Mardi Gras

Pictures: Mardi Gras 2004 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Jakob 3 1/2 years old and Jaden 2 years old.

Family update UPDATED!

Matt will NOT be deploying for 6 months!!!! He met with his specialist and Dr. Watson wrote a letter stating that he was unable to do what requires for mobility. I am so thankful!!!! Matt is trying to stay active for health purposes, but in no way is his leg 100% healed. Please keep him in your prayers as he does experience knee pain when running or kneeling. Jakob, Jaden, Jameson and I are just thrilled that we don't have to be without our daddy/husband for any length of time. It just isn't the same without him!!!!

The pictures posted are where Matt is NOT going!!!!! :) Believe me, as lovely as it looks, he is thrilled to be staying home in chilly...okay COLD Illinois too!!!

The Tye Dyed Iguana

The Cub Scouts visited an Exotic Reptile store called the Tye-Dyed Iguana for their Go-See-It on Monday night. They had fun roaming around looking at all the creepy, crawly, big and slithery reptiles!!! The boys were able to meet Lizzy the Iguana and saw first-hand how sharp their claws can be as they dug into a mans neck as he was showing them. OUCH!!!

St. Louis Symphony

Jakob got the opportunity to go to St. Louis Symphony today and see a Winter Concert with selections from Harry Potter, the Magic Flute and also songs from Disney's Fantasia. It should be really awesome and I am hoping he is on his best behavior!!! All of the children were instructed to wear dress clothes for the occasion. Jakob came home yesterday insisting on wearing a tuxedo!! I talked him down to a shirt and tie, being that we don't even own a tuxedo in his size. He looked great as he was leaving. I made him wear his coat even though he said it would ruin his freshly ironed shirt. We also practiced some hand shaking because he said he was going to meeting some very important people. :) Hopefully all goes well.

Spoil Mommy Day!

President's Day was such a fun day. Matt and the boys had the day off and they decided it would be a "Spoil Mommy Day"! So we headed to St. Louis on Watson Rd. to a Pizza Place called Happy Joes. When I was growing up in Iowa it was my absolute favorite pizza place and I crave it regularly!!! They have a Taco Pizza that is to die for!!! I recently discovered that we had one close by and was thrilled. the bonus is that they have a game area for the boys. They earned tickets and divided them up between the 3 of them and ended up very happy with their winnings. We then headed to the St. Louis Galleria, which I had never been to. I was thrilled to take a peek in some really cool stores. Pottery Barn Kids, White House Black Market, The Brighton store and many others. It was a fabulous day and even though it was a "Spoil Mommy Day" I think everyone had fun!!!

Jaden was baptized!!!!

Praise the Lord! Jaden Matthew Rhoderick was baptized into the family of God and we could not be any happier. Pictures to follow soon.

Update on Family

Well the month of February has proved to be a very exciting month so far. I guess exciting might be a good word.

We'll start with Matt...last Thursday when he came home from work as I was standing at the stove cooking out dinner he breaks it to me that in May there is a really good chance that he will be deployed for 6 LONG months! My stomach immediately knotted up and I couldn't even eat. Our family has done a 6 month deployment before and I know we would all survive, but that doesn't mean I want to do it again. We are most concerned about the kids. Matt is doing everything in his power to get out of it, but it looks like it might be inevitable. We are praying for God's Will to be done and if that's him leaving we will get through it.

On Sunday, March 1st I will be Ordained as the Children's Minister at CrossPointe Christian Church. I am really excited to have that become official. It is an honor to serve the Lord in this way. The youth group that we have so far is filled with children that have a strong desire to be a part of the family of God and want to learn all about the Bible. It has been very exciting to see these young ones make decisions for Christ.

Which brings me to my middle child Jaden! He will be baptized on Sunday by his daddy. He has been asking to be baptized for a good year and we have been just taking the time to talk to him and make sure he was ready for such an important decision. He is ready to make Jesus his Lord and Savior! We are thrilled!!! In other Jaden news...he just got over having the Chicken Pox. A mild case of them, but the chicken pox none the less. He was out of school from Wednesday to Tuesday and was happy to be back.

Jakob's news is that he is battling the flu. He woke up on Tuesday morning and had gotten sick in his bed. He continued to be sick ALL DAY on Tuesday and into the evening. He made it through the night and seems much better today! We kept him home today to make sure that he could keep food down and could regain his strength. He was pretty weak from all the events from yesterday!

Jameson has been a little trooper through all the sickness going on around him. We are hoping that he can hold out and not get what we think is probably inevitable. The boys just can't stay out of his face. They just love each other so much. We have been working on potty training with him. He is showing interest and has been wearing underwear most days when we are at home. He has yet to keep them dry for an extended period of time, but his interest is enough to make us happy.

So that's the news and it's only the 11Th! It can only go up from here RIGHT??????

Clam Chowder Anyone?

Tonight's dinner was Homemade Clam Chowder and Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream, of course! The recipe for the Clam Chowder came from a wonderful lady at our church. She so generously shared her own personal recipe with me and I was a little intimidated to try it out because hers is soooo delicious! I tried it this evening and it turned out just right. I got rave reviews from each member of my family. :)

Cook 1 package Bacon until crispy
Cook onion in bacon grease until tender and drain
Peel and cut up about 5-6 potatoes cover with water
Stir in one cup of flour, add bacon, onions and 1 stalk of chopped celery.
Cook until potatoes are done- stirring often!
add salt, pepper, and thyme to taste
1/2 package of velveeta
2 cans of clams (do not drain)
8 oz. sour cream
HEAT & SERVE

Let it Snow!

Upward Basketball

This was Jakob and Jaden's first Upward Basketball game. They are having a blast playing and have improved so much since they started playing ball a couple years ago. Jaden is such an awesome defender and Jakob is shooting the ball very well. Go Jayhawks!!!!