A Tea Party

Remember last Friday I had to quit typing and check on Jett crying downstairs? By the time I got down there he had stopped crying and this is what I found.

How cute...a tea party. The girls were all dressed up. They had water in the tea pot and gold fish on the plates. The table was also filled with assorted plastic food. This brought back memories from my childhood in which me and my sister would subject our younger brother to stuff like this. At least Jett was not dressed up in 'fancy' girl clothes. He was loving the tea party and took it as an opportunity to drink from a 'real' cup and have a snack with his sisters.

Here is something else that I found this week.

I guess Jett thought the cats needed more water and would share his with them. This is very logical because they share their food with him...yuck!

Morgan is 7 Years Old

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORGAN!

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Morgan, it is hard to believe that God blessed us with you seven years ago. We are so proud to have you as a daughter!

Yeah For Friday

This was a good and bad week. First the good. The house plans are done and look great. I have met with the builder so many times to get things just perfect. We learned a lot from our first building experience in Michigan and it has helped in better planning with this house. It has been a bonus that the builders office is just behind where we are living. He is kid tolerant and lets me bring the kids to meetings and drops things off at the house. This week we picked out flooring and cabinets to see if what we want would fit in the budget - yeah they did!

The builder went over a building proposal (list of everything included in price) and the price was just under what we were comfortable spending. We put money down on the lot and David is working on getting a construction loan. The builder is eager to start and thinks the house can be completed in 4 months. That would put us in the new house the end of November which is when our lease is up in our current house. It is amazing how everything is working out - praise God for that!!!

Now for the bad. Jett was sick this week and crankier and clingier than normal. He had a fever for 3 days and would not let me put him down. If I had to do something, he occasionally settled for one of the girls holding him. He was very cozy, but I didn't get anything done...including making dinner. We have scrounged for food that is simple to make or had take out every night, but I kind of liked not having to cook! Yesterday Jett threw up on his favorite blanket and lost it because I wouldn't give it to him until it was washed.

I am not sure what was wrong with him, but this morning he woke up without a fever and in a better mood. He ate some breakfast and is playing on his own. Well, I hear him crying downstairs...I better go.

Independence Day

Today was beautiful...upper 70's...sunny...no humidity. We spent the morning outside. We all explored what the girls call "the field". It is actually empty lots were the subdivision will eventually expand. The wind has blown all sorts of building materials out there, which they believe are treasures and not trash. I enjoyed watching the girls gather wild flowers in a bucket. Even though we didn't know what kind of flowers they were, the girls made up creative names for them...snow bells were the white ones.

Later in the morning David put together a big wheel that was given to us. Jett was so excited to ride on it and the girls had fun on it too. David and I were talking about the memories we had on them as kids. I went into the garage to find the Morgan and Carmen with it upside down using the pedals to spin the 'big' wheel. They were pretending to buff their finger nails and make yarn. I used to do the same thing!

We went to the Rowan's in the evening to hang out and have a cookout. After dinner we headed off to watch the fireworks. They launch the fireworks from a golf course and the people all sit on the fairway. David's mom brought glow sticks for all the kids and they had a great time playing with these while we waited. The fireworks were awesome...some of the best I have seen. I think because we were so close it made them more impressive. New baby David slept through them and Jett only whimpered when they first started.

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

July Already?

It is July, so that means that we have been in Iowa for a month. It is still so crazy to me that we actually live here. I look around and think whose house are we in? When will we be done visiting and go 'home'? The girls were sad the other night when they asked if we could go home and I said someone else was living in our Michigan house. They looked confused and I think it sunk in that we will never live in that house again. They saw a picture on the camera of our old house just before we moved and they wanted to just stare at it. I have to remind myself that it is only natural to miss what we had. We are in an adjustment time and who knows how long it will take for this to feel like home. Every time I talk to family or friends from Michigan, I wonder when I will see them again. I am confident that this is what we were meant to do, but I can still miss our old life.

The building process is moving along. We are so excited to build a house again and make all the design decisions. Today I meet with the architect and went over some plan changes. Once the plan is finalized, then the builder is ready to dig. He said we caught him at a good time because a few other projects are on hold because of weather. What do you think of black cabinets?

Jett is 15 Months Old

Little Jett Jett, off and (almost) running. You are getting so big - taller than your 2 year old neighbor! This month started with you just beginning to walk. Grandma Linda was so excited that she saw your first steps in Michigan. Now all you want to do is practice your new skill, which leads to lots of falling down. You have many bruises on your head and have bit through your upper and lower lip. Your older sisters are so proud of you and very protective of you. They are always helping you and making sure you are safe.

This past month we have referred to you as stinker poo fussy pants. I think all the changes in your life have made you very insecure or you are just at that separation anxiety phase. Sometimes when I am busy, you will just scream at my feet until you almost throw up. Other times you go into a fit where you throw something (usually your pacifier), bang your head with your fist, pull your hair and then bang your head on the floor. Is this a boy thing?

Your favorite "toy" is my cell phone. You will dig through the diaper bag to find it and once you do you push buttons until a call is made. Sorry to all those who are programed in my phone and have received a strange call. You have even taken a cute picture of yourself. To keep you from using my phone, I have purchase you two different toy ones. Even though they make neat noises, you prefer mine. You look so cute holding it and trying to say, "Hi Daddy."

Speaking of talking...you don't say much. The only words that I recognize are: Ma Ma, num num and Da Da. You use sounds to say Morgan, Carmen and cat (or any other animal). It is helpful that you know sign language to say eat, more and all done. You also have many of your own signs to communicate what you want.

This month you started taking baths just in the big tub, not in your little tub in the big tub. We have been gradually adding more water each time, so you are not so overwhelmed. You hate being washed up, but look so cute in your elephant towel afterwards.

Jett, you are such a cutie and a blessing to our family! We love you.

Not What We Expected

David and I honeymooned in St. Thomas. We were probably the youngest couple there and we were not even old enough to rent a car. We had a great time and always said for our 10 year anniversary we would go back. We have nothing planned yet, so hopefully it still happens. Ten years ago I remember stepping off the plane and was hit by the heat and humidity. It was uncomfortable to be outside during the day unless you were by the beach or the pool. Maybe we can go this winter - it wouldn't be as hot and much more enjoyable.

Instead of beautiful St. Thomas, we were in Dubuque. I took the kids to VBS for the last day of fun and David went to work. David had a beautiful vase of mixed flowers delivered and I had a card (with a nice love poem) for him. It is kind of sad that this is all we had for each other after reaching this milestone still happily in love. However, I did tell David not to get me anything because I just wanted a fancy refrigerator in the new house. In the evening, we went to the Rowan's to see new baby David.

David's mom and Richard are in town to help out the Rowan's. They came over to our house tonight to babysit so we could go on a date. We went to the restaurant Houlihans - very delicious. David had a house salad with ranch and fancy pot roast and I had a tuscan salad and a chefs special (crusted chicken, artichokes, mushrooms and creamy sauce over linguine).

Right next to the restaurant is a casino, so we decided it would be fun to check it out. We walked around for a while and realized what a depressing place it was. Smoking was allowed 'on the floor', so the place smelled horrible. All the slot machines were making noises, so there was this annoying constant high pitched hum. About 90% of the people in there belonged in a nursing home - a sign was even advertising wheel chairs available. It was sad to see people wasting their money - didn't they realize that they had little chance of winning. So we decided to join them to see what was drawing them in. We each had $10 and decided to try a slot machine. We watched as others would rub the screen for luck, alternate between pulling the lever and pushing the button, and switch machines when they were loosing. Well, our money went up and down and was completely gone in about 15 minutes.