quick update on us

Well, it's been a while since posting much . . . so I thought I'd write a "newsy update" on us.

1. Matt's still at working hard at Sysco. He's been with them for 2 years, this coming June. Hard to believe time has gone by so fast.

Matt is the ultimate handy man. It seems there's no job on the cars or around the house that he can't fix. Just the other day, he removed the toilet when Kimball clogged it by flushing a drain plug (from the bathtub) down the toilet. That was nice. He also fixed an outside plumbing issue we had, when we had a hard freeze that burst a pipe.

He surprised me for my 33rd birthday by taking me out to a FANCY Italian Restaurant for dinner, and he also bought me a new camera! It's a Canon Rebel XS. He scored major points for all of that. He's always very good to me.

2. I am plugging and chugging with raising kids, keeping up with obligations at church and running the household (aka: cleaning, laundry . . . you know what I mean . . .) I'm beginning to realize that the best way to keep the house clean is to GET RID OF STUFF. Less stuff means less mess. I'm cleaning out, baby!

Last November I miscarried a pregnancy . . . that was hard for me. I was only 8 weeks along, but I had already told ALOT of people that I was "expecting." That would have been baby#4 for us. I came to realize that I really wanted that baby, but I was also having alot of anxiety about it. In the end, the decision wasn't up to me. I'm still trying to figure out if "baby #4" will be in the cards for us. Time will tell, I guess.

The surgery center that I have been working "prn" for recently closed its doors. They couldn't make enough money to keep it running. So, I'm no longer working in the OR for now - which is fine. I'm still working 3-4 days a month for an opthalmologist on his Lasik Eye Surgery days. And that's enough for me right now.

3. Allison is really growing up. She's had some good lessons this year, in first grade. Like being honest, even if it means getting in trouble. :) And being more responsible for making sure her backpack is ready for school the next day (with completed homework, the necessary daily signatures on everything, library books to return, etc.)

Allison's a great girl, and is a real help to her younger siblings. She LOVES to read, and she loves creating. Lately, she's been painting with watercolors and she's painted some REALLY good paintings! I'm beginning to think this girl needs art lessons. And music lessons! I've gotta get on the ball with those.

4. Sarah's new favorite thing is a "cheeseburger with pickles." I can get her to do just about anything if I bribe her with one of those! She's so funny. Yesterday she helped me clean practically the whole house, and all the motivation she needed was a cheeseburger with (extra) pickles. I can do that! She's very loving to Kimball, and loves to play with her friends. She asks to play with one EVERYDAY.

5. Kimball's recent tv obsessions include Little Einsteins, Goofy cartoons, and the short animated movie, "Lambert, the Sheepish Lion." He would happily watch any combination of all three -- all day long, if I would let him. It's a constant struggle with the tv battle.

Kimball has started to really balk against going to bed. We think he's starting to be scared. And guess what he's scared of? The WOLF from the Lambert movie!! He talks about the scary wolf that's coming. Oh boy, That kid!! So to help him feel safe, I pulled every lion toy we had in the house and put them all over his room, to scare away the wolves. It's not working. HE still screams when we put him to bed, every night. Grrrrrr.

So that's us in a nutshell. Sorry this is probably a boring post. More exciting ones, with pictures to come . . .