The Sensenig Family

so far behind

2010-12-11T10:15:00.003-05:00

I have really let this blog get behind.. I have been so busy with things that this was the last thing on my mind...

I hosted Thanksgiving dinner here, so that had me occupied for a while..LOL

{Carter & Peggy on Thanksgiving day}

then Black Friday began Christmas preparations... shopping, decorating, church functions. .you get the idea!

{our Christmas tree}

{the homemade stockings out of an quilt that I made}

So you can see why I have forgotten about you, dear blog, & I am sorry!

decorating for fall

2010-10-11T18:50:00.003-04:00

Today the kids had off from school so we went to a lil farm up the road to buy pumpkins.. they also had lil chihuahua puppies(had they not been 350 bucks I woulda brought one home), a lil kitten that Callie fell in love with(I did NOT as it was ate up with fleas..eww!!) But this little kitty let Callie tote it around in any old way!

Soccer photos

2010-10-11T18:36:00.006-04:00

Owen's collage

Carter's collage

Carter's Team:

U-8 team Spain

Owen's team: U-10 select

Carter's Action Shot

Owen's Action Shot

both boys 3&17

feild trip

2010-10-11T18:20:00.005-04:00

Callie had a feild trip with her preschool to tent city @ the Ephrata fair.
Here are a few of my favorite snapshots

Denver Fair.. kiddie day

2010-10-11T18:05:00.003-04:00

When the fair was in town the kids had off school that day & we went to the fair.. they had a special from 1-4.. buy an all you can ride bracelet for 10 bucks.. Mom went along with us.. While I was watching the 2 younger ones she was watching Owen ride the "big kid" rides. I can't believe he is transitioning from the kiddie rides to the cool rides already... Owen is growing up waaayy to fast!

Callie with her beloved Dora

Nana & Betty boop

Callie riding the dragon ride

Owen on the pirate ship

The boys doing the bumper cars

me & my mom

batter up!!

2010-10-11T17:54:00.005-04:00

Back in the beginning of Sept we went to see the local baseball team. The Lancaster Barnstomers.. The kids got freee tickets from completing the summer reading program through the library.

The game started out fine but we went into OT and Callie started become a real handful so we left and didn't get to stay to watch the fireworks.

Carter, Owen & Ethan(owen's buddy)

the diamond

Me, Jason & Callie

Carter & me

the old man turns 88!

2010-08-31T22:51:00.002-04:00

Ya know the old sayin.. the good die young? Well, I guess he ain't good! I'm just kidding.. or not...LOL~
Clifford G. Landers, aka.. pawpaw, celebrated his 88th birthday today. Callie and I took him some cupcakes, a card, and a lil happy birthday bear. He was elated to see us walk through his door. (I wish I would've remembered my camera.) He was just finishing his lunch when we arrived.
He has his moments but for the most part the man is still sharp!
He is always complaining how he doesn't have any money in there .. so today we he complained I asked him what he wanted to buy. He says " I like to get a travel trailer, my sister lives about 90 miles out yonner way" as he is flicking his head to the right. Oh, Pawpaw.. your sister lives in the south and we are in Pa... it's a lil more than 90 miles.
Then he says how he thinks dad is pullin the wool over his eyes about not being able to drive... He had a stroke about 8 yrs. ago that left his left arm paralyzed along with his bladder and a few other things. So he can't drive. So I asked him.. can you use your left arm, "no" he says.. can you walk?? cuz you have to be able to do all those things to drive.( he can't walk... i think it has something to do with muscle deterioration in his back , but not sure) I then said, " as we get older there are things that we just can't do like when we were younger, even though we want to, like driving. It's just part of getting older. .. He says.. well then don't ever get old! I told him I want to grow old.. I wanna watch my children grow, get married, have grand children. That led us to counting his great grandchildren.. he has somewhere around 16 or so..
I'm proud to call him my Pawpaw!
love ya old man!!

first day of the 2010-11 school year

2010-08-31T10:21:00.004-04:00

The start of school is here! I have never been more excited for school to start. Why you ask? I will tell you.. the last 2 weeks were very strenuous on me. There was constant fighting and bullying going on in our home.Yes! It's true!! The boys needed more structure than what I was giving(which wasn't much..LOL) I so grateful for yesterday, although our morning didn't get the best start. Owen had some issues staying on task with the morning routine.

Callie and I walked up with our neighbor(she has a lil girl in afternoon Kindy) to the school to meet the boys at school & walked home together. Callie is already asking if we can go for our walk again. Carter was pretty tired after spending all day in school and then the walk home. He is gonna be even more tired today, as he has soccer tonight.

So all 3 were at school yesterday and this busymomy spent the my morning shopping.. I went to Kmart & Goodwill.. I had the most pleasant time.. No one yelling to get out of the cart. No one to keep nagging at to behave.. No one asking for something.. No one asking to go potty.. You get the idea.. nice and quite!!

Today, day 2, was much much better!!

1st day fo preschoool

2010-08-26T15:18:00.003-04:00

Today was Callie's 1st day of preschool! She was so excited to go that we started getting ready lastnight ..LOL! We painted her fingers & her toes, picked out her outfit & her shoes.
This after she got dressed we put in a pair of pearl earrings and put on her favorite perfume & put in a princess crown her pretty!

ready for school

outside her classroom door

in front of the cubbies

tobias lake

2010-08-26T14:45:00.006-04:00

We wanted to do one last fun thing before school starts so we went to Tobias Lake in Halifax, Pa!What a neat place. The kids really had fun walking around looking at all the animals. The safari ride was the best! There was a couple of guys in front of us from Italy and they were kind enough to share their crackers that they bought (they were just for the animals)

(yawn) he was soo bored!

The zebras was funny!! they kept chasin a poor ostrich around their pen!

a joey! Carter said he was super soft

a beefalo( a cross breed a cow + a buffalo)

a zedonk (zebra + donkey)

Tourist!!

2010-08-24T15:02:00.004-04:00

ya either love em or hate em!! most of the time they get on my nerves but last Saturday we played tourist in Intercourse,Pa... Owen didn't wanna go so it was just Jason, Carter, Callie & me!

We had fun and I truely felt like a tourist with my big ole camera draped around my neck..LOL

so.. which is yours???

whoa!! Amish girls painting their nails!

love the many colors of the scooters!

my lil amish crew

surprise!! it's a 60th birthday party

2010-08-24T14:57:00.004-04:00

My mom turned 60 this year and I wanted to throw her a big party.. Peggy & Eddy, Jr. helped as well! I invited mom's family in from Oh.. Aunt Carol & Don, Granny , Carissa & Terry (and the kids) came in. Peggy's got a DJ and we danced & had a fun!

We thought someone let it slip to mom about the big surprise but she seemed to be really surprised when she pulled up in the drive way!

::Here are a few pics from the event::

food tent

Jr... grill master

mom and her gag gift.. 60 stool softners

Carissa, Terry & Granny

Th circus was in town...

2010-08-04T13:12:00.011-04:00

for Carter's 6th party we had a circus theme... it was a lot of fun and planned at the very last minute. I was up the night before scrambling for ideas and working on printouts until 1a.m! But on Sunday it all pulled together and looked awesome!

Carter swinging at the pinata...

treat bags {filled with animal crackers}

popcorn table

Cake time

balloon animals

photo booth{with clown noses}

presents{and lots of 'em!}

8.4.04 {that is the date my baby boy was born}

2010-08-04T12:49:00.004-04:00

6 years ago I was blessed with a second child, my second boy!! He was tiny 6lbs 13.5oz & 19" tall! Today he is still tiny and still has those beautiful blue eyes that have captured my heart!

He may be my second child but he is my favorite Carter!

He is a whiner .. he likes to tag a long with his big brother{even if Owen don't want him to}.. he is a big 1st grader.. he can ride his bike with out training wheels.. he can read{even though he says he can't}... he has an amazing raspy voice... he is missing 2 teeth {bottom center}... he likes to fight with his sister.... he is a people pleaser! He is baby boy ...

Happy 6th Birthday Carter Isaiah!

Job interview

2010-07-19T09:30:00.002-04:00

For the 1st time in about 7 years I applied for a job! It's with Cocalico school district being a substitute paraprofessional(a teacher's aide).. I had an group interview on Thursday.. which was only filling out paper work.. like W-4's, direct deposit forms, tax exempt papers, retirement forms.... the next step is for me to get background clearance(criminal & child abuse) & getting a TB test(not looking forward to that one).. then once all that comes in, My info will go before the school board and get voted in.. so I could be employeed by Cocalico school district by Aug... no later than Sept!!

Here I am on before my interview...

Not the easiest to take a full length photo ;)

Swimming Lessons

2010-07-19T09:16:00.008-04:00

I signed the boys up for swimming lessons through the local YMCA.. they had lessons Monday - Thursday from 8:40-9:10 in the morning.. it was bit early for us to get up and get motivated but we did it(& we weren't late). The lessons were for 2 weeks. They didn't pass the "guppy" but I think they learned the basics and I will continue to work with them at my mom's in her pool :)

CANNON BALL

Owen learning to do a kneeling dive

Carter floating with a nooodle

Carter jumping off of the diving board

As you can see they had tons of fun!!

10 years of love

2010-07-19T09:05:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Jason & I celebrated our 10 year anniversary ♥ We can hardly believe that it has been 10 years already.. if the next 10 years go as fast as the first 10... Owen will be 19{gasp} Carter will be 16{and driving.. double gasp!} and Callie will be 13.. eeeekkkkk!! Not to mention that Jason & I will be in our 40's!

These 10 years have been filled with lots of ups & a few downs.. but I surely wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life with any other man!!

Jason bought me a beautiful ring...

I got him a new band {made out of stainless steel} but I gotta send it back.. It's too small :(

Rehoboth Beach, DE

2010-07-04T11:24:00.009-04:00

on Thursday, July 2nd, we took a day trip with my mom & Cailan to the beach.

The drive there was a bit taxing... It was over 2.5 hrs. and Carter kept asking every 45 min. or so if we were there yet! Cailan finally showed him the road signs that showed how many more miles.. that helped A LOT!!

Once at the beach we had fun and the day passed really quickly {I think we shoulda left a bit earlier}!
The weather was absolutely beautiful for a day spent on the beach.. the high was aroun 79 or so with a breeze! The water was rough & there was no swimming due to the jelly fish, which were washing ashore... the kids had fun with them and even picked a few up with their hands{they didn't have any tentacles, so it was safe}

Callie and I had fun digging in the sand and I tried to make a sand castle but she was quick to smash whatever I done.

She was also a bit afraid of the water.Towards the end of the day she would venture out to get her feet wet but if she saw a big wave coming she would try to run from it... sometimes she would win.

We were lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins super close to shore.. they were hard to capture on camera though! Owen found a crab claw..

The waves were strong all day long.. they even knocked Carter down at one point & snagged Cailan's bottoms off her hiney.. good thing she's fast..LOL

we had a wonderful day with Nana at the beach

Father's Day.. twenty ten

2010-06-21T09:48:00.005-04:00

Father's Day this year seemed a bit more special than those in the past.. Maybe it was due to the fact that my dad almost wasn't here for this one....

This year we celebrated like any other year.. Got up went to church & then headed over to my parents for a family cookout.. Hamburgers & sausage on the grill..YUMMM!

I didn't get dad anything really special this year.. just an outfit (I find him extremely difficult to shop for) But I made sure I gave him a hug at church and told him I love him & Happy Father's day!

The kids got Jason one of those zero gravity chairs.. He had mentioned in passing one day that he would like to have a recliner for outside.. that is exactly what the zero gravity chair is.. it even has a sun shade. We got him a lil side tray as well.. to hold his drink & whatever else he chooses

the highlight of the day was when dad told Eddy to flag down the icecream truck & have him come over to our house(my parents).. When that icecream truck pulled up in the yard playing it's famous tune the kids were beside themselves! Callie started jumping up & down yelling icecream over & over! that guy prolly had his best stop of the day right there in our yard!!

where did my baby go??

2010-06-14T21:33:00.006-04:00

I can't believe that 3 yrs have gone by so quickly! Good bye diapers. Good bye bottles. Good bye baby!

Today I have reminisced on my delivery of our one & only lil girl.. I was to go in on the 14th to be induced but labor & delivery called me bright and early(6:30) to tell me they were full and to call on the 15th.. who does this to a just about to bust pregnant woman in June! Once there (on the 15th) I had the BEST delivery out of all 3 and she was my biggest at 8lbs 11oz!

Callie is so full of life & personality.. she has a stubborn streak a mile wide! She lives up to her hair color, that is for sure.

Some of Callie's favorite things are ♥ dollies ♥ babies ♥ dogs ♥ Dora ♥ barbie ♥ Autumn ♥ her daddy ♥ Good luck Charlie (show on Disney) ♥ her dinky(blanket)

She loves to ♥ spend the night with her nana & pap ♥ ride her new bike ♥ swing ♥ torment her brothers ♥ sing ♥ make a mess ♥ playing house ♥

She is afraid of ♥ worms ♥ the loudness of Pap's bike ♥ her daddy's power tools ♥

Callie is an amazing little girl who lights up our world & I couldn't imagine our life without her!

Happy 3rd Birthday Callie Alyssa

another year older

2010-06-14T16:12:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I turned 33.. there was no celebration as I planned Callie's birthday party on the same day....

As I reflect what has happened in the past year I can see how blessed I am.. not just me but my whole family.

Some of the note worthy things that happened in a year(no particular order)

*visiting family * Disney World * seeing old friends * Dad surviving a massive heart attack * Owen struggling with school * Carter loosing his 1st tooth * Callie learning to pedal * trips to the zoo * making new friends * watching my children grow * several home improvements * letting go of lil Charlie * watching Carter flourish at school * surviving another year of soccer * trips with friends to the mountains * welcoming a new baby in our extended family * a blizzard * potty training Callie *

Life moves so quickly that it is hard to believe that another year has come & gone

Carter's Kindergarten Graduation

2010-06-08T10:19:00.005-04:00

The school holds a lil "graduation ceremony" for the Kindergarten class.. It's so cute.. they sing a few songs ...then walk around with their "caps" on & then the teachers announce what they would like to be when they grow up.. there was A LOT of police officers in this years class.. Carter was not one of those..

Carter talking to his friend Grace

Walking in the procession

Carter & Mrs. White

His graduation gift

home ♥ sweet ♥ home

2010-06-06T21:59:00.004-04:00

We are finally home after a mini vacation(a weekend trip) to Ohio! And walking through those doors never felt so good (or smelled so bad)!!
We left on Friday for Aunt Carol graduation party(nursing school.. WAY 2 GO!) Our trip didn't get off to a good start.. We weren't even an hour into the trip & Owen started puking.. poor kid! That was how he spent the trip.. puking in a grocery bag. I must say he is a trooper! He didn't get any in the van or on himself and is really low key about it.
We also realized about an hour into our trip that we had forgotten Callie's dinky (her blanket).. no turning around for it. So I figured this was meant to be & we would brake her from it. She screamed about 45% of the way out.. I was thinking "WOW! what is the ride home gonna be like?" cuz usually the ride out goes better than the ride home!
Once we got out there everything was good.. We enjoyed ourselves and it was awesome seeing the family again. Granny Flutter (Grandma Pat) had just gotten out of the hospital. She had broken her thigh several years ago & they had put in a steel plate for it.. well the steel plate had set up infection in her body and it had spread.. I guess she was pretty sick from it.. BUT now she is better & walking better than she had even when her plate was in. The bone had healed while the plate was in(something the docs didn't think could happen)
The ride home was good.. all 3 kids were great.. Callie had to stop 2x for a potty break... luckily enough she is little and we can just stop and pull her pants down right there. We gave Owen Dramamine and he didn't have 1 tummy issue the whole way home. I gotten the newest "Novella" in the TWILIGHT series The short second life of Bree Tanner! That kept me entertained on the way home. I finished it.. it was only 187 pages long.
We get home and Sadie was sooo happy to see us! That was a nice welcome home.. Then we walk through the door.. UGGG the smell.. something stank in the house..
Jason says "when we left on Friday I went around and shut all the doors .. Including the laundry room door" that is where the cat's litter pan & her food & water dish are at... she hadn't ate anything since we left Friday afternoon. .my poor cat!! She was NOT the source of the smell! Callie had pooped in her lil pink potty at some point on Friday & I forgot to clean it out.. YUCK! the laundry room stank sooo bad! I got out the febreeze and sprayed the whole house down.
Shortly after we walked in the door, Jason & I started looking for Callie's dinky & we couldn't find it.. She did! So the whole weekend for her dinky was all for nothing!
Even though I slept awesome in Tyler's bed (I really did), it will feel awesome to lay down in my own bed tonight

Happy 9th Birthday Owen!

2010-06-03T14:32:00.004-04:00

On the 27th we celebrated Owen's 9th birthday! It is hard to believe that my oldest is 9!! At this rate he will be driving before I know it!!

On Thursday we celebrated low key(just us & my parents) with cake and a present from us.. we got him soccer gear! he loved it all... and Pawpaw sent him a check (went right into his savings account!)

Then on the 29th we had a luau theme party.. we rented a slushy machine & had pina colada slushies..mmm they were a hit! It was the usual here, family, & he invited Ethan, a friend from soccer. We made chicken & hot dogs on the grill, fresh fruit & veggies, potato macaroni salad & chips!! The food was a hit as always!

Mom in her luau get up

Owen got clothes, a gift card to Walmart, a RC car, a traffic light for his room. Carter got him a Ravens backpack. I took him to Walmart and got his ear pierced.. he had wanted that for a looong time. ... and a bunch of other stuff! All in all he had a Happy Birthday!

Owen & Ethan

Owen waiting to open his gifts

Owen & Carter

The cake was yummy!

my purty flower bed

2010-06-03T11:53:00.002-04:00

I mulched the flower bed right off of the carport, moved the bird bath & added some rock around the water fountain & birdbath

♥ Callie ♥

2010-06-03T11:50:00.005-04:00

Just wanted to share this adorable photo of Callie..

Carter losses his 1st 2 teeth

2010-06-03T11:31:00.005-04:00

Carter had two wiggly teeth but he wouldn't let us try to pull it but on May 16th he was eating a pancake and bit down on his fork! That made his tooth all but come out.... so he stood in front of the mirror & pulled it himself! The tooth fairy had a hard time finding his tooth because he didn't leave it in the Ziploc baggie & he slept with Owen that night! The tooth fairy was kind enough to leave him 5 bucks since it was his 1st tooth!!

Then about a week or so later he lost his 2nd tooth. For this one I tied floss around his tooth & around the door knob.. I let him shut the door! It took us about 5 tries before I could get that tooth tied just right, the floss kept slipping off.. then finally it came out! I heard "tink" as the tooth hit the door frame! He was proud of himself. Again, the tooth fairy couldn't find his little tooth!! This time he was left only a buck.

Earth Day 2010

2010-04-23T15:35:00.003-04:00

Both boys received a blue spruce seedling from PPL electric co. for their school being rated an Energy Star building.

We planted them yesterday to celebrate Earth day. For now their home in one of my flower beds. .once they get bigger we will transplant them to a better location.

Bathroom Renovation

2010-04-16T12:25:00.004-04:00

oh what a process this has been.. . Actually it has all went quite smoothly and even though it seemed to take forever it really didn't. Jason only had weekends to work on it so it seemed to take a bit longer but in reality it only took a month.. not bad considerind he ripped everything out.

Here is what we started with..

mint green tile with a burgandy & pink trim & a pink tub!

Here is what we ended up with...

beautiful Milk chocolate walls with coconut milk wainscotting

a cherry vanity with a delta victorian faucet in venetian bronze

hints of green and we got a brand new bright white tub with

coordinating shower fixtures!

spring soccer

2010-04-16T12:16:00.003-04:00

Owen has had 2 soccer games.. This season he is on the U-10 team. Most of the boys who are on the team have been palying together for a couple of seasons.. It makes it hard for Owen to "fit" in and he doesn't get quite as much BALL time. With that being said he is learning some great skills this year. Their team won their first game 3-0! and tied the second 2-2! Owen's team is called the Cocalico Rangers. The are off to a great start. Last fall they didn't win a single game(or tie for that matter)

Learning to pedal

2010-04-08T18:49:00.002-04:00

Callie has been trying to learn to pedal a trike for a little bit now but would get super frustrated and throw tantrums when she just couldn't get it. (I wonder where she gets them from) Then she got backwards down pat and was cruisin around the driveway in reverse..LOL! I worked with her for 2 days(not full days) and she finally got it! She is so proud on her trike.. yelling "look at me, I peddling!"

Then it happened.. I was leaving to go get Owen from soccer on Tuesday night & I didn't look behind my van.. C-R-U-N-C-H!!!! Yep, I backed over it. It bent the tires good and proper & the back deck... plus it left a nice red stripe on my bumper. I thought it done more damage to my van than what it did.. so for that I feel lucky. I think we can get some replacement wheels for it and it will be fine. In the mean time she is riding Owen's old dump truck trike...lol

Easter Eggs

2010-04-01T22:10:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I boiled our eggs.. I am so proud of myself for thinking ahead on this and doing them yesterday and letting them sit in my frige stinking it up for a day!

Tonight after supper we colored them. The only color Callie wanted to use was.. PINK! Big surprise there..NOT

We colored 2 dozen... 1 for the park egg hunt that I wrote "Jesus ♥'s you" on all them & then a dz. for Peggy's house. That is where Easter is at this year. It is to be a beautiful weekend around 70 on Easter day. It will be great weather for hunting eggs.

Carter dippin an egg

Callie stirring hers

Owen refused to look at me

Owen & Jason.. he hogged all the eggs!!

Pap over seeing Carter

Callie with 1 of her pink eggs

1/2 of our loot

my 3 lil lephrechans

2010-03-31T10:41:00.004-04:00

I know this is late but i took this picture of my kiddos on St. Patricks day..

What a week!

2010-03-14T22:32:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday started off normal.. getting up heading to church.. then home. Well after church I got a migraine and laid down for a bit. The next thing I know, the phone is ringing and no one is answering it! Then my cell, then Jason's cell.. I answered his. It was the phone call that will never be forgotten.. HI Kristy, this is officer(i forget his name) I am with your mother. Your father has had an apparent heart attack and is in route to the hospital!

WOW! I almost dropped my phone and started panicking! I couldn't get a hold of my brother or my sister to let them know.. Seriously.. my dad is superman to me and he can't die! He did.. he dropped dead of a heart attack in the middle of the Reebok outlet. He had angels watching over him the whole time.. He could have been driving.. he could been at home.. nope! He was at Reebok and someone there gave him CPR.. someone there saved him.. someone there was able to stay with my mom until we arrived at the E.R! Someone there cared about a stranger.

So once he was "stable" enough to move him, he went up for heart surgery.. .seemed like it took forever. They discovered 2 narrowed arteries. So the doc put 2 stents in. However the problem now wasn't his heart.. it was his brain! It wasn't a question of was there going to be damage. .it was how much! No one knew how long his brain wasn't receiving oxygen before the CPR started. The doctor couldn't give us an estimate when my brother asked, on his survival rate.. He lowered his head and said.. Let's just be "hopeful"!!

We saw him once surgery was over but only briefly.. there were test to be done.. mainly a ct scan which showed no bleeding on the brain.. our 1st positive!!
That night all I could do was pray, pray and pray some more. The next morning I prayed and prayed.. get the theme.. PRAYER and a whole lot of it! I kept hearing it's gonna be okay.. it's gonna be okay! I wasn't sure if this was me or GOD talking to me but I was rolling with it.

Monday dad started hypothermia therapy: his body got cooled down to 92*! The purpose of this is to slow everything down, conserve energy and to decrease swelling in the brain that was caused from lack of oxygen. this day wasn't so bad.. there wasn't a whole lot to do but pray.They slowly started warming his body up,late in the evening. It can't be done too quickly or the body goes into shock. I believe it was warmed a degree every hour or so.. This waiting is starting to get old!

Tuesday. I went in to see him for a lil while the boys were at school. I would stand beside his bed and hold his hand and pray. The nurse told me he is very calm while I am in with him. When it was time for me to leave, I felt numb.. things were starting to catch up to me.. the running around and the stress of everything that was happening. I started praying while I was leaving the hospital that I would get a sign that things were gonna be okay and not only would I see but so would my mom who was still up in his room. Just then my right eye started burning like I had gotten onion juice in it. About 10 min. later I received a phone call that dad had briefly opened his eyes but closed them again! Thank you God!

Wednesday oh Wednesday! still a day of the waiting game.. there were more movements but nothing that was responsive. I wasn't able to go in at all during the day and this really ate at me. I had meltdown after meltdown. I felt like my world was falling apart. There was so much to do and no desire to do it... The house was a mess from running all week.. company was coming(Aunt Debbie & Uncle Glenn) to help with support since they just went through this 5 yrs. ago with their daughter. aaahhhhh!!!

Thursday, I think( most of this past week is turning into a blur) another day of waiting and watching him try to come around but he was coming out to wild!

Friday they tried letting him come out but he became so agitated because he had a breathing tube down his throat and he tried taking it out.. they had to keep sedating him so he wouldn't hurt himself. He had to have his hands cuffed to the bed because of this... he was just so angry at those tubes, turning his head back n forth.. They were planning on taking his tubes out however his lungs weren't ready. He had an underlying condition that he needed to stay on the respirator. He had a lot of phlegm that was being a host to 2 nasty lil germ bugs and his lung doc just felt is was best not to take him off of his meds or his to take out his tubes..

Saturday.. I walked into the hospital to find him SITTING in a chair! He still wasn't fully himself but did if feel good to see him with his eyes open and up out of that bed. When the lung doc done his rounds he took out the breathing tubes and they let dad breathe some on his own. Then he graduated to a mask.. which he didn't like. And then he became irritable again, demanding he was going home! and He was talking hateful to people. His voice wasn't his.. it was all tore up from the tubes. but he was talking!

Sunday.. 6a.m.. the phone rings.. it's dad.. "the old lady there?' yes but she is sleeping, want me to wake her up, Jason asked. " tell her I want my glasses, I can't see a damn thing" and I want them before church!" Jason just says I'll tell her.
we finally got to go in around 3 this afternoon. he was up walking around the ICU area with the aide of a walker.. he even got to see all of his grandchildren. His nurse wheeled him out in his recliner to visit with everyone!! She said that was the 1st time they had ever done that!! He sure does brake the mold!! It was so unbelievable to see him smile, talk, remember almost everything! There seems to be only a short window that he don't remember and that is the 4 hours right before his cardiac arrest! Only time will tell if there is other things that he don't remember but so far so good!
Now if you don't believe in miracles performed by God, go back and read my story again!
God's fingerprints were all over this.. from his 1st nurse that told me & mom that there is some kind of positive energy in that room that I can't explain to my aunt Debbie feeling someones hand push on her back when there was no one behind her at the time!!

*note.. dates may be off a bit.. like I said.. this week was a roller coaster and everything is a blur

potty training Callie

2010-03-02T10:14:00.002-05:00

I figured it was time to potty train Callie and voiced my opinion many times to her... telling her she was a big girl and it was time to use the potty. After we came home from Disney, I started.. no more diapers(only for nap & bedtime).. just big girl panties!

She took to peeing in her lil potty quick & easy.. pooping was a whole other story. She Callie has problems pooping. She stays constipated most of the time, despite my best efforts to give her more fiber. She would sneak and hide somewhere to poop. If I would catch her mid-way and put her on the potty she still wouldn't finish... she would hold it, which added to her constipation issues.. Never ending cycle, right?

Well I had been wondering if she isn't allergic to milk.. that is her main source of nutrition. So last week after talking to my Sister in law, Mary, I decided to switch her from regular milk to lactaid... Not sure if it is helping since it was only late Saturday that I switched her. Lactaid milk is a lil over 5 bucks a gallon and my lil girl can put away the milk. However, if it helps her poop then I will gladly pay the price.

So this morning as I am making myself breakfast, I noticed Callie has disappeared and is quite.. not a good sign. Frantically I start looking for her. I just knew she was hiding in a corner or closet somewhere pooping! When I yelled her name she answered which isn't normal if she is hiding. I asked where are you? She replys "I'm pooping" I am walking back to find her in her bedroom but NOPE! She was sitting on her potty in the BATHROOM!! I asked "are you really pooping?"
and she didn't need to answer as I heard..plop..plop!! I was beyond ecstatic! I stared getting all misty-eyed that she finally went poo on her lil potty! I hooped and hollered.. gave her a big high five! So if she continues this the rest of the week, chances are you will find us at chuck e. cheese this weekend.. because I promised to take her there once she started pooping in her potty!

Faves from Disney

2010-02-26T14:24:00.008-05:00

Jason & the kids with the sword

In front Mickey's house

Waiting on the boys to ride a coaster

The Castle at dusk

2 wild animals in the park..lol

Fireworks at Magic Kingdom

The family with Mater & McQueen

the biggest coke bottle

me & Princess waiting in line for

"toy story mania"

Jason, Carter & Callie with Mr. Potato head

The family with Buzz & Woody

Carter with June & Quincy from Little Einsteins

Jason & Owen in front of the "rock n roll

roller coaster" feat. Areosmith

Owen working the Black n White

Jason and Carter are T.R.O.U.B.L.E...

they put theire elbows on the table .

Shame, Shame , Shame

The boys wearing their dunce hats

The entrance to Animal Kingdom

The kids in front of the tree of life sign..

(Callie is sleeping in her stroller..LOL)

Owen & Carter poising with some random fish..

yes it was raining our last day

Owen & Carter with Lilo & Stitch

Waiting in line to do the Safari

the Africa grasslands

The tree of life

the coaster of Mt. Everst.. I screamed

like a little girl.. haahaha!

The family with Goofy & Pluto in Dinoland

I have more to post but it will have to wait until another day

pictures from our "stretch your legs" stops

2010-02-26T14:10:00.007-05:00

The boys in the van

one of our longer stops in North Carolina

Now in South Carolina.. notice how the jackets are off.
the farther south we got, the warmer it felt.

Now in Jacksonville, Fl. I love the palm trees!

the closest we got to Daytona beach.. :(

more details

2010-02-15T19:15:00.002-05:00

Owen got sick our 2nd day there(puking) poor dude. because of that we missed our breakfast at chef mickeys which is a character meal. I was very upset by this and tried to reschedule but nothing was available. he was feeling much better around 10ish(we did a lot of praying) and then we went to the majic Kingdom(jason favorite). We were able to ride plenty of rides(11, i think) and everyone had a great time. we walked into the park about the time a parade was going on and I got all misty eyed!! it was awesome! the castle was something else! we had an awesome spot for the fireworks, which were fantastic!
our 3rd day:: Callie was super clingy to jason..figured out she had a fever:: she wouldn't walk or ride in the stroller. We went to hollywood studios. We had fun there but it was super crowded.. more than majic kingdom. We did the toy story mania(waited in line for an hour).. met lightning & mater, buzz & woody! we rode a few big rides. the tower of terror was frightening to me.. the boys loved it! it took you up 13 stories and then dropped you.. OMG!! then brought you back up again to different levels and did the same thing... it also opened up a "window" so you could see across the whole park. i was terrified! when the ride was done carter says that was awesome, let's go again!! we also watched disney playhouse live on stage. callie n carter enjoyed that one.
our last day was spent at animal kingdom.. in the pouring down rain. we rode on the safari.. way cool: owen and i rode a coaster that was a blast.. takes you up then stops.. then you go backwards in the dark... scarey!! then the boys and I rode something called dinosaur. that was cool as well. for dinner we ate at the rainforest cafe.. good food! however I was disappointed that I wasn't told that it wasn't on our dining plan. that was the end of our WDW vacay! We had lots of fun even though it was a lot to take in!

1st leg of our travels to WDW!

2010-02-13T19:17:00.002-05:00

Where o where do I begin?! We started our journey to Florida early Monday morning... we stopped about 2 or 3 hrs. so the kids could stretch their legs. We ended up stopping in Jacksonville, Fl. at a Microtel so we could rest and shower before our last 2 hr. stretch. We arrived around noon.. and OH MY! the place is huge! I really didn't understand by looking at on line maps how big Walt Disney World (WDW) was!! It was overwhelming!
Of course our 1st day we were welcomed by rain.. and it rained most of the day. We just chilled in the hotel room for a while. We had our 1st dinner with Mickey, Chip n Dale & Pluto! the food was good and the resturant rotated.. very cool! Callie was so happy to see Mickey mouse that when she hugged him she told him " I wub you Mickey!" so adorable!! We spent our time at Epcot. We thought we did quite a bit but then we looked at a map and realized that there was a whole back section that we didn't do..LOL! WE were gonna stay to watch the fireworks and laser show but the kids were melting down and we just headed back to our room.

more blizzard pictures

2010-02-06T16:03:00.006-05:00

Snow... and lots of it Blizzard of twenty ten **

2010-02-06T09:12:00.003-05:00

It started snowing yesterday around 5ish... it is still snowing as I type and it's 9:15 a.m! I hear the snowblower working overtime out there with Jason behind it.

So far we have gotten around 14-16" with lots of wind so that gives plenty of snow drifts. Before Jason went out to snowblow, I sent him out with my camera.. Here is what he came back in with..

the carport..

the drifts on the shed

The garage side of the house...

the front of the house

I'll have him take more after he is all done so you can see how deep it was in places

♥ Callie update ♥

2010-02-06T09:10:00.002-05:00

I called the Doctors on Thursday.. . the Lyme test came back negative!
He still doesn't know what caused the swelling but the antibiotics seemed to have taken care of whatever it was.
Callie is back to her normal rambunctious self
Thanks for all the prayers that everyone lifted up in her name!

Callie

2010-01-29T13:58:00.002-05:00

about 3 night ago Callie woke screaming in pain saying her leg hurts. I really didn't think that much about it. I actually thought it was growing cramps(Owen used to get 'em). SO i rubbed her leg but that night was terrible! She was up every hour or so crying in pain. The next night was O.K. Sh did wake once saying it hurts but then slept the rest of the night. Now we are at yesterday:: She complained off and on that her leg hurt and asked me to hold her throughout the day. I still didn't really think that much about it. Thought she just wanted me to hold her. She went to bed at 7:30 but was up by 11:30 with more leg pain.. She had another terrible night.. tossing n turning & screaming out! So this morning she is walking with a limp on her right side. I ask her to show mommy what hurts. She pointed to her right knee. I gave her some Advil and pondered taking her to the Doctor. I called them and they wanted to see her right away. Her Dr. took one look at it and said it swollen, I wanna do blood work to check for Lyme disease! My head started spinning!! Ticks cause Lyme and we are in the middle of winter her in Pa! LYME?? REALLY??!!!! I told him I never saw a tick on her and he said well with little ones ya never know and this is how it starts. Good point. She sat so still while he drew the blood. She cried hard but sat still. Then he sent us up to the hospital to have an xray done. That terrified her as well. We were to go back to his office after the x-ray for results but I met Dr. Lancellotti on my way out.. He said go home, call the office after 1. He won't have the Lyme results for a week. A WEEK!! But he is thinking of starting her on antibiotics to be safe. He wanted to review the xrays first!!
OMG!!! I am a nervous wreck!!!
New New::: X RAY is okay.. not sure if this is good or bad news! Just got off the phone with her doc. He says give her motrin or advil 3x a day, continue her antibiotic, if her knee gets red and/or fever 102 or higher, I need to call him.. we are to return on Monday at 9a.m. for a follow up

Summer Preview

2010-01-27T19:28:00.007-05:00

I found a lady on Craigslist that lists Gymbo clothes for a really good price. This is the 2nd time I have bought from her. Today when I picked up & said "just email me when you are ready to sell more!" Then she told me about her yearly yardsale where she sells her Old Navy & Children's Place stuff for a buck a piece.. SCORE!!

Here is what I picked up today..

dress from the tennis match line:

Complete outfit from Beach shack line:

Shorts (NWT): tank & Sandals

A mixed lot:: Palm Springs & spring Rainbow

Love this one:: Tropical Garden outfit

Complete with sunhat(nwt), shorts(nwt), tank(nwt) & sandals

Complete outfit from Bon Voyage line:

pants, "dad" T, and short sleeve hoodie (all NWT) and socks

I got all this for less than 50 bucks.. what a bargain!!

She wore a

2010-01-27T19:22:00.004-05:00

Teeny weeny ...

Yellow polka a dot ...

Bikini!!

Welcom Faith Chantelle

2010-01-20T16:07:00.004-05:00

Last week Jason's sister in law gave birth to Faith Chantelle. She weighed 9lbs 14oz and is 23" long!! Lastnight we went to see her. So sweet & cuddly. I could've held her the whole night long(I had to share her..LOL) She has the longest fingers of any newborn I have ever seen.

Faith Chantelle

Carter with Faith

Callie with Faith

Owen with Faith

Playdate

2010-01-20T16:02:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Callie had a playdate here with Autumn.They had loads of fun and Callie really enjoyed having Autumn here at her house. They played so nice together and only 1 minor lil squabble.

The Nursery at GSCC

2010-01-20T15:36:00.011-05:00

Our church, Good Shepherd Communtiy Church, remolded. We expanded our kidz ministry areas. That gives us so much more "breathing" room to work with our children.

I got to pick out the paint scheme for the nursery and chose "ginger bite" with "delta sandbar" as an accent color. I will have to update this with and over all picture of the room(s).It's technically 1 big room divided by a half wall. That helps keep the babies from getting ran over by the 2 year olds..LOL

This is the window...I made the curtain by "upcycling" a tablecloth and adding some ribbon. the roll up shade is flat stick bamboo. The sanitizer container has a monkey on it..My mom picked that up.. it's a perfect fit.

My main bullentin board.. this is the 1st thing you would see when you walk into the room. I had Jason rip down some bamboo and cover the generic wood trim of it.

This bullentin board has our monthly lesson on it. It is placed so the "teacher" can see it while sitting with the lil ones. Jason also added his touch to this one by adding bamboo to it.

"sprouts" & "shoots"
I made words out of thinner bamboo and wrapped the joints with raffia. This was really fun. I picked the words sprouts and shoots to represent how bamboo would start off.. Sprouts being the babies and shoots being the 2 year olds.

This piece of bamboo is awaiting monkeys to be painted from it.

we have an in house artist that is going to draw the outline and then I am gonna paint it with "milk chocolate" It won't be detailed. and the color is all off.. poor lighting ;(

regal bedroom

2010-01-05T10:35:00.003-05:00

I redone my bedroom.. It took much much longer than I had planned. I started late Saturday morning. Since it is the bedroom I just couldn't move everything out and paint. I had to paint in sections.. what a pain that was. Then the paint took "multiple" coats.. so not fun! I finished painting yesterday afternoon but still need to find homes for everything that was in my room. I have decided to purge things out that I am not attached to .. and what doesn't match. My room was purple and sage.. with angels and fairies. Now is sleek and regal.

Happy Birthday Lacey & Austin

2009-12-29T23:17:00.003-05:00

Mom had a lil par-tay for Lacey & Austin lastnight... nothing big just the neices & nephews over to help celebrate their birthdays.. which is Jan 2 & Jan 4

Lacey & Austin blowin out the candle

all the neices & nephews (minus Scott & Ashley)

Austin with his organizer from Nana

Lacey with her shirt.. think she liked it :)

even Baby Jane wanted some cupcake & icecream

Christmas (2009) with the Sensenig's (his side)

2009-12-29T22:39:00.005-05:00

On Sunday we got together with Jason's side of the family. We were at his brother's house from 1-9.. time just flew by! Jason's sister was in from New York as were her kids, which are all married or getting married really soon. There was 36 of us plus there is 2 more on the way, one in May & one in 2 wks
Each family is to bring a hot dish & a cold dish.. ya never know what you are gonna get.. I made baked corn for my hot & broccoli salad for my cold.

Shane, Asthon & Drew watching the football game

Wanda & Clark (expecting in May)

Roy opening one of his gifts from us

Shane opening his gift from us

Mary Sue, Nancy, Katelyn, Joel(standing), RuthAnn & Jacob

Jason, his brothers & his dad

RuthAnn & Esther Mae doin the dishes

Christmas (2009) with the Landers' family

2009-12-29T22:18:00.007-05:00

ok.. So I have too many things to post to do just one Christmas.. this is post is for my family. We got together on Christmas Day eat good food, open presents & be Merry!

My family with my parents

My sis & I laying in on Pawpaw

My bro & his( Ashley, Austin & Autumn)

Me & my crew

My sister's crew (Lacey, Cailan & Scott)

Autumn & Callie

My sis, My mom & myself.. mom got us matching necklaces

my sis, me,my bro with Pawpaw

Mom & Dad with all their grandkids

Christmas (2009) with the Sensenig's

2009-12-29T21:42:00.007-05:00

On Christmas eve we open gifts here at home.. The kids were antsy pantsy all evening long wondering if it was time yet! We tortured them and made them wait while Jason ran to the store for a gallon of milk. While he was gone I read "Twas the night before Christmas" to them. Every time they would see headlights Owen would pop up and say "is it dad?"

We spoiled our children this year.. They got just about everything on their wishlists. It felt so good to see their faces light up with each gift they opened. It was true delight in their faces.

Owen with his skateboard

Callie & her laptop

Carter with handy Manny

Jason got a magazine (family handyman)

the boys with their bakugan

They also recieved a special gift.. a puzzle that they had to put together. When finished it revealed that we are going to Disney in Flordia. I thought they were gonna faint.

The kids trying to put the puzzle together

The boys figured it out!

Then when they woke on Christmas morning (5:30 a.m.)they found what Santa had left for them. The boys got a flat screen t.v. to share for their room & a hand full of movies. Callie got an American Girl Bitty Baby with a diaper bag for it. Their stockings were overflowing with things as well.. Bakugan, toothbrushes, candy, barbie dolls.

Callie with her baby

Owen with his stocking loot

Carter with another bakugan

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T22:12:00.003-05:00

Callie's snow fun

2009-12-20T17:06:00.005-05:00

Today Callie is fever free.. whoot whoot! So after we did a few errands, we bundled up to go out and play..

She had fun but was ready to come in and warm up after a half hour or so.

1st good snowfall for the winter

2009-12-19T14:29:00.009-05:00

This morning we woke up to such a beautiful sight.. SNOW!! It has been snowing all day and it is to continue into tomorrow morning. It is a true Noreastern storm.
We have got a good amount already. Jason has the snow blower fired up and the boys were chomping at the bit to get out and play since 8:30 this morning. They were afraid it was gonna go away before they got to play in it. They had to wait until Callie went down for her nap because she woke with a fever & of course I didn't want her to go out in it. Poor lil girl :( misses the first good snow!

So after she fell asleep I got to go out for a bit to snap up a few pictures of my boys playing in the snow and I have got to tell you how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new camera. You can see why in these pictures.

Home ♥ sweet ♥ Home

Love this one of Carter

Owen trying to snowboard (it didn't work)

Brothers ♥

Jason doing donuts with the go-cart!!

a short clip

2009-12-14T22:07:00.004-05:00

Here's a short video clip of one the songs they sang.. Poor Carter was hidden behind an angel! Watch him chew his gum! I think he chewed more than normal.. maybe it was nerves.

Carter's Christmas Concert

2009-12-14T21:57:00.003-05:00

Whewwww.. was it hot in the gym tonight! The place was packed full and I bet the temp was well into the 80's!
The kindergartners got to go 1st!! YAY!!! They all done so well and looked so cute. We were sitting way in the back but I did manage to get a few good pictures of my lil man. The got to sing 3 songs and done very well. Carter had a hard time singing due to him having gum in his mouth..LOL! Thanks Jason
This is before we left::

Charlie got a haircut!

2009-12-08T11:47:00.004-05:00

When Charlie left me on Friday this is what he looked like

Today is Tuesday.. my 1st day with him for the week. This is what he now looks like

All I can say is WOW!! did that haircut change is looks!!

random pitures with my new camera (thanks babe)

2009-12-05T21:08:00.007-05:00

our pretty puppy (Sadie)

Callie in one of the outfits from Alyssa M. & her hot pink skinny jeans.. love that sass!

Check it out.. above his finger it looks like a flame! it's really the light reflecting off his bald spot.. Love ya Dickie!!

look Ma!!

2009-12-04T22:24:00.002-05:00

I really don't think these pictures need a caption!!!

I know I'm late on updating..... Thanksgiving

2009-12-04T21:56:00.010-05:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone.. quite smoothly might I add. We started the holiday off with Carter having a "play" at school. It was very cute, short & sweet! Carter was a pilgrim...The play was about the the men hunting for a turkey.. there were Native American men & women: Pilgrim men & women: Pilgrim ministers : and of course turkey. Carter's teacher was the narriator and then each group had specific lines that had to say.. Carter's line was Bang! Bang! the ministers line was Praise the Lord!.. the womens was Mercy me!!

ain't he soo cute

Then Thursday we had the family here for dinner.. even Pawpaw was able to join us!

Jason deep fried the bird and I done all the fixins::: cheesy potatoes,Thanksgiving yams,green bean casserole,gravy, cranberry relish, (I forgot to make the stuffing ..LOL) baked corn & rolls! for dessert.. pumpkin pie of course! It was all good. We even had some leftovers.. imagine that with my family :)

Mom brought over some wine & made a toast to family.. (Have I ever mentioned I don't like wine)
ooo.. you can see my new light!! I ♥ it!!

My sister managed to wrangle all the grandkids and get a great picture(on only the 2nd try..LOL)

Owen wanted to have a dance off.. that was fun.. Not sure who won and of course still shots don't show the true talent but the faces are super funny

and of course a family gathering isn't complete without Sadie & Baby Jane having some fun of their own

couldnt resist

2009-12-03T14:00:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

a whole new look

2009-11-10T17:00:00.006-05:00

Today I took Callie shopping and then after her nap she got a new hair cut.. it took a whopping 15 minutes!! She did really well.. the hairdresser said "she's a lil worm." My reply was yep.. just like her big brother

After she got all dolled up she

wanted to go outside for a photo shoot!

The back of her hair.. so cute

a better shot of the back

Brotherly Love

2009-10-27T10:53:00.003-04:00

Last night I went downstairs to see if the boys were asleep and this is what I found...

Isn't this just the cutest thing.. they both were snuggled in Owen's bed! I'm not sure why Carter even has a bed... Jason said they snuggle closer than we do in bed..LOL

pumpkin Carving

2009-10-27T10:38:00.005-04:00

The boys have been boogering me to carve one of the pumpkins.. this is a task that I don't enjoy doing very much... why you ask?? My boys always choose designs that are beyond their skill level. That causes a lot of disagreements in itself.. not to mention that I am somewhat of a perfectionist and can't just let the boys go at it..LOL
The first design didn't fit our pumpkin, the second choose did.. Yay.. skull & crossbones! My favorite.

I let them clean out the goop from inside..

The boys loved this part.. Callie not so much!

Owen would dig his hand in there and then shake his hands.. I had pumpkin mess everywhere!!

Carter liked seperating the seeds.. we are letting them dry out, then I am gonna bake them in the oven for a treat.. yumm!!

The finished jack o latern!!

lit up with the strobe light (i got it at target).. not the greatest picture but it was difficult to take..

Pumpkins....

2009-10-20T20:40:00.008-04:00

About 2 weeks ago, I guess, I took the boys to pick pumpkins at a local farm.. Boy was that a mistake. It had rained off & on all day long.. Owen was a muddy mess by the time we left there.. silly boy!!

The boys & Callie

(notice how Carter is pulling his pant

legs.. he doesn't like to get dirty)

Ms. Callie

Owen with the biggest pumpkin he could find :)

Carter & our harvest

Charlie even got a lil pumpkin

And I can't forget Ms. Baby Jane

(this was taken at Mom's house)

Soccer.. Carter style!!

2009-10-08T09:05:00.003-04:00

This year is Carter's 1st year playing soccer.. what a treat! There is probably close to 40 little ones in the U-6 program.. that is a whole lot of energy!! When Owen played there may have been 20. It's so neat to watch the joy on Carter's face when he is out on the field.

I took some pictures of him last night.. It's hard to get good shots when he is playing at dusk.. the pictures come out so dark. His jersey # is 16

At a typical practice they will break up into 4 groups, have some drills to learn new skill.. they will do that for about a 1/2hour. Then they will divide into 8 groups(splitting the groups of 4 in half) and have mini scrimmages.. that is the interesting part. there are so many kids on the field that they are tripping over one another and they look like a swarm of bees with the ball being the honey pot..LOL!! Carter is a bit better than the rest, or at least I think so, because of watching Owen play for 4 years. At last nights scrimmage his team won. The score was 3-2.. Carter made all 3 goals!! awesome!! They don't officially keep score at this level but the kids sure do..LOL

Boutique style pants!!

2009-09-15T13:43:00.003-04:00

While searching some things on E*bay I came across some adorable jeans that had ribbon loops on the bottom.. so cute. I thought to myself.. I need a new hobby! Ha! Seriously though I thought I can do that! Naturally I googled how to make them.. found a great editorial on http://darnkat.wordpress.com/ She has a couple different editorials that I would like to try.

So here is Callie wearing hers that I made to match the Gymboree line "fall for monkeys"

Jason's celebrates his birth on 9.09.09.. 32 yrs later!!

2009-09-15T13:17:00.003-04:00

Jason really doesn't like a lot of hoopla for his birthday and when I told him at the beginning of the week that I didn't have a present for him this year he was fine with that. I however was not! Jason always showers me with lavish gifts my birthdays, this year i got a loaptop. I knew I had to do something but what?!

Then we all got sick and didn't feel well and there was no time to go shopping with 3 sick kids.
The day of his birthday while I was showering at 3:30 in the afternoon it hit me like a ton of bricks.. Jason had been wanting a GPS but wouldn't buy one for himself.. Crap! Where am I gonna go to get one.. .walmart?? Did I mention that it was a rainy, nasty cold day? well it was!!

So I called my mom to get the 411 on dad's GPS.. she informs me that they got his at Staples for less than a hundred bucks.. cool, I thought! so after Kim picks Charlie up at 4:30 I had an hour and a half before Jason would be home.. plenty of time! Wrong.. Staples doesn't have anymore of that GPS in stock and the rest are out of my price.. load the kids up, drive to walmart at the other end of town, their prices were high as well. So I called my mom, she calls Staples to see if they can contact another store for availability and will call back. Now it's almost 6:OO and Jason will be home by 6:30... tick tick tick!

I call her back... they found 2 more in the store and were holding one for me... Get all the kids loaded back in the van, drive to the other end of town(AGAIN), get everyone out of the van, go inside to Staples (AGAIN) and go directly to check out.. whew! Buy the dang GPS .. get everyone loaded back up, drive home and get there in just enough time to get the thing in a package and ready to go... This my friends is why I never procrastinate!! Everything always comes back and bites me in the ass!!

Here are a few pictures from his lil party..

Just us & my parents!

our Backyard retreat

2009-09-08T10:36:00.003-04:00

So for labor day we Labored!! Plus we were all sick .. well all but Jason.

Thursday I ordered 4 yards of mulch & some rail road ties that was delivered on Friday. On Saturday Jason & I picked up a skid of patio pavers and some other stuff... for our retreat!

I mulched our flower beds around our house and Jason worked on the patio. He brought home the skid loader from work to level out a pad. We worked most of the day on Sat. and on Sunday we took a break.. Jason went to church by himself while I stayed home with sick kids. .. Callie woke up from her nap on Thursday with a 101.4 fever and Carter got it as well.

Monday we got back at it and worked all day, again. It was hard for me to get motivated... I have a bad back ache, cramps, and congestion.. I feel like poo!

After we finished we invited mom & dad over , lit a fire and roasted hot dogs and made some s'mores...yummy!

1st Day of the 09-10 school year

2009-08-31T12:26:00.004-04:00

It's currently 12:26p.m. and a lovely 66 degrees outside..... both boys are at school, Callie & Charlie are down for their naps.. YIPPEEEE!

This morning was a little rough with Owen... He was very excited about the 1st day of school. He was bouncing off of the walls.. literally! I don't think I have ever seen a kid so happy about school. He was almost late,too. I walked out of the house in plenty of time but until I took a few pix and got in the van it 8:28.. school starts at 8:32..not normally an issue but some brianiac thought it would be good to do some construction on the main road that leads to the school and has that road closed so we had to detour around it. I really hope he wasn't late :(

He looked real sharp this morning dressed in a pair of khaki shorts from children's place, a graphic t from target, a camo backpack from children's place & a pair of Marc Ecko RED sneaks!

..::Owen ready to go::..

..::Carter walking to the bus stop::..

Carter had a peaceful morning! He got to chill and relax without Owen here to bug him. Although him & Callie did go at it a few times. ;)
His bus comes at 12:15.. he has the same schedule as he did last year, which in nice. He eats lunch around 11-11:30 and then gets dressed for school.

..::Carter waiting on the bus::..

Carter looked pretty snazzy himself::: He chose to wear a pair of teal khaki's from children's place, a plaid button down from target, a sponge bob backpack and a pair of etnies... My boys have a great sense of style.. wonder where they get that from.. *wink*wink*

..::Carter gettin on the bus::..

As usual I have more pix of Carter than Owen.. Owen just isn't as willing anymore :(

Happy 87 Birthday Pawpaw!!

2009-08-31T09:37:00.007-04:00

Today is Pawpaw's 87th birthday.. Can you imagine what the man has seen come & go in all those years? How about WWII? Of which he is a decorated soldier. Although we never hear the stories and I am almost positive that he has some great stories to tell from all decades.

Yesterday we all got together at the "home" to have a picnic & cake to celebrate. It was us, mom & dad; Peggy,Be & their kids; Raul, Courtney & Gabby; Eddy jr. & his kids

Mom & Dad brought in KFC & a coconut cake, which is the cake Pawpaw requested! It was yummy!!!

..::Pawpaw & the great grandkids::..

..::my family with Pawpaw::..

..::Pawpaw with his gift from Peggy::..

..::Pawpaw receiving gifts from us::..

..::blowing out his candles::..

gettin our hair did!!

2009-08-31T09:25:00.003-04:00

Owen wanted to get his hair frosted but I didn't want to spend the money at the salon.. I needed to get my blonde chunks taken care of....

So I bought a frosting kit at walmart & a hair dye for me. On Saturday me and Owen bonded over hair dye!!

:::during photo:::

:::after:::

..:::dentists & doctors:::..

2009-08-31T09:01:00.004-04:00

In the past week or so we have been to see the boys Dr. & a new dentist to get ready for the upcoming school year...

Carter had to get 2 shots.. chicken pox & I forget the other.. Owen's was just a routine med check for his adhd and physical..to which the ped. changed Owen's rx to Vyvanse. I think it could be tuned up a bit more.

And the dentist appointments .. they are another story all together... Carter's was just for a cleaning since we were there in the beginning of the month for his emergency crown.... but he still has 2 more silver crowns to get and 2 fillings, I think.

Owen's was for a cleaning and x*rays... He has 2 teeth with cavities.. 1 is small so a very small white filling and the other has a cavity on the top and the backside(its a back molar). They are gonna put a silver crown on it.. I think this dentist office is all about those silver crowns.

Callie has an appointment for her very 1st check up on the 2nd of Sept. I sure hope it goes better for my wallets sake!

2009-08-20T14:46:00.002-04:00

::Who'd you be today by Kenny Chesney::

Sunny days seem to hurt the most.I wear the pain like a heavy coat.I feel you everywhere I go.I see your smile, I see your face,I hear you laughin' in the rain.I still can't believe you're gone.It ain't fair: you died too young,Like the story that had just begun,But death tore the pages all away.God knows how I miss you,All the hell that I've been through,Just knowin' no-one could take your place.An' sometimes I wonder,Who'd you be today?Would you see the world? Would you chase your dreams?Settle down with a family,I wonder what would you name your babies?Some days the sky's so blue,I feel like I can talk to you,An' I know it might sound crazy.It ain't fair: you died too young,Like the story that had just begun,But death tore the pages all away.God knows how I miss you,All the hell that I've been through,Just knowin' no-one could take your place.An' sometimes I wonder,Who you'd be today?Today, today, today.Today, today, today. Sunny days seem to hurt the most.I wear the pain like a heavy coat.The only thing that gives me hope,Is I know I'll see you again some day.Some day, some day, some day.

I heard this song on the way home from taking Carter to meet my sister half way.. I've heard it before but today it struck a cord..

It makes me think of the baby I lost in Sept. 03...... It really gets a mind to thinking.. who would the baby look like, what color hair, boy or girl.. ya' know those kind of questions. My angel baby would have had a birthday in May & would be starting Kindergarten this year..,I know that God does things in His terms.. I also understand that if I wouldn't have lost this baby Carter would not be here on Earth with me.. and I am positive that Carter has a very meaningful purpose in his life.. The loss is bittersweet to me.. I see all side of it.. the trauma, the happiness of a healthy child, the mourning, the celebration... but I still can't help but wonder....

"Who'd she be today?"... Yes I believe with all my heart that my Angel baby was/is a girl.. even twins.. So looking at it from that angle... Callie wouldn't be here today either.. Like I said God has a plan and int the end we will find out the plans full details..

Until we meet again My sweet Angel baby..

XoxoX

sOcCeR has started... with a bang!

2009-08-18T18:57:00.005-04:00

Tonight was the official start of our fall season.... it didn't go smoothly to say the best..

1st of all both boys had a Dr. appointment at 5 p.m. (Remember that I have Charlie until 4:30). So we ate dinner super early..well early for us around 4 and then we rushed off to the Dr. spent a full hour there.. we never spend that much there. It is usually in and out... but NOOOO not tonight.. Carter had his 5 yr. check up.. he is long and lean but only at 32%tile for his height and 10th for his weight. Plus he had to get 2 shots.. he was not happy about that at all!

Owen's appointment was for his med check.. I finally convinced the Dr's to change his meds.. this has been a battle since before school let out. I have a check up in 3 wks. rather than 4 for an assessment. He hasn't gained much weight since June.. so the Ped. recommended that I give him Carnation instant breakfast instead of milk in the morning.. It has a higher calorie count. She gave me a few samples and coupons for it..YAY!!

So it was 6:05 when we got in the van.. practice starts at 6.. No biggie.. We get there and there are big nasty black clouds looming over the high school (near the soccer fields). Of course I knew it was gonna storm because we have to park like a half mile away from his field.. He is on field 4

Here is a map of the field layout to give you a better picture of how far it was...

The map isn't as clear as i hoped.. buti f you click on it it will open in seperate window

We weren't even a half hour into practice when.. BANG!! It stared thundering and lightning.. I told Owen let's go and get to the van.. Carter had already started to go. I had to push Callie in super thick grass.. I tried running but that didn't go so well.. I could tell how bad of shape I really am.. I was about half way to the van and another jolt of lightening cracked.. there were kids screamin and cryin. They were terrified and have every right to be.. It wasn't that long ago.. the beginning of summer, i think, that a tornado ripped through that exact area!

Once I got to the van I was soo out of breathe my heart was pounding and I had a hard time catching my breath.. Which is when it started raining.. big 'ole drops! I felt so bad that I couldn't get to the van fast enough for Callie. She didn't seem to shook up by the whole ordeal but Owen & Carter were in the van terrified!

I just hope that isn't in store for us most of season..

Carter is 5

2009-08-04T10:22:00.004-04:00

I can hardly believe that my baby boy is 5 years old today ** sniff sniff** !! His birthday literally snuck up on me. .Jason and I had to out shopping for his gift last night. We still didn't find the main gift.. we went to Target! FYI...They do not have a nice selection of bikes..
Later today I plan on taking his yearly portraits. He is very excited about that.. he wants to do it now but I am waiting until after lunch and the babies are down for their naps so I can focus just on him :)

some how he got a broken tooth for his birthday. .not a very nice gift is it?? I called the dentist and they aren't in the Lancaster office on Tuesdays, so he has to wait until tomorrow at 2:30:(

His party is on Saturday.. Cars theme...I still have to figure out what kind of food we will be serving up.. Boy this year I haven't been prepared at all for the kids birthdays.. maybe it's my own way of not wanting to see my babies getting older.

Here are the results from his photo shoot:::

Lycoming County

2009-08-04T09:42:00.010-04:00

This past weekend we were invited by some friends to a cabin.. a very primitive cabin.
The water supply was from the nearby spring.. it was gravity feed into a box which had a pump.. what wasn't used was returned to the spring. There was no bathroom.. well technically it was a changing room.. We had to use an outhouse.. a very smelly one!

(the cabin)

(the outhouse)

We had a wonderful time with the Martin Family(Anthony, Kathy & kids)! On Saturday we went for a hike.. the men folk got lost in the woods for 2 hrs... They were gonna sneak through the woods ahead of us and jump out to scare the kids.. it didn't work! They were faster than we were(go figure) and got too far ahead of us.

(startin off on our hike)

We also had a campfire and roasted weinies and made s'mores.. yummmeee!

(Anthony & my boys.. Jason & Hunter in the back)

The kids had tons of fun playing in the spring.. they were able to get wet & muddy and not get in trouble for it :) Jason even enjoyed playing in it.. He made a dam out of mud, rocks & old branches. Callie like stomping around in it as well.

(Jason working on his dam)

We did a whole lot of nothing.. and it was fun. Kathy & Anthony introduced us to Blokus.. What a fun game! Jason and I had a wonderful time being with another couple that we have so much in common with.. Like we both have 3 kids, our oldest ones have ADHD, we parent our kids alike.

We saw a hummingbird right out the dining room window(very neat), Jason saw a snake(ewww), we saw lots of bear poop(no bear, though)& we heard a wild boar late saturday night! The boys found a couple of lil toads!

(the kids hunting for a toad.. same area Jason saw the snake.. yikes!!)

9 years and counting

2009-07-22T10:07:00.004-04:00

On Saturday Jason and I celebrated our ninth year of marriage.. already! It doesn't seem like it should be 9 already.. more like 20!! Just kidding! however we will be together 13 in March!
To celebrate we went out to eat at Buca's.. we had plenty of leftovers::: I had my sister to convert our wedding video over to a DVD & then I made a cover for it with one of our wedding pictures..
Jason surprised me on Friday by bringing me a dozen "Latin beauty" roses..

Philly Zoo

2009-07-22T09:27:00.003-04:00

Yep.. we heart the zoo !!

This time we visit Philly's Zoo..

Jason & I didn't like it as well as Baltimore.
It was hot & super crowded~~ this lead to some meltdowns..and not just from the kids.uh oh!! The zoo had all kinds of things that cost extra. And anyone with young kids know what can happen if you don't give in. We didn't give in. They had hot air balloon rides.. super cool, right? nope! it was 10 bucks a person and if you add that up it would have been 50 bucks for our lil family.. not thanks. they had swan paddle boat rides that carter wanted to do.. we didn't even get near them. then there was panning for gems.. 6 stinking dollars for a small bag of sand.

There were a few things that we really liked.. the giraffes(my fave), the giant river otters(they were super playful), the hyena's(it was supper time)

I put pix up on my facebook account later...

a fresh look

2009-07-11T16:31:00.006-04:00

I got the kids new bedding to freshen up their rooms...

Ahhh.. my beautiful floor!!

2009-07-11T15:34:00.014-04:00

We came across some beautiful flooring... Bamboo! Did you know that people are using this "environmentally friendly" wood for floors? It is amazing! So I talked Jason into buying it and laying it in our dining room. We have been wanting to do something with the floors because everywhere you come into the house there is carpet. Needless to say my carpets don't take long to get nasty. Who would've thought with 3 kids, a hubby in construction and a dog who loves to run in the mud as much as the boys do??!!
Jason had off yesterday from work and he got right to.. YAY!!! He is so amazingly handy! He has a skill, that is for sure. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much we save due to his talent.
::::::::now time for some pics::::::::::::

our "pet" for the day

2009-07-09T21:16:00.003-04:00

When we came home this afternoon, Carter found a bat hanging above the back porch light.. just chillin! How neat.. so I run to get my camera(of course) to take a picture. The more I focus on this bat I realize that it is a mommy & her pup(that's what baby bats are called) is tucked under her wing.. WOW!! I have never seen a bat pup before. They hung out there all day long.

Then tonight when we came home from going out to Boeringher's, they flew away right after we got out of the van. Momma got pretty close to my hair.. Jason thought she was gonna fly into it! Baby wasn't far behind mommy.. too cute! yes I think bats are cute.. as long as they aren't dive bombing me!
I tried to figure out what type of bat this was.. and I'm not sure if it's a big brown bat or a little brown bat. What I did find out about these neat lil creatures is that they normally have their pups in nursery colonies.. their eyes open after 24 hrs. during the 1st 2 weeks of life the pup stays nestled under the mom's wing while she is at rest.. then on the 3rd week they are able to fly. The pups stop nursing from their mom completely at 9 months..

Callie's 1st real Hair cut

2009-07-04T12:33:00.008-04:00

I thought that Callie needed to get a real haircut to even up a lot of her layers that grew in naturally. So I made an appointment with my new hairdresser, Kathy, for today.. July 4th.

I can't say that I am overjoyed by this cut :(

Kathy done a wonderful job working with her.. but the cut has totally changed my baby girl!

Carter & Owen went along with me and Carter said after Kathy was done.. "I hate it! I hate Callie's hair!" Jason on the other hand thinks it looks cute. When I came home I cried because of it.. Ya' know when she turned 1, I as ok.. when she turned 2 ,I was ok.. but for some reason this haircut made realize that she isn't a baby anymore!!!

the Maryland zoo in Baltimore

2009-06-25T15:39:00.009-04:00

On the 14th we took a trip to the zoo.. if you would here Jason say it: we were going to see some of my family:: i got so tired of hearing that! I was never funny at any point but he beat it like a drum.. I wouldn't be lying if I said I wouldn't care to hear that saying ever again!
Anywho.. we took Peggy and her family along. we had a great time. the sun was hot but thankfully the zoo is like 90% shaded! Somehow I still managed to get some sun. Just me.. I had put sunblock and the kids. We got there around noon and stayed til closing.. 5:00 pm! This is our 2nd trip there and we haven't seen the lions yet. We are planning another trip next month on our Anniversary.. Carter says that we must go to the Lions first!!

::The Prairie Dogs::

this is new exhibit that opened just this month! There were several babies.. they would lay flat out on their tummies and soak up the sun! too cute

::the Polar bear::

This polar bear wanted to take a plunge in the refreshing water but was hesitant.. it took her 3 times before she finally decided to do it.. There was a big crowd gathered around to watch. Last year we didn't get to see them because it was too hot for them to be out! The boys were super excited to see 'em this go around!!

::The marsh lands::

This was really neat.. the kids took off their shoes & socks and walked across these giant lilly pads.. they were on springs and their body weight sank them down just a wee bit.. enought to get their feet wet.. Carter done it over and over and over again.

Owen(in da purple) Lacey & Carter is leading

::photo op::

I forget what type of bird makes a nest similar to this type of nest..

we stuck all of the kids in it for a picture.. Not all of them were as willing to do this.. *wink*wink*

Cailan, Lacey & Scotty,Owen & Carter and of course Callie

There were many neat pictures taken but these are the only ones I am gonna share.. mainly because I am tired of the slow uploader.. hehehehee!

Callie's ladybug party!

2009-06-25T14:33:00.007-04:00

On the 13th(my birthday) we celebrated Callie's birthday with family & friends. We kept it small.. it was nice that way.. i was able to mingle a bit with everyone. :::Party people::: pappa, callie, sue-sue & lacey

Me (coming out with food),Peggy holding Landon W., Amber W., sadie(our JRT) Jason & the side of Cailan's head..lol

More party people...

Nanna & Peggy

Jimmy and his boys... Landon & Lincoln

::The Cake::

Presents:::

Callie helping daddy w/ her "bike"
a check from great grandpa

Her pony and dolly her new earrings

I think I am gonna cry...

2009-06-15T18:26:00.004-04:00

My baby girl turns 2 today!! I can't believe that Callie is 2 already! As I look back in my memories that are stored away for safe keeping(until Alzheimer's hits..lol) I am amazed at how precious of a child she is.. the only girl of 3 kids, the only one with gorgeous red hair & a gift from God indeed!!
The Past 2 years have flown by so fast.. I don't want to blink my eyes for I am afraid that I will miss the next 2 years. She has her daddy wrapped very tight around that little finger of hers. It's almost cute.. well it is really!! She has my attitude which isn't really a good thing sometimes. She can really lay on the tantrums. And the scream that comes out of her mouth.. It really does hurt the ears... Please let that stop soon!!
In the past 2 years I have watched my baby grow more and more everyday.. from needing me to do everything for her to becoming an independent toddler that gets very mad if she can't do something all on her own. jeez I wonder where she gets that from??! Not from me.. heheheheee
She can skip,hop & run... she is speaking 3-4 word sentences... she is amazing!!
Happy birthday Princess

New Me!!

2009-06-05T15:04:00.003-04:00

It was time to update my look.. that included a cut with some color added(going back for more next week) and new specs! My vision needed some adjustement. It was amazing how crisp & clear everything was when I put my new ones on!

The Old look:

The New look:

Hellavagood 200

2009-06-05T14:35:00.003-04:00

Our big present to Owen for his birthday was tickets for him N Jason to go to the race at Dover! We opted for the Saturday race..it was 200 miles shorter than the Sunday race and we thought he would sit better. Just by chance it happened to be take your kid to the races day! Owen's ticket was free when Jason bought his. Plus Owen got a free admission to the kid zone! There was lots of cool things there or so I was told.. he he he

Owen had a fantastic time and wants to go back next year!!

Jason and Owen in front of the Monster Mile car

Owen in the fan stands with his favorite driver's hat on!

Mother's day 2009

2009-06-05T14:25:00.005-04:00

On Mother's day around here.. the men do everything that day.. YAY us! even if it means we have more to do on Monday!!!

Me & my babies!

My mom & her girls.. me & Peggy sue

The fun one

The serious one

Happy 8th birthday Owen Jaymes!

2009-06-05T13:50:00.010-04:00

Owen celebrated his 8th year on the 27th of May. We had a patriotic party for him on Memorial Day with my family. The party was lots of fun.. we had pin the beard on Uncle Sam, Badminton, Corn hole, and a pinata!

Owen blowin out his 8 candles

Callie & Owen pinnin the beard on Uncle Sam

The pinata.. Owen busted it open on his first hit

Opening his gifts

Then on his actual birthday we had my parents over and Jason's dad & sister over for homemade strawberry shortcake and meadow tea!!
We saved a gift for him to open on his actual birthday.. BONGOS! the boy can beat out a good rhythm with them.

I want to ride my bicycle!

2009-06-05T13:21:00.002-04:00

Carter finally ditched those training wheels on his bike.. well the one that was on it. One has been broke off for a very long time!

Another school project by Owen

2009-05-14T21:44:00.003-04:00

Owen brought home a project to do on Dinosaurs. He got to pick which Dino to do.. He picked the Stegosaurus. We have learned some cool facts about that creature.. like it didn't have any teeth & it's brain was close to the size of a walnut... (I know some people like that!) Anyway, we spent about a week of him doing research on the stegosaurus by collecting data, watching videos online, learning how to make a clay model(which he did very well and it was a must for the project)
Owen searched both the web and books. He amazes me at the skill level he has for the PC.. it's scary!
We have now finished the diorama to hold his clay model. That was lots of fun.
Currently we are in the rough draft stage of forming all his data into full structured sentences with lots of detail. This is harder than 1 might think.. especially for someone who can't stand writing and is always in a hurry so he can go play on his game cube. Lucky for us, the project isn't due until May 26th. So far we have been able to take it nice and slow but we are still getting things done.

Mother's Day

2009-05-14T21:34:00.002-04:00

This past Sunday was Mother's Day.. well I guess you should've known that and if you didn't then you screwed up! HA!
My boys got me some very thoughtful gifts. Jason got me a lovely card and a bracelet that says "MOM" on it. Owen made me a hand flower. The flower itself is his hand.. way cool! Carter grew me some marigolds at school.
I need to plant them. He grew some for me last year and I ended up letting them die... (bad mommy, I know!)On Sat. Jason stopped with the boys, Callie and I to let the boys pick out some flowers for me.. pink tulips!
Jason made me a heart-shaped pancake Sunday morning.. I thought that was so sweet!
I guess all in all it was a good day.. unless you factor in the part where I had to sit in the van with all 3 kids while he went into CVS to buy my card, that was to "my wife" and then he signed it from him & the kids... uless you factor in that he forgot to give me my bracelet(which i prompted him to buy) until we got ready to go to my mom's.. unless you factor in that i cried over him not doing anything on his own for me.. unless you.. well you get the idea!

Reamstown's spring concert

2009-05-06T07:54:00.003-04:00

This year the theme for the spring concert was what else but GOING GREEN! The school adopts a theme for the whole year and with all the talk about saving our planet, recycling, water conservation, etc.,the school adopted that for their theme. Owen is all about "GOING GREEN" thanks to all the new found knowledge he has learned at at school.
The concert was pretty entertaining,even though we had back row seats and could hardly see a blasted thing. They had a packed house. The principal said she hadn't seen the gym that full before. Carter was very restless for the whole thing. Constantly complaining.. like "I'm hot, I'm thirsty, I want candy". The list could go on and on and on. In his defence it was really warm in there.

Owen had a part in the section It's Easy Being Green.. he got to ride a tricycle as an example.. the others were : walking; recycling; growing your own food; and cutting electricity.. all very good ideas! The whole Spring Concert took about a hour and a half.. no wonder Carter was so restless!

Here is a short video of Owen on the trike:::::

n

Just a FYI::: don't ever rely on Email... why do you ask? Well I emailed my family & Jason's sister to let them know about the spring concert and only Jason's dad showed up. My dad stopped in after we were home and I asked why they didn't come? He said they knew nothing of it. Apparently, Mom was having work done on both of her PCs and didn't get the email. Go figure!

home improvements

2009-05-05T10:45:00.004-04:00

Jason has been working on replacing the windows a room at a time... which totally sucks, right? 1st it was Callie's room (before she was born) and the boys bathroom.. this year it is our room(we have 3). On Saturday he done the eve side window and now today is replacing the 2 in the front of the house.
With refinancing the house we were able to get some money back(money that is in our current escrow) so we are using that money to do a few more things around the house.. like ordering the rest of the windows for the house.. which is 2 for the dining room, 1 for the kitchen, 1 for my bath & 1 for the downstairs family room. Plus we are ordering a new back door. All of these great improvements that Jason is able to install himself should help a lot with our fuel bill. I hope!! The old windows shook and rattled with the wind and you could feel the cold air just pouring in. Not to mention that 90% of them were stuck shut so I was never able to open a window to let fresh air in. Not to mention these are tilt ins, which now i will actually need to clean them.. i guess that is a down side.. he he he!!

We had a date night on Saturday and to show how lame we are we went to Lowe's and bought a new pedestal sink and a water sense toilet for the boys' bathroom.
The new toilet only uses 1.28 gallons per flush.oh and did I mention it's not pink!!? It really is quite amazing! My over all goal is to rip out the old mint green tile and replace it with wainscoting and then have the tub redone and new tile put down in the shower area and the floor. I am so stoked about upgrading their bathroom.

come back kid

2009-05-04T12:29:00.006-04:00

Saturday's soccer game was a great game... it was very competitive and lots of action. You didn't want to blink an eye or you would've risked missing a goal!

The start was rough... we were missing 2 players, that left us with only 5 on the field. Those boys ran their butts off let me tell you. At the half, we were down 4 points.. the score was 0-4. Coach Laura must have gave those boys one great pep talk because after the half our team came back.. with a vengeance! It was great to watch the team pull together and use team work. Coach Laura does a wonderful job with Team France! She gives them encouragement and keeps it fun but yet she shows them what they are doing wrong! A winning combination in my book! Owen wants her as a coach next year(I doubt that will happen though).

So any way.. the final score was 8 up! and Owen scored all but 1 of those points! He was on a mission.

3 weeks

2009-05-02T00:23:00.002-04:00

What happens in 3 weeks? Owen will be 8! I can hardly believe it.. My 1st born is gonna be 8. Last night we registered him for soccer for the fall teams.. we will have try outs.. I know the boy is good but I am not sure if he is good enough for that kind of team just yet. I hope i didn't make a mistake with this one. I told him to practice hard until try outs, and then if he doesn't make it...well he needs to keep playing and then maybe next fall he will be ready to try out again! I will keep everyone posted on this.. not sure when the soccer club will be holding try outs

Snap!

2009-04-30T12:30:00.004-04:00

So it all started about 2 and half weeks ago.. Carter came home snapping his lil fingers... It is starting to drive me a lil nuts. One of his friends taught him how at Pre-K. On Thursday while I was at his school for a workshop I noticed another lil boy doing the same thing. Being myself I had to ask his mommy all about it. Guess what? It started the same time as Carter's! I guess these lil boys had a pow wow on learning how to snap their tiny fingers. Carter can snap quite loud!