Amazing

Two little pairs of eyes ... both beautiful ... both full of life ... how thankful we are for them, and how excited we are about who they are and who they will be ...



Our little soccer guy had his party yesterday but no game - too much raining and snow!



I tried to copy a picture that we had of Hayden; Ellie wouldn't stop chewing on her little hand! Ha!

Love...

I have no words...just watch:

Mommy, I Don't Feel So Good ...

We have been anything but healthy this week ... there have been some very eventful days at the Kinnan home ... though we've been passing it back and forth we think we might be on the upswing (hopefully!).

CONGRATULATIONS GUYS!

Some of our very dear friends (including Lance, the worship leader at our previous church, Real Life) have been very busy lately, and Lance was the featured artist at this website ...

http://www.embassymusic.com/em_artists.htm

Keep your radios on and stay tuned ... there are some very exciting things in store for these very talented guys!

For the Grandmas and the Grandpas ...

Hayden's shirt of choice is none at all these days ... Ellie, however, prefers to be bundled up all the time.

We borrowed a friend's Bobcat in a sad attempt to work on our sad yard ourselves ... didn't work out so well, but we had a blast! Hayden didn't get to drive it, but would have sat in it all day if we would have let him!

Ellie officially has some favorite things ... aside from eating and pooping, she likes big brother, laughing (more like a giggle), talking, and sitting up, here with the help of daddy.

Joe Dirt

Move over bottled water ... there's a new natural resource that's being sold for way too much ... today we actually had to pay someone to come fill our yard with more dirt and then move it around until it was flat, and as "pretty" as dirt can be. We'll hold off on the rest until the checkbook cools off ...

This made me think about ridiculous things that I could get paid for ...

1. Removing the filling from Oreos so that people don't have to mess with undoing the cookies themselves.

2. Gum chewer ... helping the jaws of people everywhere (that was just for you, Laughlin)

I'm officially out of ideas ... it's been a long day, so I cheated and looked up the craziest jobs ever!

Pet Food Taster Not only do these people eat dog food all the time, some actually enjoy it! It's kind of like wine connoisseurs enjoying a new wine, except its stuff your dog or cat eats. To each their own...

Gross stunt producer If you've ever seen a show where people have to do disgusting things for money (like wade through rat-infested sewers or eat living bugs), rest assured it's because someone's job is to come up with such twisted concepts. A surprising amount of research is necessary to make sure that your ideas are not only gross, but also safe.

Bad Breath Smeller How else would you figure out if your company's chewing gum is getting the job done? This also implies there are people whose job it is to chew gum and breathe in people's faces.

Ufologist As the name implies, ufologists are all about the study of UFO's. History, recent reports, government conspiracies, it's all included, so if the unknown is your passion this might not be a bad start.

Cryptozoologist These are the people you see on television explaining so convincingly why Big Foot or the Loch Ness monster are real. It's all about using your science skills in less conventional ways.

Pathoecologist You'd be surprised how much you can learn from...poo. Pathoecologists study feces from thousands of years ago, learning much about the lifestyles and diets of our ancestors.

I think I'll just stick to being a mommy and teacher ...

Whew!

This has been a great and busy week, and we've been enjoying every moment of the weather! From dinner with good friends and fellow Jayhawks (YES - there are Jayhawkers in Rapid City!) to a very windy soccer game, we've enjoyed all of the excitement and chaos that the fall brings!

Hayden continues to enjoy his school, and is becoming quite excited about soccer, though cars and trucks will probably always be at the top of his list! We've been playing frisbee like maniacs and going on very long walks daily so that he can ride his dirt bike around the neighborhood. He has recently volunteered to be the "trash guy" and loves to empty all of the trash cans in the house and even bring the big one up the driveway after it's emptied ... he says that it's because he's a "big guy" and loves to be a helper ... how sweet!

Ellie will be three months old on Monday, and grows every day ... she spends most of her time smiling, talking, and looking around, though she enjoys nothing more than being with her big brother! There is a marked difference in her when he is nearby! Her eyes are still blue, and hair is sandy blonde with RED! RED!? She really likes to sit up, and be sung to, but mostly, she likes to talk ... that's mommy's girl! :-)

We hope you have a GREAT week!

Hayden's Big Day!

Last night we started making soccer cookies for Hayden's birthday party ... with a soccer theme! Mommy quickly realized that she has not become a better artist since her middle school teacher told her that "not everyone has this gift," and we quickly switched to making a soccer cake. We did, however, enjoy a flour fight and time rolling out the sugar cookie dough that made cookies to be used some other time!



We woke up early this morning (Saturday) to get ready for Hayden's FIRST soccer game! Practice was at 9am and the game was at 9:30am ... he had a great time during practice and took to this new experience quite well, and did great during the game ... but was definitely a bit overwhelmed! I told David we've created quite a conundrum for our little guy ... telling him for the last five years not to push or kick at kids ... he a bit confused with all the running and kicking and stuff as eight little guys rushed for one little soccer ball, but was thrilled about it all and cannot wait until next week! We'll see! His coaches and the other parents are really fun and it'll be a good experience for Hayden ... and us too!







We celebrated Hayden's birthday party with our Rapid City family this afternoon! We had a picnic in the park with our soccer ball cake, balloons, a playground, and lots and lots of good friends! Hayden and Selah took some time to snap pics of everyone ... and of the park too!



School Note: We had the OPEN HOUSE for Hayden's school, and we are just as much in love with it as our little guy is! He is so excited to go to school, then even more excited afterwards to tell us all that he's learning ... this evening when we were getting ready for dinner and talking about who was going to pray, he said ... "God can hear you ... you can pray quietly or loudly and He will still hear you." We feel so blessed that he is going to a Christian school and have been so thrilled with all that He's learning ... it's great to have more than just home and church - to be learning ABC's and creation each day from another place is good!

Thank You Tom.

Hayden has what I would call a "beginners" understanding of heaven. When his puppy Abby was gravely ill, we worked to help him understand, through all the sadness, why she went away. We talked to him about heaven, and why God sometimes takes people (and pets, in this case) when they are hurting or when it's just their time to go with him to make it all better. He loves us so much, that at times He chooses to bring us home to be with Him when He's ready for us.

When "Big Papa" Wolf went to be with the Lord last August, Hayden experienced a cemetery for the first time. Now every time we drive by one, he points to it and says "Look ... there's heaven ... and Abby and Big Papa are there with God!"

This morning after daddy went to the church I talked to Hayden about Uncle Tom, and how he went to be with God too. Our conversation led to some monumental discussion, and what an incredible God we have that could bring it through such a time of grief ...

Hayden: "Is Uncle Tom with Big Papa and Abby and Jesus now?"

Mommy: "Yes, Bubba, he is."

Hayden: "I miss Abby ... but they'll feed her and she'll be super happy. Is she in the garage in heaven? I want her right now.

Mommy: " No Bubba, she's not in the garage."

Hayden: "But where is heaven? I want to go there."

Mommy: "I always thought Heaven was way up high, past the stars and the sun and the moon, but you know what ... God is everywhere ... when you are sad, He is right there, and when you're really happy, He's there too. You can ask Him to be by you all of the time and He will be right there!"

Hayden: "Oh."

Mommy: "If you believe in God and Jesus and be the great big boy that they ask you to be, then you'll go there too someday, honey. Do you?"

Hayden: "Yes. They love me lots. I want to be in heaven some day when I am super old, with Abby and Big Papa, and Uncle Tom."

Hayden: "Can I take my cool cars and dirt bike with me? Does God drive cool cars?"

Mommy: "I'm not sure, Bubba ... we'll talk about that later." "Do you know what we can do right now?"

Hayden: "What?"

Mommy: "We can lots of people about God and Jesus and ask if they want to go to heaven too."

Hayden: "With my Abby!"

Mommy: "Yes, bubba!"

Home.

We heard early this morning that uncle Tom went to be with the Lord. There are so many emotions to grapple with when this happens ... praise that He is home, away from the pain and sin of the world ... sadness because he was such a thrilling, life-loving man that brought such happiness to so many.

My first meeting with Tom was very unique! He and aunt Lois met David and I at the Tampa airport when we arrived for our honeymoon ... they were kind enough to let us borrow their car while we were there. Lois met us at the gate, and Tom was waiting outside with the car. When we exited the doors, I heard someone loudly singing my name ... it sounded good, too! It was Tom.

Every Thanksgiving before we would eat, he would say excitedly, I bet President ______ (whomever it was) isn't eating this good today!

We will miss him, but rest in knowing that we will see him again.