More of our Weekend in Ames

Brenna's new hair style. Looks a little "punky" to me...

Look at that smile! You can see her teeth about ready to pop through.

Getting off of the "big" chair and kind of posing.



Steve and Steph looking at Papa John's menu and recipe blogs.

Grandpa Bohlen and Brenna attempting to read a book...

Well, we certainly had a fun-filled weekend with the VanCleave Family! It started out with us arriving prior to their small group on Thursday evening. Steph fixed lasagna for everyone. Someone else brought a salad and a dessert. After eating, Steve and I took Brenna down stairs and babysat. I was able to put her to bed with no trouble that evening.

Friday, Jared had to work. We ended up getting pizza for lunch. After Brenna's nap, we went to Hasting's Book store. Steph and I went to Goodwill. She bought a few things for Brenna and I bought a jacket, black pants and a wool sweater. That evening, Steph went to a friend's shower and Jared went to a home of one of the guys in their small group to watch a movie. Again, Steve and I babysat, but Brenna was in bed. All we had to do was watch TV, knit and listen to the monitor.

Saturday, we had a big breakfast. While Brenna had her nap, we went to Salvation army. I bought a pair of jeans and a Chico knit top. That afternoon, we made an apple crisp. We also cleaned the house because there was a showing (there home is for sale). We went to Wallaby's for supper and then went to Cornerstone Church for their Saturday night service. The worship was wonderful and Jeff had a great message from Matthew 12. After we got home and had some apple crisp and put Brenna down, Steve and Jared watched a movie and Steph and I drove to Ankeny to the Christian Book Store and TJ Maxx. We only had about 1 1/2 hours to shop, but we got everything in we wanted to. Boy, was I tired when I got home.

This a.m. we left Ames around 9:00. Had to shovel about 3 inches of snow. Steve packed the car and we said our goodby's. Little Brenna had a hard weekend. She is teething and wasn't very happy some of the times. Other times, though, she was as sweet as she could be. I love to watch her walk - even though she doesn't look old enough to walk. She loves to jabber too. Wish I knew what she was saying. It really helps when she signs for us - eat, more, that's all, please, thank you, drink... The best part was when we went to the mall on Friday. Brenna would wave and say "hi" to all the clerks behind the counters. She is so cute! She has such fine motor skills. One night she sat on Jared's lap and played with two small boxes for about 30 minutes - opening, closing, placing the contents of each box in and out, etc.

Well, enough is enough. In need to stop so you all can read this. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

God is good!

Our Fun Weekend

We arrived at Brenna's house Thursday evening. We had to babysit first thing. Can you believe it? We suffered through it while Steph and Jared had their small group. Actually, Brenna was a jewel. We had fun with her - taking pictures of her playing with her piggy bank and her beautiful jewelry. Here are a few pictures to start with. Will send more at a later time. Enjoy!

BRRRRRR... but Spring is around the corner

Hello to all. It is freezing here in Iowa. When I was coming home from work tonight the temp was 3. With the wind blowing, I'm not sure what the wind chill was. We got about 5-6 inches of snow last night, but today was nice and sunny (but cold and windy). Tonight the wind will continue to blow the snow and drifting will occur. They canceled church activities for the night. So guess I will sit back and wait for Spring... maybe do some reading, a little crocheting, watch a little basketball with Steve, etc. Just keep thinking flowers, not snow. Flowers, not snow. Flowers, not snow. Flowers...

Long Weekend with Ryan and Dana

What a wonderful weekend we had with Ryan and Dana. They came down from Minneapolis area Thursday night. We stayed up late talking and looking at Christmas pictures they took down in Arkansas. Today, we went to church and then to Grandma Bohlen's for lunch. As usual she fixed a wonderful meal - meat loaf, potatoes, green beans, jello with fruit, home made bread and apple pie with ice cream. One of Dana's goals for the weekend was to shoot a gun. Her wish came true after lunch. We found some items to shoot at (piece of broken glass, an old florescent bulb and clay birds), and boy - did Dana do a great job. She shot a .410 over and under, a 22 rifle and a 12 gauge shotgun. Her upper arm was a little sore once she was done, but she seemed to have a great time.



Ryan and Dana shooting at the farm.


Val and Steve chilling out at Neva's place.



Dana and Ryan loving Grandma Bohlen.


Dana and Ryan at our place.

Our Dog Zeke

Zeke (I was reading the book of Ezekiel when we bought him) is our cockapoo. We have had him almost five years. He is Val's dog, according to Steve. We (Val and Zeke) attempt to walk at least 2 miles a day, unless it is raining, icy or too cold (20 or below). The pictures above are Zeke through the years. The first picture is Steve holding the dog (NOTE: Steve's head is cut off). The next picture is of our son, Ryan. Ben Bohlen, our nephew has him on the third picture. The last picture is our friend Amy Vanchattle from Boone, IA. She lived with us this summer while doing an internship at The HawkEye, taking photographs for the newspaper. Zeke loves to chase squirrels, rabbits and the deer that come in our yard from the timber. He also likes to go to Grandma Bohlen's farm and chase some of the cats. Those cats who are older and more wise, just ignore him and Zeke knows to leave them alone. He is a good watch dog and anyone that comes to the door better be careful -- he has a pretty ferocious bark, but really he's really a wuss. He's sure cute though. In the summer we get his hair cut short and he looks like a different dog. Enough on Zeke. Dana's leaving tomorrow, so had to get some directions for blogging before she left. See you all later.

Here is Steve and I many years ago. Probably within our first year of marriage. It was Christmas, I believe, and we were at Grandma Chubb's. My mother-in-law, Neva, made my quilted vest. What do you think of Steve's curly hair? We make such a cute couple, don't we?

Here is the house we are living in at this time. We have been here for 6 years and love the area. Our house sits on 4 lots and on the corner of two dead end streets. We have very tall white pine trees that we can see out of our windows to the South. There is timber in the back. I love to mow on our rider mower to keep the place looking decent. Steve is good at cutting and trimming trees and bushes, keeping the gutters clean and everything else working in the house. After our children left home, we bought this big house. Why? We love to be hospitable. We have hosted our families, of course; but also those from other countries (Ukraine and Nigeria). It works out very well to have Steve's counseling office (Abundant Life Counseling) in our den. If anyone comes to town, let us know if you need a place to stay.

Here is our little Brenna Joy. She is almost 15 months old and growing up quickly. She is walking all over the place now and also signs to inform her parents what she is wanting, etc. (please, thank you, drink, more, all done). It is always a joy when we can be around her. We try to see her at least once a month. It is fun to watch her little personality come through as she lives her little life. I know God will definitely use her somehow in His kingdom.

I'm back.... Am now practicing adding pictures. Here we are at Ryan and Dana's at Thanksgiving. We had wonderful time together. We joined part of Dana's family for a traditional Thanksgiving meal which was delicious. Let me see what else I can find and write about.

Our first attempt at a Blog

I can't believe this has happened. We have Blog Site (thanks to Dana!). Both of our children have Blog Sites, so Steve kept encouraging me to create one... With my poor computer skills and creativity, I felt inadequate to try it myself. Well, last night, Ryan and Dana came to visit and this morning Dana helped me (actually did most of it) create this Blog. I'm excited! We even have a picture of us dancing at Ryan and Dana's wedding this past May. What a fun time that was. Steve and I even took some dancing lessons to prepare for this wonderful day.

Well, Steve is now making breakfast/brunch for the four of us and he's asking for my assistance, so I had better close for now. I'll return in a little bit. (Boy! This is FUN!)