a sad day

yesterday our young puppy got sick and she died overnight. This was isaiah's dog and he took care of her every day. she must have gotten into some poison or even eaten somthing that got lodged inside of her. Well the kids are kinda sad today (me to). she was a good dog. we could let her loose in the yard and she would just stay right there with us. She was also very wild and jumpy, she was alot of fun.

-rick

a new week

This week we are starting school with our kids, well i should say that kristi is starting school. She is the one that really teaches them. i teach then music on friday's and that's about it. we started a coin system in our house. if the kids finish their work on time they get a nickle, if they behave and do good things they get a penny for each one. At the end of the week they can use this money to "buy" things like, candy from the candy jar (.10) or miniuets on the wii or x box (1 cent per minuet). We are hopeing this will go good for them. especially isaiah because if he dosn't focus on his work it takes him all day when it should really only take him till noon.

We went rollerblading last night and Isaiah took the new dog. She pulled him while he rollerbladed and he thought that was soo cool. Julean took his lightning McQueen with him yesterday and he has this really big one. he calls it his "big, big Queen" he is obsessed, kristi got his a lightning mcqueen comic book and he wanted me to read it to him several times last week. Matthias is turning into a real stubborn kid. he will not eat. I don't know why but he is just not that interested in much food. Maybee we will just start feeding him candy? that should work. Adriana is doing good too. the other day she said she wanted to be a boy so she could do fun things like cut wood and work on the farm - thats daddy's girl.

Things at chamber ministries is going well. We are a little tight on our finaces for activities. I was hoping that our paintball tent at homecoming would be a good fundraiser for us but we really didn't make much off of it. WE have a couple of fundraising things coming up in October so things will just have to be a little tight till then. The ministry is going well. we are getting excited about starting the new school year and starting up PTO, and Chamber. I think we are going to call the after school program "spotlight" again.

-thats all for now.

-Rick

where did the summer go?

This is the last day that my sister Renae will be here. her kids and mine have really enjoyed playing together this last month and they will surly miss them. I have Isaiah, Julean, and Matthias with me today and they are playing together really good. They have moved all the couches into a square and are playing on the all. Matthias is just joining in too. Kristi and Adriana went yard saleing today so i have the boys and the girls get to go out.

Things are starting to get really busy again too - as if they ever slowed down. The chamber and PTO start up next month. We have been having paintball outings and in October we have our corn maze. We are praying about doing chamber on death this year. I would really like to do it but i am not sure if we will have the helpers that we need. Football is starting up soon too.

I have been training for the marathon on October 17Th. I have been running alot and even biking some. That keeps me in pretty good shape but it also tires ME out.

-that's all for now - Rick

week 4

This is homecoming week! I am in charge of the Deckerville 5k for the track team and also chamber ministries is having paintball at Wilson park. We are busy trying to get those things together and it seams like everything comes up at the last minute. All is well though. We had an amazing blessing! someone donated 900.00 dollars to fix the ac in the Chamber ministries Van! That will be a huge relief when all those kids are piled in it!

Most of my family is here this week. My brother and his two kids are here from Florida and Renae and her family is here from Texas. Rochel was here a couple of weeks ago. It is nice to see all my family in the summer. Last night we went out to the break wall at pt sanilac and jumped off. it was alot of fun. Isaiah even jumped off! all by himself. Adriana is having fun with Chloe and Carly. They had a sleep over last night and Kristi made a big tent that they all slept in.

I have been really busy lately. I am training for a marathon and we are building a garage onto our house. it is busy but things are going well for us. The Lord has really blessed us with a great family, good health, and alot of fun this summer!

-rick

3rd week

last week was a good week. We finally got our permit to build our garage and now we just have to start working on it. They are supposed to come and dig out the footings this week, and i hope to get the block foundation put in soon afterwards.

This saturday we are having a paintball night out in the woods. this is our first one of the year. i hope we have several kids come out. we are trying a new course. It is a two on two course that is in a tent. if it works out well we will bring the tent up to wilson park and have a tournament during the homecoming. It will be fun and i hope we have a good tournout.

I have been running and biking, trying to train for the detroit marathon in october. last week i ran Sunday and Tuesday for 8 miles and then i biked 22 miles on Saturday. I am supposed to go for a 10 mile jog today at 9am. I am alittle behind on my training schedule but i am just going to have to push through it.

The kids have been playing with their cousins from Texas. My sister is here for 4 weeks and her kids are the same age as my three oldest. They are having alot of fun together. At bed time my kids are out very quickly because of all the fun they have had all day.

-thats all for now - see ya next week!

- Rick

-Rick

2 weeks in a row

Dear loyal and devoted fans,

This week is going by good. I know its only Tuesday but i had a good day yesterday. i worked on the farm most of the day and we were taking off the wheat. I enjoy being outside and working in the field and on the tractor. Last week went by good also. it seemed like i got more accomplished than usual. I got the corn maze cleaned out and it is starting to look really good. the corn is easily 8' tall. i think i will be a little harder this year.

I took 12 kids to cedar point on Wednesday last week. there were 3 adults including myself. I had alot of fun. Kristi was supposed to go with us but she got sick the day before and decided roller coasters was not good medicine. We were supposed to have a paintball outing last Saturday but the dates got mixed up and we had to cancel.

The kids are doing good. We got a new puppy! it is a female black lab and the kids bought it with their own money. They named her shadow. It is mainly Isaiah's dog and his responsibility. All the kids really like her and there have been a few fights over who gets to hold her. She is pretty cute.

- Rick

-some of the meals from last week - Chicken fajitas, pizza and salad, steak and potatoes, Chicken and rice.

well, how long has it been?

Rick, Signing in.

Last week provided its challenges. Our air conditioner went out and we found out that it will cost about 1,000.00 to fix it. That was not good news. It seems like things are starting to pile up on me too. THings that shouldn't take very long seem to take an hour, and it seems like i am rushing to get things done all the time. These are just some of my frustrations.

I am doing good though. I have started to train for the Detroit marathon. Last night i went for a 24 mile bike ride. My tire blew out at the farthest distance from my house and i had to get Kristi to come and pick me up. That's one way to get out of a hard workout. Tonight i am supposed to jog 6 miles. Me and Kristi might both go and take the kids. Kristi will probably walk and run 3 miles. Isaiah likes to ride his Bike with me and he can go along ways. Adriana can't quite keep up and Julean and Matthias ride in the Stroller. Its nice to all get out and do something athletic.

This week at the chamber we are going to Cedar Point. We leave Wednesday morning at 6am. We are also doing paintball this Saturday. I am not sure just how many kids will come out, but it is still fun when only a few come out.

Thanks to all who read my blog. I know i have been absent for quiet a while. I'll trya and do weekly updates.

- Rick

oh yeah, we had left overs for dinner last night

no title

Yesterday was easter and it was very nice. All of the kids got spoiled of course. They each got 3 easter baskets (except Matthias), so there is alot of candy in the house. We also celebrated Julean and Matthias's birthday party. Mattias really made a mess with his cake. He loved it, he even tried to eat the paper plate it was on. Julean got a bike for his birthday. He is still trying to learn how to pedal it but he thinks its so cool. He also got a toy tractor from great grandma and he loves it, HE drives it all around and pretends he is working up the field (where did he get that from?).

Things are going well around here. I have to work at H&R block today. Just 2 more weeks left and then i'll be done. actually it is only 5 days! It has gone by fast.

It is spring break around here so i have only a few voluntary track practices this week.

-Thats all for now, - Ham, What else would I eat on easter?

-rick

What? I have a blog?

Yes it has been a long time since i updated this blog and there is no excuse. Things have been going well for me and my family. Days are quickly passing by and it seems like lately all i can do is just survive them. It also seems like things just keep piling up and i will never get ahead. I guess that come with spring time and running a ministry and coaching track and working a H&R block. Things are good though. We have our first track meet on Thursday. We have chamber today at 3pm and i have to work today from 9am to 2pm. I also need to change the oil in my van and smooth out the yard where the old driveway was.

Isaiah and Adriana slept in the same room last night. it was a special thing for them. Kristi and I built them a tent out of sheets and they got their sleeping bags and pillows and slept in it all night. They loved it. Julean is starting to talk clearer and clearer, and Matthias is growing up so fast. He reminds me alot of Adriana when she was little.

that's all for now

-Rick - colorful ham and pasta

Pressing on... Philippians 3:14

Today: Dodge ball tournament

This is an event that i particularly enjoy because i usually get to play. I don't think i have played dodge ball since last year at the dodge ball tournament. Afterward my arm felt like it would fall off. This year i am speaking for about 10-15 min and i am giving the gospel message to all who will attend. Pray for the kids hearts to be open. Hopefully you'll be able to see pictures on the website within the next couple of days

Kids are great. I had movie night with Isaiah, Adriana, and Julean last night at the youth center. We watched monsters vs Aliens, they loved it. I didn't watch it with them but they have fun staying up late and watching a movie on the big screen. I worked on my message for today.

that's all (for now)

-Rick