Being A Mother

Being a mother is the hardest job I have ever had, the most rewarding and the one I want to be remembered for. 
Yesterday we moved Jessica to her new dorm room at college.  I am so excited for her and the new adventure she is now on.  I know it is time for her to be on her own and know we are both ready but boy kids sure grown up fast.  I worry sometimes people might think I take too many pictures of my kids, especially Kaleb, but I want to remember and cherish everything about them at what ever stage in life they are at.  It all goes so fast.   They keep me busy and sometimes I feel overwhelmed but I couldn't imagine what it would be like without them.   

He

 He is now 14 months old.
 He is wearing size 12-18 months clothes and size 5-6 shoes. 
 He is running everywhere and climbing everything.
 He is talking more and more everyday.  His vocabulary now includes: Daddy, Mommy, Hi, and garden on a regular bases.  Other words he has occasionally said have been: hat, done, duck, goin' get you, and that.
He loves animals and makes animals sounds for a cow, chicken and pig.  Cows are his favorite.
He is really into reading story books right now and his favorite is a lift the flap animal book.
He loves tractors both the toy ones and the real ones.  He loves to ride in them.
His favorite foods right now are macaroni and cheese, cottage cheese, cheetos, basically anything cheesey!
He dances.

 He gives kisses now and makes the noise"mmmm" to go with the kiss.
He decided in the last two weeks that he won't sit in the baby bath tub.

He loves to color with his sidewalk chalk and he and Mommy have started leaving messages on the sidewalk for everyone, like " Don't worry" and "You are special".
He pretends he is changing the channels with the remote.
He loves to play in his tent with his stuffed animals.

Kenton helped me get these pictures of Kaleb the other night.  I hope to get some more of the kids this weekend before Jess is off to college.  Time is moving by so quickly.  Babies are growing up!

Filling in For Mom

Hello everyone, this is Kyle.  I know, I rarely make appearances on here, but as Mom decides to take a break from blogging, I feel like an update every now and then is appropriate. 
Before you even ask, my heart and I are doing just dandy.  I believe on our last visit for a biopsy I received a perfect score in relation to my level of rejection.  I feel better than ever, with this heart of mine.  It and I have become very good friends, as it lets me do more than I ever could've dreamed of, compared to what my old heart allowed me to do.  Before my transplant, I was around 5'4", 80 lbs. in the 8th grade.  I was very weak compared to the other kids.  Now, I'm 5'11", almost 125 lbs., and stronger than ever.  Yes, I'm still a twig, but compared to before...I'm a new person.  You just don't know how much I smile when we play dodgeball in school now.  Before, I was great at dodging (didn't have to try too hard when you can literally fit in a locker), but I never could throw the ball very hard.  When I would throw, the ball would either be caught by someone, or travel about half of the basketball court and hit the floor.  Gently.  When I came back from St. Louis in the spring of 8th grade, a classmate actually commented on my throwing, asking if I had traded arms with someone while I was out there also.  I could now, from the same distance as my classmates, make that solid thwacking sound that every other kid could make on the gym wall when I threw the ball.  I know it seems petty, but trust me, it means a lot to know that you are just as good as everyone else.  And that's just one of the many things that makes me happy that I have the chance to be here typing this post.
Moving away from the mushy-gushy stuff, I'm not doing much of anything else besides preparing my pigs for the fair show this week.  I think they look very good, and that I have a good chance of doing well.
Closing out this post, it might be a surprise to some people, but I like reading quotes.  Therefore, any post that I make, I will end with a quote.  That being said, have a good evening!

A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought.  There is a visible labor, and there is an invisible labor.

Taking a Break

I have been inspired by Melody Ross ://melodyross.typepad.com/my_weblog/ to take a break from the blogging world to enjoy our busy summer.  I have seen first hand how people are getting caught up in the social networking and internet surfing and what it does to them.  They no longer are living their lives but rather looking at everyone elses.  They are so busy sitting in a chair chatting with others that they are missing the beautiful things going on around them.  I think the internet is a good thing but "too much" of it is not good.  I don't know when I will be back.  Could be a few weeks or several months or maybe I will completely stop the blogging and facebooking.  I want to spend some time experiencing the beautiful things around me.  I want to spend time actually doing things rather than just sitting in front of a computer.  I am hoping to spend some time going places, maybe a little camping with my boys, getting creative with some art, photographing our lives, reading a good book and getting some projects done around our house.   Enjoy your summer!

He.

He is now 1 year old. Can you believe it? A whole year has passed since we welcomed this little guy into our family.  Oh, how life has changed for us.  I think I can truly say that I have been so very tired for a year- but oh so happy also!
He can hold up one finger when you ask him how old he is.
He can give you "five" and "high five."
He says "Daddy" pretty clearly now.
He eats a lot of different table food now. Some of his favorites are cheese, crackers and fish.
We went to the lake for the first time with him last week and he loved it.  He walked right up to the water and sat down in it.
He weighs about 25 lbs. and is about 31 inches tall.
He is wearing 12- 18 months clothing and size 4 1/2 to 5 shoe.
His new favorite book is a lift the flap Chuggington book.
He has eight teeth.  A couple of his back ones are working on coming in.
He loves playing outdoors.
He makes noise now when he is playing with his trucks or tractors, trying to make the noises they make.
We had a birthday party for him on Sunday.  We got lots of great pictures but I only included just a few below.  We barbacued and Kenton's family, my family and Aunt Lisa came.
He cried when we put his birthday hat on him so that is why he doesn't have one in the picture. 

He loved the cake!  The lady who made his cake made him a little smash cake too so we let him get his hands in it!

It was a wonderful day!  Later that afternoon after everyone went home he and I took quite a long nap in the recliner.  As I sat there holding him I reflected on what a great year we have had. Kaleb has brought so much joy and fun to our family.  He has brought us back to the simple pleasures in life, like Sunday drives, hanging out in the yard, swinging under the tree and just enjoying being together.  It has been a great year with this little guy!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kyle. Today Kyle celebrates his 16th Birthday. Wow time is flying by. My little boy is growing up. We had a simple celebration since the past few days have been so busy. Kyle was just happy to have homework done and some free time tonight for some video games. We will have a bigger party with family later. Love you lots Kyle, hope you had a great day!

Here is to the Girl

Here is to the girl who.......

knows all of the words to "Bye Bye Miss American Pie" and can sing them beautifully.
who is a master at trivia especially when about music or literature.
who calls her baby brother "Wubby."
who stays up late on the computer to wee hours and hates getting up in the morning.
who loves 80's music more than I, who lived as a teen in the 80's. She talked me into Def Leppard concert 2008 and I still tease her that I lost part of my hearing that night.
who can be stubborn like me, likes music, art and reading like me but who doesn't mind getting up in front of people-not like me.
who has had more fractured bones than anyone in our family.
who is very photogenic and is always willing to be my model for photos.
who as a child loved Scooby Doo, Zena Warrior Princess and Powerpuff girls.
whose favorite Disney movie was Mulan,and wanted to be Chinese and to this day still has a
secret wish to visit China.
who I have argued many times with about her clothing choices but I admire for not being afraid
to be herself.
who today graduates from high school with the honor of salutatorian.
Eighteen years has gone by so fast.
May all of your dreams come true, Jessica. Know that your family loves you and we are
so proud of you.