Time to get LOST!

I've worked very hard to catch up on 3 seasons of LOST so I could watch the season premiere of season 4 tonight. I know there's a few friends out there who aren't ready to start season 4 so don't worry, I won't reveal any secrets. I'll just say that I think it's going to be good. :) The biggest trouble is that they are showing it on Thursdays and when Survivor starts again soon I'll have to watch one and tape the other. Oh man!

You can't be serious...

This is what it looks like outside today. There's a dusting of snow on the ground and a little ice on the road. I didn't even think about it as we were getting ready for school this morning. We hurried off in our usual manner. As we were driving I turned on my favorite AM station only to hear that the schools were closed? How could that be??? They had started out with a 2 hour delay and then decided to go ahead and cancel because there were some accidents on the roads due to the ice. Now maybe there were some places where the ice was worse but seriously...this was not a reason to cancel school! Of course Joshua and Abigail were excited. Joshua got on his cold weather gear as soon as we got back and went outside to play. Abigail and Chloe got Barbie dolls out and Josiah just keeps sneaking food (typical). We're going to meet some friends at McDonalds for lunch and playland time later. I still just can't believe that they called school off. Maybe they were thinking that they hadn't used a snow day yet and they probably won't have the opportunity to use one after this so they might as well???? All I know is that this would never have happened in Michigan!

The heart of a 2 year old

Yesterday Josiah and I were sitting on the couch and he looked up at our family picture hanging on the wall and said, "miss daddy". I told him I miss daddy too.
It is his custom lately to come into my room early in the morning, before the other kids are up, and get in bed with me. This morning he climbed in on Bob's side and just laid there. I was sort of half awake laying next to him and I heard him whispering, "Daddy, Daddy". Then we both drifted back to sleep. Later I asked him if he was thinking about daddy. His response was, "Daddy...Stan" which is his pronunciation of Afghanistan. It's enough to break my heart and at the same time it amazes me that he really understands so much. He misses his daddy and knows that he's in some far away place called "Stan". I'm sure he won't remember any of this but it's obvious to me that he's not oblivious to the situation. He'll be so glad when his daddy gets back from Stan...and hopefully he won't have negative connotations connected with that name for the rest of his life.

Sometimes they are so cute!

Yesterday morning Joshua looked out the window and his face lit up and he said, "Look, there's frosting on the roofs and the ground!" :) Even on the tough days they find ways to make me smile!

Confessions of a mommy

Sometimes I use the hose attachment from my vacuum to clean the crumbs off my table.

Boot Camp is killing me!

This month I decided to use my allowance to buy two new exercise videos: Fat Blasting Latin Dance Mix and Belly, Butt and Thighs Boot Camp. Let's just discuss the Latin Dance Mix first. I thought it would be fun and I thought the kids might like trying it with me. Well let me just say that I've tried it once (no kids around) and I think that anyone peeking in my window at the time probably got a cramp from laughter. I couldn't keep up and my hips certainly do not move like this girls. It's not to say that I won't try it again...and maybe I'll even get better at it. But until then there will definately be no observers, not even the little kind.
Concerning the Boot Camp video all I can say is, "WHOA"! This is seriously hard core. I made it through the entire video on Friday morning but I was hardly able to move for the last three days. My quad muscles were crazy sore!!! Now I'm afraid to do the video again. Will it be as bad as the first time? Or will it be not so bad because I've done it once? I just don't think I can handle that pain again. Maybe I can do it at a less intensive level. I'll let you know if and when I try it and what the result is.
Anyone out there have any exercise mis-hap stories? Or any videos that won't kill me but will give me a good work out???

No school Monday...Family Fun Day!

The kids didn't have school on Monday and I decided to use an idea I read in my Family Fun magazine. We'd have a Family Fun Day and each kid got to pick a special activity that we would all do. Josiah picked going to Barnes & Noble to play with the choo choo's. Joshua wanted to go to the aquarium. Abigail wanted snow cones so we stopped at Sonic and got slushies. And Chloe picked going to Mc Donalds. I had intentions of taking pictures of the kids playing at McD's but Chloe had a coughing fit and ended up puking mucus and I thought the moment for pictures had passed. Oh well. It was indeed a fun day and the kids are already talking about doing it again when daddy gets home. What activity will daddy pick??? My guess is going out to breakfast! :)

Boys Night

I thought Joshua needed a little guy time since daddy left and saw that the Harlem Globetrotters were coming to town. Our good friend OJ was available to take Joshua and they had a fabulous time! Joshua can't stop talking about it, he loved it!!! Thanks OJ, this is just another example of the way people are caring for our family in Bob's absence; It means so much to us...especially Joshua. He's going to remember this for a long time!

Outed by a sandwich

This little tooth has been hanging on for a LONG time but Miss Abigail just doesn't like coaxing teeth out so we've been waiting. Finally the other day at school it came out when she was eating her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Now the other top front tooth is hanging by a thread, maybe she'll work on this one a little more. :) She has the missing tooth lisp now too and it's pretty cute.

My Sweet Friend

Recently we've been praying lots for my dear friend, Amy. She learned not so long ago that she has breast cancer. Last week she underwent surgery to remove the mass in her breast and now we are all waiting to hear what course of action will be next. Please join me in praying for this dear sister in Christ. We know that God is Sovereign in all situations and we are trusting that He will be glorified through this trial.

Sharing brain cells

This past week was great because my mom was here to visit us. We had a great time just hanging out and getting ready for Chloe's birthday tea. It's so funny when my mom and I are together because almost instantly we notice that we say the EXACT same thing at the EXACT same time! It really is uncanny!! How does this happen? And it's even more funny because our voices are very similar so it's like hearing yourself in stereo. And it happens every time we are together. We always just look at each other and smile. Great minds....
Having mom here was wonderful because it helped get all our minds off the fact that Bob has gone back to finish his deployment. We knew this would be difficult on all of us, so it was particularly nice to have mom come now. She's always ready and willing to come when I need her! Thanks MOM! :)

We're looking forward to more visitors in February and hopefully our last 80 days without daddy will go by superfast!

Time for Tea

We celebrated Chloe's birthday with a lovely tea party. Chloe decided everything must be pink and there were no boys. We had a fabulous time eating, playing musical tea cups and decorating purses. We are so thankful for our Chloebear and for all our friends who joined us to celebrate! It was definately a birthday to remember.

How could four years have gone by so quickly?

Can it really be that my sweet Chloebear is 4 years old today? It just seems like yesterday that I was totally swollen (everywhere) laying on the couch at Pastor Charles and Connie's house not feeling too great; when Connie suggested that I drink castor oil. On the way home we decided to stop and get some to give it a try. It was still a week before my due date but I don't put much stock in due dates and I was ready! So we went home, got Abigail and Joshua into bed, and I made a castor oil and orange juice cocktail. It was the worst thing I've ever had to drink! Seriously, it was so hard to get down and I knew what was coming after that (you do know what castor oil does to you, right?) but it was worth it. After a few hours of running to the toilet I started having contractions. At 1 am I woke Bob and asked him if he was ready to meet his baby girl. When we got to the hospital I was dilated to 4 or 5 cm but the doctor (who just so happened to be the guy who delivered Joshua) told us to take a walk and come back in a few hours to see if I was really in labor. We walked every hallway of that hospital and then went back to labor and delivery and sure enough...I was still in labor...HELLO!
After two totally natural births I decided I was ready to check out this epidural thing and wouldn't you know it, it didn't work completely. I could still feel my contractions on my right side. I was so disappointed! The good news is that the epidural didn't slow things down and after only a few minutes of pushing our little Chloe arrived. However she did give us a bit of a scare. The cord was wrapped around her neck but it was really short so the doc couldn't get it off her. When she was all the way out, she was a bit on the purple side and she didn't cry. It was the longest few minutes of our lives and I'll never forget the worried look on Bob's face. But the pediatricians did their thing and everything ended up being fine.
And all of a sudden she's 4 years old. Doing things like riding bikes, painting, playing games on the computer, and spelling her name. Who knows what she'll be doing next! I'm so thankful for my sweet little Chloe. :)

Sunday afternoon fun!

Yesterday the kids were so good. They played together all afternoon. They created this elaborate fort and then played in it while I cooked. It was so FABULOUS. I love it when they work and play well together!!! :)

And just like that...it's over

Yep, our Christmas with daddy is done. He left this morning. That was the fastest 15 days ever. BLAH. The good news is that we just have to get through a few days and then Grammie will be here to distract us from missing daddy.
We had great times together while Bob was here: playing with choo choo's at Barnes & Noble, aquarium, cul-de-sac baseball, lots of reading, rough housing, snuggling, special traditions, church, hanging out and just enjoying being all together again! Here's a ton of pictures that explain better than my words.

Daddy's horsey rides are the BEST!


Chilly temperatures don't stop daddy from playing ball with the kiddos


Time for some science experiments


Bob gives the kids free reign on the ginger bread houses, what a mess!

Daddy reads one of our favorites "Dangerous Journey" kids eat ice cream sundaes!

Christmas Eve Cutie Pies

Authentic Afghan outfits for our little princesses


Chloe's Birthday Date with Daddy; She chose to go to Buca De Beppo.

Fat Balls: A Dutch New Years Eve tradition!

Fun with the Littles on New Years Eve!

Manly Men hanging out near the snacks

So as you can see we had a most wonderful Christmas! We're so thankful that Bob was able to come home to be with us. Only 3 1/2 months and he'll be home for good!