Happy Birthday Abby! I can't believe I have a child who is 9 years old! How fast the time sprints by! It seems like yesterday we were brining that tiny pink thing home in the snow. This weekend was the birthday party for my baby who has turned into an amazing little girl (I'm being too often reminded that she will not be a little girl much longer). We journeyed to Kansas City to visit Libby Lu's. Abby, her sister, and two of her friends had a little girl's dream makeover. Hair, makeup, wild clothes, nails - the works! They really had a wonderful time. I have a feeling the success of these parties is highly dependent on the person working at the time. We were blessed with a gal who had as much fun as the girls and really put a lot of effort into the whole process. Parker was not as thrilled by the whole process. As if this wasn't enough, we then ventured to the

A day in the life...I'm telling you what! Sorry no pics of Abby, she has been obsessed with her Nintendog (virtual puppy) this weekend and has not been seen much. She's not allowed to play with it longer than about 15 minutes a day during the week. The younger two kept me on my toes. Morgan lost her second tooth at school on Friday and got a visit from the tooth fairy. Her and Parker were playing soooooooo hard yesterday afternoon they just passed out together (see pic). The top picture is Parkers idea of helping me with the dishes. I'm not sure if its possible to get more water on my floor. Getting ready for the upcoming week. Sunday afternnon is our regrouping time. Its one of the few event free times we have together. Everyone can hang loose, finish homework, play whatever they want, and just reconnect. I have a feeling these times ar4e going to become more and more precious when the kids really start getting busy with sports, ballet, and so forth. They are growing up so fast (sniff, sniff).

I know you all are about sick of the slide pics, but I can't get enough of them! This, of course, is Parker in Grandmas washer and me at about the same age in the dryer. I love these pictures. Children in major appliances. Whose idea was that anyway? Ben's idea for Parker by the way. I simply felt the need to take a picture. We have had a great week. We spent Monday at home having a fun and then went to KCMO Tuesday and Wednesday for a mini vacation. We stayed at Great Wolf Lodge and swam for two days straight. The water slides were great. We also went to the kids favorite resturant, Cheeseburger in Paradise. I am grateful everyday to have kids I like so much. Not just love. They have turned into such cool little people. There is no one else in the world I would rather spend time with.

I can't tell you how many times over the years my parent pulled out the old slide projector and screen. When we were kids or even teens it was kinda fun to look back at our baby pictures and the adventures we had in Alaska and Washington and Western Kansas and even the farm in Iowa. Over Christmas this year we pulled out the slides again for the first time in years. So much had changed since the last time we watched these slides. We were all married now and Ben and I have kids. Suddenly, we were the age of our parents in these pictures. Nostalgia and a unique form of gratefulness washed over me. My parents raised us without help from in-laws and parents. They raised far from everything they knew. We grew up knowing how to depend on each other...and never once doubted how much we were loved. These were some of my favorite pictures from those slies (thanks for digitalizing them Dad). The pic of me and Dad "clowning" around was taken in Goodland, Kansas in the early 80s. The pic of me and Ben would have been in Washington or Alaska(?). I love the pictures of me and my parents when I was a baby. They seemed so young and ready for whatever the world could throw at them. I don't remember not having siblings. These pictures were of a time when my folks were embarking on all things new. Their family, dad's ministry, and great new challenges. Thanks for doing sucha good job Mom and Dad. Its been a great ride!

Welcome to 2006! Who knows the adventures that await us! I hub-bub of Christmas and Nutcracker is now over. Maybe some amount of normalcy (whatever that is) will return to the Wise house. The girls enjoyed the experience of Nutcracker as always. We were blessed to spend Christmas with family this year. What an amazing time it was. Seeing ALL of our family this year was amazing. A time we will not long forget. We thank God everyday for the blessings he bestows. Our friends and our family.

This may be my last post until after Nutcracker. This week should be rough. The girls have practice for 3-4 hours every day this week leading up to dress rehearsal on Thursday night and performances on Sat and Sunday. What a magical time it is though. Abby has a liturgical Ballet recital last Friday as well. It was one of the most beautiful things I have seen them do to date. I was able to sneek a few pics of Morgans regular ballet class this week as well. She is full of natural grace that amazes me every time I have a chance to watch her. I had to include a picture of Parker. He is such a trooper this time of year. He helps me shop, goes to dance practices, and helps me clean the house. The life of the youngest boy!

The purity of snow and children gives this season a magic all its own. The air was cold, but the kids couldn't think of anything except playing outside in the sparkling white. We received the "gift" of 7 inches of snow last night. The kids had a snow day...remember those? With all of the plans for Nutcracker and school productions and the holidays, it was fun to just play in the snow, drink hot chocolate, and feel the bite of winter on our noses. Pink cheeks on little girls...what more can I say!

I suppose I should get an entry in before the end of the month! November could very well be the craziest month EVER! In the last month we moved, hosted Thanksgiving, and had performances of Mother Goose! Along with Nutcracker rehearsals, church, and school of course! We are really entering a new phase of our lives as a family. With Parker almost out of toddlerhood, we leave the baby days behind. I'm amazed every time I have a conversation about fashion, or dance, or life in general with my 8 (almost 9 year old). It doesn't seem like so long ago she was our first little baby. How time flies! This holiday season will be filled with Nutcracker performances instead of pacifiers, school parties instead of carseats and diaper bags, and gameboys instead of rattles...and I wouldn't have it any other way. God bless the little (but getting bigger) ones in my life!

Happy Halloween everyone! Will worked last night so the kids and went solo. We went to our new neighborhood to trick or treat and I couldn't believe how many kids live over there! How neat. This pick is at our friends the Holmans house. What cute girls they have. We sold our house last week so the efforts of packing have bneen kicked into high gear. We move on the 18th of November and decided to hire movers for the first time. That should take some of the stress off. I hope you all had a great Halloween. The other picture is from Mark Hood who took several family pictures last weekend. He is SO talented!

Last Sunday our family at St. Davids had a wonderful picnic. We had Sunday School at the Topeka Zoo followed by a service at the park and a potluck picnic. We have been blessed with a church that has a ton of kids the same age as ours. These are a few girls from Abby and Morgan's Sunday School class. What a group!

Mark Hood graced us with this (and a few other) picture of Parker last week. He came by to take pictures of our house to go with the listing. I know there are more pictures of Parker this time of year, but there will more of the girls soon. Nutcracker and Mother Goose are coming up. I can't even express the joy I have staying home with my little man. What an amazing season of my life. I thank God every day for the gifts he has given me in the forms of Abby, Morgan, and Parker. Nothing shows the beauty of God like the face of a child.

Well, here it is! Will and I bought this house and signed the contract today. We are moving on November 13 (anyone interested in helping?). We are so excited about a new neighborhood with a lot of young families. Here are a few more pictures of the new home of the Wise 5. Keep us in your prayers for the sale of our current house!

Kitchen Hearth Room

Entry From Upstairs

Parker is 3 now! He is being a pirate in this picture if you couln't tell! We have been very busy lately. Abby and Morgan received their cast lists for Nutcracker last week. Abby will be a Polichenette (a little girl who emerges from the skirt of a giant mother) and Morgan will be a Cherub (angel who acompanies Clara to her dream world). Practices are every sat. this month and go to 2 days a week in November and every day after Thanksgiving. Morgan is also involved in Mother Goose with the Kansas Symphony. They will be performing at Washburn on November 1 and at Emporia State at the end of the month. She has rehearsals for that as well. They are dancing fools this time of year. Just in case we weren't busy enough, we are listing our house for sale this week. Its just time for us to find something with a little more space. We'll keep you all updated as we go!

This was the extent of Hurricane Rita in Dallas. We had alot of clouds and alot of wind. Otherwise she went by largely un noticed. You all will have to forgive the three blogs, I'm experimenting with a new way to post the pics. The kids came out fine...even though I have 25 loads of laundry to do! I may have missed them far more than they missed me!

What an amazing weekend. I had the opportuity to attend the Mothers of Preschoolers convention in Dallas. 5000 mothers in the same room is pretty amazing the picture above is of a group called Go Fish. They are a group out of Minneapolis that sing kids music "that doesn't drive the parents bonkers". They were awesome!

This was before the Glitzy Gals party on Friday night. Look at all of the tiaras and PINK!

Here's another blast from the past. The last time we all vacationed together was August of 2000. I love these pictures and I loved that trip. Ben and Kerry and I don't spend anywhere near as much time together as we would like. So much has changed since this trip. Ben and Janielle were engaged on this trip. Clark and Kerry would marry a year and half later. Parker would join our family as would David. Grandpa Jim would leave our family to be with our Creator. Grandma would sell the house where so many of our childhood memories took place. So many things have remained the same. We are a family that is close. We love each other and share a love for the church and Christ. Ben still plays his guitar at family events. Kerry still antaginizes my kids for fun (became more fun with Parker...better reaction). And I still love just seeing us together. I have been so blest with my family. Not everyone can count their siblings among their best friends. Thanks guys!

I decided this week my project would be scanning pictures of the kids as babies into .jpg files. It's taking a little longer than I thought. I have most of Abby's first year done. It just serves to remind me how grown up she is. She will be 9 in Jnauary. Where did the time go? It is amazing what changes we have gone through in the past nine years. Our family has expanded, my siblings have married and startd families of their own, and I have gotten to know these special people God has given to me as children. There is nothing like knowing someone since the very instant they entered the world. What amazing people they are (little people)! My goal is to get all three kids, our wedding, and pictures of Will and I as children in digital form. Ambitious goal...may take awhile. I like the idea of being able to access my family history from a CD. It somehow seems safer to me. Hope you all enjoy the blast from the past!

Talk about a busy week! The first part of the week was dedicated to the evacuees we thought were coming to Kansas. Come to find out, we were not getting any of our neighbors to the south. The compassion and dedication I saw in Topeka this week was stunning. It is amazing to see a community come together like that. The Red Cross is truly an amazing agency that I was honored to work with this week. Another upbeat part of the week was attending a meeting for the religious community of Topeka. More than 200 people were there...Baptists, Lutherans, Catholics, and the Jewish community. What an amazing site. Dad spoke at the meeting, and boy was I proud of him! He was terrific!
Will and I attended the 50th Anneversary Party for Liz and Junior Utech on Saturday night. What an amazing couple. 50 years is a real monument to their commitment and love. We also got the priviledge of spending time with Mike and Alejandro (I know I didn't spell that right) from Seattle! What a special and fun weekend we had. Spending time with friends and family is my favorite kind of weekend.

We have had a busy week already! My brother Ben (left, with Kerry and the girls in Lindsborg) and his family have now created their own blog as well! The family that blogs together...well, at least we all stay close! I will be volunteering tomorrow for the Red Cross here in Topeka. We will be receiving 1800 refugees at the Expocenter. We will have to give them a good welcome to Kansas! I hope all is well with the rest of you! God's Peace!