Much needed energy has returned

I am feeling great this morning! The past week has been quite the week. We were visiting family for the holidays when Sunday morning, Clark and I rushed to the ER. He ended up having surgery and staying over night. Then Monday, Will got the stomach flu. We decided to come home after that. Since we've been home, Rosie and I got the flu. However, when I woke up this morning, I felt energetic. I'm hopefully turning over a new leaf.

A little update on us:

Clark is feeling much better. He is on a "soft foods" diet for one more week. It has been really hard since he loves steak, chips, and other banned foods. But, he's been such a good sport. I'm guessing after next week though, we won't be having pudding or soup for a LONG time!

Will is the sweetest kid. Every day he hugs me and tells me he loves me, even when I've been less than patient with him. His new interest is dinosaurs. He and Rosie like to play "T-Rex and Maisaura" (the mother dinosaur . . . I learned this from one of their library books). He will start Sunbeams next week. How can he be that old?!

Rosie loves being funny. She likes to say "Shnikes" to make us laugh. She is talking very well. She told me a story two nights ago about a blue rabbit with floppy ears who she and Dad touched, but Will and I didn't touch him. Last night, I put Rosie to bed around 8:30. At 9, I was tired, so I checked on the kids and then went into my bed. As I was getting comfortable, Rosie comes out of my closet and says, "Hi Mom!" I started cracking up!

I wanted to add pictures to this post, but I accidentally left the camera in the car overnight and it's still pretty cold. I'll try to upload some pictures later in the week.

Happy Halloween

These pictures are out of order. Sorry. We had a little Halloween Party this year. Here's Will, Porter, Steph, and Rosie. Will loved his dinosaur costume so much last year, he wanted to wear it again this year. I was fine with that. :) Rosie was a lion, but when we trick-or-treated everyone thought she was a bear. I guess it looks like a bear from the front.

I asked Clark to carve the pumpkin this year because he is awesome at it. He even got out his drill to cut out some of the intricate parts of the belfry. The kids loved getting the seeds and "strings" out of the pumpkin. (His pumpkin won first prize at our party)

Clark wanted a mullet for Halloween so he grew his hair out for a few months. We cut a mullet, but he wanted it longer so we bought a mullet too. We had Will and Rosie try it on.

The kids LOVED Trick-or-Treating!! We only went down two streets, but they got plenty of candy.

Here's a few of us from our Halloween Party. Our friends, Brett and Liz with their daughter Brin. Clark and I. Derek and Jessica.

I Want

1) TWINS!!! That's right, you heard me. I have been baby-hungry lately and I've been thinking how much fun it would be to have two babies at once! I have been reading up on anything that would help my odds and it looks like if I eat a lot of sweet potatoes and dairy, my chances go up 5 times. Does anyone know anything else that would help? Unfortunately, I have NO relatives that have had twins so my genes aren't going to help me much.

2) To have a black belt in Karate. I watched my brother Josh at his Karate performance yesterday and I was so impressed. He is already a yellow belt and has only been in it a year. The teacher said it usually takes 5-8 years to become a black belt (so I could be 35 when I finally get it). I really want to do it though. I mentioned it to Clark and he's all for it.

3) To know where we'll be in 7 months. Just waiting is really hard for me. Clark has another career fair in a few weeks so maybe we'll be a little more certain of our future.

4) To find a bread recipe that actually turns out. Every one I've tried ends up too dense.

I never know what to put for the "post title"

Did I say I would update the blog on SUNDAYs? I meant THURSDAYs. Just kidding! At least I'm updating it, right? ;)

This past week at a glance:

Rosie is such a hoot! She is always doing things to make me laugh. Today, she put her bloomers on her head and walked around saying, "Nice hat, nice hat."

My beautiful sister, Laura had a birthday this week. It's so nice to have her close by. When I ask if she can watch the kids while I run errands, she not only watches the kids, she does my dishes too! She is a dream!

Will made his FIRST ever snow angel! It dumped on us this week and we took advantage. Will was in heaven! He made three snow angels in three minutes.

Here's the promised paper route picture. Man, I look scary! I definitely wouldn't like to run into that thing in a dark alley.

Cantaloupe. My kids love it. I cut it up and then let them suck the rest of the fruit off the peel. I'm bummed that it's more expensive now that it's season is over.

Sorry for the lack of posts

Man, I am getting worse and worse about blogging. I am going to TRY VERY HARD to do it on Sundays from now on. No promises though. ;0)

Life is great! I started a paper route and I actually really enjoy it. I love the cold, crisp morning air and those few moments of stillness before everyone wakes up. I am going to have to have Clark take a picture of me in my "paper route gear" because it is hilarious. I wear a ski mask, a big Carhartt coat, a headlamp, and a newspaper holder pouch.

The kids are growing too fast. (Yes, I am ready for another baby!) Will is such a sweet and busy child. Always playing with his cars, legos, tractors, etc. Rosie is talking so much now. The other day, I counted an 8 word sentence! Wow! She loves going on walks and picking the berries from our bush for the birds.

Clark is doing really well this semester and getting excited to be done with school. We are browsing job options and possibly considering the Navy.

Go pokes! We've won our last 3 games!!!

I turned 27. Notice the cute carrots on the cake? Amy (my lil sis) made them.


Recent pics of our family.

We had Rosie say, "Chinchilla" for the picture. We couldn't get a smile, but she loves chinchillas (because of an animal library book) so we had to make do.

Will on his trike. Need I say more?