My Litte Soccer Player

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Soccer

Well it is soccer time of the year and Chase is a very happy boy! They had their first game last weekend and they did great! They got their shirts just before the game. Big thanks to Shoreline for sponsoring them. Chase chose #7 because he is 7 years old and because his soccer PJs from Mamma have #7 on them. He loves his Mamma!

Busy Times

It has been a very busy couple of weeks at the Rogge house. As we near the end of the school year, I look at the kids and wonder how it is that they are almost finished with first grade and kindergarten respectively. WOW!! They grow up so fast!

Chase had the opportunity to be involved in the Missoula Children's Theater Production of The Pied Piper at the PAC in Chelan. He auditioned and wanted to be cast as I rat and indeed he was cast as a rat! He had practices after school every day and dress rehearsal on Saturday morning and then two performances on Saturday. He did a good job but was a very tired boy by the end of that week.

Next came a visit from Mamma and Papa for Mackenzie's birthday. They arrived with boat in tow on Thursday the 20th. Mackenzie's choice for her birthday "party" this year was to go fishing it Papa and one of her friends (Hannah) in Papa's boat. Don't know who was more excited - Papa or Mackenzie. The kids hadn't seen Mamma and Papa in 2 1/2 months which is longer than usual. They were so excited that we counted down days for over three weeks and counted hours for the last two of those days. Once we knew they had made it to Entiat (about 20 mintues away) Chase stood on the deck with binoculars in hand watching across the lake to see them come down into the Chelan valley. Alas, they arrived and the kids met them in the driveway!

Mackenzie turned 6 last week - how did that happen? I made ladybug cupcakes for her class and we took them in at the end of the day on Friday. She and Hannah went fishing with Papa and I on Friday afternoon - they caught 6 keeper size Blue Gill. Hannah had never been fishing and was tickled to catch them. We then had "rice & gravy" (stroganoff and rice) for dinner and then watched The Princess and The Frog before I took Hannah home - it was a fun day for Kenzie (and all of us).

Saturday brought with it dress rehearsal and recital for Mackenzie's ballet class. They did a dance to "Fireflies" by Owl City and it was very cute. It was a fun night of dance and music performances by several kids from the valley. All very well planned and executed by Mackenzie's 15 year old dance instructor (she is amazing). While Kenzie was at dress rehearsal the guys took Chase fishing and they caught 8 blue gill! He was excited to have Daddy & Papa time in the boat.

The guys took Monday and Tuesday to go fishing on the "big" lake. Well, fishing it what they did as "catching" evaded them. They spent several hours each day trolling around and trying different things. They reported seeing lots of fish on the fish finder but could catch nothing. I guess the guys are meant to catch only blue gill and only when they have the kids with them.

Alas, it was time for Mamma and Papa to head home so a teary family (the kids and I) stood on the porch this morning waving as they drove away headed back to their home!

Blog Post Makes it to Paper

I have been participating in a Layout A Day (LOAD) for the month of May. It has been fun and I can happily say the I have done well in getting my layouts done every day so far (12 down and 19 to go). Today our challenge was J is for journaling. As soon as I read the challenge I knew that my post from August "Long Time Dream Fullfilled" had to finally make it onto paper for Chase's scrapbook. I had to share the final product here as most of my friends don't see my LOAD layouts on Flickr. I cried lots of tears as I read this story again and scrapbooked it. I have been doing my layouts on the dining room table but this one I did in the solitude of my scrap room alone where I could enjoy the memories and tears again. I am happy with how the layout turned out.

My Baby is 7 Years Old!

It seems only yesterday we were waiting so anxiously to be receive the call about a referral of our first little one. We received our I-171 letter, which permitted us to bring a child back to the US, on January 19, 2003. Chase was born on February 6, 2003 in Guatemala City to Reina and was given the birth name of Jose' Valentin Canahui Ac. On February 17, 2003, we received the phone call that changed our lives forever. The adoption agency, Heritage Adoption called and our wonderful Vicky had the news we had waited for . . . a baby boy was born in Guatemala and needed parents. We are ecstatic and all those around us were as well as adoption is a journey for the entire family and friend network. Nine long months later, we finally got to go to Guatemala and get him!

Now he is 7 years old. He is over half way through his first grade year at MOE in Chelan. He is reading very well and was proud to bring home a perfect report card the day before his birthday. Even with his sister home recovering from a tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy, he enjoyed a good day. On Friday, we took cupcakes to his classroom and he and I went out to dinner at his favorite Bamboo Shoot. On Saturday, he got to open his gifts and we had cake and Daddy's Famous Meatloaf for dinner.

Last month, we talked to him about what he wanted for his birthday. Anymore, birthday parties are getting to be bigger and more expensive things by the year. We gave him a choice. He could have the big bowling and pizza party OR he could get a computer for his room. He thought about it and asked several questions to make sure he understood the exchange and all the pros and cons of each side. He concluded that he wanted the computer. We shopped for a desk and chair and then his computer. I was playing nursemaid to Mackenzie on Friday but managed to get his desk and chair assembled while he was at school. I got the computer put together while he tended to his sister after school. He was thrilled. Papa & Mamma got him a printer/copier/scanner for his birthday. Aunt Lissa & Uncle Mitchell got him a Boeing 787 mouse pad and toy plane. Big Sissy Stephanie got him the book Where The Sidewalk Ends. He also got a webcam for his computer. I spent part of Saturday getting him online and setting up the webcam. He loves to email but waits and watches for responses so sometimes I have to call Mamma or Aunt Lissa to get them to respond quickly. He got to try out his webcam with Papa and Mamma with Skype yesterday. It worked great and that comes from someone who has used Yahoo messenger and MSN Live. Skype is the webcam way to go!! (See the above picture of him on the webcam with Papa and Mamma - clearly a happy 7 year old!)

Hello Fall

Been a while since a post so thought I would post tonight just to prove I am alive. It is definitely fall here in Chelan. The temperatures have gone down to a high of 70 in the day and the high 30s to maybe 45 at night. Gone are the shorts and the hooded sweatshirts are out.

The kid are staying busy in school. Chase loves first grade and his teacher. He knows his sight words for first and second grade - all 400 of them and is started reading chapter books and loves it. He has gotten 100% on all 5 spelling tests so far! I am so proud of him. He has soccer practice two afternoons a week and had his first soccer game on Saturday. He was a very tired boy after that game. He even took a nap this afternoon which he NEVER does and was still ready for bed at bedtime. Mackenzie is started on her sight words and on her first books in kindergarten. She is tired by the end of the week as she has soccer practice one afternoon a week in addition to full day kindergarten 5 days a week. She has the same teacher Chase had last year and loves that she knows the routine. She really misses being at home with Mommy so we do a lot of encouragement some days to get her going and other days she is ready to go.

We are ready for fall and love the change of weather. Wishing a happy fall to all of you!

Wisdom from a First Grader

Today after his first day of first grade Chase arrived home with homework. As he sat down to work on it, he asked me "Mommy do you know what homework means?" I replied, "No, what does it mean?" His sweet wisdom-filled reply "It means I am growing up!"

A Long Time Dream Fulfilled

Many of you know of the time and trials of the adoption of Chase. Being an international adoption it came with ups and LOTS of downs through the paperwork process. Getting his referral 11 days after he was born and then it taking nearly 9 months more to get the travel OK to go get him was tough on the whole family.

I am the oldest child and my younger sister had no children at that point either so this was the first grandchild for my parents. My Dad was over-the-top excited about a grandson to taking fishing, hunting, camping, etc. Mom was excited as well but Dad had dreams of things he would do with Chase before he ever got to hold him.

We lived from one picture to the next for that nine months as that was our connection to this little boy we loved so dearly. We were trapped in the system and had to wait it out. It was stressful for us all and some of us (namely me) were more vocal about the stress we endured. Others (like Dad) kept dreaming of this baby in his arms in silence. Dad had a heart attack summer of 2003 while we were in this waiting period. He spent several days in the hospital getting stents placed and recovering. During this time, we all became more aware of his emotions related to Chase. He worked so hard to recover and get his health in shape to be able to go to Guatemala with us.

Finally in November 2003, we go the plane tickets and Dad told his boss he would be back when Chase was home from Guatemala as he and Mom went with us. We took a red-eye flight to Guatemala City. Upon arriving after a long night of flight, we got to our hotel (Hotel La Casa Grande) and checked in. The agency had told us to call the attorney when we arrived. I did just that. We were told to be prepared as with it being a Friday before the election weekend in Guatemala we may not get to even see him and likely wouldn't get to have him till Monday. I was shocked when Leticia (our attorney in Guatemala) asked me if we would like to "get" him that morning. I inquired for more info as to what she meant. She told us she could be there with him and we could HAVE him that morning. We all raced through the shower (as we were all in one suite so the one shower was busy).

FINALLY we got to have him (we ended up waiting in Guatemala enjoying him in our hotel for 3 weeks while final paperwork was completed for travel home)! After a short visit with the attorney and the foster mother, they left and we were on our own. The poor little guy had just been removed from all he knew and he started crying. We all took turns walking the floor with him trying to calm him. Mom and I took turns singing to him (she had learned to sing Jesus Loves Me in Spanish) and rocking him. Dave took his turn too and finally Papa got his turn. He walked out onto an open landing area and talked to Chase and finally got him settled and he fell asleep on Papa's chest. What a sight as you can see . . .

I NEVER knew until a couple of months ago what Dad had talked to him about while trying to comfort him that day nearly 6 years ago. I now know that he was talking to Chase about the things they would do together and how he looked forward to teaching him to fish!

Chase and Papa have gone fishing quite a few time together and really enjoy one another's company as you can see.

Yesterday (August 17, 2009), Chase (with the help of Papa) caught his first BIG fish. He has caught several blue gill and perch but yesterday was different. He caught a 15 lb, 32 inch KING SALMON on the Columbia River near Brewster, WA. Boy was he proud and so was Papa - I think the picture says it all . . .

A Long Time Dream Fulfilled

My Sweet Little Boy

As I blogged yesterday, Mackenzie is in KinderCamp this week and next. While I am missing her and the things I am used to her doing around the house, I am also enjoying the reconnecting with Chase that is happening when he has all to himself 1:1 time with us while she is at school. He was only 15 1/2 months old when Mackenzie was born and we had only had him home from Guatemala for 6 months so it has been a long time since there was just him. He is a totally different kid when not competing with Mackenzie over every little thing. While we have not done anything spectacular while she was gone, he has been tickled nonetheless just to share the couch with one of us and not have to share. He is all of a sudden the snuggle bug I remember from those days over 5 years ago. He is so helpful and wants to make everyone happy. We have enjoyed a trip to the park with our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We have played Fishing Master on the Wii. He and Daddy have tossed football and shot baskets with the basketball. He has sat and read Biscuit books to me. He has been right under my feet in all that I do while Mackenzie is gone. What a joy to get to have these special alone times with him that we have not had for so long. Memories in the making . . .

Now, don't be mistaken, he does miss his sister as he is right out there to greet her as she gets off the bus and runs to give her a love but he also loves to snuggle with me and tell me of the fun things we did that just he and I know about! How sweet my little boy is!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Hope everyone had a great Cinco de Mayo. Chase came home very excited to tell me about why we call it Cinco de Mayo and carrying a Mexico flag they made at school. It was a windy afternoon so we huddled in at home instead of the park as we had hoped to do.

This little sign was at a local coffee hangout I hit once in a while right before picking up Chase (obviously I did so today) and I liked the sentiment so will share it with you today.

Earth Day

Living in a small community town has lots of benefits (and some drawbacks) but on most occasions I love it. This weekend is one of those times I love it. There is a very large contingent of Earth Day supporters here and we even have an Earth Day Fair on the 3rd Saturday of April every year. It is always a fun place to visit. I love the Friends of the Library Used Book Sale every year (gently used kids books for 25 cents each). You can buy all sorts of plant starts and observe lots of earth saving items/inventions. The kids always love the snack and this year the face painting. The pictures for today are of them yesterday with their faces painted (Chase is a cheetah and Kenzie has a unicorn and stars) right before we got our fruit smoothies & Bubble Tea from Blenderz (http://blenderzchelan.com/) and a hot bag of kettle corn. It was a fun morning walk through Riverwalk Park with the kids before Mom and Dad came for the afternoon to do laundry and give Buddy at chance to run around outside.

Questions from a kindergartener

As most of you know I have a 5 1/2 year old son and a 4+ year old daughter. They never cease to amaze me with the questions they ask. However, lately my son has been asking some very thought-provoking questions that I do not easily have an instant answer for.

We were riding home from church this morning when he asked the first doozy of the day "Mom, if we eat food and fill our bodies with food today, then what happens with all that food so we have room to eat food tomorrow?" That was one that I had to think about for a few seconds before responding that we go potty and get rid of today's food by tomorrow.

Then after dinner tonight, he had to pose another one to me, it goes like this - "Mom, what is the difference between up and down, like when you die down here but then you are alive up there with God?" I went on to answer that your body dies here but your spirit lives up there after you die. Thankfully he was accepting of those answers thankfully.

Mackenzie, not to be outdone by her brother, posed a big one for me on Tuesday. Her's went like this - "Mommy, where do my words come from?" I replied "well, they come from your throat from your voice box and out your mouth." I thought that was a reasonable explanation for a 4 year old. She then added "but they come from my brain first Mommy!" I didn't have a reply to that.

Hope you enjoy the chuckle from these that I get to experince nearly every day.

Update from Minnesota

Just a quick morning update from Rochester while the kids watch cartoons. This is our last full day in Rochester as we leave tomorrow at 12:15 pm to fly home and should arrive in Wenatchee at 9:05 pm pending all flights going right, so cross your fingers!

Let's see where did I leave off. I think it was Friday and we had just come home from the hospital. Friday afternoon a long time friend of Dave's named Shari came from Mankato to meet the kids and I and check on Dave's progress. We had a great visit for almost 3 hours in the hotel room and then the kids and I went out to dinner with her before she drove home. It was nice to meet her and I know we plan to keep in touch from here forward. After she headed home, the kids and I went to the indoor play area at the mall and they played for over an hour and were exhausted when they finished. Then we all got Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream and headed back to the hotel for the night.

On Saturday, we all slept in a bit and took it easy for the morning. We then ran a few errands of things Dave needed from Walmart and watched it snow (yes, snow) here for the afternoon. It quit snowing long enough to visit the park for a little bit but not long so we went to an early dinner and came back to the pool for a swim (one of the kids' favorite things to do). Dave had a painful day as the swelling is going down to the there is more bone pain everyday.

Sunday started with a migraine for me. The kids let me rest it off for an hour then we headed off to church and then to have pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids. That got Kenzie's 3 yr pics done and we got a few of Chase too and of course them together and then one of the three of us. We tried the park again on this afternoon and got to play a little longer but again resorted to coming back to the hotel and getting dinner then enjoying a movie together. Another cery painful day for Dave but he is getting more mobile so that is no surprise.

Monday morning we had to get up and get going in order to get Dave in the shower and over to the clinic for a blood draw to check his PT & INR as he is on Coumadin for 6 weeks. While we were there we had to pick up his pain patches as we did not have enough of them with us (there is a whole box at home in Chelan). They nearly had to resuscitate me after they totalled it and for 3 boxes of 2 different doses of his Duragesic patches it was $1384.00!! Ouch!! Will work on that one with the insurance when we return home!! After we got Dave back and settled, the kids and I took off on our geography lesson day! Being a Little House on the Prairie fan, Mom and I have even gotten Mackenzie into them too. We took off south on Highway 63 and went to Spring Valley, Minnesota where the church is that Laura and Almanzo attended in the early 1890s. It was closed for tours but we got to see it and of course take pictures! Then we took off further south through Preston and on to Harmony, Minnesota. For those who don't know, Harmony has the largest Amish Community in Minnesota. Not far out of Preston we started seeing Amish horse & carriages on the highway. The actually have a two lane road with additional lanes on each side just for the Amish travelers. Mackenzie was quite intrigued with this. She also liked to look for tired and not tired barns. Some of the barns out here are falling down and she called those tired barns and any not falling down were not tired. We got into Harmony and stopped for a visit at the Amish gift shops. We got a few little items including an Amish porcelain doll for both kids (Chase has a boy doll) and an Amish quilt wall hanging for us and for my parents. My Mom loves to read the Barbara Lewis books about Amish communities. On we went on our drive south (seeing more Amish people along the way) and ended up in Burr Oak, Iowa. That is the location of the last standing original home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. We were able to tour this home which was actually a hotel where the Ingalls' worked. Very interesting! We then drove back again watching for Amish people. We did stop at an Amish home that had a gift shop area where Mackenzie got a horse basket made of wood. It was neat to see their lives. The kids learned a lot about a variety of things and we all enjoyed the day. We made it back by about 4 pm and had dinner and then went swimming AGAIN!

Today was planned to make a return trip to Mall of America but we have to get things packed and ready first so we will see what happens. Dave is more mobile everyday and we are so very thankful to Dr. Hannsen and Dr. Nett for their care in fixing his knee. We are all very ready to get back to our home and our routine though!

Thanks again for all the prayers and good thoughts during our travels! Lots of pictures to follow once we are home!

The Good News and the Not-So-Good News

Well, lets see - I like to get the not-so-good first so that is how I will type this entry to cover the events of a Monday at the Rogge house for three of us and Dave's first day of appointments at the Mayo Clinic.

After Friday night trip (pictured above) to the ER for Mackenzie's ears, she was getting no better so we had no choice but to call Dr. Waz to report . . . Mackenzie and I have both been struggling with the "Chelan Crud" AKA a cold and managed to both get ear infections so we went to the clinic this morning to get the antibiotics to rid ourselves of those prior to our flights back east later this week. She is very tired and resistive to the ear drops, so much so that her brother gets all her comfort things ready for her and stands by and counts to 100 for her after I put the drops in. She thinks that at the end of the count to 100 it will feel better so usually Dave counts after the drops but while Daddy is away Chase is being the man of the house and helping me in lots of ways especially counting after ear drops. I just tucked him in to bed and as he said his prayers he included this line "please help my sister to get better so she doesn't have to have ear drops anymore."

Dave had a good day at the Mayo Clinic today. They drew blood, took x-rays and he saw the orthopedic surgeon. The doctor drew some fluid off of the knee although it was difficult for him to get any fluid which is a good sign. Upon reviewing Dave's x-rays right after the knee replacement 3 years ago and the ones taken today, it appears that the prosthesis has actually gotten moved out of place a bit. The doctor is hopeful that it is indeed not infected but rather just malfunctioning due to being out of place. They are doing a culture of the fluid and repeating his bone scan just to be sure there aren't indicators of infection. If those all are normal, then he will go in for surgery on Monday and based on what the doctor finds, he will either take the prosthesis out and fill the joint with antibiotic beads and cast his leg straight for 2 months and then re-do the knee OR if there is no sign of infection and he feels it is ok to re-do the knee right then, he will take out the old one and put in the new one which would mean no second trip back there for surgery!!! As you can imagine we are praying for the later as this is the first "good" news about his knee in over 5 years since the original one was done in March 2003.

So there it is, Kenzie and I are sick, Dave got good news and Chase is holding down the fort for Daddy while he is away. They are counting days till we leave on Friday to go to Seattle and then on Saturday back to Rochester! Chase's parting words to Daddy on the phone tonight were "You are the bestest Daddy in the whole wide world, I love you!"

Well, tonight turned out to be a date night for Chaser and I as he wanted to go see the play again tonight (I think I will be a qualified understudy by tomorrow night). He came home after school today and took a nap, went to T-ball practice and came home and ate his dinner fast so we could get to the theater. It was a packed house again tonight so we got there just in time to get seats! He ordered his popcorn with butter, red licorice & Sprite when we got there and then was gracious enough to order popcorn and root beer for his "date" (aka Mommy) but the date got stuck with the check?!?!? Anyway, he had a great time and sat on my lap snuggling and sharing licorice with me for about 3/4 of it (after his popcorn was GONE). We sang Mamma Mia songs from my CD on the way home (the kids have discovered that a couple of the songs from ABBA were in their new Bee Movie so we have music we all like and it is not Disney or Wiggles) and danced in the seats. He loves to listen to cool music and play funny in the car with Mommy. We got home and he was so thankful. He RAN into his room and got his new PJs and brought them out to put them on while talking to me about the play and how much fun we had. He got ready to put the pants on and said "where is the tag?" and I told him that Mamma didn't put a tag in them but the tie was in the front so that was how he knew which way to put them on, he replied "that silly Dramma, I will have to tall her to put a tag in the back so I know how to put them on". Then he started to put the top on and discovered no tag there either so I told him the V was in the front and he then replied "well Dramma doesn't have to put the V in the front if she puts a tag in instead." What can I say - he got them on and loves them. We then got him tucked into bed and in his prayers he thanked God for Mommy and he going to the play again tonight (3 times in the prayer). Guess he and I need to find other things to do more often just the two of us. As I left his room he asked Mommy can we do that again next time not when I am on stage but just when we sit and watch. I asked if he meant next year and he said "yes Mommy cuz I get to be on stage again tomorrow night with Dramma".

Sleep tight - I know I will! :)

Love, M

PS - Before getting into bed he was so cute as he went into our room and delicately and quietly kissed sleeping Daddy on the cheek and said night night Daddy I love you! These are the moments that make me cry! - no pictures from tonight on any camera just in my heart forever!

Chase's Theatrical Debut

Tonight was the first night of the all school play for the independent school where Chase attends preschool this year. When they do an all school play it is just that ALL school. The preschoolers got to be froglets in the play and sang along in one of the musical numbers. The play was called Honk and is basically the story of the Ugly Duckling with a few variances. He has been excited about it until this week when he became a little apprehensive about it. In fact, today he got sick to his stomach at school and came home right after lunch. He took a good nap and after a pep talk phone call with Mamma - he was ready to go. He ate a good dinner and then we were off as we had to be there at 6:15 and it started at 7 pm. His part was not until a few minutes after intermission so he got to watch the play with us until then and after his part. He loves these plays and is in fact bargaining to go watch it tomorrow night even though he is not in it. He is however in it again on Friday when they do it at the Performing Arts Center in Wenatchee. He did a great job and even sang. He also went up on stage with the whole cast at the end for the bow and final song. He was quite proud of himself afterward. He told his teacher that all he had to do was pretend the Mamma was up there on stage with him and he would be fine. Too cute! He did have nearly a whole row of fans there - Jill & Logan, Rachael, Josh "Bubby", Kenzie, Daddy & I so he felt good to have supporters and gave us a big thumbs up right before going on stage. Sissy Megan, Janson and Alura are meeting us in Wenatchee to watch him Friday night so he will be able to feel supported again.

Well, my little froglet is already asleep and we have been home for all of 15 minutes. Kenzie is asleep too - glad that both got 2+ hour naps this afternoon! Hope you enjoy the little video of his part of the play!

Busy, busy, busy week

Just when I think things are going to slow down, another week is upon me and the calendar is again FULL! We had a nice Easter and got to see Megan & Josh and their families for a while that afternoon. The kids and I were dressed up for church even though the temperature was quite cool.

Monday this week was to be my only "slow" day in that I just had to get Chase to and from school. This morning started with a bang as I dropped of Mackenzie to Daddy at 7:45 am so that Chast and I could make it to school for his kindergarten screening by 8 am. That lasted till 9 am at which time I thought I would run home quickly before dropping Chase off but alas, they have closed the road early today up to our house which necessitates a detour of twice the distance to get back to town and there was no time for that so off to Starbucks for coffee and muffin we went. Dropped Chase off to school, bought tickets for his play Friday night and headed to work for the day. After work today, I am to meet the kids and Dave at the school for our first T-ball practice. Dave was to be the asst coach but they had three teams and only 2 coaches so he got volunteered. The kids are excited about T-ball. Technically Kenzie is not playing but I am sure she will "help" since Dave and I will both be there with Chase and his team. Chase is very excited and both of them went home with Daddy this afternoon for naps so they are rested.

Tomorrow starts with Kenzie at school and I am in her class tomorrow so Daddy will take Chase to school. After school for Kenzie and I we will go visit Jill and Rylee for a bit and then home to get ready for brother's play. He is in the CVIS spring musical called "Honk Jr". He has practice tomorrow morning then PlayEd tomorrow afternoon. Have to pick him up at 4, get him home, fed and dressed and back to theater by 6:15 for the play - in which he is a froglet. Play starts at 7 so likely we won't be home till 9ish.

Thursday starts off early with speech therapy for Chase at 8:25 then he is off to school while Kenzie goes to the dentist again for another filling. Then a quick run home to change for dance class. Pick up brother at noon. Go home and NAP! T-ball practice at 5 pm again. Then home for dinner and bed!

Friday Kenzie to school, Chase to school, Mommy to work - all by 10 am! Daddy to pick up Kenzie at 11:30. Mommy to pick up Chase at 4 pm to go home eat, change clothes and head for Wenatchee to be to the PAC by 6:15 pm for the play down there. Megan and her family will meet us there to see him. Home late that night.

Mommy works on Saturday and Daddy is alone as the babysitter is out of town for the first weekend of Spring Break. We are home till mid-week - I have my last follow-up regarding my neck on the 1st - then we plan to go see my mother-in-law and take in the tulips in Mt Vernon for a few days while the kids are out of school, have no T-ball and no dance.

I did notify my boss today that I will no longer be able to work regular 2-3 days a week after April as the kids are so busy and I do not like to miss their activities. She was very nice about it and understands totally so I will return to very part time work and be a full time Mom again! :)

Don't know if posts will fit in the schedule this week so if not - catch up again next week hopefully!

Doctor Visit today

Yeepee! I saw the internist today and he let me stop on the oxygen and the nebulizers!!! I was sooo excited. He asked me which company needed to pick up the oxygen at my house and I told him I would leave it on the porch for anyone that wanted it as I didn't want it any more! He will do a chest xray in 2 weeks to rule out any scarring from this and to get a good clean baseline but has released me otherwise. I see the neurosurgeon 3 weeks from today at which time I hope to shed the hard collar, get my driving rights back and be able to start with only the soft collar just in time for our trip. Now I just have to work on my endurance as I am pretty tuckered out from a long day today.

The kids had another great afternoon yesterday with Daddy time as Mom and I worked on dinner stuff. They like to sit in his recliner but they don't make a recliner for 3 people so it gets a little tight as this picture shows.

Dave went to see Raiden again last night and got some more good pictures of him. Josh is sure proud of him and is taking to the Dad thing very well. Josh, Heather and Raiden were pictured on the front page of the local paper The Lake Chelan Mirror in the January 9, 2008 edition for being the first baby/parents of 2008. It was a nice article. If I can get it to scan well, I will post it here for all to see but I will work on that this weekend.

Chase & Kenzie watched Ratatouille one more time with Mamma this afternoon as she goes home tomorrow. We all know that movie very well as it is the current favorite at our house. Chase has even chosen to have a Ratatouille birthday party this year. Hard to believe it he will be 5 years old in less than a month. The kids are currently taking a bath under the supervision of Mamma and having one last "snowstorm" before she leaves. A snowstorm is what they call it when powdering themselves after a bath as the visibility in the bathroom gets to be about 6 inches with all of the powder flying. Chase doesn't use the powder puff to puff the powder on but rather just shakes the puff in the air and turns around for even distrubution in its landing on him. You do not need air freshener in that bathroom for days, all you have to do is stomp on the bathmat once or twice and the air is plenty fresh. Oh, the memories they create with Mamma.

Papa is sick with his chest cold again so he is anxiously awaiting the return of Mom to help him as he got put back on on antibiotics again today and hopes to kick this one for good! We hope so too as he has taxit services to render for the kids while we are on our trip. Mamma doesn't like driving in the snow so I think Papa's primary task will be driving kids and Mamma wherever they need to go.

Well, my jammies and fuzzy slippers are calling me to find them and a hot cup of tea.

BIG Catch-up Post

Well, it has been quite a while since I have posted but it has been busy times around our house, so I will do my best to catch-up on the last few weeks.

We had an enjoyable trip over to the westside to have an early Christmas with the big kids and the grandkids. A good time was had by all. We draw names and exchange gifts and usually invade Stephanie & Ken's house for the occasion on the odd years as the kids and grandkids all come to us in even years. Our little ones had a lot of fun playing with the grandkids. The youngest little grandkid is Travis and he is growing like a weed and this picture proves how much Papa loves him.

While we were in Seattle we met my sister and her kids for the annual grandkid photo for our parents. The kids are growing a lot and Rachel is changing everyday. It seems like yesterday we started this tradition with little Chase holding babies on either side of him. Here is a picture from that day too.

Chase had his Christmas program at CVIS on Friday the 14th and he sang out and did a great job on Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. He was all dressed up handsome and was quite proud of himself. His last day of school before the break was the 17th and they had a Santa's workshop that day and a visit from the jolly gentleman in red too. Here is a picture of Chase in front of our tree just before he went to school for his program. He is very active in participating in songs in class but is usually quite shy and has stage-fright for any "performance" so we were very proud of him for singing out and being a good little performer.

We also managed to take in the visit to Santa and the reindeer at the Whaley Mansion here in town. Mackenzie got to go on a limo bus to see the reindeer with her preschool and then the kids and I went to see them and Santa the next day. Chase loved the first room we entered as it had a big train set up on a BIG table and it was running around and around. He could have stayed in that room all day and skipped Santa all together. They took some nice pictures while we were there as you can see.

Mackenzie had her first preschool Christmas program on the 21st and Mamma and Papa even made the trip in time to see it. Boy has my little girl changed in the last 3 months. At the beginning of school she was very shy and didn't even want to stay and at her program she was the star of the show as she was so into it and animated with her participation. It was so cute and of course that is recorded on film too. (oh, both kids programs are on DVD as well for anyone to watch as they love to watch themselves and tell all about it). At the end of her program, the jolly gentleman in red made an appearance again (we have seen him over a half dozen times this season).

My parents (AKA Mamma or Dramma or Grams and Papa) were her for 9 "night nights" as the kids call them. They left today to go to my sister's in Bothell and get a grandkid fix there. We were able to enjoy a lot of snow and a very white Christmas while they were here. We also got to visit reindeer and Santa in the snow at Banjo Creek Farms on the 22nd, which all enjoyed. Originally they were to have 2 reindeer there but "Dasher" as he is now called, escaped on Friday night and they still haven't found him. Papa had a cold and congestion while they were here so Mamma spent the afternoon of Sunday after church in the local ER with him. We all helped to take care of him and get him well.

We enjoyed a great family Christmas and the kids were thrilled with the visit from Santa, which Chase discovered the evidence of at 6:30 am on Christmas morning and woke us all to see. We had a great dinner. Mom helped with it as my neck is not tolerating that much time with my arms up working at counter height. Santa brought Chase a new bicycle (his first big boy bike) and brought Mackenzie a playhouse. They were both very happy. Dave & I got a webcam from my parents so we are now able to talk to and see them from the computer. The kids love it!!

As my parents were getting ready to leave this morning, I got a call from the neurosurgeon in Wenatchee. I had an appt with him scheduled for January 25th as that was the earliest he could see me about my neck. They had a cancellation today and I got to see him at 2 pm. While he was seeing me, he had a patient call and cancel surgery for next Wednesday the 2nd of January so he is going to fix my neck next Wednesday at Wenatchee Valley Medical Center. I will stay overnight and get to go home sometime Thursday. I should be well onto the recovery and be fine for our trip in February. It is nice to be able to have it done before the trip as it looked like I wouldn't even see him till right before the trip. They will remove the herniated disc and fuse the C5-C6 vertebrae with a plate and screws as well as a bone graft. I will have a lot of lifting restrictions for 3 months (that will be hard for the kids to understand) but he anticipates that I will have pain relief very soon after surgery. The kids understand that he will be cutting my neck and for a while Mackenzie was afraid he would make me into a "pick-up head" (this is what she calls the animated franksteins at Halloween that seemingly lift their own head off of their neck - she hates them) but I have convinced her that my head will stay attached. Now she tells me that "the doctor will cut your neck and then he will needle it to make it back together" - needling is her verbage for sewing.

Lastly but certainly not least, we are expecting any day the arrival of Raiden Xavier, our new grandson (Josh & Heather's baby). He is due on the 2nd of January and they will induce her on the 3rd if she doesn't have it before then. As you can see she is quite pregnant and getting more uncomfortable by the day.

Well, that is an update from her for now and I will try to do better in the upcoming weeks and plan to blog while on our trip.

Happy New Year to you all!

Long Time No Type

Well, it has been quite a while since I have sat down to post a few things so I will do the infamous catch-up post.

• I am behind on posts as I have been to two scrapbooking filled weekends in a row with Megan. (see picture with Steph, Lize, Megan and friends of Steph's at CK convention in Seattle) We had a lot of fun but did get tired and behind on things in the process.

• I have hurt my neck somehow and have an MRI in Wenatchee at 7 am tomorrow as the doctor thinks I have ruptured a disc in my neck. I am sitting here at the keyboard in my cervical collar (not the most comfortable accessory but does seem to decrease the pain some). Have to plan to be in bed and asleep early to night as I have to leave the house at 6 am tomorrow morning (most mornings I am still fast asleep at that time).


• Tonight is Kenzie's open house at her school and she is so excited to show off her room. They are having a used book exchange for the kids too so she has been looking at her books to decide which to exchange (as much as I suggest Amelia Bedelia books - since they are a pain to read - she loves them so alas we are keeping those). She loves to be read to and loves to keep up her reading log for school. It is a big deal at the end of the month to take the log to Mrs. Hunter as she gets a treat in her bag for doing the log.


• This weekend is a baby shower filled weekend as I have one to attend on Saturday and am giving one for Heather (Mommy to the next grandbaby) on Sunday. I have started delegating tasks for the Sunday one as I know I cannot do it all.


• Monday was a school holiday so had both kids at home all day. That was a real change as Chase is in school so much anymore, it seemed weird for him to be here all day.


• Dave went to the Seahawk game on Monday and has another to attend on Sunday so he is getting to know the passes well.


• The first signs that winter is close are here as the mornings are COLD and the snow is getting closer. The snow level is supposed to drop to 1500 feet this weekend which means we may see some white stuff before the weekend is up.


• We are planning to go to my parents house in Myrtle Creek for Thanksgiving but that is contingent on the results of my MRI and how I am feeling about traveling 9 hours in the car. Graciously my parents have offered to come up here if I cannot make the drive as I am looking forward to seeing them.


• We are doing our Christmas with the big kids and grandkids on December 1st this year to accomodate everyone's schedule so I am trying to get shopping completed. Nothing like rushing right down to the wire with that type of thing. I am usually done with shopping by now and this year I have just started. :(

I guess that is it for a quick catch up. Best wishes and God's blessings to you all this beautiful time of year.