Time just keeps flying by and doesn't wait for me to blog about it.  There have been a lot of changes around here in the last few months. To start off Dave, James and I went with him to Guatemala.  We had a fabulous time!  We were there for Semana Santa(Holy Week leading up to Easter).  It was great to observe all the cultural at that time.  It felt like Christmas morning to me.  We also made it to a Mayan ruin Iximche.  The city that we stayed in was fabulous.  Old with 40 plus ruins and cobblestone streets.  We walked everywhere, bartered for some great stuff and ate great food.  We were very excited to come home and I certainly missed my other kiddos especially Matt. Alfombras all over the streets in Antigua.  People were making these all day and night before each procession.  Some were made with fruit/veggies and pine needles but most were colored sawdust.  One of my favorite parts about our trip was seeing the com...

Where to start when you haven't blogged for so long?? Quick update Christmas- good day and kept it simple this year.  I loved it. CHRISTMAS JAMMIES Thomas' birthday- Made it to the snow this year His new birthday Bike Sisters Retreat- Thankful that I have such great sisters and made me sad that I don't get to enjoy them more often Jimmy and Cousin Annie about 3 months  and nearly 3000 miles apart . January- everyone was healthy!!! Beautiful California Winter day Fun in the leaves Still trying to figure out how I finally got a BALD baby. FINALLY a smile from Matt in the bath tub.  He finally likes his baths now that he has a bath buddy.(He seriously has mostly screamed during them for the last nearly 3 years)  Just don't mention washing his hair. February-Dave is in Thailand and Australia for much of the  .  Thanks to lots of prayers and good friends we are surviving.

For as much time as Lily spent in that thing, I think this is the only picture I reread my last post and thought it made things sound worse than it actually was.  It was a crazy 2 months but I just kept laughing about everything. Seriously, am I not enough of a spectacle getting my 6 kids out of the car and to the school that I need to add a wheelchair and a 5 year old with a cast.  Certainly got more sympathy than ever and people offering to help us. James pre-procedure We had James' appointment for a bronchoscopy 2 weeks ago and everything looks good.  He certainly has the laryngomalacia but everything else looks the way it should.  So now the diagnosis is just time like 1-2 years and he should just grow out of it.  It is great to know that he is doing so well.  He is a very noisy little boy but he is as chubby and pink as ever.  He is also the best baby ever.  He is so patient in the morning as we scramble around the house feeding eve...

So this month has just been incredible.  We made it through the stomach flu, we are getting good at the whole broken leg thing so now it was time for some more fun. This morning I woke up to a puddle on my kitchen floor and what do you know my fridge is dying and it also looks like Lily has strep throat so she stayed home today.  Are you kidding me?  Did I mention that on top of all the craziness in my life my husband is working crazy 6 and 7 day weeks and long hours. Thank goodness for a sense of humor, some money in the bank to cover emergencies, and a Heavenly Father.  I feel like there is some lesson I am supposed to be learning but I guess I haven't learned it yet cause it is still pouring.  I will say that I have felt immensely blessed in my capacity to deal but my home is in chaos and I am not getting to all the things I want to do.  Don't get me wrong, I know that what I am dealing with is nothing compared to what other people have going on in th...

Just wanted to pass along the best idea I discovered for defrosting your freezer.  If you keep a freezer in the garage for extras, haul it out to your driveway.  Get a hose and some towels and rags.  Spray the inside of the freezer with the hose and you will have the ice melted in 5 minutes or less.  No banging, no hot pans of water, and wet puddles under the freezer.  Then  wash and wipe it dry and put it away.  It will take you longer to get the freezer to the driveway then it takes to defrost it but it is totally worth it. One other great thing I learned this week,  substitute half the flour in your pancake recipe with graham cracker crumbs.  Serve with fresh fruit and cream and you will be sooooo happy that you did. Last great tip of the day, don't let your 11 yr old "sonic bounce" your 5 year old cause someone may end up with a broken leg.  Said broken leg may just make your life incredibly challenging because all you need is a ...

When James was 10 days old we took him in to his pediatrician.  We brought him in for a check up but we were also concerned about his breathing.  He was making lots of noise.  Not a noise that you would never hear a normal healthy baby make, but he was making them all the time.  The pediatrician listened to him and was very concerned.  I am not sure how she would have reacted if he had not been born with a midwife at home, but she said we needed to go to a hospital right away with him.  So we were told to bring him to the NICU because he was so small.  We brought him in and right away our fears were calmed.  He had plenty of oxygen and he had already exceeded his birth weight. But the hospital wanted to keep him overnight to monitor and make sure every thing looked okay.  He was noisy most of the time that we were there and I was told to burp him better cause he was full of gas.  Also we did xrays, blood work and even had an ENT scope hi...

Back to School time at my house.  This year I have 4 in school-Jacob, Thomas, Ari and Lily.  That makes for some pretty crazy mornings especially when it comes to packing lunches, doing hair, and finding glasses and shoes.  But certainly worth the mad dash to have some moments of peace in this house with Matt, James and me. Last week school started and Lily went to her first day of Kindergarten.  It is hard to believe that she is old enough.  She is so small right now.  I hope that she has a growth spurt soon.  She came home on her second day disappointed because some boy called her smelly.  She still is very excited about each day and I am glad that she is having some new experiences and truthfully she has been a bit of a handful lately so a break has been good for both of us. Ari is 2nd grade this fall.  She really took off reading this summer and so we are all grateful that her nystagmus is not affecting her reading much.  She is ...