The Past Few Months at the Bowers

 Contrary to popular opinion, we are still alive out here in the wilds of Iowa!
We have collected far more pictures than should be legal to post and thank the Lord for His ongoing goodness to our family!

 On one of our last days before moving in, Chapman's 36 chicks arrived.

Lovely breakfast.... compliments of Crockett!

Watching the storm clouds gather and dump!

Blessed to be part of a wonderful church here and love opportunities to sing favorites together!

Daddy & Mother....business road trip to Branson, MO.

Lina has been hoping to fly one of these for a very long time and finally got to go with some friends. 
Amazing time!

Watching some of our favorite "adopted" little people!

Charlie spent the last few months working here full time.
He starts his day off at 2:30am and loves every minute!

Occasionally he gets one of the brothers to join him. :)

On another Lowe's light mission for the house. 
We have been there so often now they ask about the house and the kids. Ha!

Had a few plumbing issues on the rental. :) 

Very creative table setting for Chap and Christian's January Birthdays

Unexpected adventures via several short business and helping trips.

 It is a blessing to share truth and spend time with families we love! 

Daddy and Carver drove to Oklahoma for the CPAC conference. Daddy did the speaking and Carver was hired to do photography for the conference and banquet. He did an outstanding job!

One of the breakout sessions.

Carver is proof: hungry boys do great food photography. Ha!

Our friend and former football player Pastor Paul Blair. 

Visit to the Oklahoma Capitol.

Very fun steps at the home where Daddy and Carver stayed.

Encouraging pastors and political leaders from all over OK.

Back home Charlie out running errands with Chap and Gini.

So happy to finally get to see our missionary grandparents! Their trips from Asia are short and sweet, but we are very thankful for the little windows we get!

Men's breakfast at the local watering hole. :)

Charlie hitching a ride to the sale barn with his Amish friend. :)

Enjoying our last few days with horses and buggies flying by in this Amish community. 

Happy parents dinner out with Dandee & Manee.

We love to play chess, but when they come to town!? Continual tournament. :) 

Carolina keeping up with her SCOBY
 (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast). In the end, it's Kombucha! :)

Cooking and cleaning projects together!

More chess! And a little harmonica serenade by Crosby. :)

Snacks in the van and a tour of the remodel project. 

 "Late & great" conversations on a host of intriguing topics. :)

Had several days of amazingly warm weather! More great conversations on the porch.

Butter and Gini reading together in one of their RARE moments of still and quiet!

Kombucha Party Cont'd. :)

Ants on a log in abundance. All made and consumed by one hungry, healthy Daddy!

Very fun sibling popcorn game night!

Crockett keeping his mice business hopping! (Or  is it snapping? :)

The never ceasing dish party hosted by Carver!

And another creative disher experimenting with facial foam. :)

Carver patching up a Bowers made hole in the rental kitchen. The story shall be withheld to protect the guilty possessor of the sharp elbow.

Crockett and his flower. :) On your 50th trip to town, you find all kinds of neat stuff!

Snow was sparse in Iowa, so Lina and Charlie went to see our dear friends in Upper Peninsula Michigan. They spent the week helping them get their sugarbush ready for the sap to run!
We stayed with them last Spring and loved seeing how they produce maple syrup on the farm. 

Working. And freezing!

The sisters helping clip lines.

Lina and Bethany grocery shopping. Or were they checking out the competition? 

Never a dull moment in the sugarbush with these two flying through the trees! 

Definitely one of the most gorgeous places around!

Butter loves his little legos! 

Late night little people adventures!

And perfecting the art of the perfect smoothie.  By Chich. :)

Sunday afternoon energy burning at the park.

One of our family favorites is called Snow on the Mountain. Indian curry and chicken, inspired by our Grandparents from Asia and sooooo yummy!!

Boys with Seargent Major Archie Davis who came to speak at our church.

Uno date with Crosby at the coffee shop!

Chapman, Campbell, and Crosby were also thrilled to go with Daddy on a business trip to FL!

Fabulous afternoon at the beach. 

Best buddies. Shivering and smiling.

Road trip home with Daddy was looooong, but happy. 

After being landlocked in Iowa all winter, the warm sandy beach was perfect! 

The girls and a dear friend headed down to Texas for several days. Left home at 2:30 am to catch a 6 am flight out of Des Moines. It appears they are still smiling. :)

Stopped in to hear these friends in concert. Very blessed by their music ministry!

We heard this was the best way to spend an afternoon in Texas hill country!

Beautiful trails to walk, run and have sister time.

Nothing quite like your sister!

Beautiful view from the sky.

Parents date night.

These lovely cinnamon rolls have become one of our new favorite things!

Dynamic story telling brought to you by Lina.

"From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised." Psalm 113:3

Favorites from December

Continuing life in in Iowa. Lots of buggies. Lots of cold!

And snow...beautiful snow! 

Our last few weeks have been filled with hammering away the house, 
family time, games, singing, and cooking! Yay for cooking! :)

Christian. Cabbage beanie. Really now. Are there limits to our homeschooled-ness?
At least he's reading! 

And yes....BB guns were drawn and ready to roll but the boys were kindly reminded about
 city limits. And TRAFFIC?!

Very fun evening with our special friends the Garraways who were Mary and Joseph in the Christmas play.
It was a privilege to hear about their ministry. And pass around their darling baby!

The gals visiting corner....

...and the guys visiting corner! So blessed to see how God is working in their sweet family.

Crockett working on his strategy skills with a friend.

Quantity discount on push ups. Many hands make light work! Theoretically.

Trip to Tennessee to finish up some business with Daddy.

The crew that most needed a hillside? Cabin fever? Definitely. :)
 The boys enjoyed a lovely time at this amazing farm in Tennessee.

Boys and dogs. Perfect.

Boys camping out southern style. :) One of the most wonderful gifts given to us this year has been the ongoing love and hospitality of dear, faithful friends like these.

 Lina, Cass and Christian also had a quick trip to TN and got to catch up with these friends and hear about their wonderful ministry to Russian families. 

More healthy, hearty competition!

And helpfulness between the cracks!

 Aren't all visits good visits when a Frappa is on board?

Meanwhile, back on the home front?
Check out the Feels Like temp and just plan on freezing (or dying?!) 
for about 4 months! Hmmmm. We cordially invite your for 
Sweet Tea on the porch. IN JULY!!

Campbell and Crosby running errands at Menard's! Accompanied by some unseen parent. :)

Stop at the coffee shop and a few other sister errands in Kalona. 
You just have to love a place called Fig and Farm! 

 We are trying to be more Dave Ramsey-ish, so we took the whole crew to the bank. :)
 All Bowers children opened accounts, and this is Jan, who graciously helped us with mountains (MOUNTAINS!) of paperwork! 

Three shifts of three at a time got us out in several hours. :) 

We even got some reading time done in the lobby. Some. :)

 In the middle of our banking day, Lina got her driver's license. Ridiculous, yes...but we have not been in one place long enough to commit to a state, so YAY! She's legal now! Also finally got permits for Cassidy, Charlie and Carver. Questions about Cassidy's license may be submitted directly to her. :) 

Buttered popcorn party with Momma. Between the house and other projects going on, these parties seem to happen a lot more frequently?! It is very fun to have just little ones sometimes.

And OHHHH! How fun to plop a baby in the house for the day! 
Crosby helped babysit one of our favorites. 

We set the timer for visiting babies or they are not very shared! :)

Happy girl's reading corner.

Four o'clock in the morning!? Apparently this is when the locals and the experts hit the tree stand. 
We are still re-setting our clocks and trying VERY HARD to be morning people!! :)

 So many families have blessed us in this way and it is a joy to gather new and old 
friends to fellowship over yummy things.

Reading time with Charlie

Crockett and a very favorite buddy. 

Daddy visited the Iowa Capitol at the beginning of the Legislative session and met with several Representatives. He ran into this family friend in the hall! 

"The Heavens declare the glory of God..."

The BUS! Gathering some odds and ends from cabinets and cleaning. This day our heater was not behaving and our lovely organic vinegar cleaning sprays FROZE upon application. 
Wiped them and we had...snow!  

Ever improving all things bus!
The Lord has been so good to bless and protect us everyday and we are grateful to stop rolling.
For a season. :)