it on the floor? (8 suspects)
Whose wrapper is on the floor? (8 suspects)
Who clogged the toilet? (10 suspects)
Who did not flush? (10 suspects)
Whose pencil is on the floor? (5 suspects)
Whose clothes are on the back of the couch? (3 suspects)
Who ate my candy bar hidden in the freezer? (2 suspects)
Who put their vitamins in Jaycie's hair, behind the toilet, behind the couch? (3 suspects)
Whose socks are laying outside by the trampoline? (5 suspects)
Who tracked mud in the house? (8 suspects)
Who wrote poop on the wii remote? (according to Quincy - 1 suspect, Addy since she says fart and poop all the time)
Who left a marker where Jaycie could find it? (4 suspects)
Who unrolled the toilet paper? (1 suspect)
What I have come to discover through these daily mysterious events, is that we have a 12th person who lives here. Their name is 'not me'. Not me is responsible for the majority of the above events, in fact, maybe even all of them.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
It's what memories are made of........
Life, memories are made out of the everyday ordinary life experiences and what we make of them each day.
Sure memories are also from big, and major events in our lives. Such as Mackenzie taking a trip to San Clemente CA, and a day trip to San Diego by train. Or Carter winning his 5th AAU state wrestling title and being a 6time finalist, winning MVP and going unbeaten in Danville, IL in a team dual, or even finishing 3rd at USA Nationals. Good memories being made.
Reegan going to the rodeo, Cael finishing 3rd at AAU, Quincy finishing 2nd, Addy getting close to loosing her top front tooth, Cade turning 5, Kyler and Jaycie thriving as #8 & 9 in constantly moving family.
But the real true memories are made in the day to day. I have been hearing my kids say "remember when" quite a bit lately. It is never followed up with "when I won the big match", "when I went on a trip", "when I had my birthday". Surprisingly, it is followed up with the more ordinary. More of the simple day to day. The conversations and funny things said at a meal. Something someone did outside. Something said at the wrong time. A funny recap of an event from years ago. Gatherings of family and friends. So many times of laughter very few times of tears.
When I see the pictures scroll across my computer, I think to myself we have had a great life thus far, we have seen a lot, and we have done a lot, and I have so many memories of it all. What I find more interesting though is what shapes the mind and memory making of my children.
Life is what we make it. I love how the living of life each day surrounded by the people you love most, and shaping your memories from those same people.
Sure memories are also from big, and major events in our lives. Such as Mackenzie taking a trip to San Clemente CA, and a day trip to San Diego by train. Or Carter winning his 5th AAU state wrestling title and being a 6time finalist, winning MVP and going unbeaten in Danville, IL in a team dual, or even finishing 3rd at USA Nationals. Good memories being made.
Reegan going to the rodeo, Cael finishing 3rd at AAU, Quincy finishing 2nd, Addy getting close to loosing her top front tooth, Cade turning 5, Kyler and Jaycie thriving as #8 & 9 in constantly moving family.
But the real true memories are made in the day to day. I have been hearing my kids say "remember when" quite a bit lately. It is never followed up with "when I won the big match", "when I went on a trip", "when I had my birthday". Surprisingly, it is followed up with the more ordinary. More of the simple day to day. The conversations and funny things said at a meal. Something someone did outside. Something said at the wrong time. A funny recap of an event from years ago. Gatherings of family and friends. So many times of laughter very few times of tears.
When I see the pictures scroll across my computer, I think to myself we have had a great life thus far, we have seen a lot, and we have done a lot, and I have so many memories of it all. What I find more interesting though is what shapes the mind and memory making of my children.
Life is what we make it. I love how the living of life each day surrounded by the people you love most, and shaping your memories from those same people.
Monday, February 20, 2012
The journey continues
Life keeps moving forward, everything stays the same and changes at the same time. Do you know what I mean?
Mackenzie is still rocking at college, made the Dean's list last year. I must admit to being thankful that as a home educated student, that I did not mess up her education. She is still rocking, only now she is in her second semester. She is still undecided on what she wants to be when she grows up. She is going to look into floral design. I have encouraged her to keep the class load at 12 hours and to enjoy the experience of college. She may be trying out for cheer leading. That would be a new experience.
Carter continues to be in love with wrestling. He will be shooting for his 5th AAU state title this weekend and his 6th appearance in the finals. He went to the high school state tournament with our dear friends Slick and Skeeter. They took good care of him and he had a fantastic time. That will be the next stage in his wrestling life - high school. Which mom is not ready for but he is. Tomorrow he will turn 15 years old. Now excuse me but where did the time exactly go?
Reegan is getting excited to get started with softball. She has done some catching for a team mate the last two Sundays. It has been nice because she can get instructions from some of the college softball catchers and learned quite a bit. With the mild winter she has gotten to ride Miss T a lot more then we thought she would. It is still her first love - horse riding. She took herself, Cael, Quincy, Addy, and Cade to the library and history center today.
Cael is going to be shooting for his second straight AAU title this weekend too. This means mom will be really nervous with both boys wrestling and also shooting for repeat titles. Be praying for me. Cael may honestly be the hardest working boy of his age that I know. He craves using his body in a physical way. At the same time, one of the most caring. He gave some of his candy to his cousin last week who had been sick and unable to come to the church on Wednesday night.
Quincy shoots for his second SPW title the weekend after. Next weekend though he will be hanging out beside me and being the constant for Cael. I continue to love his sense of humor and story telling. Such a small guy with big ideas. His size sometimes gives me a disconnect with his age.
Addy will be "in charge" here at home this weekend when grandma and grandpa come to stay. She does such a good job being a helper that no doubt she will be assisting grandma all weekend. Today she went out on a jog with Reegan and Cael, she also made a trip to the library and the history center. She and Reegan are big fans of the history center.
Cade wanted me to jog with him around the block. I was hoping I would make it ok - hehe. He then had plans to ride his bike, but I encouraged him to try running. He somehow managed to fall doing it, which if you know Cade it actually makes some sense. When we got home he collapsed on the floor. Let me say, God certainly creates each child differently.
Kyler thought he should go on the around the block jog with Cade and I today as well. Typical Kyler, he just smiled and ran the whole thing, laughing and having a great time. That is how he rolls. Why is it that once you get into the store, a child has to potty? That was Kyler today when we went on a yogurt run.
Jaycie went on the yogurt run too, the two of them really cute pushing the little carts. Well Kyler not too cute when he rammed his into the back of Jaycie, not phasing her any, but he hit his mouth on his cart after the impact. Or when he someone tipped it over on its side and yogurt went rolling all over. Jaycie was so sweet and helped him pick it all up. Carter said to her yesterday "I left on Thursday and you were a baby, I come back today and you are answering my questions!" Yes, Carter it all seems to stay the same yet change at the same time.
Dean and I continue our day to day lives, realizing that we are richly blessed with so much more then we could ever ask for.
Mackenzie is still rocking at college, made the Dean's list last year. I must admit to being thankful that as a home educated student, that I did not mess up her education. She is still rocking, only now she is in her second semester. She is still undecided on what she wants to be when she grows up. She is going to look into floral design. I have encouraged her to keep the class load at 12 hours and to enjoy the experience of college. She may be trying out for cheer leading. That would be a new experience.
Carter continues to be in love with wrestling. He will be shooting for his 5th AAU state title this weekend and his 6th appearance in the finals. He went to the high school state tournament with our dear friends Slick and Skeeter. They took good care of him and he had a fantastic time. That will be the next stage in his wrestling life - high school. Which mom is not ready for but he is. Tomorrow he will turn 15 years old. Now excuse me but where did the time exactly go?
Reegan is getting excited to get started with softball. She has done some catching for a team mate the last two Sundays. It has been nice because she can get instructions from some of the college softball catchers and learned quite a bit. With the mild winter she has gotten to ride Miss T a lot more then we thought she would. It is still her first love - horse riding. She took herself, Cael, Quincy, Addy, and Cade to the library and history center today.
Cael is going to be shooting for his second straight AAU title this weekend too. This means mom will be really nervous with both boys wrestling and also shooting for repeat titles. Be praying for me. Cael may honestly be the hardest working boy of his age that I know. He craves using his body in a physical way. At the same time, one of the most caring. He gave some of his candy to his cousin last week who had been sick and unable to come to the church on Wednesday night.
Quincy shoots for his second SPW title the weekend after. Next weekend though he will be hanging out beside me and being the constant for Cael. I continue to love his sense of humor and story telling. Such a small guy with big ideas. His size sometimes gives me a disconnect with his age.
Addy will be "in charge" here at home this weekend when grandma and grandpa come to stay. She does such a good job being a helper that no doubt she will be assisting grandma all weekend. Today she went out on a jog with Reegan and Cael, she also made a trip to the library and the history center. She and Reegan are big fans of the history center.
Cade wanted me to jog with him around the block. I was hoping I would make it ok - hehe. He then had plans to ride his bike, but I encouraged him to try running. He somehow managed to fall doing it, which if you know Cade it actually makes some sense. When we got home he collapsed on the floor. Let me say, God certainly creates each child differently.
Kyler thought he should go on the around the block jog with Cade and I today as well. Typical Kyler, he just smiled and ran the whole thing, laughing and having a great time. That is how he rolls. Why is it that once you get into the store, a child has to potty? That was Kyler today when we went on a yogurt run.
Jaycie went on the yogurt run too, the two of them really cute pushing the little carts. Well Kyler not too cute when he rammed his into the back of Jaycie, not phasing her any, but he hit his mouth on his cart after the impact. Or when he someone tipped it over on its side and yogurt went rolling all over. Jaycie was so sweet and helped him pick it all up. Carter said to her yesterday "I left on Thursday and you were a baby, I come back today and you are answering my questions!" Yes, Carter it all seems to stay the same yet change at the same time.
Dean and I continue our day to day lives, realizing that we are richly blessed with so much more then we could ever ask for.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Out and about
Dean and I and our friends Slick and Skeeter went out for dinner and good times on Friday night. It was nice to be out with Dean and friends. Saturday morning we were out of the house bright and early for a 5th and 6th grade boys basketball game. Our nephew Brett was playing. A few minutes into the 1st quarter I realized that he was the tallest boy out there. My kids, in particular, my boys are very small. So to see a tall Happel boy out there was really odd.
Well believe it or not, we have been doing just a bit more wrestling. Yesterday was high school districts in IA. You can feel the intensity in the air. Only 2 kids move on to state, lots of heart break and lot of celebration across our state. I am not sure I am ready for a tournament like this next year when Carter is in high school. Mackenzie says I may become a smoker by then. I guess they think I get nervous or something.
I went to Tipton to watch Lisbon, I had Carter and Cael with me. Dean and Mackenzie went to Kennedy to watch Brandon and Cedar Rapids Prairie. Brandon finished 5th, which means he stays home, a real hard card to play for a senior. However, his mom told me the craziest thing. Brandon started and ended his high school wrestling career wrestling the same kid! WOW.
I finished up that kettle bell swing challenge. I did 10,000 swings in the month of January along with some other kettle bell / body weight exercises. I did this working out 5 days a week and taking the two weekend days off. What's next? Something so crazy I am not sure why I would say yes. It is called the 115 Royal Burpee Challenge. It started yesterday, with 1 burpee. Today was 2 burpees. Each day you add 1 until June 4th, when 115 burpees will be done. What's a burpee?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21dvQyNiTjM
I have a few of my kids doing this with me. I look forward to seeing how strong we all will be when we are done. There will be a huge sense of accomplishment if I can get through this one.
We had a death in the family last weekend. My mother in law's sister. Dean's aunt Darlene. We made a trip to the visitation with everyone and Dean and I went back for the funeral. Death is hard, I sat there remembering how it only seemed like yesterday that I met Darlene, or was at her house for Easter and very pregnant with Mackenzie. Life is really precious and often short. A death reminds me to treasure each and every day God blesses me to be on this earth.
Well believe it or not, we have been doing just a bit more wrestling. Yesterday was high school districts in IA. You can feel the intensity in the air. Only 2 kids move on to state, lots of heart break and lot of celebration across our state. I am not sure I am ready for a tournament like this next year when Carter is in high school. Mackenzie says I may become a smoker by then. I guess they think I get nervous or something.
I went to Tipton to watch Lisbon, I had Carter and Cael with me. Dean and Mackenzie went to Kennedy to watch Brandon and Cedar Rapids Prairie. Brandon finished 5th, which means he stays home, a real hard card to play for a senior. However, his mom told me the craziest thing. Brandon started and ended his high school wrestling career wrestling the same kid! WOW.
I finished up that kettle bell swing challenge. I did 10,000 swings in the month of January along with some other kettle bell / body weight exercises. I did this working out 5 days a week and taking the two weekend days off. What's next? Something so crazy I am not sure why I would say yes. It is called the 115 Royal Burpee Challenge. It started yesterday, with 1 burpee. Today was 2 burpees. Each day you add 1 until June 4th, when 115 burpees will be done. What's a burpee?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21dvQyNiTjM
I have a few of my kids doing this with me. I look forward to seeing how strong we all will be when we are done. There will be a huge sense of accomplishment if I can get through this one.
We had a death in the family last weekend. My mother in law's sister. Dean's aunt Darlene. We made a trip to the visitation with everyone and Dean and I went back for the funeral. Death is hard, I sat there remembering how it only seemed like yesterday that I met Darlene, or was at her house for Easter and very pregnant with Mackenzie. Life is really precious and often short. A death reminds me to treasure each and every day God blesses me to be on this earth.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Busted!!
I am again lame and forgetful and busy and distracted and forgetting to write. It does flatter me to hear that people enjoy reading this and miss my posts, to you all, I am sorry I have been a bit distracted. I think it was the threat of Dean taking over writing this, that has me typing right now!
So since it is winter we have been busy with wrestling, wrestling, and a bit more wrestling. Ya, there really can be that much wrestling, and yet it still does not get boring. After the last two weekends though I am a bit nervous that my butt will be shaped like a bleacher.
Mackenzie does her best to support Brandon in his senior year of wrestling as well as her brothers. I drove to Dubuque on Thursday for senior night. She is 'at home' around wrestling and has even struck up a few conversations at college involving the sport.
Carter remains unbeaten this year. He won USA Middle School 125 State Tournament and also won the Outstanding Wrestler Award. Pretty cool deal. He also won his last AAU district meet today. I have to admit, watching him compete this year has been fun but also emotionally hard, since this year is his last as a youth and then next year we step into high school.
Reegan loves to watch as much wrestling as possible and still wishes her dad would let her compete too, but he stands by his decision "no", and so she tags along to as many practices and meets as possible. Since we have had a mild winter she has gotten to go ride Miss T (horse) quite a few times. She will also be starting softball soon.
Cael took 2nd at the USA State tournament. He tore up his side of the bracket and then met his buzz saw in the finals. His best win of the year may have come a few weeks ago, it caused me to have what I am calling an outer body experience. I became the crazed wrestling mom. Today he won his second AAU district meet. He is such a hard worker.
Quincy is too small to compete in the USA state meet, and so he sat that one out. He is also too young and too small to wrestle this weekend. He sits with one loss on the year and will compete a few more times this season.
Addy tries to tag a long as much as possible to the practices. Mostly she hangs out with me at home. She still wrestles with not fulfilling her nick name of sassy pants. Talk about a girl with some zest!
Cade, stays home, but on occasion attends practice, not to wrestle though. Next year he needs some shoes and some time in the wrestling room. If anything, just to get some time with dad and his brothers. He will be a bit more like Cael and it may take him some time to warm up to the idea of being on the mat.
Kyler, well he finally wrestled his way out of diapers. I really was not sure this would ever happen or what the other kids and parents were going to say if he tried to wrestle in a singlet and diaper. For the most part, he has it figured out now. I do say the most part, because there is a small part that sometimes still forgets.
Jaycie, well she just wrestles with how many times she should say "no" in a day. She is also quite the little helper for me. Pretty sweet to have her little hands working beside me.
Dean coaches all these guys and spends much time and effort trying his best to train his boys and the other boys in his room.
I hang out in the bleachers or at home. I wrestle with the crowd to get out of the bleachers and make my track to the bathroom - what is it about mommy nerves??
So since it is winter we have been busy with wrestling, wrestling, and a bit more wrestling. Ya, there really can be that much wrestling, and yet it still does not get boring. After the last two weekends though I am a bit nervous that my butt will be shaped like a bleacher.
Mackenzie does her best to support Brandon in his senior year of wrestling as well as her brothers. I drove to Dubuque on Thursday for senior night. She is 'at home' around wrestling and has even struck up a few conversations at college involving the sport.
Carter remains unbeaten this year. He won USA Middle School 125 State Tournament and also won the Outstanding Wrestler Award. Pretty cool deal. He also won his last AAU district meet today. I have to admit, watching him compete this year has been fun but also emotionally hard, since this year is his last as a youth and then next year we step into high school.
Reegan loves to watch as much wrestling as possible and still wishes her dad would let her compete too, but he stands by his decision "no", and so she tags along to as many practices and meets as possible. Since we have had a mild winter she has gotten to go ride Miss T (horse) quite a few times. She will also be starting softball soon.
Cael took 2nd at the USA State tournament. He tore up his side of the bracket and then met his buzz saw in the finals. His best win of the year may have come a few weeks ago, it caused me to have what I am calling an outer body experience. I became the crazed wrestling mom. Today he won his second AAU district meet. He is such a hard worker.
Quincy is too small to compete in the USA state meet, and so he sat that one out. He is also too young and too small to wrestle this weekend. He sits with one loss on the year and will compete a few more times this season.
Addy tries to tag a long as much as possible to the practices. Mostly she hangs out with me at home. She still wrestles with not fulfilling her nick name of sassy pants. Talk about a girl with some zest!
Cade, stays home, but on occasion attends practice, not to wrestle though. Next year he needs some shoes and some time in the wrestling room. If anything, just to get some time with dad and his brothers. He will be a bit more like Cael and it may take him some time to warm up to the idea of being on the mat.
Kyler, well he finally wrestled his way out of diapers. I really was not sure this would ever happen or what the other kids and parents were going to say if he tried to wrestle in a singlet and diaper. For the most part, he has it figured out now. I do say the most part, because there is a small part that sometimes still forgets.
Jaycie, well she just wrestles with how many times she should say "no" in a day. She is also quite the little helper for me. Pretty sweet to have her little hands working beside me.
Dean coaches all these guys and spends much time and effort trying his best to train his boys and the other boys in his room.
I hang out in the bleachers or at home. I wrestle with the crowd to get out of the bleachers and make my track to the bathroom - what is it about mommy nerves??
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