This "morning"

Pam is in town. So we decided to have "coffee" this morning...which turned into an all-day event involving 9 children, 3 adults, pizza, computers, baseball, bikes, baseball cards, Barbies and yes, even some coffee. I love these people. They share so many of my passions and yes, I think Pam and Jody are actually emailing eachother in those pics! :) (That happens to be my very new, very cute, very green lap top!!) So happy I get to call them friends...

GAME ON!

It's a tradition. March madness rolls around and Paul and I get competitive. We have our brackets filled out and I'm thinking I'll be holding on to my "Champion" title for another year. I seriously beat him every year! Looking forward to the games starting tomorrow!!

The appointments...

They went well. Brigg gained a little weight and moved up from the 2 percentile to the 8 percentile. No more weight checks for a year now! Woohoo!! Ayla weighed in at 14 lb 4 oz. That is much smaller than Brigg and Lani were at her age, but she's still in the 60th percentile. No concerns there. Brigg and Nalani both had booster flu shots and did great. Then Ayla got her 3 shots and I looked over at Brigg and he had his sweatshirt pulled up over his face. I said, "Brigg, what are you doing?" as I pulled it down. When his face popped out it was bright red and he was SOBBING. He said, "I don't want Ayla to hurt!" Too sweet. Now that is one great brother! Love them all so so much...

The day ahead

It's going to be a crazy day today. I'm not looking forward to it. Brigg, Nalani and I all have dentist appointments starting at 9:30. Then we move on to Brigg, Nalani and Ayla's doctor appointments at 11:00. Ayla has shots and of course Brigg has a weight check. I hate days like today. Days where I feel like my parenting skills are being questioned. Do they brush twice a day? Do you floss their teeth every day? He still isn't gaining weight, are you feeding him a snack every day after school? Are you sure he gets one EVERY day? Reeeeeaaallllly.... hmmm...I don't know why he is in the TWO percentile then for weight. Are you using that super expensive shampoo I recommended for her cradle cap? Is she getting 20 minutes a day of tummy time? You're REALLY letting her sleep that many hours straight? You really should be waking her up to feed her. Come back again in six months so I can be sure you don't feel like you have your life in order! THANKS! Ugh. Off to try and feed Brigg a very hearty breakfast and dress him in the heaviest clothes he owns....
(BTW...I really do LOVE my pediatrician and dentist. She is amazing and I am not criticizing her abilities whatsoever. She is just doing her job....which kinda makes me feel like I'm not doing mine!)

I'm not even kidding you.

Paul is a baby whisperer. It's a gift. A gift that has been passed down from generation to generation. It is a gift that fortunatley, with Ayla, has not been put to the test very often. It has only come out on one or two occasions with this child and tonight was one of those occasions. She was screaming...for a long time. My blood pressure was rising. I was certain she either had an ear infection or was dying. I handed her to Paul. In 10 minutes flat he had her calmed down and put into a deep slumber. Amazing. It is truly a sight to see. As some of you may know, Paul's mother and grandmother also have this gift. It cannot be taught. I have witnessed it several times over the past 6.5 years, and I STILL cannot figure it out. But I'll take it. Thankful for that gift tonight as I head to bed in my very quiet, peaceful home...

Close...

but unfortunatley, close doesn't count. apparently the winner of the HGTV 2008 dream home currently resides in solon, IA...a mere 45 miles from here! oh well...maybe next year.

from the HGTV website...
"Stephanie Dee of Solon, Iowa -->Stephanie Dee just won the $2.2 million grand prize in this year’s HGTV Dream Home Giveaway, including a beach house in the Florida Keys and a new GMC Yukon Hybrid!" click here to see the home we will not be moving into...

Ayla and Ice Skating

We took the kids ice skating today. And poor Ayla...she again, just gets to watch. Notice in the first pic the "big kids" and Paul in the backgroung. But, she does get the most mommy time at events like this! Don't you just want to squeeze her?!?! :)

Still being cute...

And yes, Brigg's arms are RIPPED! (he works out!)

the kiddos

I'm sorry, but they are just CUTE!

Today

For a few minutes I thought I was dreaming...the kids were playing OUTSIDE together. It was great. But I was abruptly brought back to reality when they started fighting for the 56th time today. Oh yes...spring break has begun. I could have a long 9 days ahead of me with all the kids home...together...in the same house.

I'm not ignoring you...

If anyone has emailed me today, please know that I am not ignoring you. The email server here in town was down for most of the day. When it was back up and running they sent out a mass email stating that emails may have been lost during the outage. I had no email in my inbox all day. So I am choosing to believe that SOMEONE emailed me today and I just didn't get it. If you did, resend please!! :)

Prayer

"Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at his disposition, and listening to his voice in the depths of our hearts." (Mother Teresa)

TAGGED!

Ok, I was tagged by Tesi. So here ya go...
HERE'S HOW YOU PLAY. ONCE YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED YOU HAVE TO WRITE A BLOG OF TEN WEIRD, RANDOM THINGS, FACTS OR HABITS ABOUT YOURSELF. AT THE END, YOU CHOOSE FIVE PEOPLE TO BE TAGGED, LISTING THEIR NAMES AND WHY YOU CHOSE THEM TO BE TAGGED. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE THEM A COMMENT "YOU'RE IT" AND TO READ YOUR BLOG. YOU CAN'T TAG THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU. SINCE YOU CAN'T TAG THAT PERSON BACK, LET HIM OR HER KNOW WHEN YOU'VE POSTED YOUR BLOG SO HE OR SHE CAN READ YOUR ANSWERS.

1. I'm very quirky about how my dishwasher is loaded. If someone else loads it "wrong" (by my standards), I'll go back and move dishes around to their appropriate places.
2. Paul and I fight every single night about the blankets on the bed. I like them straight and tucked in at the bottom. They need to be even on both sides. Paul would prefer they were in a giant pile under him.
3. The summer after my freshman year in college I participated in Camp Adventure through UNI. I lived on a military base in Yokosuka, Japan, for 4 months running a camp for military kids. During that summer I climbed to the top of Mt. Fugi overnight and made it to the top just in time to see the sun rise. It was amazing.
4. I taught GED classes for a year while living in Jesup. During that year I worked with 5 students who went on to pass their exams and get their GEDs. I was so proud of them!
5. I was a nanny in Denver, Colorado for a year while I attended college there. I nannied 4 children ages 0-5.
6. While taking a group of children to a zoo, a gorilla threw a handfull of poop at me. Luckily I was wearing a baseball cap and it landed right on the cap. I lost all control of my group of 5 year-olds. They were running away from me and chanting "Stay away from the poop teacher!". Good times.
7. I love childbirth. Really love it. Of course, I also love epidurals! Which may contribute to me love of childbirth!
8. While living in Colorado, my favorite thing to do was go to the Rockies games. There was nothing like drinking cold beer in Coors field and watching live baseball! I loved it!
9. I can put my foot behind me head.
10. I was on the golf team for 2 weeks my junior year of high school. It was much to boring for me and I'm pretty sure I skipped a week of practices during those 2 weeks!

I tag...
Jennie...because she'll love doing this.
Brenda Stewart...because she has SO MUCH time on her hands.
Pam...because she hasn't blogged in like a week!
Donna G...because I'd love to know more quirky things about her.
Amy Smith...because I KNOW she has some fun random facts to be shared!

Oh those eyes...

Grandpa and Kent visit

My grandpa and uncle Kent came to visit this weekend. This was their first time meeting Ayla. And they were able to attend Brigg's promotions on Saturday. They got a little taste of a day in the life of US! :) I'm betting they were pretty happy to get back to their peaceful life across the state on Sunday night! We loved having them here...as you can see in the pics!

Promotions...

Friday and Saturday night Brigg had promotions. He was testing to promote from his green belt to his high green belt. He did fabulous and found out today that he passed! We are so proud of this little man. And Ayla...
She kinda gets the shaft. But she's learning to love laying on the floor while her brother and sister master all their activities!

Sad News

About a month or two ago I posted about a little girl named Phoebe from Sierra Leone that we sponsor. We sponsor her through Children of the Nations and picked her through some amazing connections. Over the course of the past 7 months or so, Phoebe has worked her way into a very deep part of our hearts as a family. The other day Lani walked into the kitchen and asked if she could send two bracelets to Phoebe...a blue one and a pink one. When I asked her why she wanted to send those colors she said, "Because blue is her favorite color (which we had only talked about one time in September when we got her profile in the mail), and pink is MY favorite color!" So of course I said yes and I placed those 2 bracelets on top of the fridge to remember to send them in our next letter.

Today when I went to our mailbox I found a hand-written envelope in the mail from Children of the Nations. I was excited thinking it was an update on precious Phoebe. Much to my surprise, and great sadness, I found a letter informing us the Phoebe had passed away on February 27th. She contracted a lung infection and was taken to the hospital and later passed away. I am deeply saddened by this news. Because I had recently shared how we had fallen in love with this little girl on the other side of the world, I thought it only appropriate to share the news of her passing. She suffered tremendously while here on earth and I can only pray that she was somehow blessed by our few letters, as we were SO very blessed by her life. I pray that she felt the love being sent around the world to her. I find some comfort in the fact that she is no longer an orphan...she is in the presence of her maker and her ETERNAL father. She is at peace. And until the day we meet again, she will remain in the deep place in our heart. Much love to Phoebe!

(And I would like to add that I was very touched with the way COTN handled the situation and notified us in such a timely manner. They also had a handwritten note on the letter that was sent to us. For more information on sponsoring a child through them click here)

Stages

My grandpa and uncle are in town for the weekend, so we have been spending a lot of time at mom and dad's house with them. Brigg had his promotions last night and this morning. It was so fun watching him. He is promoting to high green and he did a great job. I'm afraid that I am going to be "that mom". You know, the one the yells at all the sporting events. He didn't seem embarrassed, but I think that might change over the next few years. I'm not sure WHY I yell, but for some reason I find it necessary to remind him to focus and "go after" his opponent while sparring. Have I ever mentioned that I think each stage of my childrens' lives is better than the last? I do. I keep saying with Brigg "THIS stage is my favorite!" So very blessed to have a little piece of each stage in my life right now. From diaper changing and nursing to preschool field trips to Tae Kwon Do promotions. So fulfilled this day!

Missing Pam

Today is Pam's birthday. Last year we were celebrating here, at my house, with a "trendy" lunch! HA!

This year Pam is in Kansas. We miss her! (and her crazy antics!!)

Last year as our birthday celebration ended, I had to leave to go pick up my kids and I (very UNwisely) left Pam and Jody in my house alone. I came home to my huge family picture missing from above my mantle. They thought it was hilarious. This year, Pam is going away for the weekend...alone with her husband. Hmmm...I'm thinking she's not missing us near as much today as we are missing her!! Happy Birthday, Pam! Wish you were here...

Dream House

Ok people. I think Paul and I are going to win the HGTV dream house in Florida. They are going to surprise the family that wins it on Sunday, March 16 by showing up at their door. So I better get to cleaning my house so it is ready for being on live television on the 16th! :)

Some more oldies

Brigg

Brigg

Nalani and Macy at 4 1/2 months...just a little older than Ayla right now!

Old Computer=Old photos

Brigg

Lani

Brigg at 2 months

Why?

Why do I feel the need to blog tonight? I have nothing important or earth shattering to say. Nada. So you'll get our day to day stuff...
Lani puked tonight. She just walked in the bathroom and barfed. End of story. No fever. No puke on the carpet. No clean up other than a flush of the toilet. Weird. She was fine the rest of the night and went to bed no problem. We'll see how the overnight hours go.
The kids all got baths tonight. They were so cute and there is no greater smell in the world than the smell of my babies after a bath.
I ran on the treadmill and hated every second of it. It's been 9 weeks. Tell me again runner girls...when does that go away? I do believe NEVER is the answer!
And now, I have decided that along with my sewing machine and laptop, I need a composter. A huge double barrel one in my back yard. Unfortunately, I don't think that will happen anytime soon. They are $500!
And finally, I got my supplies to start my "human milk donor" adventure! SO exciting! I think my pregnant blog readers out there should consider it! You can be a one-time donor as well. Something to think about, girls!
Off to try and sleep. That's not coming easily these days. How does a girl who requires very little sleep wind up with a baby who sleeps 10 hours a night at age 8 weeks?!?! I kinda wish she'd wake up...I'm bored!!

Getting by

I'm still without lap top and I feel a bit lost. I hate to sneak up to my computer in the corner during the daytime hours, so I've been doing most of my computer work late at night. My "computer guy" has my lap top and will be getting me a verdict soon. So for now, I am just getting by on this computer. I haven't used it for over a year, so I don't have saved emails and websites on it and I'm missing that kind of stuff. But it is really quite sufficient and it has been keeping me off the computer, which is probaby good for the soul!

Gymnastics

Lani started gymnastics on Saturday. She loved it!











Ayla, on the other hand, was not so impressed...