sydney's cake

Sydney turns 4!

Here she is wearing her adorable sweater Mormor made for her and her cute boots from Grandma! It's a good thing she is not spoiled.

All she wanted for her birthday was to go to Chuck E Cheese. So the family went for an hour of super fun! She also had a little playdate with her 3 friends. The girls got to make their own pizza and then they played in the snow inside. Which means that they threw white packing peanuts over the bannister on the other kids and then picked them up to do it again. I shouldn't have bought any presents just a bigger bag of peanuts.

Somedays...

Somedays...

Somedays it just means a little bit more to see your baby sleeping peacfully. She made sure that "Worm" and the princesses were all tucked in before drifting off to sleep.

All unpacked...

We are getting settled here in. I have been working on some small projects but will hopefully be blogging more soon. Here is the brief summary of our recent sojourn.
August 12th - Loaded up the truck after much packing, late nights, and lots of GREAT friends to help!!!
August 13th - Cleaned up the house for the tenants and wrapped up loose ends.
August 14th -8am - hit the road - 11:30pm - arrived safely.
August 15th - Went to church and then crashed for the rest of the day.
August 16th - Started looking for somewhere to live...
August 27th - Found something that would work.
September 1st - Enrolled kids in school.
September 3rd - Signed lease and went to wait for the moving truck to be delivered. Downstairs neighbor complained within an hour...What have we gotten ourselves into!
September 4th - Unloaded the truck and slept in my own bed for the first time in weeks! I was never so happy to make the bed in all my life.
September 5th - Really like our new Ward!
September 7th - Boys start school after the longest summer of their lives. (They had been out of school since before Memorial Day)
The rest of the month was spent unpacking. Trying to make everything fit into less space than we had before and several trips to IKEA for storage things. Overall everything is going well. We really like the Ward especially Blake and Caleb. They have already made some good friends and they like their teachers. Blake was bummed that he is still in Elementary school since he was going to start Middle School back in MO. Caleb has adjusted quite well but says his bedroom is scary because it has a patio door. Of course we are 3 floors up so it's not like anyone is going to break in. Luke thinks school is too long so I can't imagine what he would have been like going to all day Kindergarten. He is also the oldest kid in class since I started him a year later and the deadline for K here is December 1. (There are several 4 yr old kids in his class!) Sydney is doing just fine and doesn't seem to miss the boys at school.
I'll get some pictures up of the first day of school, our place, and our trip to Cleveland for an Indians game.
We miss all our friends and family that we left behind and can't wait til grandma and grandpa come for Blake's 12th birthday.

Update - 2

Things are looking up. I guess I hit the peak of frustration Monday and now everything is working out. We have a renter for the house and the moving truck is scheduled in 7 days. I guess now I have to actually pack the house up. Thankfully we have a temporary place to stay while we find somewhere to live. (THANK YOU JAMIESON FAMILY!!!! The house will be spotless when you come back:))
So...
We will have 3 weeks to find a place and enroll in school.
We have our house taken care of here.
Jason made it through his first deadline at the new job.
and...
The family will be back together in 8 days!!
We have definitely been watched over and BLESSED.

Update

Here is an update to our move...

No offers to buy or rent our house here.

No house ready to rent in MI.

No idea how Jason is going to like the new job.

No idea what school the boys will start in Sept.

Kids miss dad.

14 yr anniversary is tomorrow and we are 800 miles apart.

Need another book so I don't have to think about everything that is out of my control.

Need lots more Faith...

The Star Spangled Banner

I have recently done some family history. It is extremely exciting to find out that you have direct ancestors that helped found this great nation. They fought in the American Revolution, Civil War, both World Wars. I love this Country! I am saddened when I see the direction we are headed as a nation.

Today at church as we stood to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" I was struck by the last verse.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

I think we all know the first verse, but why do we stop singing? The end has the point. How did an untrained and unskilled army defeat the greatest army of the time?

Just a thought for today.

Michigan here we come...

Jason signed the offer and turned in his resignation letter. Guess that makes it official. Now I just have to get the house on the market asap.
It's a good thing I am great at suppressing emotions!

33 years

33 years ago...




I looked like this. Give or take a few days. Since none of my babies were this chubby, it's hard to tell if any of them look like me. I even remember using that dress on my Cabbage Patch Kids!

Then, 30 year ago I looked like this...



Then I think something got stuck in my hair and it all had to go. So I looked like this...



When I was sorting pictures with my mom I tried to put this picture in my brothers pile. My mom laughed and said it was me.

Enjoy!

If I had a dollar every time...

Every week I tell Jason that "If I can get through this week, next week won't be so busy." Jason always responds with "I wish I had a dollar for every time you say that." Well he would be a rich man!
So blogging takes a back seat to Cub Scouts, PTA, 4 kids, Soccer, Piano, Cello, and various random activities. If only I could clean the house and do all the laundry and it would stay done!!!
Maybe I should post my To Do List for a week and that would count as a journal?
Here is a quick update and random facts about us.
Jason - Still working on Wizards Soccer Stadium and EQ Pres...slipping in volleyball when he can.
Blake - His strings teacher at school said, "Blake is a very talented musician." He is playing the cello and piano (Hates practicing of course!) He also competed in a District math competition as a top 3 finisher from his elementary but didn't place at districts. Almost finished with 2nd Class Scout. Is constantly complaining about pain in his legs and I expect him to grow visibly at this point.
Caleb - Quietly goes about and takes care of stuff. He is a natural athlete so now that we have finished our winter hiatus he will be up and going.
Luke - Ready for kindergarten!! He is excited to be learning his letters and hopefully will finally get them all down.
Sydney - All I can say is that she has no fear and is constantly getting in trouble if not giving hugs and kisses to keep things balanced.
I did manage to read my first Charles Dickens book in March! Now if I could find time to read all the other books I want to read...
And did I mention that I went to parent orientation for Middle School...where does the time go!!!

Jane Austen Fans!

For all my Jane Austen fan friends...

PBS Masterpiece theater is playing a new version of Emma and I really like it. I have only seen the first part of 3 but so far it looks good. The screenplay was done by the same person that did North and South. One of Elizabeth Gaskell's better known works and movie.
The 1st part can be seen online and the 2nd part will be this Sunday with the 3rd part on February 7th.
I hadn't even heard about it when I stumbled upon it last Sunday at midnight when I was about to turn the TV off and heard the names Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax. I did what any good Austen fan would do...I stayed up until 2 watching it because...well you know.

Anyway enjoy and if you miss it I am sure to own it by my birthday for you to borrow:)
www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/

Pictures

For Christmas this year we gave pictures. It was time for grandparents to get some updated pictures. Also, We snuck out and took pictures for Jason's office. Our friend Tiffany took these great pictures of the kids and everyone loved them. So here they are...

Luke

Sydney

Caleb

Blake