The Golden Birthday #30

I got to celebrate my 30th birthday many many times this December!

My high school small group girls surprised me with a birthday party our last meeting in December. Kenzey made Twinkie Cake, knitted me a scarf, and the other girls in the group chipped in with decor and hot chocolate. I felt so loved that my girls thought of me and took the time to plan something.

Just a week after that I was surprised again by 30+ women from Princeton Bible Church who gathered at Ken & Marlene Wilson's home to celebrate with me. Madie pretended she wanted to get together to chat, so I went to pick her up. I left my vehicle running and ran in to get her. When I walked in, I looked to my right and saw the dining room table full of goodies. I then saw Marlene and she was sitting on the dining room floor with her camera. I thought it was all strange, and just about then everyone stood up and said, SURPRISE!! They got me! I had a nice evening chatting with my friend and church family. The goodies were delicious too. And I was extremely blessed with all of the gifts, beautiful cards, and thoughtful words everyone shared with me.

So when my real birthday date rolled around, I wasn't expecting much, BUT my husband blessed me by taking me to JCPenney to pick up a Columbia fleece. He went to order me online, but didn't want to get me the wrong one so he waited and took me himself. I LOVE IT! I got a plum colored fleece and is just perfect! The rest of my day was exciting, as well. Our family went ice skating with Grandma, Grandpa, Jeremy, Sage, Brody, Julia, Corbin, and Celeste. Grandma and Grandpa treated us all to a fun time! It is always a three ring circus when you have 7 children you are trying to keep happy, not to mention ice skates, laces, cold, extra clothing, and ICE!

Cade really enjoyed his time. He went around with Curtis a few times and then wanted to do it on his own. Yes, he fell down MANY times but it didn't seem to phase him much at all. He was happy, smiling, and didn't want to stop.

We didn't have Joel get skates because we knew that it would be an almost impossible task for him. Celeste got skates, though, so by the end when she was pooped, we borrowed them so Joel could give it a whirl. The first time around he was being drug with the walker as we pushed him. The second time around he started to walk a bit and his ankles were getting the hang of it. Of course by that time he was very exhausted.

I know we ice skated last year, so maybe our once a year tradition will continue when we make our future visits to Ames!

After skating we enjoyed NAP TIME back at Grandma and Grandpa's! Yipppeee!

We enjoyed a big dinner out with the whole family at Hickory Park at 6pm. By this time I had been born, so I was acknowledging my 30 years! The 8 kids didn't do too bad as we waited for our delicious dinners. I took a new book to read and that entertained my end of the table. It was a great way to celebrate my 30 years, with my family! They have always provided for me, supported me, cared for me, and LOVED me.

Thank you for a wonderful 30th birthday everyone!

Cade's First Lost Tooth!

We had a very very big surprise on the eve of my 30th birthday, Cade lost his first tooth. I was out to coffee with a friend, and Curtis called to tell me the story of Cade losing his tooth. Cade and Curtis were wrestling, and Curtis was pretending to let Cade bite him by sticking his hand in Cade's mouth. When he pulled out his hand, Cade's tooth came out, as well. Cade was so surprised, as was Curtis. He definately was surprised scared instead of happy, but by evening's end, he had much happiness. He had many tears of uncertainity. We had not talked to Cade about losing teeth because I wasn't expecting it to happen when he was 5. I have a feeling he may not loose another one for sometime, but who knows, he could surprise me again. As for now, I must get use to my boy without a tooth. I just can't believe it. I didn't know when I took his picture the day before it would be his last one with all of his baby teeth. It does make me sad that my first is growing up, but it is also exciting to see him grow bigger and bigger!

Happy 8th Anniversary!

Curtis and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on Tuesday, January 27th. We had a nice day at home catching up on life during our busy Christmas events with family. We got to spend part of our day catching up with our friend Tori, who we have spent the last 3 year discipling and who is now a part of our family (even though she is at college). She then babysat for us, so we could go out to eat at a local restaurant in Princeton, Romas. We didn't love our meal, but we were thankful for time together. We topped off the night with a yummy peppermint hot chocolate from McDonald's (not the yummy Starbucks I love, but it was still delicious!). It is a priviledge to be married to Curtis Odell. He is my favorite person to spend time with . . . MY BEST FRIEND.

Sparks Family Christmas

We celebrated with my Sparks Family at Grandma's Farm on Wednesday, December 28. We didn't have everyone in attendance, but it was great to be with those who were able to attend. I definately missed the Hibbs family from KS and the Sparks family from OR. Hopefully we will get to be all together sometime soon.

We spent the afternoon eating, talking, playing, sharing our favorite memory of 2011 with each other, and simply enjoying family. My grandma is 89 1/2 years old, and it is so wonderful to be at her home. All of us have wonderful Christmas memories in this home - presents, pinatas, grab bag exchanges, ornament exchanges. I truly enjoy my Mother's side of the family, and the support they give me and the care they have for my life.

Joel enjoyed the day playing with all of his cousins. He is a jokester for sure! He was playing with Rebecca and Austin's bracelets, and teasing them by making them chase him to get them back. He was having so much fun with his older cousins. He is still working on sharing with his little cousins . . . hopefully all in good time!

Cade was looking forward to another day at the farm after our Thanksgiving week adventures. He enjoyed spending time with Sage, Brody, Julia, Luke, and Logan outside playing in the barn, building a fort in Grandma's pasture woods, and playing by the pond with the ice (I didn't like that one!). He LOVES the farm! In fact, as we left the farm on Thursday noon, he said "THIS IS MY FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WORLD. And my second favorite is Disney World." I understand his passion, there is something about Grandma's farm that takes us back to simplicity and fun. It is a getaway, a hideaway. A very special place.

We did get to spend the night in the "blue room", which meant more play time the next day with cousins!

Thank you for having us Grandma. We had a wonderful time.

Christmas Day 2011

We were home in Princeton Christmas Day. Christmas happened to fall on a Sunday, which is always a really busy working day for us. And though our presents and Christmas morning breakfast was rushed, it wasn't as stressful as a normal Sunday because we didn't have nightly responsibilities. We even accomplished a large Odell family picture!!

Cade was SOOOOOOOO excited to open his gifts. He waited so patiently all December. He was thoughtful in thinking of gifts for others, and tried so hard to not be excited for what was under the tree for him but he really was! I remember the anticipation and excitement of Christmas morning. Though it was no fun to wait, it was SO fun to open the packages on Christmas morning. Cade really grew up this year in his understanding of present giving and getting!

Cade received new Rescue Heroes and the Rescue Hero Tower, Imaginex Dinosaur Mountain, 3 new Schlich Knights, a tube of small plastic knights, a few new books, The Lion King DVD, Toy Story Wii game, two new Playmobil pirates (from Joel), and a new Transformer. I do so much of my Christmas shopping in the summer time through garage sales and watching online sales. I think we spent a total of $30 on him this Christmas!

Joel received a Little People Marketplace, Shake N Go Racetrack and Cars, a few new books, Tarzan DVD, stuffed Rocket (from Cade), a Leap Frog shopping car. Joel's Christmas cost us even less . . . $10! I love second hand shopping!

Curtis bought me an internet tablet, that I can download games from the internet on and use to listen to music, watch videos, and store information. Plus, Cade wanted to purchase plum colored gloves for me, so those were found in my stocking! Curtis really blessed me with this fun piece of technology. I just hope I can learn how to use all of its features and take the time to enjoy it!

Curtis received many shirts this Christmas - 2 dri-fit tshirts, 2 Polo shirts, and his favorite - Longsleeve Dri-Fit Chicago Bears shirt! He also got a new tolietry bag and dress socks, as well as a Stanley Insulated Thermos to take his coffee with him on his early morning hunts!

God truly blessed us with a wonderful Christmas. I love purchasing gifts for others and surprising them with something they will hopefully like. I know there has been so much talk of cutting back on the gifts, but I still enjoy giving and blessing others with gifts. God has blessed me with many many great deal finds through out the year, and I love giving away these great finds!

We spent the afternoon of Christmas day at Tom and Bev's home with Kim and Chuck's family. Grandma Bev fixed a delicious Christmas lunch, and then it was on to presents! I love to sit back and watch the kids open their gifts. I love seeing their reactions and excitment as they rip open the paper! Cade got his two favorite gifts from Grandma and Aunt Kim, they both got him a Playmobil Set - one knights, the other police! HE LOVES THEM! Jake also got a knight set, and those two boys sat at the kitchen table and played with their figures for over 2 hours that afternoon. It was priceless! Joel got on of his favorite toys - Play-Doh from Aunt Kim and Uncle Chuck. He wanted to get it out right away and play with it! I love the wonder of children and their joy they show!

Christmas day was wonderful! We were with our church family, real family, and we felt so blessed by our God for all that he has given us.

Christmas Eve 2011

We celebrated Christmas Eve this year with our PBC family with a wassail night sharing our talents with each other. Some people read a story or poem, others played the piano, and the Odell grandchildren acted out the Christmas story while Pop read it from the Bible. It was a fun night of sharing.

Cade and Mom decided they would share a children's book called, The Legend of the Candy Cane. This book was one we have enjoyed reading this Christmas season. Cade was really good at reading the story with me, and practically knew all of the words by heart. So our plan was to have him "read" some of the words of the story, but with Mom reading the majority of the text. We also bought red and white pipecleaners, and we asked the people to make their own candy cane to remind them of Christ's blood that brought us purification from our sins.

The start of the book went well, but that quickly ended after Cade "read" his first two words. Everyone thought it was cute, so they laughed. Cade does not undersatnd how to take this type of joyful laughing. He thought they were laughing "at" him, so he ran and hid under the piano that was next to us. I continued reading and after a few encouraging words from Dad and Pop, he helped me finish reading the book aloud. I was really proud of him for standing in front of so many, and working to overcome his fear of large crowds.

The other big event of the night was the Christmas story "play." Grandma Bev has been talking about having all of the grandchildren act out the Christmas story Christmas Eve night since Thanksgiving. Cade does not enjoy crowds at all, and when she asked him to do this his immediate reaction was no. And his NO became even louder the closer we got to Christmas. When his cousins arrived from Kansas, the pressure got a little bigger and the NO got even louder. After much deliberation the night of Christmas Eve, we FINALLY convinced him that he could do it. He chose to be a wise man. He wanted to wear his sword, ride a camel (his horse Diamond), and wear one of his superhero capes. It was a success for Cade. Unfortunately, Joel did not want to participate in the production, so Grandma Bev did not get her full dream of all of the grandchildren contributing, but she did see 5 of them do a FANTASTIC job!! Way to go Odell grandchildren!!

The LITTLE December Snow

In mid December we had a light snowfall during the night. Cade didn't notice the snow until he opened the door to walk out to school, but was immediately stoked to get home in 3 hours to play. And that is exactly what he did when he returned home after school, He played outside for almost 2 hours in the snow (if you could even call it that). He got his trucks out and was going at it. Joel, also, was fascinated by the snow, and worked so hard to shovel it (which was very unsuccessful). Sometime this winter we will get a BIG snowfall, and I can not imagine how long they will be out with actual snow accumulation on the ground. The wonder of being a kid . . .

Lego Kick

Cade often goes through cycles of his choice of toys to play with - Legos, Playmobil knights, trucks, army men . . . during the month of December he has been on a Lego kick. And his Mom actually enjoys doing Legos with him because it does not strain her imagination tank too much. The dining room table has been filled with Legos. Daddy created a castle, and Mommy often tries to create vehicles the knights can use around the castle. Cade is usually playing with all of the Lego figures as Mommy and Daddy build.

I surprised Cade half way through the month by bringing up a space ship set I had when I was a kid. He was so excited when he saw the box. We spent the evening playing with the vehicle and it was a point of interest almost everyday for the next week.

Cade is not able to follow the directions of a Lego set yet, but enjoys playing with the figures Mommy and Daddy make. I was definately a Lego player, but once I built the Lego set from the box, I would put in on the shelf like a statue. I would look at it and was so proud of my "perfect" creation. Cade on the other hand, loves to just play with with the Legos. He doesn't have the interest yet in following the directions, but wants the final product. It will be fun to see how he grows into the next stage of Lego play. He is determined he will be buying a Star Wars Lego set with his own money sometime in the future. We will see :)

Christmas Decorating

We started decorating for the Christmas season a few days before Thanksgiving, and finished up when we got home from the farm after Thanksgiving.

Cade loves decorating for Christmas. He loves the lights and could stare at them for hours. After we had the tree set up, he just sat down on the floor in the dining room and sat in front of the tree staring at it. I asked what he was doing, and he simply responding, "Looking at the tree Mom." I took that moment in. My kid had the wonder of Christmas, the joy of the season, and the excitment which beats in all of our hearts for Christmas morning. It was a wonderful moment.

Cade not only loves to look at the decorations, but he LOVES to play with them too. We have a couple of ornaments from our dog days with Wrigley. They are hunting ornaments and Cade loves to play with them because there are guns in the ornament. He also loves to play with his Tonka crane ornament. We did have a few ornament breaks this year, and Cade's response was, "I learned my lesson Mom. I won't do that again." He also loves to hid his guys in the greenery around the house - garland or the trees. One afternoon, I found a knight and a squire hanging out on our stairway garland. I love it! I know I am always picking up after my boys, but I know I am going to miss finding these little treasures here and there in my home.

Thanksgiving at Grandma Sparks' Farm!

We spent 3 days at my Grandma's farm over Thanksgiving. We don't get to the farm more than a couple of times a year, but when we get to go, we love it. Curtis loves the country and his dream is to one day own a home with timber near it so he can go hunting whenever he would like! He loves the freedom of the outdoors and the adventure the boys can have outdoors. I am sure it is just a dream, but wherever God gives us a roof over our heads I will take it.

One of Cade's favorite things at the farm is Grandma's barn/Morton building. He loves the hayloft, plus someone willing to play with him in the barn. My brother's family joined us at Grandma's this Thanksgiving, so Cade did have many playmates. You will see a picture of Cade swinging from a rope in the hayloft. He also used some ropes to make a swing too. The boys and Julia had a great time playing in this place with so many possibilities of adventure!

Joel wanted to follow in the footsteps of his brother, but the hayloft was too dangerous for him to play around. So he spent many hours inside with his Mommy. The day after Thanksgiving, he finally did get to go out. He is Mr. Adventure #2 and trying to keep him in the "safe" areas is not easy. Grandma Glenna found that out as he enjoyed checking out the cow pies in one of the corral areas when he was with her!

Curtis got to go hunting with Jeremy the day after Thanksgiving, which was the highlight of our trip. Unfortunately Curtis could not hunt because he is from out of state, but he got to go on the hunt! The two got up early on Friday morning to work the southern part of my Grandma's property. Unfortunately they cam back empty handed. In the afternoon, they ventured to my Grandma's cousin's property and came home with a nice doe. My brother made a nice 100 yard shot. Curtis was so excited for him. They field dressed the deer and then brought her back to my Grandma's to skin her and get her ready to be made into ateable meat. I had never seen the deer skinned, so this was an adventure for us all.

Another excitement of the trip was meeting Glory Ruth Bents, my brother's sixth child. The boys and I just missed her birthday in October when we were in Ames, but we finally got to meet her at Grandma's. She was fun to hold and so very very little.

The farm always brings fun and relaxation to our family. Thank you Grandma for having us.

PCA Family Reading Night

Every fall Princeton Christian Academy holds a family reading night. The children and parents come in their comfy clothes or pajamas, and everyone sits on the floor listening to special people read fun books. This year the theme was "around the calendar", so the books read during the evening were about the different seasons or holidays on our calendar. Grandma Bev and Pop were both part of this event, so we decided to go and participate. The boys got really really excited when Pop read his book about the 4th of July. Joel was attempting to sit on Pop's lap while he was trying to manage reading, holding the book so the children could see the pictures, making sure he was speaking into the microphone . . . plus Joel had a wet diaper that Mom was not aware of. It was quite funny! Cade was so excited, as well, that he was basically sitting on Pop's feet.

During the evening, they allowed each child or parent pick a book off of a table of used books. Cade found the book, The Squire and the Scroll. This book is one we check out at least once a month from our church library, so it was definately a good one to find! The storyline of the book is about a young boy, who is a squire, who goes on an adventure with a knight. There are a lot of spiritual correlations in the book about the boy making decisions based on God's Word and not on his own desires. A good one!!

Fall Family Photo Efforts!

We took 7 pictures of our family trying to get a nice photo to put on our 2011 Christmas card. Both boys were not being compliant so it was pretty much a waste. At least at the end of it I was laughing and not crying. I was laughing because, as hard as I try to get my children to pose and like pictures, they hate them! I love photos and capturing the moments because it helps me remember so much better. I am realizing I just need to set the camera down and love the moments that my boys give me with their smiles.

Here is the best one of the bunch!!

Fall Leaves

I wanted to get some cute pictures of the boys in the leaves this fall, but I never got it done. We only raked one afternoon this fall, so we will have lots to do outside come spring time. Cade didn't want to come out with Curtis and I on that day, but after awhile he joined us and I did get a cute picture of him in the leaves.






We did go on a lot of fall walks, and our favorite song to sing was:
The leaves are falling down.
The leaves are falling down.
Red, Yellow, Orange, and Brown.
The leaves are falling down.
(tune to the Farmer in the Dell)
We definately got the outdoor fall playtime in, but we didn't get the work in we needed to. Maybe in the spring!!

Last Day at the Park

We had a sunshiny day on November 4 so we decided to visit the partk one last time before it got too cold. Cade hung out on the monkey bars most of the time, working on building his muscle strength (MR. HUGE!!). Joel loved going down the slides.

Many of my best memories with my boys are playing outside at the park. They love to play MONSTER, where I chase them and when I catch them I tickle them. I love to hear the joy that overflows from their heart through the laughter coming out of their mouth. They are growing so fast and I am loving every minute of it (even those awful screaming ones).

A Sad Day.

November 3, 2011
One of the members of our church passed away on October 27. He was a man with two teenage boys, and it was one of the hardest things our church body has faced since Curtis and I have been in Princeton. Less than two months before, he started feeling very ill and was facing instense pain in his back. He visited the doctor and through many many tests he had cancer. He started on a treatment and seemed to be doing well, but all of a sudden things turned for the worst when he passed out at his workplace at the end of September and then went into a coma just a few hours later. That was the last we were able to communicate with Glenn. He was in a comma until his body shut down at the end of October. It was heartbreaking. But the hardest part of the whole situation is his family. He and his wife had been separated for 7 years and he was the primary caretaker of his boys. He was the parent. God is working even now in this situation. The boys are living with their mom, but I am sure they are heartbroken and sad. Our church family continues to support them and pray for them. We pray that they let us be a part of their lives.

November 3, was the say of Glenn's funeral. Curtis was a pallbearer and had left early for the morning to be at the church. I was almost done getting ready to go to the funeral, while the boys were finishing up a tv show. All was well, until . . . Joel lost his balance while he was sitting on the arm of the couch and fell onto a toy below. He gashed open his head directly above his left eyebrow. Blood was everywhere and he was SCREAMING in pain. I grabbed a tissue to take a look at the cut and knew that it wasn't huge but also not something that I could let go. I called Curtis right away, but he couldn't understand anything I was saying because Joel was screaming. Cade tried to explain what was going on, but it didn't work very well. Curtis was on his way home. He didn't know if we should do the ER thing or not either. We had one hour before the funeral started. After debating and having Grandma Bev take another look, I decided to take him. Grandma took Cade to the nursery at the funeral, and I arrived about 30 minutes late after Joel got his head glued. He hated the experience at the ER, but the wound hardly seem to bother him after that experience. Unfortunately, I think the glue did not hold the wound together because the next day it looked like it had split. He has a good sized scar on his face now. Hopefully it will heal even more between now and the summer months when the sun will be hitting it everyday.

Definately a day we will not forget - putting to rest a great friend and our first ER trip with one of boys.

Here is my wounded boy.

School Picture Day!

November 2nd was school picture day! Cade was not excited because he is "allergic" to picture-taking (at least that is what he says). I was really proud of him though that he wore his nice shirt and had a good attitude when he left the house that morning. We didn't buy a big package of pictures because I didn't want any "allergic" poses that he usually gives to me when I ask him to take a picture. Well, guess what . . . the pictures turned out EXCELLENT! His Daddy's pictures didn't turn out too bad either. I have some handsome boys living in my home!

The boys before they left for school on picture day.

Trick or Treating!!

We don't make a big deal about Trick or Treating or the costume the boys will wear, but we still like to go out and let the boys go door to door. Right before we leave, I have had Cade go up to his dress-up clothes and pick out what he would like to wear. He is so unpredictable and his mind changes with his mood, so instead of spending big bucks on something he might not even wear, I try to have a free attitude towards his wardrobe decision on Halloween night.

I had a Superman costume for Joel this year. I thought Cade might like to match his brother, so I had a Cade sized Superman costume hiding for him that I had picked up at a garage sale for $1. He didn't want anything to do with him (his mood), so I sent him to upstairs to pick what he wanted. He came down as a Power Ranger. Whatever, he was happy!!

But his little brother was not so happy about wearing his Superman costume. I wrestled him for a good 5 minutes trying to get the costume on. He was not happy. I finally got him in the stroller and for the first block he cried and screamed. Cade was trying to reassure him that he was going to like what we were going to do. And after the first house, he was happy and finally stopped his tears.

Our plan for the evening was to be out for an hour and then go home to pass out candy for an hour. There were so many people out and many lights on that we stayed out for almost an hour and a half. By the time we got home, we only had a couple of visitors to hand out candy too. I thought Cade might be disappointed, but he was okay with it. Daddy got home from hunting about this time too, which helped his mood lighten up.

The event was a great success and all 3 of us had lots of fun!!

Blast Off into the Bible!

We had a soup cook-off the last Sunday in Ocotber, along side a family night for the new Sunday School and Children's Church theme of SonZone.

Curtis and I are working on pulling together a mission trip for our church family to go to Chattanooga, TN during the summer of 2012. This soup cook-off was our first fundraiser! We asked members of our church body to make a soup and come for an evening of fun. We had over 15 soups brought, plus many desserts. Curtis and I were so pleased with the great attendance and the wonderful time we had.

Bev has been working really hard to make our children's program at church more consistent and full of life. She has a desire for the whole church body to support our children and encourage them to follow Jesus. We had a little costume contest, following the theme of SonZone, or outer space characters. Cade was so excited about his costume for the night. Bev is such a blessing to our family and our church family. It was a GREAT NIGHT!

SonShine Preschool Fall Party

I got the joy of going to Cade's fall harvest party at school at the end of October. Miss Elisha invited the PCA kindergarten class to the party, and the kids participated in five different stations of harvest games with a fun video at the end of the party (with some yummy donut holes too). The games were a ring toss, dinosaur feet stomp, pin the nose on the pumpkin, find the crow in the corn, and a bean bag toss. The kids really enjoyed the crow in the corn because they could make a big mess with the corn, of course!!

It was fun to see the kids interact, and also how Cade related with the other kids. I did notice how important it was for him to be first at every single station. He is so intense, but teaching him patience continues to be on the top of our list in training him the way he should go. Tough stuff. He does enjoy school, but the primary training still is happening at home. School is just helping us in this process.

Awana Bible Character Night

Cade dressed up as an Isralite solider for our Awana dress as your favorite Bible character night. He loves being a soldier, so this was truly his first nature! I gave him a new "soldier" sword with a sheath for the evening, as well. I loved it when he gave me the sword before club started and wanted me to keep it so he wouldn't make a bad choice with it. I was so proud of him for making a great choice. He had a great night.