Mach Family Blog

Freddie the Elf on the Shelf

2012-01-31T18:07:00.004-06:00

WE GOT AN ELF ON THE SHELF!!! This is what I heard the day that Freddie showed up at the top of the stairwell just outside the kids bedroom doors!!! The first thing we had to do was read the book about Freddie and pick out a name for him. That actually went more smoothly than I thought it would and we all agreed on Freddie without too much hassle!!! We were all excited that Santa had sent us an elf this year....that was until we realized how mischevious our friend Freddie really was!!!

Within days of his arrival Freddie started making demands...this morning we found him in the kitchen demanding we make Christmas cookies. None of us argued too much with this demand since cookies are a favorite in our house!!!
On this morning we found Freddie had tied up Emma's My Little Ponies for his own person use...notice he is riding a monster truck and running over Tyson's hotwheels.

OH NO...Freddie got sick!!! He was kind enough to bring us one of his favorite movies to share with us though...a new Christmas movie for the kids and one sick elf made for a fun movie nite in the Mach house!

AGAIN, Freddie is taking over the kids toys! This time he hooked up Emma's Belle horse to a sleigh that the kids had made at Lowes the day before!!!

Finally we find Freddie not getting into trouble!!! He was reading about how Dinosaurs celebrate Christmas!

Oh Freddie...we found Freddie and his "Mr. Cuddly" friends playing Go Fish on the playroom table! The kids even notice how throughout the day the cards would change and Freddie was often winning!!!

I think Freddie was getting nevous aboug having to go back to the North Pole at Christmas and he wrapped himself up and tried to hide like a present!

Imagine that....Freddie likes to fly just like Daddy does!

FREDDIE....Oh Freddie did it this time...he rummaged through all the laundry upstairs, made a huge mess of laundry all over the floor, found all of Tyson's underpants and hung them all over the Christmas tree!!! I think he liked the Incredible Hulk ones the best what do you think?

Are you trying to tell us what you want for breakfast Freddie????

Freddie was fun to have around, he made every morning an adventure and the kids would come rushing downstairs to find out what Freddie was up to!! We were sad to see Freddie gone on Christmas morning, but we look forward to having Fredding come visit us again next year!!!

October Part 2

2011-12-22T07:47:00.007-06:00

October continued on a VERY busy note so here's a few more pictures to show you what we were up to!!!!

Emma has been growing her hair out and ever since she saw her frieng Tarynput sponge rollers in her hair Emma has wanted to try as well...so here is our attempt at sponge rollers!
WHO KNEW her hair would take curl that well. Guess I should have put the little ones on the under layers instead of on the top...OOOPS! We ended up putting it in pig tails and she went to church that way. She loved it!

Tyson has continued to take swimming lessons and is making some real progress. He can actually swim about 5 feet with no vest or floatation!

Good star fish buddy!

Some preswim class cuddles with the puppies!

So the day has come...Emma Sahr Mach is now 7 years old! I CAN NOT believe she is 7 already, but I am so proud of what an amazing young lady she is becoming! Beutiful inside and out!

The kids really are each other's best friends and I LOVE that!!! On Emma's birthday we had a church group outing to the pumpkin patch then back to a friends house for pizz and dessert! It was a perfect way for Emma to spend her birthday...outside and with new friends!

Here's my handsome boy hiding in the corn stalks!

Peek a boo, I see you birthday girl!

I told them they could only pick pumpkins that they could carry! Tyson's working REAL hard to keep his big pumpkin!

Here's the birthday girls! Emma (left) turned 9 and Emma (right) turned 7!!!! So nice to be able to celebrate with friends!

What did our trip to the pumpkin patch create??? Here are the final products!!!!! Whatcha think? Emma actually carved hers entirely by herself!

Just some pumpkin carving fun!

Love watching this girl work...when she puts her mind into something she is UNSTOPPABLE and will not give up! She worked very hard and accomplished exactly what she planned to do!

Love carving pumpkins!

This year we had a theme for Halloween...not on purpose, but a theme. NINJAS!!!! Here's Tyson in his "yellow ninja" costume that took mommy forever to find because Tyson insisted on having a ninja costume "with a hood".

Emma joined in on the ninja fun and transformed into "pink ninja girl"!!!! We were able to go out to base and trick or treat with our good friends the Grangers and I really did attempt to get a picture of all the kids but when you have 6+ kids all running house to house in the dark it gets a bit chaotic and no pitures turned out! Oh well...a good time was had by all and it was a GREAT end to a very busy month!

October 2011 Part 1

2011-11-26T11:06:00.008-06:00

I am quickly realizing that I need to take pictures off the camera more often and do blog posts more often because October was a VERY busy month so I will have to split it into two parts!!!

To start off the month I thought I would post a picture of Josie so you can see how fast she is growing! She is nearly 10lbs now and is pretty much fully potty trained! Josie is a GREAT dog! Very loyal, does not wander far from us, listens very well, is eager to play and cuddle, and LOVEs to be outside! I am going to give it a month or so, but then I think Josie and I are going to start taking runs together. She is already outwalking Sadie in distance and speed!
Here are our wonderful puppies! They really are very good friends. Sadie is playing with Josie more and more and Josie is learning when Sadie has reached her threshold of playing and she backs off!!

At the beginning of the month the kids had a random day off of school so we decided to take them to the Camden Adventure Aquarium! Here's Tyson hamming it up for the camera as usual!

Emma pretending she's an angel fish!

The kids loved the aquarium...they got to pet sting rays and sharks. We watched a show about seals and penuins and lots of other very fun exhibits!

Here's the view from the outside of the aquarium...right on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River along the boardwalk! Philly is in the backround behind the kids!

Here's the kids next to the fountain outside the aquarium!

Since we have settled on a church here in New Jersey the kids have been VERY invovled and excited about getting back into the AWANAS program! They are learning their verses and earning their gems/patches very quickly! What a blessing to be a part of a church with such a strong and influencial children's program! We are very blessed to have found Shawnee Baptist Church!

The other big activity of the first part of the month of October was our family pumpkin hunting trip to Johnson's corner farm! Here are the kids on the wagon ride out to the apple trees, pumpkin patch and corn maze!

Emma espeically LOVES having a pick your own farm so close to our house! She is learning LOTS about farming, animals, and produce! Here's Emma amongst the Gala apples we picked. The best part of fresh produce is eating the fresh fruit of course, but also being able to have fresh fruit to make yummies for the winter like apple sauce and the fixin's for apple pie! I even got a new upright freezer to hold all the goodies we have been making!!!

And we're off into the corn maze!!! Oh man do I love these kids!!! What a great day we had running amongst the corn, hiding and finding each other!!! It really was the quintecential pumpkin picking kind of day!

Peek-a-boo...I see you Tyson!!!

Two examples of pure beauty!!! We have really enjoyed being in the NorthEast for the fall season this year and it has been abundantly clear this fall season that God is in complete control of our surroundings at all times!! It has been along time since we have seen leaves change color, flowers quite this beautiful, and cooler fall temperatures!!! I hope it continues our entire stay here, but we have just been in AWE of the beauty that God has provided for us here in New Jersey!!!! Maybe it's because we haven't been through a true fall season in a while, but the reds just seem more red, the yellows more yellow, and the greens more green than ever before! Clearly God put the yellow in that flower and that smile on that girl because no human could make something that beautiful!

Princess in the corn field!!!

And onto the highlight of the day...PICKING PUMPKINS!!!! Tyson found his fairly quickly!

Emma, who is my indecisive child, took a bit longer! We actually didn't mind her indecisiveness this day though because we were fully enjoying being in the perfect weather spending time as a family!

Emma's school is a little bit different than some around here...this year they had off of school for Yom Kippur and Tyson and Tim had off for Columbus day which gave Tim, Tyson and I a chance to have some special time together while Emma was enjoying her school day! When asked what he wanted to do Tyson said he wanted to go see dinosaurs so we headed off to the Discovery Children's Museum in Cherry Hill, where they had a dinosaur digging exhibit along with many other very entertaining exhibits!

One of Tyson's favorite parts was the bubble making exhibit. Not sure he's ever seen bubbles that big!!!

Hand down his favorite exhibit was the Philadelphia Flyers practice rink!!! Pretty good form for a kid who's never held a hockey stick before!!!

GOAL!!!!!!!!!

Do I see a future hockey player in this picture???

So busy busy busy we have been in October!!! With lots of fun stuff to come I will end this entry in hopes to get another entry about the rest of the month of October up in the next few days!!!

September 2011

2011-11-07T06:44:00.019-06:00

Here we are in September and what a big month September was for our family! Daddy got home, both kids started school, we biked around Philly, we got a new dog, and built a new swingset in the backyard!!! Busy Busy Busy!!!! Check out our adventures!!!

After a wonderful day with our friends the Grangers at Johnson's Pick your own farm, Emma and I worked very hard and made...HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE!!! It is so yummy and we had such a fun time working together on this project. Emma LOVES to cook which inspires me to do it more PLUS it's extra nice when you have such a great source of fresh food practically in your backyard!
Here's the finished product...YUM!!!

So what does September mean to most people...Yeppers, kids returning to school. As you can see Emma was a tiche excited to head back to school at her new school Cranberry Pines Elementary! Cranberry Pines is literally .6 miles from our house around the corner, but Emma gets to ride the bus to and from school and she was ready to get to it on the 1st day!
My beautiful kids....Tyson was happy this day to see Emma go to school, but day 2 when he realized he was home alone with me again he was sad to see her go. Tyson LOVES his big sister and misses her while she is at school!!

Waiting for the bus!!

Walking with brother to the bus. The bus stop is two houses down from us at our friends the Minniums house! The Minniums have a 1st grade girl as well as a 3rd grade boy!! We love having the bus stop so close by, especially on rainy and cold days!

Here's Emma with Mason and Molly Minnium!

What does September also bring along with returns to school? YES, allergies and asthma. Poor Tyson has really struggled since we moved to New Jersey. His asthma is worse than ever and at this point we are doing daily nebulizer treatments to avoid any hospital stays like we had last year! He does like his nebulizer and we have moved it down stairs so now he gets to watch TV while he gets his medicine.

Oh my big boy is ready for school! Tyson was also excited about his first day at his new school. Tyson will be attending Marlton Christian Academy for the next two years at least. This year Tyson is doing 3 morning a week and is LOVING his teacher and new classmates! He's learning a TON as well!

Walking down the hall to Ms. Kim's room!

Here's Tyson and his teacher Ms. Kim!

As if starting school wasn't enough excitement for one week, as a family we decided to participate in a very cool event called BIKE PHILLY on September 11th! Bike Philly is a chance to ride your bike throughout Philly with the streets closed to cars! Our family did the 10 mile loop...YES, Emma biked all 10 miles on her own! We pulled Tyson on his ride behind bicycle behind my mountian bike! It really was a SUPER fun event and we will definitely be doing it again next year!

Waiting at the starting line to get moving! It was a HUGE crowd of very nice bikers!

Emma's all decked out in pink and ready to roll!!! So proud of my little athlete...not sure there are many 6 y/os that can bike 10 miles and a few of those miles had big hills! She actually ended up biking 12 miles by the time we biked to and from the starting area!

Here's Tyson at the starting line being silly waiting to get moving!!!

The route they took us on was very nice...got to see lots of very cool things throughout Philadelphia! Here are the kids next to the Schuylkill river that runs right through the center of Philly! The area across the river is called boathousw row where all the rowing clubs have their houses! This area of Philly was gorgeous, lots of running and bike trails and beautiful scenery!

Emma got a hold of the camera and took my picture as we rested at the finish area after the ride!

Tyson resting after our 10 mile ride! Tyson did great, pedaled the entiere way and didn't complain once! What a trooper!

Very tired Emma at the finish area! She is amazing to me...what a sweetheart!

Here's a shot of us in action during the ride...this picture was on the Bike Philly website!!! What a great day we had at Bike Philly. Can't wait until next year!

Maybe the biggest news of the month is this little booger outrunning Tyson in our driveway. After a fun day bowling with our friends the Grangers we decided to stop by the Burnlington County Animal Shelter to look at a 1 y/o male pug that had be found stray. Well the male was gone, but there were three baby Pug/JackRussell mix puppies there that we could NOT turn away from. I'd like to introduce you to Josie Claire. She is a female Pug/Jack Russell terrier mix. I wanted to name her Jersey, Tim said no so we went with Josie (which is close to Jersey) and Emma wanted to add on the Claire at the end so "she would have a Southern name". Most of Emmas friends in Alabama had two names (Emma Jane, Emily Ann, etc) so she thinks two names makes you southern ;)!!! I think Josie Claire is the perfect name for this firecracker!

Josie has a new best friend in Emma. Both kids have been REALLY good about helping with the new dog and making sure she gets outside for potty time! Emma is especially good at making sure Josie Claire gets enough cuddles!!!

Oh look more cuddles with Emma!

Oh and a few cuddles with Tyson...Tyson was not a HUGE fan of Josie in the beginning because she licks a lot and "chews on my stuff" he says, but now he loves her very much!!!!

Had to throw in this picture because Nana LOVES purple and Emma wanted to make sure Nana saw her in her purple outfit! Love that Emma is always thinking of ways to make other people happy!!!

Another HUGE project our family undertook this month was putting together our new swingset in the backyard. Nana was VERY generous and got the kids this really great swingset for their birthdays!!!! One way we could save some of the money that Nana gave us (which we then put into the kids college funds) was to find a swing set that we put together ourselves! Which is exactly what we did...we actually ended up with a REALLY nice quality swing set from Costco and we were able to put it together, with the kids help, in one day! Here's Tim and the kids just getting started in the building process! Thank goodness for Tim and his handyman skills...he made quick work of this swingset!

Big helpers!!!

Oh man do I love these kids....they were great and let Tim and I work most of the day, helping where they could and entertaining each other when they couldn't help!

And just before bed, it was done!! Tire swing and everything! LOOK AT THOSE SMILES!!! THANK YOU NANA, the kids have hours of fun on their new swingset every day!

The final product. You can't see it all, but there are two swings, a trapeze, monkey bars, a slide, and a rockwall!! AWESOME!!!!

So it took a little while, but the puppies are fast becoming best friends!! At first Sadie was not interested in Josie at all actually she found her a bit annoying, but now with some time she sees that Josie is actually kind of fun to play with and is good company during naps in the sunshine!

The puppies have even figured out how to play together. They can put on a good show of tug-o-war and Josie likes to chase Sadie around the backyard. It is a good thing we have a big backyard because Josie is a running machine. I am hoping with time she will be able to come with me on my shorter runs as I do not run very fast I am sure she will be able to keep up!!! It would be nice to have some company during runs!

So as you can see we were VERY busy during the month of September. On top if all this the kids have started after school activities. Emma is taking a 2 hour gymnastics class and is dancing. Tyson is busy with swim lessons and gymnastics on his days off. I am enjoying having a predictable schedule for workouts which keep me busy during the week. As a family we have also chosen a church to attend during our stay here in NJ. We are attending and getting involved in activities at Shawnee Baptist Church in Shamong, NJ, which is not too far from our house! The kid are attending AWANAS on Weds and Tim and I have joined a bible study on Sundays as well! We look forward to getting to know the members of Shawnee Baptist and growing in our relationship with Jesus with their help and support!

August 2011

2011-10-11T07:39:00.008-05:00

August 2011...is it really August of 2011 already? Yikes! Well here is a small touch of what we were up to in August of 2011!!!

Early in August Tim had to leave for a TDY in Florida so the kids and I jumped right back into "deployment" mode and reinstated all our "deployment" rituals including Friday movie nites!! Here are the kids cuddling (notice the daddy doll included in the cuddles) watching a movie!
Our wildlife is still hanging around! This deer was about 15 feet from our sun porch one day and I stood still long enough to get a good picture!! The kids LOVE having so much wildlife right outside the door. I am wondering when it will stop being exciting when they see a squirrel or chipmunk, but today they still squeel every time they see one!

What was the weather like in the month of August? As you can tell most of the month was filled with rain. Here I let the kids run out in the puddles after church since there was very little time to get outside during the month due to the rain!

So here was our big event for the month!! TYSON'S 4th BIRTHDAY!! The day before Tyson's real birthday we were able to share a lunch date with our friends the Grangers!!!! It was the Grangers first trip to Chuck E Cheese and it was so much fun to see the kids having a good time together!!! Thanks Grangers for making Tyson feel special on his birthday! Here are Ashley Granger and Tyson playing games!

Dana brought all 4 kids by herself to Chuck E Cheese (brave woman) and we all had a GREAT time!!! Here's Dana and Gabe playing the frog game!

Surprise!!! My mom was able to fly in for Tyson's birthday since Tim was gone!! What a blessing it was to have my mom here for an ENTIRE week in the middle of Tim's TDY. It was so great reconnecting with her, showing her New Jersey, and having her here to celebrate Tyson's birthday! Here's my mom with Ashley G and Emma (with her glow in the dark fangs in)!

My pretty girl!

I have the most beautiful kids! Here are the kids on Tyson's real birthday before Tyson started ripping into his presents!!!

OK had to throw this one in too since Tyson looks so goofy!!!

He's so excited about this present the vein is popping out of his neck!!!

Happy Birthday my sweet goofy boy! You bring so much joy into my life everyday!! I cherish every minute I have with you and enjoy watching you grow into such a fun loving kind hearted little man!

Oh those eyes! I LOVE MY KIDS EYES!!!! Here are Tyson's baby blues!

Emma girl has some BEAUTIFUL eyes as well. The cool thing about Emma's eyes is that they change colors depending on what she's wearing!!!

Nana with her favorite granddaughter! Emma was just thrilled to have have Nana visit us! Emma LOVES attention and Nana LOVES to give it! What a great week they had!

Goofy picture time!!!

And a sweet one for the memories! Nana had to leave this day, but we were able to get a good picture before she left! Sure hope it isn't another 13 months before we see Nana again!!!

My handsome 4 year old (yikes, did I just say that) reading books during quiet time!! So grown up so fast!!!

So the tradition of FREAK weather occurances the year after we move somewhere continues in New Jersey! Just in August alone New Jersey had THREE FREAK weather occurances! August of 2011 had the most RAIN EVER for the month of August in this area! With that came New Jersey's 1st EARTHQUAKE! Well the earthquake originated in Virginia, but it was strongly felt here as well! The kids and I were having nap time and the entire house began to sway, no not shake, SWAY!!! We have a 2.5 story colonial house and it was a rockin!!! I grabbed the kids and ran downstairs and outside. I really had no idea what to do , but it didn't seem safe on the top floor! As we were running outside we saw the chandelier swaying AND swinging in circles, then I knew it was an earthquake!! What an experience!

Well a few days later we hear that New Jersey is gonna get a direct hit from a hurricane! The kids and I had fun getting ready and learning about how to prepare for a hurricane since this was my first hurricane ever! We got the camping latern ready, got glowsticks and push lites for the kids so they could see if the power went out, and filled up the bathtubs with water so we get make the toilets work! After a lot of prayer the nite before, the kids and I awoke ready to take on the hurricane tht was suppose to hit the next morning and......well we had A LOT of rain and the wind was pretty gnarly, but pretty much just a bad thunderstorm! God is good! Above is a picture of our driveway after most of the rain had passed. Not much flooding at all. This puddle was gone by that same afternoon!

This is the ONE tree that fell during the hurricane. No damage at all...we were very lucky. We had friends who were out of power for days just a few miles up the road!!

So needless to say Tyson, Emma, and I were VERY excited for Tim to get home the Friday before Labor Day. Because as Murphy's Law states, "when hubbie is home, there will be NO FREAK weather occurances" and we had had just about enough of our fill for one trip!!!

More July 2011

2011-09-08T19:34:00.009-05:00

Note to self...take all pictures off hte camera before writing a post about an entire month as there may still be pictures on the camera from said month! Oh well here are some extras from a trip we were able to take to OH the weekend before Tim had to leave for Florida! We went home to celebrate Tim's little brother, Mat's wedding to his new bride Colleen! They got married in Ireland and many were not able to attend the actual wedding so Kathy and others from Tim's family put together a reception at the Mach's house! Over 60 people came to the Mach's house to celebrate the new marriage with the newlyweds!!! Most exciting of this all, other than the newlyweds, was that ALL THREE MACH BROTHERS AND THEIR FAMILIES WERE ABLE TO BE HOME AT THE SAME TIME!!!! All three brothers with families have not been together since Tim and my wedding in 2002!!!

Here's Tyson pretending to drive Grandpa Mach's restored Chrysler! He was in heaven! Emma was just excited that Grandpa let them sit in the car...it is usually off limits!

The weekend was FILLED with fun stuff to do with 8 adults and 7 kids under one roof!!! Here are Tim and older brother Jim playing Cornhole!

Grandpa is ALWAYS willing to entertain the kids since he doesn't get to see them very often so here a batch of them are playing Ring Around the Rosy in the pool!

Even the water balloons came out for some fun! Here's Emma and her younger cousin Makenna tossing a water balloon!

Tyson wasn't so into the toss game and went right to trying to get Daddy wet!!! He was successful!

Daddy and Uncle Jim got smart and retaliated with water guns though!!! Here they are aiming at all the kids in the pool!

My wet, yet still beautiful Emma!

Hello handsome little man!

Here's Grandpa Mach with 5 of the 7 grand kids! Emma, Makenna, Grandpa, Dylan, Chase and Tyson!

Here's the whole reason we all came together...to celebrate Mat and Colleen's marriage!!! Congrats you guys!!!

All weekend long we heard "Tyson reminds me so much of Mat at that age"! Well here are the two together...what do you think? I really do think Tyson looks A LOT like Uncle Mat and they both have the goofy sense of humor and charming personality too!

Happy kids! They had so much fun being around all their cousins!!! LOVED having so much family around us. Hope it can happen again VERY soon!

OK time for pictures!!! Here are the Mach men!!! FRONT:Tyson, Chase, and Andrew. BACK:Tim, Dylan, Mat, Grandpa Jim, and Jim Jr.

The Mach women. FRONT:Makenna, Emma, and Abigail. BACK:Bobbie, Erin, Grandma Kathy, and Colleen.

All the grandkids/cousins together in one place! Hard to believe!!!

Grandma and Grandpa Mach with all the grandkids!!!!

The Mathew (Mat) Mach family!

The James (Jim) Mach Jr. family!

The Tim Mach family!

What a great weekend spending time with Tim's family! We had such a good time getting reacquainted with ones we have not seen for so long! I pray all four families can come together again sooner rather than later!!! Thank you to Jim and Kathy for hosting us all in their house. With all those poeple you would think there would be squabbles, but honestly we all had a really good time and our family can't wait to do it again!!!

"Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children" Proverbs 17:6

July 2011

2011-09-06T12:26:00.010-05:00

So here I am trying to play catch up again. This blogging stuff is getting harder with life being so busy!!! So here we go on July of 2011!! We were finally getting settled in the house and were getting braver about venturing out to discover exactly what it is that New Jersey has to offer us while we are here!!!

One of our first outings was to a AAA baseball game in Camden, NJ! Camden is right on the Delaware river across the river from Philladelphia and it has LOTS of stuff to do, but one of the big ones that people had told us to check out was the Camden Riversharks baseball team!!! This facility is BEAUTIFUL. Not only do they play baseball, but they also have a Merry Go Round, kids play zone, great food, and a GORGEOUS view!!! Here's Tyson and Tim checking out the Merry Go Round!
Here's Emma taking her turn hamming it up for the camera!!! I got her facing the sun...OOPS.

So here is the gorgeious view I was talking about! The field butts right up to the Ben Franklin Bridge that connects Philly to Camden! It really is a breath taking view from the seats with the bridge in the background of the game!

Here's Emma with her Riversharks hat on cheering on the home team!

Tyson's turn...check out the bridge in the background!

Yay, mommy got in a picture too!

Another outing we took during July was to base! I know doesn't sound like much of an outing, but really base is about 45 minutes away so we will not go there much unless to see friends, to get groceries, or to do fun stuff like minigolf!!!! Here's Emma practicing her putting stroke!

Tyson's working really hard to get his ball in 1st! Maybe not with the least amount of strokes, but he almost always got his ball in 1st!

Next to the minigolf were GO KARTS!! How fun! Emma was holding on for her dear life while at the same time giggling out of control! We both had a GREAT ride!

The boys turn...Tyson wasn't so sure about the Go Karts. He was ok as long as Tim didn't go TOO fast! By the end he was smiling, but it took a few laps to get him to that point!

Our 3rd major outing of the month was down to Cape May, NJ! Cape May is the southern most point in New Jersey and it is BEAUTIFUL! I had gotten some VERY cheap tickets on Groupon for a dolphin watching boat tour so we headed down to Cape May for the day to do that! Cape May is without a doubt a place I will return to while we are here in NJ! Very quiet town with beautiful Victorian style houses throughout the town, a very historic lighthouse to hike around (hint hint Opa), and LOTS of great things to do and see!

We even saw dolphins! We actually saw a lot of them! It was a BEAUTIFUL day out on the water with great wildlife to look at!!!!

Here are the kids waiting patiently to get on the boat, ready to see the dolphins!!

What else were we up to during the month of July? Well we have been busy exploring our neighborhood as well as the other parts of New Jersey. We decided that Tyson is finally old enough to get a pull behind bike so we can go on longer family bike rides! We LOVE to bike and so does Emma and now we can go faster and farther since Tyson doesn't have to power himself! He LOVES this "blue" bike and we love taking him out on it!

July has also been a great month for spending time together as a family reconnecting! Tim took the entire month of July off from work an it was SO great having him home so we could have the time to reconnect as a family before the craziness of returning to school and work started again! It really was a great month of bonding and cuddles! Here's Emma doing the three things she does best, reading, taking care of her brother, and teaching him new letters in the book!!! I really do have the best kids in the world. God has blessed me WAY more than I could EVER deserve!

And here we are heading off to yet another church to try! Yes we are still church shopping, but we have definitely narrowed our choices down to just a few! Emma actually attending vacation bible school at one of our choices and we had a bit of a rough start with some of their teachings, but once we cleared up the issue with the youth pastor Emma ended up having a GREAT week at VBS! Please continue to pray for guidance on our church shopping issues. We are still waiting for the "sign" of where it is exactly that God wants us to serve Him during our time in NJ!

So July was a busy month and near the end we all started to realize the end of July was going to bring some changes! Tim was assigned to attend a training course in FL for the entire month of August so with that looming over our heads we took full advantage of having him home while we did with new adventures and bonding time!!!! Next up on deck...August 2011...coming to you soon!

4 years ago today...

2011-08-18T06:51:00.008-05:00

4 years ago today we were living in Altus, Oklahoma and Emma and I were looking forward to a busy day of playgroup and lunchdates! After having playgroup at Altus Gymnastics Academy and lunch at McDonalds, Emma and I made a quick stop at Famous Footwear to check out the shoes on sale and it happened! The moment every pregnant woman dreads...my water broke! At least I was able to get to the bathroom without incident. After a phone call to Tim and a few friends, Tim arrived at Famous Footwear to take me to the hospital! My water broke just after 1pm. After 11 hours of labor, pitocin, LOTS of pain, doctors telling me "this kid is way too high, we're gonna have to do a C-section", LOTS of waiting due to another mommy to be being in distress in her labor and only one doctor on staff (she ended up having an emergancy C-section), Tyson James Mach was born without a C-section and only 2 pushes at 12:03/12:04am, Saturday, August 18th, 2007!!! Tyson held on long enough to be able to share his birthday with his late Great Grandma Gerry Peterson, an honor Grandma Gerry would have loved!

Here he is, Jan of 2007! Tyson blessed me with a very easy pregnancy! No sickness, nothing out of the ordinary, other than going into labor 3.5 weeks early, but this was a bit to be expected since his sister, Emma, was also 3 weeks early!
Tyson James Mach, just a few minutes old! He weighed in at 7lbs and 4 ounces and in perfect health!

Oh how much they change in a year. Here are Tyson's 1st birthday pictures!! Tyson was a very easy baby, had a few issues with "Dysmobility" and GI stuff, but it was all easily taken care of with some medicine. Tyson from day one has been a happy and humorous kid who is almost always smiling!

Oh my sweet sweet 2 year old Tyson. Tyson LOVED to cuddle at this age and was a ham for the camera as you can see!!!

Well aren't we big now! Here's Tyson ready for his first day of school in Alabama! The jump from 2 to 3 for me was a HUGE LEAP, but Tyson has grown into such a fun loving, wonderful boy, it eases the pain of how fast he is growing up!

Here's my big boy enjoying a S'more in New Jersey! Four years, three states/three houses/four schools, and still smiling! God, thank you for allowing us to be a part of such a wonderful little boy's life. Tyson James Mach we love you more than life itself and we are SOOO lucky to be your mommy and daddy and sissie!

Psalm 127:3 "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him"

June 2011 continued...

2011-08-08T19:51:00.002-05:00

So I just realized I forgot a few pictures from June!!!

Here's Emma and Tyson at the Pineland Striders Independence races. Emma ran the 1 mile and I was suppose to run the 5K, but having moved 14K of household goods just a few days beforehand my legs weren't really up to it! Emma represented the Mach family well though!
At the starting line! People of all ages running the 1 mile. The little girl in the pink behind Emma ended up winning with a 7:10 min mile!

Here's Emma coming into the finish line strong! She's just like her mama, always a sprint at the end!

And here's my amazing runner!!! She even earned herself a real live, metal medal this race!!!! She ran a 10:40 which is SUPER great on anyday, but especially great considering we had only been in NJ for 2 weeks and all the chaos that surrounded the move and two weeks in NJ! Emma loves to run!! So proud of her!

Also in June we were able to meet up with our old friends the Grangers at the Johnson's pick your own farm! We were stationed at Altus, OK at the same time as the Grangers and we have kids the same ages, I even went to high school in the town right next door to Bryan Granger! Love the Grangers and we are so excited that they are here in NJ with us! Can't wait for more fun adventures with the Granger family!!!

Catch up continued...June 2011

2011-08-06T20:45:00.004-05:00

And so the transition to a new home, new base, new neighborhood begins. June was a hard month for us simply for the fact that we had not planned on leaving Montgomery, AL so soon! The Air Force had been telling us since October of 2011 that we could stay in Alabama so Tim could be an ACSC instructor, but here we are packing up our goods to move to NJ, three years before we had planned on it! God has a plan in place and we have 100% faith in his plan, but it didn't make leaving Montgomery and all the wondefulness it offered our family any easier!

Oh the trials of moving...as you can see ALL the furniture was gone and we had to resort to watching a TV that was sitting on the floor while sitting on the floor ourselves! Tim and I made the decision to do a full DITY which means we moved 100% of our goods ourselves and we used PODS to do it! We packed, we moved, we loaded, we sweated, we cried, we ached, etc etc! Not sure I would do it again, but didn't seem like we had any other options to get out of Montgomery on our schedule instead of the AF's schedule! So here sits Tyson, watching a movie with no furniture because the PODS has already left with ALL our stuff!
Oh my sweet friends Brad and Meredith Head! If God had one reason to send my family to Montgomery, without a doubt, it was to meet the Head family! Brad and Meredith served and still serve as such amazing role models of bold and strong Christians for Tim and I! To see Christians live their life so unapologetically in the same lifestyle we live in gave us such confidence that Tim and I could do that too, it is amazing! The Mach family owes so much to these to amazing people and their BEAUTIFUL kids Connor, Taryn, Gavin and Rylan! Without a doubt, saying "see ya later" to this amazing family was the closest I have EVER been to having my heart broken!

Also had to say goodbye to so many more friends in the early part of June it makes my heart ache to think of all the wonderful people we left behind in Montgomery! Dalton and Jaime are two more AMAZING examples of strong and loving Christian wives and mothers that I admire and learned so much from in our short time in Montgomery!

OK, so I had to take a minute there to wipe away the tears and then I saw my beautiful babies! Here is Emma and Tyson ready to head to Vaughn Forest Church for our last Sunday in Montgomery! The kids and I also got to participated in Vaughn Forest's vacation bible school the week before we left which was a PERFECT send off for our family! To spend that much time in the one place where we feel 100% comfortable, loved, and happy was exactly what we needed in the midst of such sorrow about leaving our wonderful friends, church and life in Montgomery! Vaughn Forest Church was literally THE LAST institution we stepped foot in in Montgomery and we wouldnt' have wanted it any other way....then we started our 18 hour drive to Medford, New Jersey!

After three LONG days on the road, traffic jams due to overturned bull trailers, blown tires, small hotel rooms, driving through bigger cities than we have seen in nearly 10 years, rain likeI never want to drive in again, we finally made it to NJ! But we still had to wait...for the house and for our household goods=a few more days in hotel rooms! My kids are AMAZING. If you ever want to know why military kids are special here is a prime example. After having slept on an air mattress for the past week, this hotel room was so small we couldn't find room to put two air mattresses on the floor for the kids so Tyson had to sleep on two hotel chairs that we pushed together to make some sort of make shift bed! Military kids are special because they are adaptable...LOVE MY MILITARY KIDS!

So we finally closed on the house and got the keys (still sleeping on air mattresses mind you) so life could start to get back to normal, a little bit anyway! Tim's parents, Jim and Kathy, and my dad, Robert, drove all the way across the country to come help us get our house ready before household goods arrived! We painted more rooms than planned, fixed leaky pipes through holes in the ceiling, fixed strangely wired electrical problems, etc etc etc!!!! This move NEVER would have gotten completed if it wasn't for the help of our wonderful and supportive parents! So after a hard days work and a run to Lowes for a fire pit, here's Emma enjoying a S'more! It was nice to sit back and have a relaxed moment amongsth the chaos of the move!

Tyson was not to be out done of course! Here's my messy boy after his S'more!

AND FINALLY....our household good arrive! I say finally because after having been promised that our household goods would be delivered 6 days after having been picked up in Alabama, our household good FINALLY arrived 11 DAYS after we left AL! On the 6th day we called to see when the PODS would be delivered and we found out they hadn't even been assigned a carrier and they were still sitting in the lot in Montgomery! Needless to say we were NOT HAPPY, but all in all our stuff arrived and NOW we could finally start to put our new life together in NJ!

Ever wonder what happens during a move across the country? Well you end up with piles and piles and piles of boxes all over what you thought was a house, but soon becomes a storage unit for boxes! Here's the front entry way full of boxes that needed to be taken upstairs! Did I mention yet that Tim and I and the kids haven't lived in a house with stairs since ND in 2006!!! Oh did our buns hurt after countless trips up and down those stairs!!

Here's the kitchen full of packing paper used to keep our dishes safe during the move!

And the sun porch...yes, that's a sun porch FULL OF BOXES that had no other home in the house cause there was no more room left!!!! I do like this picture though cause you can see how woodsy and beautiful our backyard is!

WHOO HOO, life is semi back to normal and the kids are LOVING all the nature that NJ has to offer! One of the first nights we were in Jersey the kids figured out there were lightening bugs/fireflies and they had so much fun trying to catch them. I had so much fun trying to catch them catching the fireflies and in this one I actually got one when it was lit up!!!! This picture is in our front yard...are you catching a theme here...YES, WE LIVE IN A FOREST and we LOVE IT!

Other things we have come to love about New Jersey...pick your own farms where you can pick cups and cups of blueberries on your own. Also love my new kitchen that actually allows me to bake and cook!! Here's my attempt at banana bread! It was pretty good if I do say so myself!

Another reason things I am starting to love about New Jersey? THE WILDLIFE...remember I live in the forest and this is what I found in my backyard. This HAWK was 30 feet from my sun porch, clear as day. By the time I got the camera it got spooked so this picture is of it taking off, but OH MY was that a beautiful bird!

And we have DEER....LOTS OF DEER. This is just one, but what you can't see is that this momma had two babies outside the fence, another adult in our yard, and at least 3 more adults outside the fence further back! This is a daily occurance here! The kids love having animals so close to see! I will say though, even though I love the deer during the day, they are a bit scary to see, staring at you at night when I am out on my nite runs! I wear a headlamp to see where I am going, remember I live in a forest, and the other nite I looked to the right while running and saw AT LEAST 10 pairs of shiny eyes looking back at me! Needless to say that run was one of my fastest 3 miles EVER in my life! :)

Another form of exercise that we LOVE to do in New Jersey is going for family bike rides! Emma has become quite a biker and she was getting frustrated by being limited on the length of our bike rides because Tyson would get tired so we broke down and bought this cool little bike that we can pull behind us so Tyson can ride for ever!!!! He LOVES being able to keep up with his sister and Emma is loving being able to bike for longer periods of time now that brother has a new ride!!!!

So by the end of June, life was definitely getting to be "normal" again! Still wasn't a normal routine since Tim was able to take off from work for the entire month of June AND July, but we soaked up every minute that we had together as a family which made the transition to NJ life a little easier!!!

Playing catch up...May 2011

2011-07-25T09:40:00.004-05:00

So it must bea good sign that thing are finally settling down here in New Jersey and that I am finally finding time to update the blog that has been so badly neglected during our move! I am going to have to take a step back in time however to get the blog caught up so when I make the blog book at the end of the year I am not missing any pieces of our year. So sorry for the step back, but enjoy the pictures! We will start back in Alabama, May of 2011!

Here's Emma on her last day of school at Trinity Presbyterian School! They had "field day" on the last day and boy did those kids have fun!
Here's Emma with her God sent teacher Ms. Allen. This woman is amazing and was a PERFECT fit for Emma to get her "glimmer" back in school after losing it the first 1/2 of the year in the public schools! Ms. Allen will FOREVER have a very special place in our hearts!

Why is Ms. Allen so awesome? She is so thoughtful about the kids! She knew it was Emma's last day at Trinity so she let Emma say the blessing over lunch that day! Holy Moly I can't even begin to imagine how much we are going to miss Trinity!

Here is Emma's whole class with their "prayer buddy". The classes prayer buddy was Blake (in the red) and Blake would come down to Emma's classroom and they would chit chat about life and the kids would pray for Blake and whatever he had going on in his life and vice versa. Prayers work because Blake ended up getting a great college scholarship to play baseball!!! The kids even got to go to Blake's letter of intent signing ceremony!

And so the goodbyes begin. Here is Tyson with his friend Cole. Cole has moved to Washington DC so hopefully we will be able to go down and see them very soon!

My favorite BATDUDES!!! Tyson thought it was the coolest when Daddy came out wearing a matching Batman shirt!

My handsome dude sneaking into my picture taking session with Emma! Love that goofy kid!

Here's Emma ready for Sports Camp. Sports camp was run by outoing and incoming Trinity senior athletes. Emma was the only Kindergarten GIRL to go to sports camp and she had so much fun!!! Basketball was her favorite out of the sports they played!

So that wraps up May in pictures...behind the scenes was a different picture! Tim and I were CRAZY busy packing the PODS with all our household goods in 100+ degree temperatures EVERY DAY, also while trying to keep life as normal and functional as we could for the kids!! It was not fun and I am not sure we will ever do it again, it was WAY too much work! But we got it done and everything made it to NJ safe and in one piece so that was great! Only one more week left in Montgomery at this point and we turned our attention to Vacation Bible school and spending as much time with our friends as we could before we left town!

Greetings from 08055!

2011-06-21T21:18:00.003-05:00

Hey all...just a quick update to let you know the Mach family has arrived safely in Medford, New Jersey! After some struggles during traveling (traffic jam due to cows, blown tire, numerous potty breaks, etc) and a long delay on our household good delivery we have finally received our goods and we will start unloading and unpacking tomorrow!

We haven't been sitting around doing nothing even though we don't have our goods!!! Tim's parents and my dad came to help us unpack, but instead they got roped into fixing up the house while we had a chance!!! After some plumbing and electrical problems and much more painting than we planned we have a house ready to be unpacked and organized.

Along with house updates I have continued to run and even did a run with the local running club here in Medford! Emma has been busy as well. Emma and I went up to her new school, Cranberry Pines Elementary, today to attend "Move Up Day" where all the students, old and new, go to the classroom with the teacher that they will be in next year. Emma will be in Mrs. Potosky's room and she couldn't be more excited. When she came back to me after meeting her teacher she says "Oh Mom, she's so sweet, and she loves to give hugs." That is exactly what I needed to hear! Emma has also made a friend already. Molly is a neighbor that lives two houses down and is 6 and going into the 1st grade next year as well!!! They are not in the same class, but will ride the bus together and have lots of playdates!!! We have also visited and decided on a school for Tyson next year as well. Tyson will be attending Marlton Christian Academy Preschool 3 days a week next year and he got to meet his teacher Ms. Kim during our tour!!! Along with schools we have also been exploring our way around town and have found the Target, grocery store, local pizza joint, hardware store, and Lowes! Overall we are settling in VERY well.

Just wanted to drop a quick note to keep you all updated!!! Will add more pictures and updates after we dig out from under all the boxes!!!

Kid One Sprint Triathlon

2011-06-04T21:41:00.011-05:00

Did I say triathlon?? Yep, I sure did!!! About 3 months ago my friend Meagan Cutler put a wild idea in my brain that I could do a triathlon! Immediately I told her she was crazy, but then changed my mind. I had taken on and completed the challenge of running a half marathon and was now ready to take on a new challenge! The KidOne Sprint Triathlon in Pike Road, AL sounded like just the thing to take on! With the support of my amazingly loving and supportive family I started taking swimming lessons, doing brick workouts (back to back workouts of different disciplines, ie...immediate run after a bike), and transition practices! On May 14th, 2011, my dream of becoming a triathlete came true!

Tim and I were actually able to share this special day. Tim was the bike leg of a relay team that did the triathlon as well!!! He did GREAT helped his team to come in 1st for all adult relays. As always a group of us formed for a prerace prayer. Thank you Roxy for the inspiring prayer. This was a momentous moment for the Montgomery endurance ministry community as well. This prerace prayer brought together two different endurance ministries from two different churches to pray TOGETHER! Team Vaughn Forest and Team Vaughn Park united in prayer before the KidOne Sprint Triathlon....LOVE IT!

Here's Tim heading out of transition 1 onto his leg of the triathlon relay!

Here I am getting out of transition 1 and ready to start my bike leg of the race! I was REALLY proud that after only 6 weeks of swim lessons and only 2 prior open water lake swims I made it through the swim portion of the triathlon quicker than expected!

Coming into transition 2. I love the bike leg of a triatlon, but the run is always daunting! Trying to mentally prepare myselt to take on some gnarly hills during the upcoming 5K run!

And I'm off on my run...was REALLY wondering at this point if I could finish this. The bike leg took WAY more out of me than I expected it to and my legs were completely NUMB!

Like I said this run course had some really gnarly hills to tackle...and they were at the end of the run. With strength and power from God and cheers from some amazing training partners and friends I was able to muster up some energy to make a decent sprint to the finish line! I was really proud of how strong I was able finish considering how crummy I felt at the beginning of the run! I was also proud that I place 2nd in the Athena category (females weighing more than 140 lbs) in my frist triathlon!!! I can now say with confidence...YES, I AM A TRIATHLETE!

Here is my best training friend EVER!!!! Meagan Cutler is an amazing athlete, friend, and coach! Meagan actually won 1st female overall!!! Meagan is an amazing runner, biker, and swimmer and was so so gracious to help me train for this race! She took me under her wing and taught me everything she knows! She pushed me WAY farther and faster than I ever thought I could go! Without Meagan and her encouragement I don't think I could have ever done this race! The best part about Meagan...she is always smiling...here she is coming in after her crazy fast bike leg and ready to tackle the run...always with a smile!

My other training partners....The Montgomery Multipsort Military Spouses Team! Six of these ladies completed a Half Ironman Distance triathlon (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) just a week before this sprint tri!!! Amazing athletes, even better friends, and again GREAT coaches as they often allowed me to tag along on training bike rides with them during my training! I would NEVER have the endurance and power on the bike that I have without these ladies!

LOVE LOVE LOVE the triathlon and endurance sport community! All of these wonderful people (excpet the two on the right) live in my neighborhood!! YES this many amazing athletes on one street!!! CRAZY!!!

So before this day I had a magnet on the back of my car that says 13.1 (for my half marathon),...now I've added a "tri" magnet. Both of these accomplishments are something I still have a hard time believing I have accomplished. I have accomplished them, but not without the help of MANY along the way, most of all not without help from God! Without His love, support, and constant strength I would have NEVER done any of this! Thank you God for your constant love and strength. Thank you Tim, Emma and Tyson for dealing with mommy and her crazy athletic pursuits. Thank you to all my training parnters especially Meagan and the MMS girls. I love you all!!

Ephesians 4:13 "I can do all things through HIM who strengthens me!"

Spring fun!!!!

2011-05-31T19:18:00.004-05:00

We have had such a busy spring, these pictures do very little justice to all we have been up to, but here is a tiche of our fun adventures!

Here is Tyson with his AMAZING teacher Ms. Thomas! Ms. Thomas was such a God sent gift to Tyson for the past few months! In her class Tyson went from knowing no letters and only a few numbers to knowing ALL letters and numbers along with more bible stories and verses than I could have ever dreamt! More importantly Tyson has learned to love learning and growing in his academics, social skills and in his love for God! LOVE YOU MS. THOMAS!
Here's Tyson with his 5 day a week 4 year old preschool class!! I couldn't fit them all in the picture, but his class was FULL of the sweetest kids ever!

Here's Tyson at his Easter egg hunt party for school. Tyson's class went to a cute little country church with some of the most beautiful landscaping I have ever seen! What a gorgeous setting for a fun morning of finding eggs, eating cupcakes and picnicing with our school friends!!!!

Here is Tyson and a few of his class mates singing an Easter song for the mommies that were at the egg hunt! So precious so hear the beauty and love for God in these kids voices!

We took the kids to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner one night and the "Balloon Man" was there for kids night!! Let me tell you this guy is amazing!! Tyson had decided to go to dinner dressed at Batman so the "Balloon Man" made a Batman balloon to match! This was his first time making a Batman and it turned out amazing!!!!

Me and the kids on Mother's Day!!! I HAVE THE BEST KIDS IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!

Even though there is NO WATER in our neighborhood, there is a pair of ducks that adopted our pod as their home. Almost every evening they make their rounds from lawn to lawn seeing who is going to feed them some dinner! The kids LOVE when the ducks stop by for some bread!

Here's Emma with her balloon creation from the "Balloon Man". Can you guess what it is? Yeppers, Strawberry Shortcake. I'm telling you, this guy has an amazing gift!

Spring is never complete without 90+ degree days and fun with the sprinkler!!!!

This is a site I like to see!!! With the impending move we have been busy busy packing and cleaning the house in an attempt to get ready for our departure from Montgomery! I have recently found out that my kids LOVE TO MOP!!!! Emma takes on the kitchen with the Shark steam mop!!!

Tyson shows off his muscles while he uses the Swiffer mop to clean up the dining area!

So not sure if you've heard or not, but I have taken up a new hobby. Triathlons. What comes along with doing triathlons? Swim lessons for Bobbie since I don't know how to swim a proper swim stroke at all!!! I love how when I take on a new sport my entire family jumps in head first to support me!!! It does concern me a bit though that the kids heads fill up the same swim cap I use when I swim!! Does that mean they have extra large brains? I hope so!

Emma's turn with the swim cap on!

I have the best support and cheerleading squad I could ever ask for! Silly, but very supportive!!!

So on top of all this fun the family has been busy packing and organizing for our upcoming move!! We decided as a family to do a full DITY move which means we will be doing the entire move ourselves! We will be using PODS to transport our stuff in, but we still have to do all the packing and loading of the PODS, then they will transport the crates to New Jersey! It is more work, but not to have to have the stress of packind an entire house in one day makes it more manageable for us all! We will see if it's worth it in the end!

An update on our house in New Jersey...after much drama and some shady dealings by the sellers real estate agent, the sellers have finally come to the responsible conclusion that they need to ALL the repairs that are required to get the aged septic system on the property up to date! After two conflicting inspections the county officials took our side in the matter and all will be fixed before we can close on the house! This is good the good news because for many days we were not sure whether or not we were going to be able to get into this house or if we would have to start our house hunt over again! Well we will get into the Hinchman house, however it will more than likely not be by our original closing date of June 14th! We are still leaving Montgomery on June 10th or 11th, but we are just not sure when we will be moving into the Hinchman house! If the repairs delay the closing we will have to figure out some alternative living plans for a short time, but a vacation to OH to see the Mach's might be a GREAT alternative to being in a hotel for two or three weeks. We will just have to see how this all plays out as the weeks go along!!!

Easter

2011-05-26T18:31:00.007-05:00

WOW...do I have a lot of catching up to do! Didnt' realize how fast the past few months have gone by!!! I will start with an entry about Easter!!!! We had a BEAUTIFUL Easter!! The kids woke up early and found a surprise outside!!!

Did you have any idea the Easter bunnies feet were that big!!! Wow, were the kids excited to see the Easter bunny had come to visit our house!!!
They were even more excited to see that the Easter bunny had left them some gifts as well!!!!

Best part of the day.....getting to go to EASTER CHURCH!!!! Tyson was SOOO excited, as you can tell!

Emma had picked out her special Easter dress and was ready to show it off to all her friends at church!

The day went so well we even had extra time to get in a family picture! Can't believe it even turned out!!!!

The day got even better when we got to go to a HUGE easter egg hunt in the neighborhood! My friend Lori organized this hunt and we had over 150 eggs for the kids to find. There were plastic eggs with stuff inside along with real eggs that we had taken the insides out of and stuffed with confetti so the kids could crack the egg on each others heads and the confetti would cover the victim in shredded paper. What fun it was to see the kids chasing each other, mommies and daddies around the field to smash confetti eggs on each other!!! This will be a tradition we continue next year for sure!!!

Emma and Tyson hard at work finding eggs of all kinds!!!! I didn't get any pictures of the kids smashing the confetti eggs cause I was so busy running away from my pursuers!!! GREAT fun!

Matthew 28:6 "He is not here; He is risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where he lay"

Romans 8:11 "And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."

This is GOOD NEWS!!!! God is Good!

Garden State residence!

2011-04-18T19:57:00.005-05:00

Welcome to 52 Hinchman Road, Medford, New Jersey 08055!!!!! You heard me right, we are now owners of a home in NEW JERSEY (well as of June 14th when we close)! Last weekend Tim and I flew to New Jersey and bought a house, all in less than 24 hours! Gotta love the life of a military family! Check out our new abode!

This pictures is taken of the front of the house from the middle of the LONG driveway. Medford, New Jersey is a lake community so there are LOTS of trees and lakes all over the place! It reminds me of Minnesota in lots of ways! Here's a more clear view of the front of the house!

Our master bedroom. The color is actually a really nice rust color, not as pink as it looks in this picture! Master has a small bath, but BIG walk in closet!

We are thinking this will be Tyson's room! It has green carpet and big closet!

This will be the guest room! Yes, this carpet is as pink as it looks! Not sure if we will get it changed or not!

We are thinknig this will be a good room for Emma! Of course we will need to do a big of painting in this room!

The kitchen from the formal dining room looking into the eat in kitchen area! The man who lives here now is a wood worker and put in new cabinets and counter tops that are very pretty and well done! We might redo the counters with solid surface or granit at some point in the future though!

Formal dining room, just to the left of the front door. We will use this for an office or playroom.

Formal living room that we will use for an office or play room.

Informal living room/TV room! Has a wood burning fireplace!!!

Sun porch! LOVE the sun porch with skylights!

HUGE BACK YARD!!! The whole lot is .75 acres! Area behind the house is wooded and will stay wooded. Whole yard is fenced!

View of back of the house.

Custom built workshop! Not sure what we will use this for yet, but could be a workout/hobby shop! It is airconditioned and heated! CRAZY!

Just wanted you all to see our spacious beautiful lake country house! Now start making plans to come visit so you can see our new part of the country. We will be arriving in New Jersey in mid June. Give us a few weeks to get things in order, but then we would LOVE to have visitors! Our house is only about 30-40 minutes away from the Philadelphia airport and a hour away from the shore! Hope to see you all soon!

Our baby girl gets baptized

2011-04-07T12:32:00.007-05:00

March 20, 2011 will always be a very special day in God's heart! Emma Sahr Mach was baptized! Not only is she our perfect daughter, but now we are able to also call her our sister in Christ. About two weeks prior to this day Emma informed me that she had made a choice to ask Jesus into her heart and she prayed to God to admit she knew she was a sinner and that she needed Jesus as her Savior! All this from a 6 year old, ONLY GOD COULD MAKE THAT HAPPEN!

Here's Emma on the morning of her baptism. She picked out a new dress for this very special occasion! Emma is in the baptismal pool with our friend Jaime Andress. Jaime has become a good friend to our entire familiy during our year here in Montgomery and now Jaime will hold a VERY special place in our families history because Emma asked Jaime to be the one to baptize her! This was not an easy task for Jaime either as she had returned from a mission trip to India less than 12 hours before having to baptize Emma! Our entire family is so appreciative of her sacrafice of sleep for our precious girls baptism. 1 Samuel 1:27-28 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." On this day Tim and my prayer for Emma was answered.

Here are a few of Emma's favorite scriptures she would like to share with you all.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

John 14:6

"I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through me"

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-30T08:57:00.010-05:00

In the midst of the unexpected news that our family will be moving to New Jersey in June, we were able to escape to Tampa for week to see my dad over the kids' Spring Break!!!! Check out all our fun adventures!!!

Tyson's being silly about 5 hours into our road trip down to Tampa. It took 8.25 hours which was actually less than we thought! The kids were great the entire ride!!! Silly faces from Emma!!!

The first day we were in Tampa, Opa (my dad) took us to see the manatees in th wild! There is a canal near an energy plant that the manatee's like to swim in because it is warm. There were LOTS of manatees in the canal on this day, along with a shark, fish and many beautiful birds!

The clan at the manatee viewing platform!

After the manatees Emma wanted to head to the beack to do some seashelling! That is all she wanted to do while were in Florida....find seashells to bring home! Here she is with her bag of shells with McDill AFB in the background!

Tyson wasn't as into picking up seashells, but he did have fun splashing in the water!!!

The next day we headed out to Anna Maria Island....This island was BEAUTIFUL! Clearly God has put his stamp of approval on this island. The water was clear, sand was so fine and soft, sky was glowing blue, it was a perfect afternoon!!!! Emma actually got into the ocean and swam a bit! The water was cold, but once you got used to it it wasn't so bad! Clearly Emma is having a good time!

More seashelling, this time with Opa's guidance! Anna Maria Island had TONS of differnt shells for Emma to find and she got pretty good at finding the fresh, not broken ones!!! We even ended up getting her a seashell book so she could identify and organize all her seashells! I don't know many other 6 year olds that can tell you the difference between a fighting conch shell and a clam shell, but Emma can! Here's Emma and Opa waiting for a table for dinner on the beach on Anna Maria Island!

Family picture!! Tyson wasn't so into the family picture, but still LOVE having us all together in one picture! Thank you random lady on the beach for taking our picture! We were able to literally eat right on the beach. Two of the four legs of the table were in the sand. How cool!!

Love these kids...they were so well behaved the entire trip. I am truly blessed with such amazing children!

Emma on Anna Maria Island at sunset!

Happy Tyson after eating dinner on the beach!

GOD.IS.GOOD!

Another day we were able to head to Myakka State Park to learn about alligators and other Florida wildlife! Here's Tyson and Tim on a airboat ride we took to see alligators and other Florida birds and wildlife!

We also took a tram ride and learned more about the Myakka State Park and how it used to be a ranch. Now it is a wetland where there are lots of HUGE alligators like the one above!!!

We are walking through the oak and palm canopy to get to the "Walk above the trees" suspension bridge and tower!

Here's Emma on the very shaky bridge. We are about 2 stories up at this point!

Tyson had no fear as long as Daddy was close by. He went all the way up to the top of the tower as well. I would guess the top was 8-10 stories up!

Near the top of the tower. We literally were HIGH above the tops of the trees. It was a magnificent view!!! Even the kids enjoyed it and showed very little fear!

Here are some pictures of our adventures at the Mote Aquarium!!! What a cool place to learn about Florida fish and other Florida sea creatures! Here's Tyson touching a sting ray. He was fearful at first, but once he saw Emma do it he wasn't going to be left out so with some assistance from Tim he touched the stingray!!!

The kids posing in the jaw of a real shark!

The kids got to watch during a shark feeding session! Very cool! This was the highlight of Tyson's day! He LOVES sharks!

Emma and I are shifting through sand to see if we can find any shark's teeth! We actually found quite a few!!!!

At the Tampe zoo they had a computerized, moving dinosaur exhibit. When we told Tyson about it (FYI, Tyson is OBSESSED with dinosaurs) he was SOOOO excited. However once we got into the exhibit and he started to see and hear the dinos actually moving, he wasn't so sure anymore! He was ok as long as I was holding him however!

Emma was very brave in the exhibit and even wanted to touch the T-Rex!

Tyson, Emma and I even got to ride on a baby camel!!!

Had to show the sleeping arrangements for the kids. Emma had her air mattress in the closet and she slept GREAT!!!

Tyson was also on an air mattress on the other side of the room wedged between our bed and the wall. He too slept great! The kids were all sorts of tuckered out after all our fun filled weekend however and by Friday we knew it was time to head home!!!

Thank you Opa for the great hospitality and for giving us such a fun and relaxed Spring Break. It was so nice not have to stay in a hotel and all the stress that comes with that! Thank you for sharing your home with us and for showing us all the cool things that Tampa has to offer!!!!

We headed home on Friday to have Saturday to adjust and unpack because on Sunday.....

EMMA WAS BAPTIZED. What a glorious day. I will post pictures of this great occasion very soon!!!

Uh oh...God has a different plan!

2011-03-12T08:48:00.002-06:00

Got some VERY unexpected news today...after months and months of being told there was a "85% chance of you staying here in Montgomery so Tim can be an ACSC instructor", God apparently has a different plan for our future! The preliminary spreadsheet came out yesteday with all the new assignments after ACSC is done in June and behind our name it didn't say Montgomery. It said MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE. That's in New Jersey if you were wondering.

So...what's next? Well come Monday we will be making some phone calls to find out what happened to our staying here and we hope to get things resolved so we can stay, but if not....we will be moving to New Jersey in June!

I'll keep you all posted on how this all plays out. As you all know we want to stay here in AL but we also hold faith in God's perfect plan!!!

Psalms 32:8 The Lord says "Iwill guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you."

Seaside 1/2 marathon

2011-03-06T19:53:00.004-06:00

This weekend is the finalization of a dream that I was scared to dream before moving to Montgomery, but with the support of Team Vaughn Forest I accomplished!!! I COMPLETED AND RAN AN ENTIRE 1/2 MARATHON!!!!

Just a little background before I jump into this weekend! When we moved to Mongtomery I had thought about running a 1/2 marathon....some day. Then we started attending Vaughn Forest church and I met some really AMAZING and GODLY friends who also liked to run. I started running with them and came to find out they were a part of Team Vaughn Forest which is an endurance ministry through our church! What is Team Vauhgn Forest you ask? Well we are endurance athletes (runners, bikers, swimmers, triathletes, duathletes, etc) who in doing our various sports are able to glorify God and let others know about the power and strength He gives us in times of trial! Our team scripture/saying is Hebrews 12:1 Look to JESUS. Endure the RACE!!!

Team Vaughn Forest before the Seaside 1/2 marathon!

Part of the Team Vaughn Forest tradition is the pre-race prayer. Nothing more powerful than 20+ athletes standing around holding hands and each other praying!!!
"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20

So after meeting and becoming a part of Team Vaughn Forest I quickly realized that I COULD do a 1/2 marathon with the support and love I was receiving from my teammates! NEW GOAL= Seaside 1/2 marathon, March 6th, 2011!!

Here I am...March 6th, 2011 with my friend Jessica and we are ready to take on the Seaside 1/2 marathon!!! Tim, Emma and Tyson also came down to Seaside to support me which was VERY nice since they have been a HUGE part of my training and fitness journey over the past two years! We stayed in a super cute beach cottage and we had a GREAT weekend, race included!
The weather was not great...cold, windy, and a bit rainy, but the kids were real troopers waiting on me to finish my race!!!

Here I come, about a tenth of a mile from the finish! I was pushing pretty hard to sprint to the end! When training with my friend Catherine in Oklahoma she always pushed me to sprint the last .25 mile, so I was sprinting to the finish in her honor!

The clock does say 2:37:06, but my official chip time was 2:35:08!!!! I three goals going into this race. 1. Run under a 2:40=CHECK. 2. Run the entire 13.1 miles=CHECK. 3. Push as hard as I could on this given day, on this given course (not "flat" like it was described on the race website), under these given conditions (cool and lots of wind)=CHECK CHECK CHECK!

We did it!!!! All three of us ran our very first 1/2 marathons!!!! AND the race was sponsored by Vera Bradley so after crossing the finish line we were given a free Vera Bradley tote as part of our finishers gift!!!

So this picture pretty much sums it all up. Medal from my first 1/2 marathon, the shoes that carried me through it, and the 13.1 magnet I finally earned to put on my car (in Team Vaughn Forest colors of course)!!!!

I praise God for giving me the ability to run and I thank Him with my entire being for being my "power when I am worn out and my strength when I am weak" (Isaiah 40:29). GOD IS GOOD!!

Trinity 5K and 1 mile fun run!

2011-02-26T12:05:00.004-06:00

Today was race day at Emma's school! Trinity school had a 5K and 1 mile fun run to raise money for the school and Emma decided to run the 1 mile! (I passed on this 5K as I run my first 1/2 marathon next weekend.)

Tyson and Emma posing at home before we leave for the race!
Emma with a few of her kindergarten girlie friends!

Emma at the starting line, ready to run!

GO EMMY GO!!!!

Tyson was disappointed that there was no Tot Trot so we created one for him. Daddy started him at the curb about 500 feet away and let him run to me at the finish line! He had so much fun he turned around and ran back to Tim!!! The crowd loved the "Tyson Tot Trot"!

Go Tyson Go!!!!

Here comes Emma to the finish line. So proud that she had a smile on her face the entire time! She spent a good portion of the race waving to her friends on the sidelines! She was having so much fun!

All done with yet another 1 mile run! 11:14! What a great run! We're so proud of you Emma Sahr!

After the race we grabbed some Nancy's Italian Ice then headed out to the new house to see if they had made any progress on the framing and to our surprise we turned the corner and we saw ROOF!!!! They are really moving along AND working on a Saturday. We intended on writing scriptures on the framing in the different rooms of the house, but we will have to do it tomorrow as the guys were hard at work today!

They're FRAMING!!!!

2011-02-23T22:07:00.003-06:00

We turned the corner into our new cul de sac and this is what we saw!!! FRAMING!!!! The bedrooms run the right side of the house and the open part in the front left is the garage!!!! Exciting stuff!

The kids and I are standing in Emma's bay window that will eventually have a window seat in it! Beyond Emma's room will be Tyson's room, the guest bedroom, then the Master bedroom, bath and closet!

Fun stuff!

2011-02-19T18:52:00.008-06:00

Just a quick update....still waiting on our nice camera to come back from the fix it shop. I am sure hoping it gets back in the next two weeks so I have it for when we go down to Seaside, Florida for my first 1/2 marathon and for spring break in Tampa the following week.

As for the new house, it now has a foundation!!!!! It is poured and it looks awesome! Our new address has even been determined which makes it all VERY real!

LIFE.IS.SO.GOOD, we praise God everyday for all the blessings he is giving us!!

2011-01-26T12:54:00.002-06:00

Well since I can't get pictures off my camera because it is being fixed thought I would put up some from Emma's teacher at Trinity.

Here's Emma being studious as always!Emma has 6 girls in her class. 4 out of the 6 have names that start with the letter "E". Emma's holding on her good friend Merritt! Notice Emma's new gap in her mouth. She lost three teeth in four days last week!! Five teeth gone...all in the front!

Here's Emma's whole class! There are 16 in her class and they are all REALLY good kids! Emma is so happy to be in a Christian environment surrounded by kids and teachers that love and nurish her!!! Go Trinity Wildcats!!

Camera is out of commission!!!

2011-01-18T21:30:00.001-06:00

Well folks...it is gonna be a few weeks before you see any more pictures of the Mach family! Our nice camera got knocked off the entryway wall and is not working correctly and according to the camera fix it place it will take 4-6 weeks to fix. I am trying to locate our older cameras to get some pictures taken between now and then, but it might be a minute before I can find the old camera so....be patient. I will get more pictures up as soon as I can!

2011-01-10T15:03:00.002-06:00

What else have we been doing since Chritmas you ask? Well....we have been busy buying a lot, designing a home, and picking out materials to put in the new home!!! We purchased a lot in Woodland Creek, in Pike Road, AL which is just a few miles down the road from where we are now. It is a beautiful neighborhood with TONS of HUGE trees which the builder saves as many as he can in the building process. We got a lot at the back of a cul de sac in a brand new neighborhood and our backyard does not and should not ever back up to anything but the beautiful trees!!!

Here's our lot with the SOLD sign in the front left corner of the lot!
The materials we picked for the outside of the house. We will probably use this house as a rental property when we leave Alabama so we tried to not pick anything too specific or out there, but we did want some personality so we went with a redder brick and red front door (paint swatch is on the brick on the right of the picture, with a green/tan paint with cream trim and the standard shingles for the neighborhood.

Here is the wood floor color (wood floors throughout the living areas), wall color for the living areas, and fireplace tile.

Here's the kitchen and bath materials. Granite countertops with two colored tile back splash. Smaller row of light tile then 12x12 darker tile above that. Hardware (set on the top right of the hardware board) in this picture looks black, but it is a worn copperish color on the style and color cabinets next to it!

They should start construction sometime in the next month....they say it will take 4-6 months to finish and we close on the house on June 3rd so they have plenty of time to get our house built!!! We are very excited about the prospect of living in such a great house that we had a part in designing!!! Stay tuned for house updates!

2011-01-10T09:48:00.004-06:00

Merry Christmas to EVERYONE!!! Sorry these are a bit late getting posted, but as you see in the next few blog entries we have been very business this Christmas season! I tried my best to keep the picutres in chronological order, but got a big mixed up in the beginning, sorry.

Auntie and Uncle also helped the kids construct a really nice looking gingerbread house! Here is Tyson with the side of the house he decorated! He insisted on having piles of "snow"=marshmellows and a marshmellow snowman! Not sure if more "snow" ended up on the house or in Tyson's belly!

Tyson got new books from my uncle Dwight and aunt Janis! We LOVE books!

Here's Emma with her side of the gingerbread house!!! She planted flowers on the side of her house and helped up the "snow" on top of the "chimney"!!! Very creative my Emma is!

This might be one of my favorite pictures because...it shows Emma, the consumate student, playing "school" with Opa, the consumate educator! A perfect match!

Auntie and Uncle helping with the gingerbread house. It is still amazing to me that Auntie and Uncle (and Opa) came all the way to Alabama from MINNESOTA to spend Christmas with us!

Family picture on Christmas Eve. The kids are showing off the arts and crafts that they made for Tim and I at their respective schools!!! I will cherish them forever!!

Emma's ready to head to the candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. Tyson was not feeling cooperative so I dont' have a picture of him in his Christmas Eve outfit! Oh well!

We opened presents after church and it was an all boy Christmas for Tyson. Full of trucks, cars, superheros, airplanes, etc!!! Here he is with one of his favorite presents...a superhero shirt from Auntie and Uncle!

All Tyson asked Santa for for Christmas was a "new big airport". So Santa granted his wish and he brought him a new air craft carrier!!! Good find Santa!

Here's Emma on Christmas morning opening her chocolate covered cherries from Opa!! Guess she's a little excited!

Another favorite present was a magic kit that Emma got from Opa! The kids love to put on a show together!!!

Unfortunately the first few days of Christmas break Tyson was getting over a cold so we didn't venture out much while Auntie and Uncle were visiting, but a few days later Tyson perked up and we headed out to the Mann Museum at the Montgomery Zoo. We learned all about the Mann family and their love for Alaska and the animals that live in Alaska!

Then we headed to downtown Montgomery to show Opa the older part of town. We stopped at the First White House of the Confederacy! Very interesting history and a beautiful house!

Opa with the kids at the front door of the First White House of the Confederacy!

Post Christmas relaxation!! The kids have been very sweet playing together with all their new toys togehter. Emma has even taught Tyson how to play the V-Smile video game player! They love to play games together which just melts my heart!

Yes, this picture is taken on the last day of 2010 and Emma is outside with only a shirt on! We had actually set up an aid station for my friends who were doing a long run around the neighborhood. Emma wanted to put out water, Kleenex and food for them. They hit our house at mile 6 and appreciated the food and drinks a smile! Go Team Vaughn Forest (the endurance ministry from our church)!!

So here we are closing out 2010 with friends playing Wii Just Dance. I deliberately didn't post the pictures I took of the adults dancing!! They were not flattering at all :)! We all had a great night and actually made it to the East Coast New Years!!! Happy New Years everyone!!!

This what has become of my living room since Christmas!!! Tyson, Emma and Tim LOVE to build Hot Wheel tracks all over the house! Hours of good fun!

2010-12-30T19:42:00.003-06:00

So have to do a quick catch up on the month of December before the end of the year....here goes!

As part of the bible studies the kids do on Wednesday nights at our church, part of their program is music. The week before Christmas the kids put on a short concert for the parents to show us what they had been working on. Here is Tyson...and here is the story behind the picture! During this song there were soloists. Emma was one of them, the first one actually. About midway through the song Tyson decided that it was his turn to do a solo as well. SO he walked up to the microphone and started singing! His shining moment didn't last long as he was quickly boxed out by the little girl who was assigned to do the solo!!! Needless to say he was a bit sad after not getting to finish his big moment!

Here's Emma doing her assigned solo! She did great, smiled the entire time, and was well spoken and in tune. I was a very proud mama!

What else have we been up to? Well the weather has been very up and down around here. 70 one day and 35 the next so on the days it is nice we spend as much time outside as we can! Here's Emma spending some time on the staticy trampoline!

Trampoline time with Tyson!!! What a couple of goofballs!

So here we are on a colder day. I thought they looked so cute in their winter coats! All bundled up and ready to go to school!

Tyson has had a rough go of it in the month of December! He was in the ER as I reported in an earlier entry. Then on this day he woke up with a 24 hour stomach bug. I had no idea how pale he was until I look back at this picture now! Poor guy. I pray his immune system gets a boost before we head back to school next week.

OK all better, at least for now! I like this Tyson better than the pale sickly lookin' Tyson! Let's hope he stays this way for awhile!

Our first hospital stay with a child!

2010-12-14T21:30:00.003-06:00

So....what is this all about you ask? My little man had a bit of a scare last week. Tyson came home from school on Tues, we went and got our family pictures taken, then about 4pm I looked at him and wondered if he was coming down with a cold. Around 5 I got an email from Tyson's teacher saying that two kids in Tyson's class had been diagnosed with Mono, at by 6:15pm we were in the ER because Tyson was having a VERY hard time breathing. Needless to say he went downhill quickly. After three breathing treatments, LOTS of bloodwork, two bags of IV fluids and medicine, the doctor decided Tyson needed to be admitted into the hospital because he was still weazing when he was breathing. Tim was nice enough to volunteer to take the night shifts in the hospital, while I stayed with Tyson in the ER and during the day. The final diagnosis was a severe case of Croup AND Viral Bronchitis. Tyson was in the hospital for two nights and was released Thursday morning. It was an adventure to say the least, but Tyson was a trooper through it all and he has bounced back nicely. He is still running a bit low on energy these days and gets tired easily, but with time he is getting better everyday! I have to thank all our friends who checked up on us, sat at our house with Emma while we exchanged posts (thanks meredith), and sent loving prayers our way!

My little man getting some sleep (night #2) after being admitted to the hospital!
More sleeping (night #1)

In the ER getting a breathing treatment!

He had to keep his IV in the entire time he was in the hospital. This was the worst part for him. He couldn't bend his arm with the IV in so they put a hard board behind his elbow to keep his arm straight!

ER breathing treatment!

Yet ANOTHER breathing treatment. Through it all, as long as we had a movie running on the movie player Tyson was pretty content! What a trooper! Love that kid, but golly this one gave me a scare. I pray we never have to go through this again!

2010 Family pictures

2010-12-07T16:10:00.006-06:00

Oh what a busy day we have had today! The day staretd off with Emma and I dropping off Tyson at his school then heading to get Emma a psychological evaluation for admittance to her new school! After the evaluation (which she passed with flying colors) Emma and I headed over to her new school for a tour and more testing! After some reading and math tests (which she aced again) she got to meet her new teacher (Ms. Allen) and the girls in her class! The girls were VERY excited to meet her. Her class will now have 16 kids, only of which 6 will be girls. The funny part of the whole things is that of the 6 girls, including Emma, four will now have names that begin with the letter "E"!!! It was like she was meant to be in the class to add more females and to join in the already existing gaggle of girls with "E" names! The girls took Emma on a tour of their class room. Emma jumped right in with the girls and I feel so great knowing she has already made friends in her new class!!! So officially, as of January 2011 Emma will be attending Trininty Presbyterian School! Go Wildcats!

After all that excitement we headed off to get some family pictures taken. I wasn't sure they were going to turn out considering Emma was exhausted and Tyson came home from school with a pretty bad cough, but here are the results. Whatcha think?

Love this sassy one!!!

Hello Mr. Blue eyes!

I am so blessed to have such good lookin' kids and for them to be so photogenic!!

We even got a good one of Tim and I.

The family shot!

2010 Jingle Bell 5K

2010-12-06T06:22:00.003-06:00

This past Saturday was a HUGE day in the Mach household! It was RACE DAY!!! There was a local 5K Jingle Bell race for the Arthritis Foundation so the Mach family decided to participate!!!

Here's Tyson ready to run his Tot Trot race. He was so excited to have a real race number,"Just like Mommy".

And they're off!!!! Tyson did great, stayed on his feet and ran as fast as he could!

Here he comes across the finish line!!! He finished and said "I won!!! I ran fast like a super hero!"

Emma got to race too! Her first REAL running race! Emma particpated in the 1 mile Santa Chase race!

There so goes! She started off REALLY fast!!! Mommy had a hard time keeping up behind her!

Emma was pretty tired by the end of her mile!! I told her to chase me to the end and see if she could catch me. I am so proud of her. She wanted to stop and walk, but she DIDN'T! She ran the entire mile in 10:08!!!

She made it and she was EXHAUSTED!

Gettin' a ride from the finish line back to Daddy!

For all her efforts, Emma got 1ST PLACE in her age/sex division! Can you believe it? I am not sure I have ever had a more proud moment in my life! Emma is already talking about our next race and how she is going to do the next one all by herself!

What a great day for our family! Thanks to Tim for being the photographer for the day and for supporting the three of us in our running pursuits!

By the way, I ran the 5K race in 32:37...not my fastest time, but a good time for me. It was my first run as a part of Team Vaughn Forest as well! Team Vaughn Forest is a ministry that our church has started! It is a bunch of endurance athletes who go out and compete in God's name and to share our love for God with others! Our team motto "Look to Jesus, Endure the Race"is taken from Hebrews 12:1 which is the same scripture that has been hanging on my fridge for the past two years! Weight loss and looking better in clothes is an added bonus to my fitness and healthy journey of the past two years but the real motivators have been about being a good role model for my kids and for being able to be the best servant for God that I can! I was able to see both goals come to fruition today! It was a blessed day indeed!

Tyson's thanksgiving feast

2010-12-02T06:44:00.002-06:00

So as I am downloading my camera I am realizing I have not been taking many pictures at all!!! I do have a few to keep you all updated however so here we go!!

Tyson has adjusted VERY well to his new preschool and he even got to participate in the class feast!!! The kids were busy that morning making Native American tee shirts, getting face painted, and having Chapel. Then after chapel I got to go up to his room and participated in their class feast! It was quite a feast indeed! Tyson is on the right hand side of the picture with the rest of his classmates!

Here's my little Indian. He looks pretty tired, must have been a busy day!

Here's Tyson and his best friend Gavin praying before the feast begins!

Tyson with his new teacher Ms. Thomas. Ms. Thomas is AWESOME and LOVES Tyson with all her heart! I couldn't have asked for a better teacher for Tyson. So loving ,but also not willing to let Tyson use his good looks and quick sense of humor to get out of things! Ms. Thomas has caught onto his personality very quickly and they are a great team! Tyson is learning to write is letters and can actually do a few on his own now! Tyson also gets to have music class and PE several times a week with an actual music and PE teacher. Tyson is excited about gonig to school again and he is LOVING his new class, teacher, and classmates. Amazing thing are happening for Tyson at Frazer Memorial Kindergarten and I am SO THANKFUL to have found such a great environment for him to be in!

As for the rest of us...I was not able to get to Emma's Thanksgiving festivities as they were at the same time as Tyson's, but Emma was VERY concerned that I go to Tyson's since "he is in a new school and you need to meet his friends". What a great heart my Emma girl has! The trade off is that I am hoping I can make it to BOTH kids Christmas festivities, but if not I will be sure to make it to Emma's. Especially since Emma will be leaving her current school after the Christmas break to begin attending Trinity Presbyterian School in January! We are so blessed to have gotten Emma into such an amazing Christian school and we are excited to see Emma blossom in her new educational environment!!!

On Thanksgiving Day our family was again so blessed to have many invitations for fellowship with friends which I was glad to accept so I didn't have to cook :)!!!! We ended up going down the street to our friends the Head's house. The Heads have four kids all of which are around our kids ages. The Heads are also the family that introduced us to Vaughn Forest Church which we are so unbelievably thankful for!!! The Heads also had family in town, but it was a great gathering and we felt like part of the Head family for a few hours. It was great!!! The food was amazing, but more important was the time we got to spend with friends during this season!

Pics of kid

2010-11-19T06:31:00.005-06:00

Just thought I would throw up some new pictures of the kids! Our family has been through some tough decisions as of late, but it has really bonded us all together. LIFE. IS. GOOD!!!

Tyson has been complaining about being cold after baths and FINALLY I was able to find a robe his size...a greeen dinosaur one at that! Amazing how he LOVES to take baths now!
Tyson is a boy everyone...and Yes he has entered the phase where he turns EVERYTHING into a gun! Not sure where he has picked this up since we don't let him watch TV or games with guns...must be a boy thing.
What a handsome guy. Tyson has really grown up lately. He is speaking in very clear and coherent sentences. He all of a sudden has his own opinion and likes to voice it and he is absolutely hilarious! Love this kid! Some of our big decisions have revolved around Tyson. Tyson was attending the preschool at our church during the week and was havnig TONS of confusion about church vs. sunday school vs. wed bible study, etc so when we got the opportunity to move him to a new (and honestly more established) preschool we jumped at the opportunity (OK, there were tears shed, headaches, and lots of prayer involved with the jumping). Tyson has made a fabulous transition to his new program and he LOVES "submarine school". There is a huge play submarine in the lobby at his new school. Ms. Thomas is his new teacher and now Tyson goes to school five days a week. Needless to say I have LOTS more time to volunteer at Emma's school now and to get errands run childless! I do miss my little cuddle buddie though!

Emma, oh my Emma...growing up so fast! As you can see Emma's hair is now long enough to wear in pig tails!

This one's for you Nana...I know you like to see Emma in her school uniform. Don't worry Nana we fixed the socks before she got on the bus!

So who does Emma look like in this picture...Again her har is now long enough to wear in a heaadband. Emma is just loving this new hair freedom.

So I said that we have been struggling through some tough decisions...Tyson's schooling was one. Emma's schooling is the second. As we all know Emma is very intelligent and she is WAY beyond the material she is being taught at the public school she is at so Tim and I have been looking at other options for schooling for Emma. Especially if we end up staying here in Montgomery (I'll get to this part in a minute) we would LOVE to get Emma in a more nuturing and challenging academic environment. We thought maybe the magnet schools might be the best option, but are now leaning towards a private Christian school for her. Tim and I will actually be touring our first choice of private school for her today! Please pray that we can feel what direction we should be moving with Emma in the area of her schooling!

The last big decision we have been struggling with in our house is in regards to our future over the next few years. Tim has been told that a HUGE portion of his ACSC class here in AL will end up getting assignments to the Pentagon after graduation. After some discussion Tim and I came to the conclusion that this would not be a healthy move for our family so we started looking at ways to avoid the Pentagon assignment. One way is to volunteer to stay here in Montgomery, AL for another two to three years so Tim can become an ACSC instructor!. WE are actually REALLY enjoying life here in AL so we prayed about it and decided to put our names in for the instructor position. It is looking VERY good that we will get this assignment. It is looking so good that we have started moving forward with building a new home just down the road from where we are currently renting. The builders said we can move forward, pick our lot, design, etc with a contingency on our contract that if we don't get orders to stay here that we will lose NO money in the dealings! So we figured we had nothing to lose! www.lowdernewhomes.com is the company we are building with and we have a lot at the back of a cul de sac in the Woodland Creek neighborhood. Tim and I are praying we have made the right choice on taking over some control of our future in the Air Force, but the timing seemed so pefect and everyone along the way has agreed and thought it would be great decision for our family so we feel pretty confident! We could use prayers that we do get orders soon so we can give the builders an official "YES" to start building so our house will be ready by the time we need to be out of our rental and that the building process goes smoothly. So as you can see November has been a very important and stressful month for us....we are hoping to have a good tour at the Christian school today and that all our decisions can be made soon so we can relax and enjoy the Christmas holiday!

Alabama Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T21:00:00.003-05:00

Lots of Halloween fun for all...check out our first Halloween in Alabama!

We started off the weekend by carving up our pumpkins....we didn't even make it to the pumpkin patch this year...as a family that is. Emma went to one with her school on a field trip, but with busy schedules as a family we didn't make it this year. Store bought pumpkins worked just fine however!
Tim helped Tyson fine tune the design for Tim's pumpkin!

Then it was snack time for the Bubba! I'm always down for some cuddles so I joined in on snack time as well!

Here's Emma with her masterpiece...other than part of the mouth she drew and carved her pumpkin all by herself!

Here's Tyson's final product. He told me what shapes to use for the parts of the face and I cut it out.

What a handsome looking Batman! The original mask that came with this costume did not fit...apparently Tyson has a big head, but we found another mask that fit perfectly!!! Tyson was showing us his superhero moves all night!

My pretty mermaid. Emma is Merliah from the Barbie and a Mermaid Tale movie. She was freaking Tim and I out with the long haired wig. A bit of foreshadowing to future hairstyles I have a feeling! She LOVED having long hair!

Some good lookin' kids, I'd say!

We attempted a family picture and look IT TURNED OUT GREAT!!!! It has been a long time since our last family picture and was a reminder to me to schedule family pictures very soon!!!

We had a really great Halloween! Met up with TONS of friends from the neighborhood and went door to door in a huge HERD!!! We just did our little neighborhood pod, but the kids got more candy than they could eat in a year I think! Such a great night and great memories if our first Halloween in Alabama!

Fall activities

2010-10-30T20:47:00.004-05:00

So here I am making an effort to do more frequent updates on what we have been up to! Check out all our fun times!!!

I just love taking close ups of my kids...they are so beautiful. Here's Emma in her new bike helmet the day after her 6th birthday!

What a handsome kid! Love those big blue eyes!

So we've been so busy lately we are all wiped out from all the fun. Festivals, good times with friends, parties at school, etc, etc...always leads to some good cuddles on Mommy!

Here's the birthday girl on her new bike. We let her pick it out and of course she picks the pink one with bows and the princess/ballerina helmet that matches!!!

Tyson had outgrown his bike too so while we were at it we got Tyson a new yellow Monster truck big boy bike and new green helmet!

Tyson's all dressed up for his fall festival party at the YMCA. He got to do fun Halloween activities while mommy worked out. That doesn't seem like a fair trade some how :)!

My little helper! Tyson hates a messy front porch so he took it upon himself to sweep up the leaves for me!

Just a little tease of the fun we will have tomorrow on Halloween!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures....stayed tuned for a special Halloween update soon!!!

2010-10-24T19:45:00.003-05:00

6 years ago on October 22nd, 2004 God sent Tim and I a very special package. Emma Sahr Mach was brought into this world just after 7pm and God knew exactly what he was doing when he delivered Emma into our lives....The arrival of Emma has been one of the hardest thing in our lives to deal with (her GI issues, Tim's deployments, my post partum depression, etc), but also one of the most rewarding and enriching experience of all time! It was through Emma's arrival that Tim and I came to realize we would not survive the worlds of parenting and marriage alone and we quickly learned how much we needed God's strength, mercy and guidance to help us build our family into a strong Christian unit!! Thank you God for providing Tim and I such an intelligent, caring, beautiful, and unique little girl! We are not worthy of her love, but we are so honored you chose us to be her parents!!

As promised...here are some pictures from Princess Emma's 6th birthday party!!!

Taryn Head and Emma waiting at the nail salon to start their Princess adventure!!!
Taryn, Devynn, Emory, and Emma watching princess movies while getting their toe and finger nails painted!

More salon fun!

Emma's all glammed up. Sparkle finger nail polish with pink and white flowers!!

Princess Emma after her salon make over!

With her balloons!

The whole princess court! Rylie, Emma, Emory, Libby, Devynn, Elle, Rian, and Taryn! Emma has made such good girl friends here in Montgomery!!! What a special group of girls!

After the nail salon we headed out to dinner. At the restaurant it was "character dinner nite" and the character of the night happened to be princesses!! Guess the fairy godmother might have had something to do with that one! Emma was so excited to see the "real" princesses. Belle even sang Emma a personal birthday song!!!

The restaurant gave Emma a birthday treat as well!!! Fried ice cream with a little whipped topping on the nose :)!!!

Emma and Princess Jasmine.

Emma with all the princesses that were at the restaurant!!

Emma with her Princesses and her princess friends!

The night got a bit longer than planned so we didn't get to open presents until the next morning! Emma is one very blessed (and spoiled) little girl! Thank you all who were involved, sent well wishes, and gifts! Emma was princess for the day, but she will be a princess in our hearts for the rest of our lives!!!

Fall time in Alabama

2010-10-21T12:52:00.006-05:00

Here's a quick wrap up of what we have been up to the past few weeks!

Emma had picture day at school so she was able to wear "normal" clothes and not he uniform!! Here is she is with her friend Rian who also goes to Emma's school.
Here's my beautiful girl on picture day!

We had a day off of school a few weeks ago so we decided to head up t Birmingham and go to the McWane Science Museum. This is our second trip up there and we LOVED it just as much as the first time! New exhibits, great learning opportunities, etc!

Here's Tyson using his muscles to learn about gravity!

Emma's flexing her muscles too during a tug o war!

One of the best exhibits at the Science museum is the shark tank. You can actually pet the sharks as they swim by. Emma was all about touching them...Tyson on the other hand prefered to watch from farther away!

Emma and I have found a new hobby we can do together! Here we are before our first run together. On her first attempt, Emma made it .7 miles, with a quick water break, then out again for another .25!

The next time we went out (in our matching headbands) Emma made it the entire 1 mile without stopping! I am trying to find a 1 mile kids race she can do soon!!!

Here's my handsome boy, doing what he does best...hamming it up!

Pretty girl!

The other weekend was the Alabama National Fair. How does this differ from the State Fair...well from what we gathered is that the focus is more on the rides and games and less on the agriculture and animals. The kids had a great time though. Here's Emma with her friend Devynn on the Merry Go Round.

Daddy and Tyson on the Merry Go Round too!

They even had kids sized rides the kids could do on their own. Here's Emma and Tyson on the Kiddie Scrambler!

Of course Tyson found a monster truck to admire!

One of the best fair rides ever...THE SLIDE!!!

This fall, so far, has been filled with lots of time outside and doing fun activities with our friends! We have made some really great friends here in Alabama and are enjoying the time we have together!

Emma is doing well in school. She is a bit bored with the material, as we expected, but she is keeping herself busy with helping other children and doing her Grade 1 workbook to stay challenged! Her reading is great and she LOVES spending time with her books! Emma is continuing with dance and gymnastics and is excelling in both! We are looking forward to seeing Emma perform her dance this weekend at the local Holiday Market fest!

Tyson is also loving school. He has great teachers and classmates! Tyson is a bit less interested in the academic side of school then Emma was at this age, but his teachers say he is one of the be behaved and most caring kids in the class. I very proud of how well he has adapted to going to school considering how much of a homebody he is!!!

Tim is busy busy busy in his books. He just started a new unit which adds lots of readings and he now has to learn a new language as well!! All the students have to take a language and Tim chose to take Russian! Lots of work, but it will be fun to hear him talk!!!

I am busy with my workouts of course. Tim and I recently bought road bikes and we have both been enjoying our new form of exercise! We have actually gone on a few biking date nights as well!!! Love having a form of exercise I can share with Tim and I also love that he has found some exercise that he can do to stay healthy without damaging his fake hip!!!

All is well here in Alabama with the Mach family! I hope to get more blog entries up soon!!! The next one will be of Emma's princess themed birthday party!! The pictures are TO DIE FOR!!! Check back often to get a glimpse of her special day!!!

2010-08-22T09:41:00.004-05:00

Well to carry on the birthday theme here are some more pictures of Tyson's birthday festivities! AND Tyson's first day at his new Mother's Day Out program here in Alabama! Enjoy!

Emma made it very clear that she wanted to pick out a present for Tyson all on her own this year. She got him a shake and go Buzz Lightyear Rocketship!
Tim and I stayed on the dinosaur theme and got him a new dinosaur playset!

AND.... ??????

A new Jeep!!!!

Tyson was very kind and took Emma out for a ride right away!

And they are off!!!! Lots of motorized fun in our circle these days! The kids love to chase each other and they have only had one "accident" so far. Tyson rear ended Emma...OOOPS!

So now that Tyson is officially three years old we figured it was time for him to get back into "school". Here is Tyson and Tim on Tyson's first day at his new Mother's Day Out program. He goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9-1. His teachers are Ms. Amy and Ms. Stonie and he has 9 boys and 3 girls in his class! His program is at the same church we are attending while we are here in Montgomery....Vaughn Forest Baptist Church!

Mommy's turn with my big boy! Yeah I know I don't look cute, but it was very early still!

Tyson was more than ready to head to school. He especially wanted to make sure I allowed him to carry his new Lightening McQueen lunch box!

Walking to his class room!

We set his bag out in the hallway before he heads into his class room. Juice is out ready for snack!

On the first day Tyson walked right in and started playing! He did great. His teachers love him and say he is VERY intelligent for being the youngest one in his class! The second and third days he fussed when I dropped him off, but the teachers said his fuss lasted for a few minutes then he was great the rest of the day!! This has been a big adjustment for us all, but we all seem to be doing ok with it!!! I have been busy filling up the time Tyson is at school with workouts, but hope to soon find a bible study on one of the days he is in school as well!

This picture isn't really related, but thought it was cute! Tyson LOVES his new firetruck that he got at his dinosaur party and he spends lots of time pretending he is putting out fires around the house!

So I think we are caught up on blog updates now! We have had a busy few months and now are finally getting into a routine of life! We are happy to be here in Montgomery and we will be making the most of it while we are here. We have lots of adventures schedule already so keep coming back for pictures of our ACSC night at the Biscuits baseball game, neighborhood luau, neighborhood movie nights, etc!!!

3 years ago on August 18th...

2010-08-19T08:04:00.005-05:00

The most perfect and beautiful baby boy came into this world and we were lucky enough that he landed in our family! At a little after midnight on August 18th, 2007 Tyson James Mach was born. Lucky enough to be born on his Great Grandma Gerry's birthday we knew Tyson was gonig to be a very special boy from the very moment we saw him!! What a joy the past three years have been with Tyson in our lives!!!

Tyson James Mach at 30 minutes old!
Emma with her new baby brother! I can not believe she was so little!

And here he is now! Tyson is a hysterical kid and is ALWAYS smiling!! He has his fussy moments for sure, but is very them VERY quickly! Tyson has been a true blessing to our family!

Silly Tyson and proud Mommy at Tyson's 3rd birthday party! Tyson wanted two things for his party. To go bowling and to have blue dinosaurs! After some searching on the internet we made both happy for my little man!

Here's Tyson's blue T-Rex birthday cake. He was SO excited.

Tyson loved having everyone sing to him. He even danced as we sang!

Tyson showing me his blue tongue. When I asked him what part of the dinosaur he wanted to eat he said emphatically "THE HEAD"....so I gave him the entire head! All he ate was the blue and green frosting off the top is his tongue was very blue by the end of his piece!

Tyson with his proud sister! Emma loves her baby brother so much and is very protective and "instructive" with him!

Tyson getting some bowling done!!! Love the cheesy smile you silly boy!

Of course Emma found the only pink bowling ball in the entire building!

Emmah as become very close with a little girl who lives down the street from us. Taryn and Emma started their own dance party out on the bowling area during the party! It was very cute to see the two girls twirling and dancing together! I am so happy Emma has found such a good friend that she has so much in common with!

Time for pizza!!!

Our party area...lots of new and old friend were able to come celebrate Tyson's special day with us!

Lavelle, Jaiden, and Erika live across the cul de sac from us! Jaiden is three as well!

George, Mike, Allie, Whitney, and Brooke Berens. We knew the Beren's way back in North Dakota and they are now stationed here in Alabama! It was SOO good to see them and to meet the girls who were born after Tim and I left North Dakota!

Truett and Jason Brown. The Brown's were with us in Oklahoma and they are now here in Alabama doing the same school that Tim is going through!

What a glorious day August 18th is, was, and always will be in our lives! God delivered an amazing gift to the world on that day and I am so proud to be the parent that gets to take care of that gift. Tyson is such an amazingly loving and caring child. He is able to lift any situation into laughter and is always ready to give hugs and snuggles! Bless you God for entrusting such an amazing being to Tim and I. He is a true blessing in every way!

2010-08-16T07:38:00.002-05:00

Last Monday was a VERY big day in our house! Emma started KINDERGARTEN!!!! Emma was very excited. Mommy and Daddy were a bit nervous! Tyson was sad to lose his playmate!

My beautiful Kindergartener!!!!
Emma goes to Blount Elementary, which is in the Montgomery Public School system, but she does have to wear a "uniform". Khaki or navy bottems and red, white, or navy polos on top! Emma has been picking out all sorts of fun accesssories to liven up the outfits as well! This day she even wore her new running shoes that she says "look just like my mommy's!"

Emma and proud Daddy waiting for the bus on the first day!

Mommy's turn for a picture with her big Kindergartener!

Outside waiting patiently!

Picture with our friends from down the street! Conner (white polo) goes to school with Emma and he is in the 1st grade. Taryn will go to school at the same program Tyson will go! It's so fun to have kids the same ages so close in the neighborhood!

The Mach kids!

Emma with her new backpack and lunch bag! Emma rides the bus to and from school. It is VERY convenient that the bus stops right in front of our house! Literally at the end of our driveway!

Uh oh...Tyson just realized 1) that he is losing his playmate for the day and 2) that he does not get to ride on the bus. Not sure which fact was more upsetting!

So Emma came off the bus bounding and screming that she had an awesome day! She got lost trying to find her classroom the first day, but by day 2 had it all figured out! Her teacher, Ms. Myrick, seems really nice and Emma is excited to see what all she is gonna get to learn about this year! Thank goodness Emma's transition to a new school went so smoothly! I only pray Tyson's first day (8/16) goes 1/2 as smoothly! I'll keep ya updated!

2010-08-14T21:20:00.005-05:00

So a few weeks ago Tim and I looked at each other and said "We are so close to the beach lets get down there before Emma starts school". We were hoping to meet up with our friends the Rivards, but a case of pink eye prevented that, but we still headed down to Panama City the following week to check out what Panacity Beach had to offer! We stayed at the very family friendly Holiday Inn and we all had a great time!

My beautiful mermaid, Emma! Emma has been to the beach before when we visited our friends the Ryans in Pensacola a few years ago, but she doesn't remember it so it was like her first beach trip all over again!
Golly she's getting too old for her own good. Who does she think she is striking a pose? :)!

Mommy and the kids enjoying the sand and surf!

Daddy and kids building a lagoon!

Tim sitting at the splash park with the BEAUTIFUL scenery behind him . It really was a beautiful sight! One I could get use to if it wasn't so blasted hot!

Again with the posing. Emma enjoying the hotel splash park!

Tyson was hesitant in the ocean at first, but he got used to it and the second day jumped right in!

Hello handsome boy!

The boys standing on a sand bar that was about 50 feet out from the edge of the surf! Kids had TONS of fun in the waves!

Girls time on the sand bar!

Emma spent lots of time looking for seashells! We found lots of little ones and they were all sorts of colors!

The kids at the hotel pool! The best part of the pool??? The showed a movie at night and you could swim and watch the movie. Our room overlooked the pool so we sat out on our balcony and watched "Bees".

More time on the sandbar!

Tyson is my contemplative child! He had been sitting for a while, just taking in the scenery!

Thank you to the Rivards for the push to get to the beach! Sorry we missed seeing you there, but sure enjoyed your recommendation of hotels! We had lots to do and could have stayed longer. We have a list of things to do the next time we head to the beach!!! We also wanna try out other beaches in the area as well now that we know the kids enjoy going there!!!

2010-08-12T19:37:00.005-05:00

So what has the Mach family been up to here in Alabama you ask?? Well let me show you...these pictures are not in chronological order, but you can get a good idea of what our life is like here in the deep south!

During the day it is VERY HOT AND HUMID so the kids don't evcen want to play outside. It is a good thing we have a very large playroom in the back of the house just for them! They have been playing very well together as well which is always nice. After dinner is when we usually head out to the back yard or to the cul de sac to play with our friends. We have made lots of friends in our neighborhood and we almost always have someone outside to play with in the evenings!
While inside during the day Mommy is always sure to get some snuggles in!

Like I said Emma and Tyson have been getting along very well lately! As long as Emma gets to be the Mommy, Teacher, or some other type of person who is in charge :)!

Tyson was scared during a movie we were watching and Emma came over to comfort him! She is the best big sister ever!

NEWS FLASH!!! Tyson started gymnastics this past week! Yes he is in a class ALL BY HIMSELF and he does great! The other boys (a boys only class) are older than him, but Coach Ken said he is the best of kids at Tyson's age that he has ever seen! It was VERY weird to see him out there without me though! He is getting so big so fast!! PS NEWS FLASH...on the note of getting too big too fast...Tyson is officiall potty trained during the day! Whoo hoo!!!

Tyson showing off his skills on the rings!

Emma and Tyson were playing mommy gorilla and baby gorilla and I was the zoo keeper. Tyson kept falling out of his nest and getting ouchies...The zoo keeper had to bandage him up...ALOT!

In the kids' playroom we put Emma's desk so now they can play school and do arts and crafts together!

Tyson chillin' watching some Sesame Street!

Some after dinner fun with the sprinkler! This is in our front yard looking at the cul de sac that is on the side of our front yard!

LOVE the garden tub in our bathroom. Big enough for both kids, but Emma often prefers to take "big girl"showers now days!

Hello beautiful!

What a handsome boy!

Being silly in the computer room in shirts the kids got from Uncle Greg and Auntie Bizzie!

BIG MO and the kids at the Montgomery Biscuits baseball game. Yes they are really called the Montgomery Biscuits...game was fun, but next time we need to bring some friends along to entertain the kids! We only made it 5 innings before Tyson was ready to go home!

Ready for a baseball game!

So as you can see we have been keeping busy! Life has really changed in the past week and I will show more of that in upcoming blog entries in the next few days, but here is a preview. Emma started kindergarten on Monday. Tim started his classes on Monday and Tyson starts his preschool program next Monday. Talk about an emotional few weeks for mommy. Ugh...oh well we are getting into a routine and things are running smoothly so far so....LIFE IS GOOD! Come back for more updates in the coming days!

Our God Is In Control

2010-08-08T22:39:00.001-05:00

Today, my first born will begin her academic career. This shouldn't be as hard as it is for me, considering Emma went to full day 5 day a week PreK last year, but this year she is going to a school I know very little about with people I know very little about. I feel as if I am sending her into the unknown without much protection. The only way I will get through this week is knowing that God is in control of EVERYTHING and that God is with Emma as she navigates through her new world! Please pray for strenght and courage for Emma as she begins this new adventure!

2010-07-23T19:29:00.006-05:00

OK, here we go!! This blog entry might qualify for a world record...lots to catch up on!!! We are getting settled in our new house in Alabama, but I need to tell you about all our adventures during the trainsition time from Oklahoma to Alabama before I can share pictures of the new house! While Tim was in OK the kids and I flew back to Minnesota to spend time with my family and to get away from the chaos of moving! Well as soon as we got to MN Tim called to tell us someone in the Air Force canceled our movers so Tim was going to have to pack up the entire house (by himself mind you since I am in MN) and rent a Uhaul and drive it himself to Alabama! He did it, with help from lots of great friends, Jim and Kathy Mach, and my dad, and after blowing a tire in Mississippi, he finally made it to Alabama! Meanwhile the kids and I were having all sorts of grand adventures in Minnesota. Check out our fun!

Before my dad took off to help Tim in Oklahoma he took the kids and I to the Como Zoo! The kids had so much fun Nana and I had to take them back again the next week!! Here they are reliving our North Dakota days with the buffalo!
I was convinced that Tyson was gonna freak out on this ride, but BOTH the kids LOVED it!!! The smiles on their faces says it all!

My pretty Emma!!!

Emma with the belly dancer at the "belly dancing restaurant". Emma got up and danced with her and even got a personal lesson!

Back to the Como Zoo for the second time. This time we took Nana through the botanical gardens. Emma liked this flower because it was pink!

Tyson had fun, but didn't like the mist so much in the tropical forest part!

Tyson is patiently waiting for a butterfly to land on him in the butterfly garden! The butterfly garden at Como Zoo is very different from the one we took the kids to at the Mall of America during Christmas break. The ones at the Como Zoo didn't really land on people. The kids sat for a while waiting, but finally gave up!

Emma sat still enough to get some butterflies to get close to her!!!

Highlight of the day for Tyson...riding on the merry go round!

Emma had a good time too.

Getting in some sibling cuddles after naptime at Auntie and Uncles house! The kids did great with sharing a room and asked if they could do it forever in the new house. That was quickly denied by mommy! They had fun while it lasted though!

My pretty girl! Emma did so good on this trip! She usually gets stressed out and overwhelmed with traveling, but she did great on this trip!!! So proud of my big girl!

Couldn't get Tyson to smile so they all decided to role and stick out their tongues!!

Tyson being a monkey as always!

Nana is enjoying having the grandkids around!

Uh Oh...Smore face!

Tyson didn't like the whole Smore adventure. He was more interested in just the melted marshmellows!

Auntie and Uncle at the parade.

Tyson and me on the bumblebee ride at the Eagan 150th birthday festival!

Emma went on the berry ride all by herself!

Uncle and Tyson about to start the Bumper Cars!

This was Tyson's favorite ride and he went on it about three times I think. Not only did it involved race cars, but the track went up and down. He was in race car heaven!

The kids and I taking a rest at the festival!

Emma is clearly faster than Auntie, Tyson and I on the Fun Slides! She won by a landslide!

Emma and Tyson at the Eagan birthday parade. It was a great parade, but didn't realize it would last for almost two hours! It got long, but it also got very HOT!!! We were all beat (and the adults were pretty sunburned) by the end of it all!

Emma looking beautiful on the 4th of July!

Emma and Tyson with Auntie and Uncle on the 4th of July!

The kids on the 4th of July!

Our first few days here in Alabama have been an adjustment for sure. The kids are enjoying the fact that they can play outside in the rain however. When it rains in Alabama there isn't always a threat of a tornado like there is in OK so they can now enjoy the rain instead of being scared of it!

My handsome boy! He picked out this hat while we were shopping one day. I had to buy it for him since it made him look so grown up!!!

So as you can see the kids and I had a great time while we were in Minnesota! Just wish I could have been in both places and had been able to help Tim move our belongings across the country! I can't believe the amount of work he had to do to get us here and to get our house in working order before the kids and I arrived in Alabama!! He did an amazing job and not having to put the kids through the stress of moving makes his efforts even more valueable to me! Now stay tuned for more pictures of our life in Alabama in a few days!!!

Greetings from ALABAMA!!

2010-07-08T07:58:00.002-05:00

So after two weeks of "vacation" the kids and I have finallly arrived at our new home in Montgomery, Alabama!!! I still need to find the box with the camera cable in it to download pictures, but wanted to let you know we are all here safely and together as a family again! More updates to come soon!

Last entry from OK

2010-06-21T16:12:00.002-05:00

This will be my last blog entry from Oklahoma. Over three and a half years ago we drove into Altus, OK wondering what in the world God had gotten us into by bringing us to southwest Oklahoma. Wow has he amazed us with his plans!!! During our 3 1/2 years+ here in Altus our family has been through a lot; good, bad, happy, sad, and all of it life changing for the better. Our family is a better family because of our time here in Altus and that is mostly due to the great people we have met here. The time has come however that is it time to move on to new adventures and experiences. We will miss ol' Altus, OK and Altus will always have a special place in our hearts. Thank you to the people of Altus for your hospitatlity and love while we were a part of your community!

Our good friends the Rivards threw us a going away BBQ last night and it was truly wonderful to have such great friends gathered in one place for one more gathering!!! We had to get a picture of the kids so in years to com we can look back and see how much the kids have grown!
Here's Tyson with his best friend Ross!! There is no doubt that Tyson will miss having Ross around to play with!!!

My pretty girl!!! She is sad to be leaving Altus, mostly because she thinks we will never see her friends again. She is VERY excited about getting to MN then onto AL however to see what new adventures lay ahead for us all!!!

So we say "see ya later" Altus and all the great friends we have made here!! We can not say goodbye as there is a pretty good chance at least Tim will be back for training at some point. We have been treated well here in Altus and we will miss the quiet, safe and laid back atmosphere that we have learned to love!!! We have also made some of the best friends of our lives here so we wish you all well and I hope our paths cross again very soon!!! Thank you for 3 1/2 really good years....God's speed to you all!

Update 3of3-Tim's fini flight

2010-06-12T15:49:00.006-05:00

What is a "fini flight" you ask? Well the Air Force has a tradition that when you leave an assignment to go to a new assignment that does not include flying the plane you currently are aassigned to fly, you have one last "fini flight" before you leave! Tim had his Altus Air Force Base "fini flight" on Thursday and it was quite the celebration! The best part of the tradition is that the family of the pilot gets to be very involved in the ending of the flight! Check it out!

Here's my handsome Tyson waiting on the unairconditioned bus for Tim's airplane to arrive!
Emma's being very patient waiting for Daddy!

Here comes Daddy's airplane. This truly might be the last flight that Tim ever has in the KC-135! It has been a wonderful plane to our family and I know Tim will miss flying it if he doesn't go back to it after our time in Alabama!

The grounds crew was very sweet and they let Emma "marshal" in Tim's plane. This means Emma got to direct Tim's plane to the correct parking spot!! She did great!!! She was thrilled to play such a big part in Daddy's last flight!

Here's Emma telling Tim to stop the plane and that he is in his parking spot!!! Good job Emma!!! Thanks to the crew for letting Emma take part!!!

The other huge part of the "fini flight" tradition is that the leaving crew member(s) get doused in liquids when the exit the airplane. The kids were practicing on how they are gonna spray down daddy when he comes out!!!

Ready for him to come!! Col. Thomas (Altus Air Force Base Wing Commander) helped Tyson spray and our good friend Shane Haney helped Emma spray!!!

And BOY did they have good aim!!! They got Tim soaked down to his britches!!! Good shootin' kids!

Wet daddy with the kids!!! Tyson did not like everyone ELSE shooting Daddy with things. He wanted to be the only one shooting!!! Sorry buddy, not how the tradition goes!

Great picture of Jason Brown, Col. Thomas, and Tim. Jason and Tim were Executive Officers for Col. Thomas and both Jason and Tim are headed to Alabama for the honor of attending Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), due, in part, to the efforts of Col. Thomas!!!

Our family in front of the KC-135!!! Thank you KC-135 world for a wonderful 10+ years!! If we don't return to the KC-135 world, you will never be forgotten!! You have given us many UNFORGETTABLE memories and friends!!!

So our time here in Altus is starting to dwindle down and is becoming very imminent with ceremonies and traditions such as the "fini flight". We have less than two weeks before the kids and I will leave Altus and it will be a very sad day when we do. Both Tim and I feel like Altus is as close to "home" as we have ever had in our Air Force career so far and it will be very hard to leave the quiet, safe, and spiritually dedicated environment that we have found here in Altus! Altus has helped our family become a very strong and steady unit in many ways; spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally, etc. It is scary to leave and test the new skills we have developed outside of the world of Altus, but we are ready for the challenge so....ready or not Alabama, here we come!!

Update 2of3: End of School

2010-06-12T15:32:00.004-05:00

We had a busy week the third week in May. Both kids finished up their school years!! Emma finished up her wonderful year of PreK at Navajo Elementary and Tyson finished up his year of Mother's Day Out at the First Methodist Church of Altus!! Both schools have been amazing to my children and I am indebted to them for giving the kids such a great introduction to the world of formal education.

Here is Emma with her friends Kourtni, Cambre, Abby, and Ally. The last day of school for Emma was a "fun day" full of outside games, jumpy houses, and a picnic!
Here's Emma with her teacher's aide Nana B and Mrs. McCombs, Emma's PreK teacher!

Some family cuddles after the last day of school for Emma!

Here's Tyson showing off his reading skills. He will sit and talk about the pictures in books. His favorite book....the bible and anything about dinosaurs!

Tyson's ready for his last day at Mother's Day Out!! What a handsome boy!

Here's Tyson with his teachers, Ms. Cori and Ms. Lois! They were great with Tyson and taught him more than I could ever imagine a 2 year old could know!

After Tyson's last day of school they had PreK graduation at Tyson's school. Tyson got to participate by singing songs at the beginning of the program!!! Well let's just say, Tyson is full of personality, but he does not like being in front of large crowds. Almost immediately Tyson got shy and hiding behind his arms on the stage, then got upset when the music started and he started to cry. It was a good program...just wish Tyson would have participated. He ended up sitting on the floor on my lap, singing all the songs and doing all the hand motions!!!

During our time in Altus, OK we have been truly blessed by the great education that the kids have received. Emma started at Mother's Day Out then graduated to a real elementary school. When she got to Navajo she was FULLY prepared for the challenges of PreK that faced her. She did great and is reading full books completely by herself, is doing simple math, has learned much about the world of science and continues to be very musical and theatrical. She has gained self confidence and is much more outgoing than ever before! Tyson also thrived and got a great start in the world of education! He has gone from clinging to me when I dropped him off at school to running in and discussing the day with his teachers without even looking back. He has learned to sing many wonderful songs, knows his shapes, colors, and even a few numbers and letters!! Thank you Altus for giving my kids such a great educational start to their lives!

Update 1of3-Summer fun

2010-06-12T11:55:00.006-05:00

Holy Moly this summer is going fast!!! I blinked and it has been a month since my last blog update!!! So I have lots to update I guess. This entry will include all things related to what we have been up to since school has gotten out. All the fun we've been having!!!

Dressing up and dancing around the house is a favorite pastime of both the kids!!! They are very good dancers and Emma has been patient in teaching Tyson some of the things she has learned in dance class!!!
My pretty princess!
Last week a group of us drove to Lawton and at the Army Post (Ft. Sill) they have a huge playground area and a splash park. It was a great morning and it cooled everyone off from the horribly hot weather we have been having! Not only do we have the heat this year, there is also a rare amount of humidity added into the mix as well!! The water sure felt good!

Love this picture...more so love that the kids really do love each other and get along very well...most of the time!!!

Tyson loves the water and couldn't wait to get at it as soon as we arrived!!!

OK so not sure what the fascination is with water on the butt, but I caught both kids in action!!!

Like I said the kids really do get along...well enough to even attempt a game of baseball in the backyard!!! They both are very good athletes so it was fun to watch them play!

Good throw buddy!
There is no denying Emma is a daddy's girl!!! Here's Tim and Emma during a bowling lunch date at the bowling alley on base! Mr. Cheesy Smile is in full effect on this day.

The slip and slide a HUGE this this year!!! Both kids are finally old enough to actually run and slide!!! Emma goes so fast she usually slide right off the end!

More summer fun...what's more fun that shooting your brother in the stomach with a water gun!!! Don't worry he loves every minute of it!

Emma has been little Miss Independant lately. On this day she insisted on doing her own ponytails!!! Not bad for a first try I thought!

More dancing around the house!!

So as you can see we have been busy busy busy and life is about to get even more busy. In less than two weeks the kids and I will board an airplane to Minnesota. This will be our last moments in Oklahoma because while we are in Minnesota Tim will be in Oklahoma working with the movers and packers to get our belongings loaded on a moving truck and delivered to our new house in Montgomery, Alabama!! On July 6th kids and I will then fly to Birmingham, Alabama to start our new life in AL!!! Please pray all the travels and move goes well and that we can all be patient and udnerstand with each other during this stressful time!