Some Computer Nerds

HELP!  James is turning the boys into computer nerds!  Recently, he discovered a computer game where you build houses, train tracks along with the tools required to build such as pickaxes and shovels.  At first, the boys were content watching him play, but then James showed them how to do it.  This weekend we decided to just relax and hang out before our Summer schedule really picks up.  The boys spent hours playing this game.  We set a timer for 10 minute intervals and they cheerfully took turns. 

Careful, James we don't want them to become like this:

Mommy's Office

When James came home from work last night, Samara was sitting on my lap in the kitchen.  Dinner was cooking on the stove.  Samara pointed to the stove and said, "That's Mommy's office".  Couldn't help but laugh.

Kindergarten Blues

Last night James and I were talking about Malachi starting Kindergarten this Fall.  (my eyes tear up just typing that!)  James asked him if he was excited to go to school.  Malachi replied, "No, because I'll miss you all."  We had to explain to him that he would still come home every day and eat dinner with us.  He sounded a little more excited.

In some respects, I have dreaded the start of the "school years". Once Malachi starts school, Isaiah will be a year behind him and Samara will be 2 years behind that. It seems to me that once this new stage begins, the years will pass by more quickly.  Our nights will be filled with homework and projects. Then before you know it, another school year has passed and they are another year older.

Yes, I know that this is life, but it still is a little sad to begin a new phase and never be able to have these precious years back.  

*Oh, now he's decided that he needs a cell phone so he can call us at school...nice try, buddy, but I think not!*

Stormy Weather

Yesterday and today have been filled with storms.  We were in a high risk area for tornadoes yesterday and in light of the devastating tornado in Joplin, MO this past weekend, I was not going to be ill-prepared. Early in the afternoon I saw our elderly neighbor in her yard and so I went to talk to her to make sure she had a basement.  She didn't so I offered for her to come over if the sirens went off.  A little bit later she came over with 2 bags of water and food to have on hand in the basement just in case.  Before she left, she hugged me and kissed my forehead and said that she loved me.  What a precious lady!  I had already packed a bag with a change of clothes for everyone along with water and snacks and another bag of toys for the kiddos.  Also, I packed the kiddos' Social Security cards and some cash.  A little excessive?  Maybe, but I felt that since we had a long warning for the potential of severe weather, there was no reason to not take it seriously.

In order to accommodate all of us downstairs, I had to move a few things around.  And because Malachi was concerned for George's safety, I brought his kennel down there as well.  I felt that if a tornado came we would be as prepared as we possibly could be.  Malachi and Isaiah had seen the pictures of the Joplin tornado and so I prepped them for the idea of possibly needing to take shelter from a "tomato" as Isaiah calls it.  ALL day they kept asking when it was going to come and if they could go downstairs and eat.  It grew tiring explaining that it MAY come, or it may NOT come, but I was thankful they were taking the situation very seriously.  I am so happy to report that the need to take shelter did not occur.  We had high wind, lots of rain, and some hail, but nothing major.

Today has been a wonderful day of dreary skies and rain.  I had a doctor's appointment first thing this morning and then came home and played with Samara.  James was playing a new computer game; the boys have been obsessed with watching him play it.  Samara brought down her Tinker Bell lawn chair along with her "babies".  We spent quite awhile reading books to them.  Then she requested to watch Iron Man 2 so she laid on the floor watching it on the laptop.  What a combination of girly-girl and tomboy!

She and I just woke up from a glorious nap and I am refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the day.  Oh, and I should probably unpack those bags now =)

Weekend Update

Oh, man, I am ever so ready for some S-L-E-E-P!  Why can I not stop finding projects to do?!?  In preparation of our public Open House this afternoon, I worked from 8:30am-11:00pm yesterday .  I finished up a few things, painted the front porch and then started cleaning the house.  Mind you the house is already clean, but for some unknown reason, I still spend hours cleaning it!  I'm recognizing some OCD in me and it's driving me crazy!    This morning I did some more cleaning before church, worked in the church's nursery and then came home to do the finishing touches on the house (that took 2 1/2 hours!!!)  James was wonderful because he corralled the kiddos so I could concentrate on my tasks.

During the Open House, we, including George, survived hot temperatures and played at the park for 2 hours.  We were so thankful to come back to an air conditioned home!  Before we settled inside, I served all of us a Popsicle on the front porch.  After our treat, we came inside and started watching a movie.  Samara fell asleep in my arms and 2 1/2 hours later we had to keep pestering her before she woke up.  We thought about just letting her sleep, but this mama is tired and I really didn't want her wide awake at a ridiculous time tonight.

Our Realtor said that we had 3 groups come by.  Two groups were neighbors (I love it that our neighbors wait until the Open House to tour it!) and the other one must have been buyers. Time will only tell if they were truly interested. 

I do have to say that getting the house ready to show with 3 kiddos +1 dog is exhausting and I will be ever so thankful when this process is over.  I keep praying over this house that soon the right buyer will come along: one who can truly afford it, one who will love on it, and one who will have many years of wonderful memories in it.  Now we're just waiting for that "one". 

The Doll House

Last Saturday I went to a friend's garage sale while we had our first showing.  We had a wonderful time chatting and when I was getting ready to leave I spotted a Fisher Price doll house.  Samara has a princess castle, but not a doll house.  Each time she is at her cousins, Sofia and Stella, she is mesmerized by the huge doll house they have in their bedroom.  The doll house I found was not as tall, but I thought it would definitely get lots of use from Samara and it was a great deal.  Since this week has been a tad crazy with showings, a broker's Open House, and James' church softball games, I hadn't brought the doll house in for her to play with.

Today was her day, though.  After breakfast, she played with the house for over an hour.  I just observed her interacting with "Mama", "Daddy", and "Gurl" (as Samara pronounces it).  I then got on the floor and played with her.  Of course, Isaiah being Isaiah, needed to also play with us, too.  It's interesting to see the nurturing side of a girl play with dolls and the protecting side of a boy play with dolls.  These characteristics show themselves at such a young age.

Before James left for another softball game, Samara begged him to play dolls with her.  As was the case with Isaiah, he couldn't pretend like girls do.  He immediately had his doll sliding off the roof and doing all sorts of crazy things.  Which, of course, Samara HAD to mimic with her doll.  I sat back and just relished the sweet father/daughter moment. Before long, Samara came and asked me to join them.  I laid down on the floor in the middle of them and started to play.  The Little Mermaid doll was close to my face and Samara went for the doll and accidentally smacked my face with it.  Immediately after I said, "Ouch", she sweetly replied, "Daddy did it!"  James and I busted up laughing. Wow, she is picking up the blaming skills quickly!

I have a feeling that this doll house will bring with it oodles of precious, hilarious moments.  May her days of playing "pretend" be long and happy.

Cute Pics

Here are some pictures I *borrowed* from Easter.

A New Milestone

Malachi learned how to tie his shoes.  He had been attempting for awhile, but today, he wanted to just sit down and keep trying until he did it. That is just one more thing that I will not be needed for =(  But, when we are rushing around the house, trying to get out the door, I must say it will be nice to not be responsible for tying another pair of shoes.  Congrats, Malachi!!!

It's Official

*I wrote this post last week, but Blogspot was having technical difficulties so I am just now posting it*

As of May 9th, our house is on the market.  Two Saturdays ago was a big work day at the Dinkelberries' household.  A good friend agreed to watch Samara for awhile while I cleaned out a side of the garage so that our trailer could be parked inside.  This area has been James' workshop for the past 6 years and oh my what a mess it was!  There was a massive amount of remnant boards, sheet-rock, and a mountain of saw dust.  Since it was a mindless task, it gave me time to reflect on the MANY projects that this mess represented.  It represented countless hours of hard work, determination, and vision.  The result is a home we are proud of and while we are anxious for a sale, we are enjoying the fruits of our labor.

I would encourage you to take the grand tour. You can get a feel for the floor plan if you've never been to our house.

More Wedding Pics

These are just my family pictures...and you wonder why we don't have professional family pictures done?!?  I think there is just 1 where all of us are looking at the camera, smiling correctly, and not doing something goofy! Tomorrow I will post about our first home officially going on the market, but I'm too tired tonight to put it all into words.  Hope these pictures bring a smile to your face =)

(Click the picture to enlarge it so you can totally see little, hilarious facial expressions!)

Wedding Pics

At long last, here are pictures from James' sister's wedding from March.  Most of the pictures contain Samara dancing...she thought she was hot stuff that night!  By the end of the night, her feet were black from going bare foot and the boys including James had changed into more comfortable shoes. We had fun dancing the night away!  (You can click on the picture to make it larger)  Enjoy!!!

The only Dinkel family picture so far

The Happy Couple with the Girls

It was FREEZING outside, but we stood out there for the Bride!

The Wedding Party (minus the kiddos)

So Sweet

DIVA!

Handsome Boys in Suit Jackets

A Good View of Ashley and My Hair

Bubbles!

Is She Doing the Sprinkler?

Following the Girls' Lead

Has to Be in the Spotlight, Too

Ring Around the Rosy?

Dancing with Grandma and Uncle Jason!

Precious Moment: Malachi asked Great Grandma to Dance

Made Her Rounds to Dance with Everyone

Dancing with Grandpa

She Was the Winning Bid on the Shoes!

Whew! I'm Tired

Yesterday James emailed our Realtor to ask her to come to see our progress and to get her opinion on what other projects needed to be completed.  She was available to come today at 5:15.  This past week/weekend I have been busy deep cleaning all the areas (including window washing...wowza!)  I thought I was in pretty good shape for the showing.  I needed to do the normal household duties such as polish, vacuum, and sweep along with putting the final touches on a few places throughout the house.  I honestly thought it was going to take *maybe* 2 hours, but probably less.

Because I didn't want the do-list hanging over my head, I began working right after breakfast.  Our bedroom needed accessories on the vanity and nightstands along with a few throw pillows.  The kiddos' rooms needed to be picked up from their daily messes of toys and blankets.  Dishes needed unloaded/loaded, bathrooms needed cleaned.   I converted the mud room into the kiddos' "play room".  Their picnic table, art supplies, riding toys along with a container full of toys are now neatly contained in this area. And of course, I found another little area that needed painted because  no day is complete without some painting, eh? 

The list did not seem daunting, but excluding the 10 minute break for lunch I worked from 8:30 - 5:15.  It did not help that our big vacuum decided that today it was on strike and would not suck up the dirt. (and being that the kiddos ate popcorn in our living room yesterday and I discovered some dropped kernels, I was desperate for a working machine!)  Fortunately, I have a little Dirt Devil push vacuum.  It isn't the greatest, but it got the job done and I let the kiddos take turns using it so my living room should be pretty spotless!

I wanted James and the Realtor to be able to focus on business so I (at the suggestion of James...I was going to take them to McDonald's) packed dinner and took them to the park.  We had a wonderful picnic and the kiddos enjoyed playing on the equipment.  There was a little brown-haired, dirty feet girl who played with the boys and when it was getting time for us to leave, she came over and said she wished I was her Mommy.  And then a few minutes later, she said it again.  It honestly broke my heart.  How do you respond to that?  Not long after that someone yelled her name to come over to where they were.  I could only hope that I brightened her day at least a little.   

James texted me around 6:45 to let me know that the coast was clear...we could come home.  I was so anxious to hear the news.  Here is what I found out:  She loves our fireplace room (it's her favorite room in the house), she thought the floors looked amazing.  Everything looked really nice; she wants us to try to finish the projects we are currently working on, but regardless, she is going to officially list our house on Monday!!!  For reasons we do not know, she wants to increase our asking price by about $10, 000...OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!! The comparables are still higher than our asking price which makes me feel more comfortable.  She also thinks we should be able to sell the house within 2 months which is our goal. 

So with all that being said...let the house showings begin (well, in 6 days!).  For now, though, this tired girl is going to bed. 

Bright Light, Good Night

In the middle of the night, Samara has continually made her way into our bed.  I will wake up to being smashed in between James and her.  But before she even falls asleep, she will stand on anything and everything in her room to turn her light on.  Shopping cart, table, chairs, baby high chair, a play castle have all been used as her stepping stool.  This girl is fearless and relentless.  Countless are the times that she will turn  her light on just for me to march in there and turn it off.

A few nights ago I wanted to experiment with her bedtime.  I wanted to see if I left her light on if she would then more easily go to bed .  So far the results have been phenomenal.  Not only has she gone to bed better, she has actually stayed in her room all night.  I've had my whole side of the bed to myself!  There was one night where James turned her light off right before we went to bed, but within 10 minutes, she woke up and was in our bedroom to sleep.  She has a light on her dresser that I would prefer her to use, but a long time ago, I left it on for her and she knocked it down because she didn't want it on.  While I'm happy with this progress, we're going to have to fine-tune it so that her main light is not left on all night.

*We've tried a night-light, but she unplugs it immediately...little stinker!*