I can't believe I almost forgot! My cousin Tami, is the leap year baby in our family. It is of course her birthday today, and I wanted to be sure and wish her a happy birthday since she only gets one every four years! We love you, Tami!
Caitlyn has had a bottom tooth that has been loose for almost three months. the permanent tooth had already halfway come in behind the baby tooth. This has happened with one of her teeth before and we had the dentist pull her baby tooth. I told her a couple weeks ago, that if it didn't fall out soon, we were going to have to make that trip to the dentist. Monday morning she woke up excited that the tooth was finally about to come out. Usually that means lots of drama, and days of convincing her to let us pull it. Later that day, as she was doing her school work, she pulled it out herself! She was pretty proud of herself, and I was glad that the tooth was finally out! The tooth fairy didn't show up the first night. So embarrassing! My doctor told Caitlyn on Tuesday that he had heard that the tooth fairy had the flu. :) Thank you Dr. Bendheim! Anyway, she wrote the tooth fairy a letter with a big arrow pointing to where the tooth was, just in case she had trouble finding it. Lo and behold, it worked! Now she has some money for the Dollar Store, and she's telling everyone all about it. So, that's how Caitlyn lost tooth number six. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with these.
Sorry, I forgot to mention that the post "Packing Peanut Mayhem" has a video attached to it. Check it out when you get a chance, and enjoy!
Monday night I ran out for a few minutes and returned to this! Jeremy had let the kids play in a box full of packing peanuts. Since the kids cleaned up their own mess, I can't really complain. Plus, isn't it fun just to be messy and silly once in awhile? They definitely looked like they had fun! Yesterday was a pretty busy day. We had three doctor's appointments, and then did grocery shopping last night. Good news: John David's ears are perfect, and he doesn't have to go back to the ENT for six months! Good News #2: my blood pressure is still within the no-panic zone and my OB said to just keep an eye on it and I don't have to go back for four weeks! If my blood pressure does go up again, there is still room to increase my dosage and they can add another medicine if needed. Only six weeks till our 20 week ultrasound! The kids are pretty much convinced that this baby is a boy, and I'm leaning that way myself. So far, my instincts have been right with the other three, but how hard is it? It's a 50/50 chance, right? We should have an answer before we head to Tennessee in April. John David calls the baby "my baby". Yesterday at the OB office, he heard the heartbeat and got so excited. He was yelling, "That's my baby!" Monday, he accidentally hit me in the stomach with a soccer ball. We were playing catch, and I obviously missed. He told the baby he was sorry, but he said, "I'm sorry, Baby Jesus." He thought that was pretty funny! Anyway, we are doing well. Monday was a hard day, but I keep trying to remind myself that it's only been six days now since Corey left. I'm going to post tomorrow about Caitlyn's latest lost tooth, and Thursday I will have a picture of our almost completed house. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has blessed us with three amazing children!
Saturday night was awesome! Jeremy and I had a great time and enjoyed the sold out show. I have to admit that I thought I could make it without ear plugs, but I lasted about five minutes! Luckily they sold ear plugs there for only a dollar. Those drivers are crazy, doing donuts, and almost flipping the trucks over every few minutes! We even saw some BMX bike riders do some incredible flips and tricks. Over all, I know it's not very romantic for a night out, but it was fun, and just what we needed. Next time we definitely will take John David. He already asked for a Spiderman Monster Truck!!:) In a couple weeks, we are hoping to go see some professional bull riding at the Hampton Colliseum. How cool!
Last Saturday afternoon, I caught this rare moment on film. Both my boys calm and sleeping!!:) John, of course, had fallen asleep with his Bob the Builder lunch box. Lately, this lunch box has gone almost everywhere with him. Inside he keeps his Spiderman suit. Surprise, surprise! Jeremy and I have decided that WalMart is of the devil. Last night, we went to WalMart to buy John a new careseat. His has been used for all the kids, and is on its last leg. Anyway, for a parents who have a little boy obsessed with Spiderman, there is Spiderman stuff everywhere! Spiderman clothes, Spiderman shoes, Spiderman bandaids, Spiderman hats, Spiderman underwear, and even Spiderman socks seemed to draw John in every five feet! Eventually, we had to make it clear that we were not buying everything Spiderman. He decided on some Spiderman cups. The boy has Spidey Fever! We are all doing pretty good today. John still keeps asking where Corey is, but he slept better than I thought he would last night. Caitlyn keeps forgetting Corey is gone, but I guess it will take some time to get used to it. Thank you to everyone for your cards and phone calls. We are very blessed to have such great friends! We are getting our family pictures taken this evening, so I'm excited about that. Jeremy and I have tickets to the Monster Truck Thunder Nationals tomorrow night, and the kids are spending the night with our friend Pam and her daughter Breanna. We are looking forward to the much needed alone time!! Thanks Pam and Breanna! I will load the new family pictures tonight or tomorrow morning. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has been faithful in His healing!
This week has been full of lasts with Corey. I've been thinking about all the firsts we had with him over the past year, how much he's changed, and grown. I look at pictures of him last March, and he looks like a baby, but then again he really was. Corey leaves this morning, in about and hour and a half actually. I'm doing pretty good so far, but who knows what it will be like to watch that car pull away. Right now, the kids need to see a happy face. Corey and John are still a little confused. John has already cried a little this morning. He doesn't really like the thought of sleeping in his bedroom by himself. Corey asked me yesterday why his clothes were at his grandma's, and he keeps asking me if it's forever. I know he doesn't really understand what "forever" means, but he knows that it means a long time. Please pray for us. I know that God will be faithful to get us through the next few days. We've got some fun family stuff planned over the next couple weeks, and I think that spending some time together as a family will help us heal. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with these.
The social worker called yesterday, and they are moving Corey tomorrow morning. I am doing much better with the whole situation. God has given me the strength to accept it. I have a peace now that I didn't have a few days ago. I'm sure that these feelings will come and go over the next few months, but I pray that I can just hold on to what I'm feeling right now. The girls are handling the move pretty well, but John David is still not really understanding what's going on yet. On a different topic, I had to go to the doctor Monday afternoon. My blood pressure went up again, and I had a headache for four days that I couldn't get rid of. The doctor gave me some pain medication and upped my dosage on my blood pressure medication. Later that night I took the pain medicine, but it didn't get rid of my headache. Yesterday morning, I called the doctor and let them know that the medicine didn't work. My doctor called me in something different, which (THANK THE LORD!!) worked. I feel so much better! My blood pressure is still not back to normal quite yet, but it may take a couple days for my change in medication to take effect. Anyway, I am feeling better and am thankful for a great doctor!
Okay, now it's Jeremy's turn. Yes, we have a daughter who looks and acts like me, but we also have one that looks and acts like her daddy! This picture of Kylie is a few years old, but in it she's about the same age as Jeremy in his picture. From the time she was born, Kylie was the spittin' image of Jeremy. She has an energy and lust for life that could only have come from him. I have to say, I never thought I'd have a blonde haired and blue eyed little girl. She's absolutely beautiful! My prayer is that someday, God will send along a man to tame her! :) Even though both of the girls seem to take after one parent, John David is a good mix of us both. He has personality traits from us both, and even though many people think he looks like Caitlyn, he looks a lot like Kylie too. Jeremy and I are very curious to see what this baby looks like. Right now we have a little of everything, blonde hair, brown hair, blue eyes, green eyes. Whatever the new baby looks like, I know that it will be it's own little person just like the three we have. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more.
It's still hard to believe that Caitlyn is 7-years-old already! Jeremy is always saying how much she looks like me, so I found this picture of me at about the same age. I have to say, she does look an awful lot like me! Not only does she look like me though, she acts just like me too. Sometimes this can be frustrating. :) Jeremy and my mom thinks it's hilarious of course! She's very curious, emotional, dramatic, self motivated, intelligent, thoughtful, and talented. Sometimes I feel bad about all the bad character traits she inherited from me, but then I remember all the great ones she got too. Caitlyn is not exactly like me though. She has her own unique qualities, like that fact that she's much more prissy than I was at that age. She's also always worried about what everyone else needs. She doesn't hesitate to give unselfishly to others. I know I'm a bit biased, but I think she's incredible!
I got a call late Friday from social services, and it looks like there has been a change in plans for Corey's move. Dawn has had some major issues lately, and her foster family is burnt out. I sympathize greatly with them, as we've been there. Anyway, social services decided to move up the kids move-in date. So now it looks like Corey will be moving next weekend. That is almost a whole month sooner than was planned. I'm not going to lie. I do not easily turn off my "Mommy Switch". It has been hard to swallow, but I think it will be better for everyone in the long run. Dragging it out over the next month would have been even more difficult. I have many conflicting emotions, but most of all I'm thankful for the many lessons that God has taught me over the past year. Like I said before, I'm ashamed to admit that I took my husband and my children for granted. I've learned just how precious they are to me, and how much I am blessed. Please pray for us during this transition. I am most worried about John David's reaction. Love you all, and thank you to God ALMIGHTY for lessons learned!
Jeremy did good for Valentine's Day! I got an absolutely gorgeous necklace and earrings. Lord knows I don't deserve anything this nice, but Jeremy surprised me yesterday with a great present. This is our tenth Valentine's Day together, and he said he wanted it to be special. Diamonds are definitely special!! I love you babe!
Here is the first picture of the new Knutson baby! Thank you to Jennifer for scanning it for me! I'm only 12 weeks, so there is still not a lot to see, but the baby was moving all over the place. In eight more weeks (the next scheduled ultrasound) , we will have better pictures, and we will know if it's a boy or girl! The kids still keep changing their minds, but right now they all agree on wanting it to be a boy. No matter how many times we've done this, there's something so miraculous about seeing the baby, watching it jump and kick, and hearing that heartbeat. Nothing compares to that. It looks like the baby has Jeremy's nose! :) Just kidding! I'm doing well. My blood pressure medicine has kicked in and my pressures are back to normal. Thank you for all your prayers!
Hope everyone has a fabulous Valentine's Day! We have a big day ahead. The girls' party is today, and everyone is very excited. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more!
Just a quick note to let everyone know that everything went well with the ultrasound yesterday. The baby was moving around so much it was hard to get some good pictures, but we got a couple. I will get one scanned into the computer ASAP. The doctor said everything looked great, and my blood pressure has come back down. It is yucky and rainy here today. If we didn't have stuff to get done, I would definitely stay in my jammies all day! :) Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty for answered prayers!
Kylie turns five today! Time flies when you're having fun! Kylie has definitely added excitement to our family life. I have to admit though that our little ball of fire has mellowed out some over the past year. She is still the spitting image of her father. One of these days I'll have to post a picture we have of Jeremy when he was little. It looks just like Kylie! We have an ultrasound this afternoon, so hopefully we'll get some better pictures. Corey has an ear infection. I took him to the doctor this morning and they put him on antibiotics. Jeremy is back at work today. He is still not feeling 100%, but he's at least past the worst of it. The house is coming along great. It doesn't even look like our house from the outside anymore. As soon as it is finished, I'll post pictures. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more.
Well, we are finally on the road to recovery I think. Jeremy and Corey ran a fever all weekend, but both are doing better this morning. Jeremy had to run into work for a few hours, but then he's heading back home to get some more rest. Tomorrow is Kylie's birthday and we have an ultrasound, and Thursday is the girls' party. Not too crazy of a week, so we should be able to get some rest. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more.
Yesterday was my little sister, Andrea's, 20th birthday. I can't believe she's twenty already!! I love you Sis! Hope your birthday was fabulous! We miss you!
I originally only had one doctor appointment this morning, but ended up seeing three! I had an appointment early with my diabetes doctor. My sugar levels are doing fantastic, and it looks like I'm going to be able to go without insulin at least for the immediate future. I am almost at the end of my first trimester, and to make it that far without insulin is an accomplishment for me. While there, they noticed my blood pressure was up, and sent me down two floors to my OB office. My OB did a very quick ultrasound scan (I didn't even get to see anything!) and said the baby looked good, but put me on blood pressure medication. I've been on this same medication before, and it worked very well. All in all everything is going well. I had an appointment scheduled with my thyroid doctor next Friday, but they called to say that I needed to reschedule so they fit me in this morning. He said that my thyroid looked great, and did some quick blood work. So, I am now home, and trying to get our house germ free! We're changing sheets, spraying down everything and anything with Lysol, and throwing everyone's toothbrushes away. The kids are all doing much better. Jeremy is still pretty sick, but he's trying to get as much rest as possible. Off to Lysol the door handles! Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty how has for now blessed us with one more.
Well, we are just passing around this nasty bug. The only one who hasn't gotten sick is Caitlyn, and I told her yesterday she needed to hurry up and get it over with. :) At the present time, Kylie has an ear infection but has no more fever. She is now on antibiotics. Corey is running a low fever, but seems to have gotten a pretty mild case. John David keeps getting a fever off and on. He's coughing a lot and has the chills and body aches like I did. I am doing much better. Still somewhat weak, but I haven't run a fever since Tuesday. The head congestion and coughing lingers, but it gets better everyday. Jeremy is in the midst of the worst of it right now, fever, chills, body aches, the whole bit. He went to work this morning, but I have a feeling he'll be heading home soon. Since the kids haven't been feeling well, they aren't sleeping very well either. We've been up giving medicine, getting drinks, and wiping noses every night lately. At least we've made it a family affair!:) We are doing well though. Just resting and trying to get back to the land of the living. Love you all and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more.
***Update: Looks like Caitlyn took my advice. She is now running a fever. Luckily it is a low grade fever and she seems to not be feeling too bad. Hopefully she'll just get a mild case!***
I found this recent picture of the boys and thought it was funny. I haven't said much recently about the "Corey" situation, frankly because I wasn't sure what to say. We haven't really had any answers as to what the plan is for Corey. The case has been a true roller coaster of a case. That was until yesterday. Social Services has decided to return Corey and Dawn to their grandmother. Corey will be leaving on March 14th. Jeremy and I have been preparing ourselves and Caitlyn for this possibility, but Kylie, John, and Corey don't know yet. At their ages, it's hard to tell them anything too far in advance. Corey loves his grandmother, and enjoys being with her, but this will still be very traumatic for him. He's been with us for so long, and he thinks that I'm his mother. I'm sure some of you are thinking, "I told you so." I know that some told us that we were setting ourselves up for heart break, but I'm trying really hard right now to see the good that came from this past year. I'm praying hard for peace from God, and comfort for the children. I know we will come out of this closer and tighter as a family. One lesson I've learned over the past year: God has blessed me with a beautiful family, and I don't take it for granted. Our children are these amazing masterpieces that we mold everyday. God's timing is always perfect, and I don't think it a coincidence that we are expecting a new baby. I think maybe this was God's plan to help comfort us in this loss. I'm thankful that Jeremy and I were able to leave our mark on Dawn and Corey, and I guarantee you we have. Like we said in the beginning, we'll treasure the time we have. That time is now nearly done. I have to admit that with all the emotions that I'm feeling right now, it's hard to feel good about the situation. I just keep trying to remember what I said back in March, "This is bigger than me." My heart is broken, but God has always been faithful to heal. I'm counting on His faithfulness.
So we've been dealing with Kylie's eczema since she was very little, and we've never really been able to get control of it or figure out what causes it. As you know, I took her to an allergist not too long ago, hoping for some answers. Well, we finally got some! Kylie has tested positive for an allergy to eggs, of all things! This explains a lot since eggs are in so many foods. We had tried before to take certain things out of her diet that we thought might be causing it, but we had never tried eggs. The doctor wants her completely egg-free for at least two years in hopes that she will eventually outgrow this allergy. This is a pretty big adjustment for us , and especially for her. This means no cakes (unless baked with an egg substitute), few cookies, only certain noodles, and all her french toast and pancakes have to be made separate with egg substitute. These are a few of the changes, but I am confident that we can make the adjustment, and that Kylie will be healthier. She has handled the news pretty good so far, but I think the hardest part will be not being able to eat the same snacks at church as the other kids. I think though that she knows that no eggs means her skin will get better, and she really wants that! Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more.
I still can't believe it's been seven years already! Caitlyn turned seven last Friday! We are so proud of her, and are blessed to have such a great daughter! Happy Birthday Caity-bug!
I am feeling a bit better today, so I thought I'd sit down and write about Kylie's last Tae Kwon Do class. I have to say, I think it was bittersweet for everyone. I know it has really been something that Kylie has enjoyed, and has provided her and Jeremy with their "special time". Martial Arts is something that Jeremy has always loved, and provided some great memories for him when he was younger, and he was proud that Kylie did so well. She has really come a long way with this class. Believe it or not, Kylie is very shy in groups of kids and people she doesn't know. It took her a while to warm up and participate fully in class. When her little friend John Joseph wasn't in her class anymore, it was hard for her to go and do it without him, but she did. Kylie's "Little Tiger's" course ended yesterday, and she received her brown belt. She's ready for a break though, and looking forward to playing the spring season of soccer with John David which starts in March. Jeremy is coaching again, so this should be a great activity for us all to do together. Jeremy and a friend of ours from church have been working hard on residing the house. I will post before and after pictures soon. Tomorrow I will post some new test results we got about Kylie's allergies. Upcoming events: Kylie's birthday and another ultrasound next Tuesday, and the girls' birthday party next Thursday. We have a meeting at social services today, so I will post about that tomorrow as well. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more.
Just a quick note to let you all know that I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I have been sick with a nasty virus since last week, and have been in bed for a few days. I have lots to blog about: Caitlyn's 7th birthday, Kylie's allergy to eggs, siding the house, Kylie's last Tae Kwon Do class, and more but it will have to wait until at least tomorrow. I'm off to try and get a nap! Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more.
