Fall Retreat

We went to Storybook last weekend for Fall Retreat. It was a relaxing long weekend and we enjoyed the speaker, the good food, hanging out with friends, and the beautiful scenery. It was also fun to do a road trip as a family and we were very thankful for the van with a DVD player.We didn't get as many pictures as I'd hoped due to some problems with our camera. We are checking into getting it repaired but it may just be time for a new one.

The speaker shared on Hebrews 12:1-3. He had lots of great insights and I would like to listen to the CDs to catch some of the portions I missed. He reminded us that the race is a conflict/a contention/ a fight. It's not going to be easy to run it well but we have to put all of our efforts into it to finish well. Don't give up, keep going, and make your motivation Christ. Life is tough and serving Him will be the only motive that will keep you going. He also emphasized running according to the rules which means doing things God's way. His way is best and if we value Him, we will do it His way because he asks us to. He also touched on the weights that entangle us which I've been thinking about. What things hinder us in running the race? Recreation, comforts of life, family ties, jobs, hobbies, etc. They are not worth our efforts in comparison to serving Christ. How easy do we let go of them? Great verses to meditate on further.

Emma loved craft time with her friends

 

The Dream House




On a hike



The merry-go-round (Emma spent the majority of her time here and Ethan was elected merry-go-round pusher by the kids)

Emma and Chloe by the lake



The lake



Noah out exploring



Loving the outdoors




My wandering boy finally sat down for a break



Noah playing house with sticks and rocks



Watching Emma run around with her friends in the gym



All showered and clean

Our canoe ride (the camera trouble started)



Noah found his sister's candy stash



Thanks for the poncho Aunt Amanda!

Harvest party and pumpkins

Harvest party at the Rineharts-Tinkerbell, Robin, Batman x 2

The villains

Our little farmer was in heaven with the dogs, tractor, and outdoors

Andrew and his buddies



Mr. and Mrs. Pumpkin (still impressed with your talent Rex)



Cousins

Eva shows us how to drive



Shrek and Fiona




Wow...no comment here




What a cute Toy Story family



An afternoon at Howell's Pumpkin Patch



There's so much you can do with corn!

Emma and Lydia while Eli looks on



Eli and a big pumpkin



Noah thinks he's big stuff pushing this



My little monkey with his George



Oven mitt obsession

Never would have thought my son would love wearing an oven mitt! He's been wearing it all around the house for the past couple weeks. Maybe we have a future chef in the making...

October already

Can't believe that fall is here! I just returned from Orlando on Monday. Another trip for work and now I'm home for awhile. October looks to be another busy month with the weekends filling up quickly. We have been enjoying the great weather with trips to the park and walks with the wagon. I know it won't be long before we're stuck indoors!

We celebrated my Grandpa Klaver's 80th birthday the weekend before I left. Almost the entire Klaver clan had dinner together. It was fun seeing everyone and there were lots of little ones running around. I enjoyed hearing everyone share stories about Grandpa. We all have lots of fun memories of Grandpa and Grandma's house. They always made it fun for us and I know it must have been lots of work keeping up with all of us.  Some of my favorites would be: swimming at their pool, having tea time, celebrating the holidays, trips to DQ,  Klaver campouts, and overnight outings at their house. I am very thankful for my grandparents and how they have given me so many fond memories with my cousins!

Emma is still liking preschool. She has figured out which parts she doesn't enjoy and tries to skip them. Her letter this week is "O" so she made an octopus this morning. Crafts and art are definitely her favorites. She has had some attitude issues and problems with listening the past couple weeks. We are trying to work with her and I know we are going to have some challenges ahead with her strong will. Parenting is getting tough...

Noah is running all over the place. He now says hi, bye, ball, bottle, Emma, puppy, and attempts other words. He climbs on everything and loves to follow big sis around and tries to play with her. We found out that he has two incisors on the bottom where he should have just one so he is supposed to see the dentist. Dental issues at 16 months...hope they don't continue. He is still a happy little guy and came running to me at the airport. After I picked him up, he kept getting really close to my face saying, "hi, hi." It was too cute!

These horses were a big hit!

The newest family member

More fun outside



Auntie Glo, Grandma, and Grandpa




The young crowd



The seven Klaver kids



The huge Crim family