Hittin' Claire's

Catching up on blogs of the past, I realized that I never did share pictures or the experience of Taylor getting her ears pierced for her 7th birthday. She was very excited to say the least, and counting down the days to her birthday for this event to take place. Now of course she is counting down the days left until she can take the original's out and starting where all the earrings she got for her birthday and has purchased since. Only one week left!

She was definitely a trooper through the whole thing. They shot both ears and she just sat there with a stone look on her face. We then asked her if she was okay and that results in breaking down into tears and some crying. I personally don't know how she lasted that long, it hurt me just watching.

Of course, while Tay was getting her ears pierced the rest of the family had to have some fun in Claire's!

For The Cause

Amy and I have been very fortunate and grateful that our kids understand that littering and pollution is bad. We try to preach the importance of the environment and God's creations. Of course both of our jobs help assist and reinforce with that as well. As a result, we often find our children wanting to pick up garbage, clean up creeks/ponds, etc.

A couple of weekends ago they decided to all put on their hard hats and head back to "their little creek". Please understand this "creek" is really the outlet and drainageway from our neighborhood retention pond that crosses over in the very back of our property. Either way, they love it and call it their own.

They spent quite a bit of time out there and weather conditions were certainly not the best. The results are shown below in the wagon, in which they brought back up garbage and debris along with their tools of choice.

We hope they never forget this important concept and wish others would take after them!

Soul Music

A week ago Friday Amy and I were able to watch Winter Jam 2010 at the iWireless Center in Moline. We both had been waiting for this show since the day it was announced and it did not disappoint!


As a surprise birthday present to Amy, I got us VIP Passes for the show which got us in 1 hour before doors open, the choice of any seats, a chance to buy merchandise before others, etc. Below is a picture of the stage from our seats, row 5 center stage.


We happily found out a couple of weeks prior to the show that our good friends and neighbors were going to the show as well and also ended up buying VIP passes.


Another pleasant surprise was the fact that during the pre-show events they invited all Youth Leaders/Pastors to come to the back of the arena, in which Amy and I are both through our Wildfire group at the Vineyard. This led to going in a room with all other youth leaders where we had the opportunity to meet all the different bands at the concert, here them speak about youth leadership, and received a big gift bag of free cd's, iTunes downloads, camp/concert tickets for other events, etc. It was an amazing experience which closed with prayer by Tony Nolan at the end for our continued leadership of the youth in our community.

Here are pictures of some of the artists sharing with the group of leaders.

The following are pictures from the show.

Revive lead singer

Fireflight

NewSong

Newsboys

Third Day

Third Day

Third Day

Third Day

It was an amazing show with fabulous entertainers and speakers. More importantly it was truly moving to the heart and soul as we celebrated Jesus with music and 10,000+ other Christians of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. It rocked!

Can It Be?

How is our little baby girl 7 years old already? They always warn you that time flies by and your kids grow up too quickly...........how true that really is.

Tay decided to have a Fairy birthday party this year, and as always Amy outdid herself again with her homemade birthday cake. You must go see the process and detailed pictures of the final product at Amy's Cake blog which is linked on the right. In addition to the cake, Daddy chipped in with his artistic abilities and made huge crepe paper flowers for all the girls to take home.


As another one of our family traditions, she was able to invite 7 friends since she was turning 7 years old. In addition to the 7 girls Taylor decided to have over, she also enjoyed the presence of her brothers and cousin Mason.

Of course you can't have a party without dancing. In this case, there was some serious dancing going on to one of Tay's favorite presents; the Chipmunk's The Squeakquel cd.

Of course Taylor received some wonderful gifts and was truly blessed by all her friends and family that were able to share in her birthday celebration.

Happy Birthday sweetie! We love you and our so proud of you. Don't grow up too fast on us.

Another One Saved

Yes, some may call us crazy but we have added on to our existing family! May I introduce you to Ringo....

Ringo is a australian cattle dog/blue heeler mix who is about 1 year old. We took him home Sunday after visits with him and our family on Friday and Saturday. He was rescued by a shelter here in Iowa City from another shelter that was planning to euthanize him in 7 days.

Ringo is absolutely adorable, isn't he? He weighs about 35 lbs, has cute spots all over, LOVES to play with toys, dogs, and kids, and is very smart.

These are pictures of Ringo from the shelter but I'll try to get some of our own on soon. Including those with our other doctors as it makes a pretty funny picture. We now have all three sizes of dog - small, medium, and large. Ringo is intended to be more of the kids dog and in particular Taylor's, as she has been asking for a smaller dog to take care of and play with. We'll see how that goes with responsiblities.

So far everyone is getting along pretty well for the most part. Holly has shown her dominance of the house while Butch is the larges but certainly most passive of the group. Ringo is very athletic and can run down or catch about anything in the air. He should make a great do for agility and fly dog if we are able.

Most of all, we are glad to have saved another wonderful dog who just needed the right home and some TLC.

How 'Bout Them Hawks!

Well, what started as a tailgater with the kids at the Boelk house, ended in pure celebration and staying up well past midnight to listen to all the Hawkeye postgame and interviews on the radio and television.


You can't start a Hawkeye football gameday without the Skin Candy version of the Iowa Fight Song. This has turned into a fan favorite at our house and the kids love rockin' on their guitars........errrrr, I mean.......light sabers as they sing along.



Obviouisly the entire Iowa D was once again amazing, as they have been all year and throughout the decade! Yo Adrian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enough said.

Yes, our running backs are only freshman. Wow, what a future!


Gotta' love the Captain!



Mmmmmm, Vitamin C. We Love You Hawks!

Happy Holidays!

Real nice Mom and Dad, my first shot at writing the Christmas letter and you’re not even sending it out in cards. Something about a tight budget and saving trees. I don’t know what the big deal is about saving trees, all I do is pee on them anyway. Oh, hi by the way, my name is Butch. I’m the newest member of the Boelk family and therefore it is apparently my job to write the Christmas letter. For those who have not been lucky enough to meet me, I am a 125 lb. great dane and black lab mix. Yes, that makes me the second largest person in this family. And don’t think I don’t know it. So, this year has been quite an adjustment for me. See, I came from a shelter where I had been staying for probably 1 ½ years. Prior to that I was taken away from a neglected household where my brother and I were starving to death and we didn’t get treated the nicest. Luckily for me, I have found this great loving family and I now have a psycho sister who I really am fond of. I love all this yard I get to roam around in; chasing squirrels, digging holes, playing with my sis, and basking in the sun. But my main pleasure in life is cuddling with my family.

This new family of mine is a very busy one. That I learned quickly. Let’s see, let me start with the kiddos. These three are non-stop action, and I am often found in the middle of craziness. The girl, Taylor, well she loves dancing, reading, and socializing. This year she played tee ball again in the summer and Dad was the coach again. She also went to some Safety Camp in Iowa City with her friend Skylar and had a wonderful time. Now she is taking a couple of dance classes called jazz and hip-hop. She also recently started carrying this shiny silver stick all over the house and likes to practice twirling and throwing it in the air. Her brothers think it is a light saber, but I hear they call it a baton. Taylor goes to this thing they call school everyday, and apparently she is really good at it. She is in both 1^st grade and 2^nd grade this year and seems to love both. Speaking of school, I went to some class earlier this year as well to learn to sit and stuff. I had a lot of trouble with the sitting and letting others pet me at first, but by the end of the school year I looked like a pro. Mom and Dad seem very proud of Taylor and all she does!

Tay’s brothers, well, they have a LOT of energy. Both the boys took swim lessons this summer for the first time and had a ball. They got to ride a school bus from preschool to the pool in Tipton and thought that was pretty cool. They also both played tee ball for the first time and Dad helped coach “as needed”. Check this out; they also have fun playing in this gym bus every week at school. That sounds like fun to me. Speaking of fun, did I tell you I got to “run” the obstacle course at the end of my training classes. Well, all but going through the tube because I was a little big for that. Anyway, sorry, back to the boys. So, they are still in pre-school as Mom and Dad decided to wait one more year before starting kindergarten. They are really growing and maturing with this additional year and can’t wait to start school next fall. Though most people have a hard time telling them apart (myself included), they seem to differentiate themselves more and more by personality and character traits. Their new biggest interest is Star Wars, and they are hopeful to be getting some Star Wars themed presents for Christmas. As with Taylor, Mom and Dad are full of pride when talking about their boys.

Mom and Dad have been VERY busy with their church this year. They are often gone to meetings or at church for housegroups, prayer groups, church board, set-up/tear down, and Sunday school teaching. I guess they felt an even stronger calling from God and decided to take on finding a new home for the Vineyard Church. Though many steps were involved in finding a new address to call home, it ended with the church buying the top floor of a commercial condominium in Coralville. This 12,000 SF space was only a shell inside so Dad drew up some floor plans and with the help of Mom’s architect contacts, came up with final construction plans. From there, Mom decided to take on the construction and project management with the help of her company, Knutson Construction. It has been a tiring and stressful process, but I think they must have moved into the new church building last week because boy were they excited! I hear the new church is absolutely beautiful and the Vineyard community is truly rejoicing. In addition to that, they find themselves playing with the kids, coaching, working in the yard/garden, crafting, walking us (J) , and enjoying time with friends.

Holly and I have unfortunately found ourselves home alone on several occasions this year, as the family traveled without us (what’s up with that?). One of those being their annual trip to Minnesota with Dad’s parents and sister’s family, which they LOVED as always. From what I hear of that place I sure hope I’ll be able to go with sometime. Mom also took her annual trip to Chicago and Dad his trip to Kansas City. But their main focus has been on this other animal called a Hawkeye. Funny, I hear about this Hawkeye all the time but I never see it or get to play with it. Oh well, at least it doesn’t take any of my food. Speaking of, I’m really starting to get hungry. Sorry, must focus and get this finished. So, the family has spent their Saturday’s tailgating and at Kinnick’s stadium, enjoying the wonderful season the Hawks have had. They also spend many an afternoon and evenings at Carver’s arena as they watch wrestling, basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics. They are so proud of the black and gold no matter what the result. Go Hawks!

The family wanted me to express that this year was one of many thanks. Thanks for all of our wonderful family and specifically parents, thanks for the abundance of friendship, thanks for their wonderful church community, thanks for secure and enjoyable employment, thanks for food and shelter, and thanks for their relationship with Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit enter your hearts in both times of need and in celebration in 2010.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, GOD BLESS, and Go Hawks!!!

Love,

Brian, Amy, Taylor, Carver, Kinnick, Holly, and Me (Butch)