Random Updates...

So this post is a random, catch all for the past I don't know how many months. Clearly, I have missed posting about each of the kids most recent birthdays, and they all had one, but this is going to focus on noteworthy events that have happened since the first of the year.

 First, {k} had his tonsils out in Jan. Here is a before...

 and here is the after. :) Clearly, he wasn't all that worse for wear after the procedure. The following month was tougher for him than for his siblings when they got their tonsils out, but he recovered just fine in the end.

 The end of the school year brought {A} earning Honor Roll for his class. He was one of only a handful of kids in his class to earn honor roll. We are very proud of how hard he worked in school this year.

  

 {A} participated in the school choir this year also. He would meet about 40 minutes early two days a week, and practice. They had 3-4 concerts throughout the year, and were even able to sing at the Capitol Rotunda during Christmas time. He loves to sing!

 

{a} graduated from Preschool in May. She had a wonderful teacher, and a super fun experience! She will now join her brothers in school this year, as a kindergartener!!

 My Grandpa {G} passed away in July. He was 93 and had had a wonderful, long fulfilling life. He went rather quickly, for which we are all grateful. He is now celebrating with Grandma {L} in Heaven. Love you Grandpa!!

July also brought {K} turning 8. This meant he got to have a friend birthday party. He invited 8 friends from school/church and had such a fun time! The most favorite activity were these bubble snakes. They dipped the end of a sock into a light bubble/water mix and then blew in the end of a water bottle. These cool "snakes" would then appear.

{K} made the choice to be baptized. He was baptized and confirmed by his dad and we then had a small gathering of family and close friends for dinner after. We are so proud of you, {K}!!



The following is a synopsis of what I have had to deal with this summer: (I wrote this to a friend in an email)
 While we were gone camping the end of June, I ended up getting mastitis in my left breast. It is very rare for women to get mastitis if they arent nursing, but apparently it can happen. So far it has been two weeks.  They cultured it last week and it is staph. Not good. Last friday a surgeon cut a two inch slit just to the left of my nipple in hopes that the infection would have somewhere to drain. I head back to the surgeons office today for a checkup. It really isnt getting better. In the meantime i have had a rash from the antibiotic. I am so ready for all this to be behind me.
 Next, I wrote:
 Really long story short, we finally made the decision to see another breast care surgeon(who is 1000 time better than the first) and she was willing to try and diagnose the problem, instead of just trying to get rid of the problem. She did cancer biopsies and thankfully they are all negative. She did however, diagnose my breast infection/inflammation as glanulomatous mastitis(GM). It's basically mastitis in my glands. Then, on top of that, I ended up getting erythema nodosum(EN). This is basically an umbrella term for a hypersensitivity/inflammation reaction to (blank). The blank can be infection, inflammation, reaction to antibiotics or any combination of the above. It was extremely painful bruise-like sores all over my legs. I could hardly walk, kneel and whenever I put my legs down I could feel the blood rush to my legs. She put me on prednisone, and I am pleased to share that the meds began working almost immediately. The leg pain is completely gone, and the bruises are looking wonderful(compared to what they did look like).
The surgeon found an article that links the GM to the EN, so that proved to her that they are connected somehow. The GM is a pretty rare kind of mastitis, so she is sending me to a rheumatologist for further consultation to determine if I have an underlying auto-immune something going on.


So, there you go. Major update from our family. Now, on to back to school!! :)

End of School

I thought I published this in June, but apparently not. These are the teachers for 2011-2012 school year.

{K} with his first grade teacher Mrs. O

{A} with his 3rd grade teacher Mrs. C

we have had this trike for a while now, but we recently replaced the tires so the kids all ride together.

back to school

Yesterday was the first day of school for the 2012-2013 school year. {A} started 4th grade in an all day Challenge (Gifted and Talented) Program. {K} started 2nd grade with an awesome teacher that we love! {a} will start preschool next week, also with a teacher we love. The boys were so excited yesterday to start school.

I have the opinion that my children should get to choose what they wear, so I dictate very little what they choose to wear on any given day. (Understanding that I am still the one who BUYS their clothes. :)) This is especially reflective in what {K} chose to wear for the first day of school. Blue and orange stripes with green camo shorts. :)

{K} is 7

just over a month ago, {K} had a birthday and turned 7. crazy!! We had a small family party, and mom and dad came. he got to sleep over for 2 nights with gma and gpa this time and he got to buy a fishtank and 3 fish. since then we have managed to kill 4 goldfish. not a good track record. we plan to do a bit of research and try again soon.

{K} I LOVE YOU!! You are fun and funny. You are crazy and silly. You are sensitive and compassionate. I love all these things about you. Have a fun year being 7!!

quick update

I can't believe it's been since July that I have posted. Here is a quick update of life around here since then. School started. {A} is in 3rd grade and is loving it! He finally lost his first tooth early in the summer. And not long after school started he lost his 2 front top teeth. He is working to earn an allowance. His goals for allowance are to make kinder choices and to not have attitude toward Mom or Dad. He has tried for about 3 months and has made wonderful progress. He will earn his first payday tomorrow. {K} is in 1st grade and is doing very well! He is quite the reader. He works so hard every day. I am amazed at his reading skills. {a} is in a music and movement class right now and after about 6 weeks of class, she is finally warming up to being there. Thank goodness there are 2 classes left for her to show the class her fun personality. She has recently learned to write her name. She is quite the corker. {k} is 16 months. I can hardly wait for nursery so I can actually join even 1 hour of class at church. He is SO busy, and SO noisy. But, he is also fun and funny and loves being the center of attention.

budding photographers, and burned hand

Recently, I let 3 of my kiddos have a chance to take pictures around our yard. It was fun to see what they found important enough to take pictures of. Here are my 1 fav from each child.

The Tree by {A}
Corn by {K}
Baby by {a}









Also, I wanted to mention for journaling reasons, that {k} had his hand burned recently. We had a hot small bbq grill out, and he touched it with his right hand. It blistered right away, and popped that evening. He has had it wrapped in a bandage for a week now, but seems to be healing nicely. Poor little guy. We feel so horrible, but are grateful there shouldn't be any scars.

{K} turns 6!

Happy Birthday to my adorable {K}. He turns 6 this week, and we had a party for him over the weekend. It was fun to have extra family in town to celebrate with us!

{K} is a fun loving, happy boy. He is also, however, a bit sensitive and cries easily. He is super excited to be a first grader, and LOVES his little brother. He enjoys playing pokemon and bakugon with his big brother and tormenting his little sister. {K} will start piano lessons soon and we are hoping that will help him become more confident in front of others. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOBES!!

happy 13 love!

DH and I have been married for 13 years today. Wow, it's been an amazing ride and I can't wait for the next 13 years! I love him more than I thought I ever could! Thanks for being an amazing husband and father. I love you DH!! Here are a few pictures of our family.

13 years.
4 kids
2 homes
1 motorcycle accident
many mini accidents by me. :)
a couple of vacations
too much fun to count!!

update

So I know it has been way too long since I updated, so this post will be lengthy! scroll down to the bottom for commentary on the pictures. :)


































































































































































































































































































































I have caught {A} reading to his brothers more lately, and I think it is just wonderful! His class performed Fairy Tales recently, and also, I have put in a pic of {A} and his wonderful 2nd grade teacher! She has been fantastic for {A}!!


{K} graduated from kindergarten today, and I also have a pic of him with his teacher. She is also a wonderful teacher. I am pleasantly surprised at how well he is reading! {K} was chosen as Citizen of the Month for May. His teacher said he was such a good boy and definitely earned this honor! They performed a kindergarten "informance". It is where the kindergarten students show what they have learned this year. He was quite shy and embarrassed by all the attention. But, that is {K} all the way! They made enchanted eggs with his 3rd grade buddy. He was so proud to place it in the place of honor next to my enchanted egg that I made in kindergarten! {K}'s teacher taught with my kindergarten teacher at the same school for a few years while I was still in elementary school. I remember her being there... :)


I signed {a} up for a little "Dance Class". It was 4 classes long, and super cute! I tried to download a couple of videos, but it didn't work. I will try again later. She loves to climb in {k}'s bed and torment the poor guy! I put in her first picture of a person. She was drawing on the details, and said "finger, finger". I am amazed at how much more she wants to color and draw than either of the boys wanted to at that age. We bought an atv recently, and the kids are loving it!