30!

Today my favorite man is 30 years old!

Cameron, you are truly wonderful. I am so very lucky to have you and hold close the memories we have together. I love you so so much!

Enjoy this day, your birthday, and here's to many, many more!

would have

Happy birthday big brother.

You would have been 30 today.

I often wonder what you would be like if you were still here.

But since I don't know that, I like to remember the things I loved about you most.

And in celebration of your 30th birthday, I am recalling 30 favorite memories of you.

1. walking to the nearby convenience store w/mom and dad and buying (eating) those orange circus peanuts as kids.

2. your cheesiest smile. It's was so genuine.

3. Stopping in the hall at school to give me hugs when you knew full well it embarrassed the heck out of me.

4. Telling me "I love you, Karen" a gazillion times a day.

5. Lyle, lyle the crocodile.

5. Airplane.

6. The "hoover board".

7. Your junior high butt cut.

8. Our many adventures with papa-fishing, the sand pile, and hot dogs at seven eleven.

9. How you thought you were so bad cruisin in that Toyota Sentra.

10. That party you threw when mom and dad were out of town and your demented high school buddies.

11. Always telling me to be good when you were in the midst of doing something bad.

12. Your laugh.

13. Your heart.

14. Your artwork. You were amazing.

15. Your love and respect for all people. You were friends with the cool kids, the nerdy kids, the scary kids, and everyone in between.

16. The speech you gave at my wedding. Never forget it.

17. Your love for the gospel.

18. Watching out the window in the middle of the night as you had your car in neutral and were pushing it down the street.

19. When you graduated Lifeline and talked about going on a mission.

20. The message you left on my answering machine after I had Wesley congratulating me and saying how much you loved us and were going to come visit when you had enough gas money.

21. Your good intentions.

22. Your example of how a Christ like person should be.

23. Your many, many vehicles.

24. Your kindness.

25. Your mad DJ-ing skills.

26. The ring on your finger that read "Return With Honor" worn at your viewing.

27. Your unconditional love for me. It had to be. I was difficult.

28. When you told me of your dreams to get married in the temple and have a family.

29. Your optimism.

30. The times you were happy. I like to remember those most.

Keep up the good work on the other side.

love,

your little sister.

Dr. Seuss and other recent hilarities

I'm not sure why, maybe it's the time of year, but we are all awfully funny these days.

Meet Dr. Seuss. When asking opinions on what we should name our most recent halloween decoration, Ethan was quick to offer this fitting name. Perfect. Of course! Why didn't I think of that?

While at Target yesterday, we strolled past the ladies lingerie aisle, and much to my suprise Olivia pointed to some bras and asked, "When I'm a mommy, can I wear those things?" Before I could respond (and recover from my state of shock), Ethan answered for me, saying "No Olivia, you have to wear those long white underwears, not these fancy ones."

Wesley has humored us with his many drawings. Aren't we all so lovely?


(clockwise L to R: Cameron, me, Uncle Aaron-love the rifle, Olivia, and Ethan)

Gracie has us laughing over her array of sounds, which include the "bubble blower", "sniff sniff", and the ever popular courtesy laugh. Clearly her fathers daughter and already a comedian at 9 months of age.


Cameron is funny as ever as he manages to relay his patient's last names to songs or gives them nicknames. Example: While entering the room to see Mrs. Felich, he busts into singing "I can felich coming in the air tonight, oh no", or shortens Mrs. Digimoto's name, calling her "the deej" while attending to her. As you can imagine, most of his humor is well recieved, while some of it is well,..not. (I sure do enjoy the stories at the end of the day, anyway!)

Now I can't end the post without giving myself some credit. The older my kids get the more "uncool" I am to them, still, I continue to crack jokes with them and try to keep things humorous, even if I am usually the only one laughing as a result.
After watching Transformers last night, I couldn't help myself when I went to wake the boys this morning. In my best transformer voice, I pulled off the covers and said " I am optimus prime, and I am here to wake you up!" Their reaction? Both rolled over and pulled the sheets back up and over their heads. Well, all I can do is try, right?

Pumpkin patch and a new favorite

So last week Ethan and Olivia both had their first field trips to the pumpkin patch. Since Ethan goes to preschool 5 days a week, his was on Thursday and since Olivia goes M, W, and F, hers was on Friday. I got to chaperone both of them so here are some fun fall pictures I took:

This is typical stuff with a 7 year old boy. Wierd facial expressions, mud, farts, and more energy than I can keep up with. Can't help but love it.

Do you think she's starving these days? She loved the pumpkin patch, for the most part.

They both got to ride a bus for the first time. I tell you, nothing makes you realize your kids are growing up more than seeing them get on a bus. (tear)

It is beautiful in Pennsylvania this time of year. We live in the midst of the Pocono mountains, so it is breathtaking to drive through and see the changing leaves and the rolling hills. The air is crisp and I can feel the holidays around the corner!I love this time of year...

On another note, last week was crazy busy at our house. I had so many to-do's in my head, that I had to write them down upon waking or something would surely be forgotten.( I sometimes wonder if having all these kids has caused my brain to melt a little.)

Anyway, the week before last, I was doing my favorite "lazy thing", which is browsing my favorite craft sites, and I came upon this one. Can I just say that I LOVE it! So many fun ideas, and amongst them I want to do this, this, this, and this.

And in addition to that I 'm going to need 12 more hours in each day to accomplish them.

Check it out. I'm certain you will love it too!

9 months

At nine months, our Gracie girl is:

Making her way around the house, up the stairs, and prefers getting around holding onto my pant leg.

Waking up at 12 and 4, which is a LOT better than the 5-8 times she was doing previously.
19 lbs. 4 oz.

"developmentally ahead" in her communication and mobility skills. (according to Dr. Tigue)

Doing lots of babbling, squealing, laughing, smiling, and smearing. I never thought she could be such a happy baby!
Saying mama, no no, and night night. Shakes her head when I try to give her something she doesn't like, and is learning to give kisses. I love it.

Loving to play with her siblings, and gets all giddy when we go to pick them up from preschool.

Favoring food of the Italian type; pasta, meatballs, cannolis, etc.
Hating her car seat,the shower, the vacuum, and her crib. And the babysitter at the Y.

And lots more. But that's all I'll list for now.
We sure love this little gal!

Birthdays

End of September always brings "birthday week" to our house. Wesley and Ethan's birthdays are 8 days apart (yes, I did that on purpose, being a new mother I thought it was a grand idea!) so the birthday banner stays hung and the celebrations pile up on one another.







I decided to bite the bullet and give the boys a birthday party this year. I don't enjoy birthday parties, going
to them, giving them, ...whatever it may be, I never have. The fact that Cameron would be on call and I would be putting on this production solo didn't fuel my enthusiasm. Still, you do things for your kids to make them happy, and therefore I gave them their party.

We celebrated their actual day as a family, and much to my relief, my wonderful in-laws drove in for the weekend to help me with the party. I think it had to be one of the best, put together parties I've ever seen (follow my sarcasm here..). We had robot invitations, made pizzas, had dinosaur cupcakes, a spongebob pinata, and pin the tail on the donkey. I've said it once and I'll say it again- I am no Natalie Jones.

With that said, the end result yeilded one happy 7 year old, one semi-happy 5 year old (cause Ethan is naturally onery, like his mom) and one big sigh of relief... Until next year.

Confessions of a terrible mother

I was 3 minutes too late getting Wesley off the bus today.

In my defense, (since nothing is ever FULLY my fault), I called the school this morning, just to make sure, since today was an early release day, and they said to expect 15 minutes from the time school lets out (1:00) for him to be at the bus stop.

I got there at 1:13, and that bus was gone. Long gone.

So there I stood at the corner ice cream store that I pick up my eldest day after day after day, baby on my hip, 3 yr. old on one side of me, and 5 year old on the other. Finally, I went over to a fellow mother, a "good" mother, who had gotten there in time and had her elementary age child already in her possession, and asked her when the bus arrived. "About 2 minutes ago", she said. "Here, want to use my cell phone and call the school?"

Terrible mothers also forget to do sensible things like bring their cell phones on occasions where they might need them. (like when they miss getting their child off the bus).

Continuing with my story. I proceeded to call the school, where I was then placed on hold and then the good mother's cell phone died on me. So I packed up my three appendages and walked back to the house, buckled everyone in the car, and drove to school to get my son.

When I got there, Wesley was not. And apparently when the good mothers cell phone died on me, the lady from the elementary got back on and told me to stay there and the bus would bring him back. It was a whole crazy mix up and after recieving the third degree from more than one front office employee, I was reunited with my abandoned child.

I would like to think that my kids are young enough that they won't remember all the mistakes I made and awful things I did as a mother. I sometimes hope that the trial and error of motherhood will only last these first several years, and then I will know better, do better, and cause less damage to their little psyches. (I owe that last line to ice-T -or is it ice-cube, you know, that guy on law and order?)

Anyway, in case that doesn't happen, I am hereby enclosing a letter to my Wesley. Just so he knows...

Letter to my first born: (that's you-Wes man!)

I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. At that moment, my life was no longer my own, it was yours.

I relished in our every day together.

You were my buddy, and I was yours.
I didn't want to have anymore babies, cause I was afraid I didn't have any more love to give them. It all belonged to you.
Happiness was sitting on your bed with you, reading "Hop On Pop", over, and over and over.

I like to think I was a perfect mother then.

You are seven years old now.
You have one brother and two sisters.
You have lived through 7 years of grueling education for your dad.
During that time, you've sacrificed,
-monetary things, time, attention, and a little bit of your childhood.

You're still my buddy. And even more so my right hand man.
You've come to my rescue, helped me with the younger kids, and taken on the role of "man of the house" when your dad has been gone so many times.
And through all that, you've never once complained.

Okay, maybe once.

I asked you to wash Ethan in the shower once, and you replied "but mom, I'm just a kid!"
You were right. You are just a kid.

Still, you are a special kid.
And Heavenly Father gave you to me first because he knew how much I would need you.
And that you wouldn't complain, but once.

I am ever greatful for your patience with me, your mother,
Despite all of my shortcomings.
And only hope that you will know, each and every day, how much you mean to me.

My first born.

rewind

This blog is due for some major ketchup.

No, not that kind.

The kind where I have so much to post about that I don't know where to start. Bear with me as I attempt to fill in you loyal readers on what our family has been doing over the last few months. Brace yourself, this one's gonna be a doozy.

MAY:
I posted briefly about Cameron's graduation, but didn't give it nearly the attention it deserved, so here's a recap.

Our drive to Des Moines from Virginia went off without a hitch. The kids were good and Gracie slept a good part of the 15 hours. We were thanking the Lord for that one.
It was good to catch up with friends, see how everyone survived the years, and hear similar complaints about cooking for family, missing husbands, spending way more money than was anticipated, and frankly, how we were all just so darn glad to have the fourth year over with. Amen.

(Taken at the DPM dinner the night before)
The graduation ceremony was beautifully done, and I found myself overcome with emotion as I saw my sweet husband in his robes (to which Olivia proclaimed, "Daddy, you're not a princess!") and thought of all the work and sacrifice he had put in to get to that moment. I was so proud of him. After 8 long years of being students, it was so great to be able to say "we're done!"

My dad. Love that guy. He got there like an hour and a half early to get us all good seats. And then spent the entire time at the ceremony taking the kids out so I could stay and watch.

I love this picture.

Here is Cameron being hooded, although my camera was acting up and didn't give me a very good picture.

This is why I don't even attempt to get our family pictures taken anymore.

The remainder of May was spent packing up and tying up loose ends in preparation for our move to Pennsylvania. We did take advantage of the time off and allowed ourselves a good amount of relaxation, as well!
June:
...Is a blur. I really can't remember much of what happened in June. I think we took a trip to South Carolina to visit my sister in law Aimee, who lives near Charleston.

I'm going to go ahead and post the pictures for that here cause I think that's when we went.

Cameron's sister Aimee, and Olivia.

Charleston was beautiful. I'm trying to convince Cameron that we need to find a job there after residency. (Too bad the scope of practice there stinks!)

Cameron's sister, Emily, and Olivia. Not sure on the story behind the stacked cannonballs.

We continued packing and also took a much needed "mini-vacation" to Baltimore, Maryland for the day. While there, we visited the National Aquarium, historic sites, ate at a killer seafood resturant, and I complained about how much money we were spending the whole time. Ask my husband how much fun I am to be married to.

Baltimore is also on my list for awesome places I would love to live one day.

I was clearly unaware this photo was being taken. I'm sure I was thinking about how much money we were spending at this moment.

Getting a smile from Ethan = a true rarity.

If only I would have know when I married this man that included was a lifetime of ear bites...

The dolphin show was definately the highlight of the trip. It was truly amazing what these creatures can do! The kids were enthralled!

A view of the Inner Harbor. So cool..

I think it's official. We're nerds.

This is the point where I was able to enjoy my dinner...for about 10 minutes until Gracie woke up. It was worth taking the picture!

Crabs...Yumm!

End of June we loaded up our 24' Budget truck and it was Adios!, Virginia! We moved into our little house in Dunmore, Pa. where we spent the next week unpacking and doing as much as we could before Cameron started his residency on July 1st.

(whew! Now that that is out of the way...)

And here we are, settled (mostly) living life, realizing lots of things, like, residency is NOT any better than the past 8 years of school have been, aside from the fact that we are now actually getting paid(even if it is pennies, at that). There are still papers to do, patients to log, call to take, conferences, classes, trips and more that keep this husband of mine busy and away from this wife of his.

And once again I resume the role of solo parent much of the time. The good thing is that I am now very used to it; the daily grind, taking kids here and there, naps, dinner, you get my point. I like to think I've got it down to an art, but am not quick to take all the credit as I know most days I am sustained by the prayers of loved ones and my patience and long suffering for my kids is not just a good personality trait!

Still, we are surviving. We manage to keep a sense of humor, make time for weekly date (even if it is ALWAYS a redbox rental and Rita's gelati), make it to church every Sunday, remember what day it is, and love the heck out of eachother.

And that, my friends, is my ketchup.

(My hope is to keep things regular so that there doesn't have to be another one of these for a long while!)

My baby is 3!

Words can not express my love for this little girl. Olivia has always had a way of pulling at my heart strings.

Three years ago today, she came into this world, quickly, peacefully, at a healthy 7 lbs. 13 oz.
After 2 boys (whom I adore, by the way) I was SO ready for her, and felt like I had waited long enough to have this little daughter.

Olivia has always had a special spirit about her and continues to fill our home with her sweet, tender, and humorous personality. Our family would not be complete without her!

Happy birthday today to my Livvy-lou. We love you so much!

milestones

Our baby is growing up so fast! Lots of talking, eating "real"food (thanks to 2 brand new toothies!), and crawling have made their way into her seventh month of life.