A wind farm

The area of central Illinois where we live is very windy.  Actually, it's very, very, VERY windy!!  That is probably about the only thing that annoys us about living where we do.  We walk out our back door and are literally blown away on a typical windy day around here!  BUT, because of this, something very interesting is happening all around us right now.  The world's largest wind farm is being built in our immediate area!  When it is finished we will be able to look out our windows and see HUGE windmills turning to generate power for Chicago.  Some of them will be incredibly near our house--as in a few hundred yards away!  Here are a few random interesting facts about the project:

• The project is expected to cost about $600 million!
  
• There are over 260 wind turbine generators being built for this particular wind farm.
  
• The windmill towers are 300 feet tall!
  
• The diameter of the rotor and blades are more than 250 feet!
  
• Lying on the ground, a 3-blade rotor can almost cover a football field!
  
• The box of the windmill that holds the generator (which transforms the motion of the wind into electricity) is the size of a small school bus!
  

The process is very interesting to watch!  The roads around the sites have had to be widened just to bring in the huge parts of the windmills.  Today, I was driving into town and saw extra-big semis bringing in parts.  I could not believe how huge one blade is!!  It is wild!  I know there is at least one windmill somewhat near us that is nearly complete.  I will try to post a photo soon if I can get near enough to take one!

Here is a link to the website of the company building the wind farm: 

Horizon Wind - Twin Groves (Arrowsmith) Wind Farm

Fall in our front yard

Happy Columbus Day! Annah has the day off from school, so the kids ALL got to play together today! We went outside this morning and the kids had so much fun in the leaves!

I just can't say enough how much I love Fall!  And I could never explain how much I love these kids!

buried in leaves

having fun together!

Caeden found a whole family of ladybugs!!

Pitcher Cup

Caeden couldn't find his cup, so he decided to get a drink the best way he could figure!

Responsibility Pillar

Annah came home from school today with something very exciting to show us!!

Her school is studying 6 Pillars of Character this year, the first of which they have discussed and worked on since school started--RESPONSIBILITY.

At a school assembly today, Annah was recognized and received the Commitment to Character--Responsibility Award for her class!

We are SO proud of her!! Way to shine your light Baby Girl!!!

Bayern Stube

Kevin was in town, so we just had to meet at the Bayern Stube!!

Annah trying to keep Caeden entertained while we waited 45 minutes (with no food) for the rest of our party to arrive at the restaurant.

another great family self-portrait

Show & Tell

For her class Show & Tell time, Annah had me bring her violin to school for her today. She was quiet and shy, but enjoyed showing her kindergarten class about her instrument. She played a few things for them, and they really enjoyed it and encouraged her.

Goodyear Blimp!

The Goodyear Blimp flew over our house tonight!!

Jeremy was outside mowing and saw it. It was really cool to see--even though my quick snapshots didn't turn out. We just don't see the Goodyear Blimp fly over Arrowsmith all that often!

100 miles and Adoptions

Jeremy rode 100 miles on his bike yesterday!! He and Pastor Scott rode from Bloomington to Starved Rock--with some zigzagging in between in order to make it 100 miles.

--------------

We were honored to attend an adoption benefit tonight at our church for the Crowley family. They are adopting a little boy, Caleb, from Haiti! He is Sylvia's age. The auction, along with being a very blessed event, was fun! We all enjoyed listening to Landon do his auctioneer thing, and we just can't wait to meet Caleb! Two other families at our church are also in the process of international adoptions. One couple is hoping to adopt a little girl from China, and another is adopting TWO little girls from Guatemala! So very exciting!!

School Open House

Tonight we all went to Open House night at Annah's school. She showed us her classroom and everything in it, projects she's done, the gym, the cafeteria, all her different classrooms, and introduced us to her teacher and her music, art, and computer teachers too! Sylvia was thrilled to get to play the triangle at music class; since Annah started playing violin, she has said she wants to play the triangle "when she grows up."

Annah in front of her locker


Annah in her classroom

 

Annah and her teacher, Mrs. Tompkins

Annah has really jumped into kindergarten well. Her teacher told us that she is very quiet, and is just starting to play with the other kids. We have noticed she is starting to be a little less shy, and has started talking about the other kids and what they do and say. She is happy when she comes home and shares a lot with us about her days--praise the Lord!!

--------------------------

Sylvia LOVES preschool! When I go to pick her up, as soon as she sees me come around the car she shouts, "Mom! I made...!" Her teachers noticed on the first day that she talks more than her sister, and is not as shy. She only has 7 kids in her class too, so she probably has more opportunity to talk. When Daddy gets home, she jumps up and shows him what she did at school too.

Siding the house

The siding is going up! If it would ever quit raining, Jeremy might be able to get some more done on the house! He's out there every chance he gets.