Our Weekend

My little man. I can't believe how mature he is getting. He is just about a week from his first birthday and he can do stairs (up and down), he went pee on the potty tonight before his bath!!!!!! I was so shocked. Then there is his vocabulary. He says....Mama, Dada, Hannah, Jesus, up, yes, all done, bath, truck, boo (for peek a boo), ba (bottle), MawMaw...and more I can't remember right now. I am just awestruck with my handsome, smart and ultra sweet baby boy. Can't tell I am a proud momma, can you?

Allen with Joseph on his neck, cousin Caleb, Hannah and Emily. During the Girls Time the guys took the kids on a field trip to Gampa Bob's to see the goats new pen. Too much fun!

I love that smile. It just melts my heart. Last week he blew me a kiss for the first time with no provocation from me. It was completely out of the blue.

Our Weekend

Wow! What a weekend. It was full of lots of activity. Saturday we had a Sunday School luau at a park. The kids loved playing with all the kids at the park. We had a nice time getting to know some of our classmates as well. Here is Hannah with Olivia and Emily.

Today we had Girls Time. Here is Karen, Tammy (Caleb), Sandy, and Roxane. Jeni came a little later. We worked on stamping Caleb's bday invites and the invites for my kids parties. They are SO cute. We had a super time.

While we got to stamp Clarence and Allen took care of the kids for us. Aren't they incredible? I was so proud of the guy I get to be married to. What a super daddy!!!! Papa is awesome too. Here they are taking a tractor train ride. Here is Hannah, Emily, Sami, Papa and Joseph.

The future Divas: Hannah, Emily and Sami! Too cute :)

Here I am with my two little princesses. The only thing that I regret from today is not getting to spend more time in the awesome weather. It was around 87 degrees here today! Love it!!!

A Great Day For Bum Watching

Today was such a beautiful day. It was in the low 80's. It was a perfect day for gardening. As I looked down the block I saw several big rears in the air in perfect old lady gardening position. I did not disappoint....I had to bend at the waist as I picked weed upon weed because of my bum knee....ha ha, no pun intended.

My kids have just LOVED this weather. We have spent most days outside. It makes for super naps, but lots of dirty laundry. Oh well :) Don't you just want to squish them? I gave them a graham cracker. I came outside to see this.....somehow they got even Joseph sitting at the picnic table. Later this afternoon I found him sitting on TOP of the table!!!! Then before I could get to him, he fell off backwards. Do you know....he never even cried??!! Yikes. It's a close race who will be the next Urgent Care contestant......Joseph or Emily!

The day was quite exciting. Besides the falling off the picnic table, Joseph also completely dumped out my large flower pot. He ate a bunch of it. I wish I would have gotten a picture of his dirt goatee :) I put the two younger kids to nap and Hannah and I went out front to work. She was able to ride her bike back and forth on the sidewalk. She came running as I was on the side of the house crying. She was holding up her finger and had abandoned her bike. I thought she may have had glass in her finger. It was hard to get out of her what happened between the sobs. Well, come to find out it was a bee stinger in her finger. It was huge! She told me she had seen the bee while she was riding her bike. It was on a flower. She went to inspect it. She tried to pet it and got stung. Poor kid.

Just about a half hour later she came running back by me again while saying, BAD BIRD!!!! A bird had pooped all over her arm. Bad nature day for Hannah :)

He is getting close. He is starting to stand up and walk behind this toy. Very exciting. My back is rejoicing just thinking about it :)

On to the weightier issue: Allen lost two pounds this week bringing him back to 82 pounds lost. I lost three pounds bringing me back to 42 pounds lost :)

Weekend in Springfield, MO

This weekend we are visiting Alan, Michelle and Julianna in Springfield, MO. We have had a super time. The kids have LOVED playing with their cousin. Surprisingly enough, Julianna seems to be really enjoying the company.

Here we are on their awesomely humongous back deck. We are trying to get Sir Joseph to take his first step. Nope, not going to do it. He still won't walk to me with me holding his hands. Stubborn little kid!

Joseph was so enjoying exploring. Corrie really enjoyed him exploring too. We usually don't let him go down steps this way...we are trying to get him to go backwards. Joseph would crawl and his buddy Corrie would be following close behind licking the bottom of his shoes. He had eaten in the saucer. Some fell below and he stepped in it. Corrie was so grateful :)

Wow! What a change in his profile! I can't believe how small Allen's stomach has become. I am so proud of him. Although, we are at a crossroads......he weighed in the same exact weight as me last week. I was soooo not happy! There I am in the background. I am not trying to be antisocial. I was trying to finish the book I was reading so I could leave it for Michelle. It was a good one too :P

Look at that messy face and crazy hair! I LOVE my little man :)

Biggest Loser Resumes

Ok, we have started over. My cousin Paula wanted to join in our biggest loser contest too. So, yesterday was our beginning weigh-in. We will be weighing in every Tuesday morning. We are doing it individually this time. We are also doing it by % of weight lost instead of straight pounds too. So, we are all putting $25 in the pot for the big weigh in on the 4th of July week. The person with the highest % of weight loss gets the pot. There is another catch to help us. If we gain any weight on Tuesdays weigh ins we have to pay a separate kitty double what we gained. So, if I gained 2 pounds, I would have to put in $4 more to the kitty. The kitty will go to the second place winner....unless we do a terrible job and the kitty is more than the original pot...then the winner gets the bigger of the two :)

So, back to our regular weigh ins. I lost one pound. Which is pretty good in that last night I got my period. I didn't report yesterday because I was waiting for that to start. We, in fact, were a little worried that I may be pregnant!!!! So we were relieved to get that last night. So, pretty good to lose one pound with not being able to take my medicine (could cause major birth defects) and getting my period!

Allen is like a weight loss machine. He lost 4 pounds this week. Yes 4 pounds!!!!!

Frustrating *$#@@!@#@

A couple of months ago I fell in a pothole in the Market Place parking lot. I had a witness calling 911 because she thought it was such a big fall. I told her I would be ok. Then the manager came running out. She took an accident report and told me to have it checked out. Well, I decided to wait and see how I healed. My ankle was sore for a while, but now is fine. Well, now I have a problem with my knee on that side. In fact, I think I may have fluid on my knee as I have two bulges. It doesn't feel like a muscular problem. Michelle told me to go to an Ortho. So, I called the Market Place to see how they wanted to do this. The lady I talked to said I am free to call and get it checked out but that they don't feel they are liable. She said they reviewed the tape and didn't see anything I tripped in. Ridiculous!!! I had gone this weekend and took pictures of the place where I fell. You can see where they filled the huge pothole. So, I officially requested a copy of that tape when I feel and a copy of the accident report. She said she was going to be talking to the owner about what he wants to do.

I am so irritated! Any suggestions of things I should do? I do not want to pay my deductible because they were negligent!!!!!

Changes

My how we have changed in 16 months! Enter Joseph and then the growth of the girls. Then the shrinking of Allen and me. He does look like a different person. I was a little disappointed in how I looked in the top picture. I guess it is b/c the shirt hangs from my chest. OH well!

Papa's Bday Party

They just love each other. Hannah, Emily and their cousin Sami. I think I will have to frame this one. It isn't often that you can get all three looking at the camera much less all three smiling!!

Last night we went over to Allen's parents' house to celebrate Papa's birthday. We were also joined by Gamma, Gampa, and cousin Sami. The kids had such a super time playing with each other! Happy Birthday to you....here the kids are attempting to sing to him. He had the lamb cake for his special cake. It is usually served on Easter....usually made by Michelle. Clarence's mom used to make it, so it is a family tradition that Clarence cherishes.

The girls ran up and down the hallway with eachother for what seemed like hours to our ears. They had so much fun. Here they are playing train. Emily is the engine, Hannah is a car, and Samantha is the caboose! They are almost 2, 3.5 and 2.5 respectively.
Opening Papa's presents. Literally he didn't get to open them himself. Good thing he is good at sharing.

More from Easter

Paula and Emily during the egg hunt in Nanny and Bumpa's backyard. Emily made it up this hill just fine....Paula well, let's just say not so much :)

Then inside my mom hid all the kids' Easter bag. Poor Carrie, she was the very last one to find hers.

When no one was looking, Joseph found his own entertainment. He spilled two of my mom's plants and began to eat them. I really do feed my kids!!!

Then I had a really special surprise. Carrie and Paula brought over a gift Aunt Annie made for me before she died. I was quite suprised and overcome with emotion. Here I am trying to smile, but I am afraid I look more like I could use more fiber. Oh well. There is the special blanket. Thanks Aunt Annie; that is a treasure!

Happy Birthday, Joseph and Papa!

Today is Papa's birthday. I will not say how old he is. Today is also Joseph's birthday. He is 11 months old!!!! I really cannot believe it. He has grown so much. He is the light of our life. His smile lights up the whole room. I am so grateful to have three kids that love each other so much. I love you guys and am so grateful that you are mine!

My beautiful Hannah who is now liking the camera. She begged to have her picture taken :) Perhaps she is mine after all :P

My little goofball. She is into EVERYTHING! She cracks me up and exasperates me all day long. She has a heart of gold and the sense of humor to boot. I can't believe she is going to be two in less than a month!

Happy Birthday, my little man! He is so independent. He has a stubborn streak too. We have really been working with him on standing and walking. He wants nothing to do with it. I love you, Buddy!

Just Not Pretty

Well....I knew it was coming, but it still does not dull the sting of seeing those numbers flash on the ole scale. I am up 6 pounds and Allen is up 5 pounds. Sigh....way too much fried fish :P Have no fear though, today we are starting our Biggest Loser II challenge.

Blessed Family

We did the majority of our Easter celebrating on Saturday because we had to leave on Sunday. We had an Easter egg hunt, had hors d'oeuvres (not sure of spelling), went to church, then came back to have Easter dinner. After dinner we watched the Passion. Here are my parents with their six grandkids. l to r: Hannah, Nanny, Dakota, Emily, Allison, Joseph, Bumpa, Gavin. It is so awesome that even though we don't get to see them often, the kids just adore each other!

Last Week

Hannah and Lucy. They became good friends this past week. I think Hannah was more upset about leaving that goofy dog than about leaving her famiy :) Speaking of dog....she pooped in the doorway of my dad's room. He stepped in it after waking up. Not a good way to wake up. Allison shook her head and said, "Now that wasn't a very good Easter present". I laughed so hard!

My girls dyeing easter eggs with my parents. They thought it was so much fun.

We went out on Friday night for one of THE best fish frys I have ever been to. In fact, the weigh in on Tuesday is not going to be good! Here is Carrie and Paula watching the boys :)

My brother, Chris, and my sister-in-law Dana. They lost the competition. Allen and I lost a total of 33 pounds (22 for Allen and 11 for me) in the 12 weeks of the competition. I won't embarass them by telling you how much they lost....or didn't lose for that matter :P So, Allen is getting to take a train trip to Kansas City...well, I get to go too but it is his trip. He LOVES trains.

The biggest LOSERS!!!!

Weekend Before Last

We were honored to have my good friend, Sherry, and her lovely husband Troy (I am sure he will love that adjective :P) come and visit us. We were shocked that the whole event even took place seeing as we have had to reschedule it 2-3 times :) We had such a super time. It was crazy busy, but worth it. We went to our church's egg hunt and things, then we went to a garage sale, thrift shopping and then had a bbq and campfire. It was so nice to talk and catch up in person. Most of that was done when the guys had the kids outside or when the kids had gone to bed of course. My kids just adore them, and I don't get much time with them while they are awake! Please pray for Troy. His mom passed away last week!!!!!!

Sherry and Troy with my three crazies. They are so good with the kids. We can't wait for them to have a gaggle of them too!!!

Yeah, he looks good with a baby in one arm and a hot girl on the other :)

Me and my two little princesses. Have I told you all lately how much I love my kids?!?

Fat Tuesday

It is that day again. The day when I beg the scale to be kind. Today...I got my wish. I am down another 2 pounds. That puts me at -45! I was hoping to get to -50 by our final weigh in with Chris and Dana, but I don't foresee myself losing 5 pounds in the next couple of days :) Allen didn't lose anything, however we walked 5 miles on Sunday up and down hills, so I am thinking he gained muscle.

She is Gone

Tonight around 8:45pm Aunt Annie went home to be with the Lord. Our hearts are heavy already with missing her, but we are so grateful that she isn't suffering anymore. Her last days were full of agonizing pain! Death is such a horrible part of life. Please pray for all the logistics involved. I am not sure when the funeral is, nor when I will be leaving. I am thinking I will be leaving tomorrow. Allen gets 2 days paid off, so he will come up for the funeral. So, pray for me as I drive with a 3 1/2 year old, an almost 2, and an almost 1 year old :) YIKES!!!!!!!

I love you Aunt Annie! I am so grateful for all the lessons you have taught me. You have lead a very full life, and we are so happy that you are rejoicing with your Savior right now. Healed, you are perfectly and forever healed! We miss you tons already though. You will never be forgotten. Reminders of you are everywhere....from your take on growth percentages for my kids, your love for organization, your gifts of books for my kids as well as Hannah's beloved cat. I never fail to think of you when someone mentions Arizona (we had great vacations visiting you). Dog shows, Packer parties, living on a farm, and of course picking chicken eggs from evil pecking chickens remind me of you. Tonight Hannah prayed for you after you had passed. I was crying and she knew she just needed to pray. She said, "Jesus, make Aunt Annie alive again." The cool part......her prayer has been answered! You are alive and kicking probably rearranging your mansion as I speak :) No matter how many times I've said it.....I want to say one last time....I love you so very much, and I am really going to miss you! Thank you for your love for me and for my family. Good-bye Aunt Annie. I look forward to seeing you again, perhaps you will give me the grand tour when I join you in glory. XOXO