9/27/2008 Tim's First Deer Harvest!!! Tim was very excited to bring in his first harvest!!! He shot this doe with his bow on a beautiful September day! I am really proud of you, baby, and I hope you will be blessed with many more great hunts!!! More Photos

9/26/2008 - 9/28/2008 Visitors at the Farm A few years ago Rick's family came to the farm with his parents, Ed and Jeni, and my parents were very excited to have them back! They have 3 sweet boys and a precious baby girl, and it was fun for Tim and I to get to know them. Thanks for making the long trip, and we look forward to your next visit!!! More Photos

9/25/2008 Fall Biking Fun One of our most recent purchases was this Burley bike trailer . . . and we LOVE IT!!! Cade frequently asks to go "on his bike", and Tim and I were so thankful to get our bikes down from their storage. Biking is one of our favorite "couple activities" as it gives us a great chance to enjoy beautiful weather and catch up with great conversation!!! Cade sits quietly in the trailer and askes for "more" whenever we stop. We've already decided it's one of the best investments we've ever made!!! This particular night Tim and I were babysitting Sage and this made the perfect evening activity!

9/16/2008 Darin & Danni's Wedding Shower Mom's friends hosted a wonderful wedding shower for Darin and Danni! The decorations were beautiful . . . the food was fantastic . . . and Darin and Danni received a lot of nice gifts to help start their new life together! More Photos

9/16/2008 Flooding from Hurricane Ike I serve lunch this Sunday, so when Mom and I went to the Fellowship Center to bake cookies were were surprised to find the Fabius River completely out of it's banks!! The river was actually higher that it was this past June during the major flooding. Hurricane Ike dumped a lot of water over a short period of time, so the river rose quickly . . . and then went back into it's banks within a few days. This picture shows the water rising behind the Fellowship Center. More Photos

9/13/2008 - 9/14/2008 Katie's Wedding! Tim's first cousin, Katie, got married in Kansas City this weekend. It was nice to get to meet her husband, Todd, and it was fun to spend time with Tim's extended family. Katie's mom, Mary, and Tim's dad, John, are sibblings. We also took the opportunity to go shopping at Babies R' Us and Target, two stores I wish we had in our town!!! Tim's Aunt Janice hosted us overnight, and then we were able to go to our church in Kansas City on Sunday. Tim attended this church for about three years before we were married, so he enjoyed reconnecting with some of his friends! More Photos

9/12/2008 Pizza Night at the Snyder's Quinton and Heather hosted Neil, our brother-in-law who recently moved to town, and our family for pizza night. We had great adult conversation, and Cade and Emma loved another chance to play together!! More Photos

9/6/2008 - 9/7/2008 On the Road Again! This past weekend marked our 2nd out of 3 weekends in a row on the road!! We have one October travel date on our calendar, but that should be it until the baby comes. We are down to 12 weeks and getting very excited!! This past weekend took us to northern Illinois where two of Tim's cousins were getting baptised. It was nice to see some of Tim's extended family and get to spend time with his parents! Sorry I don't have any pictures. I've been in a non-photographic mode the past couple of weeks!

9/5/2008 Happy Birthday Dad! We were able to celebrate my dad's birthday at our favorite Mexican restaurant!! It was fun to spend an hour and a half conversing over great food with Dad, Mom, Darin and Danni. We love you Dad, and are so thankful for the opportunity to share our life with you!

8/29/2008 - 9/4/2008 Branson Vacation Tim and I took our first official vacation since Cade was born! We left our little guy with my parents, and enjoyed the freedom (and peace, and quiet, and uninterupted showers, and hot meals!). We had a great time eating out, watching shows, riding bikes, shopping, and keeping up on the RNC!!! Most nights we stayed up until well past midnight and then slept in until we felt like getting up. Glorious!! We came home feeling quite refreshed, and it was a lot of fun to reconnect with Cade! More Photos

8/23/2008 Danni's Personal Shower Danni's friends hosted a great personal shower at the cabin, and one day Cade will be able to say he was the only male in attendance! The same day, Jacob did a fantastic job of hosting Darin's bachelor party. The guys had a fun day of fishing, bull riding (mechanical!), shooting, etc! We're excited for you, Darin and Danni. October 4th is only a few weeks away!

8/19/2008 Moving Edie Mom spend a few days helping Edie, a young lady from our church, move away to college. Cade and I stopped by to help one evening, and I had to get a shot of Cade and "Pop" in their matching outfits!

8/18/2008 Tim's Summer Bible Study BBQ Tim enjoyed his summer Bible study group of young, single men from our church! On the final evening, Scott and Dawn hosted a BBQ at their home. Cade and I stayed around for the great food, but then we headed up to Grandpa and Grandma's while Tim finished up their final lesson! More Photos

8/15/2008 - 8/17/2008 Spontaneous Kansas Trip! One evening Tim and I were sitting on our couch when we realized we had no plans for the coming weekend . . . so we decided to make a quick trip to Kansas to see his parents. We had a wonderful weekend of great conversation and good food! We were also able to spend time with Tim's sister, Lori, and her family. Sometimes spontaneous trips end up going better than if they had been planned for a long time! That sure was the case this weekend! More Photos

8/15/2008 Babysitting Sage Jason needed to run out of town for the morning, so Sage got to spend a few hours at our house. Cade and Sage had a great time playing together!! More Photos

8/14/2008 Playtime with Emma!! Tim and I have really enjoyed spending time with Quinton and Heather since they moved to town!! Heather and I generally get together once a week to swap kids while the other runs errands . . . or just to let Cade and Emma have some time with a playmate. The adult conversation with Heather is also refreshing for me!!! Heather and I will be having babies about 6 weeks apart, so we will soon have 4 kids between us. It will be interesting to watch the coming months unfold! More Photos

8/11/2008 A Family of Six!?! Today I watched Katie's 5 kids while she attended a meeting, and I soon realized there is a reason God only gives you one child at a time!! We had a great time together, but my body was quite worn out after our time together! I now have a much greater appreciation for mothers of large families. My mom thought our table full of kids looked pretty good!!!! We'll have to see.

8/11/2008 A Beautiful Night at the Park! We had perfect weather for a summer night in the park! There was a slight breeze, no humidity, and the kids had a fantastic time. Cade and I had went to a park earlier in the day, so he was quite spoiled with two trips to the swings and slides! Tim's sister, Leann, and her husband, Neil, are moving to the area within the next few weeks, so we were able to spend the evening with them after they were finished looking at houses.  Neil will be working at the same company as Tim, and Leann is currently interviewing for different positions.  I'm sure Tim's parents never dreamed they would have three children living in this area!  Neil and Leann, we are excited to have you in town!!! More Photos

8/11/2008 To-Do List A few months ago I sent out a plea asking for advice on how to balance checking off my to-do list and spending time with Cade.  Kara, a young mom from Tim's hometown, sent some great advice she had received from MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers).  It was just what I needed to remind me of the MOST important item on my to-do list: Cade!!!  Enjoy this mother's wisdom . . . and then go rearrange your to-do list! To-Do List by Rhonda Headley “I did three loads of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, called the vet, cashed the check, went to the post office, made brownies with Jessie, helped Katie Anne with her homework and filed my report.” That is a very realistic answer to my husband’s question at dinner, “How was your day?” Funny though, he didn’t ask what I accomplished, he simply wanted to know how the day went. Knowing the girls and I and even the dog are happy and healthy is enough for him, but I find myself equating the success of my day with what I can check-off of my to-do list. It alternately annoys and concerns my husband that I let chores and responsibilities dictate my definition of a “good day.” As Mom , our household often relies on my ability to get things done efficiently. When I let an undone load of laundry or pile of mail mar my day, I have to seek my husband’s more balanced perspective. He can focus. He can watch TV, and not feel compelled to fold laundry at the same time. He can leave the dishes until after bedtime and tickle the girls longer. And he can pretty easily ignore the mulch the dog drags in from the yard. What bothers him is my inability to see that some mulch on the floor is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. I’m learning to cut myself some slack and adjust my expectations accordingly. I’ll focus more on my relationships and not my to-do list. Maybe, I’ll even learn to say, “I did nothing today, and it was fabulous.”

8/10/2008 Congratulations Danni!! This past week Danni completed her bachelors degree in Human Resources!! She worked very hard to complete her degree in three years so she and Darin could get married this fall (October 4th). We are very proud of you Danni!!! Somehow Darin lost his graduation check from my parents, so their gift money was combined to get them a KitchenAid Mixer. Danni has always dreamed of having one, and even though it probably wouldn't have been Darin's first choice . . . I'm sure he'll get to enjoy lots of delicious baking because of it! More Photos

8/2/2008 Jackson's 4th Birthday! It was so fun to celebrate Jackson's 4th birthday! Congratulations buddy! More Photos

8/2/2008 Hot Air Balloon Rally I've seen hot air balloons in the air, but it was a completely different experience seeing them up-close on the ground! Tim, Cade and I spent part of Saturday afternoon and evening at our town's balloon rally and really enjoyed the experience (well . . . Cade was sick so he wasn't too cracked up about the outing!). But . . . Tim and I are the parents, and we wanted to see the balloons!!! More Photos