Last Weekend of September

 Fall is here and I love it!! We went to the Liberty Fall Festival this weekend. Wendi, Matt's sister, lives on the parade route in Liberty...which is quite the perk! We went up and ate a yummy breakfast, celebrated Kurtis' birthday and enjoyed the parade. Kurtis was sure that the parade was in honor of his birthday. We just let him believe it. This year was a little different because John and Luke got to be in the parade. They rode along with Nana and Papa in the church's float. So the little ones, Sophia and Kampbell, enjoyed getting to collect candy without fighting the bigger cousins. It was a great day! 

This was picture was taken while we were up at the Festival. I thought it was cute how she was posing for the picture.

Sunday was a fun day too. We headed to church and then off to the church picnic. It was the perfect day to have a picnic. We had lots of food and had the Chiefs game on to enjoy. However, the Chiefs game was not the most important game of the day...it was the Lakeland Staff vs Everyone Else Volleyball game!! 

Matt was the lucky one of the family to get to play the game since he is on staff. He was less than excited to be a part but we did find a few smiles throughout the game. Unfortunately, the Staff team lost but it was fun to watch everyone having fun. Tonight, when I asked John what his favorite part of the day, he said it was watching Daddy playing volleyball. :)

And we continued to work on the house this weekend. I think this is the first picture I have posted on the blog....so here it is so far. We took out a complete wall and then cut out part of a wall. The cut out part will have counter top on it to make a bar. It is looking awesome. My husband is quite the stud when it comes to home improvement! All we have left is the counter top, sheet rocking, mudding, and then painting. Then we will begin the floor. More pictures to come....hopefully soon! 

No Camera

We are without a camera right now and it sucks. I have cute videos that I want to post but I can't seem to figure out how to transfer them from my phone to my computer...so here are a few updates. 

• John is now in a booster seat. He has reached the height requirements and is ecstatic!
• Sophia is doing such a better job at potty training. She is working hard! 
• We are remodeling our house right now. We have taken out one wall and a half of a wall. Matt is doing it himself, with the help of friends. He did step on a nail and had to get a tetnus shot. Hopefully this will be our only injury in this remodeling process. 
• John got the Quote of the Week at his preschool. This is posted in the hallway, right outside the door. Here it is...

John: (Talking to one of his teachers on the playground) Are you sure you can climb on that?

Ms. Nicole: I think I can. 

John: I hope you don't break anything. (He shrugs his shoulders and walks off.)

• I am leading a Women's Small Group Bible Study. 
• Sophia is into dancing right now. She loves to twirl and wave her hands around. 
• The Halloween costumes are bought...so be looking for pictures to see what the kiddos have picked. 

Have a great night. 

God Revels Himself

As I sat in church yesterday, I left having the question, "Am I really where God wants me to be?' I actually have this question a lot. I guess you could say that I worry about it often. I often wonder if I am doing what God wants me to do. Living with someone that works at a church can be hard sometimes because he gets to go on mission trips, he works downtown to help poverty and abandonment, etc. And it is all for his job! I feel like I have to use the excuse "I can't miss work." or "I have to take care of the kids." most of the time. 

Anyway...I left church yesterday feeling like

"hmm...I wonder if this town is where our family is suppose to be." 

Yet today at work...God totally revealed Himself to me. 

I got to sit with a kid that misses his momma because he is in foster care. 

I got to hug a kid because he misses his daddy who is in jail. 

I got to play Legos with a little guy that is also in foster care and doesn't feel like he belongs anywhere. 

That was all in one day. I think God has me exactly where He wants me. 

I am thankful for my job and the lives that He has put in my life. 

It was an emotional day but a really good day.  

Bed Time Conversations

Sophia's new sayings are:

"Sorry Charlie!"

"That's crazy!"

She is also very into dressing up and she thinks everyone else should be too. She loves brushing our hair and putting jewelry on all of us, including the boys. 

Here is the bedtime conversation I had with John tonight:

John: "Mom, I don't really want to die."

Me: "I know it sounds kind of scary but you get to live with Jesus."

John: "Well, I am still worried about Jesus not having movies."

Me: "Well, maybe you should ask him."

John: "Well, then I guess I will pray right now. Dear Jesus, do you have movies in Godland?"

There is a short silence.

John: "Mom, did you hear anything?"

Me: "No, but you might have to wait for an answer."

John: "Oh boy."

I am finding that explaining God and waiting for him to answer is kind of tough to explain to a 4 year old. 

Have a good night.

1st Day of School....

was a success!! 

John woke up ready to go. As we drove to school, he asked a lot of questions. Then as we were getting out, he simply replied, "Mom, I don't think I am ready for this."

Talk about breaking my heart! I will say, for a split second, I thought I will just take him to Jewell's house...he's not ready. But I put my mom pants on and said, "Yes, you can do this and you are ready."

He got out with a smile and was ready to go. 

Until...

we got to the classroom door. Then the clinging to the leg began and the hiding of the face started. 

He found his name and put it in the "safe pocket" to show he was ready to go in. I walked him in and there was more clinging and hiding. But then we got Ginger out and everything seemed okay. The teacher said he cried a few minutes after Matt and I left. But he got over it and off he went. 

When Matt came to pick him up, he was ready to go and full of things to say!

To end "the first day of preschool" day, we celebrated at Chick Fila. 

I am not going to lie...I am glad this day is done. 

The Night Before Preschool

The clothes are laid out. 

The first homework assignment is completed. 

The backpack is packed and hung. 

The son is asleep.

It is the night before preschool. Last week at this time, I wasn't sure if John was going. He was refusing. However, today he has said he will go. I had bought him a new shirt to wear on the first day of Preschool...so do you think he will wear it. Nope...his words "Mom, I want to wear my Benny shirt." And that is okay. I am sure he will wear the new shirt another day. 

I know he is anxious because he asks lots of questions about it. I know he is nervous because he's really only known Jewell's house. Yet, I know he will be fine and more than likely love it. 

As I sit here on the night before preschool...I have butterflies in my stomach too. I know it is a smaller scale to sending your child to Kindergarten, or Middle School, or High School, or College. But as a parent, I still sit here and think..."Have I taught him well? Have I taught him to be kind and share? Have I taught him to accept others even when they are different?" I know he will learn the academic stuff just fine, but it is those social things that I hope I have instilled in him. 

I sure hope I can sleep tonight :) 

Big Red Barn

We headed off to Weston, MO to the Big Red Barn to pick apples with the Sharky's today. I will be honest, I love the Big Red Barn's atmosphere. I think it is beautiful. However, I have never been impressed with the apple selection. It seems that we always got slim pickings. Yet, this year was totally different...we ended up with a half a bushel! There were so many apples and they are delicious. We had a great time! 

Chad gave us some good laughs today! 

 Here is our bag of apples! Once we got home, John helped me in the kitchen. We made apple sauce and apple cake. Tomorrow, we will be making more apple sauce to freeze, apple bran muffins and ready made apples for apple pie. 

 John was a great helper. He even made sure the apples tasted yummy for our treats. 

I got behind...

So here a recap of what has been going on in the Turnbough kids' lives..

John got a new "big boy" bed. He loves it. 

John had Open House at his new preschool last week. He wouldn't talk to the teachers until one of them heard we were going to Yogurtini afterwards. As soon as she asked him about it, she had him hooked. Notice, his hands are on his hips as he talks. 

Sophia asked "Can I go to Preschool too?" 

The kiddos were super excited for the rain and loved playing in it. They hadn't really gotten to break in their new raincoats and rain boots much. 

Yup...Sophia only has underwear, a raincoat and rain boots on. 

Sophia has hit the stage of loving dress up. She often eats her meals and prances around the house in some kind of dress up gear. 

John used his birthday money and bought Bayblades. Secretly, Matt loves them too and they have battled every night since John bought them. 

Tonight as we were brushing our teeth, John asked me if I noticed the toys that were in the bathroom. I replied that I had noticed them. (They are Toy Story characters.) He stated, "I am decorating the bathroom. These are my decorations since this is MY bathroom." 

What do you say to that?