The Hastings Family

2011-03-27T00:10:00.002-05:00

I took the kids to see a movie tonight. We went to Gnomeo and Juliet. It was actually a lot cuter that I thought it would be. I am trying so hard to stay busy with David gone, but it has been very VERY hard. Today was a really hard day. I had no idea that it was going to be this hard with him gone. We really have been so blessed. He hasn't been gone more than a couple week at a time in the past 12 years. I feel so spoiled. I now that I really should not complain because he could be gone for 9 months like a lot of the other branches of the military. I am however so excited tomorrow is finally Sunday. We get to go to church. The one thing that I really look forward to each week. The only problems is it only last about an hour and a half. Why can't it last a few hours??? I have the whole rest of the day to find something to keep us busy. Normally on Sundays we would enjoy as a family. Well, I guess it is time for bed. One more day down.

Allyn's Expander

2011-03-26T18:46:00.003-05:00

Lyric's Big Crash!

2011-03-26T18:20:00.004-05:00

Judah like Bare Escentials too!

2011-03-26T17:59:00.003-05:00

Judah got into my make up the other day. I almost had a heart attack. He even was putting it on with my brushes.

Kian cut his hair.

2011-03-26T17:49:00.007-05:00

Kian decided he had to cut his hair. He cut it so short in front I had the cut his whole head. I was just going to take the clippers to it, but David has them on the boat so I had to do his whole head with scissors. I have to say I really miss the curls, but he is happy his hair is now flat. He is not big on the curls.

I thought I would give him a mullet before I cut the whole thing off.... Does he look like David here?

After we are all done.. He does look cute, but I can't wait for it to grow back a little.
Now all of the kid except for Judah have cut their own hair.... I am sure that day will come when he does it too.

When I am not looking.....

2010-08-04T13:07:00.002-05:00

This is what happened today while I was updating the blog. As I type this they are putting jewelry on him.

Here is another video I have been meaning to post. Judah really likes to help out with the laundry.

2010-08-04T12:31:00.002-05:00

We really like San Diego!! For the first time in our lives we feel like we are at a place where we could call it home. Yes, I think I would like to come back here after David retires. I know a lot can change in 7 years, but I also know I have not lived in the place we would like to retire yet. We live in the perfect spot. It takes us minutes to get to anywhere. 15 minutes to the zoo, airport, beaches, BARE ESCENTIALS!! 2 miles to Ikea!!! Great shopping!

We are still searching for a church. Some weekends we have gone to 2 churches. A lot of them have a Friday or Saturday service so we would go to one of them and then one on Sunday. We have found one that we really like and what makes it really cool is that it is right around the corner from our house. They have over 100 small groups to choose from and they even have groups for the kids at church while we attend small group. Why doesn't everyone do that? I believe a small group is one of the most important things and child care makes it really hard for people to attend. While living in Sheboygan we felt like we didn't grow like we should have just because we didn't have the small groups. Ok, the small groups were there, but the childcare was an issue. Meeting on a weekly basis... how awesome is that? I really miss it! They also have a homeschool group!!

We are going to start homeschooling in a week or two!! We are so excited! The day we got into our house the kids asked if it was time to start school. I have ordered most of the curriculum for the kids. I think there are a couple small things that I need to get. I am enrolling the kids into a Charter school. I'm still learning all of this as well, but we need to be part of a school so we are covered legally. They are going to pay for $425 for each kid a semester for curriculum. This can include karate and things like that. Its almost like getting paid to homeschool. They will also cover Allyn and her special ed. I can't wait to be there to experience my children learning and me to be their influence rather than other children and teachers who could view the world completely different than I do (that is outside a Christian school). Please pray for us this first year. I know it will be a huge learning experience not only for the kids, but for myself.

Judah on the Potty

2010-08-04T11:53:00.001-05:00

Judah has gone on the potty 3 times!!!

Lyric got 2 stitches

2010-08-04T11:32:00.005-05:00

Last week while we were at the Y I got interrupted from my workout and was told Lyric feel and broke his chin open. They had him all bandaged up, but I wanted to take a look at it. It wasn't long, but it looked kinda deep. This is how it happened. He was on one of those scooters that you sit on and you put your feet on the handles and move it back and forth. Well he was on his knees on it and feel forward. OUCH!!

So all day I could not decide if I should take him in or not. I could see "meat" inside of it. David had duty that day so of course he was not home. I didn't want to take him in for the simple fact that I didn't want to wait in the ER with all 4 kids. About 3:00 I decided to call the boat to talk to David. He said to take him in so that is what I did. First of all I had no idea where to even take him. I got the address to the Children's hospital. I didn't know and right next door to Children's is another hospital. I just saw the sign for emergency room so we found a spot to park in the parking garage and headed for the hospital. We got inside and found out we were in the wrong place. I packed up the kids and headed around the corner to Children's. We got there about 3:30. We waited a good hour or two and they called Lyric's name. I was so happy! They took his vitals and said that he would need stitches. She told us to go back to the waiting room and wait until his name was called again. So we sat for another couple of hours. We finally got called back and sat for a little while. Then we were asked if he had the stuff on his chin to numb it yet. So we had to let that sit for at least another 20 minutes. Finally the stitches were done. The kids were done too. They actually did pretty well, but they were so hungry. There was a McDonalds in the hospital so the kids got to have a cheeseburger after 8:00 pm. We left the hospital about 8:30. That was a long day!

These pictures are out of order

Lyric after the stitches were in!

The Dr got each kid a popsicle after we were all done. She told Lyric after they were all done he would feel super good. She was right. Lyric felt better than ever!! I guess it is from the adrenaline kids get before getting stitches.

Here he has the stuff that numbs it.

Keeping Judah happy while we patiently wait.

The Pool and Stuff

2010-07-12T15:18:00.006-05:00

Those are some cute kids!!!

Judah getting into stuff he shouldn't.

Really a great picture of Al!!

Heading around the corner to the pool.

Kian got his foot in the door walking into the pool area. It hurt me just looking at it.

The back of our house from in front of the pool.

Judah likes to do push-ups with Daddy!

Check out this move!

David's 33rd Birthday

2010-07-12T15:06:00.004-05:00

David had duty on his birthday so we decided to celebrate a day early. The kids made him a cake. Some how Lyric and I got the measurement of the oil confused. It was suppose to be 1/3 c. but we measured out 1 1/3 c. While Kian was pouring the oil into the bowl I did notice before we poured the whole thing in. I think we ended up putting about 1 c in. We had no idea how it would come out. It ended up really yummy. I guess if you want a very moist cake put in extra oil.

Kian giving Daddy his presents.

I let each of the kids pick out what they wanted to give David for his birthday. Allyn picked him out a card. It is really cute how she wrote his name on the front. It says Dadday

Kian picked him out a toothbrush. How perfect he now has one for home and one for the boat.

Lyric picked out a bag of Twix. Good think he has a toothbrush after eating all of that candy.

Judah and I picked him out a coke. We hardly ever have soda in the house, but when we do David drinks it like it is the last thing on earth.

Judah loves Ketchup

2010-07-12T15:04:00.001-05:00

San Diego Zoo

2010-07-06T12:20:00.011-05:00

We took the kids to the San Diego Zoo yesterday. It really is a great zoo. I can't believe how close we get to the animals. I am not a big fan of pictures of animals so David was camera man all day. He took lots and lots of pictures. Here are a few of them.

You can see in this first picture how close we were to the tortoises. These were one of my favorite things to look at. I really had no idea how big they were just by watching them on TV.

We had to take a picture of Allyn in front of the flamingos. Back when I was pregnant with Lyric and Allyn was 2 we drove down to CA from WA. We took her to Sea World and for the longest time she would imitate a flamingo. It is one of those things that David and I will never forget about her being little.

I LOVED watching Judah's face while he looked at the animals. He was amazed! When we were looking at the cheetah he pointed and said, "MoMo".

David was really into the Gorilla statues.

Did I say David took most of the pictures? Both the zebra and elephants were male! Lyric thought it was funny.

I made sure David got a picture of this sign. I thought it was interesting!

Mama and baby panda

David's First Day of Work

2010-07-06T12:14:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday was David's first day of work. He had to be there at 7 and at noon he called me and said he was on his way home and didn't have to be back to work until Tuesday. So now today is David's first full day of work. He is on the CGC Chase.

The kids ran out to meet him when he got home his first day.

The New House

2010-07-06T11:57:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures of the new house. We are still working on putting it all together. We do have most of the boxes unpacked.

This picture was taken before we got our house hold goods.

We do have a pool in the back of our house. (Right past the fence in the back yard). We decided we had to get Judah his own little pool. He loves it!!!

David and the kids washing the car!

David told the kids to all look at me for a picture. They didn't know he was going to spray them with the hose.

David didn't shave the whole time he was on leave. Here he is right before he shaved.

Lyric really likes to make things in the kitchen. One night after dinner he asked if he could make dessert for everyone. It had yogurt, strawberries, banana and chocolate syrup.

La Jolla Sea Lions

2010-07-06T11:37:00.005-05:00

We were told to check out the sea lions in La Jolla. It was really beautiful down there.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-21T09:46:00.006-05:00

We were going to start the day off by trying out a church, but we changed our mind and headed out to get a new washer and dryer. We first stopped at the NEX to look for one. I can't believe how huge the one is here!!! They didn't have the one we wanted so we headed to get it then we came back to spend some time in the pool.

The kids were being wild so David told them to stand outside the room... LOL. They were find hanging outside for a little while, but then they wanted back in.

Lyric is the best big brother a boy could ask for. We were trying to get ready in the morning and he just took it upon himself to brush Judah's teeth. He ended up doing it last night before bed too. He probably won't want to do it when we ask him to.

Lunch by the pool

The flowers here are so beautiful!

Every year for the past several years we get a picture of David and the kids in the pool on Father's Day.

Father's Day 2009

Father's Day 2008

Judah found this little thing and had fun playing with it.

Happy Father's Day David! Thank you so much for being an amazing Dad to our kids!!! They are so blessed to have an amazing God fearing Dad to lead them in life. Thank you for being the best husband too!!!

Exploring San Diego

2010-06-19T22:06:00.006-05:00

This is how Lyric and Kian spend their time when we are in the hotel.

Judah had fun running on the beach!

We stopped by our house again today. I am expecting a package. I hope it didn't get delivered and someone helped themselves to it.

We did something really special today!! We went to the Laundromat! We also went shopping for a washer and dryer.

The boys played with balls while we waited for the laundry to finish.

We Made it to San Diego!

2010-06-19T10:29:00.001-05:00

We arrived in San Diego yesterday about 3:30 after driving 380 miles. It feels so good to have the drive over with! As soon as we got here we drove by our house (we will get it on Monday now). The neighbor seems very busy. It did look just like it looked when I googled it. After that we went to find a hotel. We had to make several calls because we couldn't find a place to take pets. We found one and we checked in. I walked in the room and it smelled like 15 cats lived there without a litter box. It was horrible. I looked at Judah's feet and they were black. I am not kidding. We washed his feet in the sink and you could see the yuk run off them. David called the desk and asked for another room. It did not smell as bad, but it was not a comfortable place to stay. The TV hardly worked and it just felt dirty. I made some more calls and found another place that would accept pets. We drove to check it out before booking it and it is much much nicer! The people here at this hotel are very friendly too! So we will stay here until Monday. We did have to go back to the other hotel and check out after just checking in. They did make David still pay $30, but that was worth it not to stay there.

Allyn's feet from the hotel. NOTHING like Judah's were before we washed them. I wish I got a picture of his feet!

Dead plants could be a clue that they don't take care of things.

Day 7

2010-06-17T20:26:00.005-05:00

The kids went here at the Trading Post to pick out something.

Kian asked me to take his picture.

David's serious cowboy face.

Earrings Allyn picked out

Both the boys picked out a arrow.

Judah got a ladybug book.

Getting ready to check out the Grand Canyon

David, Lyric and Kian took a walk down towards the edge.

Another picture Kian wanted me to take. I thought this one turned out cute!!

David taking pictures of himself while driving.

We didn't end up spending much time at the Grand Canyon. After we saw it we were ready to move on. Tonight we are staying in Kingman, AZ. I think we drove about 300 miles today. We were thinking about going to Vegas tomorrow and stay for a day or two, but we decided to finish the drive to San Diego tomorrow. I think we are done traveling. It is a lot of work moving from hotel to hotel everyday. We can get there and stay in the same hotel for a few nights. We are suppose to get our house on Tuesday, but we are going to see if we can get it on Monday. Our household goods will be delivered on Wednesday.

Day 6

2010-06-16T20:45:00.005-05:00

We ended up in Tuba City, AZ today. We drove about 360 miles. Southeastern Utah was very beautiful. When we got into Arizona the wind picked up and we were in a sand storm. We ended up with a room with only 1 bed for the night. The other 2 hotels in town didn't accept animals so this was all there was available. Good thing kids don't mind the floor.

My trying to take pictures while driving.

David really wanted me to take one of him driving.

We stopped in this really cute town called Moab, UT. Here David let MoMo out for a minute. He really does not enjoy it very much.

We stopped here because there was something rubbing on the tire on the car.

This is how the kids burn their energy....... running down the hallways in the hotel.

Next to our hotel is a Indian trading Post. David is going to let the kids pick something out tomorrow morning because they did so good today. Lyric is a huge help with Judah in the car.

Tomorrow we are off the the Grand Canyon~!

Day 5

2010-06-15T10:47:00.009-05:00

Allyn started off the morning throwing up and on the toilet. It is now 9:47 and she is feeling much better. It looks like we will be able to drive for a while today after all. While I packed things up David took the car and the van to get the oil changed.

************************************

Allyn feeling sick

MoMo the cat.... Today we made a stop for gas and a bathroom break. Allyn and I were in the gas station waiting for the bathroom. I could see the car out the window and I watched Lyric get in the van when all of a sudden MoMo jumped out of the van. I ran out of the store at top speed. David is stopping all the cars around from moving. MoMo ended up running under our van. He was scared and didn't want to come out. David grabbed him and pulled him out and burnt himself. I'm sure it was pretty funny to anyone who was watching.

A workbook Lyric got from his class.

Today before we left Denver we went to Casa Bonita for lunch. It is a really fun Mexican restaurant.

The big water fountain outside.

When you get inside you stand in line and order your food then pick it up kinda like a cafeteria. Someone leads you to your table then you have a server who take care of you from there.

Every 15 minutes they have an act. There is a huge waterfall inside. People climb the wall and dive into the water.

The Gun Fight

There are several different areas in several different levels. It was so cool, but hard to get a good picture.

Allyn did really well today. This morning I told her she had no choice and she had to get better. She didn't eat much, but she was fine the whole day. We even went swimming tonight. Now as she lays in bed I notice she has a fever again. It will be gone by morning!!

Tonight we are staying in Grand Junction, Co. We only drove about 230 miles today. We left Denver late after lunch so we didn't expect to drive 400 miles. I think tomorrow we will drive most of the day.

Day 4

2010-06-14T22:12:00.005-05:00

Our plan for the day was to drive down to Colorado Springs and go to Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods. We started off at Garden of the Gods.

Allyn's class got her this super cute sweatshirt that they all signed. On the back (I need to get a picture of) it says Sheboygan Christian School and then her name under it. I think it is the cutest gift!! They also gave her a huge beach bag full of stuff like a beach towel, sun glasses, address book that everyone put their info in, water toys and more. They really were so good to her!!!!

Me and Kian at The Garden of the Gods

Some man took this family picture for us. I thought it turned out pretty cute! Then right after it my battery went dead. I was sooo annoyed. After we got out of The Garden of the Gods we headed back into Colorado Springs to find me a new battery. I always new I should have an extra one just for this reason. We got the new battery and had lunch at Red Robin. This is the point Allyn started to not feeling well. She didn't even eat her lunch. We know she is not feeling well when she doesn't eat. We made a reservation for a cog train that goes up to Pikes Peak. We figured it would be a good idea that way no one would have to drive. Everyone was so excited to ride the train.

The train station

Waiting to board the train.

I love how this picture turned out of Lyric and Allyn

The weather has been nothing but rainy. We knew going up there we may not see much but we were hoping for the best.

We got to the top of the peak (14,000 feet) and we all felt horrible especially Allyn. At one point she went to the bathroom to get sick. Thankfully she didn't!! We just wanted to get back down the mountain. The longest hour ever!! They told us that they have the best doughnuts up there because of the altitude. If you ask me they were just a doughnut.

There was pretty much a blizzard up there. Snowing like crazy. I thought this picture of David was hilarious! I had to laugh out loud after I uploaded it. Does it look like he is having fun??

We could not get down to the bottom of the hill fast enough. Allyn had her puke bag in hand. Judah was way over tired. He did sleep most the way down. Kian also slept on the way down.

We were happy to see that the sun had come out on our way down so we could actually see some of the sights. The pictures didn't turn out that well because of the window. We could open the windows to take pictures, but for one it was freezing and I also had Kian sleeping on me. At that moment I was not willing to wake him up for a picture.

We made it to the bottom (over 3 hours)! It felt so fantastic to get in the van. I am glad that we did experience the train, however it is not something you want to do with small children. You also don't want to go unless it is a clear day. I was not willing to stop for dinner on the way back to the hotel so we went through a drive-thru and had dinner in the car.

We are not going to stick around Colorado tomorrow. It is suppose to be bright and sunny, but we are ready to move on. We may hang out for the morning and then have lunch at a restaurant called Casa Bonita. I guess it is a place like we have never been before.

Day 3

2010-06-13T21:14:00.003-05:00

We did not do anything exciting today. We woke up, had breakfast and then headed to Denver (about 130 miles). We got to Denver found a hotel (in Golden, Co) and went to lunch at Macaroni Grill. David wanted to get the car checked out so we stopped and got a diagnostic test done. Turns out it is nothing major. We got the engine light off too. The car is ready to head to California. The kids have been better than we could expect so we took them to Target to pick out something. We got back to the hotel and just sat around watching TV. I did get down to the fitness center for a little workout. We also went to the pool for a few minutes. The pool was way too cold and the hot tub was way too hot!! I guess we are hard to please.

Judah ended up with a fever today. I guess it is going to go around to each kid. Kian is feeling better. He was complaining that his stomach hurt. Thankfully he never did throw up.

We really want to spend time here and visit a few places. There has been thunderstorms today and they are suppose to be here again tomorrow. We are going to head to Colorado Spring in the morning and hope for the best. Our plan was to spend a few days here, but now we are not sure being that it is going to be raining the whole time. We may leave here Tuesday morning.

Day 2

2010-06-12T20:41:00.003-05:00

We woke up early this morning about 6:30. Kian got up went to the bathroom then crawled in bed with us. Right away I noticed he had a fever. We got ready and then had a nasty continental breakfast. Trying to get out the door Judah was screaming. I was thinking this was going to be a long day. The moment we walked out the door he was happy.

Here is what the weather looked like outside. Not my favorite weather to drive in.

David taking pictures while driving.

As we were driving the check engine light came on in the car. We stopped and David checked a few things out them we got back in the car for another hour or so. We ended up driving about 450 miles or so. At about 5 we stopped in Sterling, Co. I am so thankful we have a much nicer hotel! We were too tired to leave for dinner so we had pizza delivered to the room.

Kian is still not feeling well

Allyn and Lyric went swimming for a few minutes. Lyric had to burn some of his stored up energy!!!

Depending on the weather we hope to check out some of Colorado's beauty tomorrow.

1st Day of Travel to San Diego

2010-06-11T22:07:00.005-05:00

The past 2 nights we stayed in Scott and Michelle's camper. We left there this morning at 10am. It was a really sad goodbye to their family and Anita's family and Monica. We stopped a few times, but we ended up getting a hotel in Walnut, Ia at 9pm. It sounds like a long day, but it really wasn't that bad. The kids did really well. We drove about 500 miles. We were trying to make it to Omaha because I wanted to get out of Iowa really bad. We are about 50 miles from there. I am OK with it though because our goal was to reach Des Moines. We want to drive at least 400 miles a day. We will wake up again tomorrow and get on the road again.

We could not get in bed fast enough!!

Allyn's Lunch Date

2010-06-08T11:23:00.001-05:00

Our neighbor from our old house and Allyn's Special Ed teacher wanted to take Allyn out for lunch. Here is a couple pictures of them before they left on their lunch date.

2010-06-08T11:02:00.006-05:00

Our friend Dan and Melodee had us over for dinner before we left. It was so nice to hang out with them. They have a pond in their back yard so I wanted to catch 1 fish before we left. They also have a trampoline that Allyn was excited to jump on.

Judah's First Haircut

2010-06-02T14:23:00.002-05:00

Judah got his first haircut yesterday. Here are a couple before pictures.

He did a pretty good job. He had to sit in my lap. He didn't like the cape so hair was falling all over both of us. He had soooo much hair!!

All day yesterday David would say, "Who's kid is that?"

2010-06-02T14:20:00.001-05:00

My boys love to match!

Kian came up to David and said, "Ahh I cut my thumb off." Then he asked for some ketchup to put on his hand. David colored it with marker. He is so funny!!

Kian's last day of 4K

2010-06-02T13:49:00.002-05:00

Hastings Going Away Party

2010-06-02T12:55:00.011-05:00

Scott and Michelle were so nice to have a surprise going away party for us.

Michelle

Monica

Dawn

Kate

Anita

Jonathan and Kate

Andres and Monica

The Belval Family

Santi

Rick and Dawn

2010-06-02T12:43:00.001-05:00

2010-06-02T12:35:00.004-05:00

Lyric the hairstylist/ Judah's new helmet

2010-05-15T18:36:00.009-05:00

This morning Lyric wanted to do my hair. I sat down in the chair and this is how it turned out. I thought he did a really good job!! I am thinking I could get used to this! I might have to send him to school for hair!

The back

David has been really excited to get Judah on the bike. Last night we got him a new helmet and he finally got to try it out. I think he looks really cute in it.

He is not even buckled in and he is already smiling!

We have a grocery store right out our garage. It is actually kinda nice to run out the back door and grab something when you need it. No need to run to the neighbors for an egg.

Judah was giggling the whole time.

A picture of the front of the house.

Kian's turn to go on a bike ride.

Early tomorrow morning we are going to leave for Green Bay. We are going to watch some friend run a half marathon. Lyric is staying the night at his friend Isaac's house.

Kian's Mohawk

2010-05-13T19:17:00.001-05:00

This morning Kian told me he wanted a mohawk.... so here it is.

Allyn's Heart Procedure (Catheter Ablation)

2010-05-13T17:36:00.007-05:00

Allyn has (had) WPW (Wolff Pakinson White Syndrome-- a syndrome of pre-excitation of the ventricles of the heart due to an accessory pathway. This accessory pathway is an abnormal electrical communication from the atria to the ventricles). We found out she had it right after she was born. They gave her a medication that trigger tachycardia. She has never had a problem with it, but we would have yearly check up with the cardiologist. For years we have known that someday when she was old enough she may have to have this procedure. A couple weeks ago we went her yearly visit and they did a stress test on her. That is where they hooked her up and put her on a treadmil. They could increase the speed and the incline on the treadmill to see how her heart would react once her heart rate when up. What they wanted was for her "extra pathway" to stop working once her heart rate got so high. It did get up to 180 and it was still using the extra pathway so that is why they decided to do this procedure. It was not an emergency, but it did need to be done sooner or later. We decided we would rather get it done before we moved. I am sooo glad that it is over.

The procedure is called Catheter Ablation

Here is some info from a booklet the Dr gave us.

How the heart works:

The heart is a hollow, muscular organ that pumps blood throughout the body. The heart has 4 chambers, 2 upper (atria) and 2 lover (ventricles). The heart depends on its electricals system to deliver signals and make the heart beat normally.

For a normal heartbeat, and electrical signal starts in the sinus node, travels though the right and left atria, then through the AV node to the right and left ventricles. If a signal starts in a different location, it travels and abnormal pathway.

What is Catheter Ablation?

Electrical impulses travel though the heart to make it pump. If impulses travel abnormal pathways or circuits, the heart ma beat too fast. This rapid rhythm is called "tachycardia".

Catheter ablation destroys (ablates) abnormal electrical pathways that may be causing an abnormal rhythm.

During the procedure catheters (long, flexible wires) are inserted into the veins of leg, neck and arteries in the leg. These wires are threaded though the veins into the heart under x-ray guidance. They will sense electrical signals from different parts of the heart.

The doctor will try to start your abnormal heart rhythm to find exactly where it comes from. Once this is done, a catheter tip generated radio frequency waves, destroying defective tissue and the abnormal pathway and eliminating the cause of the abnormal heart rhythm.

Ms Tammara got Allyn this outfit for her procedure. She looks so cute in it!

Allyn texting Ms Tammara as we wait to get things started.

As soon as Allyn got her gown on and jumped in bed she really started to show how scared she was. She did tell me the night before that she was "kinda scare", but she didn't seem scared until this point.

I am normally a big cry baby!! I did cry a little when Allyn started crying, but I did hold it together very well. I think it was all the prayers we had. We did get to go with her into the "Cath Lab". We stood outside the door watching until she was under. They had her breath in a mask to make her fall asleep and then they put the IV in her arm.

The waiting room!! I could not believe how full it was. When Allyn was in recovery I got to go sit with her. The nurse there told me that they average 60 surgeries a day there and sometimes add up to 35 more depending on emergencies.

Allyn had to stay laying on her back for 4 hours. She slept most of the time. They told us after the 4 hours she would be able to go home. Right before it was time to go they gave her some juice to see if she could hold it down. She did end up throwing it up so they gave her some medicine for nausea.

Allyn getting her IV out.

Finally it was time to go home. We left about 7:00.

Today two of Allyn's friends from school stopped by for a visit. They had a card signed by the class, a balloon and a cute little dog for her. She loved their visit!!! It made her day!

We are not sure if she will go back to school tomorrow or Monday. She is not allowed to do any physical activity for about a week. That will be hard for her to be in school and not jump rope :)

Spring Program

2010-05-13T17:28:00.003-05:00

The kids has their spring program at school. David also was in it in his Coast Guard uniform.

I am not sure who this kid is, but I had to take a picture because that is David's old Navy uniform.

Richard I Bong Award

2010-05-10T15:29:00.009-05:00

We went to Milwaukee today because David received the Richard I Bong Award.

The event was at the Wisconsin Club. I believe it was built around 1891. It was opulent!!!

David and Senior Chief Evans

The stairway. I wish the pictures would have come out better.

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T15:11:00.008-05:00

We had a great Mother's Day. Allyn, Lyric and Kian and I went to church. David stayed home with Judah because he still was not back to normal. After church we came home and picked up David and Judah. We went out for lunch and had Mexican food. After lunch we went to a park then came home and hung out for the rest of the day. I was wanting a cupcake so David went to the store and got a cake mix and frosting. He made cupcakes, we ate them and then threw the rest away so we wouldn't have them sitting around the house.

Lake Geneva Race

2010-05-10T15:01:00.006-05:00

I had a great weekend with my friend Dana. She is running one marathon a week for 52 weeks this year. Each week she is running for a orphaned child in Africa. This week her race was in Lake Geneva, Wi. After her plane being delayed for about 3 hours I picked her up from the airport at midnight on Friday night. We drove an hour to our hotel in Lake Geneva. We obviously got to bed late. I hardly slept all night then we woke up at 5:30. The day before I decided I would run the 5K. I have not run for 4-5 weeks now so I could let me leg heal after training for the half marathon. We got to packet pick up and I went to register and they would only accept cash or check. I had neither. I just decided it was not big deal I wouldn't run it. As we were walking out there was an ATM. I decided to get cash out and run the race. We walked outside and right away I regretted my decision to register for the run. It was freezing cold, windy and slightly rainy. Dana stared her race at 8 and mine was to start at 8:15. She was off so I walked over to where the 5k and 10K started. The race was about to start and the man said something along the lines of, "the hill from hell is waiting for you". Again I was thinking what did I get myself into. I had no choice now, but to run. I started off and sure enough... HILLS!!! The whole race was big steep never ending hills. I did walk a couple of times going up the hills, but on the way down I just ran.
Here are my race results:

bib number: 612
age: 32
gender: F
location: Sheboygan, WI
overall place: 118 out of 193
division place: 8 out of 21
gender place: 63
time: 35:45
pace: 11:31

race summary:
Number of Finishers: 193
Number of Females: 124
Number of Males:69
Average Time: 36:39

At first I was bummed with my results. I wanted to finish 33 minutes or less, but I had no idea the hills I was going to face. I am very excited about how I did. I was just under a minute faster the the average time for the race so that felt good. Especially since I have not run in weeks.

Here is the picture Dana took of the two of us before we left the hotel that morning.

The picture I tried to take.

After my race I drove to find Dana. She has been having a lot of trouble wit her leg. She limped the whole race. I felt bad for her. It is amazing she doesn't give up. I know that with the pain she had most people would have.

I drove back where I ran to get pictures. You can't really tell how the hills are in the picture.

I took this picture of this older couple running the marathon. I would say they were in their 60s and in really great shape. They stuck by each other the whole race. How inspiring is that? No one should ever say they are too old for anything!!! That is one thing that drives me crazy!!!

Dana running!

Dana approaching the finish line.

Dana finished with a 5:35 for her time.

Dana quickly showered and we headed to the airport so she could catch her flight out. I got home and I was sooo tired! I think I am still trying to catch up on my sleep. Follow Dana's blog and follow her upcoming races. 52beginnings.com

http://www.52beginnings.com/2010/05/lake-geneva-marathonfor-nellie.html

Wisconsin Dells

2010-05-10T14:26:00.010-05:00

David and I planned a trip to the Dells (Wilderness) and we didn't tell the kids. Last Saturday night after the kids went to bed we packed up the car so it would be ready to go in the morning. When the kids woke up we acted like we were getting ready to go to church. They figured out we were not going to church when we kept driving, but they didn't know where we were going until we got there. We had a fantastic trip in the Dells until the day we went home.

Judah is always getting into something!

We decided to go for a walk downtown Dells. We only had about 20 minutes to check stuff out because they closed at 5:00.

We went out for dinner at a Jamaican restaurant Marley's. From the second I walked in the door I knew the experience was not going to be the best. I felt like I was walking into a giant cigarette. The food ended up being pretty good. Judah didn't want to eat anything and just as we finished up eating he exploded and stunk up the whole place. I carried him to the bathroom holding him straight out because the mess was everywhere. In other words he left the place in his diaper. That was the beginning of the end of our trip.

Judah's nasty clothes. Not sure why David took a picture of that!

Breakfast at IHop.

Love this picture of Kian and Allyn!!

Judah was able to spend the first day hanging out in the water, but this is how he spent the second day. He was actually happy just hanging out watching everyone splash around.

We were so impressed with Allyn. She is not normally a fan of new things. I told her that she had to go on at least one water slide. At first she was very hesitant, but I didn't give her a choice. The whole way down she was not too sure about it. I think she thought about how fun it was and she was ready to go again. We even got her to go on the Hurricane. Lyric and I took her on there a couple times just so we could laugh at the expression on her face. She loved it every time, but asked a lot of questions each time on the way up. She did make sure to ask if we were proud of her each time she got off the slide.

David doing his "Bay Watch" walk.

Judah was not feeling well.

They had a super fun area that shoots balls around. I think David and I enjoyed that area more than the kids. David shot a girl right in the face with a ball.

David getting ready for the ball attack!

This was my favorite part of the whole weekend!!! A slide. This was no regular slide. It was super fast, steep and long. I had to climb up through some crazy stuff and small places to get to it, but after I tried it once I had to go a couple more times. I even have wounds on my elbows from the speed of it!!!

Judah smiles on command.

He was so wiped he just fell asleep on the floor.

Another smile on command. This was the 3rd day we were there. Judah had thrown up all over his bed that night. He woke up feeling horrible. David wasn't feeling that well so Allyn, Lyric and I went out for breakfast. We brought some back for Kian. By this point both David and Kian were not feeling well. We were going to enjoy the water park some more that day, but instead we packed up as quickly as we could and headed home for the most memorable car ride ever. David started out driving and all the kids were asleep. He pulled into a gas station and I asked him what in the world he was doing..... All the kids are sleeping and they are going to wake up. The look on his face told me he had to stop NOW! We went inside and I pumped some gas. I was about to get back in the car and realized Kian and thrown up. I get everything cleaned up and go in the store for bags and boxes for emergencies. I drive now while David's stomach cramps up. Judah is not a happy camper and is whining and crying. David reaches his hand back and starts rubbing his leg. As soon as he took his hand back Judah would start crying again. His next comment made me laugh the rest of the way home. He said, "I wish I had a stick". I am not sure why it was so funny, but it sure made me laugh. We got about 10 minutes from home and Lyric was crying. David looked back and asked him if he had to puke. Lyric said no, but 3 seconds later it was EVERYWHERE! At this point all I could do was laugh. There really was nothing funny about it. I tried so hard so no one would see me laughing because I know they wouldn't appreciate it being they all felt horrible. We finally got home.... I unpacked the car and cleaned out the van. The rest of the night David was either in bed or the bathroom. Kian laid on my bedroom floor white as a ghost with a bucket next to him. Allyn started throwing up. I started feeling it in my stomach. All Judah wanted was to lay on my and cry. This day I really thought I saw my family fading in front of me. The next day everyone was almost back to normal except for poor Judah. He has had the runs for a week. Yesterday and today he is finally getting back to normal!

A day or two after we got home.

For the next few days after we got home I would find Judah asleep in random places.

Easter 2010

2010-05-10T14:12:00.004-05:00

Chicago

2010-05-10T13:09:00.013-05:00

I forgot to post this earlier. During spring break David got his board for Officer in Chicago. We decided to all go and spend the night in a hotel.

Here is Station Sheboygan. That window next to the garage is David's office. The office and the garage were build while David was stationed here. He was responsible for making sure everything was taken care of during construction.

The kids where really excited to go swimming at the hotel!!!

Judah really liked the pool. He wanted to swim on his own. The whole time he was trying to get out of our hands.

The next day we took the kids to the Chicago Science museum. That place is so huge! We didn't make it through the whole place, but we sure enjoyed what we did get to see.

This was for sure my favorite part of the museum!! They were actual fetus at different stages of pregnancy. I could have spent hours walking through this part. It was in a way creepy to know at one time they were growing in their Momma's belly. David DID NOT enjoy this part!

This was my other favorite part! Watching chickens hatch!!!! They would get out of the shell and move a little then just lay there. I would sometimes wonder if they were even alive. I stood and watched these little guys for a while, but I could have watched much longer.

Here is where they go after they are up and moving around. For some reason they all came running up to Kian like he was Mama. You can tell by his face he enjoyed that too!

A Day at the Park

2010-05-05T10:14:00.007-05:00

Crazy Dad

2010-05-05T10:12:00.002-05:00

Grandma Suzie's Visit

2010-05-05T10:10:00.002-05:00

Bega's Visit

2010-05-05T09:42:00.004-05:00

OshKosh Half Marathon

2010-05-05T09:07:00.010-05:00

David and I have both been training for our first half marathon. I got a bad leg so I was not able to race. David did a great job!!! He was sore for the next next couple of days. We will train for another one again in the fall.

This man ran in Jesus shoes. I can't imagine!

David finish 1:45

Overall: 254 out of 1252

Division: 204 out of 556

Age: 24 out of 69

2010-05-05T09:03:00.002-05:00

Bunco

2010-05-05T08:41:00.005-05:00

2010-05-05T08:18:00.001-05:00

OCS

2010-05-05T08:16:00.001-05:00

David is not going to make OCS this time around. They cancelled the program because they are doing some huge cuts in the Coast Guard. He can try again Spring 2011

Orders to San Diego, Ca

2010-02-22T16:14:00.002-06:00

Today David got orders to San Diego! We are excited, but we are still praying he gets accepted into OCS! Please don't stop praying for him!

2010-02-20T23:04:00.001-06:00

Allyn's 11th Birthday

2010-02-20T21:45:00.010-06:00

Jess and Tammara came for the weekend of Allyn's Birthday. It is always like Christmas when they come. The always have bags of stuff for the kids.

Allyn's Birthday Party was a Dance party at the Y. It was really cute! They learned a dance to the song crazy, but Miley Cyrus. She ended up with 14 girls to celebrate with her.

The camera died here :(

Stay Tuned for more pictures!!!!

Judah's First Haircut

2010-02-11T19:10:00.004-06:00

I finally gave in and gave Judah his first haircut. I really didn't want to do it, but his hair was always in his eyes. I only cut his bangs.

Before

After

Gilbert the Guinea Pig

2010-02-11T17:26:00.002-06:00

Lyric has wanted to get a pet. He really wanted a snake and there was no way I was going to live with a snake in the house. He decided on a Guinea Pig. As of now his name is Gilbert.

These are Lyric's hands last week after gymnastics.

Judah is 1

2010-02-11T17:16:00.004-06:00

Here are some more pictures of Judah on his 1st Birthday

On the day of his 1st Birthday I dressed him in the exact same outfit Lyric wore on his first birthday.

Playing with his new toys. I could not get him to look at the camera.

OCS

2010-02-08T13:07:00.003-06:00

David is applying for OCS (Officer Candidate School). He has put in a lot of time the past few months getting every thing together. Every piece of info he has on his career goes in the packet. Last week he went down to Chicago to have a physical and his biggest thing is writing a letter that talks about himself in exactally 2 pages. This letter is from what I understand how they pick they people who get accepted. Being a United States Coast Guard Officer would be a huge thing for David's career. I really think he deserves it. I have been reading up on things and it is very hard to get accepted. David said it is easier to get accepted in to Harvard. Somewhere today I read that about 5-7% get in. The rumor is this next one will pick 15 people out of about 500. Now I am not sure how accurate those numbers are, but it sounds at most they will pick 30 people which is still not a lot. I am asking everyone to please be praying that they choose David. I am believing he will get it, but I know the more people praying for him the better. I know God has a plan for him and either way we will strive forward, but please don't forget him in your prayers. It looks like we will find out if he is in mid March and he would leave for 17 weeks of school in July.

Judah's 1 year check up!

2010-02-05T16:15:00.002-06:00

Judah had his 1 yr doctor appointment today.
weight 21 lbs 30%
height 30 in 55%
Head 46 cm 45%

He is still by far my smallest baby.

Everything looked good except for his speech. It is nothing to be worried about, but something that we should get checked out. He should be making sounds like mama, dada, gaga, all that babbling stuff. He mostly makes vowel sounds like aaa, ooo. Please be praying that he catches up to speed soon!!!

Half Marathon

2010-02-02T10:49:00.003-06:00

The other day David and I registered for our first half marathon. We are so excited. Running has become something I enjoy. I never thought I would say that, but seriously there is something so addicting about it. To start it is really hard. Hard doesn't even describe it!!! Each time you run you will notice it gets easier and easier, but then harder and harder. What I mean by that is you realize you can run a 1/2 mile without stopping then you want to go further. Then you make it a mile in an hour and you want to try to run it in 10 minutes. There is always a next challenge you set for yourself. My friend Dana has inspired me. Check out her blog and what she is doing this year for unfortunate children. http://www.52beginnings.com/ She has been giving me pointers and tips for running. Please be praying for her and the children she is running for as well as her family. She has a husband and 3 cute kids of her own who will have to be without Mommy while she is running these marathons.

Station Sheboygan and the Kimball Award

2010-01-31T15:08:00.010-06:00

http://www.sheboyganpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010100122081

Make sure to look at all 16 pictures.

Here are the pictures that were online.

Judah's 1st Birthday

2010-01-31T14:27:00.010-06:00

We had a little Birthday Party for Judah last night.

He was not too sure at first.

He had a moment.....

..but then he tasted the cake.

He ate almost the whole cake.

2010-01-31T14:15:00.003-06:00

Girls Weekend in Chicago

2010-01-31T13:35:00.011-06:00

Photos of our Girls Weekend in Chicago. (Pictures are all out of order)

Kate

Michelle

Anita

I have been a big fan of Threes Company ever since I was little. When I heard that Chicago had a Reagle Beagle I had to go there. We really enjoyed it! The food was great and the price was awesome.

The first night we went out to dinner at the Melting Pot.

Anita so spontaneous! She was eating her chocolate fondue when all of a sudden she decided to put Chocolate on her face. We were laughing so hard at her. The server comes to the table and she just smiles at him like nothing happened.

Her Birthday was the day before we went so here she is with her little treat.

View from our room.

Us at the Navy Pier.

At the Navy Pier there was a "Fun House". It was not as fun as we thought it would be. Here in this picture Anita was freaking out because I guess she was claustrophobic. .LOL

On the Trolley

View of the trolley and the very bottom of the sign of the Reagle Beagle on the top left of the picture. I love that place!

Anita is so beautiful when she wakes up!

Michelle at the Beagle.

Our bill at the Melting Pot. It is not a place I can dine on a regular basis.

Anita had a necklace made for her daughter.

Kate modeling the necklace.

Just another one of those random things.

I met a fellow Stacy. Only her name was spelled with a ..ie. She is totally cute!

I had to take a picture of this sign. It was right in front of me at this restaurant/bar. I was so annoyed by it. Seriously??

Good Morning Michelle.

Helen Roper burger!

2010-01-18T12:56:00.000-06:00

I forgot to put this video on. This is Judah's favorite song.

Breastfeed or Antibiotics?

2010-01-12T10:07:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I went to the Dr. to get checked out. I really wanted to go because me and a 3 friends are going to Chicago on Friday for a "girls weekend". I want to be better by then! I guess I have bronchitis. The Dr. gave me an antibiotic. At the pharmacy I was getting my 3 prescriptions when they mentioned amoxicillin. I then remembered I can't take that because Judah is allergic and I still nurse him. I had them hold the meds so I could go back to talk to the doc. I knew that there is antibiotics that you can take while nursing because I have had to take them before when I was nursing Kian. Amoxicillin is the one that is OK to take while nursing. So my options are don't take the antibiotic and maybe not be better by Friday or stop nursing Judah for 2 weeks. 2 weeks could very likely mean he is done all together. Now I have been thinking about laying off and not nursing him as much since he will soon be able to start drinking whole milk, but to not be prepared and just cut him off cold turkey? I completely broke down crying. How do I decide this? For those of you who have not nursed a baby for a long period of time may just not get it. Nursing to many is a very amazing way to spend time with your baby. To me it felt like someone told me you can't hug your baby anymore. It is one of those close contact things that just feels good between the two of you. Not to mention that there is so much sickness going around right now and he really needs those antibodies that he cannot get anywhere else. I did a little reading online and come to find out bronchitis is typically viral and does not get treated by an antibiotic. I think he just wanted to cover all his bases to get me better by Friday. I am so glad I have finally come to a decision after all those tears yesterday. Breastfeeding my babies is a gift and I want to decide when I am done. It would be different if I knew I was going to have more babies someday, but it is not looking like that. This is my last baby and I have to try to come to terms with that. Last night while I was crying David asked me, "what can I do for you?". I said, "Can we have another baby". He laughed and said, "NO". LOL. I guess we have to stop sometime. Right? :(

2010-01-10T09:12:00.005-06:00

Judah love playing in the clean laundry. Makes my job a lot easier!

I am not sure what happened with the flash in this picture, but I thought it was so cute!

Allyn isn't always a happy camper!

David got a beautiful picture of me sick!

David gave Judah a bath and I guess everyone was enjoying his little butt after he got out.

Thumbs up or down? Should David wear a "sweater vest"?

Sick Sick Sick!

2010-01-09T11:48:00.003-06:00

Starting Wednesday when I got home from the Y I started feeling chills and aches. Sure enough I got a bug and have been sick ever since. I am feeling better today. I don't have as much of a fever, but my head is still pounding and my lungs feel like they are full of crap. Thursday and Friday were so horrible being home with a 11 month old and not feeling well. At one point yesterday I thought I was totally going to lose it. I am laying on the couch feeling like I could hardly move and Judah is standing right next to my head screaming. Here we are looking at each other crying not knowing what to do. I had a bag of Kix that I would poor out on the coffee table just to keep him quiet. I didn't care how big of a mess we made. When I did get up I realized I was sleeping with Kix everywhere. I also felt really bad for Kian. He was my baby sitter. Every minute I was asking him. What does Judah have? What is he doing? Will you get Judah? So David finally walked in the door and I just broke down again in tears because I was so happy to see him. I never thought he would get home to take HIS baby. Being a Mother is not always easy, but it is worth even the hardest times.

Allyn sick/OOps

2010-01-06T17:11:00.004-06:00

Allyn was sick the whole Christmas vacation. It started Christmas night. She had fevers between 104-105. I was nervous about it so I took her into the ER on that Sunday. They gave her some medicine to help her keep stuff down and then sent her home. By Wed she was still not feeling better. The fevers were not so high, but she felt horrible. David took her into the Dr. and he said that when she was in the ER they found a bladder infection and never told us. I was really annoyed by it. So the Dr gave her an antibiotic for the bladder infection. I called the "man in charge" of the ER just to let him know what happened. The next day Dr #2 called and said there was no bladder infection after all. What??? He said to keep taking the meds though. So she was still not better and I took her in on that Sat. Dr #3 took x-rays and blood. Turns out she had pneumonia. My poor girl. So he gave her some new medicine. Now she is on 2 antibiotics. I took her in on Monday for a follow up and she was feeling much much better. Finally yesterday she went back to school, but getting ready for school I made a OOPPSS...

I was going to give her medicine to her and I stuck it in Judah's mouth and gave it to him. I felt horrible because he is allergic to penicillin. Luckily it was not penicillin and he did not have a reaction. I was freaking out so bad I could hardly figure out how to use my phone to call the Dr.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-06T11:15:00.019-06:00

I got a new camera for Christmas. It is so much fun to play with, but I still have so much to learn.
David got a new electric razor. I guess he was a little excited.
Judah had more fun playing in the boxes than he did playing with his new toys.

???
Lyric loves to draw.

David got us a new heart rate monitor with a GPS. He is trying to figure out how to use it.
On Christmas Eve our friends Anita and Cedric came over to play games. They surprised us and brought some Thai food with them. It was delicious!

I made the kids new stockings this year. I never did finish them. I will do that next year I guess. Allyn is pink, Kian green, Lyric blue and Judah red.

PJs are always an exciting gift!

Lyric has wanted to take piano lessons so Santa got him a keyboard so he could start practicing.

Judah has fun playing it too!

Santa did a good job holding still so I could practice taking pictures of him.

This is my favorite picture. Not that it is a good picture, but I got it so David on the left was clear and the rest of the picture was blurry.

I was really excited to take a good picture of the 4 kids. That didn't last long. Not one of them wanted to be there.

This is how Allyn spent her holiday. Sick on the couch.
She did take several baths while she was sick. She would get in there and say, "oh this feels so good". David set her up with a candle and aromatherapy.

We could not go anywhere together during the Christmas break because of Allyn being sick. David took Lyric to see Avatar so this was my chance to take Kian to see the movie. I know it is really not a kids movie, but it is a movie that is a must see. Kian looked so so so cute sitting there in his 3D glasses eating popcorn. I just couldn't get enough of him that day.

Christmas Morning

2010-01-06T11:07:00.002-06:00

2010-01-05T18:39:00.002-06:00

We joined the YMCA. Lyric has wanted to do gymnastics for a long time so we got him signed up and Allyn and Kian into swimming lessons. They have fun!

Allyn's Popcorn Sale

2010-01-05T18:14:00.002-06:00

Allyn's class had a entrepreneur sale. They had to come up wth a product to sell. Make a poster and a commercial. Al made 25 bags of popcorn and she sold out. She had so much fun doing this.

Crossroads Christmas Program 2009

2010-01-05T16:33:00.001-06:00

Haircuts

2010-01-05T16:28:00.000-06:00

Lyric's 8th Birthday

2010-01-05T16:08:00.007-06:00

Thanksgiving in MN

2010-01-05T15:58:00.002-06:00

2010-01-05T15:47:00.000-06:00

2009-11-11T10:33:00.002-06:00

Allyn asked me to take a picture of her. She never lets me get a good picture of her. I think this one turned out totally adorable. David had to get dressed up for something for Veterans Day.

Lyric is a "book worm". Lately before bed he sits and reads a little out loud to Kian. I caught a little video.

The New Place

2009-11-08T15:59:00.004-06:00

Livingroom

Dining room

Dining into the livingroom

Kitchen

Lyric and Kian's room

Bathroom

Master Bedroom

Master

Allyn and Judah's room

3rd Annual Hastings Costume Party '09

2009-11-08T15:31:00.002-06:00

Michelle and Santi setting up for the Party! On the way to the Party! "HO HO HO"

The winners of the best costume... Cedric and Anita

Will?

This is not kitty litter. It is actually sand..

Cortney and Tony.. They were actually the winners of the best costume, but they had to leave early so they were not there. They did look fantastic!!!!

Scott and Michelle

Shawna

2009-11-08T15:25:00.003-06:00

Jonathan as PopeyeKate as Olive Oil

Rick and Dawn as Shrek and Fiona

Olive Oil and Popeye

Mr and Mrs. Claus

Monica

David and Scott singing

Me and Monica

I believe... The Cha Cha Slide