Its true...

"...We're meant to lose the people we love.
How else would we know how important they are to us?"
-Mrs. Maple
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

He's got me

I wont lie, Sullivan has been very 'trying' lately. Potty training is basically a flop at this point and he just has attitude. Melanie says he's going through a bad cycle, he definitely is.
Everything has to be screamed and the term inside voice is totally not comprehended. And he NEVER and I mean NEVER stops talking!
Everything also has to be thrown or kicked, including people.

Aggravating!


BUT, he is still the cutest thing.

This morning Avery was talking about her friend Bella because that was the friend she chose to have over to play. Bella's mom called to say that Bella has gotten a little shy about coming over and wanted Avery to go there instead. Avery was more than happy with this arrangement.
Anyway, Sullivan was asking all morning, "Where is Tinkerbelle? Is Tinkerbelle coming?"
I couldnt figure out what he meant. Then we pulled up to Bella's house and Avery went in and as we pulled away Sully said, "Oh. Is that Tinkerbelle's house?"
I had to stop the car I was laughing so hard. SO CUTE!

Then at lunch time I asked Sully what he wanted for lunch. He responded, "Um, how about peanut butter jelly time sandwiches?" (We sing that song a lot...)
SO CUTE!!!


Anyway, I am madly in love with you buddy, but if you could get through this 'cycle', I'd appreciate it!

weak moments

I've had some weak moments this week which have gotten my schedule jam packed. Packed with fun things but still busy and I'm extremely tired for a Saturday morning!
Yesterday I took Contessa to the dr. for an ear infection recheck and to get caught up on her shots. The ear looked perfect so that was great news. I scheduled the appt. for 8:45 so we left town at 8 and then raced back to meet with at Venenga's for a play date with 4 other mom's and kids. We girls are planning a girls weekend away in April and I think its fair to say we are giddy with excitement.
After that I raced home and got my house cleaned and supper prepared and we had friends over last for supper. We had a great time and our house was dead silent before 10 pm. We were all in bed sleeping soundly!
This morning I told Avery and Lauren they could both have friends over while Jordan is at work...very weak moment.
So we are preparing for that and then this afternoon we are all going to Waterloo for Sullivan's 3 year pictures and some shopping.

I think I'll be in bed early again tonight. Pathetic.

Also, I just realized that I used the word 'giddy' twice in the past 2 posts. Not a word I use on a regular basis so it struck me as funny.

Like I said, I'm tired! Happy Saturday!

giddy-up

I think its safe to say, Daddy's out of spots!

Growing up

I've been struggling lately with how fast Lauren and Avery seem to be growing up. They are both showing more interest in having friends over and with having 'their own little lives'. They have real conversations with each other that we aren't supposed to hear. They whisper to each other and giggle behind our backs. They go into their room and shut the door. They have inside jokes with each other.

And as much as I LOVE seeing their relationship grow and love seeing them be close, and as excited as I am to see what plans Christ has in store for them, I don't like them growing up.

I hate it.

Not that I don't want them to become who they are going to be, I know that will be fun too...but I just don't want it to happen yet. A friend of mine is always telling me, 'when your kids get big, their problems get big too'. I like little problems better.

Tonight Jordan was sitting on the couch and Lauren crawled up beside him and nestled into the crook of his arm and put her head on his shoulder. I watched and thought to myself, look how easily she does that, how natural it is for her to snuggle up with her daddy. Then I realized that in just a few years she might not feel comfortable doing that...she might find it awkward or silly because she's 'too old'. I pray that she doesn't ever feel that way, but she might. The girl who was the world's BIGGEST Daddy's Girl, might actually feel funny being that close.

Anyway, I am just praying for life to slow down. For time to stand still for a bit so we can enjoy our girls at 4 and 7. I don't want them to be 11 and 14 the next time I turn around. And if the next 7 years go by as fast as the past 7 went...well then they will be that old the next time I turn around.

You know, I don't think anyone ever warned me that watching them grow up would literally feel like someone was ripping my heart out. Ok, maybe they did, but I sure didn't listen.

Because it really does.



Lauren age 3.5, Avery age 1. Summer 2005

Wednesday Art

Outside

Our daycare is blessed by a huge "REC" room for the kids to play in during the cold months.
So of course, they dont go outside much right now.
Well yesterday they told all the kids that they would be going outside for a walk TODAY.

Sullivan has talked about nothing else since.

Last night he kept reminding me that he was going to get to go on a walk with his teachers today. When he woke up this morning he immedietly wanted to get his boots ready to take with him for his walk.
While eating breakfast with Lauren he asked her if she got to go on a walk with her teachers today. She said no and he responded, "I do, I'm a big boy."

When we arrived at daycare he told the first teacher he saw that he brought his boots. Then when we got to the breakfast area he told all his friends that he brought his boots and he was going on a walk with his teachers.

I don't know that I've ever seen him so excited about something! It is so cute and I dont want to forget. I think Sully might be the most ready for spring of any of us!

Yep...

One of my favorite things to do is to go through my dad's bible and read his notes and thoughts. He wrote a lot in his bible. A lot.
Its also filled with many post it notes. Tonight I was going through it a little and I found this note;

Three frogs on a lily pad, two decided to jump.
How many were left?
Three.
Decisions not acted upon are worthless.

I think I needed to hear that...to get my butt in gear on somethings. He's still teaching me things even though he's not here.

Love that.

Love it.

Crawling...

And guess whose crawling? Full out crawling.

AND!

Trying to pull herself to a standing position.

STOP!

My best friend

Lauren asked tonight why Jordan and I wanted to go away together. I told her that she likes to spend time with her friends and that Daddy is my BEST friend so we like to spend time together just us.
And he truly is, after almost 10 years of marriage together, he is absolutely, without a doubt, my best friend. We laughed so hard this weekend and it felt so great...to remember why we like to be together and that we are pretty fun!
Thanks for a great weekend Jordan, my best friend.

Home

We're back.
Jordan and I took a weekend away this weekend. We left Friday morning and returned Sunday about 4.
It was perfect, and wonderful and relaxing and peaceful and fun and just what the doctor ordered.

Mischief

I left Tess on the living room floor to get an afternoon snack for the other kids. When I came back she was in the playroom. With a book she had taken from the living room shelf. And a page had been ripped out and partially digested. I was wondering why she was so quiet.
I think its safe to say we are at the, "nothing is safe stage"

The look...
"what? I did nothing wrong."


The evidence...
This book was my grandma's when she went to country school...not cool Tess, not cool.

Potty update

Well I'd say I've accomplished potty training today.

And I mean ME. I am trained to take Sullivan into the bathroom every hour and have him sit and go potty. He has been dry the entire day and has gotten many stickers for his chart, which he loves.

But at nap time I found myself wondering...where is my sticker chart? Because if I weren't making him go in an go, he'd have had 4 wet diapers today.

Am I doing this wrong? Is this how I'm supposed to potty train? Just keep doing this until he gets it?

I really don't remember training the girls. I need some help!

For Brian...

I talked to my brother Brian this afternoon and he admitted to checking my blog multiple times per day and always hoping for pictures. We haven't gotten to see him in a couple of years so he's never even met Contessa.
This picture isnt from today, she's not quite this happy today...but it shows her personality perfectly.


We miss you Brian!!

Only in small town Iowa...

So I picked Tess up from daycare today and when I walked in the door one of the teachers in the hall said, Tess was fussy today, she didn't nap. I knew immediately that she was sick.

Now Tess does not nap well at daycare, but they say she is never fussy. In fact I've accused them of lying to me that she is really as good as they say.

When I walked into her room she didn't smile at me, this confirmed to me that she was sick.
We came home and tried to get her to nap. She wanted nothing to do with it.

Jordan brought her back downstairs and I said, I'm calling the dr. She's sick. She's had a cough and a nasty green runny nose all week. While she's been acting fine all week, I knew now it had become something more...
He said there was no way anyone was still in the office, it was 6:00.

Now I'm telling you, this is why I love small town Iowa...

I called the clinic and our dr. was there doing paper work. She told me to bring Tess right in and she unlocked the doors and turned all the lights back on.
After she diagnosed Tess's THIRD EAR INFECTION IN 2 MONTHS, she called the Pharmacy and ordered the prescription and got them to keep the door open.
Then the pharmacist MET ME AT THE DOOR, told me he went ahead and charged the prescription to our account and wished me a peaceful night with the antibiotic!

Here's to small town Iowa. And to the hope of Spring being just around the corner and ear infections being gone for another season!

Rejoicing!

Often times when someone would ask my dad, "How are you doing?" or questions like that; he would respond,
"Rejoicing!"

What a great response. I miss hearing it. A lot.

Stuck

Contessa can get herself into quite a big of trouble these days...Here she is stuck under the craft table. Since she cant move forward well yet she is just stuck! But still happy!

All That Glitters

Last night was the big event...I feel like I've been working on planning this Gala for months when really its only been about 6 weeks. But it has been a lot of work and the past week has been extremely stressful so it was great to see it pay off. This is the second time we have done this event for the hospital. Last year we had about 130 people and this year it was closer to 170!
And I got to spend the evening with some of my most favorite people...
Clockwise starting with Jordan, Cassie, Paul, Jason, Melanie, me, Stacie and Nick.
Thanks again for coming all of you!!!

A few more

We are pretty big Lincoln fans around here. So here are a few more of his great quotes:

"I happen temporarily to occupy this big White House. I am living witness that any one of your children may look to come here as my father's child has." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, "Speech to One Hundred Sixty-sixth Ohio Regiment (August 22, 1864), p. 512.

"Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume II, "Notes for a Law Lecture" (July 1, 1850?), p. 81

"Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VIII, "Speech to One Hundred Fortieth Indiana Regiment" (March 17, 1865), p. 361.

"In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, "Reply to Loyal Colored People of Baltimore upon Presentation of a Bible" (September 7, 1864), p. 542.

In reply to comments about General Grant's drinking problem, "Find out what whiskey he drinks and send all of my generals a case, if it will get the same results."

"I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday."

"If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe."

"It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong."

"My father taught me to work he did not teach me to love it."

On marriage:"No matter how much cats fight there always seem to be plenty of Kittens."

"The worst thing you can do for those you love is the things they could and should do themselves."

"When I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he were fighting bees."

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."

Happy 200th Birthday, Mr. Lincoln!

"And in the end, its no the years in your life that count.
Its the life in your years."
-Abraham Lincoln

What I love about Sully, age 3:

-his long long, dark dark lashes that frame those blue blue eyes...look out you cannot say no to those eyes. Its too powerful a combination.
-when he says, "Actually, mommy..."
-when he tells us out of the blue..." I love you mommy/daddy/avery/lauren/contessa caroline"
- that he is so loving and quick to hug and kiss and show affection
-that he talks to me LITERALLY ALL DAY LONG. I swear sometimes my ears must be bruised by the end of the day.
-that he loves puzzles and is really good at them and refuses to have help.
-that he loves to be read to
-when he says, "I not know" instead of "I don't know"
- when he says, "I want too much" instead of, "I want a lot"
-the way he loves Jordan and craves daddy time
-how he always calls Tess either Contessa or Contessa Caroline
-how he tries so hard to get his fingers in the position to show that he is 3, but just cant quite do it without help.
-that he loves to have 'spikey' hair
-that he loves to wear 'daddy shirts' aka t-shirts or tank-tops under his shirt.
-how excited he gets to see Jalen in the morning at school.
-how he and Jalen compare their shirts and talk about what is on their shirts when they first see each other.
-how he calls Rosanna, 'Zanna'
-the way he loves his uncles and gets excited to see them.
-how sweet he is with Tess
-how much he loves being outside
-when he tells me I'm pretty
-when he tells me HE is cute.
-how he loves watching Rick Steves with Jordan!
-watching him set up his Thomas tracks
-how he plays 'house' with his Spiderman characters
-how when he prays he puts his hands folded over his mouth and says, "Dear Jesus, Thank you for her and her and her and her and him. AMEN!" Pointing out each of us at the table and then screaming his Amens.
-that he cannot walk to the van in the morning with out sticking his leg the snowbank at least one time
-his incessant need to wrestle
-the way he uses one of my grandma's old canes as a microphone and sings into or puts on 'sermons'

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sullivan Joseph!

Sullivan Joseph...Where can I even begin?
Since as long as I can remember I prayed that God would give me a son someday. God answered my prayer with you. I must be the most blessed woman that you call me 'mommy'. I love knowing the special bond that mothers and sons share.

Each night after I tuck you in to bed and close the door I breathe a sign of relief, the sigh of relief that all mothers of sons must breathe. Then as I walk down the stairs I say a prayer. I thank God for giving you to me and I ask him to not let these days pass to quickly. Because I realize that there will come a day when I wont be able to hug you and kiss your cheeks whenever I want. There will come a day when you will be mortified by the thought of me snuggling and cuddling with you. And that thought makes the days when you try me to the point of complete exasperation, very much worth it.

You've taught us many things in your 3 years. You've taught us that there is truly a BIG difference between little boys and little girls. One of my biggest joys is to notice that with you and your sisters. You've also taught us that when God is asking us to trust Him, even when it is most difficult, all we can do is look to Him and trust with all our heart and soul.

Waiting for you to walk was an excruciating time for us. But the first time I saw you walk across the room was one of the happiest most gratifying moments in my life.

With the birth of your baby sister you have no doubt been put in a unique spot in the family. The lone boy. This makes you so very special and gives you so much responsibility! We know you are up to the challenge and we think you might even enjoy being Daddy's only boy.

Sullivan, words cannot express the dreams that you have fulfilled for your dad and I. There is nothing in the world that can compare to calling you my son. I am ultimately proud of you and excited to see where Gods path will take you.

As you grow I pray that you will remember that God has already worked miracles in your life. There is nothing that He cannot do if you will allow Him to take control. I pray that you will learn to be a man of God who looks to Him for your strength and encouragement.

And I pray that you when you think of 'home' you will think of your dad and I and you will understand that never has a boy been more loved and more treasured.

All our love Sullivan Joseph, all our love.

More Sully

There is nothing I love more than looking through old photos. I could sit here all night. I love love love the picture of Sully and the girls with wet hair in their jammies, they all look so very happy and fun. And I love the picture of Sullivan in the gait trainer and I am so thankful that it only stayed at our house for 2 weeks before we were able to return it to Physical Therapy.

Birthday Eve

I'm doing a little reminiscing on the night before Sullivan's birthday. I absolutely love the picture of Lauren and Avery meeting Sully for the first time. They were so in awe of him.

On the move

Tess is everywhere. Everywhere.
She isnt really crawling or army crawling but she is moving and getting to where she wants to go.

And she is really really close to true crawling. Tonight she is getting up on all fours and moving each leg once in sync with each arm and then going to her belly.

Also, tooth #1 is about to break though, I can feel the ridges.

She is getting so big. And she is so cute. She's got 'that' smile. You know the one.

Monday

Its definetly Monday. I have so much going on...a Huge event for work this weekend, Sully's birthday on Wednesday, Valentine party stuff to prepare for school, preschool and daycare, 10 pounds to lose before the event on Saturday night, and then of course just keeping a family of 6 fed, clean and happy.

I was about to get really stressed.

Then last night I stayed up way too late reading about what this family is attempting to deal with and make sense out of on their Monday. Suddenly my to do list seemed much more like a blessing than a stressor.

Other birthday kids

Jordan's sisters' Trina and Kylie and I share February birthday's as well. We aren't as young as the other party animals however!

Party Guests

Here were our party animals. Clockwise starting with Avery (4)at the top, Lauren (7), Contessa (7 months), Jalen (2), Sully (3 minus about 4 days), Alexa (3 minus about 15 days), Adele (4 months), Aaron (6 minus about 2 months). It was loud and rough in our house...very fun!

Sully and mom

The only time I end up in pictures is during birthday parties and that's because Melanie is good enough to take the pictures for me that day...thank you!

Birthday!

We had Sullivan's birthday party this weekend with family and friends. I'll have his real birthday post on Wednesday when he officially turns three. At least that is the plan...every time I think about what I want to say to him I get teary and emotional so I might not be able to get it out...

The one thing I love more than my own birthday is one of my kids' birthdays. I love to see them feeling loved and special on that day. We always surprise them with our decorating and the cake. Sullivan was thrilled.
He had a blast and got perfect gifts from our families. As you can tell, he is into Spiderman. But he also got some great Thomas sets that everyone is enjoying playing with.

Yes.

Yes, I sat her down on the stove to 'help' me make lunch. No it wasnt on and hadnt been on in like 24 hours.

Yes, that is a tv dinner box that I was 'making' for one of the kids for lunch. We were in full, 'getting ready for birthday party' gear around here.

Jordan hates it when I set here there and wanted proof - I wont do it again. I promised him.

And yes, she really is just that cute.

Sledding

We had a beautiful weekend around here...Sullivan loved being outside and would have stayed out all day. Even Contessa got in on some of the fun.

Right where she wants him...

He is putty in her hands and she knows it. She even manages to get the remote from him. He doesn't even let me have that.

My boy...

How can he be turning three? where does the time go?

Spring?

Yesterday I was having one of those days where I just needed OUT. Lucky for me, we had a warm, upper 30 degree day. We bundled up and went for our first walk of the year!
The girls had their Christmas scooters and I had to keep reminding them to slow down, Sully had 'his' Barbie trike and Tess and I brought up the end of the train.
It felt SO great to be outside and getting some fresh air. I cannot wait for spring to actually come and stay! Tess seemed to enjoy the time outdoors but her poor little nose got SO red!

And now Avery...

"Mommy? You know what hurts worse than shots? Stitches."

And she would know.

Love it.

I'm not sure I can really express how much I love it when Sullivan says,

"Mommy, where is Contessa Caroline?"

Love it.

The best one

At least they were all looking at the camera!

And with that, I'll call my bday over. Moving on to a more important one...Sullivan's!

My best birthday gift...

FOUND MY CAMERA!!!!!

And so before we went out for supper we had to try and get a picture with all my kids. Here were the attempts.

My next 30 years...

I'm not going to lie. I LOVE my birthday. Love it.

I might even be a little freaky about it. I blame my dad. He made the biggest deal out of each of our birthday's. We were truly queen and kings for that day. He made us feel like an only child in the midst of 6 other siblings. I love him for that.

I get not only a birth - DAY, but birth - WEEKS (the one before and the one after my birthday). I've even been known to get out of things by claiming it was my birth - MONTH. Sad, I know. I'm 32, I should be a little bit more grown up about the whole deal. But I refuse.

32. Yes, 32. As I was driving to work today I flipped to a country station. This is not a habit of mine. Normally its parked on 101.9 and it stays for me. But today they hosts were doing a lot of gabbing so I was flipping stations. And what song came on? Tim McGraw's 'My Next Thirty Years.' By chance? No. If you know me, you know I believe nothing is by chance. Nothing. I listened to the words of this song and I was singing along and realized that 32 really isnt that bad.

Trina and I were talking last night and we both decided that all birthdays are better when your age begins with a 2, not a 3. (She turned 29 yesterday, next year might be rough for her!) Today Im not so sure about that. It really is true that with maturity comes a lot of good things...I THINK my temper is better than it was in my 20's, I know my faith is stronger and my marriage. I have a greater understanding of what really matters in life. I value my family and my friends so much more. And all those relationships are deeper and more real than they ever were in my 20's. My kids are at awesome ages and I find myself looking forward to each and every day with them instead of wishing that they'd grow up.

Today I'm feeling spoiled already, at 8:15. I woke up to my husband wishing me happy birthday and offering to let me sleep in a bit and then my kids SO excited to wish me a happy birthday. They are taking me out for pizza tonight with my mom and Jordan's mom. I had a message from my boss this morning singing the entire Happy Birthday song for me which had me laughing so hard I was crying, a co-worker just gave me the sweetest birthday gift, I had many emails in my inbox this morning wishing me a great day and some are from friends I rarely hear from but who remembered me today.

Yep, 32. I can handle that. And I truly am looking forward to the next 30 years! (Besides, I still look like I'm in my 20's, right?!?!)

7 months

I have to get this down before I sit down for the night.

Contessa turned 7 months old today. Hard to believe.
She is really just so much fun for our family.

Here's what she's up to:
- doing some strange crawling technique that gets her where she wants to go. Its a cross between just rolling and rolling and an inchworm. I find myself saying, 'How did you get there?' a lot.
- her favorite toys are baby sized spoons and any type of paper that crinkles
- she loves baby food, especially veggies. She wants to eat everything we eat. She eats potatoes and bread a lot. And I normally mash up the veggies on my plate and feed those to her as well. And watch out if you have a french fry...she is going to get it.
-she can hold her own bottle but I don't condone that!
- she sleeps very well. 10-11 hours, going to bed at 9 or a little earlier.
- she also naps wonderfully now - THANK GOODNESS! That was a hard six months getting her there! She typically takes 2 per day. One for 1.5 hours in the am and 2-3 hours in the afternoon. We try to just keep her up through the evening so she goes to bed when the other kids do. from time to time she'll wake up earlier than normal - like at 6 or 6:30 and then she'll drink her bottle and go back to sleep for a three hours - if she does that she doesn't really take a morning nap. She can also go with out a nap which helps a lot with our crazy schedules!
- when she has the chance she still loves her time with just Jordan and I. And so do we.
- she's getting some 'stranger danger'. She knows now when someone other than mommy and daddy have her. If its a face she isn't real sure of she cries, if its someone she knows a little she kind of pushes away from them and tries to get us back.
- she reaches her arms up for us to pick her up - I love that! Its one of my favorite things that little babies do.
- she smiles the prettiest and the biggest for daddy. But I'd have to say that of all our kids...she probably shows favorites the least...the others saved all their great smiles for him! This time I get some of them too!
-she LOVES music. It doesn't matter what the tune is...she starts bobbing her head and moving her body. It is adorable. I love it!
- Jordan believes she is perfect. He would tell you she is never fussy, she only smiles and she is the best baby in the world...He's close...but not exact! ;)

Another one bites the dust...

Another weekend is gone...so sad.
We had a really good one though. Tess is feeling a lot better and is just about back to herself.
We watched Lauren's first basketball game on Saturday, a new dimension of parenting...I'm not sure I'm quite ready for it!
My brother Jordan was in town so the 3 older kids got to have some outside snow fun with him that afternoon...Saturday night we had our small group bible study and then tonight we had Kirkpatrick's over for a Superbowl Party. Which basically means we had them over to eat yummy food. And it was yummy!
Now the kids are in bed and I'm ready to curl up on the couch with Jordan and relax.

Good night!