29 Day Challenge

Over the next 29 days I have decided to take on a few Challenges.

1. Drink at least 36 ounces of water each day (this is way less than what Dr. actually recommends but it's a start.)

2. Pray with each of my children at least once a day. We have been attending church for quite awhile now and we have always prayed with the kids on occasion, however I would like to start making it a part of our daily routine.

3. To excercise at least 3 times a week in some shape or form.

These are goals I have set, I will keep you up to date on how I am doing as the month goes along.

Donkey Basketball

The following pictures do not do justice for how hysterical it was to watch the actions of the donkey basketball was. Donkey Baskeball made it's return to good ol' MGHS last week after being absent since 1998! I forgot just how funny this was to actually watch. I laughed and laughed and laughed some more ;) The kids had fun as well, but I believe they enjoyed the popcorn more than the actual basketball!!! Most of the photos I posted are of the teachers and the elementary principal because they were just that funny to watch....................

Above is Mr. Koonce AKA Bobby with a crazy silly smile on his face. I am pretty sure he was confused about what he was actually suppose to do, that or he was just to afraid to actually get on the donkey..................

Below is Prudy from the Smithboro Fire Dept. She had a blast that's for sure. Just look at the smile on her face!!! She spent more time on the floor then she actually spent on the donkey ;)

Above here we have Mr. Joiner AKA Tuffy really getting into riding the donkey. I think he may just be ready to head out on an actual cattle round up and rope him up some steers!!!

Poor Harley she shot a basket into the wrong teams

hoop and ended up scoring for the teachers instead of the students!

You should have seen the look on her face when she realized it, I

only wish I could have captured it on camera. It was a priceless moment.............

Again, Bobby just seems to be leading his donkey back and forth on the court and now he has Mrs. Eirhart doing the same thing!

Here Tuffy is looking at me like "What, I am trying to

get the ball but I just don't seem to be having much

luck. At least you were able to stay on your donkey most of

the time!!!!

Brandon going in for a shot! He shoots and scores, he did very well most of the evening until............he got the bucking donkey and then it didn't seem to matter how much experience he had at riding he kept getting thrown off.


Well now Tuffy is pulling his donkey down the court, I guess

he was watching Bobby and thought this trick might work better

for getting the ball!!!!

Poor, poor, Mrs. Hartlieb she didn't have much luck riding her donkey either. She was a good sport and kept trying and I caught several snapshots that I may have to print or make into a book for her!

Well Donkey Basketball was a HUGE SUCCESS!!!! The gym was packed and they had to put chairs up on the stage to make more room for people and their were still people standing along the wall and in the doorways!!! Way to go Class of 2011 I would say you brought many smiles to the faces of the audience with your fundraiser and hopefully you were able to raise some money for your trip!!!!!

Happy Belated Birthday Callye

Still hard to believe my baby (she isn't a baby anymore she has informed me!) is now 4!!! We celebrated at home on her actual birthday at the beginning of the month as she was running a fever and Colton had a bug as well. So we settled in for her requested dinner of pizza rolls and mac n cheese, open gifts, and read her new books, and watch a movie! This weekend we are celebrating with her friends at the movie theatre!!! We have yet decide what movie we will be watching guess we better sit down and talk about that tonight!!!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

I will admit I am not a fan of coooooooooolllllllllld weather!!!! However, I do live in Illinois and that means I must endure whatever mother nature throws my way. After being "trapped" in the house for 2 1/2 days with the kiddos last week after the freezing rain, snow, ice etc made it's drop upon Bond County. I HAD to get OUT of the house.......... I didn't go far, but during "quite" time I ventured out into the yard with my camera and took a few snapshots so that someday I can tell my grandchildren and show them photos of the "blizzardy, icey" conditions of 2011. I will say this, the ice makes for some very beautiful nature photos. I also included a photo of our mailbox, you can see at the bottom where the snow was beggining to pile up around it after the snow plow had been down our road several times!!!! But, ours looks like nothing compared to the mailbox at the Speck residence in good ol' Minnesota!!! I am no even sure if they can get their mail on a regular basis................... ;)

Colton turns 6!

Here is a picture of my now 6 year old guy!!! He wanted a pillow pet for his birthday, Mommy suprised him with it this morning before he woke up and she set it on his bed! More pictures and celbration info coming soon on this adorably handsome 6 year old!!!

This is a picture of my 5 year old guy getting rest so that he will grow and be taller when he wakes up and is 6!!!

Sledding!!!

Colton and Callye having fun sledding at Nanny and Pappy's house this past weekend!!! More photos of sledding will be posted soon in another blog post. Stay tuned...........

Christmas #1, #2, #4, and #5

As promised here is an array of photos from all of our other Christmas Gatherings. The top picture is our standard every year picture with my brothers and I! We have done this for as long as I can remember!!!!!

A very exciting week for Colton

Well this has been a BIG week for Colton. He brought home his first ever AR (accelerated reader) book. The book was called SPLAT! He brought it home on Tuesday when they returned to school after the break. On Wednesday he lost his first tooth. Not quite how we had planned as he was climbing up the slide and an older boy was coming down and kicked him and knocked his tooth out. None the less, he still lost his first tooth and we put it under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy to leave him some money. Mommy wanted to keep the tooth so that she can put it in his scrapbook or get a special box to put it in. In order to do this without revealing the (parents) are the true toothfairies. We left the toothfairy a nice note asking that he leave the tooth. Colton recieved $5 from the toothfairy. Daddy toothfairy thought this was a little much, but Mommy toothfairy believes it was proper especially since it was his first tooth and that it didn't come out in a normal fasion.......... On Thursday Colton took his first AR test and scored 100%. He also brought home another book that we read and he took back to school today (Friday) to take a test on. Please enjoy the pictures of my toothless wonder...............

Christmas number 3.........

Callye eating a cookie while "playing" playstation! Also she was very interested in Megan's new sewing machine. She watched grandma thread it once and knew how to do it ;)

The "kids" (they are no longer really kids) and the Big kids playing video games!!

Time to open presents, Colton, Erin, and Quinn. Now it is Megan's turn, I didn't get a good one of Brandon or Dustin for some reason..... Well I am sure you are all confused as the title of this post is Christmas number 3....What happened to photos from 1 and 2. Well I have them on a different card and will post them later!! In all this year we had 5 Christmas' More photos of all the other happy times to come................

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!!

Here are some holiday photos for all of you to enjoy! 2010 has been a year of lots of ups and a few downs for the Earnest Family. As I look back over the past 12 months, I choose to reflect on the good things that happened during the year. Pop had surgery in January and the tumor was successfully removed and he didn't need chemo or radiation! Chad took a different position at work and now gets home earlier in the day. Our friends Mike and Shawna Sue brought a new baby into this world! (He is now very healthy and moving and crawling all over the place :) ) Colton started Kindergarten and loves every minute of it and is very well adjusted to attending all day everyday. Callye started Preschool and has made new friends and is learning all sorts of stuff. I gained a new Queen and friend to spend time with over the next year. We celebrated being in our new home for a year. My very BEST FRIEND in the WHOLE world moved closer to me! (Welcome to the neighborhood Wild Kingdom!!!!!!) and so much more.............but for now I will leave with a great BIG MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Family Photos

We recently had family photos taken, and they turned out great despite the windy day! We (rather I as Chad is not much for photos) decided we should have some family pics taken since we have not had any taken since Callye's first Christmas (I think we warded off official family photos because it was such a disaster when we did do them, at one point or another the kids were not cooperating.) They are older now and it worked out better until the very end when Colton didn't want Callye next to him and Callye just kept trying to drive him crazy by chasing him! We hope you enjoy the new pics!

This is one of my favorites, I love how it looks like a bunch of post-it notes all put together. This one one taken at Pop's in the pasture. (All the pics were taken at locations that have meaning for our family or of my memories as a child.)

It is so hard to believe that Colton will be 6, in just a few months!!! Our lives forever changed for the better when he was born and we became a family of 3. Colton is my adventerous one, he loves to be outside and he LOVES to run!!!! Alot of people tell me he looks like me, but I do some of Chad in him especially as he gets older they share alot of the same mannuerisms. Colton loves to play at Nanny and Pappy's and in this picture he is sitting on the steps that come down to the back patio.

My sweet and precious (most of the time) baby girl Callye will soon turn 4 and it just does not seem possible!!!!!! I remember almost having a panic attack when they told me I may have to have a c-section with her. Luckily everything worked out and that was not neccessary. She is just like me in so many ways. She is independant, sassy, and "is always right".....haha. Callye is def. Pop's sweetheart and runs straight for the cookies in the kitchen when we go to see him. This pic was taken out in Pop's pasture. I made lots of memories growing up and spending time here.

Sometimes you just have to let loose and have a little bit of fun and be crazy!!!!

This is by far my favorite picture that Chad and I had taken together. I realize he is not smiling but it is still my favorite.

Big Brother and Little Sister, they both fit these rolls pretty well. Colton is pretty protective of Callye the only person allowed to pick on her is him and vice versa. When we made our first venture to Walmart with Callye after she was born,he was standing in the back of the cart. A friend's mother came up and asked if she could look at Callye and I said sure, Colton said "NO she is my sister don't look at her and don't touch her, she is coming home with us!!!" Funny how things have changed in just 3 years, I think sometimes he would now like to give her away to the first person that see her at Walmart now......