Better Late Than Never?

I keep promising myself that I will come back to the blog to journal all the things in our lives for the kids to come back and read some day. I am really terrible about that. I'm hoping to dedicate more time to this than useless internet browsing. :-D

2009 Catchup

Okay, 2009 is over, and we are settling into the second month of 2010. Where has the time gone? It seems like we are always so crazy busy. Because of Facebook, I was even worse about posting anything to this blog. :-) As a result, I can say that the info on here is years old!

We got to come back to CA December of 2009. The trip went well until we hit Flagstaff, where we ended up driving through horrendous snow. We did make it in time to celebrate Christmas Eve with my parents, and Christmas Day with the in-laws. We are all enjoying being so close to family again.

The kids have all grown so much. I am amazed just looking back at pictures. Sam's reading has taken off, for which I am eternally grateful. David started Kindergarten this past fall and is doing great. Luci wants to join "doing school" with her brothers, so she just started today, and is having fun. She is now 3 and keeping both parents on tiptoes. Peter is ever mischievous and willful. It is hard to not do all the fun things momma keeps trying to stop him from doing! He finally walked at 17months old. (He is 18 months old today.) That caused a little bit of concern, but he has taken off running.

The hardest part of this past year has been the loss of every one of our cats. Reepicheep just never came back one day and has been missing since last February. Yoda was the tragic victim of an auto accident. And Rocco, my very first cat and the one we had had the longest, took off one day in October and never came back either. The two oldest boys got to pick out new kittens at the beginning of fall, and those are the 2 kitties we are left with.

Since life with four little ones does not seem to be slowing down, I will try to balance out time to blog more often. The family I had set this up for is now close by, but I also hope to keep this as a journal for the kids' milestones. At least. :-)

Three Months Away

I knew I had been gone for a while, just not this long. Three months is a long time for grandparents to go without pictures of their little loves. ;-)

April

We had the joy of visiting with Ben's parents in April. Unfortunately, this means that we won't see them when the baby is born. Considering the humidity though, I am sure they are relieved. Sam's t-ball season had started so they were able to join us for games, which absolutely thrilled Sam. I turned 26, and both boys were awed that I could be such a BIG number. lol

May

The grandparents left the second week of May, and we were all really sad to see them go. It was nice to be able to have family around again. Both David and Luci had birthdays in May as well. David turned four and Luci turned two. Both were excited to have their grandparents here as well to join in their celebrations.

I was laid low for three weeks with a nasty kidney infection. Not being able (or more like unwilling) to take anything chemical, I fought it off with herbal remedies and a small lagoon of liquids. Once I managed to kill that off, the kids caught some nasty bug that of course got passed on to me as well. So I was pretty much incapacitated for five weeks. I am glad to say that I am much better, and am now trying to get as much as possible done before our little one comes along next month.

But probably the most exciting part of this month was that Luci left her diaper days behind and is now using the toilet all the time. This will be the first time I have the one fully out of diapers before the next one is born. I am SO very glad. :-)

June

June has brought on the heat and humidity, which is the real killer. As a result, I tend to stay at home more with the kids and just hibernate until the time when I can go out and breath again. Sam's season ended and we missed the last two games. Not my fault. I didn't know until the DAY of, and we were out running errands. We have been trying to get rid of all unnecessary things, but that is rather difficult to accomplish at times. Things are coming along, and the next big thing should be the arrival of baby.

Long TIme No See

What a crazy, busy time this has been. But then again, when is it not, right? We all had a sinus bug right when we got back. We got better. Sam came down with the flu. Luci swallowed two paperclips that she had hooked together, and we spent a perfectly good day in the ER. Sam got better, but not before it seemed as if his insides were going to come inside out. We took Luci in for another set of x-rays only to be told the paperclips had already passed, and somehow I had missed them. David has something wrong with his stomach that doesn't seem like the flu, but it has been wreaking havoc on his little system.

The day we spent in the ER with Luci was the first day of t-ball practice. We, of course, missed it, and the next two practices were canceled due to freezing weather and snow. So, Monday Sam had his first official practice. He was a little overwhelmed at first but seemed to really be enjoying himself before long. His coach is really great. She gave each kid the chance to hit and play a different position each time. I think this will be a much better experience for us than football. Actually, just about anything would be better than football. :-)

Here is Sam making his hit.

Here we see Sam running from first to second.

And here we see what the two littles did for fun while we sat and watched. Is it really bad that I feel like yelling "RUN, Forest, RUN!!" Or that every time a little kid with a too big helmet goes up to bat, I think of Chicken Little? They are really cute, and they seem to be having a good time out there. That is all I ask for.

California

We came out to visit my mom nearly 2 weeks ago. My maternal grandma (and the only grandparent I had left) got really ill last month and had to be hospitalized. We came out as a distraction for my mom as she had been practically living in the hospital all this time. Unfortunately, my grandma passed away last Sunday. Fortunately, we were able to be here as a support and comfort for my mom. My grandmother lived a full life to the age of 84, and was able to hold grandchildren and great-grandchildren. What more can anyone ask for?

We return home this week. I am looking forward to seeing my hubby and sleeping in my own bed. It's the little things that count. I am also anxious to get home to start planning a trip out to AZ in the middle of this summer in order to have this baby. Why the craziness? Not only are midwives illegal in AL, but Ben and I would feel a whole lot safer and more comfortable if Paula caught this one as well. So, please wish me luck and pray that I am able to get to AZ without a problem.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

We had a very good Christmas. Up until that day things have been rather busy and hectic. Once again, we took our brood over to Dy's and mingled with her brood. It was loud and fun. The kids enjoy each other's company and energy, and all the adults enjoy each other's company so it all works out really well.

We had really good gifts and surprises, but the best one was for the entire family. We expect to have a new baby/sibling sometime in the end of July. The two boys are absolutely excited and thrilled. Sam is hoping I am having 3. haha David wants to know if I can let him have the baby now. Luci hears "baby" and runs to get her favorite doll for the moment.