Happiness

  Elizabeth and I at my Grandma's bday party!    Well, I am at 38 weeks tomorrow- full term! Yay! !The time has flown by so fast! Maybe that's what happens when you are busy with 4 kids in school and keeping busy substituting as well!    And now comes the time when I can't sleep. I just can't get comfortable- the bed is too straight, my curves are too curvy and it's not a great fit! I have a full body pillow but it doesn't help much. I need one of those big, huge J shaped body pillows they sell that are quite expensive! And of course, I am just EXCITED! I know that excitement can cause adrenalin rushes, but I can't help it. I held a nine month old last night and thrilled at the thought of having another one! The kids are getting excited too and ask about when the baby is coming or if they will come home one day and find me nursing on the couch. I reassure them that they will get to visit us at the hospital first!  I love babies. And I get ...

Asher      All the cars, lined up!     Ethan, getting ready to race!   Ethan     Jonah and his car! He won the sportiest award for his design.   Ethan and his car. He won the "most unusual car" award. We thought it should be the most unique car award, but that's okay!   Someone brought an old Model T racer- the kids loved it and loved honking the horn!  " The Red Hot Rod" and "The Blues" Ethan doing some painting. This year, we didn't have a lot of time to work on the cars, since e-mails about the event got sent out late and we were gone during Spring Break. The boys did a great job even on short notice! Josh did a great job helping them too!    Jonah taping and painting.   Oh, Baby! Almost 37 weeks there. Getting ready to meet this little guy! 

Ethan and Jonah on St. Patrick's Day! As some of you know, my twinners are both on ADD medicine. Their grades both began to plummet in 3rd grade. They stopped paying attention in class and were not able to do well on the in class assignments or tests. After an evaluation from the Dr., their teachers and us, we put them on medicine to see if it would help. And after a few trial-and-error type trials, boy did they help! Their grades went from mostly C's to straight A's. Both of them. We were happy! There have been not very many side effects, but Ethan's medicine (Concerta) effects his appetite. Once it hits his system, he is not very hungry. So, from the hours of 10-5 he doesn't eat a lot. But, at dinner he eats a ton and has a nighttime snack. Jonah is on a different medicine (Intuniv) and hasn't had that same side effect. As a result, Jonah is bigger than Ethan for the first time in his life. Since my boys are both pretty small for their age anyways, it...

Grandma Betty We love you! Your open arms, Your giving hands, Your thoughtful Cards and gifts and Packages; Make us smile Make us laugh And feel loved. Icy cold drumsticks. Glasses of cold o.j. B.B.Q chicken, Fruit Salad And chocolate cream pies- (We can never get enough!) These are the treats Of Grandma. For all those times You have been there for us. We thank you. We appreciate you. We love you, Grandma Betty.

  My Grandmother Betty and I   This past weekend, my family held a big SURPRISE birthday party for my Grandma's 90th Birthday! We had been planning it since December, so we were all looking forward to it! Luckily it was during Spring Break (and I was 35 weeks along- not 36 so my Dr. gave me the ok to travel), and we were able to attend! Josh had one of his big yearly conferences during Spring Break, so my sweet Mom flew out to Arizona and drove with me to California. It helped a ton! Everyone was coming for the birthday party, so we stayed with my Grandma. She already knew we were planning a party (but she didn't know how big it was) so it was okay that we stayed with her. About 50 people were there- all 4 of her living cousins, two of her children, most of her grandchildren and almost all of her great grandchildren. We played Grandma Betty BINGO and learned more about her life. I read a poem and Grandma herself read a poem about her life (so sweet!). We presented her...

In Fourth Grade, the kids get to pick a Famous Arizonian, study them, write a report, do a poster board and then dress up like them and answers questions as the whole school tours their presentations. This year Ethan and Jonah both picked the Navajo Code Talkers- on their own. They said that that was the only name on the list that they recognized. I guess we are still working on being native Arizonians! They spent a lot of class time and home time working on their projects! Ethan even memorized a 5 paragraph speech for his class. I tried to get it on film, but he was being shy at school and then I forgot! Way to go, Ethan and Jonah!      

In the middle of February, I was able to go with Jonah on his field trip to the AZ State Capitol Building. Ethan's class was going too- on a different day- but I went with whoever gave me their permission slip sooner.   Jonah and his good friend Bridger- he's old enough not to want to sit by Mom on the bus!   Inside the first Governor's office- pretty neat!   Inside the old state Legislature room- there were no women representatives and most were Republicans!  This is Jonah- saying "Mom, don't take a picture of me!"   Arizona's State Capitol     My Crew!   Jonah's 4th Grade Class- w/ Mrs. Bretzke!