Snowing in June

Every year, around this time, we get our "June Snow" as the kids like to call it. And it really does look like snow... whirling and swirling in the air, sticking to the screens and covering the plants. But here is the culprit... our giant Cottonwood Tree! It showers us with it's soft, feathery fluff, So much that I start imagining making pillows and using it for stuffing. But we are thankful for the warm winds of June that blow it around, and even more thankful that it isn't really snowing in June.

"Only You Can Prevent Forrest Fire"

This afternoon, David went for a bike ride on the trail behind our house. As he was nearing home he came upon a quickly spreading brush fire. There was a lady walking with a cell phone who called 911 and then David had her call us to come out and help.

The kids, along with our neighbors lugged buckets of all sizes filled with water and doused it onto the flames.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for the Fire Department to arrive on the scene. They were able to put it out quickly, much to our relief.

Of course, Josiah was most concerned about the animal and their damaged habitats. He let me know that he was praying for them the whole time.

Then we got to stand back and watch our tax dollars hard at work. We are just thankful it didn't hit any closer to home.

My American Girl

Last weekend, My beautiful little girl and I got to go on a very fun date!

After saving her money for months and then getting a matching grant from Grandma, she finally had enough for us to head down to the American Girl Store. A new American Girl Store recently opened at the Mall of America. All set in our Matching sweaters and jean skirts, we got there just as the mall was opening.After much consideration and deliberation, she finally settled on a "Just Like Me" doll. ... Who really does look just like her.

Then it was off to the American Girl Bistro for lunch where they actually seat and serve your doll as well. Sara named her doll "Akele" after her big sister who she loves and misses so much.
It was such a fun day with my favorite "American Girl". I love you Sara Ashley!

New Season

Well, it is that time of year... The time when good, virtuous women lead their families in the noble art of Gardening. I have never been such a woman myself but am bravely attempting to learn this new skill.I must admit to you that I am quite intimidated by the whole process. I feel more like the Village Idiot than the Proverbs 31 woman, but I will not be deterred! I am determined to give it my best. I am also hoping for lots of those afore mentioned noble women to offer advice and instruction. Having said all of that, the kids and I are excited about our new adventure. We have planted our seedlings and they now line the sunny window sills waiting for the ground to be warm and ready.

We are working on breaking up the ground, work that makes us appreciate our early American ancestors and all they endured just to put food on the table. We are also hopeful that God will grant us many lessons during this process and we might produce a harvest of righteousness.

Hosea 10:12
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Not Too Bright

Today, Jake got his head stuck in a plastic animal cracker container.... And I do mean STUCK!

When I first found him, I quickly realized that he had no air and would suffocate if I didn't act fast. I made holes so that he could breath and that took care of the first problem. The next was to figure out how to get it off!

He was quite scared and stressed, especially when I came at him with the garden trimmers, but after an hour and half, I finally got him free. Let's hope he learned his lesson, but as this is not the first time, I won't hold my breath. He may not be the brightest dog in town, but we love him and are glad we didn't loose him to a plastic jar!

Spring Rain

With the rain of Spring upon us, the gloomy days tempt us to be gloomy ourselves. So this morning we pushed back a little with a lovely Nature Walk. The woods around our home have come alive with birds and bugs, moss and mushrooms, and the trees are starting to awaken from their slumber with tiny buds.We brought back our rugged treasures in cardboard boxes and got busy with our creative work.We each worked on our own arrangements.. a twig here, a rock there, all tucked into a bed of moss.

Each creation had it's own personality, taking on that of it's maker, but beautifully reminding us of the Creator of all.

We were actually quite proud of the finished product, and even took one to a friend as a gift.

I will send you rain in it's season, and the ground will yield it's crops and the trees of the field, their fruit. Lev.26:4

Snow

Winter does not go down without a fight here in Minnesota...

So As I struggled this morning, feeling discouraged with another cold day, I went looking for encouragement in the words of the Bible. Here is what I found.... Job 37:6
For he saith to the snow, Be thou [on] the earth;

likewise to the small rain,

and to the great rain of his strength.

Job 38:22
Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?
or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

Psa 51:7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Isa 1:18
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Pro 31:21
She is not afraid of the snow for her household:

for all her household [are] clothed with scarlet.

Isa 55:10
For as the rain cometh down,

and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither,

but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud,

that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth:

it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please,

and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it.

Birthday Girl!

This morning we woke up ready to celebrate the birth of our big girl. She is 9 Years old today.... (half way to 18... YIKES!)

So we started the morning with Grandpa's homemade pancake recipe. YUM!

Then it was off to Chuck E. Cheese for a fun family outing. We got tokens and the kids all played.

Ok, well, the parents had fun too!

Once we got hungry, it was off to our favorite restaurant, Cottage Grill, where there was lunch and some yummy chocolate cake with our name on it.

We are so thankful that God has blessed us with this amazing little girl. It is so fun watching her grow... WE LOVE YOU SARA!!!

The View from my Window

Sitting inside my warm toasty houseAs Husband clears half a foot of snow from our long driveway..He then inspects his work and kicks aside a few clumps of snow that survived the noisy assault of the blower.Meanwhile... daughter finds playmates in cold and they unite their winter joy for hours of fun!Hiding, pretending... barking like lost puppies in the snow... until The Sun sets, painting the sky as he goes.

What a beautiful view I have from my window!

That Time of Year

Yes my Friends... It is that time of year again. And I don't mean Turkey and snow and lights on trees... though we are not opposed to those things... The Times of which I speak is that of the Monroy Household's Annual Holiday Fitness Challenge.

Every year, between Thanksgiving and New Year, David and I have a little friendly competition. It varies from year to year but almost always involves some form of abdominal exercise. ie. sit ups, crunches... you get the idea. This year we are also including push-ups and/or arm weight repetitions. So the rules are as follows:

We have a daily chart and we are required to write our totals at the end of the day and keep a running total day to day. We are not required to tell our competitor (read: Spouse) of our totals for the day until bedtime. (it keeps it a little suspenseful)

So today was the first day of competition for this holiday season. Without knowing it, we both totaled 400!.... and so it begins! The winner gets bragging rights for the whole year. We have spent a few New Years Eves on the floor doing crunches until we both conceded to a tie so we will see where we end up. We just figure that this way, the extra chocolate and whipped cream that comes with the Season might not stick around quite as long.

Feel free to join us in our quest and let us know who wins in your household!

Joel Peter H.

We are celebrating another birth this week. My dear friend Becky gave birth to their 5th child, Joel Peter H., in their home in Honolulu. We are praising God with them for this beautiful new gift of life. We can't wait to meet him.

Special Gift

My Friend Sara dropped by this evening with a special gift for me. Sara's sister is a florist here in the Twin Cities and Sara was helping her with a show today. She found this lovely orchid lei in a display and asked if she could bring it for me. When she walked up to my door with it, I burst into tears.

I do so miss my beautiful Hawaii but for a moment on this lovely Fall evening in Minnesota, the Aloha Spirit is alive and well and I feel so blessed to have such a thoughtful friend. Sara drove about 40 min out of her way home to bring me the lei fresh.I know that the pictures don't do it justice but it had the desired effect. What a special gift from a special friend.

Fall, Food, Fires & Friends

On this beautiful Fall evening, the kids were blessed to have some friends over for a sleepover!We had dinner outside in the crisp evening air.The kids all ran around and played... Daddy Started up a fire to keep us all warm and of course to.....Roast Marshmallows!
Yummy!!!



We love the fall, food, fire & good friends.

Good Night

Sleep Tight!

Samantha & Ellie

While my Husband is in Hawaii, my dear friend Samantha and her daughter Ellie have come to visit from Washington State. We have had a wonderful time of fellowship, interesting and inspirational conversations and catching up on Chick Flicks... (we discovered that for the most part, we weren't missing much)
The kids have had fun getting to know Ellie who was in her mommies tummy during their last visit.....
She is a delightfully sweet baby girl and it makes us all wish we had one! It has been a wonderful visit and we are so sad that it is almost over but so blessed that they came.

Hawaiian Get-A-Way

David flew to Hawaii for the weekend to visit Ashley and meet Kana'i, our beautiful Grand Daughter. He got there on Friday and got to attend the Baptism for Kana'i on Saturday, along with his Mom. He will be flying home tomorrow and I will get more details on the rest of his trip but in the meantime, I wanted to share these pictures that he sent me.....Kana'i MarieAshley, Will & Kana'i David with his Mom, Ashley & Kana'iIsn't she Sweet!!
Great Granny!
We are so happy for Ashley and her Family and the many blessings that lie in store for them.

Fall Harvest Orchard

With the air turning to the crispness of fall, it was time to head out for a day at the Fall Harvest Orchard in Delano, MN. Let me start by saying that "Getting There" was not half the fun. After 2 detours, lots of driving in circles, and getting lost, we arrived at our destination an hour and a half later.It was well worth the effort though. It was a beautiful sunny day and the apples were ripe for picking. It was so fun to watch the kids picking their apples and crunching into them. There were lots of farm animals with their newborns and this was a farm where holding all the animals as much as you can is encouraged.
Sara kept heading back to this adorable baby goat who just loved to be snuggled.

We were there with our homeschool coop and all the kids had so much fun being together and exploring the beauty of Fall.... before Winter steals it from us!

Corn

The other day, my friend Sara gave us some fresh picked corn from her garden. My little Jonah was so excited. After he helped me shuck the corn he carried around an uncooked ear all day waiting till it was time to cook it.
He was so excited when dinner time finally came around. He plowed through two ears and had the time of his life doing it!

"The Duke of Hawaii"

This week, we have some dear friends who are in town from Hawaii. We got to spend some time with them on Friday and then today we had them over for lunch. We were telling the kids that "Uncle Duke and Auntie Vivian" were coming over and that Duke is the Lt. Governor of Hawaii. This was very exciting to the children as they have been learning all about Presidents and Government Leaders. Yesterday Josiah exclaimed in his excitement, "The Duke of Hawaii is coming to my house!" Here he is with his friend "The Duke of Hawaii".
The kids had lots of questions for them, especially wanting to know if they had ever met any real Presidents. Duke and Vivian were wonderful guest and the kids so enjoyed getting to know them better.
We loved getting to catch up and "talk story" and David got to get out all his pent up Pidgeon...(for those of you who don't know, Pidgeon is what they call the local slang in Hawaii. Any good local Hawaiian boy grew up speaking this version on English) It was such a blessing for us to spend the afternoon with our friends and pray that God blesses the rest of their stay in Minnesota.

Granddaughter!

We are excited to announce the birth of our first Grandbaby! Kanai Marie was born to Ashley and Will on Monday, August 18 in Honolulu. We are so excited for them and can't wait to get to know this precious little gift from God!

The Rest of the Trip

Here are a few pics from the rest of our trip to California... My Mom and I playing our favorite game, Mancala...
Grandma playing Candyland with the kids...
Tickles and snuggles with Jonah...

Going out to breakfast at "Hanks"...
With Grandpa...

By brother Nathan works there and whipped us up an awesome breakfast.
David came for the weekend and we spent more time up at my Brother Fernando's house.
The kids had fun playing down at the creek...

Then Fernando and My brother Matthew took David Fishing at this beautiful spot.
They caught lots of fish and had a great time together.
They had to hike into the spot and almost stepped on this Rattle Snake!

Back at Grandma's with cousins and lollipops.
And Swimming everyday!

Baskin & Robin's 31 Flavors Ice Cream!
This was a childhood hang out for me so it was fun to go back with my kids and enjoy the ice cream.... My favorite: Chocolate Chip Mint... But I also had some chocolate-peanut-butter for old times sake.

Here we are, happy to be heading home!
The kids were great travelers and it was a fun adventure! Thanks to my Mom and family for making it such a fun and special trip.