Not much going on

Hey everyone...didn't want to leave you all wondering what we've been up to, just not much to blog about. The kids have been somewhat trying the last few days. I think they're bored with summer already. I understand it to a point, it's been so hot that they haven't felt like playing outside much. I went back to work a few nights last week and today is Dave's last day for a week. We'll spend some time around the house organizing (it's in major need of an overhaul) and do some fun stuff with the kids. We were going to see about taking the kids to "A Day Out with Thomas" but it's too cost prohibitive right now. We'll try to do it when it's back in town around the boys' birthdays. Dave and I have a weekend in Asheville planned next weekend to see Steven Curtis Chapman play at the Biltmore. We're going with Jeff and Heather and it will be a great time. I'm not sure how well we'll handle the concert, as I hear the few concerts he's done so far have been quite emotional (understandably). But it will be fun nonetheless. And the kids will stay at my folk's house. We'll pick them up on Sunday and also pick up Jennifer and her two girls. I am unbelievably excited to see them - it's been over 4 years since I've seen Jenn. Considering we used to be inseparable as teenagers, I'm sure it will be an entertaining reunion. So I'll be neglecting the blog for a little bit, and when I come back I'll have lots of pictures to share.

So what do you think about the new background? (Aside from hating how long it takes to load?) I wish I knew how to do creative layouts and siggies, but I don't even know where to start. Luckily for me, there's free stuff out there so I don't have to learn!

See you in a couple weeks!

New Babies!!!

We finally have our last two babies to complete our family for a good long time. Here they are!



Introducing Henry and Zoey...

Woof.

What a shit-tacular day yesterday (sorry Dad). But it deserves that title. The day started out fine, other than being a Monday. I had a few things on my checklist to get done, but other than that it was a pretty easy day. I won't give you every detail of what went wrong, but let's say a lot. I'll just share the biggest ones. First I received a phone call from the neighborhood HOA mgmt. group. Turns out our pool opened last weekend and we knew nothing about it. And they weren't sorry about that either. I suggested they find a better way of communicating with the residents, which went unacknowledged. So she tells me she needs us to sign a liability waiver in order to get a key (there's no lifegaurd). Fine, so she emails it to me. Only, she didn't. She did, however, email me jpegs of all the city and county logos (most likely what's on their letterhead) and a copy of the pool rules. Thanks for that...however we can't get a key until we get and sign the waiver. So I emailed them back and I'm still waiting for a response. The kids are sad because they know the pool is open (hard to deny when you drive by and there's a slew of people in it) and these little delays are frustrating. The thing of it is, had we known about the pool opening, we could have gotten the waiver signed and gotten our key before the actual opening, like so many of our neighbors did. We could have used it the entire weekend. But, oh well. I could be there right now if they'd send me the stupid waiver. Grrr.
Okay, so while that is annoying, it's not a big deal in grand scheme of things. I understand that. Just frustrating. Even more frustrating was the next phone call I received - all of 5 minutes after the last one. It was the pediatrician's office. We had taken Emma a few weeks back to check on her growth. They wanted her to go see a specialist since she had fallen further off the charts. They were going to set up her appt for me but warned me it would be September before she got in. That stunk, but what can you do. They said they'd call us with the date in a few days, and if we didn't hear from them to give them a call. Well we left for TN before they called and I fully expected a message on our machine when we got home. Nada. So I called them - last Tuesday. They called me back - yesterday. The girl who does it was on vacation. Anyhow, she says that Emma's request must have been put in the wrong folder because she hadn't seen it until that morning. Greeaaat. She said she got her appt., but the first available was for OCTOBER 7th!!!! So because of their stupid mistakes we have to wait another whole month to get in. Total crap. This leaves me feeling very defeated. Not sure yet what we're going to do about it, but we're thinking. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to share.
And the last, and by far the worst thing that happened yesterday. I have joined Facebook (it's awesome btw - a great way to reconnect with long-lost friends...) and with that I have been able to reconnect with some great people. Unfortunately, while chatting with a friend, I was informed that a good friend of ours from "back in the day" had committed suicide just a few weeks ago. Bryan Graham, a sweet soul, quiet, introspective, insanely creative, genuinely kind. At least that's how I remember him. He always gave me the funniest birthday presents - and they never cost a dime...he would just gather up random fun stuff from around and put it in a shoe box and give it to me. I remember for my 16th birthday, he gave me a "Rules of the road" handbook and a brick so I could drive fast. He was kidding of course, and there were a few other random things in that box, but I don't remember them all. He was in Jeff and Heather's wedding. We went to Jeff's lakehouse together as a group and had a bunch of fun. I'm just sad. I realize we had completely lost touch after college, but I still considered him a friend. I told Jeff and Heather about it last night and Heather said "don't you wish you could just rewind life to before that point and stop it from happening?" I couldn't agree more. I would do it for Bryan, and I'd do it for Blair. It really sucks that at such a young age we've already lost friends. But I hang on to my current favorite verse - We also glory in tribulations,knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4

Me, Jeff, and Bryan at the lakehouse.

Please pray for Bryan's family. His parents and his brother and sister have got to be hurting and trying to understand why. Pray hard.

Like I said - a crappy day

Long overdue

I know I'm long overdue for an update. It's been one crazy summer so far. We got our new playground and the kids have been loving that. Then Emma's birthday. Then we had a family reunion in Pigeon Forge, TN with some of my wonderful cousins and aunts/uncles. And now the neighborhood pool just opened up. Next week my mom is coming for a short visit and to attend a baby shower for our friend Shannon on Saturday. This weekend, aside from the 4th, we are working on the kids rooms trying to make them look more lived in by adding paint and wall decor. They are enjoying picking stuff out. It's sad that we've been here for 18 months and still haven't accomplished that much. But I'm definitely in project mode, so as long as the funds are available, I will start tackling small projects here and there.

Like I said, we've been pretty busy so far, and it's going to be busy pretty much until school starts on Aug. 20th. We'll have a week here or there without much going on, but mainly we'll be on the go. So forgive me if I don't post as often over the next several weeks.

The reunion was wonderful. I had a great time and it was nice to get to see people I hadn't seen in at least a decade. I'm glad we'll be able to keep up the reunions and maintain some connection with family. It felt weird for me during the reunion because I didn't really "know" anyone. Having spent what felt like soooo much time with all of them as a kid, I realized that we all grew up and went our own ways - understandably. But I just remember so vividly spending time with all of my cousins when we'd visit Iowa, which seemed like we did often. And my cousin Maria and I used to spend a week at each other's house in the summer. Life was fun back then and I enjoyed having a big family. I think that's part of why I wanted more than two kids. I wanted my kids to have people to play with at home and at family gatherings too. I think we accomplished that! Now that Dave's sister is adding to the cousin count, we'll have more family to play with.

Anyway, I'll leave with a few pics. Too many over the last few weeks to post them all, but I'll pic the good ones.

Special Day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!!!!!

You are such a blessing to our family and we're so thankful for you! You are an absolute joy and such a sweet "little" girl! I can't say little anymore now that you're 7! Time has surely flown by and I cannot wait to see how much you change next year.

Emma's ballet recital

I finally was able to download video from the recital. Sorry if it takes a while...

4 days down!!!!

I am proud to report that Brian has been paci-free for four full days! And he's halfway through day five. On Friday when I put Brian down for his nap, I just never gave it to him. And he never asked for it. He talked for a few minutes and then fell asleep without incident. And the same thing happened again at bedtime. So I told Dave not to give it to him on Saturday at nap while I was at work. Not a problem. In fact the first time he asked for it was yesterday. It was while I was changing him and I'll admit, I panicked at first, not sure what to tell him. But I just said he didn't need it anymore, and he said "I'm big boy?" Yes, sir, you are. When he went to bed, he didn't even mention it.

I think I'd call that successful, wouldn't you?

We already had a plan in place. We were going to "forget" them at Grandma's house after our visit next week. I thought it was going to work just fine, and was looking forward to it. But, alas, he's one step ahead of me. I think I should get used to that!

The Girl Does It Again...

Found out last night at Emma's art show that she had been chosen to receive this award. The breakfast/ceremony was this morning. Oops. But nonetheless, this girl is awesome! This award is different than the "terrific kid" award. This award only goes to one student in the class who has displayed the key characteristics throughout the year. I tell you what - this girl is setting the bar high! Way to go Emma!!!

Lots of pictures!!!

I have a couple things to update you all about. I apologize it's taken me so long to post these, but the passing of SCC's daughter took a bit of priority. I still cannot imagine what they're all going through, but I'm sure they're trying to regain some sense of normalcy - if that's even possible.

Anyhow, after my post about all of the big things changing with Brian, we started by moving him to the big boy bed. So I'll post a few (ok, a lot) of pictures of that transition.

And I only have a couple pictures of Emma after her ballet recital because they wouldn't allow any flash photography during the performances. I did take video, and as soon as I figure out how to load it on the computer and then onto the blog I'll post it here. She did a fabulous job, and was such a beautiful ballerina. My heart swelled watching her on stage, and at that moment I decided that I would keep her in ballet for as long as she'd allow it. I won't force her to keep doing it if she hates it, but even though it was expensive and time consuming, it was so worth every minute. I am a super-proud momma!

Okay, enough rambling...here's the pics.








Isn't she just so beautiful? (And no, I'm not biased!)


That is Emma's 1st grade class. I was lucky enough (and yes, there is some sarcasm there) to go with her on a field trip to the botanical gardens. I took some really neat pictures while I was there, but can't figure out how to mark them so they're not copied. I'll post them when I figure that out.

I couldn't finish a post without a picture of Jackson! See that scrape on his lip? He took a major tumble a few days prior and was gushing blood everywhere. It looks worlds better here, but we probably should have had it stitched up. We didn't even take him to the dr. I am currently putting Mederma on it because it has left a scar on his face - and let's face it - his face is just too pretty to have a scar on it! Okay, too handsome. Totally worth $18 to make it less noticeable.

So how is everyone else out there?

Happy Anniversry...

to us! Today we celebrated 11 years. It was a great day.

Dave, I love you with all my heart. Thank you for loving me.

Unimaginable Tragedy

Maria Sue Chapman

I read the saddest thing this morning...Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter was killed in an accident yesterday evening. You can read the story at www.stevencurtischapman.com or most news sites.

For those of you that don't know, SCC's music has played a major part in my life. I've been listening to him since the late 80's and have always been able to gain something from his lyrics. This is a horrible tragedy, and while I do not know them personally, it feels very close to home.

Please pray for the family, their son especially, and anyone close to them. This has got to be a parent's worst nightmare. I know their strength is in the Lord and He will see them through, but that doesn't mean it won't hurt for a long time.

Wanna come play?

So, in just a few short weeks, anyone that wants to come play on this...



...just give us a call. We'd love to have you!

Crossroads

Brian is growing up way too fast for me. We're at this major crossroad with him in a few different areas. Three major changes are coming and I don't know which one to do first. He's already moved into his big boy car seat, as you can see in the post below. Now we have to 1)move to the big boy bed, 2)take away the paci, and 3) potty train. Seriously - why are we running into these all at the same time for him? I really don't know which one we should do first. And to be quite honest, I don't really want to do any of them because that's just one step closer to not having a "baby" anymore. Don't get me wrong, I know Brian is far from a baby, but he's our last and I'm just sad to let go of these last glimpses of babyhood. I still struggle from time to time at that thought, but God is slowly giving me peace about it all, thankfully. So now as I look back at what I wrote, I think I should go in that order...bed, paci, potty. What do you think?

And of course I can't post about Brian without leaving you with a super-cute picture of him!

The seat is here!

Emma's new seat came in the mail a couple days ago. She was terribly excited to check it out!

everyone took a turn trying it out...it's crazy that Brian is on the same slots as Emma and Jackson...he's got the longest torso!



Nobody will ever say that they aren't safe! Some think we're crazy to have a 7 year old still in a car seat. It would be different if she was the size of an average 7 year old though. I should send this picture into Britax as an advertisement!

She's super happy with the seat. The fact that it's pink just made her day. I think I win mommy of the year award from her!

Yay!!!!

Double yay! Car seat problem solved! I was talking to my sil and Heather about the issue. Heather wanted to know what it looked like so I went online to remember the name of the pattern. I did a google search and clicked on an online retailer that popped up first. I was so shocked to see they had the color we wanted in stock, on sale, and there is no shipping fee or sales tax! I called Dave and he told me to just get it without much thought at all. Soooo....I did! I got a Britax Regent in Madison for $239! Emma will be one happy camper having a girly seat, and Brian will be super happy to have the big boy black seat. I figured I would get the girly one so Emma would enjoy being in a 5-pt harness even more. Brian will use her old seat until it expires and then I'll just put the black cover on the new shell. It will work out fabulously.

And just so inquiring minds don't have to ask...here's what her new seat looks like...




Isn't it so pretty...any girl would be proud to ride in this seat. I hope she loves it. I'm kind of excited about it too. When we had Emma baby products hadn't gone the route of gender specific yet. So all of her gear was navy blue...nothing girly for her. So it's fun to get to buy one thing girly for her. Even if she is almost 7!

It's been a while...

Not much is going on around here. I'm really happy about that. School is winding down, only 6 weeks to go. I'm really looking forward to the summer. I'm selfish - I like to have my kids with me. Work is going well, other than leaving Dave with the kids all the time. I've recently gained more responsibility at work doing their cash office on the weekends. This is one job I used to just love at Bed Bath & Beyond, so I'm happy to have the opportunity to do it again.

I'm not so happy about it for this coming weekend though. I'll be doing it for the first time by myself, which isn't a big deal really. I just don't want to screw it up. But the real reason I'm not happy about it is this Saturday, May 3rd, is Britax's warehouse sale. It's in the morning, from 8-12, and I have to work! It wouldn't be a big deal except I really need to get a new seat for Brian. It would be great to not pay full price for that crazy seat. I keep racking my brain trying to find a way to get there. Dave would go for me but the kids have soccer in the morning, including team pictures. He could go afterwards, but he wouldn't get there until after 10:30, and what we need will probably be gone by then. They don't do this sale every year, so when they do they usually sell out before it's over. Pooh. I'd even be resigned to it with less angst if I could get my work discount online. The seat we want to get we only sell in one color and it's not the cutest. We have other colors online, but I don't get my discount online. Grrr....

Anyway, didn't want you all to think we fell off the face of the earth...just nothing too interesting to write about.

Hope you are all doing well....drop a line and let me know how you're doing.


Oh, for those of you that care...I've lost 12 pounds! Woot woot!

New hobby?

So I've always been into scrapbooking, however since having kids and the invention of the digital camera, I have been much less productive. I found a great new site called scrapblog.com and it lets you do digital scrapbooking - for free!

Here's my first (and meager attempt) at a layout. At least the pics of Dave are fun to look at! He's so cute!




We had a great time in Asheville. Very relaxing and fun to get to spend some much needed time refocusing on each other. I love you Dave!!!

Our TERRIFIC Kid!

We had the immense joy of seeing our sweet little girl be presented with a school award on Friday. Emma was chosen to be her class's "Terrific Kid" and we got to attend the ceremony held at school. It was so neat to see all the kids so full of pride knowing they were being recognized for their special talents. Emma was beaming from ear to ear. The principal read each teacher's description of what made these children "terrific." I have to say, the things Emma's teacher said about her made me burst with pride. We couldn't ask for a sweeter girl, and she's smart to boot! We just wanted to share our Emma's achievement with all of you!