Ode to Creston

We've lived in Creston for seven months. We didn't indend to make it such a short stay, but here we are, ready to move back West. It's been a whirl-wind adventure here. We had some lows, but we also had some great highs.

We went to McDonalds tonight for dinner, we saw five people that we know. That's what is it is like to live in a small town.

Thanks to Mrs. Weese, Mr. Blake, and Miss Jecceka for running a tight ship with lots of fun and many creative ideas.

Thank you to Julie Lang for believing in my language learning ideas and helping launch my professional speaking career.

Thanks to Mrs. Chubick, Miss Julie, and Miss Chris for sick days that gave me a chance to learn so much.

Thank you Terry and Gail for teaching me that play is the work of children.

Thank you Betty and Donna for helping me see all of the fabulous things happening around me and for being a turning point in my stay here. Also, thanks for laughing at my outrageous comments--you are very rewarding.

Thanks to all of the capable women who cleaned my house, cared for my children and watched over me when I was sick.

Thanks to Lori--my fellow Skinner scorpion--for walking my path ahead of me and saying, "It gets better, it really does."

Thank you Lenox Branch for loving my children and being so thrilled about our arrival.

Thanks to Carly Roberts and Jessica Camp for your consistent service with me in the nursery.

Thank you, Corey for never giving up.

Thank you, God, for the beautiful night sky that is so clearly visible from my back porch, the geese and deer that feed in the field behind the path. (We'll never see that in Las Vegas.)

Thank you to the Cihaks who braved the worst storm of the year to help our family. Also thank you for the combine ride--definitely one of the highlights of our time here.

Thanks Brother Lui for the facsinating explantion of how to modify plant cells.

Thanks to our family who traveled to this out-of-the-way spot to visit us.

Thank you Bryan Zachary for the personalized tour of the village.

Thank you Dennis Carter for being a great friend, an honorable person, and for not selling us a house.

Our lives have been richly blessed in the short time that we've been here. So many people have reached out to us in kindness and have welcomed us into their hearts. Thank you to all of you who have been a part of our experience.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

The children of South East Iowa speak up. The newspaper published the aspirations of Creston and surrounding communities. Here are the best ones:

Hunter would like to be a monter truck driver when he grows up.
Cody would like to be Spiderman when he grows up.
Cody would like to be a fireman and work with Tom on the garbage truck when he grows up.
Samson would like to be a ninja and a plumber when he grows up.
Seth would like to be happy and healthy and wants to be a wrestling coach when he grows up.
Avery would like to be a superhero when he grows up.
Dylan would like to be a bowldozier operator when he grows up.
Benjamin would like to be the owner of a living creature restaurant when he grows up.
Marshall would like to be a a plain old Marshall when he grows up.
Jase would like to be a ninja cop when he grows up.
Conner would like to be a guard or something safe when he grows up.
Myla would like to be a princess and a bank worker when she grows up.
Nathaniel would like to be a cop like his Grandpa Ray and a biker like his Grandpa Chuck when he grows up.
Tiffany would like to be happy when she grows up.
Samantha would like to be a lion tamer when she grows up.
Emma would like to be a dentist and a circus actress when she grows up.
Alexis would like to be a fashion designer in Paris when she grows up.
Bryce would like to be on the SWAT team when he grows up.
Zailand would like to be a sumo wrestler when he grows up.
Brenna would like to be a biker chick when she grows up.

And the two best ones of all:

Samuel would like to be a ninja and a farmer when he grows up.
Logan would like to work at Walmart on register 6 when he grows up.

There you go. Some high and some low aspirations from today's youth.