Just some cute pictures

I know I have been absolutely terrible about getting on my blog, so I thought I would take just a few minutes and post these cute pictures.

This first picture is of my little adventurers at the little carnival that came to town. They loved this roller coaster! I think they will be a lot of fun when when we go to Disneyland next year!!

This next picture is of Kyler. (He's the one with his hand in the air celebrating) He is so proud because he just scored his first goal of the season - and it was at the last game! :)

Thank you

I would like to say thank you to everyone for your advice and your prayers. I am still waiting for the test results to find out what it is that Kallie has been struggling with lately. Hopefully we'll get those today. My biggest fear is the possibility of diabetes, but I think they are saying that there is a very, very small chance of that. So, I am not worrying too much. Right now, the kids are with grandma for a week. It has been awesome and it was so wonderful for her to volunteer to take them. Also, I thought I would say that, right now, I think the answer to my babysitter problem is to just get to know her better and give her the benefit of the doubt about what she says at times. I think the comment that upset me so much was not meant in the way that I took it. I also think that if I try to be friendlier to her, maybe she will reciprocate. We will see. Things I love about the kids being at grandma's:

• Extra time with my wonderful husband
• No bedtime routine!!
• No temper tantrums
• No time outs
• Less mess to clean up
• Less laundry to do
• More time to write on my blog and look at other's
• Relaxing morning

Things I hate about the kids being at grandma's:

• No hugs and kisses
• No one running up with a great big smile and jumping in my arms when they first see me
• No snuggle time
• I can't see their smiling faces
• Missing Kyler's little smirk on his face right before he does something he shouldn't
• Missing Kallie's pouty lip
• Just missing them!

HELP!!!

I need advice! My daughter, Kallie, has been terribly sick for about a month now. It started with vomiting for two weeks. She had to spend one night in the hospital for dehydration. Then, it moved to the other end (Not to be too descriptive). That has been going on for two weeks. Now, she has a terrible cough and a fever. The doctor's say she has a poor immune system right now and is just catching everything - possibly because she may have had mono earlier in the year. On top of this, she has been pretty sick all school year with sinus issues. Anyway, I called the babysitter this morning to say that the kids would not be coming. She went on to say that everyone in the daycare has been more sick this year, including her, and that she feels that it is because Kallie has been so sick. This really made me angry because I don't feel as though it is Kallie's fault that everyone else there has been so sick. This has been one of my personal most healthy years so it doesn't seem that she is giving it to everyone. I am really thinking we need a new babysitter. If she is going to pin this on a two year old when she has twenty kids there or so, it just doesn't seem like the right place for us to be. In the mornings when we arrive there isn't a "hello, it's great to see you" or anything like that. They are just very unfriendly to us much of the time and I'm just not sure why. I am just feeling like I am drowning in a mud puddle or something. I don't know what to do about the illnesses and how to get her healthy and I don't know what to do about the babysitter. I know that I have really rambled and not put my sentences together in a very organized fashion, but I am writing this as a call for help. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

New Year's

Happy New Year everyone!! We had a great Christmas vacation! It was very difficult to start school again. Jeff doesn't start until tomorrow. I'm worried about the kids starting back at daycare, but I am hopeful that they will do fine. They have been sick, but seem to be getting better. Kyler has a program tomorrow night for preschool, so I am excited to see that. I am hoping he will do fine since it doesn't start until 7:00. =) Our Christmas was so great. We spent Christmas day with my family. Santa was very good to everyone. I loved the Christmas season this year as we were able to really start some fun family traditions that I hope to continue on in years to come. My favorite one was our Advent Calendar. We have a wooden tree that has sections underneath that hold Christmas tree ornaments that go on the little tree. In with each ornament, I placed a piece of paper that said something we would do together as a family that night. It was so much fun because it gave us something to look forward to every day. Even though some days it was something small like watch a Christmas movie together or something, it just really kept us focused on what is important! I am excited about the New Year. My husband and I are having a "Biggest Loser" contest with his sister and her husband. Whoever wins by losing the biggest percentage of body weight gets to have two nights without kids while the other couple watches all four! I hope we win! Another adventure for 2008 is that we are going to be trying to get our house ready to sell and be looking for a new one. I am so ready for a new house! I am just not positive we can afford it. =) We are going to leave it in God's hands and let him lead us in the right direction. We are also going to be really trying to start up a new business in which we help people get out of debt and plan for the future. It is very exciting. I really think that we can really help people, and, hopefully, help us get out of debt as well! =) Happy 2008 everyone! I will try to get some pictures on here soon!

Christmas quiz

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I wrap most gifts for Christmas day. I'm not very good at wrapping though and sometimes decide to wrap in weird paper like a black garbage bag or the comics from the newspaper...

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. Jeff and I moved to an artificial tree after having two years of bad experiences with real trees when we were first married. We paid $60 for our first, absolutely beautiful tree for our first Christmas and then it died and we had to take it down before Christmas even came! Jeff has a huge fear of fire, so artificial just works better.

3. When do you put up the tree? As soon as possible following Thanksgiving - just depends on where we spend Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually around New Year's.

5. Do you like eggnog? Mmmm....maybe a little. I like eggnog milkshakes! =)

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I'm not really sure. One of the most memorable was a Cabbage Patch Doll that my mom told me was from Santa. She never would tell me who it was really from. The person themselves just told me last year because she didn't realize I didn't know. =)

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, we have a couple of them. We have a toy one for the kids and a nice one from Costco that the kids still play with!

8. Hardest person to buy for? Just about everyone. I try to be creative, but I'm not organized and often end of running out of time.

9. Easiest person to buy for? My kids

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail - I like to send a card with a picture of the kids.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I'm not really sure. I have been pretty fortunate!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? White Christmas! It was the first video that Jeff and I ever watched together. Every year we try to find a special way to watch it together.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? The day after Thanksgiving!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't remember.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Sweets.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? clear - it's a pre-lit artifical tree

17. Favorite Christmas song? What child is this? and Come on Ring Those Bells!

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? My parents for Christmas day and travel to Jeff's parents afterwards (this year anyway)

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Absolutely!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star - Kyler insisted we needed a star on the tree so my mom ran to Wal-Mart and got one. Can we say spoiled?

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? people get too stressed

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? Mmmm....maybe a Wii or some other video gaming system that can get us off the couch and up having fun

24. Favorite ornament theme or color? I love ther personal Hallmark type ornaments

25. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey or prime rib

Join in the fun!!! Copy and post it on your blog too...

WOW!!!

Right now I am just amazed at God's goodness and the generosity of some people! The speech pathologist and I went and met with a man tonight to discuss the possibility of him donating some money for an amazing communication device for one of our students. This student has cerebral palsy. At birth, he was a normal baby. However, there was a mistake at the hospital and he received either not enough oxygen or too much oxygen and it has left him forever disabled. He is stuck in a body that makes it an absolute chore to take a few steps, a body that makes it nearly impossible to use a pencil, his body even makes it so that he has to consciously think about swallowing or he will drip drool. This is a ten year old boy, who, worst of all is trapped in this body that doesn't allow him the strength and muscle capability to talk and communicate even his basic needs. He was, fortunately, blessed with a sharp, inquisitive mind and a personality that loves to tease others in whatever way he can. Anyway, we found a communication device that is computer-like that may change this boy's life forever. The problem? It cost $7000!!! That is much too much for a school to pay for one student, for one device. Carol and I had a plan to go to many different organizations and beg for money. However, she got a tip that we should go talk to one individual. We thought maybe he would be willing to give a no interest loan until we could find the money elsewhere. But, no, he wasn't interested in giving us a loan. He offered to pay for the whole thing!!!! We couldn't believe it! This is a major answer to prayer. God is so good for leading us to him. Please be praying that the boy's mom is as excited about the device as we are and will support us going forward with this. We meet with her on Friday morning.

Home with a sick child

Well, I am home with the kids today as Kyler started running a fever last night. It's not an extremely high fever, but we want him to be healthy on Wednesday as we are going on the Polar Express!

I thought I would take this opportunity to post our Halloween pictures, albeit very late!

We had a great Halloween. It started out with meeting Grandpa and Uncle Greg at McDonalds and having dinner. Then, we went to Kyler's preschool for a little carnival party and then, finally, went Trick-or-Treating in a very popular neighborhood. This was actually my very first time of doing "real" trick-ot-treating. It was actually quite fun! Anyway, here are the pictures of my little Jessie and Woody.

I guess we shouldn't forget the disastrous night of carving pumpkins either. Unfortunately, I never did get a picture of the finished pumpkins, but, just trust me when I say they looked pretty sad. Kallie wanted a cat carved in hers. So, after the got all the yuck out, I went to work carving the pumpkin - not a great skill of mine. However, with the cut out patterns, it turned out okay. Not five minutes after I finished her pumpkin, she came over and broke the cat out of it!! Then, I was quite proud of myself for fixing it with toothpicks. Next, the second disaster happened - Kyler was trying to put his pumpkin up on the stove with Kallie's and it fell off - breaking out the wonderful bat and causing a big crack around the side. So, that night we put out one pumpkin held together with toothpicks and another with a great big hole in it! I can't believe I didn't get a picture! =)