So much to do - So little time

We are now in the "countdown" mode. The kids keep asking if today will be their last day of school. They are going to miss their friends and I keep telling them that they will make new ones. I wish I knew what was going on in their heads enough to really understand how this move is effecting them - if at all. Mayah keeps talking about moving to UTAH and her pink house - at least she will have a Pink bedroom with Hot Pink sheets and Tinker-bell window coverings. She is such a girl! 


We are still in discussions with the brother in regards to them sharing a room or not. I am not sure how they would do separated. I think that they would sleep better - they wouldn't wake each other up - or would they? They could still go into the others room.... We will cross that bridge when we get there I guess. I mean we will finally have the room for them each to have their own room AND a play room! So excited! We will see how it goes. 


After this move I will be happy if I never see a box again! I was hoping that the move cross country here would be the last - but it looks like the Man upstairs has other plans for us. Things were so much different at that time. The twins were 1 year old exactly the day we pulled out of Vegas, and I was pregnant with another set of twins. This time - I am not pregnant! But I am knee deep  neck deep in my Masters Program. We will see if this move can sustain my 4.0. I'm not holding my breath - but anything is possible!


It is amazing how much stuff we have to move with the kids. We have so much "stuff". We have weeded a bunch out in the past few months and will continue up until the day we move I do believe! There are times that I wish we didn't have all this "stuff" - how easy would it be to just give it all away and live with just what we "need". Not  - gee this makes life easier - but really need, to actually sustain ourselves. I want to teach my kids that life is not about STUFF but the quality of relationships that we surround ourselves with. Its a hard concept to deliver unless you are actually living it. I think that Utah will be a big turning point in our lives. 


Well now that I have procrastinated long enough - time to get back to my homework. On tonights agenda - Can you really assess Intelligence? 

And Here We Go

Well - in 11 days we are supposed to be packing up our life here in St. Louis and moving West - to St. George, Utah. We will be going from the 1st most dangerous place to live in the US to the number 18 safest place to live. St. George is also noted to be a faster growing area than Vegas. What does that matter to us? Well - it means that there should be good job opportunities for both David and I. We are also moving closer to David's family. This will be a good thing. We have been here for 3 (almost 4) years and it has been hard on us. We have found some amazing babysitters along the way - but they do cost money. With the amount of kids that we have - the babysitter ends up being more expensive than the actual night out. It will be nice to have family to watch the kiddos every once in a while so that we can go out.

This move is also bitter sweet. In August I reached out to my Birth Father who I hadn't seen in some 25+ years. I also have two half-sisters and a step mother, all of whom I have met before - it just has been a lot of years. Things have turned out so much better than I have even wanted. It is hard for me to really explain how much this means to me. There has been so much going on with my own family (when isn't there) that this has been so awesome and a welcome relief.

We are excited about what the future has to hold for us. We are looking forward to a sense of "starting over". I am looking forward to beginning my career in the Counseling world. I am looking forward to taking up hiking and camping and all the outdoors stuff that we will be able to now.

Hello again

Wow - 2 days in a row - even I'm impressed now! Today was a productive day - I just got done cleaning the kitchen floor. I used a swifter wet jet. We decided to try one of these now since the kitchen, hall and both boys rooms are all hard wood floors. I like it. Now I do have to say that the only reason that I even had to clean the floor was because I spilled David's soda all over the floor as soon as we walked in the house after walking in the door.

We found out that Christmas Eve a pipe burst at the school, flooding it. They were able to get the computers up off the ground, but we are still left with a stinky mess to clean up. Fun.

Ethan is learning how to use the computer. He is playing games in Playhouse Disney. He now just wants to sit in front of the computer all day long and "play". It is kinda fun watching him on the computer though. Just another example of my baby growing up.

We went over to Ward and Debbie's house and saw friends from Havasu (well they don't live in Havasu any more - they now live in Williams, AZ) - Dick and Bev Allen and their daughter Debbie were passing through town and stopped at Debbie and Wards for the night. When they pulled in the discovered that their motor home no longer went in reverse! They might be staying longer than just a night.......

Tonight my friend Abby and I are going to see a movie - okay - we just went and saw a movie. (Yes, I started this post before we left and am finishing it now that I am back). I do have to say that it was one of the best movies that I have seen in a long time. I guess that I am a sucker for a good love story too. We saw Twilight. I am now off to read the first book in the series. I am afraid though, that if I start the book tonight - sleep will not be had. I will tell myself - just the first chapter.......

Well my friends - my book, my pillow, and my PJ's are all calling.

I will catch up will you all later.

Hope your Friday was as exciting as mine.

Happy New Year -- Here's To 2009!

I am looking forward to all that 2009 is going to bring to our family! I do believe that 2009 can only be better than 2008! I am so excited to see what God is going to do in our lives and in our family. I am watching our babies grow into little boys and a young man. I have a little girl that I never imagined I would have. Every day that I look into her face, I am filled with a joy that I just can't explain. It is so different than with the boys. There is just a different connection with her.

There are so many different things that I would like to do in the New Year. Isn't that always how it starts out - we make a list of things that we want to do in at the beginning of the year and then within a few weeks, maybe a month, even a few days we break these "resolutions". I read a book growing up "21 Days to Make or Brake A Habit", according to this book that's all it takes - 21 days. It worked for me. In 21 days - I quit biting my nails. So according to this book, if we can make it just to the 21st of January - we are golden. I guess we will see.

One of the things that I would like to do more of in 2009 would be to Blog more. Not just because it is "one more thing to do", but it is because it is a way that I can keep in contact with family and friends that we don't get to see all the time and those that I "met" while on bedrest with Mayah and while pregnant with the twins. One of the ways that I am going to *try* to do that is with the Thursday Thirteen.

It just works out perfectly that the beginning of the new year is a Thursday! Works for me! This Thursday I will list the 13 highlights of 2008 - maybe not the best or greatest things but the things that made 2008 what it was (in no particular order).

1. The birth of Mayah. Our princess.

2. I graduated with my BA at the top of my class. Summa Cum Laude. Go Shannon!

3. We moved into a house that is perfect for us right now - minus one bathroom, but a HUGE backyard!!!

4. Ethan started kindergarten and is doing really well. He is reading and writing and loving school.

5. David is starting on a new adventure with his career and it is not with Starbucks. Scary but exciting at the same time. For the first time in 17 years he has been unemployed for more than a month. Scary.

6. Faith has never been more real to us than it has been this year. We have had to rely on God more than ever before.

7. We thought we were in a place where God wanted us, and watched our dream fall apart in front of our eyes. We cried. We screamed. We mourned. We were angry for a while. We questioned God, we questioned ourselves, we are seeking, we are knocking, we are waiting upon the Lord. We are not, we will not, we refuse to become bitter.

8. I started work in August. I didn't realize that I would enjoy as much as I do. I don't know if it is because I am out of the house now, maybe because I spent so much time time inside - on bedrest????

9. Isaac was diagnosed with Asthma. Not the best news, but now we are prepared and doing preventative treatments, and are can keep an eye on him just in case. We also learned that Aidan has an appetite for wood. Who knew? At least it is low in calories right? :)

10. Both of our parents come out to visit us - Davids parents came out in February and mine in April. We were then able to make a trip to Utah/Havasu/Vegas in July - August.

11. Ward and Debbie moved to IL! Yeah! It was a long time coming and it finally happened. We were wondering, I am sure that they were wondering too.

12. I had to stick myself with numerous needles numerous times a day for a short time during the beginning of the year, all while on 23 weeks of bedrest. This was all to keep me pregnant. I am so glad that this is over and that I will never have to do that again! I had to get over my fear of needles to do that. There were so many things that I had to do this pregnancy that I didn't with the boys. But it also meant the delivery of a perfect little addition to our family - the completion to our family.

13. We have received more blessings in more ways than we would have every thought possible in 2008. Just when I though that all hope was lost I would turn around and the answer would hit me in the face - I would then feel so stupid for even doubting that God wouldn't come through for us. We are believing God that this next year we will be able to "Pay It Forward" double - even triple.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR AND A BLESSED ONE TO YOU ALL

UGH!

So I got this whole new fancy look for my blog - And when I added it - Guess what??? I lost my whole Blog Roll - I am lost! I have no clue where to go to visit my old blogs. Lesson #1 Keep blog rolls somewhere other than on your blog!

Its been way to long and time for another update - I am working on it!! Gee life with 4 kids is busy! Especially with 3 of them 2 and under!

Short version in case you can't wait - :)

Ethan - doing GREAT in school - loving it! He can read most short words and can write a bit too! He is really excelling at Math - addition and subtraction are just coming really easy for him.

Aidan - Oh man! He is by far more vocal than Isaac - He is talking a bunch now. He loves to undress himself and does it every chance he gets! He also LOVES to take his shoes and socks off in the car - as soon as we get in. Makes these cold snowy days very hard and frustrating! (Ok - so it has only snowed once - well can you call flurries snow???)

Isaac - Well he was in the hospital for a few days at the end of October for pneumonia and while in the hospital they diagnosed him with Asthma. We are still trying to get his coughing under control. It is mainly quite during the day but it acts up at night or if he has been playing hard (running around) or crying. We are still operating under the "Orange zone" of his Asthma action plan. We will be going back to the Dr this will though cause he just started with a runny nose tonight - Something we were told to watch for and to get him in to the Dr ASAP if his cough wasn't controlled.

Mayah - Almost 7 months! Can't believe it! She is too cute. Loves to laugh and suck her toes. When I change her diaper - I have to PRY her toes out of her mouth when I am done. She will masterfully pull off her socks to get to her toes. She can even unsnap buttons if they stand in the way of her toes. At this point I do believe that she prefers he big toe to her thumb!

David - Still with Starbucks - Until Friday - We think. In December he will start with a new company called 4 Preservation. Awesome opportunity for us.

Me - Going Crazy! Well not really but I do believe that I will be starting my Masters in January.

Okay - Well I have a kitchen that desperately needs to be cleaned!

So if you were on my blog roll and what to stay on it - comment me. If you don't it might be a while till I get around to finding you again and put you back on. If you weren't on it but want to be - you can comment me too. Make me feel special! :)