deusnosterreget

Pics

2010-06-05T21:14:00.003-05:00

That's our Jack-Jack

Sam and Matt preparing to "ball drill" in the pool.

I guess a ball drill is a spinning cannon ball .... not sure who made that one up.

Me: "Gabe, smile so I can take your picture."

Gabe: "I don't want to smile."

Loving sisters.

Beautiful Juliette Elizabeth Lily

2010-03-14T12:35:00.003-05:00

Born: March 5, 2010

Weight: 7lbs 14oz

Height: 21in

She's such a sweety! I LOVE THIS GIRL!!!

Family Camp, Magic House, etc...

2009-09-07T13:01:00.024-05:00

New pictures I pirated...

2009-08-22T12:16:00.024-05:00

Fishing at the Lake of the Ozarks

Sophia let me dunk her--I couldn't believe that she liked it.

She was intentionally doing this with her eyes. She is such a weirdo.

Patti let me take the pictures from her camera the other day so I thought I'd share some of them.

Family in need of prayer!!

2009-08-08T20:54:00.002-05:00

Please, please pray for the Vedra Family!!! They just had their fourth child, Hannah, who is showing symptoms of the same unknown neurological disorder their other daughter, Ellie, has. Please pray that Hannah's case will not be as severe as Ellie's and that she wouldn't need to have a trach! Also that the family would stay strong in the midst of their trials and God would strengthen them in their time of need!

Second Post Today!

2009-07-16T17:00:00.010-05:00

No captions again, but here's some of the more recent ones. Still working on getting us caught up. We may even be able to get some videos up soon since we got a new camera. --Ben

Trying to play catch-up!

2009-07-16T16:01:00.010-05:00

I don't have time for captions--these aren't up-to-date, but we'll have some more recent ones up sooner than later. (The garden pic is the "before" component to the "before and after" sequence.) --Ben

WHAT?? A POST!?!?!?!

2009-05-24T21:19:00.009-05:00

Yeah, Yeah, I know it's been a while. Sorry guys!
Check out this major cutie's smile!! He's smiling and talking a lot more lately. It's so sweet.

The girls absolutely adore Jack. Especially Sophia. She always wants to give him kisses and hugs.

Best buds.
Uncle Nate and Matthew racing on MarioKart right before they left. Matthew absolutely LOVES Uncle Nate. He can't wait for him to visit again.
We all had a great time with Kathy, Nate, Susan and Stella! Thanks for coming out to see us!!!

We tried to get a group shot of the girly cousins, but none of my pictures turned out very well. (Kathy or Susan ... did you get any good ones?)

I love how tender Matthew is in the shot.

They had lots of fun riding bikes -- until Stella fell, poor girl!

Mr. Serious

We went to the zoo with the Putz's and Hopler's. Can you believe all those children are only from 2 families (except for the 2 older girls)?

Matthew (he wants to be called Matthew now) is growing up so much! He can read now, but doesn't like to very much. I tell him he needs to practice, but he says "I'll practice when I go to school."

Jack's First Sink Bath

2009-04-07T18:42:00.009-05:00

Here Jack is dying from the anticipation!

He was getting a little upset ... I wasn't sure why until .........

This was taken right after the previous picture while he was relieving himself.

Then he was content. He actually started crying when I got him out of the bath.

The clean/happy Jack

Proof that I used soap. :)

I tried to be creative today and have a cool photo shoot. But, Anna wasn't wanting me to -- she kept bring her dolls and stuffed animals, laying them next to Jack and then she would lay down too. These are two of my favorite pictures from today. There's more, but I don't have time right now to upload them. Enjoy!

Here's a few pictures for your viewing pleasure....

2009-03-13T21:57:00.010-05:00

(These are not in order, but blogger isn't letting me move them around) Here's Sophia holding Jack after getting home yesterday. She LOVES him! Anytime she sees him she has to give him a kiss.

Big Brother Matt with Jack

Big brother Gabe with Jack at the hospital

An attempt at a family (minus mom) group shot. Didn't work out too hot, oh well ... the memory is there.

Close up of the baby.

Anna takes her turn with Jack.

Yo!

All the kids getting their first glimpse of Jack

Happy times!!

More pictures from home to come soon, but right now I need to feed the screaming child. Enjoy!

JACK!!

2009-03-12T21:35:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to inform everyone that hadn't seen Ben's facebook announcement that Jack has arrived. He was born at 4:16pm on March 10th....weighed 7lbs 11oz (my smallest-single pregnancy baby and also Ben's exact birth weight) and was 21 inches long. We're both doing great -- just got home this afternoon and trying to adjust to a baby in the house. Birth story and pictures to follow soon.

Sunny Day

2009-02-03T21:43:00.009-05:00

I thought that after all the upset girly pictures I posted the other night I should redeem my children and show you that they aren't always grumpy. This day the boys went to my brother's basketball game with grandma and it was in the mid-50s so I took the girls out to swing in the backyard. I was trying to get them to smile and this is all the Anna would give me. Cheese-ball!

Sophia was really happy to be outside.

Say, "Cheese"

Anna had fun playing peek-a-boo.

it SNOWED!

2009-01-31T22:43:00.010-05:00

Well, it finally snowed here in St. Louis. I tried to be a good mom and bundle up all the kids to go outside and sled. It took 45 min to get everyone situated! The girls kept taking off what I put on them while I was helping the boys. The boys had a blast. The first day we went out wasn't too pleasant because it was freeze raining (does that work?). Sophia liked the snow at first, but got mad because she couldn't ride her bike in it. She got down the driveway a little ways and then got off the bike and the screaming began. I tried calming her down, but it didn't work too well. Finally I put the girls in the wagon (cuz pregnant mama wasn't about to be carrying them both out to the backyard to watch the boys sled.) They liked it for a little while, but after maybe 5 minutes Sophia started screaming again (her gloves had fallen off). So, I picked her up to console her, then twin A started in the choir. They were both cold and miserable, so after about 25 minutes outside we went back in. The boys joined us because they REALLY wanted hot cocoa. The boys got to go out again the next day, but I haven't braved letting the girls out a second time. Although I think Ben did when I was at work and the results were the same.

Anna was "toooooood"

Gabe and Matt loved the snow. We had Seth over two days after it snowed and the boys went out and played for about 1 hour! They loved eating the snow. I think that was their favorite part.

Sophia being miserable. She also kept trying to take off her hat, why, you ask? I have NO idea!

I brought all the kids inside and tried taking off the girls snow gear. Then they started screaming louder than they were outside. When they were outside they wanted to be in; and vice versa. SO frustrating. Neways. They cried until the mugs of chocolate milk were on the table and in their possesions. The above picture was the first Sophia had stopped crying in about 30-45 minutes.

Cool man, Matt, enjoying a mug of 'hot milk' as he used to call it.

Happy, happy Gabe.

Anna didn't get down from the table until every last drop of chocolate milk was emptied from her mug.

Well, this post has taken about 2 1/2 hours because of the wonderful Picasa and even more wonderful Blogger, so I must end it now.

And yet another!!!

2008-12-25T22:09:00.014-05:00

Seeing as it is our anniversary in two (almost 1) days, I thought I'd include this.
Below are some pictures of Matt's 5th (!) birthday party. Note the absolutely cool cake. The theme was knights, hence the tunics and the dragon/knight on the cake.

Anna actually dressed herself for this one.

I swear, if I could clone this kid...
The following pics are in reverse order. It was sure fun and thankfully nobody got hurt.

The first installment

2008-12-25T21:29:00.020-05:00

Sometimes mischief is cute....usually when we're in a good enough mood to appreciate it.
For the next few, it was hard to decide which was best so you get a bunch of the girls eating apples.

From Shawn and Tammy's visit.

She's actually a LOT bigger now, and this picture wasn't from too long ago. But man, she is BEAUTIFUL!

The kids were sitting together when we were singing Psalms. I have a video of it, and if I have a minute (yeah right) I'll upload it to youtube. It was great.

Fall Time

2008-11-02T21:39:00.010-05:00

We went apple pickin' with our friends last month. The kids had a blast! They didn't pick too many apples because they took a couple bites then threw them on the ground. It was lots of fun.
They would pick a couple apples then climb up onto the wagon and then eat what they picked.

Gabe and his BFF (Seth)

They liked the wagon ride.

Can you imagine adding another munchin into this photo-op? (We find out Tuesday what we're having ... hurray!)

Matt did awesome writing birthday cards to his friends. I was pretty impressed - he was too. :)

On warm days we're outside riding bikes or swinging. I figure we're not going to have very many warm days left, so might as well take advantage of it, eh? (BTW, it's been mid-70s here lately ... unbelieveable huh.)

Here's my BEAUTIFUL piano I got for my b-day thanks to my family ... THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!

Anna and Sophia love it too. :)

Alrighty, gotta put the boys to bed. TTFN

St Louis Zoo

2008-10-05T21:30:00.012-05:00

I have way too many good pictures to upload at this point, so I'm going to do a post on different trips/events that have happened recently. Here's Matt and Gabe at the zoo.

Anna and Sophia watching the ducks.

Guess whaaat??
We couldn't find the hippos here, but the kids were very content to just watch the fish swim around.

Sophia: Hmmm, what kind of mischeif can I get into??
Anna: Come on Sophia, I don't want to get into trouble and then go back into the stroller.

Gabe loves snakes. Although he was a little nervous to go up to this big guy.

"In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight."

Towards the end of the day the girls were getting really sleepy. Anna kept laying her head on Sophia.

Lovin' Monkeys

Matt on his warthog.

Gabe loved the zebra.

I love these shots of Sophia and Anna, I had to throw them into the mix. They were taken at my Uncle Mick and Aunt Deb's house.

So you asked for "girly" pictures...

2008-08-06T21:46:00.018-05:00

I hope you can forgive me for not posting any captions, but I have to get to bed, and I put up as many pictures of the girls as I could. I'll try to put some more up tomorrow evening. I made sure to save the best for last.

OK, one caption...

Emerson and Anna--their first kiss. He didn't even ask us! Can you believe the nerve of this kid!?

Gabe's First Real Haircut and Third Birthday

2008-08-04T22:15:00.010-05:00

As you probably know, Gabe has had the mop-top look going for a few years now. However, one day he started asking for a hair cut like mine (Dad's). We tried to dissuade him from it, but one day, unbeknownst to us, he took his mom's clippers and cut some of the hair off from the top of his head. We didn't know he did it, and one day we asked him why there were a few strands sticking up. He told us what he did, explaining that he wanted to have a haircut like Matt's and Dad's. So we gave in, and here's the final result.

Here it is in progress, with the hair master doing what she does best...

On the side, not only does Kathryn do awesome haircuts, but she makes amazing birthday cakes for the kids. Here's an example. (This one has a special fondant frosting which is a pain to make but looks very cool.)

For your viewing pleasure

2008-07-24T21:57:00.010-05:00

Matt chillin in the girls floaty

Gabe and Matt had the brilliant idea of putting the bottom of the slide into the pool and then sitting in a bucket and sliding into the water. It was really funny! I'll have to have Ben upload the video I took.

The first attempt at putting Sophia's hair in pigtails. She actually kept them in! I tried Anna's hair, but she pulled it out immediately. And it's too fine to be able to get a substantial size pony.

I love this one of David and Kathy giving the girls piggy-backs. (It was so nice seeing all the family and being at camp again. It's so beautiful!)

Matthew had the hose in his hand and kept telling Gabe he wanted to show him something. Then once Gabe got close he sprayed him. Evil kid.

Anna and Sophia didn't really like the sprinklers.

Gabe playing with bubbles at Grandma Putz's house on Memorial Day. We had lots of fun!

Yes, that's ANOTHER bruise on Anna's forehead.

Please keep Anna in your prayers, she was exposed to Hand, Foot, Mouth disease and we think she's coming down with it. Pray that none of the other kids would get it and that she would get over it quickly. Thanks!

Sweet Sophia.

Another matter of prayer......my co-worker, Karen, was just diagnosed with breast cancer. It's about the size of a golf ball and they want to do chemo, but she REALLY doesn't want to. She's pretty scared right now (both her parents died from cancer). So, if you could remember her in your prayers it'd be much appreciated. She is a strong Catholic and I've talked with her a few times about how her beliefs differ from mine, but haven't had the opportunity to have a really good conversation.

I have more pictures to put up, but I need to upload them first, so I'll Lord-willing get to it soon.

Boys and Girls

2008-05-25T22:18:00.012-05:00

Here are the boys playing on our neighbor's fire truck. He doesn't bring it by too often, so it's a real treat when they get to play around on it.
Gabe

Matt

Gabriel in his new basketball jersey. The boys are both obsessed with basketball. Ever since seeing Uncle Max play they have HAD to wear basketball jerseys at least once every day. Gabe was in love with a jersey that was a size 12-18 months. Now for those of you that have seen Gabe recently ... he's not a little fellow. In fact he fits into Matthew's 4T shirts perfectly! So, getting this jersey on is a challenge and results in screaming and crying that he's hurt, etc. I saw these jerseys at Target for 50% off!

They love the new jerseys! Ben took the boys to a park this afternoon to go 'exploring' on the little trails that go off the main walkway. There had been a major storm that blew through earlier and the grade was steep up the path, and all three of the guys ended up falling. The boys got mud ALL over themselves and were absolutely devastated that they dirtied their new shirts. They wanted to come back home and get 'cleaned up', but dad convinced them to truck on. They had a great time! Now, I get to clean up the clothes!

Sophia sporting Scarlet Stitch.

Anna in her new duds.

Toesies

Anna on a walk

I can only deal with one child on the loose when taking walks, because they will both go in different directions and stuff all the rocks, sticks and leaves in their mouths that they can get their hands on. Also, when Anna is walking it takes FOREVER to get anywhere. She stops at any little thing she sees lying on the ground. Rocks are her snack of choice.

Sophia loves balls! She will hold onto balls a lot throughout the day. She will even try to throw it into the basketball hoop.

"Hewwwwooooo, wabbit!"

Anna tring to wash Sophia's hair.

And Some New Photos to Boot!

2008-03-31T21:44:00.011-05:00

While I'm signed in to Kathryn's blog, I figure I should add a few of my favorite new pictures.

Here's an old one of Matthew that Amanda made super-awesome.

He loves basketball. Today it was about 65 degrees out, and they both wore their b-ball outfits--they just don't care! Incidentally, he doesn't look quite as handsome these days. Yesterday at church, Sam Putz was giving Gabe a piggy-back ride and Sam lost his balance. Sam fell forward and Gabe landed with his face on the sidewalk which resulted in his forhead and nose getting roadrash. What made the situation worse was that when Kathryn was holding Gabe, she went to go get a paper towell to wipe up the blood, but Sophia was in the way, so she knocked her over and poor Sophia's head landed on a strip of metal.

We brought the kids to see some ofthe flooding last weekend (3/22/08) with the hopes that they'd learn some of the power of God in nature as well as appreciate the story of Noah. When we pulled over to take this picture, a police officer asked us to leave. When I mentioned the cars already parked there (not in picture), he said that they were ferrying supplies out to stranded people. This is off MO-30 near 141.

This is the intersection of 141 and I-44.

Same intersection. My estimation is that the water was about 6 feet deep.

Not that we celebrate Easter, but egg painting is fun and the kits were on sale.

Best buds working together.

Here's the finished product.

We found Matt and Gabe sitting together watching a movie and Gabe had his arm around Matt. By the time we took the picture, the moment was just about gone, but this gives you the idea.

Two New Videos of Anna and Sophia

2008-03-31T21:39:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure which one is better. What do you think? The one of them laughing, or the one of them eating?

Laughing

Eating

New Pics

2008-03-20T20:28:00.008-05:00

Anna sharing her throne with Sophia -- she's such a kind queen.
Sophia in the stroller last week when it was in the 70s!!!

Anna's Profile -- funny, it looks just like it did in the ultrasounds.

Gabe racing Matt back to the house. Gabe has inherited Matt's old bike since Matt got a new one for his last birthday and LOVES it! It's all he will ride now.

Matt racing

Matt blowing bubbles. I was trying to get a shot of the bubble coming out of the wand, but my shutter is too slow. (BTW, Laura, my camera doesn't have a fast shutter....it took me probably 5 minutes to get the skateboarding shot and I had to take the picture a few seconds before it'd actually process the image. I'm trying to save up for a nice camera someday, maybe in the next 10 years. haha!)

Gabe blowing bubbles. I love how the bubble is still attached to the wand!

I'm trying to get better at posting pictures. I haven't been taking too many pictures lately because the kids have been ill, not the flu or anything really bad (thank God!), but still feeling lousy. The girls are going to be turning 1 year old in a month!!! We've got some vistors from cold country (Kathy) and beach country (Brian) coming out for the occasion and the boys are sooo excited. Plus, we're planning on taking a trip to NY in June, Lord-willing! I'm very excited about that! I've cut my work hours down to Monday, Wednesday and Saturday -- so it's nice to be home that extra day each week and I've been 'homeschooling' the boys. They really like it and I hope it stays that way. I'm so not the creative type to come up with all these neat projects to do for school, so we basically go through flashcards and a school book we got from Wal-Mart. Thanks to an awesome website (www.starfall.com) Gabe can do all his letters, save maybe 2 he's a little rusty on. Matt is the most inquisitive child EVER! He asks questions 24/7 -- it's amazing how his brain never stops. Well, that's all the time I have for now. TTYN

Fresh Photos

2008-03-08T22:40:00.006-05:00

Anna found out how to climb up on the gate, and make funny faces while climbing.

Do they look like twins at all?

They are REALLY beginning to play together and have a good time with each other. However, they do their fair share of fighting over whatever toy the other has in their hand.

This is one of Kathryn's favorites.

Gabe jumped from the couch onto Sophia's head.

She's finally back to normal after a lengthy illness--lots of smiling and grunting.

This is sort of Anna's throne--she sits in it whenever she can.

Kathryn thinks he looks like a skateboarder. Only problem is that he doesn't have a skateboard.

Sophia is walking now. Anna would be as well, but right when she began taking steps she got sick and lost all energy for almost 2 weeks to really give it any more effort.

no captions for tonight.....

2008-02-24T22:16:00.005-05:00

I did post...........

2008-02-24T01:32:00.002-05:00

I posted something on Matthew, but since it was in my 'draft' file for 2 months it was filed under 12/23, so check there. ;)

Photos

2007-12-26T21:39:00.000-05:00

I (Ben) am guest-blogging so I can get some pictures up for my mom. Here are some that I like.

This could be evidence that vanity is natural to women.

Prior to getting her hair colored, it was my thought that, had I not seen Kathryn have Gabe, I would have thought he was Allison's son. I'm glad he's mine.

Here is the second hat Kathryn made for the girls. Although Sophia is modeling it, it was intended for Anna who refused to wear it.

Here is a Cooper's Hawk (I think) eating a Mourning Dove for breakfast. It was cool getting so close to it.

I got Matt a bow and arrow for his fourth birthday. Don't worry, he can only use it with me.

Oops. I was wrong. Anna had her hat on for a minute.

This was last November at Rockwoods Reservation in Eureka. Gabe walked across that whole log with almost no help from me (there was a lot more to it than the picture shows).

Gabe is looking down at a cave at Rockwoods Reservation.

Here is the entrance to the cave that Matt and I went about 4 feet into. We didn't have a flashlight, and, well, caves are dark!

Hair.

Cheeks.

Matt & Gabe's new swing...

2007-12-26T21:34:00.000-05:00

...here.

This is all Ben's doing, but the boys love it. Gabe has since gotten the hang of it.

four

2007-12-23T21:40:00.005-05:00

Can you believe this is Matthew at 2 days? Now here he is at 4 years old! These pictures were taken at his birthday party. I tried to recreate the Battle of Bunkerhill for the cake. It didn't turn out like I wanted, but he seemed to like it.

(FYI: The army men on the 'ship' are the red coats. Also, did you know the American's ran out of gun powder in this battle? *A fact my son taught me.* )

We decided to wage war on the cake (it seemed fitting) and since it was only our family at the shin-dig everyone went at it.

Matthew LOVES his Auntie Allie.

Excitement over opening the 'Jenny' cd. Thanks Grampy and Grammie Kate!!

Fun Facts:

Matthew is the sweetest kid! We had Gramma Patti and Uncle Max over the other night for dinner and everything was on the table. I couldn't find Matt, but I heard commotion in the basement. I yell for him and he says, "Yeah!?"

ME: "Come upstairs, it's time to eat. What are you doing?"

MATT: "I'm getting a chair for Gramma Patti."

He had gone downstairs to get a fold-up chair for my mom - no one had mentioned anything about us needing another chair - he did it all on his own. The amazing thing is he actually carried it all the way up the stairs by himself. I admit I was quite proud of his gentleman-ly behaviour!

Matthew loves having races in the basement with his brother.

He loves the American Revolution and has watched the A&E documentary many times. He could probably quote it by now.

He love his rope swing that dad put up for him in the basement.

He's very affectionate and loving. In the morning he snuggles with me on the couch while I read.

He loves the Lord and talks about wanting to obey and please Him.

He REALLY wants to play the trumpet like Quincy from Little Einsteins.

Acting like a cheetah is an everyday event.

He wants to have a farm with animals and crops.

He is a great helper! He puts up with my requests for diapers and wipes numerous times each day. :)

There's much more that could be said about this beautiful, sweet child! He really is such a joy to watch! I love him so much and can't imagine life without him!

I don't have any recent pictures - the cord seems to have been misplaced. I'll continue the search.......

pictures from the park

2007-12-09T19:30:00.000-05:00

Sophia playing with her favortie toy
Anna doing push-ups. (We start them young.)

Actually she was trying to crawl on the hardwood floor, but wasn't able to get on her knees to crawl.

Gabe next to a beautiful tree.

Brave mountain climbers.

We went on a picnic with the Putz's about a month ago. It was GORGEOUS!!

Good Friends

Matt messing up a squirrel's stash of nuts.

Uncle Max and Anna

A hat my Aunt Barb knit for the girls. It's so pretty! Thanks Aunt Barb!!

Family

2007-11-03T21:15:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how difficult it can be to get a family picture with four kids under 4!!

Well, that's all I have time for right now.... Anna's screaming and exhausted. Enjoy!

Photo Shoot!

2007-10-06T21:57:00.000-05:00

Sophie
Happy Sophie

Happy Anna

Sisters....sisters.....never were there such devoted sisters ..... screaming ..... puking....on everything that mommy's wearing.......

YO! That's it for now, dude

Guess that song!

2007-09-24T14:00:00.000-05:00

Here's Matthew playing the kazoo ... can you guess what song he's playing?

My Grandma Ruth Hanson

2007-09-16T21:43:00.001-05:00

My Grandma Ruth passed away on the morning of Monday, September 10th from kidney failure. She was in a lot of pain in the end. She had fallen four weeks ago and hit her head and arm, she didn't break anything, but was uncomfortable. Her major organs were starting to shut down; and on Sunday (9th) she was given 24 hours to live. She was 91 years old. God blessed her with a good long life! I thank God that she loved the Lord and was a strong Christian woman! She will be greatly missed by everyone that knew her!
This was the last time I saw her in Feb of 2006. I remember that day she gave Allison a $10.00 bill telling her to get herself a new pair of jeans because the ones she was wearing had holes in the knees. She was always thinking of other people.

My grandma's funeral is tomorrow. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go, but I will be thinking of everyone in California celebrating the life of Ruth Hanson tomorrow!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

2007-09-16T21:10:00.000-05:00

Anna got her first tooth (bottom left). Two others are popping through, so needless to say, she's a little grumpy.
Gabe having fun on his swing.

Matt hangin around.

Cool man Gabe helping Seth go.

Seth spent the day with us last Thursday and we had a fun time!

Anna knawing on the bars of the crib.

Gabe and Matt enjoying the newly added rope ladder.

*Trying* to get a good picture with grandpa.

This is the best we got. At least they're all looking in the same direction!

Sophie and Grandpa Liebi

Matt holding Anna

Sophia ... when laying on her belly she sticks her arms and legs up in the air and 'hmmmm's. It's quite entertaining.

Anna on the left and Sophia.

I was going for something more 'artsy', oh well -- they look cute at least. :)

Some newer pics

2007-09-03T21:16:00.000-05:00

Anna and Matt hanging out
Anna really likes chillin on the boppy, as long as there's a toy in front of her.

Sophia sleeping. I love when they sleep - so peaceful!

In the middle of cutting Matt's hair last month my clippers ran out of 'juice' (they are cordless) so he ended up with half a haircut. I thought the faux-hawk looked cute on him.

Ben was rocking the girls to sleep and in turn rocked himself to sleep at the same time.

Gabe's got a major chip on his shoulder.

Lake Michigan

Playing in the Sand

Matt made a friend, Sergio, at the Warren Dunes on Lake Michigan.

Gabe, Dominic and Matthew at my grandpa's funeral.

Dominic chasing Matthew around trying to get his motorcycle back.

Matt and Myles making silly faces.

The Lone Ranger -- we don't know where Tanto is....

'Unca Ax'

Dad and the kids after an 8 hour car drive to Nappanee, IN

Matthew got his trophy and popsycle for participating in t-ball.

Precious Anna

Matt was trying to show me the gun in his mouth

Gabe showing me the gum in his mouth (the little green dot in his mouth).

Sophia and Anna

Kids kids

2007-08-19T23:24:00.000-05:00

Anna
Matt being a goof ... he has two grapes in his cheeks.

Anna in the walker

Sophia in the highchair .... I wish that blanket wasn't there

Finger painting

I don't think it was very smart of me to do this inside! :( Thankfully it all came off the table - and the carpet, from Gabe ... I'll have to tell the whole story when I have time.

Gabe getting the paint cleaned off. (Notice the color of the water.)

Video of Matt

2007-08-19T22:29:00.000-05:00

You should like this...

Quick Update

2007-08-04T21:54:00.000-05:00

(Anna in a really cute dress. :p)

Well, I know it's been awhile! Not much time to get on the computer when you're taking care of 4 kids, a home and working four days a week. (That's my excuse. hehe)
Sophia
My grandpa passed away two weeks ago -- he was suffering from the chemo treatments he was getting for his colon cancer. It was the day after his 84th birthday. What happened was Saturday while at work, I got a call from Ben saying that my gpa was failing and we were going to be leaving as soon as I got home. So, I left early from work, got home and packed. We (my family and mom) left around 6pm-ish. Got to Nappanee, IN around 1am and went to bed. At 4am my Aunt Deb knocked on our hotel room door to tell us that grandpa had died. So, my mom went over to the house. We stayed till Monday visiting and getting things in order for the funeral. Tuesday and Wednesday was filled with getting unpacked, repacked, and getting the cars ready for the next trip. Thursday morning we left for Bremen again. The wake was Friday, funeral Saturday and then we drove back home Sunday. Needless to say, it's been an exhausting, emotionally and physically two weeks! I'm thankful that my gpa believed in the Lord and that he's out of pain!

Me and a co-worker, Emily, at a Cardinals game.

Matt and Gabe in their 'ship' in the kiddie pool.

Caps, caps for sale, 50 cents a cap!

Anna discovered her hands.

two

2007-07-08T22:05:00.001-05:00

Our Gaby-baby is two years old!!
Time has flown by so quickly!

We're so proud of him! He's turning into such a sweet and caring Christian boy!

Fun Facts about Gabe:

He loves to "pway" during worship.

He loves to play basketball with his big bro, Matt. He makes "shau" (shots).

He loves to wear Cardinals baseball hats so far down on his head it almost covers his eyes.

Calls his brother "sheu".

His favorite psalm is "Oh ward" (Psalm 145). He'd sing it every night if he had his way.

His favorite reward for using the bathroom is "bum" (gum).

If we're holding one of the girls and he wants us to play with him he says, "bebe dow, upa me".

His favorite Bible story is David and Goliath.

He calls both of the girls "Anna".

He started potty training himself at 18 months!

He prefers to be called Gaby, not Gabe.

He doesn't like loud fireworks. This last July 4th whenever he heard fireworks he'd go to the window or door, hold his thumb and ring finger out like a gun and say, "Shoo". I asked him if he shot the fireworks, he nodded his head and said, "die".When one of the girls is upset he will bring them a toy to play with.

If he accidentally hurts one of the girls he'll immediately give them a kiss and say, "sau-wee".

His favorite animal is the crocodile.

He doesn't like large groups of people singing "Happy Birthday" to him.

We love you, Gaby-Baby!!

Last Bunch for Now

2007-07-03T10:01:00.000-05:00

Matt and Gabe. They both love climbing trees ... Matt got pretty high in a small tree/bush in our backyard all by himself. Gabe tried too, but fell and then kept getting his feet caught.
They both love holding the girls, until they start crying.

A rare sight .... Anna happy and Sophia grumpy. It seems they've changed rolls recently. Anna's been so happy.

Sophia smiles

Gabe showing off his baby holding skills.

Oldies, But Goodies

2007-07-03T08:34:00.000-05:00

Katie and Max
Christian and Max

Beth, Katie, Kathryn and Allison

Beth, Kathryn, Katie and Allison

The Kiddos

2007-07-03T08:16:00.000-05:00

I tried uploading a bunch of pictures, but my computer crashed, so I don't have time for captions. Enjoy!

Sophia -- thumb-suckin (sorry about the blur)
Gabe -- when did he grow up??

Anna and Sophia

Million Dolla Grin

Sophia

Smiles

Lots more to come ...........

2007-05-31T09:57:00.000-05:00

Matt was teasing Gabe with the toad. Gabe didn't want to touch it. He got creative and used a stick to make it jump and move where he wanted it to go. If I figure out how to use YouTube I'll upload the video we took of them playing with the toad.

Ben found a toad on the back porch and the kids had lots of fun torturing ... err, I mean playing with him.

I think it's so funny how their hands are in the exact same position!

Anna looking cute. :)

Sophia at Matt's T-Ball game. "Go Matt!!"

"Here's a great photo-op", I thought. Both girls are awake, they've been fed, changed and are happily looking around the room discovering new objects. I set them on the bed to get some pictures of them together awake. The first one turned out alright. Then.....

Anna started crying and I couldn't get her to stop. Sophia was a trooper though. She smiled even though she'd rather not be sitting so close to the screamer.

She tried comforting her sister, but it didn't help. At least she tried!

So, I decided to just take some shots of Sophia, since she was so cooperative. I think in this shot she was trying to nurse on Anna's bald head. haha!

Matt and Gabe are climbing on some "art" at Forest Park, near a pond. We went here last Sunday to drop off a turtle that our neighbors found and brought for the boys to watch. We think it was a snapping turtle, but aren't positive. (Sorry, no pictures of the turtle.) Anna asleep in her car seat at Forest Park.

Sophia asleep in her car seat.

Gabe was throwing grass into a small hole that didn't show up in the picture. I love the contrast of his orange shirt and blonde hair with the grass.

"The Tag Along"

Max and Matthew (the blue and green dots near the top of the photo) were going up to the museum and Gabe wanted to go, but wasn't fast enough to keep up.

Matt and Ben waiting for hit so Matt can make the run.

Here Gabe was very distressed that he couldn't go out on the field with his dad.

Matthew-isms

2007-05-24T19:53:00.001-05:00

I don't have time to post any pictures (I have two screaming girls) but here's a couple quotes.

Matt, Gabe and I were in the basement playing. Matt and I were hitting each other with noodles (for the pool) and I stopped to play with Gabe for a little bit. Matt came up and hit me with a drumstick (that hurt!), so I took it away from him and threw it in the closet so he couldn't get it. Matt started crying because he wanted to hit me with it. I told him that it hurt because it was harder than the noodle. I said he could hit me with soft things, but that's just too hard. So he says between his sobs, "Can I hit you with a teddy bear?" (When I say 'hit' I mean 'hit' in the play sense of the word, not maliciously.)

******

My mom took the boys to the library the other day for the book reading. It was the Winnie the Pooh theme. They had a "Who Am I" type book with a door knocker. The reader was giving the hints to the kids asking them who they thought Pooh was going to visit. She says, "This friend lives high in a tree, ... etc. Who is Pooh going to visit?" Matthew screams out, "PAUL SIMON!"

******

We were having dinner and Matt saw a car driving on our street and turning around (we live at the end of a cul de sac). He says, "They are going to wrong way." I asked him what he meant and he says, "If you don't like to go the right way you go the wrong way." I thought that was pretty profound.

That's all I can think of for now. More will come, I'm sure!

2007-05-20T18:40:00.000-05:00

Sophia was watching Matt and Gabe. They were trying to get close to kiss and hug her, thankfully she's very easy going, so she didn't get too upset. Gabe has tried picking her up just one other time....... Sophia was in the middle of our bed napping and Gabe thought it was in her best interest that she be in her crib. When I realized that Gabe was unaccounted for I immediately went into the bedroom and found them both on the edge of the bed, Gabe holding her around the middle trying to get her into her playpen that was right up next to the bed. They are both fine. :) I'm going to be getting gates to section off girl's area from the boy's area. Hopefully that will work ... although I can totally picture Gabe climbing over the gate trying to 'comfort' the girls.
Gabe's really excited to get to sit next to his sister (Sophia) in Anna's chair/rocker. (I love those chairs!)

Sophia sleeping. They are getting to the point where they're awake more often, I just happen to pull out the camera when they're sleeping.

Anna - she's since lost more hair on top. She really looks like she's going bald already. Poor girl!

Gabe -- let me explain the scabs.....The day before the picture was taken Gabe was playing basketball with "aww-jea" AJ and Micheal, our neighbors. The ball rolled away from him and he went after it, tripped on his shoes and fell, forhead first, onto the asphalt. He had a pretty large goose-egg on his noggin and cried for a little while, but after icing it for 15 min or so he was right back out there playing. What a trooper. :) (The cut on his nose is from him pulling a plastic container down on his face trying to get to his cowboys and indians.)

When we were having worship the other night he was playing with his scab and ended up pulling it off. He looked at it in his hand and said, "boke" then put it back up to his head trying to reattach it.

Anna -- snug as a bug in a rug. It's hilarious ... no matter how tightly you wrap her up she always finds a way to get her arms out. It's quite amazing.

When I grow up ....

2007-05-10T21:42:00.000-05:00

This morning as the trash man was putting our trash into his truck Matthew looks at me and says, "When I grow up I want to be a trash man and put boots on and work with that guy." He really likes our trash guy, I think because he's waved at the kids before while they stared at him through the living room window.

Books and Babies

2007-05-10T08:24:00.000-05:00

Sophia sleeping
Anna with a scowlI tried getting them holding hands ... they kept moving too much and this is the best I could do. They are putting on a bit more weight, although Anna still seems so small to me. Sophia is definately growing. Their looks are changing again and I think Anna's starting to look more like me and Sophia is kinda a mix between Gabe and Matthew. My opinion will probably change again within the next few days.

We've recently imposed a 'no more movies' rule because the boys were WAY too obsessed with movies. (The first thing they would do in the morning was ask to watch one and then it would continue throughout the day.) They haven't watched anything for almost a week and guess what they love doing now .... reading! Matt's always loved books, but Gabe hasn't been too interested in them until now. He has a new found love. Especially for snake books.In this picture Matt was reading to Gabe. It's funny listening to what he thinks the book is saying. We have one book about dangerous animals where it talks about Chinese eating shark fins in soups and how it's a delicacy. Matt was reading and said, "The Chinese kids eat the dorsal fins of the sharks."

Matt has a Finding Nemo sippy cup with pictures of the sharks on it and he was staring at it for a while as if contemplating something. Then asks me, "Mom, why are the hammerhead shark's eyes on the hammer?"

Gabe's starting to communicate more although a lot of the words sound very similar so it's hard to differentiate. He gets frustrated because he has to repeat himself several times before we get what he's saying. He's improving though, thankfully!

Matthew got a new bike last night and had lots of fun riding it around. It's a bit too big for him, but he can reach the pedals just enough to get going and now he's got brakes, which he loves. I'll get some pictures up of his bike soon.

Well, TTFN! :)

All's Well

2007-05-04T21:40:00.000-05:00

The Boys are loving having two new baby sisters.

Sophia smiling at daddy (he was teasing her with the pacifier).

They LOVE to hold the kids -- the girls usually like it too.

Sleeping cheek to cheek. :)

Droolin Sophia

This is the only picture I have of the two together awake. (Anna on the left and Sophia on the right.)

Sophia

Anna

Study: Typical Stay-at-Home Mom Would Earn $138,095 a Year

2007-05-03T10:38:00.000-05:00

"NEW YORK — If the typical stay-at-home mother in the United States were paid for her work as a housekeeper, cook and psychologist among other roles, she would earn $138,095 a year, according to research released on Wednesday.
This reflected a 3 percent raise from last year's $134,121, according to Salary.com Inc, Waltham, Mass.-based compensation experts.
The 10 jobs listed as comprising a mother's work were housekeeper, cook, day care center teacher, laundry machine operator, van driver, facilities manager, janitor, computer operator, chief executive officer and psychologist, it said.
The typical mother puts in a 92-hour work week, it said, working 40 hours at base pay and 52 hours overtime.
A mother who holds full-time job outside the home would earn an additional $85,939 for the work she does at home, Salary.com reported.
Last year she would have earned $85,876 for her at-home work, it said.
Salary.com compiled the online responses of 26,000 stay-at-home mothers and 14,000 mothers who also work outside the home."

Cool, huh? I wonder if the price would go up for each additional child?? I'll post some more pics soon ..............

...some old...some new

2007-04-21T21:58:00.000-05:00

The porker and the peanut...

I've been meaning to post this one for a while...it really captures what it is to be 'Gabe'.

We had a big storm and it filled part of our backyard with lots of water.

He ADORES his sisters. Whenever they start to cry, he comes over to console them and pat them on the head or the leg.

Kathryn thought it looked like Sophia had her arm around Anna.

I thought I'd save the best for last...

Some more pictures

2007-04-18T20:17:00.000-05:00

Sophia

Anna

Gabe and Anna

Matt and Anna

Arrival of Anna and Sophia

2007-04-17T13:15:00.000-05:00

Anna on the left and Sophia on the right.

This is Anna Elizabeth, weighing in at 5 lbs 14oz, and 20 in long. She was born at 5:57 pm 4/15/07

This is Sophia Ruth, Anna's younger twin: 7 lbs 6 oz and 20 in. long. She was born at 6:04 pm. Her delivery was a little more difficult than Anna's - you'll see some bruising on her forehead and nose. The doctors had to use a suction cup with an extension on it (they call it a vacuum) to get her out. Her heartrate was dropping so it was imperitive they got her out quickly or else Kathryn would have had to have a C-Section.

The pregnancy that wouldn't end is over!

Anna sleeping.

I will post more soon, I just wanted to get these up sooner than later. I hope this is sufficient for now---Ben

Why don't kids learn?

2007-04-05T21:43:00.000-05:00

Matthew's new obsession is Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al". He wants to listen to it constantly. Last night the kids and I were dancing to it and there's a part where they play the trumpet, so foolishly I took a wooden spoon and pretended it was a trumpet. So, today Matthew did the same thing -- only he took it a few steps further. He got up on Gabe's dresser with the spoon in his mouth and jumped off it onto the bed. He lost his balance and landed on the spoon. It cut up the roof of his mouth and bruised it very bad. (Although he was happy he got to have a popsicle so early in the morning it really hurt.) After this happened I remembered another similar incident .... when we first moved to St. Louis he did something very similar. But, instead of using a spoon he had a metal pants hanger. He had the hanger in his mouth (this hanger didn't have the rubber end, it was just the metal) and was jumping in the play pen ... somehow he fell or plopped on his bum and the hanger cut up the roof of his mouth. Hopefully those two events will make him realize it's not smart to run, jump or play with anything in his mouth!

The girls are still hanging out in the mother ship. The docs are very happy with how far I've come and say that I could have them anytime now and they'd be fine. So, we're hoping for this weekend! :) Thankfully all the back pain and ripping muscle pain near my ribs has gone away for the most part and now I'm just plain old big.

The other night I was laying in bed with Matthew while Ben told him a story and the girls kicked his leg. He looked over at me with this big smile and said, "Mom, was that my sisters? I love my sisters." Awww! He's really excited about them coming. We'll see how he reacts to them once they've come out and reality with twins sets in.

Good night for now!

Here are the girls (still in the belly)

2007-03-13T21:40:00.000-05:00

So, I told you I was huge .... here's proof!!! And this was taken close to two weeks ago! I've been 'full term' for singleton pregnancies for three or more weeks! According to my doctor he thinks I'll go into labor end of this month.

I look like I'm about to puke or cry in this picture, but I thought it was really cute of Gabe.

Matthew is so excited about the girls! He was at gymnastics today and told his teacher he's having TWO sisters. :)

And what would a post be without Michael Jordan......

and his friend Roy Rodgers.........

The Boys

2007-02-28T16:48:00.000-05:00

I couldn't sign off without putting up a couple shots of the boys .......

They're both OBSESSED with Roy Rogers and cowboys. It's so funny watching them run around in the boots, hat, belt and shirt shooting water guns. haha!

They enjoy their morning 'hot chocolate milk'. You can't see how much milk Gabe has on his face in the picture, but they do make a mess!

One matter for praise --- we found a van in our price range that's in very good condition! God worked it out so perfectly. The guy selling it was in a pinch so took close to a $1000.00 loss on the deal. We get to pick it up tonight ... I'll post a pic. (It's a 99 Ford Windstar.)

Later ..............

All's Well In Babyland

2007-02-28T15:58:00.000-05:00

I just got back from the doctors. Wanted to report to you all that everything is going well. They are starting to do non-stress tests every week now to make sure they're heartbeats are sounding good and that they're not in distress. Also checking the fluid levels ("B" has too much fluid, but "A" is good.)

Today "Baby A" looked really good. I got to see her breathing -- so cool!

"Baby B" was too active to get a consistent heartbeat. She kept moving away from the monitor. They said that from what they could see she looked fine as well. I got to see her breathing as well as swallowing fluid -- she stuck out her tongue too. (I wish we could've gotten that in a picture.)

The doctor was very impressed that I've been so healthy this pregnancy. I've really had no problems (except for the normal back pain, some burning from stretching skin and muscles and heartburn) for her to be concerned about. She did tell me I can't take anymore hot showers. Wahhhh!! That's so awful! I love love love my hot showers. I guess I can survive without them for a month or so. The doctor I saw last week thinks that (in his experience) I'll probably go till the end of March and have them 4-5 weeks early. I'm slightly skeptical because with my other pregnancies I've been over my due date, so I can't imagine going before hand. I go in next week to get the long ultrasound where they measure the babies and make sure they're both growing at the same rate. I've never had so many ultrasounds! The neatest part is that I have lot of pictures of them developing. It's awesome to see how the babies grow each month. The last time I was in they gave me a 3-d picture of "Baby A".

"Baby B" wouldn't cooperate, again. She always has her head in the wrong positions. The picture of her above is the first real profile/face shot I've gotten.

As for matters of prayer.............

"B" is still breech and with each week the chances of her flipping decrease. I've talked with the doctor and he said that I have three choices. 1) c-section 2)one natural/one c-section 3)both natural - delivering the second breech (if the first baby is head down and is larger than the second.) I've for sure ruled out #1 ... I'd rather try to deliver "B" breech than go through the c-section or at least have them try to turn her before going under the knife. Please pray that, ideally, the baby would flip and I wouldn't have to worry about the c-section, but if not that we would be wise in which method Ben and I decide on doing. There are complications with both sides, so I just don't know which is better. Thanks!

Well, that's all for now -- I'm almost there! :D Next post I'll try to get a belly shot. The docs say I'm 'full term' size already. :O Till next time.............

Update

2007-02-14T09:37:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a long, long time since I've posted. Mostly because I've been soo busy with work, kids and all the other duties that comes along with being a mom and wife.

Thanks to all who congratulated us on the twins! It's very exciting (and also a little scary), but I know that God will not give me what I can't handle. I've got about 9 weeks left and it feels like it's taking forever! I'm huge and uncomfortable already. In order to sleep I have to have four pillows surrounding me so that my back doesn't hurt. I feel bad for Ben because my pillows and belly take up the whole bed. haha The twins are doing very well, thankfully. I've had to go to the doctor every two weeks for about two months now and have ultrasounds every month to make sure they're growing together and one is not 'stealing' all the nutrients from the other. They've been staying within one ounce of eachother so far, so that's very encouraging. This last ultrasound they were able to see some hair growing on their heads -- so cool! They've been moving around a bit -- kicking my bladder and ribs. It's the strangest feeling having two growing inside of you. One will kick on the outer part of my belly and the other on the inner part. It's soo hard to explain, but it feels very strange. I've had to stop working for the time being because my cervix is starting to shorten too much for the stage I'm at. Nothing too serious, but the doctors want me off my feet so that it doesn't keep progressing. I go in again on Friday for a follow-up. Please keep that in prayer!

The boys are doing very well. They're getting along (for the most part) -- playing well together. Such a blessing! It's amazing to see how much Gabe wants to do everything Matthew does ... and he actually succeeds in some things (jumping off of furniture, swinging on ropes, playing sports). Matt's very excited about his baby sisters. He asks me if I'm going to be pushing them out every time I go to the doctor. He's got to feel them kick a few times and was really excited about that. Gabe has no idea what's going on. They're both turning into wonderful helpers. They love to cook, clean and do dishes. Yeah!

Well, I've gotta go get them some food. I'll post a few pictures from a small storm we had a couple weeks ago. They had lots of fun playing and trying to make 'snowbasketballs'.

Till next time ....

Matt being Roy Rogers

Gabe fell asleep while praying during family worship.

Ben made a snow man family.

Ben, me, Matt, Gabe and the girls.

Elisabeth Elliot on Homeschooling

2006-12-07T14:17:00.000-05:00

Homeschooling

When my daughter Valerie Shepard was homeschooling three of her five children (the other two were preschool age), I asked her what she had discovered about the advantages of homeschooling. Here is her answer:

1. The children have more time: to read (aloud and silently); to learn responsibility by doing chores at home; to play (without adult direction) and use the imagination; to listen to and enjoy each other; to learn obedience.
2. Parents need not deprogram or reteach values the child hears for seven hours a day. They have the child's full attention at any time of the day and can give him full attention; he is not absorbing two different value systems daily.
3. Children learn to love each other more. They do not look down on one another in favor of their peers, or in wrong adulation of older children. This society teaches that among children "older is better." That's not right. Having them at home all day allows them to be children without having to "grow up" in the wrong ways.
4. They learn to be servants of one another. The family is a microcosm of the Body of Christ.

After I asked Val to write this I had the fun of trying it out myself. Val and Walt went to South Carolina (taking their nursing baby Colleen) and I had the other four for five (very busy!) days. There was a schedule of chores posted in the kitchen. Daily I reminded them (seldom more than once). The nine-, seven-, and five-year-olds took turns setting and clearing the table, emptying the dishwasher, folding laundry, sweeping the kitchen. Walter (the oldest) and Jim (not quite three} took out trash, the girls cleaned the bathroom. All but Jim made their beds.
School began at nine with Bible reading, singing, prayer, all four joining in. Jim sat on the floor and played while the others studied. Christiana finished her kindergarten work by ten or so, Walter and Elisabeth worked till nearly lunchtime.
Every afternoon there was Quiet Hour. This was a lifesaver for Granny. The three older children were expected to be in their rooms for an hour. They did not need to sleep, but they were to read or find something quiet to do alone. (Not once did we have any altercation about Quiet Hour. It had always been a part of their lives, and they liked it.) Jim and I lay down together, I read him a Beatrix Potter story, and he fell asleep.
Since we had no car, four of us walked to the grocery store every day, while Walter rode his bike. It was an interesting string of people, Elisabeth hugging (for example) five pounds of flour, Christiana batting things with a box of Saran Wrap, Jim lugging a bag of apples, Granny with a loaded brown bag.
We had poetry readings (Jim memorized with no effort at all) and singing. Everybody learned "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," by mistake, as it were--I meant for them to learn "Praise the Savior" but somehow that one didn't stick so easily, alas! Walter and Elisabeth practiced the piano and played vigorous duets for the rest of us. We made bread and organized drawers and closets and sorted clothes and toys for give-away and picked violets and had a marvelous time.
I should confess this--on the evening of the first day I wasn't sure I'd survive the week. When Val phoned I asked, "How do you do it?" "Mama, I just do what you taught me: don't think about all you have to do, just do the next thing!" I needed to be told what I have often told others, and it worked.
Homeschooling is demanding to say the least--but worthwhile. If you are considering trying it, you might want to get Mary Pride's The Big Book of Home Learning: The Complete Guide to Everything Educational for You and Your Child (Crossways).

Survey Fun

2006-10-31T13:58:00.000-05:00

1. FIRST NAME? Kathryn
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My great-great grandma.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Maybe last week -- I haven't had my normal cry-once-or-twice-a-week hormones kick in yet.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yeah ... sometimes it's too big though and when I'm filling out forms I run out of room.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? I agree with Irene, sliced deli ham. But I don't get to eat it now too much -- bacteria and pregnancy don't mix too well.
6. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yep, two boys and another on the way.
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOURSELF? I think so, some people think I come off as snobbish, so who knows.
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I've tried so many times to start one, but I can never keep it up.
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Yeah, not too much though, I think??
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yeah.
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Not now that I have kids, I want to see them grow up!
12. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Takes too long, although I have to untie them to put them back on. I mostly wear flips-flops or slip-ons, so my feet don't feel restricted.
13. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? No -- I need to pump some iron! As for emotions ... I agree with Hannah, I'm such a girl!
14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? I love sorbet and Coldstones sweet cream ice cream with brownies, fudge and caramel.
15. SHOE SIZE? 8 1/2-9 ... my feet have shrunk for some reason.
16. RED OR PINK? Pink, it reminds me of spring.
17. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my wanting to always please everyone, not being able to say 'no'...I'm getting better though
18. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I miss Ben and my kids when I'm working.
19. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I'm not sending it out, but anyone can try it out.
20. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES YOU ARE WEARING? jeans and socks with sneakers
21. LAST THING YOU ATE? My son's Dino and Sharks fruit snacks :)
22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Gabe breathing heavily in my arms (taking a nap)
23. FAVORITE SMELL(s) Oh man ... babies!! campfires, crisp afternoon air, asphalt after rain, clothes that dried outside, roses and lots more
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my dad
25. FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU AREATTRACTED TO? eyes, smile and teeth.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Well, I don't know who technically sent this to me, but I got it off Hannah and Irene's blogs and I like them both lots! Who makes these questions up??
27. FAVORITE DRINK? water, oj, sprite, and after I give birth I love apple juice and gingerale with cranberry juice.
28. FAVORITE SPORT To do: volleyball, softball, rollerblading/iceskating.
30. EYE COLOR? Blue/green, it's controversial.
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Wow -- that's really hard. I really like this salad I get at a restraunt close to my job .... lettuce, lots of cheese, pepperoni and creamy Italian dressing.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy for sure! scary/demonic movies are not my thing!!
34. LAST MOVIE? Oh man ... Hidalgo, maybe.
35. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black with blue cardinals sweatshirt.
36. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer, most definitely
37. HUGS OR KISSES? Both -- both my kids like giving them too, hurray for me!
38. FAVORITE DESSERT? brownies with vanilla ice cream, licorice, chocolate chip cookies, coldstone ice cream
39. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ???
40. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ???
41. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Shepherding a Child's Heart, Hinds Feet in High Places, Mark and mics. magazines and papers.
42. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? the word Belkin
43. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? nada
44. FAVORITE SOUNDS? laughter, baby noises, my son saying, "Mom, I want to obey you.", music, fire crackling, etc
45. ROLLING STONES or the BEATLES? Beatles
46. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Ummm, if Saint Louis is considered my home, than probably southern California
47. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I do hair :)
48. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? 1983 in Cottonwood, Arizona.
49. WHAT DOES YOUR HAIR CURRENTLY SMELL LIKE? outside
50. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE THINGS TO FEEL? Warm under a soft blanket when it's chilly, loved and my legs when they're not asleep and tingly (thanks, Gabe!) :p
51. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE SIGHTS? my kids getting along, Matthew trying to teach Gabe animals and sounds!, Ben and the kids running round downstairs, people having a good time.
52. WHAT CAN YOU HEAR NOW? My son breathing and Matthew drawing on a piece of paper.
53. WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING RIGHT NOW? Cleaning or changing Matt's diaper.
54. WHAT TIME IS IT? 1:48 pm
55. DO YOU LIKE DREAM? not usually, i mostly have nightmares or REALLY strange dreams
56. COULD YOU TALK FOR HOURS ABOUT DREAMING? No.
57. ARE YOUR DREAMS USUALLY SAD, HAPPY, COOL, STUPID,SCARY OR A MIX? Usually sad ... my kids getting hurt or dying, me all alone, terrorists attacking, etc.
58. WHAT'S ONE THING YOU ARE TRYING TO/DOING YOUR BESTTO LEARN RIGHT NOW? Trusting in God to supply all my needs.
59. DO YOU THINK YOU'RE OPEN MINDED? I think so, depends on the subject.
60. DO YOU HATE NUMBERS THAT END IN 9? Not really, doesn't matter to me. Usually means I can get rid of some of my pennies. :)

I tried ...

2006-10-28T22:44:00.000-05:00

I tried putting up more recent pictures of the kids, but for some reason my camera wouldn't connect with the computer and I wasn't able to. I will try to figure out what was wrong and put more up.

As for an update --

Matthew is getting very tall. He's still skinny though so his 2T pants still fit him in the waist, but it looks like he has high-waters on. haha! But the 3T pants are too big in the waist and a little too long. He soaking everything up like a sponge. We're working on a few Bible verse memorizations and he gets them within two days of sporatic practice. He's recently gotten on an "I want to obey you mom" kick. I'm loving it! He's still rough with Gabe, but we're working on that.

Gabe is growing as well! He's put on a bit of weight and has the gut to prove it. I'll have to post a picture of that sometime. Ben says it's so big it's a second entity. (He's still in the process of naming it.) Gabe's starting to say more words like, Bible "baba", 'dada', 'mama', 'issss' drink (I haven't figured out exactly how he got isss from drink. I think it might be because Matthew would ask for ice, so maybe that's what he thinks water is.) He also says, 'mii' milk, 'dauu' dog, 'caaaa' cat and some others. He's getting very good at animal sounds as well. He does have a temper though. Whenever he gets mad he'll hit whatever is in close proximity to him, even if it's the air. Not a lot has helped with that. He plays with Matthew a lot better! I'm SOOOO happy!

I'm feeling well. I didn't really have any morning sickness this pregnancy, yeah! I did have very strong leanings on what foods to and not to eat. A few times I did get sick, but it was maybe a handful -- which I'm so thankful for because it would be so hard with working! I'm now fourteen weeks along and waiting anxiously to do the Drain-O test. :) hehe Work has been good. Very slow at times, but usually I can find stuff to keep me busy. I'm slowly building a clientelle, which is what I need. So, Lord-willing, I'll get busier within the next month or two. The kids do very very well at the Putz's. Holly has been so awesome watching them while I work! I don't know what we'd do without them!!!!

Ben has been busy, busy, busy at work. He goes to school early and gets home around 5:45pm, eats, works some more, plays with the kids, works some more, goes to bed. The time has been going by pretty quickly though and he's been doing very well in school! He's studying Aquinas right now and is enjoying it very much. Interesting stuff.

My mom's house is *Lord-willing* going to close on the 24th of November! So, they'll be up here the beginning of December! I'm so excited to have them close by!

Alright, that's all the time I have tonight. Hopefully I'll get pictures up soon -- if I can get my camera to cooperate.

Until next time ................

Fake Smiles

2006-10-28T21:22:00.000-05:00

My Little Monkeys

2006-10-28T21:18:00.000-05:00

They had a blast climbing up on the shelves -- that is, until Gabe fell off the top face first. The top shelf has been removed permenantly.

Gabe Dumping Himself

2006-10-25T09:37:00.000-05:00

A Devotion by Spurgeon

2006-10-17T08:17:00.000-05:00

I thought this was particularily good this morning! God has never put me into a trial and left me alone -- He's helped me get through whatever it was; however long the trial. We will always have ups and downs in our lives, that's reality. Here's an awesome reminder, "He who has been with us through six trials, will not forsake us in the seventh."

"And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul."--1 Samuel 27:1
The thought of David's heart at this time was a false thought, because he certainly had no ground for thinking that God's anointing him by Samuel was intended to be left as an empty unmeaning act. On no one occasion had the Lord deserted His servant; he had been placed in perilous positions very often, but not one instance had occurred in which divine interposition had not delivered him. The trials to which he had been exposed had been varied; they had not assumed one form only, but many--yet in every case He who sent the trial had also graciously ordained a way of escape. David could not put his finger upon any entry in his diary, and say of it, "Here is evidence that the Lord will forsake me," for the entire tenor of his past life proved the very reverse. He should have argued from what God had done for him, that God would be his defender still.
But is it not just in the same way that we doubt God's help? Is it not mistrust without a cause? Have we ever had the shadow of a reason to doubt our Father's goodness? Have not His lovingkindnesses been marvellous? Has He once failed to justify our trust? Ah, no! our God has not left us at any time.
We have had dark nights, but the star of love has shone forth amid the blackness; we have been in stern conflicts, but over our head He has held aloft the shield of our defence. We have gone through many trials, but never to our detriment, always to our advantage; and the conclusion from our past experience is, that He who has been with us in six troubles, will not forsake us in the seventh. What we have known of our faithful God, proves that He will keep us to the end. Let us not, then, reason contrary to evidence. How can we ever be so ungenerous as to doubt our God? Lord, throw down the Jezebel of our unbelief, and let the dogs devour it.

In the Dozer

2006-10-12T17:10:00.000-05:00

I love this face!

2006-10-11T09:22:00.000-05:00

I think this face is so hilarious! He looks so chubby when he makes this face.

Trying to be like big brother ....

2006-10-11T09:17:00.000-05:00

He's dumping sand into the dump truck.

Con--cen---trate!!!

2006-10-11T09:14:00.000-05:00

They usually play very well together in the sand box. Unless they start throwing sand at eachother (which happened yesterday.)

Gotta Love Him

2006-10-11T09:11:00.000-05:00

He's so happy now (most of the time). This is a good shot to see his teeth. Still only 6 despite his chewing on EVERYTHING! You'd think they'd pop up sometime soon -- he's been teething for a while now.

YO HO YO HO A Pirate's Life for Me

2006-10-11T09:06:00.000-05:00

This picture reminds me of the ride 'Pirates of the Caribbean' at DisneyLand, CA where the pirates stole all the alcohol from some town and were sitting on a bridge drinking and singing.

Loving Brothers

2006-10-11T09:03:00.000-05:00

They don't do this sort of thing too often, but when they do .... it's priceless!

Gabe got into the wine....

2006-10-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

He tried opening the bottle - then drinking it with the lid still on. Needless to say both attempts ended in failure.

Sharing the Popsicle

2006-10-11T08:41:00.000-05:00

Ovaltine Popsicle

2006-10-11T08:08:00.000-05:00

Matt and Gabe's favorite summer activity. We had a pretty hot summer, so they really enjoyed their popsicles!

Staying Clean

2006-10-06T20:13:00.000-05:00

Matthew really didn't want to wear a bib so Grandpa Liebi and dad joined in on the fun. It was really funny!

Art Fair

2006-09-09T18:32:00.000-05:00

Matthew, Gabe and I went to an art fair today with the Lauderdales. It was fun ... I just wish I could've looked at the pictures more -- it was really crowded and hard to move the wagon around in the crowd to get to the exhibits. I still had fun.

Dancing to music that a band was playing to the right

2006-09-09T18:31:00.001-05:00

Gabe got really hungry

2006-09-09T18:31:00.000-05:00

He started out like this ....

2006-09-09T18:30:00.000-05:00

...and ended up like this

2006-09-09T18:29:00.001-05:00

Gabe was really tired

2006-09-09T18:29:00.000-05:00

The Stadium

2006-09-09T18:28:00.000-05:00

The Best Ben could do

2006-09-09T18:27:00.000-05:00

Trying to get a picture with the baseball man....

2006-09-09T18:26:00.001-05:00

Chewing on his tag ... why do kids do that??

2006-09-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

Hey Duuuuude

2006-09-09T18:25:00.000-05:00

Busch Stadium was REALLY nice

2006-09-09T18:24:00.000-05:00

Tip your hats to the Cardinals

2006-09-09T18:22:00.000-05:00

He had no idea what was going on! Matthew really wanted to 'shake the Cardinals hand'.

Cardinals VS Pirates

2006-09-09T18:21:00.000-05:00

Matthew and Ben really enjoyed themselves! I was starting to get sick and wasn't feeling well so that was a bummer.

His Scar is healing up nicely

2006-09-09T18:20:00.001-05:00

Making the Dinosaur look funny

2006-09-09T18:20:00.000-05:00

He has such a grown-up expression on his face.

Tired Smiles

2006-09-09T18:19:00.000-05:00

Matthew was really happy because he was holding the obsessed over shark.

View Two

2006-09-09T18:18:00.001-05:00

Coming Home ...

2006-09-09T18:18:00.000-05:00

Gabe and Seth slept -- Sam and Abigail rested -- Matthew talked

They really put on a show

2006-09-09T18:17:00.000-05:00

Accea and Sappea (according to Matthew)

2006-09-09T18:15:00.000-05:00

The monkey's were very active. We went on a perfect day -- it was slightly chilly in the morning and cloudy during the day and we got to see a bunch of animals moving around that are normally hiding in their caves to try to get cool.

Matthew found a hippo!

2006-09-09T18:14:00.000-05:00

He was happy.

Gabe rode a Donkey

2006-09-09T18:13:00.001-05:00