Catch up

When I wrote that title I couldn't help but think of the latest joke the kids think is SO funny:
"What did the mustard say to the hot dog during the race? Try to ketch-up!"

Besides telling silly and stupid jokes that often don't make any sense, this is what the kids have been up to lately.

• Kari played in the soccer Jamboree. She came off the sidelines at one point because she was hot and tired and wanted to be done (it was a hot day, I'll give her that), but once I told her that only kids who play in the game get an after-game snack, she went back and finished the game. So far there is no competitive soccer drive in Kari, but she says she likes it and does seem to enjoy herself, as long as it's not 90 degrees out.
• My carpets have been cleaner this week now that Kari is tall enough and strong enough to use our vacuum. She begs me to let her vacuum. :)
• We've been doing some reading. I love the sight of all the kids reading with Daddy, and it was so cute to see Joel reading with Aubrey in the rocker in her room this morning.
• Kari and Joel have been working hard on mud pie soup (in the wheelbarrow). The nice weather is allowing them to enjoy the backyard a little longer than usual.
• The last day before Kari went to school we took a trip to the zoo to visit the new lions. We brought my friend and old OSU roommate, Kelly, with us which was fun. She's a kid magnet, and even though it had been a long time since we'd seen her, they loved her and all wanted her attention, even Aubrey.

First day

Here is our proud kindergartener.

And one with her brother and sister. Had to be quick to get Aubrey in there.

Kari was ready bright and early, excited for her first day. And I was teary. I realized last night as I was reading the school's parent handbook that wasn't going to be able to walk her into her classroom, and that upset me. Because of parking/bus logistics, the school asks parents to just pull up to the curb, drop kids off, and pull on out (heartless, don't you think?). When I pulled up, the principal was standing there waiting to greet students and send them to where they need to go, so it wasn't as if I was just leaving her standing on the sidewalk alone, but it still just didn't feel right. Kari hopped out, and after a cheerful wave and a happy"good-bye, Mom!" I pulled away from the school and sobbed all the way home--a blubbering mess. Had to have a quick recovery, though, because we had an important mission to accomplish. We had to find a new backpack for Kari. This morning we discovered a huge gaping hole near the bottom (not sure how that happened but very inconvenient on the first day of school). I safety pinned it with a promise to remedy the situation while she was gone. What could have been an impossible mission (have you seen the stores this week? No more back-to-school. It's all about Halloween now.) turned out to be not so bad. We didn't find a princess backpack like she requested, but we did find a pretty blue one that Joel said Kari would like. And it was on clearance--even better! Kari was just as happy when we picked her up as she had been when we dropped her off. She had a great morning and can't wait to go back. Oh, and she loves the new backpack.

Today was all about Kari, but I'm really looking forward to having some time with just Joel and Aubrey at home. I promised them we wouldn't run errands all morning like we did today. They did great, but it wasn't exactly the fun, special morning I intended it to be.

I think it's gonna be ok

Kari and I went to her new school this morning for a preliminary screening and to meet her teacher. I have been anxious about this visit, considering the last time we were at her school (last spring for kindergarten round-up), Kari hated it and sobbed for 45 minutes after we got home because she didn't want to go to kindergarten. We've worked hard trying to prepare Kari for this new experience and have talked a lot about her new school, trying to change her mind and help her not be so scared. Today's visit went very well, even better than I expected. Kari responded to their questions and did what was asked of her. She got to see her classroom and the cubby where she'll put her backpack and jacket. She let the teacher hold her hand and show her the different areas of the room. The teacher talked with her for a while and at the end gave her a "special delivery" envelope to tote to and from school (kind of a message/mail system for communication between parents and teacher), and after I'd talked with the teacher, too, we came home. No trauma, no tears. Yeah!

This afternoon I pulled all the papers out of the envelope to sort through them, and I found this:

I remembered hearing Kari ask where her scissors were right after we got home and saw her working on something but didn't think much about it. She's always busy working on some little project these days. She wrote this little note and slipped it into the envelope without a word to me about it. You see, the teacher had told Kari when she gave her the envelope that she really likes it when students draw pictures and write letters at home and bring them in the envelope for her. I think our little kindergartener is getting excited to go to school. I'm so glad. And I think she already likes her teacher. We'll see how Tuesday goes--for me and for her!

Update on the state of things around here

I want to say thanks to those of you who prayed for us, thought about us, and wrote words of encouragement in the last few weeks since the miscarriage. We are doing better. I'm feeling good once again, and emotionally, I'm feeling much more stable. We are so thankful for the friends and family God's given us and for our church. You have all been so supportive and caring, and I have truly felt the arms of God surrounding me. Thanks for your love and care for our family.

I'm grateful those weeks are behind us, and that I have some things to look forward to:

• Fall (my favorite season)--leaves changing, apple-picking, the pumpkin patch, soup, cozy fires...
• Soccer games (lots of them)--her first official game is next Saturday
• Kari starts kindergarten next Tuesday (we meet her teacher tomorrow morning). We are entering the exciting world of school.

Things are getting busy--but busy in a good way.

Fishers of trout

The kids caught their first fish when we went to the trout farm this weekend. They practiced casting earlier this summer when we were at the coast, but this time they actually caught fish. It's pretty much impossible not to catch fish at this place. Those fish are just waiting to take your bait and hook.

Kari holding "Gloria" (that's what she named her fish). You should have seen Kari's face and heard her gasp of shock as she watched "Gloria" get sliced open and gutted.


Joel holding "fish-of-many-names" (he kept changing the name--Kenneth, Daddy, Sam...). He was pretty excited to hold his fish once it was in the net.

They drew pictures of their rainbow trout later that day, and we ate them last night. There sure are a lot of bones in those tiny little fish! Joel liked his trout ok, but Kari took one taste of "Gloria" and decided fish wasn't her favorite.

Soccer Practice

I remembered the camera this week, but I discovered two things. One, that I need more practice with sports photography. All my photos of Kari are blurry and out of focus. Two, I can't snap photos and watch my other two children at the same time. Aubrey kept running out into the field with all the big kids, and Joel ran off to the bathroom (port-a-potty) without my knowing and was all the way across the field before I noticed. So, with the safety of my children in mind, I may have to limit my photography. We'll see if I can get better at multi-tasking.
We only have one more practice before the jamboree (still not sure what that means, but I think they do some scrimmaging, which means they need to sort of know what they're doing), so we'll see how much Coach Greg and Coach Mike can accomplish in one little 45 minute practice. These kids are NOT ready to play a real game. It's going to be hilarious.

This how Joel entertained himself for a while this week during soccer practice. Joel, Aubrey, and I don't have to go, but it's kind of fun with the nice weather and all. Once it gets rainy we'll probably just go to the games and be cold and wet once a week instead of twice a week. (BTW, for those who have asked, we still don't have a game schedule, but we do know the games are on Saturday mornings)

Blurry Kari running (her friend Ellie is in the yellow shirt)

Miss run-out-in-the-field-every-chance-I-get Aubrey

Working on some skills

First official sport

Kari's had two soccer practices, and I've forgotten to bring my camera both times. Luckily, Christine brought hers to Thursday's practice and posted some photos here. She also explains how, with no soccer coaching experience whatsoever, Greg became coach and her husband, Mike, became assistant coach. The guys are going a great job, and it's going very well so far. Having her friend, Ellie, on the team has made it a fun and exciting experience for Kari thus far, which is great because when we first approached Kari about playing soccer she didn't want anything to do with it. Having Daddy as her coach has helped make it a not-so-scary new experience, too. Poor Joel is sad because he wants so badly to be on the team, but he and Ellie's brother, Blake, (both 3 yrs old) will just have to play off to the side this season. We're looking forward to a fall full of soccer entertainment.

Wonder Anew

Aubrey turned 18 months this week and is the epitome of toddlerhood--so cute, so fun, and such a little stinker! She screamed and squirmed and wouldn't stay on the scale at her well-child visit, so we don't really know exactly how much she weighs, but basically, she's tall and big but taller than she is big. She's growing just fine.

One of the things I love about being a mom and staying home with my kids is getting the privilege of seeing things through their eyes. The kids and I were taking a walk one sunny morning when all of a sudden Aubrey starts screaming, pointing to the ground, and running in circles. She kept looking over her shoulder as if someone were chasing her. Something was chasing her--her very own shadow. I rescued her from that dark, scary thing and picked her up, waving so she could see my shadow waving to us. The fear dissipated and then she was completely enthralled. She spent the next 15 minutes waving and saying, "Hi, sa-doh!" over and over again. We live in an amazing world, don't we? Black things on the ground follow us and wave back at us! When I stop and take a break from the laundry, the computer, the cleaning, and everyday chores and spend quality time with my kids, I get to see the world through their eyes, and I feel a new sense of wonder of and appreciation for God's greatness, the earth he created, and the precious children he's given me.

9 Years

Nine years ago today we became "man and wife," and I'm so thankful I married the man I did. We've had so many good times together, along with some difficult ones, like this last week, and they all have drawn us closer together. Marriage just gets better and better. May we be blessed with many more anniversaries. I love you, Greg!

Now, how are we celebrating this 9th anniversary? We're going to Kari's first soccer practice! Romantic, don't you think? We'll celebrate eventually, once things simmer down around here, and we can figure out a new time to go out together. Our original plans had to be postponed.

Sad news

We shared our happy baby news on the blog, but now we have to share our not happy news--miscarried the baby, no heartbeat. You can pray for us. We're ok, but it's hard.

Pigtails and painting

I got all of Aubrey's hair in pigtails for the first time. She's a big girl now!
We did some painting while waiting for cousins to come over this morning. Aubrey wants to do what Kari and Joel are doing these days, but we stuck to watercolors for her.

Not bad for her first try.

These two love playing together in the back yard. It's so nice that they finally WANT to be out there and can do it without fighting (most of the time).

Sidenote:Joel just in the last couple weeks got brave enough to go down the slide. He was quite proud of himself.

Mischief

This is what happens when you say, from the couch on a Sunday afternoon, "Sure, you can get the bubbles out of the cupboard under the sink," thinking they just want to refill their bubble containers outside. They grab the bubbles and the full bottle of dish soap to make a huge outdoor bubble bath.

Rockaway '09, Part Two

First short trek to the beach

gutting/cleaning the morning's crab catch

eating chocolate with Grandma

lounging, fireside

s'mores, banana boats, and biscuit-on-a-stick (some we know refer to it as "bannock")

gathering shells and scaring birds

glamour beach girl showing off her new-found shell

my crazy husband and brothers playing in the cold ocean on a not-so-warm day

Rockaway '09, Part One--The kids

Joel thoroughly enjoyed this year's Arnold beach vacation. He and Kari ran around together and had a blast. He was a little timid when it came to actually going in the ocean. He wanted to go in like Kari (running at full speed) but just couldn't make himself do it. Uncle Brian helped him one afternoon, and the bottom middle photo shows them trying to "hold their ground" as the water rushed in. Very cute.

Aubrey had a love/hate relationship with the beach. Well, actually mostly hate, but she had a couple moments when she loved it (purple sweatshirt day--running after the birds and swinging between Daddy and Uncle Blake). She hated the sand on her feet and hands. The top row is the first day on the beach. She was not a fan, but Greg got some rare Aubrey snuggle time because of it. Aubrey is a mama's girl and everyone heard about it on this trip--"Mama! Mama!" all day (and night) long. You can see the next day she wasn't much happier about the sand. Every time we went to the beach we had to carry her down to the wet sand otherwise she wouldn't put her feet down (middle row). Aubrey was the cutest, most exasperating little thing on this trip. She did not sleep well (woke up between 4:30 and 5:30am every morning) and so neither did we. She kept us laughing, though, most of the other hours of the day. Hope you like the sand better next year, Aubrey!

Kari loved everything about the ocean, as usual. She ran right into that frigid water. She and Joel had fun "fishing" with Uncle Blake. She ate way too many smores and marshmellows, but it was vacation after all. I almost forgot to mention that she and Joel got to come a day early with Aunt Emily and Uncle Brian. The kids were so excited to go and spend the night without Mom and Dad. Brian and Emily had them for 24 hours--nice break for us! :)

News travels fast

Kari often enjoys helping "baby" Aubrey with things like putting on her swimsuit, and she will be having many more opportunities to help with such tasks because...we are expecting #4! Was it a surprise? No, not really, although it did happen a little sooner than expected. We told our families right away (I don't keep my exciting secrets very well, especially when best friends call and ask, point-blank, if I'm pregnant before we've told ANYONE--yes, this did happen.), and we told our kids last week after we saw a tiny but strong heartbeat on an ultrasound, so I decided I may as well share our news on the blog. I'm only about 8 weeks along with a projected due date of March 16th. We're very excited and praying that God will keep this little one growing healthy and strong.