Getting Ready...

3 months ago, we were getting ready for Dawson's arrival...

3 months ago, Jocelyn and Carissa were finishing up Preschool and Kindergarten respectively...

NOW, we are about to register Carissa for FIRST GRADE!! I cannot believe it, but I know she is ready...

The girls are both playing soccer this fall and this week is soccer camp~couldn't be much hotter for it! This is Jocelyn's first time playing on a team and she is one quick little girl! They both enjoyed the first night...we got home around 7:00, ate a late supper, the girls showered, and are definitely going to sleep well tonight!

Dawson is growing like CRAZY! He's over 12 pounds now and is a very happy baby unless he's hungry...he's a smiling little guy and the girls are still totally in love with him!

Joe spent a week on a mission trip, we all spent a week with my parents and brother/sister-in-law and niece in Wisconsin (Door County) and then did a week of VBS...needless to say, we are wrapping up our summer with a bang! Next thing to look forward to is BROWN COUNTY and then a good friend's wedding in October!

Before you know it, we'll be talking about November birthday girls and Christmas is just around the corner too!

June!!

Well, Carissa finished school strong, Jocelyn had a great Preschool Graduation, and Dawson is growing and developing so quickly!!!

We spend most of our days outside (other than the rainy and stormy days!) and our evenings outside--but with the addition of Dad to play too! I finally feel like I'm back to myself after the drama that was my last pregnancy, but am overwhelmed with how great the girls are with Dawson and our adjustment has been pretty good!

Six, and out of kindergarten, seems to be a tough age for Carissa and the rest of us to deal with. She seems to have gotten a little too much freedom and now thinks that she is in charge...needless to say, she has spent quite a bit of time on her "mat" for timeouts. I know she wants to be older and wiser, but she is recognizing that we mean business when we say "treat others the way you would want to be treated" and just seems to be a little slower understanding it right now...I know she'll get there!

We are excitedly looking forward to our FAMILY VACATION with my parents and my brother and his family too! We are heading to Wisconsin in July and we have no plans outside of just relaxing for a week. We haven't had a vacation like that in...well, I don't know that I've ever had a vacation like that! Of course, following vacation, I jump right into VBS...which almost needs a vacation following it...but I've decided, I'm not stressing myself out over it this year...it's fun and I have to remember that its for FUN!!!!

I will be trying to get some pictures taken of the three kids SOON! I want to post some more and hoping for family pictures soon too!!

Dawson Robert

Our Newest Family Member...

Dawson Robert
6 lbs. 11 oz.
18 1/2 inches long
and a FULL head of hair!

He has two proud sisters and two proud parents!

2010 Mother/Daughter Banquet

Grandma came down to join us for the Mother/Daughter Banquet and we had a great time together...the girls got home, showered, and are fast asleep...on to a nice weekend together!

April Showers Bring May Flowers...

Once Jocelyn learned that saying...she's always saying it!

Spring Music/Art Program for Carissa was April 27th...she was so excited to sing and show off her artwork...

...and of course some showing off!!


Ending the day with a sign of spring showers~~A RAINBOW!!!

My girls make life fun!!!

New Swing Set!!!

Well, with the help of some friends, we have a new swing set in the backyard!! Yay!!!!!!

They love it!

Easter Sunday!

Easter Sunday with their new dresses...and of course, Papa and Grandma!

New Outfits from Papa and Grandma...

There really aren't many dull moments around our house these days...

Easter Baskets

So happy to have the Easter Baskets done and ready to go...

Not to shabby if I say so myself...

Reflections...

Life is full of ups and downs...but we need to spend more time enjoying the "ups" and figuring out what is GREAT in our lives.

Ups--my God, my husband, my kids, living in a house that protects us, eating food that nourishes us, an education/continuing education, a safe school for each of my kids, my parents, my brother and his family, clothes on our backs, friends that love and support us, and the list goes on...

Downs--sadness in our world, loneliness of people around the world, our family dealing with an illness that we never thought would affect us, busyness that distracts us from the important things in life, overworking ourselves...and THIS list goes on...

How do we overcome the "downs" without overworking, overthinking and going crazy? Someone let me know...when one of us figures it out, okay?

Tooth #3 is GONE!

Carissa lost Tooth #3...I can't believe how fast they've come out, but she's been happy with the profits of her work!

Really enjoying the warm weather and trying to take in as much of it as we can! Cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms with nice, fresh air coming through the house...the only good part of cleaning!!

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

March Madness

I am taking an hour break from my current school project to be over at church while Carissa has her Daisy Scouts meeting...I have the research and writing done, working on adding the rest of the information and doing my powerpoint presentation too! Not too much, right?

We took Carissa this morning to do her follow-up X-ray from last summer's broken arm and everything is Great! She has permission to never come back to his office again~he said so!!!

The girls are doing great, Joe is back after a long week away, and I just want to get through this semester of school--especially knowing that Dawson will be joining us soon after the end of school! Things are great...I've only gained 7 pounds...not bad (but I started out overweight this time, so it is all good...) and we've just gotta find some free time to get the room ready...mmmmm, he may be sleeping elsewhere if we can't find time~so, I'm sure we'll find time!

Looking forward to some warmer weather and being able to be outside and I know the girls are even MORE excited to be doing the same!

A week of "Just the Girls"

This week Joe leaves tonight for a class "trip" for graduate school. This will be our last "All Girls Week" before little Dawson arrives. Once he's here, we'll have to call them "Mom and the Kids Week"

We have a busy week, but not too bad. I'm hoping NOT to substitute this week so I can get some schoolwork done while the girls are in their respective classes. I have a presentation/paper due next Wednesday, so my primary focus will be on that project for the next 10 days or so...after I complete this semester I will be 1/4 done with my Masters degree~I'm making a little bit better time with my grad work than college stuff! I sometimes wonder if I'm in the right program, but I still have time to decide these things if it comes down to it. I do enjoy the classes, but often become annoyed with the fact that some counselors are constantly having to take more classes and different "hoops" they must jump through to stay licensed.

Looking forward to warmer weather this week...hoping to have the doors open to get some fresh air moving after a long couple of moths of cold and snow...really excited about spring/summer for the girls to be outside and enjoying the warm weather together! I've already told them that this summer, as long as it isn't raining or stormy, we WILL be outside~walking, riding bikes, playing at the park...even eating outside when we can. I'm determined that after Dawson arrives, I will be in better shape, lose weight, and keep up on exercise...and keep the girls active while I'm at it!!

Enjoy your week EVERYONE!

...and March comes marching in...

So, the girls got some Zhu-Zhu pets for Christmas from a "secret Santa" and they have been trying to collect more along the way. Last night, I walked into the living room to this...

They each have their own space and food...as well as shelter in both Dora's house and with their building blocks! They SERIOUSLY crack me up! This is just one of the times that they line something up or work on some creative "housing development" for their toys or stuffed animal. I won't even mention that each little "room" is almost identical to the others and they each have almost the same amount of goldfish snacks...

They are growing and developing so quickly it amazes me at what they can come up with on a daily basis. This week, Carissa has Hat Day on Tuesday and Jocelyn had her field trip to a play last week...they keep a pretty busy schedule...don't know where they get that from!

Hoping to get ahead on homework this week and start working on my presentation for a class in two weeks...the month of February FLEW by so I need to get on top of some of this homework!

Tomorrow is March 1st...not much longer to go until we are family of FIVE! Can't believe how fast it's gone, but it's quickly approaching...

"Mom, do you think God gets sick?"

Tonight, Carissa got sick...she doesn't really throw up often, but tonight, that seemed the quickest way for something to make it's way out of her. I hate it when my kids are sick, but it does bring them to their deep question time...

We were out to eat with some people from church and Carissa had said she didn't feel well, so we headed to the ladies room. She stood in there for awhile and then got sick~she wasn't happy that she got sick there, but we went home, I had her shower, put on her pj's and she cuddled up to watch some cartoons. About an hour after we got home she went running to the bathroom and got sick again. I stood and talked to her and explained that this just happens sometimes and it will all be over soon enough. She asked me if I ever got sick and I said yes...I think she just wanted some reassurance that it isn't just kids that get sick. She then looked at me and asked, "Mom, do you think God gets sick?" I was kind of awestruck for a moment and I said that I didn't think He did because He is the one who helps us feel better. She then looked at me and asked: "Mom, will you pray for me?" W-O-W!!! I can't even imagine where that came from but it had to be her Daddy coming out in her...they pray for people all the time when they hear sirens, see an accident happen, or hear of someone being sick. So, needless to say, I prayed for her to feel better and said that I knew God would take care of her and allow her to feel better...

She is sleeping in the recliner with Joe tonight and seems to be feeling okay...she hasn't run a fever, but just says she doesn't feel well. Hoping she just had a short-lived "bug" and we can all move past it and stay healthy. I should be thankful we've made it this far without anything major happening, but overall I am THANKFUL for healthy children. I hear of so many sick children, but thankful I have two (almost 3) healthy children!!

Happy "rest of the weekend" everyone!

Peanut Butter and Birds

Yesterday, I experienced something with Jocelyn...I had to make a phone call to one of our utility companies (and we all know it's usually never just a quick 5 minute conversation with someone) and the girls were in the living room playing.

I was wrapping up the conversation when Carissa came in and said to me, "Jocelyn has sticky stuff in her hair. It's gum!" Really? Really? I guess if it was going to happen, it would happen to Jocelyn.

I "googled" the following: "How to remove gum from hair" Ironically, thousands of hits appeared on my screen. I first tried ice to harden it and then tried to get it out--no success. I called Joe (he was probably heading home soon anyway) and he came home and read to me the next option to remove the gum. He went to the cabinet while I called one of the ladies from the church who does hair. I did the whole "Hypethetically speaking..." introduction about what had happened and she said she had heard that peanut butter works because of the oil in it. Otherwise, she said if I had to cut it out to try to "feather it" so it wouldn't be a blunt cut section of hair.

So, Joe started the "peanut butter treatment" while I waited to comb through the matted peanut buttered hair. It took about 3 "applications" but we got it all out and put her in the bathtub. She was NOT happy with us because it hurt her hair to comb through the peanut butter/gum mixture. Joe explained that if she kept putting sticky stuff in her hair she might end up with hair like him--bald! She didn't like that idea, so she slowly calmed herself down and slowly recovered from the peanut butter trauma.

Life went on and we continued on with our evening. Carissa had a pizza party and then we joined back up with her for a bird show at the high school gym. Carissa sat with her friends to watch and we sat with some friends up a little higher than she was. The third bird that they presented to us was a Bald Eagle...Jocelyn was SO impressed by the size of the bird when he expanded his wings...she was even more impressed when he pooped on the floor! She turned to me and said, "Mom, the Eagle pooped and it hit the ground and went SPLAT!" She knows how to replay any event...with extreme accuracy!

They keep me on my toes and I want to take it in and continue to love them and care for them as best I can!!!

"Lying to Be Perfect"

Totally awesome movie...Lifetime is often made fun of by many, but this movie is great! If you can find it, WATCH IT! I feel her pain and only hope that I can be as confident as she is...

Tuesdays...quickly become Wednesdays!!

I am probably the most prepared for one day a week...Wednesdays. Since I have class at 8am in Lincoln, I have to get everything ready the night before. Now, I realize that working Moms do this every, single night, but for me it's kind of exciting to see how much I can get ready in order to make the morning go as smoothly as possible when I'm not here. So tonight, after supper, the girls took a bath while I made treats for them (cupcakes), packed Carissa's lunch for school (also packed Jocelyn's in a lunch bag because she's always wanting to eat hers out of a lunch bag too!), got their outfits ready (Valentine's Day parties are tomorrow), and then tried to get as much ready for breakfast time as I could. I always end up calling about 4 times during my ride to Lincoln, but I just don't know what to do without having to do it myself--does anyone else know what I mean?

Anyway, the day will come and go without me being there to start their morning with them, but I like the idea that I have gotten as much ready for a good start! After a snow day today, we have spent a good deal of time together and I'm really hoping they don't have to wait until next week to have their parties (out of school for school improvement/Lincoln's Birthday on Thursday and Friday) because they are so excited about giving and getting valentines from friends!

Here's hoping for a great Wednesday!

WOW!!!

So, I recorded this movie "The Pregnancy Pact" about 2 weeks ago...I've hesitated to watch out of anger, but really it just SCARES me. I cannot imagine what all those parents must have felt like as they found out their daughters, one by one, became pregnant. Most of you know what position I advocate for in unplanned pregnancies, but this issue scares me~it scares me beyond measure. I can't imagine being 15-16 years old and pregnant~granted, I know that some girls are able to overcome this struggle, but the immaturity of these "characters" is overwhelming. They talk as though it's like "playing house" and they really have NO clue about life in general.

It's a tough movie, but I'm hoping that it helps me to understand how NOT to have this happen. Ironically, one of the characters is named Carissa (I like to think it's spelled differently though) and that makes it a little to weird...