Neil's Cooking

Well, we had a little disaster on Sunday. We planned to cook ribs for our House Church which meets right after church. So, having the lunch ready at the right time is always challenging. This week we decided to cook ribs and we started them around 9 am so that they could cook slow and long. Neil and our friend Ben researched and thought they had the process down and figured out. Well, it didn't go quite as planned. We return to see the hoses of our grill no longer attached, the knobs blown off the front of the grill, and the meat aflame. We're not sure why or how, but we're pretty sure the grill exploded. As you see from the picture, the meat was inedible and we had to make other plans for lunch. We're trying again this week with a different grill and it will be able to be constantly supervised, so we'll see if we have better luck. And we purchased a new grill of our own. It was kind of fun but somewhat of a fiasco as well. Neil drove to Marion IN (a 45 minute drive) to pick it up. Dyllan and I wrestled it up onto the back deck (remember Neil can't lift more than 20 pounds still) and Neil started to assemble it only to find that it had a huge dent in the front. Oh my. He was able to return it to the Muncie Sears and there he found another deal. We have yet to hook it up and try it out but Neil will have several opportunities over the next week. Wish us luck!

Neil's Birthday

Neil decided he wanted to go out to DoMo, the Muncie version of a Japanese steakhouse, with the family for his birthday celebration. We all had a great time. I think the kids especially enjoy it when we choose something that they get to enjoy as well. He also received tickets to the David Sedaris show that's coming to town next week. So, don't feel sorry for him that he shared all of his present with his family.

Installing My First Toilet

Boy, Neil is working this surgery/recovery thing to the max! Just kidding. He really isn't suppose to lift for at least 6 weeks. It's been about 3 and 1/2 so far. Well, our toilet started leaking and we found that we had a crack in the tank. So, I got to learn how to install a toilet. It really wasn't that hard. It's all about knowing what to do really. I guess that means Neil's a good "coach" or "teacher". So the picture is of me sitting over the hole where it all goes down. I'm scraping off the wax seal that was there previously. I learned that's a very important thing. If you don't have a good seal, the stuff out of your toilet does not exit your house properly. I'm sure that's all too much information for all of you.

Last, but not least, although I realized in blogging order this will probably show up first on my posts since it will be the most recent. I'm still learning. Hey, it's a miracle I'm posting anything. Thank Neil's Aunt donna. I think she's the only one who frequently checks to see if I've updated. This is Jaelen, our first grader. He is a very responsible child. He does well in school and really enjoys Math.

Wesley, 3rd Grader, or should we say, jack of all trades? This kid manages to do well at just about anything he puts his hand to. He's a natural. He said, "Math gets me excited, mom."

The middle schooler. Taylor is extremely responsible so the transition hasn't really been a problem. We couldn't ask for a better example for all the younger ones.

Colbey, isn't he lovely? They probably don't want to be lovely, do they? He's our baby, the kindergartner. Oh, I will be so sad when they are all gone all day this fall.

Here's some pictures of the kids. Aren't they lovely? I know I'm not biased or anything. Of course my very talented friend, Jayne Rohlfing, who took these pictures manages to make everyone she photographs absolutely beautiful. She is a very talented woman! Here's the eldest boy, Dyllan. Big 5th grader.

Christmas Photo Shoot

I know it's almost St. Patrick's Day but here I am posting our pictures of our Christmas picture photo shoot. Don't think you're off the list if you haven't received one. No one has. Hopefully you'll get one within the next month, but then again. . . . We did take them in December.