Adventures In Parenthood

Hello, New Year!

2012-02-01T19:05:00.014-06:00

My, oh my, where does the time go? It's been awhile since I last posted, so I guess I better update on what's been going on with us. Christmas was nice, we drove up to Kevin's parents place in Chicago to celebrate with his family. It was a long drive and the kids did very well and it was nice to see everyone again. Then, on New Year's Eve, Kevin drove down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to help run sound for the Jeff Cook concert. It was the first time in our marriage that we didn't celebrate New Year's together, but we got through it and Kevin enjoyed the experience. Then, last month, the kids and I flew out to California to be in my best friend's wedding. It had been two years since we left Cali, so it was great to see my family again. The kids were so good on the plane ride out and the plane ride back, I couldn't be prouder of them. The day after we got back, Kevin met with the HR Director of Timkin to discuss job openings. Kevin said it was a good meeting, but there were no openings. There is a gentleman at our church that has his own physical therapy business that is very interested in hiring Kevin, so we are hoping that next week they can get together and discuss things. It would be so nice to finally have some income coming in. We are going on six-and-a-half months now of no income, but the Lord has provided for us and we are so grateful! So that has been what's been going on with us, oh I forgot, last week we signed Curtis up for tee ball. The season starts the beginning of April and he is so excited. We can't wait to watch him play. So here are some pictures from the last two months to get us all up to speed.

DECEMBER

Our Christmas tree (the kids were so happy to have a real tree)!

The little tree that the kids decorated. I think they did a great job!

The kids helped me make Christmas cookies to give to our neighbors, teachers, and crossing guards.

This is the inside of a McDonalds that we stopped at in Asheville near the Biltmore Estate. There was also a player piano in the corner playing Christmas music.

Downtown Nashville. We can't wait to go back and actually sightsee.

This is the Wingate mansion in Paducah, Kentucky. It's a rest area and the bathrooms are inside.

The kids table. The cousins had so much fun together.

The cousins: Lily, Luke, Sophie, Levi, Logan, Jeremiah, Curtis, Lauren, and Claire

Our beautiful family

Kevin's family: Todd, Kevin, Barry, Dean, Allan, June, and Shari

This is a picture from the Jeff Cook concert. You can see a little bit of Kevin (in the ballcap) next to the keyboard player.

JANUARY

My best friend Myra. I was so honored to be her Matron of Honor.

Curtis was the ring bearer, and the girls were flower girls. Claire was grouchy and didn't want her picture taken.

The cousins: Claire (she didn't want to be in this picture either), Lauren, Curtis, James, Nathan, Natty, Olivia, Daphne, and Lia

Four generations: My grandmother Helen, my mom Norma, me, and the kids

My cousins: Mollie, Tim, me, Matt, and Jon

My friend Cheryl, whom I've known since junior high.

The kids and I with my sister-in-law Michelle. My brother is currently on deployment in Africa, so we didn't get to see him.

The harbor at Port Hueneme where my brother is stationed. I sure do miss the California beaches.

Tears and Prayer

2011-12-20T21:43:00.003-06:00

I have some very sad news and ask for prayer on behalf of Jon and Ali. They found out on Friday that their 17 week unborn baby was without a heartbeat. Ali went in today to be induced and the doctors will be performing an autopsy to try and find out what happened. I am so heartbroken for them and don't understand why God would ask them to walk down this road again. Please lift them up in prayer for strength and healing.

Grandma's Visit

2011-12-03T21:17:00.011-06:00

My Mom flew out here for Thanksgiving and spent ten fun filled days with us. It was so nice to see her again since we haven't seen her since last Thanksgiving. The kids had so much fun and Lauren keeps asking when we will see her again (she didn't want Grandma to leave). Thankfully this Thanksgiving was much better than last years (no bleeding and no exploding pie pans)! So here are some pictures from my Mom's visit.

My Mom's flight came in on Friday, while Curtis was at school and we had told the kids that she would be flying in on Saturday. I picked my Mom up and we made it back home just in time to pick Curtis up from school. I had my Mom sit on the bench and I walked Curtis over and he didn't recognize her! He was so excited when he finally realized that Grandma was here!

On Saturday, we went with a church to Tanglewood's Festival of Lights. We rode in the church bus and had a wonderful time. The kids loved looking at all of the beautiful lights.

The kids couldn't get enough Grandma and kept asking her to read them stories!

The highlight of the visit (for the kids) was having a sleepover with Grandma. One night she slept in the girls room, and the next night in Curtis' room. They had been waiting for this for months!

Our Thanksgiving meal. We had turkey breast cooked in the crockpot with apple cider, seasoned pepper, and salt; garlic mashed potatoes; brown gravy; green beans; brown sugar glazed carrots; cresent rolls; apple and pumpkin pies (made by the kids with Grandma's help).

Taking a quick break for a picture.

This is one of my favorites...Claire had to have Grandma blow the dandilion!

Our final picture at the airport. We didn't want Grandma to leave. We are now looking ahead to January when we fly out to California for my best friends wedding!

Pics #2: The Museum of Science and Industry

2011-11-08T21:13:00.014-06:00

While we were in Chicago, Kevin's parents took us to the Museum of Science & Industry. The kids had so much fun!

Here we are in front of the Body Worlds giraffe. The kids thought it was cool to see the insides of a giraffe.

The indoor tornado. The kids were very afraid of this.

Kevin talked Curtis into stepping into the tornado. Curtis did not let go of Kevin's hand.

The fam.

This is my favorite picture. Lauren was having a blast looking in the fun mirrors. There were three mirrors and she would run back and forth looking at how funny she looked and just laughed and laughed.

Claire thought it was so cool to sit on a cow.

The kids driving a combine.

Driving a tractor.

Pictures #1

2011-10-29T20:21:00.012-05:00

Here are some pictures of what's been going on with us the last couple of months.

My grandparents came to visit right before we moved. The kids had so much fun being with G.G. and PaPa

This is an old candy boiler that the kids affectionately call R2D2Claire and Natalee Feldman at our going away party. They enjoyed going for a bike ride with cousin Lily at the wheel.

This is Lauren's Hello Kitty cupcake cake. We moved on her birthday, so we had to do something fun for her.

The kids with cousin Sophie at Grandma and Grandpa E's house in Illinois. We stopped there for a few days to break up the moving trip.

Celebrating Curtis and Lauren's birthdays at Grandma and Grandpa E's house

Sears Tower in Chicago

I will post more pictures on another day. 'Till then, take care.

Adjusting

2011-10-20T20:07:00.004-05:00

I'm baaack!! Since the move, my focus has been on unpacking and helping the kids adjust which means focusing all my attention on them. I will say that they have adjusted very well, better than I thought they would. I think it helped that I am not going off to work and we are in a house, where they can run around and just be themselves.

We have now been here in North Carolina for two months and we are loving it!! The people here are so friendly. We are fitting in quite nicely. The move was horrible and I am so thankful that it's a memory, but if we ever have to do another long distance move, we are hiring a moving company.

For those of you that keep up with me on FB, you know that we went through Hurricane Irene our first week here. It's the first time any of us have been through one... and thankfully we are far enough inland that we just got some rain and a lot of wind. We also felt the effects of Tropical Storm Lee...which was a lot worse than Irene. We got a lot of rain (thunderstorms) and wind.

Curtis started school the Thursday after we arrived. That Tuesday we got him registered, the school had orientation, so Curtis got to meet his teacher and see his classroom. The teacher had his desk all set up and his name on the door with the other kids in the class. That really made his day! Curtis had a rough beginning to the school year...he didn't do very well on his assessment (he just kind of shut down because of the move and being in a new school where he didn't know anyone) and was going to have to go to a special class. Thankfully, within three weeks he was his old self and approved by leaps and bounds in school. He still has to go to a special reading group, since he is not at the reading level he needs to be. His teacher is amazed at his progress and thinks he will be up to speed on his reading in no time. I have to say that his teachers, no his school, is amazing. These teachers love on the kids! I've met his reading teacher and she ran, yes ran, up to him and gave him a big bear hug and tells me that he is the best reader in his group! I walk him to school (it's only half a block away) and when we get inside by the office, the school secretary says, "Good morning, Buzz." She calls him Buzz because he wears a Buzz Lightyear backpack. Then she gives him a hug and tells him to have a good day. She does this every day and not only to Curtis, to the other students as well. I am so thankful for this school because being loved on is what he needs to help him adjust to the new surroundings.

Lauren has adjusted very well. Her only complaint is that she can't go to school this year. The pre-k class was already full. Every day she asks if she can go to school with Curtis, and gets upset when I tell her no. She loves having me home and we can now fully focus on getting her ready for school. We are currently working on writing the alphabet, and she loves it! She will grab her little workbook and ask me if she can work on her letters. It's so refreshing, I had to fight tooth and nail with Curtis to get him to write his letters). She gets so excited when she gets the letter right. I don't think she is going to have any problems in school! She did go seven months with no bleeding, then had a couple days of bleeding, and hasn't had any bleeding since. I think it was because we didn't keep up on the Miralax during the move. With Thanksgiving coming up, we are praying that she will not have another bad bout of bleeding and prolapse.

Claire has also adjusted very well. She loves her Tinkerbell room that she shares with Lauren and will be moving to Curtis' toddler bed once we can find Curtis a twin bed. Claire is our little comedienne and she loves making us laugh! Her vocabulary has exploded and loves playing with rocks. She has gotten very tall (she is only two inches shorter than Lauren) and we've have quite a few people ask us if the girls are twins. Not sure how they come up with that one, but we just roll with it.

Like I said, I get to stay at home and I love every minute of it! I've missed this. It's so nice to cook and clean for my family and just love on them. We are back down to one car, but with Kevin still at home it hasn't been an issue.

Kevin is still looking for work while pGf is getting up and running. I feel so bad for him. He has his resume with three staffing agencies and he is constantly sending his resume out, but he hasn't gotten anything yet. We have now been with no income coming in for three months. thankfully we have savings, but we don't want to deplete it. Kevin is thinking about going back into food service just to get some money coming in. We're hoping that pGf will get incorporated by the end of the year so that sales can start being made, which will generate income for us.

I'm sure that some of you are thinking that we are crazy for moving to a different state with no income set up, but when the Lord moves you, you move. The Lord has and will continue to provide for us and we have come to fully rely on Him for everything. What an awesome way to strengthen your faith!

That's what I have for now...I will post pictures this weekend.

Update

2011-08-03T22:43:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to give everyone an update on us. We load up the truck on the 15th and will be in North Carolina on the 20th or 21st. We will be renting a house! One of the owners of the company purchased a house, which he will be closing on in the next few days, and will rent it out to us. We are so excited!! It's has three bedrooms with a big back and front yard. It's also down the street from the elementary school. We will have to register Curtis that Monday after we arrive because school starts on the 25th. We also might be able to get Lauren into pre-kindergarten at the school. She wants to go to school so bad, so I'm really hoping we can get her signed up. Also, Lauren has now gone six months without bleeding, which is now the longest she has ever gone and she is now down to 3/4 of a teaspoon of Miralax. Yay, Lauren!! We are very hopeful that her bleeding issues are over.

My grandparents came to visit over the weekend, and we had so much fun! I will post pictures either tomorrow or Friday once I download them from the camera. It was hard to watch them leave. Once we get settled in NC, we want to plan a trip to Cali to visit my family. I miss them so much.

Please pray that we will have a safe journey, since Kevin will be driving the moving truck. Thanks!

Nine Years

2011-07-20T10:58:00.003-05:00

Today Kevin and I celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary. Time sure does fly by when you're chasing around children! I want to post the lyrics to our wedding song I Don't Want To Go by Avalon that was sung so beautifully by our pastor's daughter, Tamara. This song still makes me cry when I hear it, and it just speaks of our relationship so well.

You changed my world

When you came to me

You drove a passion

In my soul down deep

Lord, to follow You in everything

I don't want to go somewhere

If I know that you're not there

'Cause I know that me without you is a lie

And I don't want to walk that road

Be a million miles from home

'Cause my heart needs to be where you are

So I don't want to go

So come whatever (whatever may come)

I'll stick with you (right by your side)

I'll walk, you'll lead me

Call me crazy or a fool

For forever, I promise you that

I don't want to go somewhere

If I kow that you're not there

'Cause I know that me without you is a lie

And I don't want to walk that road

Be a million miles from home

'Cause my heart needs to be where you are

So I don't want to go

Without your touch, without you're love

Filling me like an ocean

For your grace is enough, enough for me

To never want to go somewhere

If I know that you're not there

North Carolina Bound

2011-07-14T13:32:00.005-05:00

So we are finally heading to North Carolina! Tomorrow is my last day of work and we will be moving to NC sometime the first week of August. We are still working on getting a place to live. We are hoping to have something lined up this week. Surprisingly, I am not worried. I know God will provide a place for us in His time and I am at peace with it. Kevin is a little worried, but I have been able to keep him calm. I am very excited and look forward to this new adventure. I won't be doing much blogging (not that I have been doing much blogging) until we get all settled. Please pray that we would have safe travels and that the kids would handle the transition well.

Speaking of the kids, I just wanted to let you know that Lauren is going on 5 1/2 months of no bleeding. The longest she has gone has been 5 months, so we are hopefull that whatever was causing the bleeding has gone away. We still have her on Miralax, but only 3/4 to 1 teaspoon a day instead of the 4 teaspoons she was on in January. We are hoping that if she can go a year without bleeding, then we will take her off of the Miralax completely.

That's all the updates I have for now. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Claire's Birthday Weekend

2011-06-19T21:12:00.013-05:00

I know this is way overdue, but work and packing just take up my time these days. So I wanted to write about our fun weekend for Claire's birthday. I had taken Friday the 20th off of work, and we went to the Rainforest Cafe for an early dinner. We had taken both Curtis and Lauren there for their first birthday's, but we weren't able to go last year for Claire's first birthday, so we made it this year. Curtis and Claire loved it, but Lauren was petrified...she hid under the table the whole time. (We were by the gorillas and she didn't want any part of it!) I ended up feeding her under the table. (You would've thought we were feeding a dog!) Claire had a blast and enjoyed having "Happy Birthday" sung to her.

On Saturday (which was her birthday), we went to Como Town and Como Zoo for our PBS station's Family Fun Day. We have never been there before and the zoo is free, so it was a no brainer. Unfortunately it rained that day, but let up enough to head over there. The rain let up for about an hour, then it started pouring and we had thunder and lightening. We ended up hanging out in the animal buildings until the rain let up. Then we ate lunch outside under the overhangs (the kids thought it was fun and had a blast!) Around 1 p.m. the rain finally let up and we went to Como Town to ride some rides. The kids had so much fun...they still talk about it! We do have to go back when the weather is better to see the animals in their habitats and ride more rides without being soaked. So here are some pictures of our wild birthday weekend.

Here is Claire's birthday cake. I originally wanted a Tinkerbell cake, since Claire loves Tinkerbell, but Target has discontinued the cake I wanted, so Hello Kitty was the next best thing. I think it fit her personality very well.

The pony cart ride at Como Town.

Claire had so much fun, even though she didn't want to sit with her brother.

The girls thought is was cool to drive Curtis around.

This is a Moray eel that was right next to our table at The Rainforest Cafe. I've never seen an eel that big before.

Claire is digging in to her volcano cake. She wasn't waiting for anyone!

2 Years

2011-05-22T20:49:00.000-05:00

My dear Claire, I can't believe we celebrated your second birthday yesterday! These last two years have gone by so fast and you have grown so much! It just seems like yesterday you went breech at the last minute and gave us a good scare, only to turn the right way a week and a half later. I wonder what you thought as we were calling you by the boy name we picked out, since you tricked us into thinking you were a boy. You have definitely kept us on our toes! Once you were born, the nurses scared us into thinking that you were going to have trouble walking because of the dimple on your bottom, but you proved them wrong and walked at 10 months! You've done just about everything early: got your first tooth at 4 months, crawled at 7 months, and your vocabulary amazes us (you are giving Curtis a run for his money). Just this morning, you counted to 15, what!?! You know your shapes and quite a bit of the colors. You are so sure of yourself and have an amazing sense of humor. I love it when you make us laugh! You also have this cute lisp that adds to your charm. I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for you, my sweet little Claire Bear!

Another Prayer Request

2011-04-26T22:55:00.000-05:00

I have another prayer request. Two months ago, my mom broke her foot and was in a special boot for 6 weeks. She fell out of bed one night trying to roll over with the boot on and her leg swelled up. The doctors thought that it was just from the boot being on all the time and figured it would stop once the boot was off. Well, the swelling was still there after the boot came off and the doctor suspected a blod clot, but couldn't find anything and my mom wasn't having any pain. Well, the doctor decided to do an ultrasound since the swelling wasn't going away. My mom had her ultrasound on Friday. As soon as she walked in the door, the phone was ringing and it was her doctor telling her that she had a big blood clot in her knee "that was like a giant black cloud" and to get to the hospital right away. So my mom spent Friday night and part of the day on Saturday in the hospital having bloodwork done and keeping an eye on the clot. She has to be on Coumadin and she has to inject herself with Heparin twice a day until Friday to speed up the Coumadin. She was fine Sunday, but had a really bad day yesterday with lots of leg pain that made her ill. She is taking the next few days off of work and sees the doctor on Friday. I will keep you posted on what the doctor says. I am very worried and it hurts that I can't be there with her. Please pray that the clot would dissolve and that it wouldn't break apart and float to places that it shouldn't. Thank you.

Updates

2011-04-16T22:22:00.000-05:00

Once again, it's been too long since I last posted. Work keeps me very busy and with packing, I just don't have a lot of spare time, so I will be updating you on what's been going on in our lives. First, I want to let you know that my cousin's wife Arinda, had her follow up ultrasound and they found the baby's stomach right away! What a relief and mommy and baby are doing well. My mom broke her foot and was out of work for six weeks. She was finally able to return to work last week. I'm busy with work and trying to play with the kids as much as I can, so they know that I still love them. I hate going to work in the morning because the kids will ask, "Mommy, why do you have to go to work? Why can't Daddy go to work?" It's very hard. The best part of the day is when I come home and the kids mob me at the door with hugs and kisses! Hmmm, I wonder if they missed me! :) Kevin is still unemployed and the North Carolina move is still moving forward, but Kevin will probably have to find a full time job until this company can start paying salaries. I can always get a job out there, but I'd rather not. Curtis is doing well in school and is counting down the days to when he will be a first grader! I can't believe he only has two months of school left. This year has gone by fast. He has taken up an interest in guitars, since Kevin has been working on guitars. Lauren is now completely potty trained, which she did herself. She also hasn't had any bleeding since January. I know this is kind of gross, but her bowel movements have changed and she is doing bigger stools, so we are very hopeful that whatever was causing the bleeding has corrected itself. Only time will tell. She is looking forward to starting preschool in the fall, and has taken an interest in ice skating and soccer. Claire will be two next month, can you believe it! She is getting three of her two year molars, and she hasn't been a happy camper :( She has an extensive vocabulary and even tries to boss Curtis and Lauren around! She has taken an interest in potty training. She loves to tell us when she is wet and will ask to sit on the toilet, but that's all she does. It seems like that's all we've done the last few years is potty train. We should be experts by now, hahaha! I will do a whole post on the awesome concert that I took Kevin to for his birthday, so until then, be blessed!

Prayer Request

2011-03-11T15:23:00.000-06:00

Please pray for my cousin's wife, Arinda. She is pregnant with a baby girl and just had an ultrasound done. The doctor told her that they were unable to detect the baby's stomach, so she has to redo the ultrasound in three weeks. What a very anxious time for them. Can you please lift them and the baby up in prayer. Thanks.

Name That Photo

2011-01-15T20:03:00.000-06:00

I figured that I would start off the new year with something fun. So here is a picture of Claire and Natalee Feldman (Jon & Ali's daughter) from our photo shoot in October. This is one of my favorites and there is so much that could be captioned so leave your comments. I can't wait to hear what you come up with!

Another Long Day

2011-01-04T20:55:00.000-06:00

Today we spent all morning at Children's Hospital St. Paul doing more testing and following up with the gastroenterologist. I was very nervous about today. I wanted to find out what is causing the bleeding and prolapse, but also scared to find out and this time it was just Lauren and I since Curtis is back in school. I did cry a little on the way there, but once we arrived, it was game time. Lauren had her sweat test first and she did very well. She cried a little because the charges going through the electrodes hurt towards the end.

Here are the electrodes that she had on both arms.

This is the bracelet that measured the sweat. She had to wear these for 30 minutes.

Here are both arms with the bracelets bandaged up so that she wouldn't pull them off. Thankfully, she was able to play in the waiting room for the half hour that they were on her arms.

Giving Snoopy a hug after getting the bracelets off.

Here she is going through the kid door at Dr. Goldman's office. I love the little door and Lauren thought it was the coolest! Dr. Goldman told us that her bloodwork is normal, so no deficiencies. Since Lauren hasn't had any bleeding and prolapse in three weeks, Dr. Goldman told us that she doesn't need to come back unless she has more bleeding. If she does have bleeding, we need to call the office right away and they will order the scope to check for polyps. We also had another xray done to see if the stone has been flushed out of her appendix. Dr. Goldman will call us with the results of the xray and the sweat test. I did ask her what the next step would be if the stone was still in Lauren's appendix and she said that there isn't anything that they can do because she is too little to have her appendix removed. She said that we will have to be vigilant because she is going to be more prone to appendicitis. She also said that they can do surgery through her belly button, but we will get there when we get there. So we still don't know what is causing her bleeding, so we just watch and wait for now. Thank you all for praying for our sweet little girl.

Lauren

2010-12-14T23:00:00.000-06:00

I know it's been awhile since I last posted, and I will talk about my Mom's visit out here on another day. I am going to talk about Lauren's health issues and it's going to get graphic, so if you have a weak stomach do not read. As most of you know, Lauren has had rectal bleeding since she was 15 months old. When the bleeding first started, we took her off dairy and gave her soy to see if she was allergic to dairy...still bleeding. We flushed out her system and still bleeding, then she had a bought of prolapse that scared me to death. For those of you that don't know what rectal prolapse is, it's when the rectum turns inside out and comes out of the anus. Here I am changing her diaper and there is this bulbus purple thing sticking out of her bottom. I had to muster every ounce of my being so that I wouldn't scream and scare the kids. When I lifted up her legs to remove the dirty diaper, it was gone. That was what led to our visit with the gastroenterologist at CHOC. No testing was done and we were told to put her on Miralax to keep her stools the consistency of soft serve ice cream...still bleeding, but not as frequently. At first she went for a month without bleeding, then two months, then three months, then when we moved out here she went for five months without bleeding and we actually thought that it was finally over, boy were we wrong! She had three bouts of bleeding in one day, then nothing for a month, then more bleeding. Her bleeding was becoming more frequent until Thanksgiving when she had a bowel movement and started screaming because of the pain. She wouldn't let Kevin touch her so I had to check her out. She told me that there was blood and when she got off the toilet, blood was dripping onto her leg. I grabbed the toilet paper and starting wiping it up. I asked her to bend over so that I could check her tooshie and there it was staring at me, but this time I had to push it back in. Not fun people, not fun at all. The next day more bleeding and prolapse. I also have to say that whenever she had bleeding in the past, it was just a little bit and it was more pink than red, but since Thanksgiving, it's been bright red and a lot of it. The Monday after Thanksgiving, I called her pediatrician and let him know what was going on and he gave us the name and number of a doctor to call and schedule with right away. Well, when I looked up the doctor online, I discovered that it was a surgeon. That totally freaked me out! So last week, we got her in with the surgeon and he examined her. The doctor had to put his finger in her anus to check how things felt in there and I must say Lauren did so well. She did everything that he asked her to do and she didn't make a peep. We were so proud of her! So the surgeon tells us that everything feels nice and tight and where it should be and he didn't think that she would need surgery. He did agree that since the bleeding has been going on for so long to have a scope done, so he said that he would talk with his colleagues and they would call us to schedule. The next day we got a call saying that Lauren would need an xray and would be seeing the gastroenterologist after. Now that brings us to today. We took her in for the xray and she did wonderful! We got to the doctors office and the fun began. The doctor said that Lauren has some calcification in her appendix and has a lot of stool in her bowels. So tomorrow, we flush out her system with a whole bottle of Miralax and a liquid diet. The doctor was very upset that no testing has been done on her, so we had to take her to the lab for lots of bloodwork. I went in with her and when she saw the needle, she just started shaking and saying, "No shots, Mommy. Please no shots!" Then she started crying... I so wanted to cry with her, but I had to be strong for her. They took out a lot of blood...poor thing :( Lauren needs to come back on January 4th to have a sweat test done to check for Cystic Fibrosis. This test will take an hour and she will have electrodes on her and some kind of device to collect her sweat. That is not going to be fun. She will see the doctor afterwards to go over the lab results and to discuss the colonoscopy in detail. She may also get another xray to see if the stone is gone. We are so thankful that testing is finally being done, but it is so hard to watch her go through this. I would love to just take this from her and bear the burden myself. Today was a little overwhelming and I'm still trying to process it all. Prayers would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

First Snow Day

2010-11-13T20:56:00.000-06:00

Today, we here in the Frozen Tundra, had our first snow fall of the season. The kids have been waiting for this since the leaves starting falling. Everyday Curtis has been asking if it's going to snow and he gets sad when it doesn't. So yesterday, before the kids went to bed we told them that it was supposed to snow today. So when Curtis got up this morning, I could here him lift up the blinds to look out the window, then say in a quiet voice, to not wake up his sisters, "It's snowing!" Remember, the kids have never seen snow on the ground until we moved out here in March and today was the first time they have ever seen snow falling from the sky! It was like Christmas morning around our place today! When Lauren woke up about 20 minutes later, Curtis must have told her that it was snowing because I heard her lifting up the blinds to look outside. Then she exclaimed, "It's snowing!!" and came running into our room, "Mommy, it's snowing, it's snowing!!"

This is what it looked like when we woke up.

Claire, our little snow bunny!

Curtis catching snowflakes on his tongue.

Lauren making a snow angel and tasting snow flakes.

The Final Catch Up

2010-10-24T21:30:00.000-05:00

So, this post should catch you all up on what is happening in our lives. Curtis is doing good in school. He is growing and maturing so much. Kevin and I are just amazed at how much he has changed since starting school. Lauren is now potty trained and she did it all on her own! She wants to go to school so bad and knows that she can't go if she is not potty trained. It is so nice to have only one child in diapers :) Claire is now 17 months old and is saying words like no tomorrow. It's like deja vu with Curtis all over again! Curtis and Claire are buddies, it is so awesome to see. Claire will just come up to him and hug him and give him kisses and Curtis in turn will protect her. Lauren just picks on both of them, but she can also be so gentle and kind. Claire has the best personality. She is so silly and sure of herself, I mean she will make faces or do something silly just to get us to laugh. She loves her books, just like the other two. I am so thankful that my children love to read books. Kevin is still not working :( He had a couple of leads, but they didn't go anywhere. We are now just waiting on the Lord. A few weeks ago, Kevin was approached by his brothers with a job prospect...two Christian gentlemen are trying to start a company selling musical instruments and accessories. These two gentlemen are already selling guitars and some other stuff from their garage, but want to expand. Kevin's younger brother is already working on the website and if sales escalate to where the company can expand, then Kevin and his two brothers will be co-owners in this company, with Kevin being in charge of warehouse inventory and guitar set up. We would need to move to North Carolina. I know, when Kevin first told me, I was like "What!?! We just moved out here." Now I am very open to it if that is where the Lord is calling us to go. We have found a church that we like and a Christian school out there. We are excited to see the Lord move and work in this. Kevin and I were talking the other day that the Lord has been closing doors for us out here. We had been looking at houses and everyone we liked was either being closed on or the realtors wouldn't call us back. Then when we went to get a home loan, we were told that we can't get one because I don't have the two year work history. She did tell us that once Kevin gets a job, then we can get the loan started. That sounds good, but Kevin is having a hard time finding a job. So we wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. Finally, we had our pictures taken by Ali Feldman a couple weeks ago. We planned on wearing white turtlenecks, so that we wouldn't take away from the beautiful fall colors. Well, it was so hot!! It was around 85 degrees and we were in our turtlenecks outside and Claire was super grouchy. Ali was so patient with us and did get some great pictures. I can only put a couple on here because we are having difficulty viewing the pictures from our computer.

Aren't the colors beautiful? Uh, not sure what Lauren is doing and don't really want to know :)

Our beautiful family

Curtis playing in the leaves

So I had to throw this one in so you could see that Claire wasn't a happy camper.

Catching Up: Part 4

2010-10-11T21:02:00.000-05:00

Alrighty, so today I'm going to talk about this cool celebration that our city has called the Fire Muster. They have this celebration every September with a fire truck parade on Saturday and the community parade on Sunday. We went on Saturday and let me tell you, the fire truck parade was so cool! I felt like a kid getting all giddy with excitement waiting for the parade to start. I think I was more excited than the kids at one point :) What an awesome parade!! I've never seen so many fire trucks in one place in my whole life. I took about 100 pictures, just of the fire trucks. After the parade, we went to the civic center to look at the trucks up close and see the demonstrations. The kids got to play on some of the trucks and try on the fire fighting gear. They even got to pick out their own fire hat to take home. Here are some pictures of that awesome day!

Here they come!!

This is a truck that goes into buildings that are unstable.

The mobile command unit

The hook and ladder truck

Old fashioned fire engine

Old fashioned ladder truck. This was Kevin's favorite.

The auto extraction demonstration

This is one of my favorites of the kids.

The kids shooting water from the fire hose.

Catching Up: Part 3

2010-10-08T21:33:00.000-05:00

Labor Day weekend we took the kids to the Minnesota State Fair and of course the day we went, the attendance record was broken. Thankfully we got there early and we left early because we could barely walk around it was so crowded. The kids loved every minute of it and that's all that matters. Next year though, I think we are going to do the county fairs instead. So here are some pictures.

The kids at the Lil Farm Hands exhibit. This exhibit was so cool. The kids got a pail and an apron and had to go to these stations around the exhibit. They got a baggie of corn to feed the chickens, when they fed the chickens they got to put an egg in their pail. Then they went to ride around in a pedal tractor, then plant a vegetable and harvest a vegetable to put in their pail. Then they fed a sheep and got some wool to put in their pail. Next, they fed a cow and milked the cow and got a carton of milk to put in their pail. Then, they picked an apple to put in their pail and went to market to sell their wares. They received a play doller to buy one item in the store and they both chose an apple :)

Curtis planting some potatoes at the Lil Farm Hands exhibit.

Lauren riding a John Deere tractor at the Lil Farm Hands exhibit.

The kids raking cranberries.

Catching Up: Part 2

2010-10-06T20:34:00.000-05:00

As you all know Curtis started kindergarten this year. This post is going to be about his Jump Start class and his first day of school. We put Curtis in a kindergarten jump start class to help him get ready for kindergarten. It was a three week class and he loved every minute of it! He was so sad when the class was over because he wouldn't get to see his friends again. That was very hard. Then he started school and now he is fine. I took the day off so that I could be with him on his special day. I held off the tears until he got onto the bus and then the floodgates opened. My baby is growing up, too fast I'm afraid. So, onto the pictures!

Curtis' jump start class showing the parents what they have learned.

Curtis looking at Grace. She liked him and would follow him around. Puppy love!!

Curtis and his friend Abdallahi. They were inseprable.

In front of his class.

Curtis on his way to school. I was very nervous about him riding the bus to school, but he begged and pleaded to ride the bus.

All lined up and ready to go to class. They are waving bye to the parents before heading inside.

Last week, was teacher confrences and his teacher told us that he is above average in the letters that he knows. He knows 23 of the 26 letters and she was very impressed that he knows the sounds that letters make. He does know how to spell a few words, so he is well on his way.

Catching Up: Part 1

2010-10-03T21:22:00.000-05:00

Alright, since I have a lot to talk about, I'm going to write a little at a time. Today, I'm going to talk about our Chuck E. Cheese day. Since, Curtis and Lauren's birthday's are two weeks apart and I was super busy at work in August, so we decided to celebrate both birthday's at Chuck E. Cheese with their cousins. The kids had so much fun!

Claire had fun riding in the cars. She didn't want to leave.

Curtis and his cousin Levi.

The girls on the carousel.

Having fun!!

Lead Me

2010-09-30T21:15:00.000-05:00

Boy, it sure has been awhile since I've posted anything. I have a lot to post, but that will have to wait for another day. Today I want to share with you an awesome song that just moves me to tears every time I hear it. The song is called Lead Me by the band Sanctus Real.

I look around and see my wonderful life

Almost perfect from the outside

In picture frames I see my beautiful wife

Always smiling

But on the inside, I can hear her saying...

“Lead me with strong hands

Stand up when I can't

Don't leave me hungry for love

Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight

That I'm still the love of your life

I know we call this our home

But I still feel alone”

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes

They're just children from the outside

I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine

They're independent

But on the inside, I can hear them saying...

“Lead me with strong hands

Stand up when I can't

Don't leave me hungry for love

Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight

That I'm still the love of your life

I know we call this our home

But I still feel alone”

So Father, give me the strength

To be everything I'm called to be

Oh, Father, show me the way

To lead them

Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands

To stand up when they can't

Don't want to leave them hungry for love,

Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight

And give them the best of my life

So we can call this our home

Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Happy Birthday, Curtis!!

2010-08-29T21:53:00.000-05:00

So today my little man turns five and I am happy and sad at the same time. He will be going to school in a couple of weeks and I am having a hard time letting go. Part of me wishes he was still a baby, but I love watching him grow and seeing how sweet and compassionate he can be. I love talking to him about Jesus and we have great conversations together. In honor of his birthday, I will be telling his birth story.

Curtis was my worst pregnancy and birth of the three. Kevin and I think it was in part because I got pregnant with him six weeks after the end of my miscarriage. I got sick as soon as I got pregnant and started bleeding at eight weeks and continued bleeding all throughout the pregnancy. Between the bleeding, bedrest, and throwing up, it made for a very long pregnancy. At 29 weeks, I went into labor and thankfully the doctors were able to stop the contractions. That was also when we found out we were having a boy. At 35 weeks, I went into labor again, but asked to be sent home because they couldn't induce since I wasn't 37 weeks and wasn't progressing. Then he ended up being five days late. At 2:45 the morning of August 29th, I got up to go to the bathroom and as soon as I got into the bathroom, this gush of water came out. I was like, "Oh man, I just peed myself." So I changed my clothes and went back to bed. A short time later, it happened again and I knew that I couldn't have wet myself again. I woke up Kevin and told him that my water broke, but he didn't believe me and went back to sleep. I lied down and tried to go back to sleep, but 15 minutes later I started getting these really bad contractions that just radiated from my spine all the way around my belly. I started timing them and they were seven minutes apart. I lied there for about half an hour then I decided to get up and walk around to see if they would stop. Kevin came out to check on me and I told him about the contractions, but he still wanted to wait and see what happened. So when walking around didn't help the contractions, I sat down and watched a little t.v. That didn't help either, so I told Kevin that this was the real deal and we were gonna need to go to the hospital. Kevin putzed around for awhile then decided to take a shower and I went into the kitchen to get a drink of water. As soon as I reached the kitchen a contraction hit me so hard, it brought me to my knees. So when it was over, I went into the bathroom and told Kevin that we needed to go to the hospital NOW!! Again he just kind of blew me off and took his time getting ready. My contractions were now four minutes apart and getting stronger. We finally headed to the hospital around 4:45 and my contractions kept stopping me in my tracks. Kevin took his sweet time driving to the hospital, he didn't even reach the speed limit! I will be honest, I wanted to rip his head off. I still give him a hard time about the drive to the hospital. Once we got there, I thought he was going to drop me off at the ER entrance while he parked the car...no, he drove around looking for a parking spot and found one quite a distance from the entrance. Thankfully, the security guard saw me wobbling around and grunting, so he ran inside and grabbed a wheelchair and ran out to me. When we got to the L & D floor, I got put into the triage unit so that they could check me out before they put me in a room. The nurse confirmed that my water had indeed broken and I was 6 cm dilated, so they got me into a room. The contractions were so bad and my blood pressure was getting high, so we decided to have an epidural. Once I had been given the epidural, which was around 6 a.m., the nurse checked me and I was fully dilated and ready to push, so she called my doctor and we waited. He got in around 6:30, so I started pushing. Two hours later, I was still pushing and he wouldn't come out. The doctor gave me an episiotomy and was trying to pull him out, but he was stuck. The doctor determined that his head was stuck on my tailbone and tried to wiggle him out, but it didn't work and he started getting distressed. The look on the doctors face when he told us that and that we needed to get him out asap was so frightening and I was so tired, I didn't know if I could push anymore. I prayed that God would give me the strength to push this baby out and that the baby would be okay. The doctor asked me if he could use vacuum extraction to get the baby out and I told him that he needed to do whatever necessary to get the baby out safely. The next part I don't remember because I was so focused on pushing, but Kevin told me that the first attempt at the vacuum extraction didn't work, so the doctor had to pull it off and readjust it on Curtis' head. The second attempt worked and Curtis came out at 8:39 a.m. screaming and flailing his arms. Ooohh was he mad, but he was so beautiful and perfect and I was so thankful that he was okay. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long with red hair. Thank you Lord for blessing us with Curtis, we are honored to be his parents.

Life Is But A Vapor

2010-08-18T21:10:00.000-05:00

This is Joey Balistreri who was killed in a horrendous car accident just a few blocks from us exactly one month ago. He was laid to rest last Friday since his dad was in the hospital with serious injuries. We do not know this family, but Kevin and I have been effected greatly by this accident. Part of it because we would have been right there when it happened. We were grocery shopping and it was past the kids' bedtime and I was trying to get Kevin to hurry up so we could get home. Curtis and Lauren kept having to go to the bathroom and then Claire dropped her Care Bear and I had to search half the store looking for it. I wasn't very happy at the time, but now I can see that God kept us from being involved in that accident. When we came upon the accident about 15-20 minutes after it happened, I just knew that there were fatalities (as it turned out, the only fatality was Joey). I started crying and praying and have been for this family ever since. The mom Pam has been keeping an amazing online journal at www.caringbridge.org/visit/geoffbalistreri I really encourage you to read it and see how God's grace, mercy, and love is shining through in this tragedy. Last Thursday, when we put the kids to bed, we all prayed for the family and then sang worship/Bible songs. I always have the kids pick the songs that we sing and the first song that they wanted to sing was Jesus Loves Me, so I told them that we should sing it for Joey. The second song they picked was Jesus Loves The Little Children which Curtis said we were singing for Joey's family. We sang a couple more songs then I asked Curtis to pick out the last song and he chose He Has Made Me Glad. So I start singing and Curtis says, "Mom we need to sing this loud for Joey, he's with Jesus." I lost it and couldn't stop crying. My son is so sweet and I am so thankful to have been blessed with him. Just remember that life is a vapor, here one minute and gone the next, so make the most of each day.

Happy Birthday Lauren!!

2010-08-15T21:15:00.000-05:00

So today our Lauren turns three. Time is just going by way too fast! I made her a Strawberry Shortcake cake and we brought it to church and everyone sang Happy Birthday to her. We will be taking Curtis and Lauren to Chuck E. Cheese next weekend to celebrate their birthday's. In honor of Lauren's birthday, I will be writing her birth story...We decided to induce a week early because the doctor was saying that Lauren was going to be bigger than Curtis and after what happened with Curtis we were trying to avoid a c-section. So on Tuesday, August 14th, when I had gone in for my doctor's appointment we decided to induce the next day since I was already 4 cm dilated. Now let me just say that Lauren was my best and easiest pregnancy. I didn't have any morning sickness and had a lot of energy. In hindsight, we shouldn't have induced because it didn't work and Lauren was our smallest baby. Oh me of little faith! Anyway, we got to the hospital at 7:30 a.m. so that they could start the Pitocin at 8 a.m. When they checked my cervix, I was 5 cm so we thought things would go rather quickly. Wrong!! At 10 a.m. when the doctor came in to see how I was doing, I still hadn't progressed any. They were going to give me until noon since he had to do a couple c-sections and if I hadn't progressed then they would break my water. So noon rolls around and I'm now 6 cm, so he breaks my water to a pop and a big gush. That was a very weird feeling. So we just wait. About 1:20 p.m. the doctor comes back in to see how I am doing and it's progressed a little, so he leaves and asks them to page him if anything changes. Not long after that I started to feel a lot of pressure and felt like I needed to push so we called the nurse and she came in to check me and sure enough the head was crowning and I was told not to push until the doctor got there. That's a lot easier said than done! So the nurses pages the doctor and he doesn't answer the page so she tries again and he still doesn't answer. She calls his office and he's not there, so she comes in to me to make sure I'm not pushing and let me know that they can't find the doctor. Are you kidding me!! This baby is coming with or without him. After about 5 minutes they finally found him and told him to get to my room asap. He shows up about 5 minutes later to my relief and we get things going. After two pushes, Lauren slid right out and we were in love. Our little peanut was 7 lbs. 7 oz. and 18 1/2 inches long. So Happy 3rd Birthday Lauren, we love you!!

14 Months

2010-08-04T20:55:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that our youngest is 14 months old. My baby is gone and toddlerhood is in full swing. She runs all over the place and climbs on everything. She is our little monkey. She is a little spitfire and loves to throw tantrums with the best. She is also so sure of herself and will walk around with her hands behind her back like she is inspecting things. She loves to talk and I think we have another Curtis on our hands. She has an amazing sense of humor that keeps Kevin and I laughing. We look forward to watching her grow. Here are some of her 1 year pictures that I haven't had a chance to post yet, so enjoy!

God Gave Me You

2010-07-19T21:45:00.000-05:00

On July 20, 2002 I married the man of my dreams and life hasn't been the same since:) There is a song that our Christian radio station plays called God Gave Me You and that song just rings true for me. My favorite part is the chorus and it goes like this:

God gave me you for the ups and downs

God gave me you for the days of doubt

For when I think I've lost my way

There are no words left to say, it's true

God gave me you

Kevin and I have been through so much in our eight years of marriage and I'm so thankful that I've been able to go through these ups and downs with him. I'm one blessed girl. Happy Anniversary, honey, I love you.

Family Reunion

2010-07-14T20:49:00.000-05:00

So this past weekend, Kevin's family had their family reunion and we headed up north to hang out with the fam. It was a very eventful weekend to say the least with hail and a supposed tornado a few miles away. Here are some pictures from the weekend.
Here we are at a park down the street from the motel that we stayed at.

Here is Lauren with the big Viking she named "Susan." For those of you that don't know, Lauren's favorite movie is Monsters vs. Aliens and the 50 ft woman is Susan, hence the viking is also Susan.

Our little Claire Bear.

Lauren is our dancing queen. She was just itching to get up on the stage and dance, so when they invited the kids to come up on stage, Lauren ran. She danced for 3-4 songs, I can't remember I was too busy taking pictures. After every song, she would run over to me and say, "Mommy, I'm dancing!" It was precious. We tried to get Curtis to go up with her, but he was too shy.

Well, I hope you all have a great rest of the week. TTFN

Holiday Weekend

2010-07-06T22:03:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. On Friday, we took the kids over to Curtis' school to fly kites and can you guess what kind of kites they were...If you guessed Buzz Lightyear you're right. Lauren wasn't interested, so Curtis flew his, then he wanted to go play so I ended up flying it. We had so much fun and can't wait to do it again.

On Saturday, we took all three kids to the movies to see Toy Story 3. I was very nervous about how the kids were going to behave, but they were great. Lauren had a few moments when she would scream if one of us got up to leave, so we had to bring her with us. Curtis didn't move the whole movie, except to go to the bathroom, and he even shushed me for trying to talk to him during the movie! Claire would crack up at some of the characters when they came on screen, then she would clap at certain parts. It was too cute! After the movie was over, they were asking to see it again so that will be on our Christmas list this year.

On Sunday, our church had a picnic at one of the parks nearby, so we spent the majority of the day just hanging out. This park was amazing. The playground was the best I've ever seen. I wish I would've brought my camera with. Curtis even played some games with the rest of the kids. He is really good at walking/running with a cotton ball on a spoon. The best part was when the wiffleball game was about to start, kids vs. adults. Our pastor led everyone in singing The Star Spangled Banner. When we finished, the group at the picnic tables next to ours clapped and cheered for us and in the end, the kids beat the adults.

Yesterday, we didn't do much, just hung out at home and went through boxes so that we can reorganize our spare room. Kevin doesn't want to get a storage unit so all of our boxes are in the apartment with us, which doesn't leave us much room. We did get rid of three boxes of stuff and Kevin will be stacking boxes tomorrow so that we can try to use half of the room. We also finally moved Claire into the kids' room and out of our room...woo hoo! The first time since she was born that we have our bedroom to ourselves again.

Here is Curtis flying his kite.

The kids wearing their SeaBee shirts in honor of my brother.

This is from when we had all of the tornadoes hit the state. Isn't the sky an eerie color?

That's all I have for now. Have a great week.

Claire's Birthday Weekend

2010-05-24T21:04:00.000-05:00

So, our Claire Bear celebrated her 1st birthday on Friday and we had a Care Bears party for her on Saturday. She didn't really understand what was going on but she sure did enjoy the cake and ice cream! Here are some pictures from her birthday weekend.

Here is Claire eating her birthday cupcake on Friday. She stuffed her cheeks, it was so cute!

Here is her invitation that I made. I think they came out real good.

Her Care Bears birthday cake that was strawberry flavored, yum!

Her is Claire wearing Lauren's old birthday dress and enjoying her balloon.

My friend Myra bought the hat for Claire's birthday. As you can see, she wasn't too impressed.

It was a fun, but busy weekend and I'm glad everything turned out so well. Now I can sit back and enjoy what this next year is going to unfold.

Happy Birthday Claire!!

2010-05-20T21:06:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that our Miss Claire Bear will be a year old tomorrow. This past year has gone by so fast! In honor of her birthday, I will be writing about the day she was born, so be warned that there is gross girlie talk about to happen.

The morning of Thursday May 21, 2009 had started off with me not feeling very well. Not feeling well was the story of my whole pregnancy, but I had been up all night with really bad low back pain. Kevin could tell that I wasn't feeling well, so he decided to stay home, just in case. My back was hurting so bad that we decided to go to the hospital (I was already 3-4 cm dilated as of my appointment that Tuesday). I called my grandmother to let her know we were bringing the kids over. We got to the hospital around 8 a.m. and found out that my doctor was on vacation, so the on call doctor would be delivering our baby, bummer. As we were being escorted to our room, the nurse that would be taking care of me, walked out and exclaimed, "Kevin, is that you?" I looked at him like, who is that? He couldn't believe it, our nurse Katie, had worked with Kevin for 5 years at Disneyland, cool. So Katie got us settled and checked my cervix...4-5 cm...so she called the doctor. The doctor was in surgeries until 3:30, so I couldn't be induced until then, but we were also hoping that I wouldn't go into active labor until then. AAhhh, the waiting game. We did have her check to make sure that the baby was still head down, since Claire had decided to go breech at 37 weeks, but that is another story for another day. We also told her that we didn't know what we were having and wanted Kevin to call out the baby's sex when he/she was born. I cannot tell you how exciting it was to not know the sex of the baby, and the anticipation of is it a boy or girl (even though I swore we were having a boy and were calling it by the boy name). We had accidently found out with Curtis at 29 weeks and found out on purpose with Lauren. If we decide to have another one, we are definitely not finding out. Anyway, to combat the back pain, which we found out was because the baby was resting his/her head on my spine, Katie had me lay on my side, but partially on my belly for 15 min, then change sides. I did this for about 1 1/2 hours and it did help, so we decided to take a walk around the maternity ward to try and get things moving along. Around lunch time, Katie checked me again and I was only 5 cm with contractions every 7-8 min and my water bag was bulging, so Kevin went to get something to eat, while I had ice chips, lucky me. I did sneak a few bites of his burger since I was very hungry. After lunch, we just did more of the same, walking around, lying on my side, you get the idea. Since things weren't progressing very fast, the doctor decided that she was going to break my water at 3:30 after her last surgery, so at 2 p.m. I decided to get an epidural, since my back pain was getting really bad. The anesthesiologist came in at 2:30 to do the epidural, but low and behold blood started to go into the tube, so he had to pull it out and redo it...fun, fun, fun. The cool thing about this epidural was that I could still feel the contractions, but the back pain was gone...very nice. So 3:30 comes around and the doctor comes in to break my water...not so simple, the hook broke because my water bag was really thick, so she had to get another hook. Thankfully, this time it worked, so we wait some more. At 4 p.m. she checked me again and I was only 6 cm, so they decided to give me Pitocin. I told them that I didn't need it because once my water breaks, labor is very quick (Four hours with Curtis and two hours with Lauren). I argued with them on this, but they won out, so I got the Pitocin. Around 4:15 as I'm lying on my side, I feel a bunch of liquid coming out and it feels like something is sliding out, so I tell Kevin to run out and get Katie. He goes to the nurse station but she isn't there, so I press the nurse call button. A couple minutes later Katie comes in and I tell her what happened, so she goes to lift my leg to check me and quickly puts it down. She tells me that the baby's head is coming out and overhead pages the doctor... no answer... so she pages the doctor on her beeper and finds out that the doctor had gone to her office across the street...great, the baby's coming NOW and the doctor isn't here, so what does Katie tell me...don't push...that's a lot easier said than done. So I'm trying not to push, when all I really want to do is push, and finally the doctor arrives...yeah! Now I can push...first push, head is out...second push, I feel a lot of pressure and stretching, but baby's shoulders are stuck, so doctor is wiggling baby, very painful...third push, more tearing and I scream...fourth push, baby slides out...I look and the first thought that comes to mind, that doesn't look like a boy. So doctor looks to Kevin and says, "Okay dad, what is it?" and I hear him say, "It's......a girl!" No way, it can't be a girl, it supposed to be a boy. Kevin cuts the cord and they place her in my arms...and she is beautiful, all 8 lbs. 4 oz. of her. What a blessing!!

Claire moments after being born.

Claire today, no longer a baby, but now a toddler.

I love you Claire, Happy 1st Birthday!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T21:47:00.000-05:00

To all you moms out there, I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day. Enjoy the poem.

Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn’t worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child

so doctors could do tests or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby

just because I didn’t want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn’t stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom, I didn’t know the feeling

of having my heart outside my body.

I didn’t know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn’t know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn’t know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love,

the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

April 19, 1995

2010-04-14T08:43:00.000-05:00

On April 19, 1995 Timothy McVeigh parked a Ryder truck full of fertilizer explosives in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. At 9:02 a.m. it exploded, ripping through the building killing 168 people, 19 of whom were children all under the age of six. More than 680 people were injured. This was the worst act of terrorism on American soil pre 9/11. **As I'm writing this my husband pointed out, what about Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor was an act of war and not an act of terrorism.

I was 17 when this happened and I never would've dreamed that when I went off to boot camp four months later that my first duty station would be Oklahoma City. I arrived in OKC in January of 1996 and had no idea how this city and that horrible act would affect me. To tell the truth I didn't even put two and two together until about two weeks before the one year anniversary, when we were being briefed about all of the security measures that were going to be taken because the President was flying into the base for the ceremony. A lot of the military personnel had been on the base when the bomb exploded. The base is about 15 miles from downtown OKC and the blast was so great that they felt it on base. I will never forget the stories that the guys told me about helping with the rescue and recovery, through their tears. Now folks these aren't wimpy guys, these were big, strong, go to the gym everyday guys and to see them reduced to tears talking about what they experienced was very humbling. I wouldn't get the full effect until I was actually taken to the site a few days after the anniversary.

This is just one block from the Murrah building, and as you can see that after a year, the windows are blasted out and boarded up.

This is the Journal Record building that is across the street from the Murrah building.

This is the Water Resources building directly across the street from the Murrah building and you can see the damage. The survivor tree and YMCA is in the background. About 100 feet from those blockades is the spot that McVeigh parked the Ryder truck. The blast created a big crater in the street so they had to fill it in.

This is from the other side of the street. The survivor tree is in the foregound and the Water Resources building is in the background.

This is where the Murrah building once stood. This is hallowed ground. This fence was always full of momentos that people would leave. Just seeing the fence makes me cry. I spent New Year's Eve '96 at that fence praying over the victims and their families. That's a New Year's I will never forget.

This is on the wall of the Journal Records building in back of the Survivor Tree. The Survivor Tree was in the direct path of the explosion and survived.

This is a hard picture for me to look at especially since I have kids of my own now, but this picture is the most famous from that day. The little girl is Baylee Almon who turned one the day before the blast and she did not survive. This picture also won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize. There is a book out there written by Jon Hansen, who was the Assistant Fire Chief in Oklahoma City when the bombing happened, and it's titled Oklahoma Rescue. It's an amazing book of his first hand account of what happened that day and the days after. It will leave you speechless.

Since I can't get to my pictures yet I have to go with this picture from a postcard that I bought of the OKC National Memorial. The designers did a magnificent job with this memorial. It is so beautiful in person. There are two gates, The Gates of Time, at each end of the street. One gate says 9:01 and the other says 9:03. The street is now a reflecting pool and the chairs are where the Murrah building once stood. Each chair represents a person that was killed, big chairs for the adults and small chairs for the children. Each row represents a floor of the building, so the chairs in that row represent the number of people killed on each floor. There is more to the memorial, but I need to show the pictures to explain it. You can go to www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org to see everything in the memorial. It is a beautiful website.

On Friday, President Obama declared April 19, 2010 the National Day of Service and Rememberance for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism. I will leave you with a portion of his speech. "There is no greater evil than willful violence against innocents. On this National Day of Service and Rememberance for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism, we pause to remember victims of terrorism at home and abroad. We honor the heroes who have supported them, and we redouble our efforts to build the kind of world that is worthy of their legacy."

The Price

2010-04-07T21:22:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. Easter morning the kids opened their Easter gifts from my Mom. We didn't have anywhere to go so we just went for a drive to find a park. When we found a park, we would stop and let the kids out to play. They had a blast! It would've been nice to spend Easter with family, but oh well we made the best of it.

Saturday night, Kevin and I watched The Passion. That is the most amazing movie ever made. It really brings home what Jesus did for us, for me, even though we don't deserve it. I love how it shows the relationship between Jesus and his mother Mary. Being the mother of a son it really effects me on a different level. I just can't imagine what she went through watching her son go through all of that. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. The whole movie just has me crying from start to finish, but the two parts that really speak to me, as a mom, are when Jesus is carrying the cross through Jerusalem and Mary asks John to get her closer to him. John takes her to a spot that is secluded and she waits for Jesus. Jesus comes into view and falls to the ground from the weight of the cross as Mary flashes back to when Jesus was a child and fell and scraped his knee, so she goes running to him, as any mother would, and embraces him. Jesus looks at her and says,"Look Mother, I make all things new." Wow! That is so powerful and just wrenches my heart. The other scene is when Jesus is hanging on the cross and Mary walks up to him and kisses the bloodied foot of Jesus. She then looks up at him and says,"Flesh of my flesh...heart of my heart...Son, I want to die with you." Ugh! that just send me into hysterics. (Those of you that know me well, know that I'm a very sensitive person and it doesn't take much to make me cry) That is the ultimate price of motherhood. I am just humbled at the price Jesus paid so that we (I) could have a relationship with God.**As I was writing this, Curtis starting crying out in his sleep, and of course I jump out of my chair and run to him.** It is unfathomable to think that the great creator of the universe would send his only son humbly to this earth to die a horrible death just because he loved us and wanted to have a relationship with us. Would any of you sacrifice your child in that way for love? Hmmm...something to think about.

On a lighter note, Claire is officially walking and she is good!! She went from taking a couple of steps to full out walking in a week. She didn't even want to have us hold her hand and she will squat down, pick something up, then stand back up and continue walking. What!?! I still can't believe that I have a walking 10 month old. Lauren was 13 months old and Curtis was just about 14 months when they started walking. I had a feeling that she would walk early because when she was a newborn, she would stand herself up when I would burp her. Superbaby!! Anyway, have a great rest of the week.

Skating Fun

2010-03-24T21:13:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend (I know it's now the middle of the week, but I've been busy!) Saturday we just hung out and unpacked some more. Sunday our church had a pot luck for our Pastor's 50th birthday, so we hung out for awhile, then we went home so the girls could nap and then we were off to roller skate with Kevin's older brother and his family. The skating rink was 61 miles away in a very small town. When we got there I was a little aprehensive about the whole thing. You couldn't even tell it was a skating rink from the outside, but inside there were ramps on the floor and you could ride bikes, scooters, walkers, and skateboards as well as your skates. The kids had so much fun. Shortly after we arrived, Lauren was pushing one of those plastic play shopping carts and fell and bit through her tongue. Thankfully no stitches were needed and once the bleeding stopped, Lauren was on her way like nothing happened. She is such a trooper. So here are some pictures from our skating fun.

Curtis had so much fun on that thing. He was all over the place!

Lauren amazed us with her skating prowess. That girl has great balance!

Claire had too much excitement:)

Oh, I almost forgot...Curtis is officially registered for kindergarten. Kevin took the kids over to the school on Monday to turn in the paperwork, and Curtis got to meet the principal. Kevin said that Curtis saw some first graders lining up to go back to class and he wanted to join them, when Kevin told him that he can't start school yet, Curtis went over to the door and blocked it telling Kevin,"I don't want to go home, I want to go to school." That just eases my heart. I think he will be just fine. Have a great week!

It's been awhile

2010-03-18T20:05:00.000-05:00

Boy, it sure has been awhile since I last posted. Packing was just consuming every minute of my day. We were able to load the truck on time and in the pouring rain. Thank you Matt for your help, Kevin said you were a workhorse! We couldn't have done it without you. We headed out Sunday morning after church and arrived here in Minnesota Thursday afternoon. It sure was a long drive and the kids were awesome. Thankfully, my Mom brought two portable DVD players along so that the kids could have some entertainment. We have now been here for two weeks and we are still unpacking. The big stuff is done, but the little stuff is taking awhile. I also started my new job on Monday, so Kevin is now Mr. Mom. The kids seem to enjoy it, and the apartment hasn't burned down yet, so I think it will work out for awhile. It has been nice to be with adults and have adult conversations! We are getting Curtis ready for kindergarten. His school is one mile up the road and it sounds like a really good school. I took him in to have his early childhood screening done yesterday and it didn't go to well. Curtis did not want to co-operate and I was told to put him in a preschool or kindergarten readiness class. I'm not sure what to do because we can't afford to put him in preschool or the readiness class.

Lauren is still Lauren and she is adjusting very well. She still doesn't like to wear clothes and I'm not sure what to do about that. I'm hoping that she will grow out of it.

Claire is standing by herself all of the time now and she has taken a couple steps by herself too! She loves to dance to any kind of music and she has a great sense of humor. Now if I could only get her to sleep through the night, I would be a happy camper. That's all that's new with us, so here are some pictures from the last month.

This was a week before we moved. Need I say more:)

When we were driving through New Mexico, a bunch of NASCAR trucks passed us. This is Tony Stewart's truck. I felt like I was in the movie Cars!

The kids playing in the snow in Missouri. They had so much fun:)

Here is the big girl standing on her own. She is growing up too fast!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-02-12T22:10:00.000-06:00

Things are definitely full speed ahead around here. I've been packing like crazy and trying to find a place for us to live. We are waiting to hear back if our application has been approved on an apartment. We are praying that we will have a place to live once we get to Minnesota. It's hard to believe that next week is Kevin's last week at his work. Poor guy, the president, owner, and owner's wife have been giving Kevin the cold shoulder. It's sad that people have to be like that, especially since Kevin has bent over backwards for them. Oh well, God has something better in store for him:) Here are some pictures of the kiddos:

Our big girl!

Buzz Lightyear, need I say more:)

Lauren has been taking her naps in Curtis' bed. She wants out of the crib so bad. Once we move, we will be getting Curtis a twin bed so that Lauren can have the toddler bed and Claire will go in the crib.

Claire making her scrunchy face. Notice her two front teeth are completely in and her orange nose. Curtis had an orange nose as well. It must be a 'C' thang.

Here is Curtis and his orange nose.

Lauren decided to get herself dressed and put on Claire's shirt. Lauren calls her ponytail her "pretty, pretty hair".

Curtis wanted me to take a picture of him and Claire. I love the look on Claire's face.

Minnesota Bound

2010-02-03T23:44:00.000-06:00

Well, I got the call this morning and I was offered the job. Of course I said yes, so we are now Minnesota bound. I start on March 15th, so it will be go, go, go for the next couple of months. We are so excited! God's timing is so perfect. Monday, the controller at Kevin's work quit and yesterday 10 people were laid off. Kevin said the ship is sinking fast and he is looking forward to putting in his two week notice on Friday. It still seams so surreal, like we are in a dream. I'm trying to find a place for us to live once we get out there. I've called a couple of places and am just waiting to hear back. I will keep you all posted.

Uncle Lu Gets Married

2010-02-01T22:42:00.000-06:00

We had a whirlwind weekend to say the least. My brother, Luis, got married in Vegas on Saturday. They decided to get married before my brother leaves for Afghanistan in April. We left early Saturday morning for the long drive with all three kids in tow. The kids did really well. Claire had a major tantrum on the last leg because it was feeding time, but there was no where to stop and feed her. Boy, that girl can scream! Curtis and Lauren had their hands over their ears because they couldn't take it. We arrived in Vegas around 1:30 in the afternoon and hung out with my family in their room until 3 p.m. Then we left and checked into our room at Circus Circus. From there we left and went to the wedding. The ceremony was very quaint and short. Kevin and I looked at each other and said how thankful we were that we never though of getting married in Vegas. I know people have said that Hollywood is the modern day Babylon, but Las Vegas is definitely Babylon. We had to keep covering Curtis' eyes from the images on the billboards. Anyway, Luis and Michelle will be having a regular wedding next May after he returns from Afghanistan. After the ceremony, we went back to my families room and had cake, then we went to a dinner buffet at The Orleans. It was really good and the kids ate very well. Claire made friends with our server. It was cute. After that, we drove up the strip so that the kids could see all of the lights, unfortunately they fell asleep shortly after getting in the car. When we got to our room we all crashed. Yesterday morning, we got up, had breakfast, and walked around the midway so that the kids could see the circus acts and play some games. We had lunch, then headed back home. We didn't get home until late last night because there was an accident and construction along the way. I'm so glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed. So without further ado, here are some pictures from this weekend.This is the invitation that I had made for them before Lu found out he was going overseas and the wedding plans changed.

The kiss

The family photo

Cutting the cake that my grandmother made.

Lauren just loves Michelle and vice versa.

So Much To Talk About

2010-01-28T23:16:00.000-06:00

Wow! It sure has been awhile since I last posted. I first want to start our by congratulating Jon and Ali on the birth of baby Natalee. She was born on Monday and is a cutie. We are so happy for them. Go check out their blog at www.feldmancrew.blogspot.com and see the cute pictures. Please keep them in prayer as the adoption is yet finalized.

Our phone and internet went down for almost a week. It was nice not being bothered by telemarketers, but I was waiting to hear back about the job in Minnesota I had applied for. Needless to say, our phone and internet was restored yesterday morning and three hours later I got a call from the supervisor at the neurology clinic to do a phone interview. Of course the kids were yelling, crying, and just plain being naughty the whole time. She told me that she was doing interviews this week and would probably make her decision next week. So we shall see what happens. The timing would be perfect for me to get this job because the company that Kevin works for is in serious financial trouble. I won't go into detail but bad financial decisions were made that are now costing the company their reputation and business. We are both at peace for whatever happens. God will never leave us or forsake us.

In other news, Claire turned eight months on the 21st. She is crawling all over the place and she is quick! She is also pulling herself up on everything and taking some steps. We have had a few scares with her because she has started climbing up the stairs and has fallen a couple of times. Just makes my heart stop. She sure does keep me on my toes! She is getting very vocal as well. She has the cutest voice, I love it! I have also started her on table food, which she LOVES. She is a piggy, now if I could just get her to sleep through the night. She is stubborn, but she wakes up happy in the morning. She is my worst sleeper by far. Hopefullly she will grow out of it soon, I'm tired.

Lauren's vocabulary is blossoming, which means she thinks she can boss everyone around. Her favorite saying right now is "Cool it with attitude!" She is learning so much, but colors are her hang up. She thinks everything is green. She has become a little fashionista and is very adamant about what she wants to wear, but she would rather run around in just her diaper. Kevin and I are praying about this. Two Sunday's ago she tried taking her clothes off in Sunday school! Hopefully we can correct this before she becomes a teenager.

Curtis is still just Curtis. He loves to pretend and asks lots of questions about everything. I'm gonna need to buy a dictionary because he wants to know what every word means. He is getting better with his letters and I'm not freaking out about his progress. Thank you for encouraging me and giving me helpful advice. I really appreciate it. I still can't believe he will be starting kindergarten this year! Time sure does fly by.

Well that all I can think of for now. Have a great rest of the week!

Can You Believe It!?!

2010-01-11T23:49:00.000-06:00

I would like to start out by congratulating my cousin Matt and his wife Maggie on the birth of daughter Lia Brynne yesterday. We are so thankful that God allowed Maggie to have a full term pregnancy, since we all thought that she would be born premature like her brother. The LORD deserves all the praise!

We are currently looking for a new place to live since our lease is up at the end of February and we don't want to sign another year lease because we could be heading back to Minnesota any time. I sent my resume to the neurology clinic that I used to work for and the girl that took my desk when I left is pushing hard for them to hire me back, so we will see what happens.

I was reading an article in Parents magazine about kids being ready for kindergarten and it dawned on me that Curtis will be starting kindergarten this year and I'm going to have to get him registered soon! I started freaking out...would he be ready by September because there is still much for him to learn. He is good with numbers, but letters just aren't clicking with him. How is he going to react being in a classroom setting and having to sit for long periods of time. I almost gave myself an anxiety attack! Then I started crying because my baby was going to be starting school. I am going to be a mess on his first day of school. He has grown up so fast, my little man. Okay, I better stop before I start crying again. :) Have a good week!

Name That Photo

2010-01-04T22:58:00.000-06:00

Okay so I wanted to start out the new year with something a little fun. I took this picture a couple weeks ago because I wanted to get a picture of all three kids in the tub together. I didn't look at the picture until I was done taking a few shots and this one caught my eye.This is photo is hilarious and there is so much going on. So to ring in the new year, I invite you to caption this photo. If I get enough people to comment, I might even make it a contest. So leave your comment by noon on Friday and I look forward to your comments.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-29T10:42:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, we sure did. On Christmas Eve we went to my grandparents house and celebrated with family and friends. Santa even stopped by to hand out some presents (Santa was played by my best friend's dad since Curtis figured out that my grandfather was Santa). Lauren was petrified of Santa and was screaming and shaking. :( I felt so bad for her. She is still telling me, "No more, Santa." On Christmas Day, my mom and stepdad came over with their gifts and we fixed a Christmas lunch consisting of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, carrots, and rolls. In the evening, my brother Luis and his fiancee Michelle came over and had dinner with us. The kids had so much fun, Curtis even asked Michelle to put him to bed! I'm now in the process of putting the apartment back to the way it was and sorting through things to see what we can get rid of and what we are keeping, so that we can get things packed. We have a train table that we need to get rid of, so if anyone wants it or knows someone who could use it, please let me know. I can't believe that this year is coming to an end, can you? We are looking forward to 2010 and moving back to Minnesota. I hope everyone has a safe and fun new year.

I love this picture.

Curtis with Santa.

Claire with Santa. (I don't have a picture of Lauren with Santa because she was kicking and screaming, and moving around too much. My friend got a picture, so when she emails it to me I will post it).

Lauren got into my red food coloring while I was making snickerdoodles. What a mess!!

Claire's two new teeth. When she smiles, it looks like she has fangs, and we can't help but laugh. We've been singing, All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, but it didn't happen. One of the front teeth is now starting to poke through.

It's Christmas Time!

2009-12-23T10:20:00.000-06:00

Can you believe that Christmas is upon us? Boy it sure came up fast! I have been busy baking cookies and chasing after my children. Claire turned seven months on Monday and started crawling the same day. Now she is all over the place. She has also started saying ma ma. She is the only one to say "ma ma" first. The other two said "da da" first. She only says it when she's hungry. Curtis and Lauren decorated the tree this year, which they had a blast doing. They did a good job. We have also been teaching the kids about Christmas and what it's really about. Lauren doesn't understand, but Curtis gets it and has been asking lots of questions. I have to tell you this great story, yesterday, Lauren was holding her tummy and getting a little fussy, so Curtis was concerned that she might throw up. He came up to me and asked if we could pray over her, so that she could get better. That blew me away! He surprises me sometimes with his compassion. I am hoping to finish up my baking and wrapping today. Thankfully we don't have a lot of presents to wrap. The kids get three presents each since Jesus only got three presents from the Magi on His birth. On Christmas morning, before we open any presents, we will sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Every morning for the last week, I have been reading a little about Jesus' birth to the kids. We want to make sure that the kids know that Christmas is about Jesus and not Santa. This led to a great question from Curtis, which was," Mommy, if Christmas is Jesus' birthday, then why don't we celebrate Christmas for my birthday?" This then led to a bigger discussion about why Jesus was born and ultimately why he died. Well, I need to get back to baking, but I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas.

Cakes

2009-12-11T10:27:00.000-06:00

To end the week, I'm showcasing the most delicious of my hobbies, cakes. I learned how to bake and decorate cakes from my grandmother, who bakes and decorates amazing cakes. One day I hope I can be just as good as she is.

I made this cake for Kevin's 40th birthday.

This was Curtis' Buzz Lightyear cake from last year.

Lauren's first birthday cake.

Curtis' cake from this year. Not my best cake since Curtis wanted an apple cake and I had never made one before. It was more like an apple crisp, and hard to decorate. It was a definite learning experience.

Card Making

2009-12-10T10:23:00.000-06:00

Today's showcase is on card making. This is another hobby that I have started recently. Like scrapbooking, my skills are pretty basic. Sometimes simple is better, at least until I can figure out how to make fancy cards! :)

This is Curtis' birthday invitation from this year.

This is a birthday card. You can't really see it, but I stamped Happy Birthday on the pink part of the card.

This is a birthday card that I made for my 2 year old niece with the cricut machine. One of the best inventions ever!

This is an anniversary card that I made using the circut machine and embossing.

Tomorrow, I will be wrapping up the week with a showcase on cakes!

Scrapbooking

2009-12-09T10:28:00.000-06:00

Today's showcase is on scrapbooking. I didn't get started with scrapbooks until we moved to Minnesota where it's very popular. I'm still learning, so my pages are pretty basic, but I know the kids like looking at them. If you have any suggestions on what I could do better with my pages, please let me know.

This page is about Curtis' first trip to Disneyland and his first ride on Winnie The Pooh.

This page is about Curtis' first Angels game.

I think this page speaks for itself. :)

This page is Lauren's birth. I only have three pages of Lauren's scrapbook finished.

This is Claire's birth page and the only page I have finished in her scrapbook. I am so far behind.

Tomorrow's showcase will be on card making.

Cross Stitch

2009-12-08T09:44:00.000-06:00

Today's focus is on cross stitch. Like sewing, I got into cross stitch when I was in jr. high. It's very relaxing, but quite time consuming. Some kits are pretty easy to do and some are very intricate, which takes more time and concentration to do. Here are some of the projects that I have done.

I made this one when I was pregnant with Curtis and it's in the kid's room.

This is Curtis' birth announcement.

Lauren's birth announcement. I haven't even started Claire's yet, I don't have any time right now.

This is Lauren's Christmas stocking that I started last summer. As you can see it's not finished yet. Maybe next year, I will have more time to finish it.

Tomorrow's showcase will be on scrapbooking.

Sewing

2009-12-06T23:56:00.000-06:00

Yes, it is time to kick off my week long celebration of my hobbies and crafts! I am so excited to be sharing with you. I decided to start out the week by showcasing clothing that I have sewn over the years. I learned how to sew when I was in jr. high and it has been something that I have enjoyed ever since. I just wish I had more time to make all of the things that I want to make. Oh well, one day maybe, when the kids are all in school. :)

These were some of the first kid pajamas that I had ever made and they are now my favorite pj to sew.

This was the first dress that I ever made. The black mesh was a pain to sew, but the dress came out beautifully. Sadly, I will never be able to wear that dress again.

This is a maternity top that I made when I was pregnant with Curtis. I kinda guessed on what size to make because I had no idea how big my belly would get.

I made both the shirt and the shorts for Curtis last year. It was a fun project to do and he looked so cute in it.

Tomorrow I will be focusing on cross stitch.

Rock and Hard Place

2009-12-04T11:12:00.000-06:00

I'm sure many of you have heard the expression, "stuck between a rock and a hard place." Well Kevin and I feel like we are living this expression. We have been living with tight finances for a couple of years now since Kevin stopped getting his raises and health insurance keeps getting higher and higher and rent keeps increasing. We hardly have disposable income and most months we have to take money out of savings to get groceries and necessities. No matter what we are always obedient to tithe and the Lord blesses us for that. We are so thankful that we have a roof over our heads and food on the table, but it is geting so hard to make it out here. We kind of feel like we are in a desperate situation to get out of California before we end up in the poor house. I feel so bad for Kevin because he works so hard and he is being taken advantage of and making peanuts for what he does. He has little panic attacks every morning because he dreads what's going to happen at work. As the wife and mother, I am supposed to stay strong and hold everyone together, but it gets hard sometimes. We had to drop our dental coverage this coming year because we can't afford it and we just found out that Kevin's work didn't turn in the paperwork on time so medical and dental are still being deducted from Kevin's paycheck, which means we now have no disposable income. We have no idea when this will be resolved and it just makes me want to cry. I know that the Lord has a plan for us and wants to prosper us, but it's just so hard to believe that sometimes. I have been chewing on this piece of scripture from James all week. This is James 1:9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. This struck me as odd and I'm still trying to comprehend it. I sure don't feel like we are in a high position, but I guess compared to people in third world countries, we live like kings. I need to keep reminding myself of that. Even though this place here on earth is hard, we have our Rock, Jesus Christ, to sustain us.

On a happier note, starting Monday, I will be doing a week long showcase on my hobbies/crafts that I have done over the years, so stop by next week and hopefully you will get inspired. Have a great weekend!

Six Months

2009-12-01T23:02:00.000-06:00

Our sweet Claire bear turned six months on the 21st and she has grown by leaps and bounds! She loves being on the floor so that she can roll and scoot all over the place, and she's fast! She has now started to push up onto her knees and she rocks back and forth. It's only a matter of time before she is crawling all over the place. She has gotten two more teeth and it looks like there are four more just waiting to break the gum line. She is growing up way too fast! She had her check up yesterday and she weighs 17 lbs. 14 oz. and is 26 inches tall. I think she is going to be small like her sister. She is such a happy baby and she loves to laugh. She has learned to screech from her sister. I'm sure that's not the only thing Lauren will be teaching her. I'm going to have my hands full when they get older. She loves her cereal, especially the brown rice and tonight was her first time drinking out of a sippie cup. She did really well. That's all of our sweetie pie's accomplishments this month. Have a great rest of the week!

Knott's Berry Farm

2009-11-27T22:57:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday, we went to Knott's Berry Farm for their annual veterans celebration. All veterans and a guest get into the park for free. It was a very nice day, my mom, brother, and grandparents went with us and the weather was perfect. The kids had a blast and I was able to ride some roller coasters (Ghostrider and Silver Bullet) with my brother. So here are some pictures from our fabulous day at Knott's.
Kevin, Lauren, and Curtis riding the big rigs.

On Lucy's Tugboat

On the old steam engine.

Too much excitement for Claire.

The fam in an authentic Olympic bobsled. Too cool!

Trains and Birthdays

2009-11-17T22:41:00.000-06:00

What a fun weekend we had. On Saturday we went to Irvine Park to ride the train and play at the playground. The kids had so much fun. It was so nice to just hang out as a family and chill. On Sunday we went to my cousin's daughter's second birthday party. The kids enjoyed playing with their cousins and eating cake! Here are some pictures from our weekend fun.

Waiting for the train to leave the station.

Curtis, Lauren and Mr. Rob (the Conductor)

Claire loved being in the backpack so much, she cried when Kevin took her out to put her in the car!

Curtis chillin' on the slide. (He is afraid of going down slides).

Lauren didn't want to get off.

Claire and cousin Nathan

Lauren with cousins Natty and Mollie. Can you tell they had too much fun at the party!?!

On a side note, we take Lauren back to the GI on Monday for her follow-up. She has had six bouts of bleeding since last month. We are going to try and push for the scope to be done because this treatment isn't working. Have a great weekend!

Shock and Awe

2009-11-09T23:56:00.000-06:00

Today has been a roller coaster of a day to say the least. This morning, Stellan flatlined before his ablation and things weren't looking to good for him. Curtis and I were on our knees praying for that little guy. To be totally honest, I didn't think he was going to survive the surgery. Oh ye of little faith! God performed a miracle through the surgeons and I'm estatic to say that Stellan not only survived the ablation, but he is SVT free tonight with no damage to his AV Node. Praise God the awesome Creator of the universe! I'm crying just thinking about what the Lord did today. Another praise report is that my cousin's wife Maggie, who is 30 weeks pregnant and has been on bed rest for the last couple of months because of an incompetent cervix, had her OB appointment today and the baby is measuring 2 weeks ahead weighing in at 4 lbs. 3 oz. Big brother James was born at 29 weeks and only weighed 3 lbs. so this is awesome news as we were expecting her to get admitted to the hospital today. She will still need to be on bedrest as her cervix has gone from 1.3 cm to 6 mm. We will have a new baby in the family soon. Please pray that baby Lia will continue to grow so that she won't have to stay in the NICU too long. To God be the Glory!

Pray For Stellan

2009-11-08T22:54:00.000-06:00

Please pray for baby Stellan and his mom Jen. He is at Boston Children's Hospital awaiting ablation surgery, which can happen at any time. He may not survive this surgery and he is in a bad way right now. Details are at www.mckmama.com Thank you for praying.

Halloween Time

2009-11-01T23:33:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween. On Thursday, I took the kids to the circle in Old Towne Orange for Treats in the Streets. Every year on the Thursday before Halloween, the city closes off the circle and kids are allowed to trick-or-treat at the shops along the street. They have hay rides, food booths, games, and a costume parade. The kids had so much fun, but Curtis got very tired from walking around. Yesterday, our church had it's annual Harvest Fair, so we went and had lots of fun. Curtis got to hold a snake and Lauren got a pony ride. My original costume plan was for all of us to dress up as The Incredibles, but I had the hardest time trying to get costumes so I decided to dress Curtis and Lauren up as Raggedy Ann & Andy, but that didn't work out either, so Curtis ended up going as a firefighter and Lauren was Alice In Wonderland.

Aren't they cute!?!

Getting a picture with a real fireman in front of a fire truck. Curtis was on cloud nine.

Having fun in the ball pool.

Curtis holding a snake.

I finally got a picture of Claire's teeth.

Flowers and Rings

2009-10-31T12:02:00.000-05:00

I am happy to say that three weeks ago my brother got engaged! I'm still trying to process it. It seems so surreal that my little brother is getting married. It seems like yesterday he was graduating high school, and soon he will be a married man. It's hard to believe that over seven years ago he was walking me down the aisle at my own wedding, looking so handsome in his tuxedo. I could go on and on, but I won't bore you with my memories. It's looking like they will be getting married at a courthouse in February, then having an actual ceremony in 2011, after Luis gets back from deployment. Curtis has been asked to be the ring bearer and Lauren the flower girl. I can't wait to see them in their outfits. I've already been looking at dresses for Lauren and once I find out the exact color of the bridesmaids dresses, I can go to town. The next year is going to be busy with wedding planning!

Five Months

2009-10-21T11:25:00.000-05:00

Today Claire turns five months. It has gone by fast, but I've enjoyed every minute. Her two bottom teeth are really coming up now (I'm still trying to get a picture of them). Her top gums are swollen and it looks like the top ones could be poking through any time. I still can't believe that she has teeth already, but it doesn't really surprise me. When she was born, it looked like she was getting teeth. Kevin and I kept staring at her mouth saying, "No way!" Claire also likes to roll all over the floor and scoots backwards when she is on her tummy. So far she has gotten stuck under the couch and entertainment center. Her personality is starting to show. She is such a happy baby and LOVES to laugh! She is very ticklish on her knees, elbows, thighs, and armpits. Whenever we are in the car, she jabbers up a storm and laughs at Curtis. She loves rice cereal and I just introduced her to applesauce, but she doesn't care for it to much. She scrunches her face and spits it out. She still wakes up once, sometimes twice, during the night. She has been going to bed at 7:30 p.m. and waking up between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m.. I am so looking forward to her sleeping through the night. Here are some pictures of our big girl.

Waiting to eat.

Our happy girl!

Sitting in the big tub for the first time.

Family Update

2009-10-13T11:40:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to update everyone on how our family is doing. First off, we finally received Kevin's PSA results and they are normal. We are so relieved, thank you all for praying. Lauren hasn't had any bleeding for three months now. She still has to see the GI next month for her, hopefully, last appointment. We are still giving her the Miralax, but only as needed. I have started potty training with her and she is doing good. She loves to sit on the potty, but doesn't go a whole lot. Her vocabulary has really taken off as well. She is nowhere near Curtis' vocabulary at this age, but she communicates with us very well. The big news around here is...no, I'm not pregnant...Claire has two teeth! I can't believe it!! I've never heard of a four month old with a tooth, let alone two! I felt something sharp on Saturday and figured she had one tooth, but when I looked on Sunday, I saw both bottom teeth poking through the gums. She has definitely been the best teether of the three. Claire has also been on cereal for the last week and she LOVES it. My baby girl is growing up way too fast! So that is the latest news with us. Hope you all have a wonderful week.

The Love Dare

2009-10-09T11:28:00.000-05:00

Kevin and I watched this really awesome movie last week called FIREPROOF. If you haven't seen this movie, you really need to see it. I won't tell you what it's about, but the main character gets this book from his father called The Love Dare and he follows the dares in this book for 40 days. Well, while watching this movie, Kevin and I were saying that the book is a really neat idea. Well, come to find out there really is a book called The Love Dare. So we got really excited and bought the book on Monday. I started the book yesterday and even though our marriage isn't in trouble we want to make our marriage stronger because there is stuff that we need to work on. I am excited to see where this book takes us and today's dare is to do an unexpected act of kindness for your spouse. I'm having fun trying to think of what I can do for him that's unexpected. If any of you want to strenghten your marriage, I suggest you get this book. Do you dare to love?

Baby Dedication

2009-10-05T00:19:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday we dedicated our sweet Claire to the Lord. All three have now been dedicated, but Claire's has effected me the most. Standing up in front of the congregation and listening to our pastor speak just brought tears to my eyes. Maybe it's because of everything that has happened with Jon & Ali that's made me look at my children differently. After Emmalee went Home to Jesus, I held onto Curtis and Lauren tighter than ever. I was afraid of losing them, and with the loss of Owen & Cooper (who would be very close in age to Claire) it's really made me aware of how fragile life is. I looked up the definition of dedicate in the dictionary and this is what it says: to devote to the worship of a devine being specifically to set apart (a church) to sacred uses with solemn rites. When we dedicate our children, we are giving their lives back to the One that created them. My children are not my own, they belong to God, and I am just here to teach them. I am so thankful for this privilege, and I'm not afraid of God asking for them back. Does this make sense? When I was pregnant with Curtis, I was afraid of losing him, and once he was born, I was afraid that he was going to die of SIDS. I wasn't as afraid with Lauren, but the fear was still there. Now with Claire, I'm not afraid. Do I want the Lord to take my children while they are young? No, but if the Lord were to ask that of me, I would accept it. We pray over our children and leave them in the Lord's hands. That's all we can do. Thank you Jesus for blessing us with three children here on earth and one in Heaven.

A Parents Prayer

2009-09-29T15:16:00.000-05:00

I came across this prayer today while I was cleaning out the closet. My mom gave this to me when I was pregnant with Curtis. I must not have read it because it has been in a box ever since. This prayer made me cry because I fall so short as a person and a parent, but God and my kids still love me. I want to strive to be this kind of parent, and only with God can this happen.

A Parents Prayer

O Heavenly Father, make me a better parent.

Teach me to understand my children,

to listen patiently to what they have to say,

and answer all their questions kindly.

Keep me from interrupting them or contradicting them.

Make me as courteous to them as I would have them be to me.

Forbid that I should ever laugh at their mistakes,

or resort to shame or ridicule when they displease me.

May I never punish them for my own selfish satisfaction or to show my power.

Let me not tempt my child to lie or steal.

And quide me hour by our that I may demonstrate by

all I say and do that honesty produces happiness.

Reduce, I pray, the meaness in me.

And when I am out of sorts, help me, O Lord, to hold my tongue.

May I ever be mindful that my children are children

and I should not expect of them the judgement of adults.

Let me not rob them of the opportunity to wait on themselves

and to make decisions.

Bless me with the bigness to grant them all their

reasonable requests and the courage to deny them

privileges I know will do them harm.

Make me fair and just and kind.

And fit me, O Lord, to be loved

and respected and imitated by my children.

Appointment Time

2009-09-23T00:48:00.000-05:00

So today was appointment day and I'm sure you are all waiting to hear what's going on with my body, but I will make you wait a few minutes while I share with you how Claire's appointment went...So our sweet baby girl is four months old now, can you believe it!?! She can roll from her tummy to her back and from her back to her tummy. She loves to grab her toes and roll from side to side. She is getting very vocal (I'm hoping that she isn't going to be another 20 questions about everything kid like Curtis). She loves to grab her play keys and chomp/drool all over them. She has graduated from size 2 diapers to size 3, and she is starting to wear 6-9 month clothes! She's our big girl. Her appointment went well, and she weighs 16 1/2 lbs. and is 24 3/4 in. tall. We now have permission to start her on rice cereal, so we shall see what happens...Now for my news (drum roll please)...My blood work came out normal, but I have two small cysts on my thyroid (one on the left and one on the right). The one on the left is the size of a grain of rice and the one on the right is 1 1/2 cm. The good news is that they aren't cancerous and too small to do any kind of biopsy on. I do have to have another ultrasound in three months to see if they have shrunk, grown, or stayed the same. We are praying for them to shrink. The doctor was very sure that there is nothing to be concerned about, but she just wants to check to see what they are going to do. I can't tell you how relieved I am that 1) I don't have cancer, and 2) that I don't need to be on medication. What an answer to prayer! So thank you for praying, we really appreciate it.

On a side note, we still haven't heard the results of Kevin's bloodwork. His doctor's office is right next door to mine, so I went over there after my appointment to find out why we haven't heard anything yet. The doctor is on vacation this week and the receptionist couldn't find the medical assistant, so we have no idea what's going on with his lab results. I will keep you posted...

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

2009-09-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

Today we went to an Angels game courtesy of one of Kevin's vendors. What an awesome time we had. We were able to take the kids (we left Claire with my grandmother). The tickets we were given were on the club level, so we got free up front parking and a personal waiter to take our food order (sweet!!). The kids had a blast and after the game, the kids were able to run the bases. That was so cool! I wish we had a video of that, it was priceless. So without further ado, here are pictures from today's game.

Here we are at our seats. Are we baseball fans or what!?!

Angels win 3-2 against the Chicago White Sox. Light the Halo!!

Here are the kids running the bases. Curtis is on the grass and Lauren is by the kid in the brown shirt. We weren't allowed on the field, so the kids had to run alone.

Here's Lauren crossing Home Plate. Kevin and I can't believe that she ran the bases by herself.

Here is Claire in here Angels outfit. Go, Angels, go!

Another Prayer Request

2009-09-10T15:26:00.000-05:00

Boy, we sure have been asking for a lot of prayer lately. This time it's for Kevin and I. Some of you that were at Curtis' party know about Kevin, so for the rest of you when Kevin went in for his physical a couple of weeks ago, the doctor noticed a nodule on Kevin's prostate. Kevin had to go get his PSA levels checked out to see if he has cancer. We are still waiting for those results. Well on Saturday, my neck starting hurting like I had been hit. On Tuesday, my neck started swelling, so we went to urgent care to get it looked at. The doctor told me that I have a lump on my thyroid, so I will be going in tomorrow to have my TSH levels checked out and on Wednesday the 16th, I will my having an ultrasound. Surprisingly I am at peace, but I am concerned about the kids. Curtis cried all the way to urgent care because he thought that I was going to die (he is so sensitive about things). We had a talk about death and what was going to happen. If this turns out to be a cyst or a tumor it will need to be removed and I want to make sure that the kids are going to be okay. Thank you all for praying, we really appreciate it.

Curtis Turns Four

2009-09-01T13:48:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Curtis,

Happy Birthday to you.

I still can't believe that our sweet Curtis is four. Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday we were driving to the hospital to have him. Looking at Claire brings back lots of memories of Curtis' infancy. Curtis had a big celebration this year as we went to Disneyland on Saturday to celebrate and had his party on Sunday. Disneyland was so much fun. It was very, very hot! It reached 103 degrees which I think scared people away, so we walked on just about every single ride. The only ride we had to wait for was the Nemo ride and we waited in line for 15 min. We were planning on staying only a few hours, but since it wasn't crowded, we stayed all day! The kids had a blast, and Curtis has been asking when he can go back! The birthday party turned out nice. The cake came out okay. (I'm always very critical of myself). I know what I can do better next time. Curtis loved it and that is all that matters. So without further ado, here are some pictures from our fun-filled weekend.

These are from Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters ride. Curtis had a lot of fun on this ride, especially trying to shoot Zurg. Lauren had fun spinning our car in circles.

Here we are in front of the invitation on Main Street.

Here is Lauren dancing during the parade.

On Nemo's Submarine Voyage, waiting for the ride to begin.

This is Curtis' Buzz Lightyear bear from Build-A-Bear Workshop

Curtis' apple cake.

Lauren Update

2009-08-27T16:31:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to update you on Lauren's gastro appointment yesterday. Lauren hasn't had any bleeding for six weeks now. She still has to be on the Miralax for the next three months. We go back at the end of November and if Lauren still hasn't had any bleeding, then we don't need to see the GI anymore. So now we have to wait even longer to get back to Minnesota. I'm still trying to get ahold of the supervisor out there to let her know the news, so that we can come up with a game plan. I will keep you posted...

3 Months

2009-08-24T17:07:00.000-05:00

Can you believe our sweet Claire Bear has been with us for three months now!?! She is getting so big. She is now in 3-6 month clothes, with an emphasis on 6 months. I weighed her last night and she is 14 lbs. She loves to smile and started laughing two weeks ago. She has also started getting into a regular sleep pattern, which makes life a little easier. She sleeps for 3-4 hours in the afternoon, and goes to bed at 9 p.m. and wakes up around 3 a.m. for a feeding, then sleeps for a few more hours. She takes little 20-30 minute cat naps the rest of the time. She loves bath time, which is my favorite time with her. She has started splashing, so I end up getting soaked. She looks exactly like Curtis when he was a baby and she even makes the same faces. She needs constant stimulation just like Curtis, which makes me wonder if she is going to be asking a million questions like Curtis. Only time will tell...

In other news, Lauren had her two year check up on Friday and she now weighs 24 lbs. and is 33 inches tall. Her favorite words are naughty and sorry(sawry). She loves to dance and enjoys bossing Curtis around. She also goes back to the gastroenterologist on Wednesday, so we are hoping to be able to take her off of the Miralax. I will keep you posted.

Curtis turns four on Saturday and we will be taking him to Disneyland to celebrate. For those of you in other states, you get in to Disneyland for free on your birthday. On Sunday we will be having his birthday party and the theme this year is once again, Buzz Lightyear. I have a feeling he will be asking for another Buzz birthday next year with the release of Toy Story 3 coming out in June. When I told him that we were going to take him to Disneyland for his birthday, he started crying and said,"But I wanted a Buzz birthday at G.G.'s house." (G.G. is my grandmother). He was much better when I told him that he will still be getting a Buzz birthday party at G.G.'s.

We also got the kids' pictures taken on Saturday. They turned out okay. Curtis didn't want to smile and Lauren just wanted to run around, but the photographer did manage to take a couple good ones. Well, I hope you all have a good week.

Happy Birthday, Lauren!!

2009-08-17T13:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Lauren,

For you have just turned two!

Boy, two years sure have gone by fast, although Lauren acts like she's thirteen sometimes. We celebrated with a party on Saturday. The theme was cupcakes, and I had bought this really cool 3-D cupcake cake pan, but unfortunately after I had decorated it, the top slid off and broke into pieces. So we had to get an ice cream cake instead. Oh well, Lauren had a good time and enjoyed the attention. Here are some pictures from her party. They didn't come out like I had hoped since Lauren doesn't like getting her picture taken. I had to chase her around and she kept turning her head. I'm hoping that this weekend when the kids get their pictures taken at the studio, she will cooperate.

The girls

Wearing her birthday crown

Lauren and cousin Jordin

The birthday girl

What A Week!

2009-08-07T15:10:00.000-05:00

So Miss Lauren has been on her "medicine" for five days now and I don't know how we are going to make it to four weeks on this stuff. Thankfully the milk of magnesia worked very quickly, so she only had to take three doses, but the bowel movements that followed were stuff for horror movies! I won't go into details, but I've had to do a lot of extra cleaning :( Poor baby really doesn't feel good and nap/bed time has become major drama with her. The Lord is really stretching me to rely totally on Him. I cannot wait to have my sweet little girl back.

I also finally got in contact with the supervisor in Minnesota. I explained the situation with Lauren and she totally understood. She also said that they will keep me in mind when something else opens up. Apparently they are going to be hiring some new doctors, so they will need secretaries for those doctors. So pretty much, we will be moving back to Minnesota unless something drastic happens. In the meantime we will be packing up all of our non-essential items, so that I won't have to be rushing to pack everything in a short amount of time. I feel so at peace with the timing of everything.

I also want to share some pictures of the kids with you. The first one is a picture of an airplane that Curtis made with some scrap sticky foam from a stamp set that I have. His mind amazes me. Kevin says that Curtis is going to be an engineer. What do you think?

This next picture is Claire smiling. It's not a very good one, but you can see her chubby smiling face.

I hope you all have a good weekend.

A Change of Plans

2009-08-03T00:58:00.000-05:00

Some of you have been asking how the phone interview went and it hasn't happened yet. As of Friday morning the supervisor still hadn't called and I was fine with that. I've totally left this in God's hands and am at peace. Well, Friday afternoon the supervisor called, but I wasn't home, so she left me a message to call back this coming week and she will try to contact me again as well. Anyway, in light of what's going on with Lauren, Kevin and I have decided that it's not the right time for us to move back yet, which I will discuss with the supervisor this week. Lauren comes first and we want to get her better before we move anywhere. It's funny how God works like that. Anyway, we start Lauren's treatment tomorrow and I'm really not looking forward to it. Please pray that I will have strength and patience to help Lauren through this.

The Visit

2009-07-31T15:57:00.000-05:00

We took Lauren to the specialist today. Where do I begin...I will start with the plan. For the next four weeks, Lauren will be on a special diet. We have to start her on milk of magnesia until her stools become watery, then we start her on miralax (which she will be on until we see the doctor again in four weeks). We also need to take her off of the soy milk, benefiber, mineral oil, and apple juice. She will be on a liquid diet for the most part and I have to keep a poop diary to keep track of when she poops and if there is any blood in the stools. The goal is to have this regimin stop the bleeding, but if it doesn't, she will have to have a barium enema. It doesn't look like she will have to have a scope done at this point, but I'm hoping that she won't have to have the enema done. The doctor was really awesome and very informative. We discussed different things that could be causing this, such as Cystic Fibrosis and Hershbaumers(?), which Lauren has a slim chance of having these, so they want to cover all bases and make sure she doesn't have them. I wanted to cry when she mentioned these things, but I held it off. The doctor also told us that the reason why Lauren likes to hide when she poops is because she is trying to not poop because at some point she had a traumatic poop experience that she doesn't want to repeat, which is why we are trying to clean out her bowels and keep the stools as soft as possible. The doctor checked Lauren's bowels and said they felt good and there was no blockage. She also did a rectal exam, which Lauren tolerated very well, what a trooper! She said that Lauren's rectum was good, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens over the next four weeks.

State of the Household: Part 3

2009-07-28T15:13:00.000-05:00

So here is the latest news: I have a phone interview tomorrow with the clinic that I used to work for in Minnesota. I just got off the phone with the HR Director a few minutes ago and it looks very promising. I am very excited to see if this leads us back to the frozen tundra. Kevin hasn't been able to finish up his resume since his assistant quit a few weeks ago and the company isn't going to hire a replacement, so Kevin is extremely busy. It is so frustrating to see him so worn out when he gets home. If I do get this job, then we are looking at being in Minnesota in September, just in time to see the leaves change. I have already been looking at apartments out there to see what is available, so that we can get a head start once we get out there. I will keep you posted...

2 Months

2009-07-21T15:05:00.000-05:00

Well Claire had her 2 month check up today and she is a whopping 12 lbs. 11 oz. and 23 1/4 in. long. She is in the 95th percentile! That's our little pork chop! She is doing really well and she has slept through the night for two nights now. It would be nice if it lasted, but I just take it one night at a time. Claire has also started to suck on her hands, fingers, thumb (whatever she can get in her mouth). I'm hoping we won't have another thumb sucker, so we'll see what she does.

I have a question for you teachers out there. What can I do to help Curtis learn his numbers and letters? I have been trying to work with him on those and he can sing the ABC song and count, but trying to get him to recognize what the numbers and letters look like is a different story. I need to find ways to make it fun for him or he won't even bother trying to learn it. So please send me your suggestions.

I talked to Lauren's pediatrician about her upcoming appointment with the GI and he told me that they won't do the scope on the first visit, so I'm not sure what we will find out on the 31st. I will keep you all posted on how things go with her.

It's Our Anniversary

2009-07-19T22:14:00.000-05:00

Aahh tomorrow marks our seventh wedding anniversary. Can you believe it!?! Seven years has gone by so fast (for me at least, Kevin says it feels more like ten). A lot has happened to us in seven years. I got out of the Navy, we moved to Minnesota, got pregnant, lost the baby, got pregnant again, had a beautiful baby boy, moved back to California, got pregnant, had a beautiful baby girl, got pregnant again and had another beautiful baby girl. Boy, we sure have been busy!! I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for us. Maybe a move back to Minnesota? We'll just have to wait and see...Anyway, tomorrow Kevin and I will celebrate by going out to dinner, alone, to Angelo's and Vinci's, the place that started it all. Those of you that were in our wedding party, that's where we had the rehersal dinner. It has great atmosphere and food. So here is to seven years of wedded bliss with the greatest man God has brought into my life.

Finally!

2009-07-14T12:24:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's been awhile since I've posted, but the kids keep me super busy so I don't have a whole lot of free time. We finally got Lauren's referral so she will be seeing the pediatric gastroenterologist on the 31st at our children's hospital. I'm relieved and a little scared to say the least. I'm hoping that we will find out what's causing her bleeding and the prolapse so that we can fix it, but I'm also afraid that they might find something bad or nothing at all. We have been dealing with this for eight months now and every time Lauren has a poopy diaper, I dread taking her diaper off because I don't know if there is going to be blood in there or if the prolapse is going to rear it's ugly head. It shouldn't be like this and I am so frustrated that the problem hasn't been resolved. Hopefully we will get some answers on the 31st.

In other news, Claire has started smiling and she smiles a lot! She is one happy baby and she is getting chubby. I weighed her two weeks ago and she was 11 lbs. so it will be interesting to see what her weight is at her two month check up. Her night sleeping has gotten much better, so she is only waking up once during the night. She is very alert during the day and loves to be entertained. She has a very similar personality to Curtis, so it will be interesting to see what she's like as she gets older. I can't wait...Anyway, that's all the scoop for now. Have a wonderful week.

Weekend Fun

2009-06-30T22:43:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Ours was busy. On Saturday we went to my brother's welcome home party. It was so good to see him again and he got to see Claire for the first time. Now he is off to combat training with the Marines in Gulfport, Mississippi. We won't see him again until the end of September when his training is done. On Sunday, we went to a retirement party after church, then went out to dinner with Kevin's younger brother who also got to meet Claire for the first time. I'm also working on birth announcements, so I'm hoping to get those out the next couple of weeks. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-06-24T23:24:00.000-05:00

Man, I cannot believe how quickly time is flying by. Claire is one month old already!! She is so alert now and gets fussy when she isn't being stimulated. So far, she has the same personality as Curtis. It's kind of scary. She is also starting to smile now. She has a beautiful smile. She is getting better with her sleeping at night, but I cannot wait for her to sleep through the night. I am so tired, but the kids keep me busy. Sometimes I wish that I could clone myself so that I could be in two places at once. I hope that everyone had a nice Father's Day. On Saturday, we went to Walmart to get some diapers, and when we got back to the car our left rear tire was completely flat. Kevin took the spare tire out of the trunk and it was flat too! We ended up calling AAA to come fix the tire. The guy couldn't find any holes in the tire, so he told us to take the car around the back of Walmart to the automotive department to have them look at it. Well, three hours later we drove home with all new tires since they couldn't patch the other tire. Lauren had a fever all weekend, then broke out in a rash Monday night. We took her to Urgent Care yesterday and she has Roseola. That girl is keeping us on our toes! Her rash looks better today, but it's still there. We should also be getting her referral at the end of this week or early next week. We didn't get to take Kevin out for Father's Day since Lauren wasn't feeling good, but I did make Kevin a really cool Father's Day card from the kids. I am so proud of myself because it turned out better than I had imagined and Kevin loved it. Here are some pictures of it:

The front of the card. It say's : A son's first hero... A daughter's first love

The inside of the card. Lauren's hand looks just as big as Curtis'.

Our sweet Claire

Lauren Update

2009-06-15T10:20:00.000-05:00

I talked to Lauren's pediatrician at church yesterday and he is going to write up a referral for her to see a gastroenterologist to have the scope done. He was saying that it's probably a rectal prolapse from her straining when she poops. Thankfully she doesn't have it as bad as some kids. The doctor was telling me that the daughter of a friend of theirs has the same problem, but hers was as big as a plumb. Lauren's isn't that big and I don't want it to get that big. He also told us to go back to using the mineral oil to lubricate her intestines. We should be getting the referral next week, so hopefully it won't take too long to get her an appointment. We appreciate all of your prayers and hopefully we can get this resolved.

Pictures and Prayer Request

2009-06-09T10:46:00.000-05:00

Before I post pictures of Claire, I want to ask for prayer for Lauren. Last night we had to take her to urgent care because she is having rectal bleeding again, but this time there was something bulging out of her bottom. I have to call the pediatrician this morning to discuss the next step. We might have to take her to see a gastroenterologist and have a scope done of the inside of her rectal area. The pediatrician on call last night said that it could be hemorroids, a polyp, or prolapse (which is where her rectum turned inside out). So please pray that we would be able to get this resolved. So without further ado, here are pictures of Claire:

Look at all that hair! Hopefully, it won't fall out.

Monkey feet!

Curtis loves his baby sister

Lauren and Claire

13 Days

2009-06-03T16:48:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that Claire is 13 days old today!?! These first two weeks have gone by so quickly. She had her two week check up today and she is now 8lbs. 9oz. and 19 1/2 in. She also had to have her umbilical cord cauterized because it wasn't healing right and oozing puss, but she came through it just fine. We also had a little scare with her because when she was born the nurse told us that she had a "dimple" at the top of her butt crack. Apparently, when the spinal cord was developing, the skin got caught on the cord, and formed a bump or dimple and this can cause problems with her eventual walking. So we have been praying about this and the pediatrician looked at it today and said that there is nothing to worry about. It's too small to do any harm to her and she kicks her legs just fine, so that was a relief...We are still getting used to the fact that we now have three kids!! It seems so surreal, but we are adjusting really well. I would love to have more sleep at night, but this phase won't last forever. Lauren always asks for the baby every morning when she wakes up and Curtis just dotes on her. He is such a sweet little boy. God has definitely blessed us more than we could've imagined. I will try to post some more pictures later this week, I'm still trying to get a picture of the three kids together. Until then, have a great rest of the week.

Life Is Good

2009-05-26T17:01:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that Claire has been with us for five days now. We are still getting used to her and keep calling her Lauren. Curtis has corrected us a few times. The kids came home yesterday after spending the weekend with my mom and they are really enjoying their baby sister. When Lauren got up this morning, she looked in the pack-n-play and started asking where the baby was since she didn't see her in there. Curtis has to sit next to me whenever I feed Claire. He is still asking why her name isn't Zach, but he also told me that he likes Claire. I am so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful children. Claire and I had our mother/baby assessment today and Claire now weighs 7lbs. 15oz. She is also a good nurser, the best one of the three. She latches on perfectly and my breasts are so thankful, not a lot of pain and cracking with her. Kevin has been off of work since Claire's birth, which has been very nice. This is the first time that he has taken vacation after a birth. I'm enjoying every minute of it, so are the kids. Claire will have her two week check up next Wednesday and I can't wait to see how much weight she has gained. Until then have a wonderful week!

Introducing...

2009-05-23T14:40:00.000-05:00

Kevin and I are pleased to announce the birth of our baby girl,

Claire Elaine

born on Thursday, May 21st at 4:23 p.m.

Weighing in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. and 19 in.

We are so blessed and thankful that she stayed head down and the birth was quick and uncomplicated.

Curtis was very curious, but sad that there was no baby Zach. He told my mom that the nurses were going to put baby Claire back in my tummy, so baby Zach could come.

The proud parents

Our beautiful baby girl

So pretty

It Has Begun

2009-05-19T15:05:00.000-05:00

I had my doctor's appointment this morning, and the baby has started the launch sequence. I am 3-4 centimeters dilated with 70% effacement and -2 station. The baby is still head down and has dropped. The nurse stripped my membranes to help things along, so we will see if that helps. I have my final appointment scheduled for next Wednesday, if I don't have the baby by then. If the baby hasn't come by then, we will induce. So, there will definitely be a baby next week if it doesn't happen this week. I can't wait to meet this little one!

In other news, Lauren has had two boughts of rectal bleeding this week. She was doing so good. I'm getting her back on the apple juice and Benefiber regimen again. She has also learned, from Curtis, how to climb into her crib. Thankfully she hasn't tried to climb out. She is learning so much and she has started to tell us that she wants to sit on the potty, especially when she poops. I'm hoping that she will be easier than Curtis to potty train. Curtis has also claimed me as his girlfriend. Good boy! I'm the only girlfriend he will have for a long time! We are also signing him up for a four week t-ball class starting in August. I can't wait! I hope you all have a good week.

Two More Weeks

2009-05-12T15:43:00.000-05:00

Here it is Tuesday again and another doctor's appointment is done. This one was much better than last week. Kevin went with me this time and when the doctor was measuring my belly, he was asking me if I thought the baby had flipped. I told him that I didn't think so, and he looked at me and said, "Really?" He started to feel around my lower abdomen by my pelvic bone and looked at me and said,"I feel a head down here." So we proceeded with the ultrasound and sure enough the baby had moved into the head down position. Thank you Jesus for answering our prayers. The baby was really active last night, so I don't know if that's when he/she flipped or when it happened, but it was a wonderful surprise. The doctor also estimated that the baby weighs about 8lbs. 3oz. but I don't see how the baby could gain over a pound in a week especially since I didn't gain any weight. Now we just have to wait for me to go into labor and pray that the baby doesn't decide to flip again.

Letting Go and Letting God

2009-05-07T10:19:00.000-05:00

So here we are two days into trying to get the baby to turn and it hasn't happened yet. I honestly believe that the baby is going to stay this way and I am now okay with that. Tuesday was really hard and I cried all day. Yesterday I woke up feeling really good, but today I am very uncomfortable. My back hurts so bad and the pelvic pressure is horrible. I didn't hurt like this with Curtis and Lauren, so it worries me. I have been in constant prayer over this baby and I know that God is in control, but the unknown scares me. Having a c-section is my worst nightmare come true and I know in my heart of hearts that that is what we will have to do to get this baby out safely. I almost had to have a c-section with Curtis and I worried about it constantly with Lauren which is why I chose to have her induced, so we wouldn't have to have one. I lost my trust in God and took matters into my own hands, so I guess He is getting my attention to let Him take control. I have been trying different things to get the baby to turn, but like I said, I don't think this baby is going to move. I also believe that there is a reason that this happened which will be revealed at a later time. My main focus is to make sure that this baby is safe and I'm safe, which makes me very thankful that I live in this modern age of medicine. One hundred years ago, women and their babies died during the birthing process because the baby was breeched. I am very thankful that my ob/gyn is a Christian and a high risk doctor, so I know that I am in good hands. Kevin and I have also decided that this will be our last child. We have always wanted four, but with this latest development, God has made it very clear that three is our quota, which is fine. If any of you need maternity clothes or baby stuff, let us know. Have a wonderful week!

Baby Update and Prayer Request

2009-05-05T13:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I just got back from my doctor's appointment. The doctor did an ultrasound to see how big the baby was and we discovered that the baby is breeched. The baby's head is right under my ribs on the left side. It's been poking out for about a week now, but I thought it was the feet. I am shocked to say the least and worried. A c-section is not what I had in mind, but I will have to trust God in whatever he has planned for me and this baby. The doctor will do another ultrasound next week to see if the baby has turned. If it hasn't then we will discuss our options. He also told me that if I go into labor this week to go straight to the hospital asap since it's dangerous for me to be laboring with the baby in this position. I cannot tell you how scared and sad I am right now. The only good thing is that the baby looked good and is 7 lbs, so I just have to leave this in God's hands. Please join me in praying that the baby turns this week and that I do not go into labor before next Tuesday.

The Waiting Game

2009-04-28T18:40:00.000-05:00

So, I had my doctor's appointment today and everything is looking good. The baby's heartrate was 150, so I'm totally convinced we are having a boy. Curtis' heartrate was in the 150's and Lauren's was in the 130's. The pelvic pressure is getting really bad. I was in so much pain last night. They didn't check my cervix this time, but I sure feel like I've already started to dilate. I will just have to wait until next week when they check. I charged up the batteries in the video camera and camera and I just need to finish packing my hospital bag.

In other news, all four of Lauren's canine teeth have finally broken through the gums. I can't wait to see what her smile looks like when they come down all the way. That's all I have for now while we play the waiting game...

I Am So Ready

2009-04-23T11:57:00.000-05:00

I am now in my 35th week of pregnancy and am very uncomfortable. The baby is really putting a lot of pressure on my pelvis. Yesterday I could barely walk and it felt like the baby's head was between my legs. I have also been having quite a bit of Braxton Hicks contractions and the baby isn't moving around as much. Kevin keeps telling me to just lay on the couch all day long and I just laugh. How is that going to happen with two kids running around. I do try to rest and prop my feet up as much as possible. I've been explaining to Curtis about who is going to watch them when we have to go to the hospital and what's going to happen. He wants to go to the hospital with us to watch the baby being born...uh, I don't think so. Anyway, Kevin and I are going to storage on Saturday to get the baby stuff out, then I can get my hospital bag packed. I can't believe we are this close to meeting our new baby. I am so looking forward to the baby being born and Kevin calling out the sex of the baby...it just makes me all giddy. That's what I wanted with Curtis, but it didn't happen that way...oh well, we have our chance now. Here are some pictures of the kids. Enjoy!!

My little bookworms!
Shaving just like Daddy

I also wanted to say that Lauren has not had any rectal bleeding for two months now. Praise God!! We are hoping that whatever it was is completely gone, we'll see...

34 Weeks

2009-04-15T10:19:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that my pregnancy is almost over. I am so ready for it to be over and to meet this little one. I had my doctor's appointment yesterday and the doctor did an ultrasound. The baby looks so cute and chubby. No, I didn't find out what sex the baby was. I was very tempted, but we've waited this long, so I decided against it. The doctor didn't even look past the umbilical cord. The baby's heartbeat looked good and it's has chubby cheeks just like Curtis and Lauren. I also had to have the Group B Strep test done, so I'm now done with all of my tests. The doctor also checked my cervix since the baby has really been putting a lot of pressure on it. Thankfully my cervix was closed, but the baby is low and pushing on it. I have my next appointment in two weeks, then every week after that.

It's Friday, But Sunday Is Coming

2009-04-10T23:11:00.000-05:00

I hope you are all enjoying your Good Friday. I just wanted to share this awesome song from Tree63 called SUNDAY. Have a wonderful Easter.

Nothings sacred, the days are cheap

Truth is thin on the ground

Still our prophets are crucified,

nobody believes we're stumbling.

It's Friday, but Sunday is coming.

Someone's saying a prayer tonight

for hungry mouths to be filled.

Someone kneels in the dark somewhere

Darkness is already crumbling.

It's Friday, but Sunday is coming.

Chorus

Sunday, Hallelujah!

It's not so far, it's not so far away.

Sunday, Hallelujah!

It's not so far, it's not so far away.

Broken promises, weary hearts

but one promise remains.

Crucified, He will come again

It's Friday, but Sunday is coming

Chorus

Sunday, Hallelujah!

It's not so far, it's not so far away.

Sunday, Hallelujah!

It's not so far, it's not so far away.

Darkness is already crumbling.

It's Friday, but Sunday is coming

Can you feel it? Here it comes.

Chorus

Sunday, Hallelujah!

It's not so far, it's not so far away.

Sunday, Hallelujah!

It's not so far, Our God will have His day.

Random Happenings

2009-04-08T11:41:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is doing well and preparing for Easter. Lauren is sick again. Whatever she has came on quickly and she was up all night. I feel so bad for her because all four of her canine teeth are coming in as well, so she is very clingy and moody. Sometimes I wonder how am I going to manage three children. It can be overwhelming sometimes, but I know that God will get me through it. I felt the same way when I was pregnant with Lauren and everything turned out just fine. Curtis will be my helper, so that will be nice. I've been having a lot of pelvic pressure and side pains. I'm not sure if it's muscle spasms, but it sure does hurt. I have my appointment next week, so I will be asking a lot of questions.

My brother graduates boot camp on Friday, so my mom and grandparents will be flying out to Chicago tomorrow. I really wish I could go, but I would probably go into labor on the plane. The sad thing is, my brother has to head out for his school right after graduation so my family will only get to see him for about an hour. He will be heading to an Army base in Missouri for nine weeks of training. I'm hoping that he will be able to come home after that before he heads to his first duty station, so that he can meet his new niece or nephew and spend time with Curtis. Curtis is really missing his Uncle Lu.

Curtis and Kevin might be going to an Angels game on Sunday. One of Kevin's vendors gave him two tickets for Sunday's game. Since it's Easter and my family will be in Chicago, I can't go because we won't be able to find anyone to watch the kids. I told Kevin to take Curtis so they can have a father/son outing, so we'll see how it goes.

Almost Time!

2009-04-02T10:17:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it's now April. This year is going by so quickly. Can you believe that next month we will have a baby in the house. I was telling Kevin yesterday that I will probably start dilating at the end of this month (I usually start dilating a 3-4 weeks before the due date). Curtis is getting anxious for the baby to come. He has been asking me when the baby is going to come. Last week he was trying to show the baby, all of his cars, through my belly button! He is going to be an awesome big, big, brother. My hips have been hurting something fierce though. This morning, I can barely walk or sit from the pain. I never had this with the other two, so I don't know what's going on. I might have to call the doctor, but we'll see.

Lauren is getting her top two canine teeth and has been so clingy and fussy. Curtis has been so sweet in trying to cheer her up. He has gotten so caring lately and I am so thankful for that. Last week, he even took a wipey and wiped Lauren's face after she finished eating mac-n-cheese. What a sweetheart!

I also have a praise report on baby Stellan. He has been out of SVT for about 15 hours now and is now smiling and giggling!! Thank you God for your mercies! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

What A Week!

2009-03-30T12:36:00.000-05:00

This past week has been a tough one for me. I have been on my hands and knees praying and crying over Stellan, praying for Jon & Ali as they continue to deal with their losses, dealing with a teething toddler, and trying to get housework done. I've really worn myself out! The baby gets REALLY active at night and it's getting very hard to get comfortable, so I don't get much sleep. I am SO ready for this baby to make it's appearance. I think Curtis is ready to meet the baby as well. He keeps asking when the baby is going to come out. Last week he was telling me that the baby was going to be another sister, so I asked him what her name was going to be and he said Sweet Pea. I still think it's a boy and I'm praying that it's a boy so that Curtis can have a brother to play and hang out with. Plus Curtis had cute baby clothes that I am just itching to take out of storage. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Pray For Stellan

2009-03-23T22:39:00.000-05:00

I have an urgent prayer request. There is a little 4 month old baby boy in Minnesota named Stellan who desperately needs prayer. He has been in the hospital since yesterday with SVT which is a very high heart rate. He had this condition in the womb and was miraculously healed by our Great Physician. Things aren't looking good for him right now, so we need to get on our knees and intercede on Stellan's behalf. You can go to my sidebar and click on My Charming Kids or go to www.mycharmingkids.net for updates on Stellan's condition. Luke 18:27 says, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." Thank you Lord for that and for keeping Stellan in your hands.

Happy Birthday Kevie!

2009-03-23T12:51:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Kevin's birthday and we had fun celebrating. I had the kids make Kevin a card and it turned out real cute. I stamped some balloons on the front, then we stamped our thumb prints onto the balloons, then the kids drew pictures on the inside. Okay, so it was a bunch of scribbles, but Kevin really loved it. We took Kevin out to Bubba Gump's for lunch, but the kids were acting up, so it wasn't as enjoyable as we had hoped. The highlight was that Kevin had to stand up while the servers sang Happy Birthday and he had to shake his booty to get his ice cream sundae. I wish I had the video camera with. Curtis was so embarrassed, and so was Kevin. After that, we just spent the rest of the day at home, so that Kevin could answer his birthday calls.
I do have a prayer request for you all...Kevin's aunt Janelle has cancer and she had surgery on Saturday to remove a tumor in her leg. She has tumors in her esophagus, lungs, and femur. She will have to go in for radiation as well. Please pray for healing and for strength for her and her family.

30 Weeks

2009-03-17T16:29:00.000-05:00

Well, I had my doctor's appointment today and it went well. The baby's heartbeat is good and strong. I passed my glucose test, but my iron levels are low which means I have to take iron pills for the rest of my pregnacy. I have never had anemia in my life, so this is very strange, but it could explain why I have been so tired this pregnancy. I just thought that it was from chasing around two small children. Oh well, that's just one more pill I have to take. I was also supposed to start coming in every other week, but the nurse said no, so I have one more month to go, which will put me at 34 weeks, then I will come back in at 36 weeks, then weekly after that. It doesn't make sense to me, but I will do it. I have now gained a total of 18 lbs. this pregnancy, so I'm doing good on the weight gain. Anything other than the 40 lbs. I gained with Curtis is great for me.

We are at my grandparents house and the kids are in the backyard playing. My grandmother has a turtle and Lauren is afraid of it. She is watching it swim in the pond, but if it gets out of the water, she cries and wants to be held. Curtis is trying to ride a bicycle. He hasn't figured out yet how to pedal the bike. At lunch today, Curtis was telling me how his hot dog was filled with molicules.(I know I spelled that wrong, but I can't think right now). That boy amazes me with the things he knows. Curtis is our brainiack and Lauren is our love bug. That girl gives the best hugs. I can't wait to see how they react to their baby brother or sister.

Weekend Fun

2009-03-16T15:40:00.000-05:00

So the kids are back and it's life as usual. Kevin and I had a wonderful weekend. On Saturday we slept in which was so nice. I really needed that. We went out to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory since we had a gift card. I got the pasta carbonara which was delicious, and we had the lemoncello cream torte which was equally delicious. After lunch, we went to the movies since I had free passes, and we watched New In Town. It was a cute movie and it takes place in Minnesota, so we laughed our heads off. Hollywood always seems to over exaggerate the accent, but it had a good story line. After the movie, we looked around at the shops and just enjoyed being together. For dinner, we ate at The Corner Bakery, very yummy. We didn't get home 'til 9 p.m. Yesterday, we went to church and it was my Sunday to work in the nursery, but we didn't have any babies, so I was able to listen to the sermon. After church, we went to lunch and went to Walmart to get diapers and pull-ups for the kids. By the time we got home, the kids were on their way back. It's nice to have them back, but I enjoy the peace and quiet. I have my doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I will let you all know how that goes. I can't believe that in ten more weeks we will be meeting our baby. I am so ready...