State Fair Pics

Anyone who knows Mo's Mob knows that we love the Minnesota State Fair - there's nothing like it!

I think Brad and I made it to the fair six times this year, and we brought the kids along twice - we'd love to take 'em every time, but the more kids we have, the crazier it gets!

Here are a few of our pics from this year!

Making the News!

What's a State Fair without a footlong corn dog?

Crashed!

Trae's Glasses

Trae had to get glasses for school this year - I love this pic!

First Day of School

Our Bus Stop - I am so thankful for a neighborhood full of great kids! We are so blessed!

Alicia and Courtney, two of our neighbors, with Trae and Tay

Trae and Bailey, our neighbor - both heading to first grade together

The entire Mo's Mob the first day of school

Tay n' Trae ready for school

I know, I know . . . . . . we're only about three months late . . . . . . typical!

Viking-mobile

Well, it's been awhile but I have some pictures to post. Brad's brother Brian came up for a last minute visit a few weeks ago and worked on the golf cart Brian had given Brad for his birthday. They turned it into a Viking-mobile. It actually turned out really cool and Brad took it out last weekend after every touchdown!! It was quite a spectacle in the neighborhood.

Update

Thanks so much to everyone who has been praying for Teagan. He ended up having a parotid abscess. We took him to the ENT specialist Tuesday (yesterday) morning and they put him on the surgery schedule for yesterday afternoon to have it drained. More than anything, I was relieved as I was just praying that God would give us an answer as to what this thing was and calm my wandering mind! The surgery itself literally lasted about ten minutes but we were at Children's Hospital for about six hours total. My sister and brother-in-law and their kids graciously took care of our other kids for the day (even Ty who was running a fever)! The doctor told us Teagan would have a cute little hat to help keep his dressings in place until Thursday when he will see the doctor to take them out, and indeed he does--we have our own little Teletubbie (only our one-year-old speaks much more intelligently):)! I'll post some before and after pictures of the little guy. Thanks again for praying. I could tell so many were praying for Teagan and for us as God gave me such an overwhelming sense of peace, not fear, as we were at the hospital. Today, Teagan is back to his old sweet, silly self--such a change from the past couple weeks!

Trusting . . . .

Well, today I had a great reminder of why I am so thankful that I have a personal relationship with God, who despite all my shortcomings allows me to come into His presence when I so desperately need Him. Teagan has been rather fussy the last couple days and is getting teeth so we didn't think too much of it, but I did notice that he would just scream whenever we would change his clothes. This morning I put my hand under his neck and moved him and he just started screaming again. I thought maybe he had pulled a muscle or twisted his arm in the last few days as he has been trying to walk (and tends to fall now and then)! Then I looked by his face and saw a huge lump about half the size of a golf ball under his left ear by his jawline. It was red and hot and hardened and swollen and extremely painful! (I'm not sure how well you can see it in the pictures). I immediately looked at Brad and said "He has to go to the doctor right now!" - such a calm response, right??? Well, long story short, the doctor wasn't exactly sure what it is but is treating it as a swollen lymphnode, and we have to keep an eye on it. Since Brad and I do medical dictation every day, our minds tend to wander to all the horrible things it could be, but we are thankful that God is in control and rest in that and in the fact that our very wise doctor is satisfied with simply treating him with an antibiotic right now. Please pray for Teag that God will heal his little body and keep him from too much pain and for us that we would put in to practice what we know about trusting in God. My favorite verse comes to mind again, Psalm 61:2b, "When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I"!!

Spring Events

Spring has been busy, and we love it! Taylor started soccer, both rec and club and is doing great. He loves this game which thrills Dad's heart! Much to Dad's delight, Trae decided she might want to try to be a little Mia Hamm after all - at the last minute of course. We had to call and get her worked into a team as it was after the deadline. Her team was all girls, which she loved. Ty loves the outdoors and spends a great deal of his time outside chasing his big brother and sister around! He is hysterical. Teagan loves it outside too, but usually is watching dreamily from the office window next to Mom and Dad who are keeping a close eye on the kids out front! Almost every day we have anywhere from 6 to 10 kids running in and out of our house and playing in our driveway and circle - what a tremendous opportunity for ministry. Please pray for us that we would have a positive influence on their lives! This picture of Ty explains how we all feel at the end of every day!

Pictures of the Little Cheerleader

Here are those pictures of Trae I promised so long ago! She loved cheerleading!

Happy Birthday to Teagan!

Our baby Teagan turned one on April 27th. He is such a sweet, sweet boy, and we love him so much! He started the day with a doctor's appointment (not so much fun), but then we went to our family's favorite spot for lunch, Benihana's!!! He was very intrigued watching our lunch prepared in front of us. That night we had a little birthday cookout, and Uncle Matt and Aunt Brenda joined us. Aunt Brenda thoughtfully brought along a personal-sized chocolate cake which Teagan thoroughly enjoyed! Thanks again, Aunt Brenda!! We can't believe he's already one!

What a Day!

Well, as expected, I haven't posted in quite awhile, but I actually have about five minutes so I'm going to try to throw something together!

Sunday was an incredibly exciting and emotional day for us! Taylor after much thought decided he would like to be baptized, and there didn't seem to be a more fitting time than to be baptized by Grandpa Mac on his last day of full-time ministry at Fourth. We started the day early as baptism took the entire Sunday School hour because 17 people were baptized. It was really awesome - just a great reminder of the significance of this act of obedience. Grandpa predetermined that Taylor would be last - the last official baptism of his ministry - pretty incredible memory! We were thrilled with Taylor's decision and he is really taking to heart that he has chosen to "identify with Christ" as he stated in his testimony and is working really hard at trying to make sure all his actions and words reflect that decision. We will try to get some better pics of Tay's baptism.

The rest of the day was really special, too, as Fourth graciously dedicated the day to my parents and their 37 years of ministry - what incredible examples of unconditional love and servitude - we are so grateful. There was laughter and tears and both were good! Thanks to so many who worked so hard to put this day together for them - you did an incredible job!

Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah!

This is for my dear old FBS cheerleading friends Alyssa, Tami, and Janelle! We really try to get our family and kids involved in our community so we were trying to find something that really fit our daughter Trae's niche. Trae is ALL girl! We tried soccer in the fall (for Dad's sake) and Trae didn't quite turn out to the Mia Hamm Dad was hoping for, considering he spent the first five plus practices and games with her crying on the sidelines. So, Mom found an ad in the local newspaper for cheerleading for ages 4-8; Dad rolled his eyes, but Mom presented the opportunity to Trae. Immediately, we had a taker. So . . . I have been to a few weeks of cheer classes learning new chants and even a pom routine. Then Trae and I come home and practice our "homework" through the week. What a riot!! It reminds Mom of the good old FBS cheerleading days, practices, and tournaments. What fun we had! I'll try to get some pictures of the new little cheerleader posted. Most importantly though, Trae has made a new little friend. We are hoping that the Lord will use this to open up some doors for us in our community, one little friend at a time!

Hello from Monticello

Well, as it seems the thing to do, we are joining the world of bloggers. It has been amazing to see the number of old friends that we have the opportunity to get back into contact with and actually keep up on the events in their lives, as we very often think of one another but very rarely (or in our case, perhaps never) have the chance to let each other know that. It is our resolution to change that and fully embrace this blogging opportunity and all that it entails! Well, the Monticello Modaff's would love to hear from you, and we will do our best, amidst all the mayhem, to post here regularly! Here's a picture of the Mob!