Joshi and the Two Bikes

This is Joshi and his bike. He loves to ride it. Unfortunately, it has two problems and they are called training wheels. He wants to be like the big kids. Also, we have found, from experience, that these training wheels that come on the bikes have a life expectancy. And once they go they really go.

I remember when Seth's came off. He was riding down the street and one wheel just flew off and kept going. Not a good thing for someone who is learning to ride. Unfortunately, Seth's bike was a little big for him to ride while just learning without training wheels, so luckily we still had Faith's first bike. We call it the teaser. Faith learned to ride on it, Kylee, well, she just jumped on it and rode it one day I don't think anyone had to teach her, Seth learned to ride on it, and now that we can see Joshi's training wheels getting wiggly he too will learn on the teaser.

Yes, it is pink and purple, but isn't pink the new black? Or something like that. Thank goodness he can't read yet because we would probably have a hard time getting him to learn on a bike called the "slumber party princess".

He is doing great on it though and I anticipate the training wheels coming off and him back on his real bike within the week. He rode for three houses with out me holding on to him!!!

Well, got to go and help Joshi!!!

Kristen

The Constant Encourager

So, Seth was playing first base yesterday during his baseball game and Mike and I were noticing something. Every time the other team's player would get onto first base Seth would run up to him and tell him that he did a great job. Some of the boys looked at him strangely but most of them smiled and high fived him.

Also, when his team was up to bat if one of his team mates would strike out he would jump up to greet him when he was coming back to the dug out to high five him and tell him he did a great job.

We were really proud of him for his encouraging words and love for other's. I hope that he never looses it. I pray that he can carry that love for others and compassion for always and use it to teach other's about God's love. That's what being a Christ follower is all about. People should recognize us as different but not because we are blaming and condemning but because we are loving and kind. Shouldn't people look at you and wonder why you are going out of your way to encourage them?

Could people around you say that about you?

Kristen

Faith's Gone to Camp

Wow, this is really harder than I thought it would be. I just figured it would be like when the girls went to AZ for two weeks last year.

But it really is nothing like that at all. I let her spend the night at her friend Madison's house Sunday because her mom was going to take the girls to the bus at 7 in the morning on Monday morning. So I have not heard from her or seen her since Sunday after church. This is really hard.

I asked Mike yesterday if he thought she missed me and he said no. I think that is a bit harsh. But he is probably right.

We all wrote her letters yesterday so that she will get five today maybe or tomorrow. I think she will like that.

I think the hardest part of this is I am forced to accept the fact that she is really growing up. And she will probably be different when she gets back. I am sure that this will change her in some way. Most likely for the better.

And even though I know all of that, I am really missing my little girl right now.

Kristen

Quite the Tooth Week

It finally happened!!! Seth has been waiting for his first loose tooth for a very long time. And today he pulled it out!!

I have some tooth issues. I have never enjoyed the pulling of teeth and to this point have not pulled any of the children's teeth. It makes me want to hurl.

He has been begging his daddy to pull it for several days now but he kept telling him it wasn't ready.

Chicken, he didn't want to pull it either.

So today after lunch he decided it was coming out. I was reading my book and trying not to listen to the tooth goings on. But then I hear Kylee tell him it is really loose and he should go up stairs and pull it out. The next thing I hear is him running down the stairs squealing with excitement. I am thinking, "thank goodness it is over" when I look over at him and the tooth is still hanging there by a thread and blood is pouring from it.

Man, I can hardly even read what I just wrote....

Okay so then Kylee looks at him and says, "oh, that tooth really needs to come out now!"

UH, YEAH!

I am kind of freaking out at this point because like I said before i really don't pull teeth out, and it's been kind of a traumatic tooth week for me as well if you might remember.

Well he just grabbed that tooth and yanked it right out!

And then we were all happy. I am still feeling a bit green but I think I will be okay.

Kristen

Webkinz

Have you heard of these? I had not until Faith and Kylee each got one for their birthdays. They are called Webkinz and they are not just any stuffed animal.

For those of you who have never heard of these let me tell you about them. You purchase the cute little animal and then with the animal comes a code, with this code you can go on http://www.webkinz.com/ and register your pet. Once your pet is registered you can go to this land and and play games so that you can earn money to buy your pets things like rooms for their house, toys, food, medicine, barbecues, swimming pools, just about anything you can imagine. You can have more than one pet and you can also invite friend's pets over to play at your pet's house. Really very clever, I wish I had come up with it. Apparently the stores that carry them can't keep them stocked.

The girls love them and are having so much fun with them. So if you have a school aged child that has a special occasion coming up you may want to look into this fun trend.

Kristen

Summer School Schedule

Well, we are two days into our summer school schedule and so far so good. It is funny because the girls have, on their own, set their alarm for 7 so they can get up get dressed, eat breakfast and start on their school early. I am ashamed to say that I was still asleep yesterday when they started their school work!!! I have it designed so that they shouldn't be spending more than about 2 hours a day on everything. They went a little over yesterday. I may have to shave down the work load if that continues. But after this week they will have two more weeks off for camp and the 4th of July weekend so not too tough of a schedule.

They really wanted to go to the pool yesterday so as a reward for finishing their work and doing it so well on their own we packed up and went. BBBRRRRR!!!!! Oh my goodness. It was so cold outside with the wind blowing, I hid under a towel, while the kids swam. They said the water was warm I wasn't about to try it.

But, we did have some fun park time with friends later on in the afternoon. Thankfully it was a little warmer by than.

Kristen

Another Weekend Update

Our busy weekend has come to an end. We had lots of fun though!!

The birthday party was a success. I wanted the girls to have a good time and who really wants to sleep at a slumber party? But, I did tell them they weren't allowed to wake me up with their talking.... I am a pretty hard sleeper and they were in the basement and we were upstairs so I thought that was pretty reasonable.

They woke me up.

It was 2 o'clock and when I went down and their party was in full swing. I told them since they woke me up they had to turn the lights out and settle down.

And again at 3.

And almost at 4.

Then they slept. They got up early had breakfast and were off playing again. I remember the days. Great to have that kind of energy.

Then we sent everyone home and took Kylee to her softball game. No good pictures of her playing yet. We have been at a field that it is hard to get a good picture but I think this week I can get one or two. She was really tired during her game. And it was hot!! Like upper nineties!! (You do not hear me complaining here I am just making a statement).

We had a great father's day. Went to lunch with friends after church, had some ice cream and then Mike and the kids and I went swimming. The pool was perfect and after about 30 minutes of being there everyone went home!! We had the pool pretty much to ourselves.

Yesterday, at 7:30 I had my dentist appt. The bad news is that he had to do the root canal on that tooth we were hoping it was just a refill.

More bad news, it used up our travel to AZ money.

The good news, The root canal did not hurt one bit while he was doing it and Dad and I are going to work something out to at least send the girls to AZ this summer. We will miss being there but not much we can do about it.

So that is the weekend in review. Hope you had a great weekend!

Kristen

Party Time

It is the night of the big double party. Kylee's birthday is in a month but the girls decided that they would like to combine their parties this year and celebrate together.

They have a set of friends who are sisters that would have missed Kylee's party so that is the real reason they moved it up. So tonight we are having a party with 9 girls total. Faith and Kylee wanted the sleepover cake we saw in a Family Fun magazine so with a few modifications here it is. It's not a great picture. Well, the girls are about to arrive so I guess I must go.

Kristen

Hawks

I don't know if you have noticed but Mohawks are making a comeback. Seth really wanted to give it a try so I gave him a hawk. He looks so cute!! Don't worry Nana and papa it will not last long it was too much work to cut it straight!!!







Here is a side view.









But then his brother wanted one. Joshi's hair is..... different. It brushes forward and that's about it. So here he is after his hawk.






Here is his side view.




Did I mention that I used to have a thing for guys with Mohawks, and now I get to kiss two everyday!!!

Kristen

The Big Double Uno

It feels like just yesterday when Mike and I found out we were going to be parents for the first time. Mike tells a different story, something about us agreeing to wait three years to have children, but seeing that this is my blog I will tell my side of it.

Mike and I were married on December 31, 1994. This sounded like a good day to get married since I have issues remembering dates. And it was a great date until we had kids....it is really hard to find a babysitter on that day, let me tell you!!

For as long as I could remember I wanted to be a mom. That's it. I didn't want to be a career woman or have a great rewarding job out in the workforce I wanted to be a mom. When Mike and I were first married he was working at Garcia's in Mesa, a Mexican food restaurant, and I was working at a pre-school while we both went to school full time, and I was waiting for the moment we could become parents. Then our first summer hit and Mike got to work as an intern at Motorola. When we found out that he would be staying on after the summer and we would have full insurance WE decided that it would be a good time to start our family.

I promised God that I would do everything in my power to raise the children He gave us in His name. That I would do everything to teach this baby about Him and show them His love. By October of '95 we found ourselves expecting our first little love.

It seems I read every book ever written on pregnancy, children, and child rearing. We had a great pregnancy a small snafu with the all important finding-out-the-sex ultra-sound and had an at home ultra-sound pizza party where we invited our entire family and all our friends for pizza and an ultra sound. You should have heard the room when we heard that we were having a girl. Very loud cheering. We now had a name for our baby, Faith. We all anxiously awaited her arrival.

Then it was the week of our due date. I was a little discouraged. I had taken the classes and read the books and I was having few symptoms to show that this baby was ever going to be born. It was at this time that I said to Mike, "I don't think I will ever have a contraction." He was quick to remind me of this statement the next week when I was in labor.

The day before our due date I woke at 4 A.M. in the morning with pain. I was sure that this was it. It felt like the real thing. And it was the day before my due date. So we waited until 10 in the morning and went off to the hospital. We laughed and talked in between contractions and when I got to the hospital they took one look at me and sent me home. Told me to come back when I couldn't talk.

I walked the walk of shame out of the hospital and sat down in the middle of the parking lot and cried. I couldn't imagine it getting worse!! What if I am never ready? How will I know when it's time?

We went home and I did every bit of housework there was to do. Mike finished building the book case for her room and the contractions continued every five minutes all day long. Finally, that afternoon at about 4 o'clock we decided to try the hospital again. I was no longer laughing. I was tired. Then we got to the hospital my status hadn't changed since I had been there that morning, but they could tell I was tired and let me stay. Oh, and hooked me up to the epidural. I slept. It was wonderful.

Then at 12:04 am our sweet, perfect, baby girl was born. She was gorgeous. I couldn't believe my eyes. I knew I was having a baby I just hadn't been able to picture her. And here she was everything in it's place and just beautiful. She captured both Mike's and my heart from the moment we saw her. Mike followed her everywhere the nurses took her. The man who wouldn't leave my side all through the labor was now guarding his daughter. And he still does to this day. Funny the bond between a daddy and his daughters, it really is an awesome thing.

What a great kid. I can hardly believe it has been eleven years already. She is such a special girl!! I thank God for her sweet spirit, kind heart, friendly attitude, the loving care she has for others, her natural leadership qualities, the encouragement she gives to people around her....the list could go on forever. Her daddy and I are truly blessed.



Happy Birthday Faith!!



Kristen

Hook, Line and Sinker

Had a great weekend. Very busy, like always. Yesterday, was Mike's day off so we went to the pool in the morning and to a friends house for dinner.

Very relaxing.

Today the kids and I went to the pool, big surprise, then came home ate lunch, read some from the book I am reading to them, and then met some friends at a local park.

It was a beautiful day in the 80's with a slight wind. Gorgeous. The park was by a river so after the fun of the slides and swings wore off our ingenious children decided that they would make themselves a fishing pole.

These 9 incredible children devised a fishing pole out of things they found. They even found a dead worm which squirted all over Seth's shirt....

We did have to stop them when they lost that worm and decided to ask a guy who was fishing down there for some bait.

I am loving this summer.

Kristen

Josh's collection

Here is the scene:

I am rocking out to Nickelback on my mp3 player while vacuuming the upstairs when I come to the boys room. Seth has been working on it for a while and made little progress. So I go in to help direct him. As I start to sift through the stuff I find three empty, but rinsed out clear plastic Popsicle wrappers. You know the flavor- pop kind. I immediately know Joshi is behind this. I call him up and when he sees them he says,"Those are for my collection!!"

Now having four kids I know that they all have gone through this collection stage. It's a hard stage for me. I love to throw stuff away. So much I often get in trouble with my man for throwing away the wrong thing. But I try to the best of my ability to respect the collection stage.

Joshi to this point has been collecting plastic. Anything plastic, milk tops, plastic stoppers, pen lids, you name it. But I really think that I need to draw the line on Popsicle wrappers.


Am I wrong here?

Kristen

Question...

Soooo, do you think that I can claim the late fines that I pay at the library as home schooling expenses?

I really have a problem with this. I don't know what it is. I even get email notification for when it is time to turn them in. I try to make them back on time or renew them but somehow it always seems to backfire on me.

Seriously, I have probably paid for new wings on at least three different libraries across the United States.

Do they have a support group for this?

I am really out of ideas here on how to get them back on time....

Kristen

Seth's First Baseball Game

	Seth started out the game as Short Stop. He at least was somewhat focused on the game and not on the clouds, grass, bugs.....
	Here he is sitting in the "dug out". The dug out is a hard place to be when you are 6.
	Seth hit the ball every time he was up to bat.
	Seth got to bat four times, he made it on base four times, made it home two times, and scored four RBI's.

Breakfast Date

Seth reached his reading goal a couple of weeks ago.

100 books!! He is a great reader!!

But we just haven't had a lot of free time lately. So I was determined to get our date in today. We have baseball tonight, assuming it doesn't flood, so I thought maybe a breakfast date was in order. He thought it was a great idea.

I got up got dressed and told him we were ready to go. As I was walking to the door he said, "wait mommy!!" And he ran out the door. I heard the garage door open and then a knock on the front door. That's right he was picking me up for my date! I could just eat him up!

So he opened the car door for me and we were off to Panera for bagels and coffee. When we got there we decided that hot chocolate sounded good. He really wanted decaf coffee but how can you turn down whipped cream?

After breakfast it was to the bookstore for a little shopping. We browsed for a bit then bought a book for him and we headed home.

It was a great morning.

Kristen

Wild Weekend

Crazy busy weekend.

Friday was our first official day off of school and we spent the morning at Paula's decorating cakes for her mom's birthday party. We then went right to music and then home to spend a couple of hours at the pool. (yes, I know I have a problem).

Since the kids memorized their last five memory verses perfect we planned a special treat for them. Usually it is Dairy Queen dilly bars but I thought since it was the end of the year something a little more special was in order.

Mike had some stuff to finish up for Sunday though, so we had a little change a plans. He came home ate quickly and we all headed out to IKEA. Now I had never been there before, and I am sure if you just want to waste a couple of hours it is a great place to go but we had specific things we needed to find, and it was late. It really wasn't as much fun as you would think. Really. We were done by 9 (closing time) and after loading everything up Mike and I looked at each other and realized their special treat was going to have to be someplace open late.

Did you know Steak and Shake is open 24 hours???!!! So at almost 10 at night I was feeding my children milkshakes....And taking after their Daddy, Granny and Papa three of the four chose Mocha milkshakes.....Unbelievably, they drank half on the way home, came home put them in the freezer and went to bed.

Saturday was early morning Fuel meeting for Mike in the morning and Baseball practice for me. As soon as Mike got home it was the graduation party, he was part of the band, for Terry's daughter until about 8 that night.

Sunday church, quick lunch at McDonald's, and Mike had 101 at church. I came home and cleaned the house until Mike came home at 6ish.

Busy weekend and now I feel like I need a rest from my weekend!!

Krsiten