Katie's Home!!

We are so happy to have John's little sister Katie back home from Colorado. She has been gone since September attending Raven Crest College. She hasn't changed at all- as you can see- she is still just as weird.

Thanks Mom & Dad

My mom and dad watched all the boys on Monday while John and I enjoyed some much needed alone time as we celebrated our 8th anniversary. My mom's back had gone out a few days prior and she still wanted to baby-sit (with the help of my dad). We had such a great day. We borrowed my father-in-law's Harley and rode around town, went to lunch and got an ice cream. It was a great day!! We have the best parents who love our kids so much. They are so helpful and babysit any time we ask. Thanks again :-)

Shout out to Karen

So my mother in law Karen has been in and out of the hospital for the past couple of weeks. One of her lungs deflated while she was in Texas 1 month ago and when she went to the doctor they thought she had asthma. So they gave her an inhaler and sent her on merry little way. After 3 weeks of not much improvement she went back and asked (so politely I'm sure) for a chest x-ray. The doctor immediately followed her the the hospital because they told her that her lung was deflated. They inserted a chest tube to inflate the lung and when they did and x-ray they found a cyst on her lung- a good sized cyst. They kept her in the hospital for a few days and did the x-ray again to make sure the lung had stayed inflated. They took the tube out and sent her home because the lung looked good. They wanted to perform surgery to remove the cyst, but were not going to do it for about a month, but wanted to see her back a few days later to make sure the lung hadn't deflated. When she went back and got another x-ray they informed her that the lung had deflated again so they wanted to do the surgery almost immediately. So, 7 days ago they went in and removed the cyst and part of her lung. She has really been through a lot of pain on and off with in the past week. The chest tubes were very uncomfortable and the pain from the operation has been very unbearable at times. But Karen is amazingly strong and while visiting with her you would never know she was in pain. She is still cracking jokes and making us all laugh. The doctor said that he can't believe that she went so long (3weeks) with only 44% lung capacity. She is a miracle. We have all been very worried because any surgery is a risk and she is a huge part of our lives and our children's lives. But we also had a peace knowing just how strong she is in her faith. We are praying that her recovery would go fast and she would be back on her feet soon. We love you karen!!!



Karen is so lucky to have "nurse nonna" to take care of her

Happy birthday Sammy

My sweet baby Sam's 3rd birthday was on Saturday. I can't believe how fast time flies. We just love our Sam so much. He keeps me laughing and wanting to pull my hair out on a daily basis. He is incredibly independent and plays so well by himself. His wild hair absolutely fits his crazy personality- God really did spend extra time creating him!! He is such a cuddle love bug and always gives me a kiss when I ask. If you ask him who his girl is he will say "Mommy is". He reminds me so much of his father because he is interested in everything that John is interested in- dirtbikes being his favorite. He is soooooo stubborn, which I am confident that it will serve him well in the future. He loves to carry around sticks- he calls them his weapons. He is just such a joy and we all just love him so much!!! Happy Birthday baby boy.

broken camera

Maybe it was from my 18 month old throwing it to the ground- with force may I add- or it just needs a new battery. Probably the first one. Hopefully I will get a new, fancy one with a really good zoom on it. So any ways, that is why there have not been any new postings.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was very relaxing this year. We visited with my mother the day before and with John's mom Sunday morning so I had the whole afternoon and evening to do nothing but chill with my family. The best part of the day was when we played on the slip n' slide we had purchased earlier in the day. When we first got it out, the kids weren't sliding so good, so i figured a little cooking oil never hurt anyone. So, I broke out the oil and I was the first to try it out! I forgot how much fun those things are.





After about an hour of playing on that our yard started to flood and we put it away.
Max decided to show his love for me by puking all over me, not once, but twice that evening. My sweet hubby cleaned it up so it wasn't as bad as it could've been! Then John cooked me a delicious salmon dinner.
I love my boys and am so lucky to be their mommy!!!

future nascar drivers??

Question: Is it weird for children to really like to play in a minivan?? Well if it is then call my kids weird. When we head outside and emerge from the garage, Max will make a beeline for my van if the door is open. Sam usually follows. They could play in there for hours if we let them. The problem is, when I get in the car to leave, I have to readjust my mirrors and all of my blinkers and lights are on.

By the way- they are supervised while playing in the car!!