Photo of the day: lunch

Today we celebrated E's birthday! We did pizza at his favorite pizza place. He fell on his face last Sunday during a walk and got some serious road rash, poor guy!

Brunch

We are heading to brunch at my parents house to celebrate my birthday, E's birthday and Easter. I am bringing these lil devils. We were going to use olives for the eyes, but they were forgotten at the store. We used beets instead!

Happy BIrthday L!

My oldest son had his 15th birthday this month. He wanted to have a party so he invited his friends over for an "EPIC" nerf gun war. Yes, he is 15. Yes, he still loves nerd guns. (ha ha, as I was typing I accidentally typed nerd instead of NERF! Sometimes it's how I feel.)

Kids playing Wii

They came inside for pizza and cake

Wet from the rain but excited to blow out his candles on his ice cream cake!

Next year....driver's license??? Akk!

My baby

My youngest daughter is turning eight. I can't believe how fast time flies.

K. is a wonderful little lady.

She is kind, compassionate, and loveable.

She makes friends easily and is very social.

She is a Daddy's girl and can't fall asleep without saying bedtime prayers with him.

She loves art, animals, playing outside or with friends.

She is petite and lovely,

brave and adventurous.

I am a little sad to see her grow.

But I love to see how she has grown.

Happy Birthday K!

Great Wolf Lodge, Grand Mound

We were treated to a two night vacation to Great Wolf Lodge for a Christmas gift. The kids have been looking forward to it since Christmas morning.

We started off the day by leaving early on Saturday, dropping the dog at the kennel, the other one with Grandma and Grandpa, and driving for three hours to get there. We stood in the lobby line for quite a while, Saturday was a busy time yet it appeared there was only one person working! Thankfully another employee was passing out bracelets so the kids and I could change and go to the water park while J. finished checking in. Aunt N. was able to come an join us for the day, and she was able to go on the fun slides with the older kids while someone stayed with the little boys.

The waterpark was lots of fun. There was something for everyone, big slides, medium slides, hot tub, wave pool, water basketball, and little kid area with small slides. S. didn't really enjoy getting splashed and there was not a quiet area for him to just sit in the water. The little kid area had all sorts of water squirting, splashing, dumping and spraying. I wish they would have a pool just for kids who don't like to get really wet! E. had a great time and by the end of the weekend was putting his face underwater every chance he got!

We went to our room after a few hours, had a snack, got bathed and changed.

We went out to eat at Country Cousins to celebrate S.'s birthday and met with family there. S. opened some gifts, ate some mini corn dogs, got some ice cream and tried to blow out the candle. He really loved having all that attention.

After the kids went to bed J. and I left the teens in charge while we snuck out to the bar and had a snack and a drink to unwind. It was a busy day and was nice to just talk.

The next day we ate breakfast at the Loose Moose in the resort. It was Sunday morning and CRAZY busy. The service was ok, and the food was fresh. The kids filled up on sweets and junk, but we encouraged a few healthy choices too. I had some eggs, bacon, potatoes and waffles with strawberries. It was pretty good.

We spent most of the day in the water park. K was able to go on all the slides (expect the Tornado) with an adult. L and C had quite a time going on all the slides, riding the waves and enjoying every bit of the park. They even supervised the little boys so J and I could ride down the slides with K a few times.

We took a break at the arcade, and in our room for lunch (there was a fridge and microwave in the room so we packed our meals). We got the boys to take a nap, so we laid low for a few hours in the afternoon.

We went back to the waterpark until 8 pm. It was so much quieter by the afternoon and we were able to enjoy the slides with no lines. I went on all the big slides with the kids, a few were pretty scary. At night the lighted slides are lots of fun. The Howlin' Tornado was completely dark and had a huge drop. Next time J. tells me "it's pretty tame" I am not going to believe him!

J. took the little boys to story time while we finished up with some time in the hot tub. We went back to the room for some pj time, popcorn, tv and treats. The kids ran around with their wand at the interactive stations around the hotel for a bit too.

Monday morning we got up earlier and had breakfast again. This time there was nobody there! It was quite a change. The downfall was the food had been sitting out for quite a while and it was not as good. We went up to our room, packed up everything, brought it out to the car, checked out and then hit the water park again for a few more hours. It was snowing and we wanted to get home before dark, so we had to leave earlier than planned.

We all had a really good time and think it was one of the best family trips we've been on. I think we will go again, in a few years.

Happy Birthday!

My youngest child turned three yesterday. I can't believe it, he still seems like a baby to us. S had a busy day on his birthday, he also had his first day of preschool! He was sooo excited about riding the bus. We had been trying to contact the bus garage to find out the pick up and drop off time so we could be all ready to go. They never returned our calls, and when we called, there was only a voicemail service. Our plan was originally to have J ride the bus with S, then I would follow in our car to drive back home. We guessed at how long E's bus ride is, and guessed a time that S's bus would arrive. Dad made chocolate chip pancakes and we sang Happy Birthday to him. He blew all his candles out and was eating (still in pjs) when the bus arrived at 8 am! His class begins at 9:20. J ran out and talked with the driver, explaining how we hadn't heard from the bus scheduler and we never assumed he would be riding for an hour and twenty minutes. We drove him to school and got him settled, which worked out well. We found out the bus will not be picking him up that early every time, there was a mistake in the schedule. Whew, we were about to start driving him to school! That is a long ride for such a little guy. He will be on the bus for nearly an hour (one way), still a long time. We are on the border of the district so our boys are on the first and last stop of the day. And there is only one developmental preschool in our district. Poor kids. Thankfully the elementary school is just down the road for when they begin kindergarden (the plan is for E to start in the fall!).

S. and Teacher G. finding his cubby

S walked in to class so confident and proud. He owned it and had a huge grin the whole time. J and I were just there a few minutes, and he just gave us a "bye" as we left. No tears were shed, by S, J, or me! He came home on the bus, and was so happy to see me when he walked down the steps. I spoke to his teacher who told me he did great and was so much fun to have in class.

After lunch, I tried to get S to take a nap, but he would not have anything to do with it. I gave up and let him play quietly in his room. E was at school by the time S arrived home so it was nice for them to have a break from each other. We didn't really have a big birthday celebration since we will be celebrating this weekend at a special place. We had ice cream for dessert (S wanted blue ice cream, but settled for Neapolitan) and received a new monster truck.

Last post for a bit

kids pretending to be on the airplane to America!

We are leaving tomorrow!! I am mostly packed, have the house somewhat cleaned up and am a nervous wreck. Just spent the last hour answering emails about lodging, making phone calls, printing out visa paperwork, and had J. run some errands. Grandma is on her way across the state right now.

We have run into some small obstacles to overcome and could use your prayers for the next few days and months to come.

• Our oldest is home sick today with sore throat and headache.
• Our oven is not working properly and we don't have time to have it replaced or fixed before we leave. Hoping Grandma can work around it for a few weeks, or just plan to have the food take twice as long to cook in the oven!
• Our attorney wants a report from a doctor for court. We seemed to have a miscommunication and thought it was an optional thing needed. We didn't have time to do it while I was in country, but we did get a report from a different doctor. Lawyer still wants that report and we hope that it can get done this week before Friday.

Please pray for our flights, health, safety and protection. PLEASE be praying Friday (actually if you are living in the NW you should pray Thursday night, around 11/midnight) for our court hearing. Pray the judge appears in court, for a favorable ruling, and for M's behavior as we may need to sit and wait for several hours. Way too boring for a five year old. Pray that there are no delays and we can get a ruling very quickly. Pray that the passport and visa process goes quickly too, without any problems.

Pray for our children at home too please. They are making a great sacrifice too, having us both go to another country for several weeks. L. is even giving up playing fall soccer! And they are cheerful about the whole thing, for the most part. Pray that more helpers will come forward to bless these kids and their grandma.

On a lighter note:

C. celebrated her 12th birthday over the weekend. We bought her an inexpensive digital camera, something she has wanted for a long time. I think you can tell by the photo that she was really excited!

I was treated to dinner and theater by my mom on Saturday. We went to dinner at a tapas restaurant. We ate a lot of good food, then walked to the theater to see Burn the Floor. It was a mixture of different ballroom/swing/latin dancing. I really enjoy watching dancing and theater. When I was younger; before my interest in boys, then babies, it was my life and passion. I spent 13 years taking lessons, performing and touring with my dance team. Some of my greatest childhood memories involved dancing. This show really made me want to take some swing or ballroom lessons with my hubby, or even adult jazz/tap? Someday, when life is less crazy perhaps.

Incoming

Please pray for us. I am going to be generally vague and discrete on here, but know that we are about to experience some big things. We are excited, nervous, diving in blindfolded while trusting God. Tomorrow is a big day.

More news:

• We had a busy weekend celebrating my birthday and Easter (and company for dinner).
• Today is E.'s birthday! He is four and so excited. He tells people that he sang (then sings the entire Happy Birthday song) and then "I blow out the candles like this..." and makes the blowing motion and sound. Really cute.
• The coming weekend is busy too with a friend's birthday party and church activities.
• I have a feeling that as spring/summer arrive, my calendar will get more and more filled.
• E. has another hearing screening coming up next week. I am also waiting to hear if he will need to get an evaluation for the special preschool.
• S. has an MRI and craniofacial clinic appointment at the hospital on Monday. Please pray for him as they will have to use anesthesia for him during the MRI. Also, pray for me since he will not be allowed to eat in the am, and his appointment isn't until 11 am. Ugh!

What's up?

Well, first of all, we have been very busy. We have some big things coming up, but I am not going to tell all the world right now. They are good things, some that may not happen, others that are happening soon. Let's just say that most would think it was an April Fool's joke if I shared!

• I finished the girl's room, well at least for now. I painted a cute picture on canvas, but the colors were too bright and didn't go well. It did go perfectly in C.'s room, so that is where we will hang it.

• We decided not to go vegan. Too much work at this point in my life. I do like the idea of doing it down the road, but for now it is so much easier to shop and cook for a larger family when we can use real milk, cheese, eggs, etc. We do a lot of vegetarian dishes, but also eat meat, fish and chicken at times. We are for sure cutting back though.

• As far as the memorizing Philipians goes... slow. I am still planning on doing it, but it is taking me a very long time. But that's ok!

• My birthday and E.'s is coming up soon! No big plans, but hope to find some fun activities to do on Saturday. On Easter we have my family coming out and I'm making some yummy food.

• E. had another preschool screening yesterday. He is still delayed and we are waiting till Friday to hear if they feel like he needs an official evaluation. If he qualifies for the preschool program, he will most likely not go until fall.

• I have been noticing E. hugging many people he barely knows lately. Like the cashier at Costco today. I don't know what to do when this situation happens...

E. "Can I hug you?"

stranger: "Oh, sure, you want a hug? Ok!"

Should I interject and say, "Please don't hug my son, we are still working on attachment."? Thoughts?

• On the food issues I posted in the past. E. is doing MUCH better. He still really loves food and asks to eat a lot, but not as much as he was. We are sure to offer a healthy snack when he asks. He still sneaks from the kitchen sometimes, or will swipe something from a sibling's plate occasionally. Recently I have noticed he has become more picky with the food I cook. I am thinking much of the issues he has exhibited in the past and currently are more than likely behavior issues rather than health/medical related.

Springtime!

I am so excited for spring! It's my favorite time of year, and I am glad it is finally here. There are some busy plans coming up with Easter, my birthday and E.'s birthday. We have been busy exploring the outdoors too. We had a fun afternoon trip to the beach with friends, and have been going to the parks. J. took some time to get the garden ready last week. I need to plan out the garden and get ready to plant.

13th birthday

L. had his 13th birthday last week. I can't believe my oldest is now a teenager. He celebrated by having three of his newer school friends over for a night of video games, movies, pizza and rowdiness. They all had a great time. The ice cream cake I made was really yummy too!

Making this today...

For my son's 13th birthday. Man I feel old. I know it's not vegan. We are starting on that adventure on Monday.

LAYERED ICE CREAM CAKE http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html

Makes a 9”x 13” Pan

24 Ice cream sandwiches

8 oz. Cool Whip™

1 Hershey’s™ chocolate syrup bottle

1 Smuckers™ caramel syrup bottle

2 king size Butterfinger™ candy bars chopped up

1st layer -12 ice cream sandwiches

2nd – half of whipped cream

3rd - half of Butterfinger™ bars, Squeeze 1/2 of caramel &

chocolate over that.

4th - rest of ice cream sandwiches

5th – Cool Whip™

6th - rest of Butterfinger™, caramel & chocolate

You can freeze this and eat as desired! Yummy! Yummy!

what's new with us...

The kids have no school tomorrow or Monday, so C.'s class is having a "friendship celebration" today. She wanted to go shopping for some Valentine cards, but I found a cute idea in the Family Fun Magazine for hand made cards. She loved the idea and we spent several quality hours together making 30 cards for her classmates and teachers.

We have had a cold work it's way through the crew, but nothing too bad thankfully. E. got the worst of it, and got a yucky sore under his nose. (doesn't he look so sad?) L. missed school yesterday because of a sore throat and headache.

The swing kit arrived last week and the boys have been LOVING it! It has been great to sooth senses, burn energy and help my sanity. Also, the weather here has been great (believe it or not). Last week we had sunshine, temps in the 50's and no rain/snow. So we went outside to play for several days in a row. The kids helped Daddy do some yard work while the little guys pulled the wagon around, played in the sand box, and ran in the grass.

K. had her seventh birthday the other day! She is such a sweet, beautiful little girl. We celebrated with ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins, and spent the day together. She got to spend the night at Grandpa and Grandma's house the night before.

S. went potty in the potty chair a few times the other day! This may be the start of something... sorry, no picture to go with this one!

birthday celebration

pushing his dump truck

S. standing on the table showing us his new stroller!

Reading a card from family

Singing a favorite song in our house!

We had a quiet celebration at home for S. on Sunday. After church, we ate lunch and went to the store. S. helped pick out his gift from us. I baked a chocolate cake with cream cheese/chocolate frosting. The kids played, we ate dinner, and then had cake. S. really liked it when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He can almost sing it too. He nearly blew the candles out by himself but needed a little bit of help. The boys had a bath (what a mess) and then got into their pajamas. S. opened his gifts. He got a few fun gifts from us, Grandma and Grandpa A, and Aunt and Uncle (and cousins). We got him a dump truck and a mini trampoline. G&G got him a wooden cookie playset and a doll stroller (he's been stealing his sister's since Christmas!). He got a card and money from Aunt and Uncle. He was so excited to open his gifts and play with them. You should see him jump on the trampoline! What a great way to burn off extra energy!

E. kept telling us that he needed a present and tried to sing "Happy Birthday" to E. We reminded him that it was S's birthday and that soon it will be E's. He was great at taking turns with his brother, and his brother was great at sharing his new toys. I am so proud of them both.

Happy Birthday big two year old boy!

Birthday Boy...

Soon, little S. will turn two. He is such a crack up! He's a handful, demanding and challenging. But at the same time he brings us such joy! We are so thankful to have S. in our lives.

Birthdays

I celebrated my birthday the other day. I had a great day, but an even better weekend. My husband was home and the weather was beautiful! My bestest friend Sarah arranged for a girlfriends' overnight trip to a hot springs resort. We stayed one night and it was lovely. She wrote about on her blog. I came home very relaxed and refreshed. Thanks for a fun break!

Elijah is now 3 years old. We went to the beach and had a picnic. He was not too sure about it, the water was COLD, it was windy and the terrain was pretty rough...

S. says, "Mmm, salty!"







I think he had a good time.

We had cake and presents at home. Elijah liked the cake!

I love this picture of Elijah opening his gifts. Who looks more excited, E. or baby S?

E. loves the Donut Man. He got two new CD's.

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday L! Our oldest child turned 12. We had Grandpa and Grandma A. and my sister and her fiance come over. It was the first time our family met Elijah. We all had a great time. L. is going snowboarding with Dad sometime soon for his birthday gift. He also got a D.S. game, money, Legos and some Tech Decks from family.

Don't know what to expect..

I have been having a hard time planning the month of March (and beyond). I am wondering what Elijah's personality will be like, and how his adjustment will go. He seemed pretty laid back when we were there to visit, but that was almost a year ago! And that was in an environment where he was comfortable. I guess we will just have to play it by ear. L's birthday is the weekend after Elijah and J get home. I wonder how things will go if we decide to have family over for a little party?

Also, just want to say how excited I am for my sister. She just got engaged! She's been with her boyfriend for about 5 years now and he finally popped the question. Yay!