The Fuller Family

Better late than never, right???

2011-08-17T09:00:00.004-05:00

Spencer turned eight. Two months ago. Spencer was baptized. Two months ago. We had a big celebration for it. Two months ago.

Better late than never, right?

As my neighbor asked, "Is it too early for a drink?"

2011-08-17T08:17:00.004-05:00

The kids started school today. Can I tell you how happy that makes me? I usually dread the first day of school and feel as if I'm sending my kids to the wolves. WELL, the wolves can have them! LOL!!! Not really, but I'm so overwhelmed with this pregnancy that the first day of school couldn't come fast enough this year.

HOLY HECK THEY'VE BEEN CRAZY THIS SUMMER.

Here are the pictures of the momentous occasion:

Stephen, age 14. Eighth grade:

Sebastian, age 10. Fourth grade:

Spencer, age 8. Second grade:

Sterling, age 5. Kindergarden:

Seth and Sadie, ages 4 and 19 months.

If you're interested in seeing a fat pregnant lady do the happy dance, I can be located at home, all day. :)

Could I be a more boring blogger???

2011-08-15T14:11:00.001-05:00

Here is my latest pregnancy blog post.

Tomorrow

2011-07-25T21:03:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow, for the first time in 15 years, Brandon will not be owned by the government.

Seems surreal.

Tomorrow, for the first time in 15 years, Brandon will be unemployed.

Not good.

Check out my latest pregnancy post here

My latest pregnancy blog post

2011-05-26T09:55:00.001-05:00

Here is my latest update on Skylar's pregnancy.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T19:18:00.004-05:00

Brandon helps the kids make me something for Mother's Day every year. He goes all out and out does himself each year. He forgot Mother's Day the first year we were married. I had also just given birth to his first born son. I think he's trying very hard to make up for it. Don't tell him he's more than made up for it. I kinda like the attention. :-)

Sadie Lady

2011-05-08T19:07:00.003-05:00

Let the record show that I've stated from the beginning we've got our hands full with this one. I've never denied it or doubted it.

She's 16 months now. And she's in charge. She runs the show around here. It's a very good thing she's got a sister coming to help balance her.

This all having been said, I. Adore. Her. Adore. Her. She is everything I wanted when I finally decided that I wanted a daughter. She is very girly. Loves it when I put a dress on her. Loves to wear her "so pretty's" i.e. bracelets, earrings, and hair bows. She loves shoes and is already trying to put them on by herself. She doesn't like it when she's dirty and is very willing for you to clear her face and hands. She HAS to have her blanket and paci to go to sleep or ride in the car. And if there is a baby in the room...forget it. It HAS to be on the floor so she can see it, and touch it and take care of it. She INSISTS that the mother sit down on the floor with the baby. INSISTS. It's quite comical. I'm sure it's going to get really old when Skyler is here. I suppose being a big helper is better than being totally jealous. We'll see what happens. I've yet to have one be super jealous. Or super helpful for that matter. I have a strange feeling September is going to be an interesting month.

I thought she looked really cute in her dress and was trying to take a picture of her. She was not having it and as you can see in the second one, she didn't hesitate to tell me what she thought of what I was trying to do. Click on it so it gets bigger so you get the full effect. No, she's not blowing bubbles, and yes, she is in fact spitting at me. I get that a lot from her.

I love this girl. Love, love, love her.

Easter 2011

2011-05-08T18:39:00.005-05:00

Despite the fact that Easter was all the way at the end of April, I feel like it snuck up on me. We don't really do a whole lot as far as the commercial aspect of Easter goes, but we do get the kids baskets. This year I literally got the stuff Saturday. Too bad the stores don't clearance the candy out the day before. That would have been nice. This year they only got candy. And not very much at that. It was gone by Monday afternoon. Let me tell ya, I'm so doing this every year. It was so nice to not be tempted to eat it before it was time to give it to them. And not having to hear them whine about wanting their candy days and days afterwards. PRICELESS.

I know the kids love it and enjoy it, but I often wish we had never started doing baskets for them. It has nothing to do with Christ and that seems to be the focus. No matter what we try and teach them. I know they're learning it, and we won't see it for a while, but still. Sometimes I wish a lot of things...

So anyway, here are a few pictures of the boys and their spoils. Sadie is too young for that much candy so she was left out of the excitement. Thank goodness she slept in Easter morning. LOL!!

California, knows how to party

2011-05-07T20:58:00.004-05:00

Brandon had to go to California for a Muster for the IRR Marines. We decided, at the very last minute, that it would be fun and very nice for me to fly out there and spend the weekend in LA with him. Thanks to great friends here in MO who were up to the challenge of five Fuller boys, it worked out.

Sadie went with me for several reasons. One, she's still nursing, and two, I'm not ready to not be with her. She was no trouble at all, and I enjoyed her being there every second. Even during the five hour delay we spent in the Salt Lake airport. Thank you Delta flight crew for taking your sweet time getting to our flight. Don't get me started on Delta. So not flying with them ever again.

And I thought I was uncomfortable in the seats. Yeah. I got a whole lot comfortable after I looked up and noticed this poor guy.

One of my favorite places to shop. Miss it.

Here's my cutie pie in the rental car and rental nasty seat.

It was a wonderful, much needed time away from life. So glad we made it work.

2011-04-29T22:11:00.005-05:00

Skyler Grace is on her way!!

It was really fun doing a gender reveal party. We had the ultra sound on Wednesday and had the tech put the results in an envelope. I then gave it to a friend of mine who works for Hy-Vee in the bakery department. She made the cake, dying it to match the gender. She alone knew the sex of the baby.

It was way more fun than I thought it would be to find out along with everyone else. I will for sure do something similar should I ever find myself in this situation again.

So glad Sadie Lady is getting a sister. And SO GLAD we don't have to argue over boy names anymore.

Here's to an quick 20 weeks and an uneventful labor and delivery. Can't wait to see her sweet face!!!

Random, Hodge Podge, Goulash or whatever you want to call it

2011-03-18T14:17:00.004-05:00

Because I'm so lax at updating the blog now, I've got the most random group of pictures to share. The worst part is, we've had three birthdays since I've posted last and no pictures of any of them. I promise we celebrated them. And they all enjoyed them. i just don't have proof. You'll have to take my word for it. And why would I lie? Really? It's not like I would feel GUILTY if we didn't celebrate them. It's not like they're young enough to not remember said birthdays. Really. We did. I promise. And the cake tasted great. I just don't remember what kind it was. Moving on.

I think the way she crosses her legs when she sits is adorable. Please look past her nasty feet and her nasty clothes. Proof positive that I feel like poop.

The boys made a train and took several trips around the world. I love their imaginations. You really should click on the pictures to make them larger. You can see all the details that way.

This was taken at the Sprint Center. The housing office here on base gave away free tickets to see Sesame Street Live. It was actually quite good.

These next pictures were taken at the zoo this past Tuesday. Stephen took all of them except the first one. He has quite the eye for photography.

Love her eyes.

These three little boys have the time of their lives playing together. Most of the time it's a bit loud for my liking, but it's happy noise. I can deal with that.

I'm 14 weeks pregnant today. I wish I was 34 weeks pregnant. I'm so over it. But that's the story of my life. Wishing it was already tomorrow. I wonder when I'm going to get to the stage where I regret wishing it away and I'm longing for it to come back.

July 29, 2006

2011-03-01T09:14:00.002-06:00

Our forth and LAST child had just turned eleven months old. We had recently decided to sell our house and move closer to the base so Brandon didn't have such a nasty commute. I also decided that since we were moving to an area that didn't have the best public schools and since I was finished with pregnancy, it was the perfect time to try my hand at homeschooling.

Going back to selling the house, we had tons of projects to finish up before we could list it. We spent every Saturday in July doing projects. The 29th was no different. We were in the basement all day painting the bedroom down there.

The night before, Brandon and I went out to dinner and a movie. While we were eating dinner, he said, "you're pregnant." I said, "NO I AM NOT AND DON'T SAY THAT AGAIN." He had said it a couple of times in the two weeks prior.

The next day, I of course took a pregnancy test. I've been known to take one every now again. I've even been known to buy them by the hundreds on ebay and amazon. Especially since I was still breastfeeding number four and hadn't had a period yet. I watched the control line appear and said to myself, "See, I knew I wasn't pregnant." Then tossed it in the trash can.

Later that evening I was in the bathroom giving the younger two a bath. I was sitting on the toilet right beside the trash can that had the negative pregnancy test. I thought to myself, "I need to see that negative one more time for peace of mind." WELLLLLLLLL, so much for peace of mind. The sucker sure did have two lines on it. I scared the boys in the tub when I yelled. I ran downstairs to show Brandon and he just laughed and smiled. I was NOT laughing or smiling. Remember, our fourth and FINAL child was only eleven months. And he was the LAST one we were going to have. Remember?

I was pretty sure I was going to die. I had really struggled having four. How in the world was I going to manage five? And what about moving? The house we were buying was only 1100sqft. It only had TWO bedrooms. How was I going to fit FIVE in one room? I had it figured out with four. Four I could do. But FIVE??? Not happening. And homeschooling? How could I do that with TWO babies? Millions of women do it, but me? Not me. There was no way I could do it.

How far along was I? I hadn't had a period in almost two years. What if I was like six months pregnant? Not likely considering I buy tests in bulk for a reason, but still. I went to the OB that following Monday. I told him I didn't know how far along I was, but that the line on the test was faint. He assured me I was having a chemical pregnancy and that I would miscarry any day. He did an HCG test to measure the hormone level anyway. He said it should be at least 2000. It was 200. That confirmed it. I was going to miscarry. He did two more level draws, each going up, but not as much as it "should." He finally did an ultra sound to see what was going on. And there was my chemical pregnancy.

Heartbeat and all. My due date was April 4, 2007.

That night I told Brandon that if he ever wanted to have marital relations again, he had better get that vasectomy he was going to get after number four was born. He did. But that's another story for another day.

I'm not one to enjoy pregnancy, but for some reason, after I got over the shock and awe factor, I was really enjoying it. Perhaps it was because I knew that this special time of my life was coming to an end. (ha!) I wasn't uncomfortable, I enjoyed all the moves and twists and turns. I was really enjoying being pregnant.

Our house sold in January. We moved the last week of February. The day we moved into our new house, I stepped wrong and used my midsection to regain my balance and stop myself from falling. It felt as if sometime ripped inside. I was 34 weeks, almost 35 weeks pregnant. The next day, I was feeling like I usually do when I'm pregnant. Miserable. It couldn't end soon enough. The next three days were just like that.

Thursday morning around 2am I woke up and used the bathroom. I figured I had eaten something that really messed my system up. It's not like me to have to do that at 2am. I woke up again at 6am and had to go again. I wasn't feeling very good at all. I had so much to do, but didn't feel like it at all. So I didn't. I laid on the couch all day. I even canceled my doctor's appointment for that day. I decided that I needed to do something about dinner, so I got off the couch about 3pm, got some chili going in the crock pot and took a shower. After my shower, I sat back down on the couch and decided I felt a bit crampy. I didn't think anything of it.

Brandon came home from work(late as usual back them) around 6pm. We sat down for dinner and while we were eating, I realized that I was still having that crampy feeling. At this point it was close to 7pm. I told Brandon that I just didn't feel good or right and that I needed to go lie down so that the crampy feeling would go away. Well, after about 15 minutes it got worse.

I was only 35 weeks.

I. Was. Not. In. Labor.

We were planning on having him at home. But I hadn't ordered the birth kit yet. I was going to do that the next week. Plus, 35 weeks can go either way. I told Brandon that I should probably go get checked out. Just in case.

So I made a few phone calls and my brother came to our rescue. He worked close by and always worked late on Thursdays. He got there in minutes. While he was there we decided it would be best if he took the kids to his house. At this point, the cramping was getting stronger. Brandon ran around getting the bags packed for the boys, and I was halfheartedly packing one for myself. I seriously didn't think I was in labor.

Once we got in the car, my nerves got the best of me and I told Brandon to drive faster. It was pouring down rain, but I needed to get there fast. I needed to know that I wasn't in labor. Plus, the cramps were hurting. Kind of.

I hadn't registered at the hospital because I had no intentions of delivering there. The lady in charge of doing that took me seriously when I said that this was my fifth and that I go fast.

The nursed in triage....not so much.

We got up there to triage and the nurses just rolled their eyes when I told them I was 35 weeks pregnant and wasn't sure if I was in labor or not. They got me in a room and I changed my clothes. They hooked me up to the monitors and went out. When Brandon realized how long this was going to take he left to move the car into a real parking shot. Before the nurses left I told them I go fast. I am calm, but I go very fast and my actions don't get out of "control" until it's time to push. More eye rolling. After about 20 minutes they decided it that they should check me. She stuck her hand in me, her eyes got really big and she said, I think you're a six with a bulging bag. She said, I need so and so to check you though. They came back within 30 seconds and the other one checked me and said, "you're a nine with a bulging bag. We're going upstairs." "Ha. Ha. Ha. In your face. I TOLD YOU I GO FAST." I didn't say that, but I wanted to. I get that they deal with a lot of hormonal women who "think" they are in labor. I get it. But when you're dealing with a woman who has had four babies and her longest labor was three hours, and the shortest being less than an hour, shouldn't you at least take what she's saying a bit more seriously? Really?

So they wheeled me upstairs and the doctor was already waiting for us. He checked me and said I was a ten with a very, very, bulgy bag. At this point Brandon came running in. We were all just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Talk abut hurry up and wait. Crazy. They had called up respiratory from the NICU. Being 35 weeks pregnant with white male, they didn't leave their bases uncovered. He did finally say, that if he broke my water, I'd probably have him. At ten, there is no going back, so I agreed.

Once I realized I was in labor, and they wheeled my upstairs, I tried my hardest to freak out. I was having a preterm baby. It was not OK. But in reality, I was very calm. I really wasn't worried at all. I just felt like I should. Silly I know.

He broke my water and we just sat there. The nurse from the NICU looked at another nurse and said, "I've never seen anything like this." I can only assume she was talking about how I was just sitting there and the doctor was just sitting there, us both looking at each other. The doctor finally asked me if I thought I could push. I said, sure, why not. So I pushed and out he came. He cried right away, so I was able to hold him. He pinked right up and looked great. I asked the doctor before I pushed him out to wait to cut the cord if he was ok. He agreed. He didn't want to, but he agreed. After about a minute he asked if he could cut it. I said, Um, it's still beating. Let's wait. He sighed. Then a minute later he asked again. I said no again and he went over to the table and stared filling out his paper work. About 10 minutes later, it was finished pulsating and he came over and asked again. I said sure, and under his breath he said. "now that he's probably anemic." I just rolled my eyes. Such a different experience when you deal with doctors verses midwives.

They did eventually want to take him and run every test under the sun on him. I said yes to a sugar test but that was all. I should have said no to that one too. The blood didn't even soak into the test stick and the test came back at 42. They freaked out and said I needed to pump right away or they were going to give him formula. I said, OK, got like one drop, gave it to him, they tested him again and his sugar was 92. That one drop didn't do anything. His sugar was fine all along. The first test was wrong. The nurses drove me crazy wanting to do all kinds of tests and bath him and stuff, but other than that, the hospital experience wasn't as bad as it could have been. We survived.

He weighed in at a whooping 6lbs 1oz and was 18". To say he was tiny was an understatement. Especially considering the baby before him was 9lbs 8ozs when he was born.

Seth was a very sweet baby. He was and is a blessing that we're grateful to have in our lives. He's still a tiny little runt, but that doesn't stop him. He's very determined to get what he wants, when he wants. It's a darn good thing he's cute!

Happy Birthday Seth! We love you!

It pleases me to no end

2011-02-08T12:25:00.003-06:00

To announce to you, that I have been nominated as Mother of the Year. I feel strongly that I will be adding. This years trophy to my collection.

In the event that you're hoping to be nominated next, I'm going to showcase my amazing skills for you. Right here. Right now.

1. Lay in bed. All.Day.

2. Cook and/or prepare no more than two meals in the same number of weeks.

3. Beg anyone that will listen to shoot you.

4. Let your preschoolers watch tv and play Wii more in two weeks then your older children have watched/played in their lifetimes.

5. Allow your husband to wait on you hand and foot. Willingly, I might add. He has already won husband of the year award in my eyes.

6. Dont do the first load of laundry for, again, two weeks.

7. Don't hug or kiss your kids for fear of throwing up because they "stink" like boys.

And last but not least,

8. Day dream of having a miscarriage so you don't have to feel like you wish you were dead anymore.

There you have it folks. I more than likely, am winning for sure.

New blog

2011-01-18T07:33:00.002-06:00

I've started a pregnancy blog. I'm using at a journal as well. I'm hoping to be really good at staying on top of it. Be sure to check it out and give me a hard time if I'm not updating it regularly.

Hurry and you can be the first to follow!!

Nine Month Miracle

Christmas 2010

2011-01-12T16:49:00.007-06:00

I failed to take a before and after picture of the boys with their PJ's and ornaments, but you can sort of see the ornaments and you can see the PJ's in the Christmas pictures. Sadie was asleep Christmas morning and missed all the action. The one picture of her at the end is the only picture of her that day. It was a quiet day with just us. It's the first time we've not had family here on Christmas Day. It was actually kind of nice. We missed having my parents here, but it was nice in the end.

Sadie Lady is ONE!!

2011-01-12T15:58:00.004-06:00

We had a huge party here at the house in celebration of her. There was well over forty people here I would say. It was a lot of fun. She wasn't really into her cake. We had to put her hands into it and even then she wasn't interested.

I love this picture of the three of them. Her brothers sure do adore her. As does she adore them. Especially Spencer. I think he is her favorite. She lights up whenever he comes into the room. And no matter what he's doing, he stops and talks to her.

Gotta love some Costco cake.

We did a pinata for the bigger kids. I can't remember her name, but she sure sports it well don't you think?

2011

2011-01-07T11:27:00.003-06:00

I'm not one for New Year resolutions. I always go into the year thinking about the things that I'd like to do better though. This year I have quite the list. I even bothered to write it down. I have no idea whether or not I'll accomplish my goals, but I'm off to a good start I think. I think it helps that I chose to do things that I should already be doing, but may have, for one reason or another, let them slip. It also helps that Brandon and I, without even talking about it, were already on the same page. Gotta love it when it's inspired huh? Makes it that much more worth while.

We're still undecided about what we're going to do. One day it feels right to get out of the Marine Corps and the next day it doesn't. I know we still have a bit of time to decide, but it feels like it's something that needs to be decided YESTERDAY. Please pray that the answer will soon reveal itself so that we can finally have peace.

I have a confession to make. I failed. I gave up. I'm a loser. It started with Spencer. He shut down on me. He wouldn't do anything. He cried about everything. So I asked him, "Spencer, do you miss public school?" He started bawling and said "YESSSSSS!" So I sent him back. I struggled with Stephen and Sebastian, but I wasn't going to give up yet. The fact that they saw homeschooling as a free ride or vacation is a mystery to me. We did work most everyday. Some times we let it slip for something else. Isn't that the beauty of homeschooling? But as each week passed, it became more and more of a struggle to get them to work. I fought internally with leaving the traditional type of educating and leaning more towards the Thomas Jefferson Education theory's or Charlotte Mason ideas and concepts. But I just couldn't take that leap yet. So on we battled. The constant battle and the dread of each day was what got me thinking about sending the other two back to school as well. That and Stephen's CONSTANT picking on his brothers. That alone was enough for me to want to ship him off to Siberia. OH. MY. GOSH. is he relentless. But regardless, I threw in the towel and sent them back to school. My house is once again peaceful. I can't tell you how sad it makes me to know that I'm not up to the challenge. I wish I knew what was wrong with me that I can't seem to handle it.

The holidays were a blur. They passed quickly and uneventfully. I'm hoping to do things differently this year. I'd really like to focus of service for the months of November and December. I would like to find a soup kitchen or something like that to serve in on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think it will help them focus less on themselves and more how some people are going without. That's the plan. Not sure it will work with all the little ones in tow.

Speaking of little ones. Sadie isn't going to be the baby of the family for much longer. Come September number seven is joining our family. Keeping our fingers crossed for another sweet girl. Or maybe even TWO! :)

Christmas is here again!

2010-12-04T10:26:00.005-06:00

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. Well I'm hoping to flatter a dear friend here in Missouri who has raised seven beautiful children and has touched the lives of countless others. Each year on November 30th she and her family have a "Christmas is here again" party. They decorate and celebrate and have a wonderful time. This year we started that same tradition. It's similar to what we've been doing, just not a set day. We've added the advent countdown that she and her family do. I tied red ribbon to 23 pieces of candy and one piece with gold ribbon, for each child and put it in their stocking. Each night after dinner they get to pull out one red ribbon, continuing on until they get to the gold ribbon on Christmas Eve. They are having a grand time doing this. Children love advents of all sorts. There is one in each of their bedrooms that they have to keep up with. Not a day goes by that they don't forget to move the piece that needs to be moved. We also wrap Christmas books and have them take turns opening one each night until Christmas Eve. That one doesn't start on December 1st though. We don't have 24 books yet. I try and add each year, but I don't want just any book so it's been slow. If you have any suggestions for great children's Christmas books please comment and let me know.

Can you tell that there are nine ornaments on ONE branch in these last two pictures? I'm guessing Seth or Sterling did it.

Happy Turkey Day!

2010-12-04T10:08:00.004-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We were able to spend it with friends of our from church. The food was great and the company even better.

Randon pictures

2010-12-04T09:34:00.002-06:00

Did I ever tell you I hate dogs? Did you know that my husband doesn't? He loves them. Doesn't feel like we're a complete family without one. We've been through a lot of dogs in our married life. They have always come with problems though. This one....she chews. A. LOT. I think she's chewed her weight in stuff. Shoes, gloves, toys, clothes. You name it and she's chewed it. She does seem to be getting a bit better. Perhaps it's because I threatened to knock her teeth down her throat. Or not. It could just be her age. Either way I hope she's turning a corner.

Do you wonder why it's all lined up in a row, at the bottom of the hill, against the fence?

Did you forget I have five boys?

They line up on the patio and race each other down the hill. They don't bother with breaks either. Why should they? The chain link does a nice job stopping them.

HAPPY 235th BIRTHDAY!!!

2010-11-10T09:55:00.004-06:00

My husband belongs to a band of brothers. Though they don't share the same lineage, it's been stated that they all bleed the same green blood. Marine Corps green that is.

235 years ago, the USMC was "founded" by the Continental Congress. They commissioned Samuel Nicholas to raise two battalions of Continental Marines. He set up shop in Tun Tavern in Philadelphia where he appointed Robert Mullan, the owner of the tavern, as the first Marine Recruiter. The fact that MOBCOM's Ball was held here, in my opinion, was perfect. We didn't expect the Ball to be that great this year because MOBCOM has been bracking(not sure I spelled that right and basically in means they are leaving Kansas City and moving to New Orleans) to New Orleans for the past 18 months or so, so most everyone is gone. Despite this fact, it was really well done and a total success. Brandon was assigned to be on the cake cutting team and we thought that because of practice times and arrival times that it wouldn't work out for me to be able to go with him. He called me yesterday at 11am to tell me that the times had changed and that I would be able to attend if I still wanted to. Talk about going into overdrive. I didn't have anything. No dress, no shoes, no panty hose(LOATH them), nothing. After a quick run to Kolh's(they have NO dresses by the way, Target, and Walmart(the only clothing stores in Belton besides Goodwill), I was able to piece together an ensemble nice enough to "pass" for the night. I would have preferred it to be more formal, but such is life when you have less than six hours to get ready. I opted to not get my hair done, but I did manage to get my nails done. It was odd that it was held on a Tuesday night, but it worked. And it's not like the kids had to be up early to catch a bus. Though we were up well before seven...

The pictures of Brandon in the ceremony aren't the best. The lighting was awful for pictures. With or without the flash I couldn't get any good ones.

Oh and for the record, I am NOT as fat as that picture says I am. My mirror totally shows a different picture. And it has NOTHING to do with the fact that it leans REALLY far back. A warped sense of self is OK right???

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEVIL DOGS! OORAH!!

Fall 2010

2010-11-03T19:37:00.003-05:00

I hate that I've let the blog fall to the wayside. It was never my intentions. I blame Facebook. If it wasn't so dang addicting I'd spend way more time blogging. And I don't even play all those silly games it offers. Can you imagine how useless I'd be then???

In addition to FB, I blame other bloggers. I follow several blogs that are amazingly funny and witty. I feel I pale in comparison and it makes it difficult to want to blog. I find myself trying to write something funny and witty in my mind and well.....it never does end up that way. So for now I give up on being witty and am just going to post for the sake of posting.

Here are some pictures of some of the things the family full of B's and S's have been up to:

It only took me four months to get this post written. Slack.

Stats

2010-10-15T09:09:00.002-05:00

1243 miles.

25 pit stops.

25 diaper changes(mostly poopy).

1 puking episode(thank goodness it was only one).

1 semi spewing motor oil so profusely we had to pull over and wash the windshield.

1 night stay at hotel with indoor water park.

1 teenager that lost the privilege of speaking for several hours.

1 girl baby that got to the point of crying when we got near the car.

5 boys that were REALLY restless the last two hundred miles.

1 man with broken ribs. Thanks in part to his crazy antics at above mentioned water park.

Heaven help me if I ever have to do this road trip again.

Glad we're here, but dreading the drive back.

Which starts in less than 48 hours.

But who's counting?

School is Cool!

2010-09-22T11:18:00.004-05:00

So far so good. For the most part. I think that the first year will probably be the toughest. I fear I'm not teaching them enough. We've not quite found our happy place yet. Some stuff I've chosen for them is too hard, other stuff too easy. I'm hoping it will balance out soon. Either way, we're in this for the long haul, so we'll make it work.

Sadie hanging out enjoying a smoothie compliments of our Vitamix. LOVE IT!! Her eyes are a bit watery and she's not up to par right now. She's busy growing and cutting her top two teeth. She's already cut the bottom two. Hopefully she's finished before our trip to NC next month.

Daisy May takes it easy:

Here are Stephen and Sebastian attempting to "be sick" so they could get out of school this morning. Silly boys. Don't they know you can still homeschool from your sick bed?

Sterling is FIVE!

2010-09-22T10:51:00.003-05:00

OK, so he's been five for almost a month now, but we won't dwell on that fact.

We were in the process of moving, so in order to keep things simple, we opted for a family day at Chuck E. Cheese. It was nice being able to go during the day when most kids were at school. We had a great time and he's really enjoying being five. He started preschool this year at the local center that offers two days a week for free. He's having a ball.

Some interesting facts about Sterling are:

His favorite food is quiche. Though we don't eat it anymore. :( for him.

He cab ride a two wheeler without training wheels.

His first session of gymnastics showed us that he way beyond his age level.

He runs really fast.

He can never get enough attention. Never.

He is very, very, smart.

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

2010-09-11T10:08:00.002-05:00

I remember that day like it was yesterday.

I was standing in the bathroom getting ready to go. I was returning a comforter to Macy's. I was drying my hair. Stephen was watching PBS and Sebastian was in the exersaucer. The phone rang. It was my mom telling me a news helicopter or something just crashed in two one of the twin towers. I ran to the TV and changed the channel. All I could see was smoke. And then it happened again. At that point I knew it was intentional. I panicked. I called a friend of mine that was going to go with me to Macy's. "Are you OK?" "Have you talked to Brett?" "Is he OK?" You see, we lived about 20 minutes outside of NYC at this time. Brandon saw the towers everyday on his way into work. My friends husband worked in the Flat Iron building down the street.

This attack was very close to home. So close that the view Brandon enjoyed on his way to work each morning was completely destroyed.

I told Sarah I would be over as quickly as I could. I was going over to be some sort of comfort or support for her. Little did I know that she would be the one showing me comfort on this awful day.

I ended up slamming Sebastian's hand in the car door. Some would blame my haste or my nerves, but no, I was trying to keep him turned away from the rose bushes that he was trying to grab. In my attempt to turn him away from the bushes, I turned him too close to the van door as I slammed it shut. I don't think I'll ever forget the noise it made as it bounced off of his fat little six month old hand. His gut wrenching cry still rings in my ear as I think about that day.

The bleeding started instantly. I ran frantically to the door and could barely talk because of the adrenalin and emotion I was feeling and experiencing. I don't know for sure, but I think Sarah may have been just short of slapping me before I finally calmed down. The reason I was there never escaped my mind. It just added to the mix of emotions. I was supposed to be helping HER. I was supposed to be comforting HER while she struggled with not knowing if she was going to see her husband again. But here I stood in her dining room holding my crying baby shaking and crying with him. She is the one who told me to go to the hospital. Don't worry about Stephen she said. Just go. You need to go. We'll be fine she said.

So I went. Crying and driving frantically.

The silence was the first thing I noticed. The eerie silence not normally heard in an Emergency Room. Distraction. Unprecedented distraction from the staff is what I felt. Never before, and most likely never again, will I ever have the experience of being rushed through an emergency room visit again. They didn't even process us. There is no record of our visit that day. We aren't even a memory in the eyes of those that saw us that day. I didn't know it at the time of arrival, but I soon found out that they were preparing for and awaiting the arrival of the masses that they thought would be arriving at any moment. They never came. Not the people in the Towers anyway. I'm sure they treated people that night and into the next day, but it wasn't what they hoped for. They weren't the survivors they hoped for. The monsters has been too victorious for that.

Other than two lacerations, Sebastian's hand was fine. I drove back to Sarah's house a bit more subdued. With my emotions a little more in check, I was able to, hopefully, be some sort of comfort to her at this time. I don't know. We've never talked about it.

When the second plane hit I called Brandon and asked him to please come home. That I was scared. That I needed him. He wasn't able and told me that I needed to calm down. That everything was going to be alright. He knew it wasn't, but he also knew he needed to be level headed. He did come home early that afternoon. His warehouse closed early that day.

The world quite literally stopped spinning in our part of the country. For days. The world was quiet. Scared. Angry.

But something was happening. We were different. People were more cautious. But more concerned as well. It brought us closer. It banded us together. There were so many lives lost that day that it didn't take six degrees of separation to connect us all to the Tragedy. The monsters may have taken from us that day, but they also gave us something in return. A feeling of unity. Unity that had, up until that day, been lost for a lot of us.

It is my hope and my prayer that those lives lost that day will never have been lost in vain. May we always remember. May we never forget.

One nation, under God.
With liberty, and justice for all.

Playing catch up

2010-09-08T15:59:00.002-05:00

I've started several posts in my head over the last few months and never seem to get around to typing them out and posting them. Even now I'm not really into this post but I feel like I've got to start posting or I'll never do it. Facebook has really taken me away from blogging. I make no promises, but I am going to try and improve.

We've made some major life changing decisions over the last few months. All of them for the better of course. At least in our eyes anyway. Being that it is our life that this blog is about, then I suppose that's all that matters.

We rented our house. We moved back into base housing on September 1st. We moved into the newer housing this time. We're really enjoying this house. It's much larger than what we're accustomed to. It's going to be hard to leave it in a year when we actually PCS. We thought we were going to PCS. That's the main reason we went ahead with the renting of our home. We ended up not moving, but decided to just go ahead and rent anyway. At least now we'll have some landlord experience under our belt before we leave the state and our home. As much as I hate renting, I missed George our maintenance man here in base housing. I'm very glad to have him at my disposal again. He's very handy and I love being able to say, "This is broken. Please fix it."

We're homeschooling the kids this year. It's a decision I've been fighting for a long time. It's time to stop fighting it and embrace it. And I have. We've even joined a homeschooling group. Our first meeting it tomorrow. The kids are happy about our choice and for that I am glad. We're not using a set curriculum. I've picked and pulled and combined to make up my own. I think it will be easier to tailor it to our needs this way. I don't expect everyday will be sunshine and roses, but I do expect more of those days than rain and weed days. Perhaps I'll start a blog about just our hs experiences. We'll see. We'll see. Don't hold your breath.

Upon the recommendation of a good friend, I checked out and read a book called The China Study It truly resonated with me when I read it. It came on the shirttail of finding out a dear friend of ours was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Perhaps that's why it hit me so hard and was so easy to transition into our new lifestyle. I've needed to lose weight for years now. Ever since my pregnancy with Sebastian almost 10 years ago. I've not been able to go without. Every attempt to change my eating habits failed miserably. This has been easy. It was been worth it. It has been empowering. For this, I am grateful. Brandon and the kids have been and still are on board as well. Stephen complains the most and doesn't agree with it at all. I expect that out of him. I told him he can eat as he pleases when he is on his own. Until then, he's stuck eating what we provide for him. Feel free to send us any recipes you may have that follow our new lifestyle. We welcome and and all new ideas.

I promise to come back soon and post some pictures of our new house, Sterling's birthday, and of course, Sweet Sadie Lady. Until then, au revoir.

Redecorating

2010-09-08T14:48:00.002-05:00

Since we're in the throes of moving and I can't get motivated to decorate the house, I thought I'd 'decorate' the blog. Love me some fall. Love love love it.

Taking a big step

2010-07-22T22:23:00.002-05:00

We recently refinanced our house. It lowered our payment by almost $200. Gotta love lower interest rates. 3.25% is a beautiful thing.

We've been toying with the idea of renting our house when we move. We've toyed with the idea of renting it now and moving back into base housing. We've toyed with the idea of selling it. We've toyed with the idea of burning it down. Kidding. Sort of. Well, after all the toying, and pyro pretending, we've finally come to a decision. (The re-fi played a serious role in the decision making I might add.) We've decided to become Landlords. Just saying it makes me feel all grown up. That, and having recently subscribed to the newspaper for the first time in my adult life. But that's another story.

I know it's going to bring a whole new set of challenges and adventures, but I feel good about it. I can't say I'm excited. But I feel good. I'm certainly not looking forward to moving again. I've long since felt like I should have been born in a more Nomadic time period. That having been said, I rock at packing and unpacking. If it weren't for the kids, I could become a professional. Yeah right. I'm way too lazy to do that. Let's keep it real here folks.

So anyway, if you know of someone looking for a nice, comfortable, well taken care of house in the greater Kansas City area, send them our way.

We'll leave the light on for them. :)

Am I The Only One?

2010-07-11T18:30:00.001-05:00

I find it incredibly annoying when parents don't teach their children the proper names of their body parts. I realize this is a touchy subject for some people, but come on. Do we give our arms and legs funny names? What about our eyebrows and ears? "I'm going to get Sadie's wingdings pierced tomorrow." "I really need to pluck my fuzzy wuzzies." I mean come on. Really? Is is so hard to call body parts what they really are? This has always been a pet peeve of mine. Recently I was talking with a friend and we were discussing the inappropriate behavior of our seven year old's when they were playing together. They were talking about a certain body part that only boys have. She informed me that she had no idea where her son learned to call it a penis. SERIOUSLY? How do you have four sons and you don't know where he learned to call it by it's proper name? I also read a blog post this morning where another mom was taken back when her daughter said she needed to wash her "noodle." She told her she didn't have a "noodle" and the girl wanted to know what she had. SERIOUSLY? Why is it so taboo? All along I've had friends who gave their kid's "private parts" nick names and didn't teach them the proper name. I've never quite understood it. Brandon grew up calling it a wickerdoo. Special. Just special. Now, I will be totally honest, I'm not looking forward to having to teach Sadie the proper name of her "who-ha" but I will. For some reason, I just don't like that word. BUT STILL, I'm not going to have her calling it a "wickerdee" or something silly like that.

So am I the only one who finds it silly when parents don't teach their children the names of ALL their body parts?

JUST ONCE

2010-07-03T11:37:00.002-05:00

It would be nice to go poop one time without being asked, through the door, if I was going poop.

Is it really that exciting boys? Are you hoping I'm going yell, like you do, "can you wipe me"? I assure you I'm not going to.

On my honor I will do my best ......

2010-06-14T15:21:00.003-05:00

Stephen and Brandon left this morning for a week of Scout camp at Camp Naish. I hope Stephen uses more bug spray this year. Last year he came home with more merit badges, but also Lyme Disease and a spider bite. Fun times.

Oh and for the record, he did indeed dress himself.

His birthday couldn't get here fast enough

2010-06-14T14:45:00.004-05:00

This poor kid was DESPERATE to be seven. Not sure what is so special about seven, but he really wanted to be seven. So much so that the day he turned seven he told someone he was seven and a half. Maybe it's eight he wants to be and seven is just a stepping stone. Oh to be in the head of a child some days. As usual, we had a very small celebration here at home. My parents stopped by on their way to my sister's house in Wyoming . It was nice that they were able to be here for his birthday.

Stephen drew the artwork on the t-shirt for Spencer. He's worn it to bed every night since.

I love this girl

2010-06-14T14:40:00.001-05:00

Celebration at the Station

2010-06-14T09:35:00.004-05:00

Celebration at the Station is a Memorial Day tribute to the Veteran's who have given all they had to give in service to our country. It's a concert put on by the Kansas City symphony. It was a wonderful concert. The group Time For Three was there as well. They are amazing and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a few of their CD's. They are touring the country and if you get a chance to see them, you really should. There was also an amazing fire works display afterward.

This is the stage. The building behind it is Union Station. If you don't know the history, look it up sometime. It's very interesting. You can't really see them, but the guys on stage holding the flags Marines. They are from Brandon's office.

A few years ago, Corinne, my sister-in-law, gave Spencer a set of Stomp Rockets for his birthday(by far one of the best present ever I might add). The kids have had a blast playing with them at various times.
Love them.

Brandon taught Spencer how to play Mancula that night. He caught on super fast and had a great time.

This is how Seth always watches fireworks.

Birthday Dinner

2010-06-14T08:20:00.004-05:00

Brandon and I were born 10 days apart. I was born first and he never misses an opportunity to tell people he married an older woman.

We decided to combine the birthdays and go out for dinner. Together. Alone.

We chose Pierpont's at Union Station. Amazing.

Hollywood called today

2010-05-24T16:40:00.003-05:00

Can you tell I'm having the time of my life?
It gets better everyday.
:)

Sweet, Happy, Sadie Lady Baby Girl

2010-05-13T10:13:00.003-05:00

When I went to get her this morning, she had rolled around, and onto her back and was looking at the artwork on her wall. By the happy sounds she was making, I'd say she approved of it. :)

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-13T09:59:00.003-05:00

For those of you who don't know it, I have the sweetest husband in the world. Every Mother's Day he tries very hard to come up with something crafty and creative for the kids to make me. This year it was flowers.

Hieroglyphics

2010-05-13T09:51:00.003-05:00

My least favorite part of being postpartum.

Do you see what I see?

2010-05-13T09:46:00.003-05:00

I'm thinking that most of you see a package of paint brushes. Not me. I see Magic wands, light sabers, swords and guns. At least that's what they are in my house.

Where did April go?

2010-05-02T13:27:00.003-05:00

I don't think I've missed a month since I started this blog. Wow. I totally missed April. I was a busy month. The boys enjoyed their Spring break and my sister Sabrina came to visit for a weekend. Poor Brandon spent his time serving Uncle Sam. He averaged 70 to 80 hours a week this last month. With no let up in sight until June-July. We're grateful he's got a job, but in reality, with the hours he's working, he could get two jobs and make a lot more money. I don't really have a lot to post about, but I'm afraid that if I don't soon get back into the habit, I'll stop. I really don't want to do that. This is a wonderful journal-ing tool. I'm bad at keeping a real journal so this is really important. I want to look into having it printed into a yearly book. I just don't know how, so I haven't yet. Anyone know how I go about doing that?

The boys are all doing well. Well, sort of. Seth is sick with a nasty case of strep throat right now. So nasty that I actually broke down and am giving him antibiotics. I'm a firm believer that our bodies, with the help of herbs and supplements, can in fact, fight off most things. Including streptococcus. This time though, it's worse than I've ever seen. His throat started closing up and he was really struggling to breathe. I was very grateful for modern medicine about 7pm last night. He is on the mend and will feel better soon I'm sure.

Sadie is growing and changing everyday. She is four months old now and weighs about 14 pounds. She's still on the short side and I don't foresee that changing. She's been rolling over for a month and a half now. She beat out all the boys. They were all into their fourth month when they rolled over. She wasn't even quite three months. Granted, it wasn't everyday when she started, but she could still do it. She has also found her voice. WOW. Is she ever loud too. Let the record show that she will NOT go unheard! She has the most beautiful smile and lights up whenever you talk to her. She is however, very sensitive. Especially when she's tired. She gets all kinds of bent out of shape when she's tired and something happens that she's not expecting. I have enjoyed every aspect of having a little girl. She is amazing and I'm so grateful I've been blessed with the opportunity to help raise her. So blessed.

I'm hoping to be better at posting this month. We don't have anything very exciting going on right now, but I'm sure I can come up with something.

Birthday bash take II

2010-03-18T09:52:00.003-05:00

Sebastian turned nine on March 14th. It just doesn't seem like he is really nine years old. I REALLY don't appreciate how fast time is flying by. Sebastian, aka: Sebby Subs, Fatty Wade, Fat Bastian, and Sebs in one of a kind. You should all be so blessed as to have a Sebs be a part of your family. He is by far the most helpful and kindest member of our family. He is a joy to have around and is so easy to love. He's easy on the eyes too. LOL!! He's had girls chasing him from the get go. His teachers sing his praises and he's been in trouble once. And it wasn't his fault that time. Seriously. His brothers love him and always want to be around him. If I could convince him that EVERYTHING he finds isn't reallllly a treasure, I think he would be as close to perfect as they come.

We love you Sebs.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY SETHY DEAR!

2010-03-05T10:50:00.005-06:00

I have never seen anyone so excited about their birthday.

He was adorable. All day long he talked about his birthday. We had the missionaries over for dinner and FHE. After wards we did his "party." All through dinner and FHE it was all he could talk about. When the Elder finished with the lesson he asked the question. "Who is ready for a birthday?" Before he could finish his sentence, Seth jumped out of Brandon's lap and raised his hand and shouted, "ME!" It was adorable. When we sang to him, he joined in and each time it came to the you in Happy Birthday to You, he replaced you with me. It was so cute.

GO Speed Racer GO!

2010-02-26T12:46:00.006-06:00

Sebastian competed in his first of three Pinewood Durby's as a cub scout. He picked out the model he wanted and did all the work. Brandon supervised, but Sebastian seriously did all the work, except for the finishing details like the lighting bolt and his initals on the side of the hood scoop. He did a GREAT job.

He won first place in the Wolf pack races, and won third overall. He also won the Dazzling Detail award. He had a great time. WAY TO GO SEBS!!!

General Custer

2010-02-20T08:18:00.003-06:00

The sixth graders at Stephens school were all told to pick a famous historical figure from the 1800's that they wanted to portrait in a "wax museum." They dressed up like their person and stood at a desk with a button that when pushed, caused the wax figure to tell you a narrative about their life. The students also had to make a tri-fold poster depicting the life of their person. Stephen chose General Custer. Here he is in his get up.

I had a realization while I attended his performance at school. Stephen is now a TEENAGER. I already knew this, but he showed me just how much of one he is. The entire time I stood there talking to him, he looked anywhere but at me. It was if he was EMBARRASSED or something. I mean COME ON, I'm his MOTHER. Why would he be embarrassed? Could it have been because I was WEARING his little sister? Who, I might add, got more attention than the "wax" people. Could it have been the fact that I also had two little munchkins running around at my feet? Truth be told, I think it was a little bit of everything. It's a shame that teenagers think the world revolves around them and that EVERYONE is looking at them.

On a side note, I found out just how popular my little boy is. I could barely talk to him because of all the GIRLS that kept jumping if front of me to push his "button" so he would "talk." I think for some of them, it was the first time he spoke to them.

Stephen did a good job and I am proud of my teenager.

Sadie's Blessing

2010-02-09T08:16:00.007-06:00

I'm not sure why blogger keeps turning the pictures sideways, but I can't rotate them. They're not the best ones, but here they are. It was a wonderful day. She did so good. She looked like an angel.

Feeling lost and out of sorts

2010-01-30T16:55:00.003-06:00

This always happens to me after I give birth. The uncontrollable feeling of being lost and out of control. I know it's due to my ridiculous need to be in control of EVERY aspect of my life. For those of you who aren't familiar with babies--you don't control an infant. They control you. AND HOW. Not only do they call the shots for eating and sleeping, but they corner the market on your emotions as well. Other than anger, I'm a very emotionally balanced person. Usually. Pregnancy and childbirth always make me a little emotional and weepy. HOWEVER, this one has rocked my world. It's as if my life is a perpetual Hallmark commercial. I'm sure it's a combination of hormones and lack of sleep, but I also believe it has something to do with the sweet little angel that has been sent to us by our Heavenly Father. I feel so blessed and so lucky to have her. It's as if I've been softened somehow because of her presence. For this, I am grateful.

We've had her for only five weeks and five days, but it feels like she's been here forever. The newborn stage is my most favorite stage, but I anxiously await the emergence of her personality. I have spent countless hours trying to make her smile the smile she so freely gives while she is asleep, while she is awake. It has yet to happen, but I know it will. I look forward to learning what it is that makes her happy in life. I know better than to rush things along, but I am anxious.

Sadie Elizabeth

2010-01-05T17:31:00.001-06:00

Introducing Sadie Elizabeth

2009-12-21T09:46:00.000-06:00

She made her debut at 12:20am. She weighs 8 lbs and is 18" long. Labor lasted three hours and we're both doing great.

38 weeks

2009-12-17T08:37:00.000-06:00

And still counting.

Shower time

2009-12-17T08:35:00.000-06:00

Three very good friends from church threw me a baby shower last weekend. It was a lot of fun, and there was a lot of PINK! Never can have too much if you ask me. LOL!

The picture in the middle is of my wonderful friend Sarina. She's the one who headed the whole thing and did a lot of the work. She has been a wonderful support here in MO. I'm not sure what I'd do without her. Love ya Sis Rail! LOL!!!

The picture of the cake will not rotate for anything. It was as good as it looks.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-16T17:14:00.000-06:00

Here are the boys participating in our annual tradition of decorating the Christmas Tree on the first Monday of December.

35 Weeks

2009-11-27T15:48:00.000-06:00

It's not the best picture, but I'm determined to document this pregnancy better than I have the others.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-27T15:45:00.000-06:00

We had a small Thanksgiving this year. It was us and another couple from MOBCOM. Reuben and Kristine Rivera. Though it was much smaller than we're used to, it was very nice. I didn't get any pictures of us enjoying our feast, but I got some of the food. That's the important thing right? LOL!!!

A tribute to Military Spouses

2009-11-11T12:27:00.000-06:00

By Col. Steven Arrington

Over the years I have talked a lot about military spouses, how special they are and the price they pay for freedom too. The funny thing about it, is most military spouses don't consider themselves different from other spouses. They do what they have to do, bound together not by blood or merely friendship, but with a shared spirit whose origin is in the very essence of what love truly is, is there truly a difference? You have to decide for yourself. Other spouses get married and look forward to building equity in a home and putting down family roots. Military spouses get married and know they'll live in base housing or rent, and their roots must be short so they can be transplanted frequently. Other spouses decorate a home with flair and personality that will last a lifetime. Military spouses decorate a home with flare tempered with the knowledge that no two base houses have the same size windows or same size rooms. Curtains have to be flexible and multiple sets are a plus. Furniture must fit like puzzle pieces. Other spouses have immaculate living rooms and are seldom used. Military spouses have immaculate living room/dining room combos. The coffee table got a scratch or two moving from Germany, but it still looks pretty good. Other spouses say good-bye to their spouses for a business trip and know they won't see them for a week. They are lonely, but can survive. Military spouses say good-bye to their deploying spouse and know that they won't see them for a month, or for a remote, a year. They are lonely, but they will survive. Other spouses, when a washer hose blows off, call Maytag and then write a check for getting the hose reconnected. Military spouses will cut off the water and fix it themselves. Other spouses get used to saying hello to friends they see all the time. Military spouses get used to saying good-bye to friends made the last two years. Other spouses worry about whether their child will be class president next year. Military spouses worry about whether their child will be accepted in yet another new school next year and whether that school will be the worst in the city.....again. Other spouses can count on spouse participation in special events, birthday,anniversaries, concerts, football games, graduation and even the birth of a child. Military spouses only count on each other; because they realize that the Flag has to come first if freedom is to survive. It has to be that way. Other spouses put up yellow ribbons when troops are imperiled across the globe and take them down when troops come home. Military spouses wear yellow ribbons around their hearts and they never go away. Other spouses worry about being late for Mom's Thanksgiving dinner. Military spouses worry bout getting back from Japan in time for Dad's funeral. And other spouses are touched by the television program showing an elderly lady putting a card down in the front of a long, black wall that has names on it. The card simply says, "Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. You would have been sixty today." A military spouse is the lady with the card. The wall is the Vietnam Memorial. I would never say military spouses are better or worse than other spouses are. But I will say there is a difference. And I will say that our country asks more of military spouses than asked of other spouses. And I will say without hesitation that military spouses pay just as high a price for freedom as do their active duty husbands or wives. Perhaps the price they pay is even higher. Dying in service to our Country isn't near as hard as loving someone who has died in service to our Country, and having to live without them. God bless our military spouses for all they freely give.......And God bless America!

Happy Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T12:24:00.000-06:00

May God bless and keep safe those that have served or are serving our country so that we may always fly her with pride and freedom.

HAPPY 234th BIRTHDAY USMC

2009-11-10T08:03:00.002-06:00

This is how my Devil Dog went to the Ball. He has part of the WWI re-enactment ceremony. The Ball was held at Union Station here in Kansas City. Union Station had over 700,000 soldiers pass through during WWI, making it an integral part of the war. With help from the Red Cross, they were able to have a hot meal, mail a letter, or have buttons shown back on while waiting for their train to depart the station.

Brandon had a great time playing this role. But apparently, older women like WWI soldiers. He had numerous offers for some "extra" entertainment that night. He said he couldn't get away from some of them fast enough. When asked what he was doing "later" he would answer, "Going home to my pregnant wife and five children." He said that some of them gave him a dirty look. And when I say older, I mean OLDER. 60's and up. Who would have thought?

I chose not to go this year for several reasons. One being that I'm so fat and uncomfortable. Near the end, I changed my mind, but there were no tickets to be had at that point. Being that it's MOBCOM's last Ball, they went all out and it was sold out months ago. Oh well. As long as there is a Corps, there will be more Balls.

The finished nursery

2009-11-04T13:53:00.002-06:00

I think it turned out fabulous. I love pink and brown and blue and brown. It's been fun to be able to use them together. I'd like to get some blue circles, but I'm not going to kill myself to make it happen. Our crib, which was a crib/dresser/changing table, was recalled and we were very blessed to be given the crib, dresser, and changing table to replace the one we took back.

We're totally set. All that's missing is our sweet little Sadie Bug.

Happy Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T09:30:00.001-06:00

Halloween Fun

2009-10-28T22:02:00.003-05:00

Isn't she so cute? I'll post a picture of the boys with their pumpkins on Halloween night when they're in their costumes. Halloween is so much fun.

29 weeks

2009-10-16T08:34:00.002-05:00

Man am I fat. I've never weighed this much the day I've delivered. And I have 2.5 months to go. Not a good thing. Not a good thing at all. This little lady BETTER be worth it.

Sadie Elizabeth

2009-10-14T15:12:00.004-05:00

We had so much fun seeing her in 3D and 4D. Technology is amazing. And for the record, she is most assuredly a girl. :)

TOMORROW, TOMORROW, I LOVE YA, TOMORROW, YOU'RE ONLY A DAYYYYY AAAAWAYYYY!

2009-10-13T12:57:00.003-05:00

I'm not at all excited. Really I'm not. I'm actually beyond excited!!! We're going in for a 3D ultra sound and I CAN'T WAIT!

I'll post some pictures tomorrow after we get home.

TOMORROW, TOMORROW, I LOVE YA TOMORROW.......

We are blessed.

2009-10-01T20:02:00.003-05:00

Someone Brandon works with isn't having anymore children anytime soon and decided that she wanted to get rid of all of her things. Her things included SIX boxes of 0-24 month girl clothes, shoes and accessories. SIX BOXES! By the time I was through the first three I was so overwhelmed I didn't even want to continue. There's OBVIOUSLY too many for us to ever need or want. After going through them and GENEROUSLY selecting what I thought we'd need, I boxed the rest up. There are FOUR boxes left. I had to go buy totes today to store all of the clothes. I'm still amazed. What a blessing.

Here's what we've been up to this week

2009-09-21T09:32:00.003-05:00

He hasn't had a diaper on since Thursday. He's doing very good too. He's even pooped on the potty twice. Anyone with boys knows this can be a difficult task. I'm so happy that he finally decided it was time.

25 weeks and counting

2009-09-21T09:29:00.000-05:00

Our newest member of the family

2009-09-09T08:53:00.003-05:00

Friends of ours from church were getting rid of this sweet little guy. We thought we'd give it a go. He's doing really well with housebreaking. He weighs about two pounds right now and MIGHT get up to 10. He's a lot of fun.

We did it!

2009-09-09T08:49:00.003-05:00

It tasted so good too. The texture was just right and it was very sweet. It was worth the wait. We have a few left. Only one that will make though. The others are way too small. It'll be cold before they're ready. Oh well. It's been fun.

Happy Birthday Sterling!

2009-09-09T08:19:00.004-05:00

Four years ago, I became the mother of four children. Sterling Benjamin joined our family on August 27, 2005, at 5:15am, at home, into the loving arms of his mom and dad.

He's got quite the personality and has added an interesting dimension to our family. He adds a lot of humor to the situations at hand.

Most days.

First day of freedom.....I mean school

2009-08-19T16:54:00.003-05:00

6th, 2nd, and Kindergarten.

Time is flying by.

Half way home!

2009-08-13T09:48:00.003-05:00

I'm 20 weeks. On one hand it's going fast and on the other, it's DRAGGING by.

I told Brandon two was too young for boxing.....

2009-08-09T19:13:00.003-05:00

He doesn't agree and signed him up anyway.

Boxing. Get it? LOL!

Another gardening update

2009-08-05T12:29:00.004-05:00

No, the watermelon wasn't ripe. We are so dumb and impatient we did it again. We've learned and will not be doing it again. The last five or six will be left ALONE!

What do you think of the snowman? Is it not the cutest thing ever? It even has a scarf. Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see all the details. I love it!

IT'S A GIRL!

2009-08-01T12:35:00.001-05:00

Can you believe it? What am I going to do? HOLY COW!!! We are so excited. We haven't stopped grinning yet!

WE FIND OUT TOMORROW!!!

2009-07-31T13:47:00.002-05:00

Check back tomorrow after 11am central time to find out the results! Unless it's a stubborn one....

Meetings, meetings and MORE meetings

2009-07-29T11:58:00.004-05:00

Apparently Spencer doesn't think we attend enough meetings on Sundays. I was making dinner when he came upstairs and told Brandon and me that we were going to have a meeting after dinner to pray and learn about the gospel. Thinking about the late hour I said, "Hey Spencer, why don't we have it tomorrow night for Family Home Evening?" He promptly said, "No, we need to have it tonight."

So after dinner we all went downstairs to attend Spencer's meeting. This is what we found:

He made himself a pulpit out of couch cushions and an end table. He made the rest of us seats and told us where we were to sit:

This is Spencer giving us our message:

He sure is a fun kid to have around. We love you Pency-Wency.

Youth Temple trip

2009-07-27T14:31:00.003-05:00

This last weekend, Brandon and I had the pleasure of taking the Young Men and Young Women from our church to St. Louis to attend the temple there. We also went to the Arch and took a ride to the top. Can't say I enjoyed that part of it. Not a big fan of heights. Fun was had by most, and overall, it was a decent trip. Can't say I'm looking forward to another overnight trip with this particular group, but when duty calls.....

The best part was the fact that both of us were able to be there for Stephen's first trip to the temple. He had a wonderful time.

This is what happens when you're not patient

2009-07-17T09:31:00.002-05:00

We thought it might be ready. Doesn't look like it huh? We figure it needed another week or so. We have more, but none that are this size. We're going to be so disappointed if none of the rest of them make it.

Garden update

2009-07-13T10:21:00.006-05:00

It's coming along nicely. We have gotten a ton of zucchini and a few cucumbers. When the tomatoes are ripe we're going to be swimming in them. We actually have a volunteer tomato plant that came up no where near the others. I'm assuming it was a seed in the bean seeds and starting growing. That or it was a seen in the compost we got for the garden. It actually has a tomato on it. And to think I almost picked it thinking it was a weed at one point. I have no idea how to can, but hopefully I can learn and actually can some of the tomatoes we're going to be getting. We have several watermelons and one really big one that we hope we get to eat. I've heard they are hard to grow and they can slit open before you know it. We're going to be very disappointed if that happens. We plan on building another box next year. If for no other reason, to plant all the "vine" plants in it. Between the watermelon and cucumbers, you can't see the other plants. The beans, peppers, onions, and asparagus are all hidden. Which means they probably aren't getting enough sun and will die or something. Oh well, trial and error. I think it's a good garden for a starter garden.

For those of you who wonder what it's like to have five boys:

2009-06-23T08:44:00.002-05:00

I was sitting at the computer minding my own business when five insane boys came running in without their shirts on and stopped, posed like ninjas. And then started fighting. The beginning was the funniest part and I didn't get it on video.

Spencer

2009-06-11T10:47:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was his birthday. It was a quiet one. We had dinner followed by cake and presents. The older two boys weren't here so it was a small celebration. We've never celebrated a birthday without everyone here, but it happened. Hopefully it won't happen again for a few more years to come.

Apparently Spencer thinks he turned 16 instead of six. Crazy kid.

Our Garden

2009-06-11T10:14:00.008-05:00

I tried to post this the other day, but the pictures wouldn't upload and I gave up. Hopefully I'll have better luck today.

Brandon built the box while I was on vacation. I planted it on Memorial Day. It's growing very well. We regret not planting more in it. I'm sure it will be better planned next year. Baby steps. I apologize if the pictures of our garden right now aren't very clear. I didn't feel like going outside to take the pictures so I took them from my bedroom window. The close up one is a picture of the blossom on our zucchini plant. I'm so excited.

It's not ALL grass in the middle. We planted some seeds and they're not doing very well so I didn't want to weed it just yet. I've tried to weed around everything else, but it's just really hard right now. Again, next years garden will be much better.

I promise I'll update soon.

2009-05-28T14:15:00.002-05:00

I feel like poop. I'm sure it will pass, but until then, I can promise nothing. I have lots to share, but no energy to care. Boo hoo.

Yeah, I'm being a baby. Feel free to shoot me. You would be doing me a favor. Trust me. Maybe I can get Brandon to blog for me for a while....

I'm leaving on a jet plane

2009-05-12T11:06:00.003-05:00

on Thursday. I'm flying out to NC to visit my best friend Melissa and my sister Sabrina. While I'm in NC, I get to see this fine specimen live in concert:

I'm excited. For the concert, but mainly to be getting away and spending time with some of my favorite people. To add to the excitement, I'm meeting an internet friend for the first time as well. I've very excited about that.

I'll think about you all while I'm laying on the beach in VA beach with Sabrina. See you all soon!

This is what you get when your husband rolls appliances down the stairs

2009-05-04T13:00:00.004-05:00

I'm going to see if I can get him to toss the stove out the window when he gets home from work.

We're settled

2009-04-28T22:17:00.002-05:00

It was a crazy few days, but we're moved and settled. We're totally unpacked and I even hung pictures today. It's never fun, but it's even less fun to live in chaos and clutter. It drives me insane. We suffered a casualty this time though. Our dryer. It slipped off of the appliance dolly and rolled down the basement stairs. The guy that was helping Brandon take it up stairs had to run down the stairs away from it. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he literally stuck his arm out and stopped it cold. Amazingly enough, he suffered no injuries. The dryer cannot say the same. The worst part is the fact that it's only two years old. Brandon is trying to fix it.

We've been without a phone and internet since last Friday. Not fun. Time Warner is supposed to come tomorrow. I've been "borrowing" our neighbors internet access. I would never have our network unsecured, but I've been grateful for theirs the last few days.

I'll post some pictures soon. It's late and I'm unusually tired, so I'm signing off. Talk to you soon. Good night.

What did you do last night?

2009-04-10T10:05:00.009-05:00

We hung out here last night:

About five minutes after we put Seth to bed, we heard this loud thunk and insane crying. We ran to his room and he was standing at the door holding his mouth which was already covered in blood. We got the bleeding stopped and realized that he bit through his lip and needed stitches.

Can you believe that we're the parents of five wild, rowdy, CRAZY boys and that this was our first experience with stitches? Sterling needed them back in December, but he was OK in the end. Here are some pictures of the big event. For those of you who don't like blood and gore, you should probably turn away now.

Here we are sitting in the waiting room:

This is him with the numbing stuff on his lip. They covered it with tape so it would stay in place:
Here they are irrigating it before the Doctor came in to stitch it up:

He did so good. He didn't even cry. He said "Owie" during the last two stitches and started to get upset. I'm thinking the numbing stuff was wearing off. He was such a champ. I still can't believe how well he did.

He got to keep the syringe they used to clean him up with. He refused to put it down. He also got a puppy that he's now in total love with.

Here he is this morning. His poor little lip is worse today then it was last night.

Sebastian's Baptism and other random things

2009-04-07T14:38:00.008-05:00

It was a great day. Afterwords, we came home and had his and Seth's birthday party. It was a lot of fun.

It's crazy to think that the weather was warm and beautiful a couple of weeks ago when we had the party. It's as if it warmed up just for that weekend. The following weekend is snowed four inches. Crazy.

Crazy. That's an interesting word. I think it sums up our life to a T. I was recently called to be the Young Women's president. What in the world do I know about teen age girls? Other than the fact that I don't want to be one again, I know NOTHING! Truth be told....I'm really enjoying it. Really.

Brandon came home from California, but other than extra laundry and having to cook more for dinner, I can't tell. APPARENTLY, while he was gone, MOBCOM decided it was time to WORK for a living. Can you say LONG HOURS? I feel like this is what we've become:

And because I was getting a little bored, we decided to buy a house. LOL. No really, we did, but not because I'm bored. We made this decision long before we knew that April was going to be the month from "the hot place." Thank goodness it's not our usually fixer upper. It's totally move in ready. Well, except for the color of the walls. Those are NEVER right. But over time, I'll fix that. Here are a couple of pictures:

This next one is a picture of the master bedroom ceiling. I think it's cool.

This is the family room downstairs.

We are very excited. It will be SO NICE to not have major projects the entire time we live there. We close on the 23rd. We'll move in that weekend. Feel free to stop by anytime.

The next couple of pictures are of Seth and his girlfriend. The first Sunday we were here in Missouri he saw her and it was love and first sight. I kid you not. They both acted like they knew each other. They were 15 months at the time. Seth looks at her with stars in his eyes. I babysat her the other day and he acted SO FUNNY the whole time she was here. He was showing off like you wouldn't believe. He flipped his high chair over and pushed it all over the house, he stood on the table, and he gave her all the toys he could find. It was adorable. I truly think they new each other before this life. Here is the happy couple:

I think they are cute.

It's Great to be Eight

2009-03-13T10:54:00.002-05:00

Sebastian turns eight tomorrow. It's been a very fast eight years. It's hard to believe. I'm very excited and way more emotional than I thought I'd be. I've been through this before, but for some reason, I'm finding it to be an emotional event. (for those readers who aren't aware, in our religion, once children turn eight, they can choose to be baptized). Sebastian asked months ago if he could be baptized on his birthday. Tomorrow's the big day. As excited as I am for Sebastian, I'm a little melancholic as well. There are days where I dream on not having little ones around 24/7, but for the vast majority of the time I dread the day they grow up and leave our nest. Sebastian's baptism is an outward sign of the fact that he's growing up right before my eyes. Though I would never deny him his God given right to grow and progress, I sure would slow it down if I could.

Happy Birthday Seby Subs. May your next eight be as joyous as your first. We're proud of you son!

I'll be sure to post pictures of his big day soon.

Brandon is home!!

2009-03-10T14:05:00.002-05:00

YAY! All is right in the world. Well every thing except our government leaders. But we won't talk about that kind of stuff. It's a family blog and things could get ugly....

His flight got in around 7pm Friday night. The boys and I were going to be there before the flight with balloons and a welcome home banner, but the dang tail wind was so strong he beat us there. So we just drove up and he hopped in. We went to the Outback for dinner and had the nicest thing EVER happen to us. An older couple came in and was seated next to us shortly after we started eating our appetizers. In true Sterling fashion, he leaned over and started talking to the gentleman, who's name happened to be Stephen, and that got the whole thing started.

We talked back and forth through out the rest of the meal, and as they finished their meal and paid their bill, we said our good-byes. Shortly after they left, our server came to our table and asked us if we were finished and then told us that the couple who had been there paid our bill. Talk about shocked. Our bill alone was $80.00. Needless to say, we were humbled and grateful. We're not sure why they did it. Perhaps it was because Brandon is in the service, or because they really enjoyed the company of our sweet children. We will never know, but where ever they are, THANK YOU.

I hope that we can some day do for someone else what they did for us Friday night.

Diesel was driving me nuts...

2009-02-24T13:38:00.003-06:00

.....so I killed him.

He looks dead doesn't he? Whenever it's warm outside, this is where you'll find him. If I let him out, I have to bribe him back inside with food. Here he is sunbathing his belly:

I love my big headed dog. He's a sweet boy.

Why is it

2009-02-23T13:36:00.002-06:00

that the sky falls when Brandon is gone? Is he REALLY that important? Am I not able to handle this by myself? Are we really supposed to do this together? Is the Priesthood REALLY that important? If you answered Yes, No, Yes, Yes, then you just won. Be sure to check your mailbox several times a day for your reward.

I'm assuming that the answers are YNYY. Because things literally fall apart when he's gone. It was by far the worst when he was in Iraq, because there was so much more time for things TO fall apart.

Thank goodness he's coming home in less than two weeks. I'm not sure about how much more falling apart I can take. The latest event would be food poisoning.

I took the younger three to Mc Donald's for lunch on Saturday. I ordered them apples instead of fries(without the caramel sauce). I got to see those apples again 12 hours later. Coming out of three small children. It started with Seth. He literally threw up every 5-15 minutes the WHOLE night. By 5am, he was alternating ends. It was so bad I just put him in bed with me so when he started coughing, I could just sit up and catch it. I had a pile of diapers and the wipes of the end of the bed and when he needed a diaper change he got the wipes and handed them to me. I was thankful for the help. LOL At 7am, while I was changing a diaper no less, Sterling started coughing and threw up in his bed. At the same time, Spencer came running down the hall to the bathroom. They are all still at it now. It got so bad yesterday, that I took them to the ER. They gave them some Zofram (?) and it stopped the throwing up.

Thank goodness, because I've got more laundry to do than should be allowed by law.

With all of the throwing up, it really was only the apples that made an appearance. The human body is amazing. How their digestive systems could digest all the other food they ate AFTER the apples, but not allow the "toxic" food to pass through amazes me. We are divinly designed aren't we?

Stay tuned, because I'm sure something else will happen before next Friday. Any guesses? I'll be sure to send another reward to the winner. That or a bill....

AM I THE ONLY ONE???

2009-02-21T20:48:00.002-06:00

I signed in to come check out some other blogs and all of my posts are gone. Can anyone else see them?

We now have clean vents

2009-02-19T20:34:00.003-06:00

Because of the cat falling down the vent and coming out so dusty, the management office sent a company over to clean out the vents. Here is a before picture. Be sure to click on it so in enlarges. Just don't do it if you have a weak stomach.

Can you say disgusting? I thought I was going to DIE when they took the cover off. This was the return air duct so all of the air going through the system had to go through this first. NICE. I can't believe we've been able to even breathe here. Thank goodness for the cat.

Boredom

2009-02-17T17:53:00.003-06:00

I find that most boredom occurs during the extreme weather months. At least that's the case with my boys. They tend to look for something to do when they're bored. It usually causes something to get broken, or someone to get hurt. They have been bored a lot lately. So has the dog. I haven't walked him in a while and he's pretty wound up and getting into stuff and causing trouble. I can fix that by taking him for a walk, but I'm trying to save gas. LOL. In my efforts to calm down the boy's boredom, I took the kids to see the Great Mouse yesterday. For those of you not familiar with who that is, you may know him better by the name of Chuck E. Cheese.

I never knew that cats get bored too.

I was in the kitchen making dinner when I heard this anguished cry. It happened over and over again. I stood in the hallway, with my head cocked to the side, trying to hear from where this pitiful cry was coming from. Our cat is like most, and is very nosy. He's been shut up in a closet more than once because of him nosiness, so I started looking in all the closets whiling thinking to myself, "That cry sounds like it's coming from downstairs." I sent the boys down to "investigate." They confirmed my suspicions, but couldn't locate the poor, sad, little cat. I headed down there and looked all around the air/heat unit and couldn't find that cat anywhere. But he was SO loud at this point I knew he had to be INSIDE the heating system. I went upstairs to turn off the timer and take the rolls out of the oven and it hit me. THE VENT UNDER THE BED WAS KNOCKED OFF THE WALL. That dumb cat crawled into the hole where the vent cover is supposed to be and crawled/fell all the way back to where the fan and return air ducts are. CRAZY. I took the cover off where the filter goes and then moved the filter. Out came that poor, sad, little cat like a flash. He was COVERED in dust. I'm still sneezing just thinking about it.

Who knew cats get bored too.

For the sake of not seeing the same thing AGAIN

2009-02-15T13:06:00.002-06:00

I don't have anything to really post about today, but I am tired of seeing the same ol' same ol' each time I get on here. I'm sure if I type long enough I'll figure something out. I am the person who's been getting in trouble for talking since....well, for as long as I can remember. Let's be honest, I've got the gift of gab down to a fine art. Now if I could only figure out a way to get paid for it.....

Brandon will be home in less than three weeks. It's gone by fast. There have been moments of difficulty, but for the most part, it's been pretty good. I've complained a great deal to him, but that's because it's normally the end of the day when we finally catch up and I'm usually at my breaking point by then.

We're thinking about buying a house here in the great state of MIZZURA. We really like it here. We're hoping to be able to put down some roots and stay a while. We'll see what the Lord has in store for us. We'll let you know as soon as He lets us know. Until then, we'll all be in the dark together.

Maybe someone could send me a night light........???.........

I am special and belong to an ELITE group of people

2009-02-05T13:15:00.003-06:00

My throat has been hurting since last week sometime. It got really bad on Sunday so I decided to go to the clinic here on base and do a walk in throat culture. It was negative. But as is always the case, they sent it to the lab. They called me this morning and told me it cultured positive. Did you know that only 5% of the cultures sent to the lab are actually positive? Hence my membership in the ELITE group. I now belong to the 5%. I know you're jealous. Really you shouldn't be. I know it's hard to let me have my glory. Husband gone for two months, five kids, CRAZY dog, Primary presidency, cold weather, and a bad hair-do. I realize how envious you all must be. But you really should just be grateful for your lot in life and let me have mine. Come on.

On a totally different note, for the first time in almost eight years, we no longer have a baby in the house. Seth has graduated to full toddler hood. He no longer uses the high chair, and sleeps in a big boy bed. Before I know it, we'll be potty training and I'll no longer have one in diapers. By the time that happens, it will be the first time in EIGHT YEARS. Can't say I'll be sad about that.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???

2009-01-31T12:30:00.003-06:00

Yeah, neither are the Fullers. Here we are, the proud parents of FIVE potential football players(not if I have any say so though) and here it is Superbowl time and we don't even know who's playing in it. Well, I didn't anyway until I checked out today's post over at Cake Wrecks.

There have only been a handful of times where I have thought we would have been better off with girls and they are usually times like this. Well, I guess girls would have been better off, not us. Don't get me wrong. The Superbowl isn't THAT important. It's not like a presidential election or anything. It is however one of those all American pastime type things and I feel like there may some missed out opportunities for some memories.

Oh well. At least now they will have something to blame on us. LOL!

Be jealous. Be very jealous.

2009-01-16T12:35:00.003-06:00

I am the mother of the smartest three year old EVER. The following is a conversation he and I just had.

Sterling: Can me have a drink please?

Me: Hands him a cup of water.

Sterling: *Growls* ( he likes to pretend he's a tiger)

Me: What does that mean Sterling?

Sterling: *Pauses for a second* Then looking at me says, "That means the letter of the day."

Me: What is the letter of the day Sterling?

Sterling: That it's snowy outside.

Nice.

He and I also had an interesting conversation the other day. He has some potty issues and needed to be seen by a urologist. On the day of his appointment, I told him we were going to the doctor. He asked why and I told him so his penis could be checked to see why it's been hurting. He starts to cry and asks me if he's going to get a new one. I try not to laugh and tell him that he's not going to get a new one. He then asks if the doctor is going to cut it. Poor kid. He was so worried. He was exceptionally quiet and well behaved while we were there. Anyone that knows Sterling knows that he's never met a stranger and that he will ask strangers ANYTHING. Including nice old men for one of their apples when they are standing behind us in line at Costco. Yes it happened. You would have thought that he'd been threatened or something. He wouldn't talk to anyone and just shrugged his shoulders when he was spoken to. In the end, he's fine but we were given a laundry list of things he has to avoid eating and drinking. Hopefully this fixes the problem.

Here's an update picture of his head injury. It's healing nicely.

This next one shows you a little bit of Sterling's personality. He's got one in each hand and one in his mouth in the effort to keep them ALL away from Seth. You really have to click on it and enlarge it to get the FULL effect of his facial expression. I like Seth's face too.