whobody likes Nash's hat?

 Just a really quick post. I came across these pictures in my files from the last 2 weeks.....and thought they were too cute not to share.  Lately...instead of getting "into" everything, Nash has been putting everything he can on his head and running over to me saying "Hat, Mommy, Hat!" Too funny.

Yes, this is a tomato cage...and he wore it around for like 5 minutes....

He also wore this basket around for quite a while....

he was roaring and then bumping into things.

He just has SO MUCH personality!!!

whobody wants to help?

***Hey everyone! I have a little something different for my post today...I have a 'guest blogger' (fancy, I know).  No cute stories about Keaton, Lola or Nash (although there will be more soon, I'm sure...lots of material in this house every day).  A friend of ours, Tamara (along with her family) adopted a child from Ethiopia in 2010.  In the process, they became aware of the problems in their child's homeland, and have made a commitment to do what they can to help!  These guys have really been a great example to Jason and I of following the Bible's teachings on taking care of orphans and widows.  We have a lot to learn from their work. I hope that by allowing Tamara to post today, my friends and family can be touched by Tamara's work in the same way that I have (and hopefully you will throw a little help her way...).  Enjoy! ~Lesa

Thank you, Lesa, for letting me guest blog today.  For those who don't know me, I'm Tamara B.  I met the Reimers through work but gradually talked to them less about work related stuff and more about Ethiopia stuff.  I'm usually blogging one of two places.  At Tamara B, I usually blog about normal life stuff - kid fun and dramas included.  In 2009 while going through the process of an Ethiopian adoption, I began blogging at Journey 4 Hope.  We adopted Judah and brought him home in May of 2010.  What I didn't know at the time, was that our journey to Ethiopia would take us back again, and again.  I'm guest blogging here today to share with you a little about the famine in the horn of Africa, how I'm directly involved with it and how you can help too. 

us (Tamara and her husband) with Judah's birth mom and brothers

My husband and I are average people who happened to open our eyes to the world we've encountered.  You can read how we decided to partner with Friends of Orphans and Vulnerable Children on my blog here.  If you don't want to click on the link, I'll just share real quick that FOVC is working in the region of our son's birth and first 24 months of life.  FOVC focuses on several things relating to the orphans and widows in 3 small villages in Southern Ethiopia.  It's a grassroots org started and run by a local Ethiopian.  It has a holistic approach to how they do things, meaning they don't just give handouts or enable people.  FOVC exists to help them help themselves.  So, things like education, medical, and clean water for the orphans; training and micro-loans for sewing school, raising livestock, starting a business, etc. for the widows.  I'm directly involved in developing the crops for widows program.  Because they're sustenance based society (meaning they live on what they can grow), it's important for widowed women to learn and know how to grow food.  So in June 2011 (yes, less than 4 months ago), we travelled with FOVC to provide training.  Ryan treated livestock (he's a veterinarian) and trained a local guy while I focused on crops.  It was at this time that we encountered more of the world around us and committed to continue to help. 

me (Tamara) and FOVC girls

driving along the center of the road with livestock and people walking along the side

me (Tamara) with the farmers

A few short months later, after warning signs were ignored by deciding agency, a full on famine was, and is, creeping through the horn of Africa.  (I blogged a lot about the details in July and August if you want to read those posts).  That effects Southern Ethiopia.  The place where not only my son was born, but the place where his Ethiopian momma and brothers still live.  The place where I hugged and played with precious little children earlier this summer.  The place that was no longer just a dot on a map but a real place with real people who were being affected. 

Did you know that by time the word "famine" is used, it literally means that thousands of people are dying a day?  This isn't just a threat of malnourishment.  This is people literally dying on the side of the road as they walk for weeks on end in search of food.  Because of the direct impact on Southern Ethiopia, FOVC is in a full blown fund-raising, trip planning, relief giving, hope offering process.  Did that make sense?  What I meant to get across is that FOVC is moving like wildfire having assessed the situation and is moving forward with a plan of action.

While we're sitting in our living rooms enjoying a warm cup of coffee, there are children in Southern Ethiopia thanking God for the one meal they received today but also begging Him to provide food for their neighbors who've not eaten for 4 or more days.  While we climb out of our beds with an achy back, children in Ethiopia have never slept in a bed.  And while we decide which place we'll go out to eat this week, children in Ethiopia may receive nourishment and might not.  You see, children sponsored by Americans receive an education, food and medical care.  But there are many children and families who have nothing, not even hope.  I'm not trying to give you a sob story.  Just trying to show you a few facts quickly.  If you want the technical details click on the links above to my July and August posts. 

Back to FOVC, they're doing several things.  And, because I whole-heartedly support them, I'm along for the ride.  In October I will be with 3 other people headed to Ethiopia for famine relief.  A medical doctor and the President will focus on bringing medical and food for the expected 4 months of famine.  I, along with another guy, will be focusing on the long term hope of the project.  We'll be training people on things they can do to grow their food even during a drought.  If they can grow food during the dry/drought times, they will have food to eat.  I'll be in-country for about 7 days.  A short, but very focused, trip.  After all, I stood and hugged Judah's mom in a tiny village who'd never before seen white people in June. I told her that I loved her and prayed for her often.  I can't imagine the impact this famine will have on her family and the many others in southern Et.  This is one reason I'm going back.  Another is that I believe the Bible where it says that it's my responsibility to help care of the orphans and the widows in their distress (found in the Bible in the book of James).  Now, whether you believe the Bible or not, you can still care for the orphans and widows and those in need.  I'll even share a few opportunities with you and then I'll be done here unless Lesa asks me to share in the future.

www.fovc.org and see the many things they are doing.  Maybe something will catch your attention like it did mine back in February/March.
2. Donate funds to the Feed Hope relief project.  Just $13 feeds a child for one month.  We can't even go through the McD's drive-thru for that little of money. 
3. Sponsor 3 pieces of my Puzzle fundraiser.  Of the $21 donation, $14 will go directly to the Feed Hope relief project and $7 will go towards my travel expenses (it's not cheap to fly to Africa!)
4. Purchase with a purpose - buy a necklace that I've made using Ethiopian paper beads and/or silver crosses I brought back from Ethiopia in June.  All the proceeds go to FOVC's feed Hope relief project.  I donated all the supplies and made the necklaces so it's all proceeds unless I have to ship it to you. (pictures of necklaces below)

Ways you can help:1. Check out

5.  Share with others via word of mouth, blogs, and/or facebook about the cool things FOVC is doing in Ethiopia.
If you have questions, please feel free to email me or leave a comment and I can contact you.  Thanks for reading!

whobody found a cozy place to nap?

As I said in my last post...every afternoon we have 'quiet time'.  Usually that means Nash sleeps and the other 2 play quietly....

Imagine my surprise when I looked down the hall today in the middle of 'quiet time'...

 ...and zoomed in!

Too cute, huh?

No faking here...Lola is FAST asleep.  And yes, she is RIGHT in front of Keaton's bedroom door, so whenever he comes out from Keaton Kingdom.... he will probably be just as surprised as I was!

I did know that she had big plans to sleep in the hallway....and I did see her drag her blanket out there....and I did see her laying there reading a book quietly.... but I did not EVER think that she would actually fall asleep there. 

She must have been t.i.r.e.d.  Rainy Sunday afternoons are hard on a little girl!

whobody wants a tour of Keaton's room?

In our house, every day after lunch we have "quiet time".

 This is a treasured time (mostly for me).  It begins with ONE cartoon *the only cartoon they get to watch each day....unless grandma is here, then I guess they get to watch like 10. :)  After the cartoon, Nash goes down for a nap, and Keaton and Lola play in their room quietly for at least 1 hour. Now that school has started, Keaton misses out on this quiet time....and he really MISSES it. He loves to play in his room. 

On Saturday he got his room all cleaned up (with grandma's help...between the 10 cartoons that they watched).  When his room is clean, he plays even better! He loves a clean slate for his "set ups".  When I walked in after quiet time on Sunday, I had to smile to myself....and then, of course, go and grab my camera.

First...he had almost every stuffed animal in his room on his bed. He loves to PLAY with his stuffed animals...they are usually shoved in weird places in his closet, or riding in upside down stools or boxes like boats. He doesn't usually tell me much about what they are doing, but usually during quiet time I can hear them "talking" through his monitor. Too cute.

 He later told me that this day, Blue Bear (sitting on top of the pillow pet) was Santa Claus, and the lion was his elf...and all of the animals crowded around listening to him lived at the north pole.  They were trying to figure out a way to help "Baby Bear's" family...who were being attacked by Simba the Lion (who was left in position attacking "Baby Bear" himself).  Notice the pile of injured animals near the foot of the bed, Santa was NOT happy with Simba. (Or so I was told.) I can't help but think of the movie Toy Story when I go into Keaton's room.

 He had also spent a little time playing with his trucks....

 I'm not sure where those vehicles were headed, but the Lego creation in back is a barge.....

 Of course, the horses are lined up perfectly in the stable....

 ....and I'm really not sure what is going on here....

I just had to capture this for myself...because I am fully aware that soon my "little boy" will feel like he is too big to play with his toys like this.   

I love how he plays...and he loves to play by himself. He plays with toys the way that they are meant to be played with. 

I will probably not be posting a picture of how Lola plays with toys...mostly because she really doesn't! She just dumps toys out...rustles through them, and then comes out complaining of boredom. :) We will have to work on that.  She does LOVE to do puzzles though...so those have been keeping her entertained today during quiet time....

I hope you enjoyed my little sneak peak into the world of Keaton's room!

whobody loves sunday funday?

"Sunday Funday" is a longstanding tradition in our house.... :) by longstanding, I mean this is the 2nd time we have done this.

Yesterday, shortly before lunch, we loaded the kids into the car, and without telling them where we were going, we took off.  The last time we did this was our ride on the Cassville Ferry.  The kids love the "surprise" of not knowing where we are headed! 

Our first stop was the Burger Barn for lunch.  The kids loved this! Then we headed to Elgin to go to a petting zoo.  This petting zoo was the last thing on our list of "things to take the kids to this summer".  Keaton went here for his Kindergarten field trip and he really thought we should go back because Lola and Nash would really like it!

We arrived to find: Petting Zoo closed.

I guess after Labor Day they take out the sheep and lock it up.

The kids were bummed...but we did what anyone would do: we pet the animals through the fence! :) Of course Lola and Nash LOVED bothering the kitty that followed us around.   

 We hung around for awhile....there were chickens and peacocks to go and look at too.... As we were just about to leave I saw a man show up to feed the animals! (YES!!!!)  We went back down to the fenced in area and watched...told him how we came to pet the animals and were a little disappointed it was closed......(boo hoo....I really wasn't whining or complaining, just chatting)  Sure enough...he let us in!!!!!

 The kids were ecstatic and had a blast petting the goats and pot bellied pigs!

What a great day...and hopefully the start of a fun tradition!

Sunday Funday....hopefully they will never know what to expect!

whobody is a perfectionist?

So....Keaton just walked in the door from school.

He got his papers out, just like he does every day...and showed them to me.

Notice the 2 funny brown "colored out" marks on this paper (zoomed in below)

It is hard to see on this scan, but those are an "X" and a "-1"

that his teacher had written in red...

and he colored over with brown.

And then he wrote "ok" at the top in pencil....

Whobody had a little talk about honesty?....

and that it is okay to get things wrong sometimes at school as long as we try our best.

This is SO Keaton, so I had to share it.  He doesn't like to be "wrong" and it is a very sweet part of his personality....the people pleasing part.  But, obviously, honesty is more important than people pleasing, so we need to work on that a little bit. 

p.s. Although it was wrong of him to correct his teacher's corrections...

I still think it is awful cute!

These are the kind of things I want to remember when he is in high school....

and testing my limits. :)

whobody has some pretty great friends?

We have some great friends (and our kids think their kids are pretty cool too!) 

Last night we had a small grillout for Labor Day with some of our friends.  The kids, as always, had a great time playing together and got along SO well! I just wanted to get these pictures up....no editing or anything! Just wanted to show the FUN they had!

Hard to see because the camera was on the wrong setting and was bright bright bright....but Colton was pulling little Hayden and big Nash around with a rope on the truck!

more fun with a "flinstones" vehicle

the older kids playing ring toss...and just playing in the grass!

 This is the first attempt at the group picture (not too shabby!) Andrea...I'm pretty sure you could zoom in on your boys and print this for Christmas cards! Look at them :) CUTE.

 The SILLY picture.

The older boys got into a 'game' of throwing these rings up into the tree and then hitting them down with a bat......

 ....and no one even got hurt!!! (amazingly)

 the happy hauler...notice Tyce trying to put his cup in the back...

 these "littles" played together very nicely all night!

and I'm pretty sure Nash ate just Fritos for supper. YUM!

That is all I have! Not spending more than 5 minutes on this post...

so spell check schmell check... :) Enjoy.

whobody 'works' on the river?

Keaton is our little hard worker.

He has had a long week at school.  He usually just comes home and needs some decompression time in his room....playing with his "set ups" of train tracks, trucks, and animals.  But on river night, we made him change into his trunks right when he got off of the bus and we were on the road!

I'll admit, at first....he was pretty grumpy, emotional, and short with us.
This was the facial expression I got every time I took a picture. :)

He followed Jason around for a little while (isn't this a cute picture)

And then he found his 'place' at the sandbar. He found a swimming pool on an 'island' and he started working.  He spent the rest of the night at this place....digging digging digging.

Finally...he had opened the pool up to the rest of the river...he was very happy with himself. It was hard to tear him away from it!!!

On the way home, he was ALL smiles.  Here he was giggling at Lola's driving. :)

It will take him a few weeks to get used to being at school....we are just going to ride this 'emotional and cranky' phase out! As long as we keep on doing fun stuff like this (and giving him enough time in his room) he can't complain! What a good kid!

whobody lives for the river?

If we have one kid who loves the river the rmost....it is Lola. She just THRIVES on the river. She enjoys riding in the boat....playing on the sand....and especially playing in the water....Here are some pictures to prove it!

 I have realized that I have the most great pictures of her from the river...mostly because she loves to get her picture taken....so she would do something and say "mom, take a picture of this and put it on your blog!!!"

Here Lola was pretending to "dive" into Keaton's pool (whish was only about 3" deep)

 Lola had fun drawing thigns in the sand last night...if you look closely she is sitting next to the heart that she drew!

Lola even drove us part of the way home (and only turned one full circle in the process)....she starts to go the wrong way and keaton giggles and giggles and giggles....she loves to entertain!

Lola has really been enjoyable these last few weeks...she is so full of JOY!