Thanksgiving Trip Photos

So I posted earlier about going to visit family for Thanksgiving. I am finally getting around to posting pictures. Our family met up with Jake's brother's family and spent time in Branson. These photos are from our trip to Ripley's Believe It or Not.

The Ripley's Building




Rome in Cards



Jake Next to Image of World's Tallest Man



My Turn



Noah and Mina Exploring



Zach and Mina Playing Around at Lunch



Zack Enjoying Time with Daddy

No More Pain in the...........

Work has been going great and I recently got a really nice bonus check at work. We also had a nice income tax refund as well. We kind of use tax time as our savings plan. We have a ton of taxes taken out and then we get a huge check at the end of the year. This year wasn't our biggest, our biggest hit 5 figures once, but it was still really nice.

We took a big chuck of it to pay bills, and then sat around deciding what to do with what was left. We had set aside some money to help family come and see us who couldn't really afford to on their own, but that fell through and now we had more to work with than originally budgeted. We thought about taking a trip to Florida. I was able to get free tickets to Disney World and so we thought that would be nice. However, the more we talked about it, the more spending $6,000 at this point in our lives to go to a theme park seemed a little extravagant. Noah and Mina are only three and would not get as much out of it as they will if we wait. This left us trying to decide what we did want to do.

We have set money aside to spend some time with family in Missouri and Kansas this year. We plan to make at least two trips this year. One of the trips will be to Missouri where Jake's brother lives very close to Branson. We are planning on meeting friends and family from Kansas there and doing the whole tourist thing with them. That should be a lot of fun and will count as our vacation for the year.

As we were discussing it one night, I sat down in our recliner and immediately yelped because the cracked leather pinched my arm and the back of my leg. The recliner is not that old, but every where it has cracked, the babies have slowly picked off the leather and now there are big bald patched all over the arms. It looks awful. At the same time I was yelping, Jake sat on our love seat and there was a lovely "Toing" sound and he sank way down in it. We are guessing a spring broke on the inside. We decided that this is our sign to get some new furniture. Our couch and loveseat that we have now was our first big purchase as a married couple. It took us almost six months to save up the $1,100 dollars for the couch, loveseat, coffee table, two end tables, and two lamps. I was kind of sad to get rid of them....until I rested my toosh on the one we have decided to buy today.

We went to five stores to make sure we found the one we liked at the best price. The kids were as good as gold considering how boring it was. We finally made a decision on the sectional in the picture. The fabric is so soft that it almost feels like a warm blanket. I think the wedge part is going to be very popular for both baby, and cat alike. Because we do not need end tables or lamps, we were able to trade those for the matching recliner. Currently, we only have one recliner. If you figure in that both sides of the new couch and love seat recline, we will now have 5 reclining seats to choose from. That will make movie night with friends much more comfortable! Another added bonus, the store we bought it from thinks our old loveseat can be fixed. They will take the old stuff back to their store, fix it, sell it on consignment, and give us 60% of the sale of it. I know 60% doesn't seem like much, but we were just going to going to give it away when it was broken, so at least we will make a little money off of it.

I am very excited about getting it in, and we had a great day as a family picking it out. My wonderful husband was very patient with me as I shot down selection after selection. I am very blessed to have such a patient and loving husband. The best part? Once it comes in, I can sit on the loveseat without getting a big pain in the.....

Hey, where's the fire!

We visited a new church this weekend. We have been having trouble finding a church home. This visit was going well. Music and message were great, the babies made it through Nursery without crying so hard for us that our pager goes off, and Jamie and Linda had a good time. Did you note how I said "was"?

As we were getting ready to leave, I was visiting with a coworker. Jake put Mina's coat on and turned to put Noah's on. In that split second, Mina noticed a little red box on the wall and ran to investigate. Well, this box had a red lever to go along with this. Mina, being the curious sort, reached out and pulled said lever.

Weeeee-ooooooooooooh-weeeeeeeeeeeeee-oooooooooooooooh! Sirens start going off, strobe lights start flashing, and a big, booming voice orders everyone to evacuate the church immediately. It turns out the siren is also directly linked to the fire department. The pastor ran around trying to figure out the number to call to shut it off and cancel the fire trucks. Mina stood there with this look of sheer panic on her face at the amount of trouble she caused. Jake and I scooped up our kids and slinked out of the door in the chaos.

I am not sure we can go back to that church.

Update

Hi everyone, it has been awhile since I gave an update so I thought I would take this time to fill you in.

The weather up here has been very mild this year. Only a few days below zero, the rest have mostly been right at freezing. What a change from last winter where we had several days in the negative temperatures. There has also been much less snow this year than normal. This is actually a bad thing for the sturgeon spearers. The lake is not as frozen as normal so they can only go a few miles out to cut their holes in the ice. They also cannot drive trucks and have to drive four-wheelers or snow mobiles. Jake might have to sit this year out as we have neither yet.

I did receive the results of the broker's exam teat that I took in October. I missed the pass rate of 75% by one question. Bear in mind that the nation wide average is that only 5% of people who take it pass on the first try. I am taking the advantage of the appeal process to protest the answer that was given for two questions. I think I have a pretty strong argument. I only need them to accept it for one question to pass. Keep the prayers coming!

Work is going great. There have been many chances to grow and it shows. It is nice to be almost making the same salary Jake and I made together back home. It allows Jake to be a stay-at-home Dad and it is very important to us that one of us stay home. I am glad he gets his chance. He suppported me so much while I worked on getting my Master's degree and I am glad to get to use it to help our family.

I also got brave enough to apply at a local university. I applied to teach a night class for returning adults. This would be a great fit as I attended night classes to finish my degrees. I know what it is like to have a full time job, a family, and still be working hard to better yourself. I remember all of the fun I missed out on because of papers and homework. I meet all of the requirements to teach so we are keeping our fingers crossed. We are planning on using the extra income to pay off my student loans. That would be awesome.

Mina and Noah are doing well. They are almost completely potty trainied except for a few nights. They can count to 10, know all of their colors, shapes, all normal animals, and some of the ABCs. They can tell a lot of the letters and numbers by sight. They also know quite a bit of sign language. At their last appointment with the pediatrician, she was amazed at their development. They are advanced in a lot of things. As far as mental development goes, she stated that you cannot even tell that they are preemies. They are both in the 90th percantile for height and weight as well! This is amazing to me. If you remember, they came home from the hospital under five pounds. Their first 4 months, their weight was not even on the percentile charts. The doctors would draw a line under the chart to show me where they were. There first month was spent at the doctor's office everyday for weight and breathing checks. I just cannot believe how much they are thriving. The only area of concern is Noah's lungs have still not caught up. He has asthma that will flare at every little cold or sniffle. He also gets pnuemonia very easily.

A few weeks ago we kind of had a scare. Noah has been having severe leg pain for several months. When we took him to his check up, the doctor wanted to do blood work. Noah is so fair that bruises show up really easily. His shins are always covered in bruises. Add that to the leg pain and the doctor wanted to check for leukemia. I usually do not freak out until I know there is something to freak out about, but I was a mess. I prayed so hard and pleaded with God to keep him safe. I think our loss affects us that way. The tests all came back fine though. If it keeps up, they are going to do leg X-rays to see what is going on.

If you remember, Linda was diagnosed with Childhood Bipolar, and Reactive Attachment Disorder. She has since started taking a medication to help with the bipolar. We were so hesitant to put her on medication, but wow, what a difference. She is doing great. We had the first positive parent/teacher conference we have ever had with her. She is still really behind her peers, but for the first time her behaviors have leveled out and the teachers feel that they are making progress. She now has a psychiatrist to manage the medication, a psychologist for counseling, and a social worker to manage everything including her Special Education. Her moods are so much more manageable than ever before. I feel like I am seeing my daughter for the first time.

James has had a rough time lately. He has gotten into a rough crowd at school I think. He has had a major attitude problem and has even used foul language. We are not sure what is going on. Prayers for us as we figure out a way to reach him would be appreciated.

Jake is doing good. He is bummed because his metal detecting is on hold because the ground is too frozen to dig. He is on a trap shooting league though, so he gets to get out with the guys every week. He keeps busy with little projects around the house as well.

Well, that is all for now. My fingers hurt from all of this typing. Much love for all of you from us up here in the frozen North.

A horrible thing to miss

I think only the other mommies who share my journey in grief might understand this. I moved to a different state a year ago. My son is buried in my home state. This sound a little crazy, but I miss his gravesite.

I know that seems like an odd thing to say, but try to see it from my perspective. When your child is gone, your feeling as a mother are not. You still have the same need to take care of him or her as you would any living child. The feeling does not go away, even years after. As the mother of a child who is with God, I was left wrestling with the need to be his mother here on earth. The only way I could still "take care" of him was through his gravesite.

I visited it almost daily. I picked weeds, changed decorations, brushed off leaves, and wiped the dust off. I would pray, cry, talk to him, and sometimes just sit and let the quiet ease my soul. I crave that time now. I know that I am blessed with great friends and family who care for it in my absense, but I am still left with the feeling of "What do I do now?......."

The Birds and the Bees

So let me set the scene. I had just gotten home from work. I got in comfy clothes, kissed everyone hello, and was just settling down with a drink for what I thought was a relaxing evening and then BAM!, it came from left field. "Mom", Jamie asked, "Did they cut the skin off of my penis when I was born?"

Whoa, whoa, what???!!!

"You know", he continued, "Do I have a circumcised penis?"

I am pretty sure the following is an accurate representation of my face.




I am also pretty sure that the following is an accurate representation of Jake's face as he realized he just dodged a bullet.




To continue with the story, I fumbled along the best I could under the circumstances. It turns out this week is the Human Growth and Development classes. I had signed the slip weeks ago eager to pawn off that task on someone else, but I had forgotten all about it being this week. I am so not old enough to be dealing with this! To top it all off, today is only Tuesday, there are still three more days of progressively more complicated stuff to come. I think now may be a good time to take up drinking....

No More Baby Curls and my favorite photo

I wanted to share with you my picture of Noah's haircut, and my favorite picture from our visit home.

More Pictures-Walleye Weekend

Every June our little town holds a festival called Walleye Weekend. We went and did a ton of stiff with the kids, but the highlight of this for the babies was the bus ride. They still ask for it. Jamie and Linda liked digging for coins and jewels in the sand pile. It was a great time with great friends. Be sure to notice the giant Mercury engine. Yep, you can tell I am proud.

Thanksgiving

I am sorry blogger friends and family. I have been a bad blogger lately. The trutgh is that I come home from work, spend time with the family, and then spend the rest of my night doing more work on the computer after the kiddos go to be. If I am not doing that, I am usually crashing. I am playing blogger catch-up.

A lot of you know we went home to Kansas over the Thanksgiving break. We had such a wonderful time seeing family and friends. We ate at our favorite restraurants, went to our home church and just saw everyone. Several nights we got together with my cousin, Jake's cousins, and Jake's best bud for board games. We played a newer game called Quelf and just laughed our tails off. I cannot remember the last time I have laughed so hard. I felt so wonderful to be home again and spending time with the ones we love.

After several days in Kansas, we were off to Missourri to spend the actual Thanksgiving with Jake's brother and family. Jake and his brother are really close, but he has been stationed in Hawaii for a few years and we did not get to visit them. In addition to the boys being close, my sister in law is my best friend so I was so excited to stay with them. The kids played so well and it is so close to see cousins who are so close in age getting to be together. After a couple of nights, Jamie and Linda went to stay and be spoiled by Grandma (my mom) and their aunts. The rest of us headed off to Branson. We visited the Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum, did some shopping, and ate at a really neat restraurant called Lamberts.

Jeremiah and Dianne have a beautiful house that is kind of in the middle of the woods, There was plenty of room for everyone so nobody got on each others nerves. They have two huge spare bedrooms, and a seperate play room for the kiddos. Dianne cooked an amazing Thanksgiving dinner and we ate ourselves silly. It was all so0 easy and relaxed. Finally, we made it home for another vacation day to rest and relax.

It was a wonderful vacation and I cannot wait to see everyone again.

More Picture Pages

Ok, here goes part 2 of the picture sharing. Today, I am continuing the pictures from our local park. In addition to being lakeside and having an awesome lighthouse, the part also boasts a train, carousel, and a small petting zoo. The kiddos (mostly the babies) especially love the train. The older kids like the small amusement park ride. Here are some pics of our visits.

Picture Pages

I am going to be spending several posts trying to catch up posting all of the pictures that I missed while I was studying for the broker's test. Today, I am posting the pictures from when we went to the lighthouse in our town. Our town is centered around a big lake and it has the most beautiful lighthouse. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the view. It was a great family adventure.

Fall Fun

It does not get much more handsome than this.




"I got it, no I got it!"

National Infant Loss Memorial Day

Today is national infant loss memorial day. Tonight at 7 p.m. everybody is invited to light a candle in remembrance. Please join me as we light our candles to remember our Mason Landon.

The Diagnosis

Anyone who is close to us knows of the troubles we have had with Linda over the years. Her behaviors have just continued to worsen with age. This past year she did so badly in school that the only reason she moved on to the next grade is because of the No Child Left Behind laws. We had been seeing a counselor back home for several years and continued with him by phone when we moved. The goal was to give us new parenting techniques for her. Finally he decided it was time to take her to a psychologist for a psychological evaluation. Traditional techniques were just not working.

It took us several months to get in. We finally had our appointment last month. We had been keeping a diary of her behaviors for several months. The psychologist interviewed us and then Linda separately. It took several hours. We came back several days later for the diagnosis. Linda has been diagnosed as having Childhood Bi-polar disorder(moderate to severe), Reactive Attachment Disorder(mild to moderate)and ADHD (moderate).

This is not what we wanted to hear. Childhood bipolar is very serious. Teenagers who have had bipolar since childhood have an alarmingly high rate of suicide. It is so high that they say a child has a better chance of surviving childhood cancer than childhood bipolar. Add RAD and ADHD to the mix and she is going to be very difficult to treat.

The only good news is that when treated early, the risk of suicide goes down. It was recommended that we see a psychiatrist who can place Linda on medication. At this time, this is the route we are going to pursue.

I know the amount of judgement that comes when parents choose to allow their child to be put on medication. All I can say is that this is not something we have gone into lightly. We have spent six years reading every book, meeting every doctor, seeing every counselor, and saying every prayer trying to help her. It has not worked. At this point, if medication will help, we are ready to try it.

This is a very touchy subject with us. We are more than happy to talk about our situation, but we will not put up with any judgement as to our decision to follow the advice of medical experts. We simply cannot. We are tired. We are tired of the stress, the fear, and the moods that tear our house apart. If medication is what it takes, then so be it. I would ask people who have a negative opinion to think about this, if she was diabetic there would be no judgement if we treated that. This is a disease, just one you cannot see from the outside. I would also ask you to remember that you do not live in our house. You do not see the day to day issues that we deal with. We have had teachers, counselors, and psychologist tell us this is the way to go. We stand by our decision.

As always, we are open to honest discussion and concerns, but we will not put up with maliciousness or rudeness. I know the people that have spent the most time with us realize that we need help. I would ask all of you to be supportive and pray for our family. If you cannot be supportive, I would ask you to refrain from judgement. The last thing our family needs in this time is added stress and drama. Please pray for the doctor to make a wise choice, and please pray for our family as we transition. I hope this is the help that we seek.

Go Brewers!

I have gotten to do some amazing things here. The neat thing about moving to a whole other area of the country is getting to see and try things I never had before. This last weekend I got to go to my first Major League Baseball game. Not only did I get to go, but I got to go in style. Our broker's invited us as a client appreciation get together. The only down side was that it was employees only so I did not get to bring Jake. There was a get together before the game, and then our seats for the game were so amazing. They were in the Airtran Landing Zone. These seats are right on right field. They are so close that you can see the sweat on the right fielder. They also were not stadium seats, they were tables and high back stools because there was a free buffet and bar right in the zone. I am not sure if I have ever felt so important. We had no have not one, but two different neck badges and a bracelet to make it through security to get into the landing zone. There was a security gaurd standing right outside the entrance to our seats just to prevent people from getting in.

Added to the amazing night was the fact that it was a huge game for the Brewers. If they won, and St. Louis lost their game that night, the Brewers would be the District Champions for the first time in 29 years. The Brewers ended up beating the Marlins and the place went crazy. The the most incredible thing happened-nobody went home! They turned on the St. Louis game on the giant screen and everyone waited with baited breath to see the outcome of that game. St. Louis was playing the Chicago Cubs who are the Brewers biggest rivals due to how close they are. It was the first time in most peoples lives they were rooting for the Cubs (only temporarily). After a couple of nervous innings-the Cubs won! This means the Brewers are the district champions!!

The stadium erupted! Confetti, streamers, and fireworks were flying all around the stadium. People were crying and hugging. The team was spraying each other with champagne and the cheering lasted for half an hour. Awesome! Here are a few pictures of my experiance. I am all sweaty and yucky, but I don't care, it is worth it to share the experiance with you guys.


Outside Miller Stadium





Standing right behind the News Team



Picture of the Wisconsin "newbies" enjoying their first Brewer game- check out how close we are...Awesome