No news

I am posting simply because I feel like I should, it's been a couple of weeks. I am just not sure there is anything to post about...let's see...

My dear sister and her husband suffered a great loss at the beginning of the month when their precious daughter passed away. John and I and the kids were so grateful to make the trip to Idaho and Utah to be there for them and the funeral. We were also able to have some great family time despite the circumstances. Jess and Travis--we love you very much!

The kids and I will be heading back out to CO later next week. My mom was nice enough to purchase Taylor Swift concert tickets for my sis, Amanda, and I for Christmas. The concert is on the 23rd. I am super excited--it's going to be so much fun. We head to Lake Powell the following week and the kids start school two days after we get back. Where has the summer gone!?! I can't believe I go to buy school supplies on Sat for my baby to start school. You think she would be terribly disappointed if I made her wait a year? Probably. Time goes by way to quickly.

kansas...

So we're here...again. We moved last Wed. and Thurs. It was a little stressful, to say the least. I am always surprised at how much crap we have. Why is that? We move so much you think we would severely cut down-nope. When you have all your stuff in your house, and I really do try to keep to a minimum, it just doesn't seem like that much, then you pack full a 24 foot moving truck ( I mean really pack full) and it doesn't all fit!!! Anyway, we got all of the important stuff. We packed up pretty much by ourselves, I know, I know, "Clara you're pregnant, you shouldn't be doing that kind of stuff." Well, sorry Mom and everyone else who likes to tell me that--it had to get done. And it did Tues night and we headed out Wed morning.

I really have to send thanks and apologies to John's family for unpacking us when we got into Manhattan. I think I may have been a little snippy, okay, maybe a lot, and I am sorry for that. I really tried to direct it all at John, who has to endure me when I am pregnant, stressed, and exhausted in more way than one. I am so grateful sometimes that John has so many guys on his side of the family because they unloaded it all for us.

We are here at my sister in law's house. We, meaning me and the kids, John had to return to Colorado until a position becomes available here for him. J, as we affectionately call my sis in law, and her family have been incredibly gracious and kind. I am thankful everyday that John and I have been blessed with such wonderful families to really be there in time of need.

Life is okay so far. Some good news from KS is that Kindergarten for Abbi is full day -yeah for that! And Jake will be able to attend preschool for free and it's four days a week- yeah for that too!! Bad news- it's hot as all get out and humid too. Yuck! And I really miss John. I have been away from him before but this is different. He has been such a wonderful source of love and comfort these past couple months. I am glad we have a relationship that has grown stronger through these trials and brought out the best in him. I love him tremendously and I hope that he can join us soon. It would make this situation much easier to bear.

Okay everyone, it's time I tell you all what has been going on the past two months. We moved and that was a lot of work, of course, but everything went well. We are so grateful for all of the help we had to make that happen. A week after we moved in, John lost his job very unexpectedly. The situation was very stressful and very upsetting, but there's not a whole lot to do other than move on... and that's what we are doing... again!!

John was a branch manager for a large credit union in Boulder, that was the day job anyway. Last October he had started working part time at Best Buy and thank goodness for that. Since the beginning of May they bumped him up to full time and have been so wonderful to him. John has decided to take a break from banking and try retail management. He has not found a position there yet.

Having just signed a lease, we had to find someone to take over our lease here and find a place for our family to go that is affordable on our now suddenly very tight budget. After much praying, fasting disappointment and deliberating we have decided to move back to KS. To Topeka. We own a home there but currently have a renter in it, their lease is up the end of December. In an effort to get out of this house and be in a place for Abbi to start K, we are going to stay with John's sister, JJ and her family. They live a couple of miles from our house there.

I need to say that I am so grateful to our family and friends, for their love and support through this time. It's not over yet. I am grateful John has a job (they are going to transfer him to the store in Topeka for now), but we are still looking for a position that can better provide the income our family needs. This is a very difficult leap of faith in many ways, but we are positive that the Lord has a plan for our family and there is something wonderful waiting for us down the road.

News...

I wish that the majority of you were correct in our little poll...nope. It's a boy! I desperately wanted another girl but that's life right? We, of course, will be happy with a third baby boy!! We are going to a specialist next week to make sure that we don't have another 2 vessel umbilical cord (Isaac had one and it didn't amount to anything for him, he has always been healthy). They just like to check because many in the medical field believe that it's a sign of other problems. The other half of the field believes it means nothing more than a lower birth weight. Isaac was only 7lbs 14oz. Yes, I say only because he was my smallest baby by almost a pound and a half. Anyway, he seems to be doing well, moving a lot. He has swollen kidneys but apparently that's not something they really worry about as long as there is enough fluid in the placenta-which there is at this point. It does mean that we will have more ultrasounds. There always seems to be something with these babies of ours and we get like a dozen chances to see our little one before they join us for real. That's nice, even more nice is that despite the precautions, we have always had healthy babies at birth, we are hoping that our luck holds up!!

Signing off (soon)

As you know, we are moving on May second. After that, John will be keeping up the blog from work of he gets a spare minute or two. I really love the opportunity that blogging gives to keep in touch so I am hoping that he does a good job... and I hope to to be back in touch soon!!

Craziness

The week before we left for KS for the wedding, we were also looking for a house to rent. (We did find a really cute ranch home.) We were in KS for over a week and we were home for a week before the kids and I left town for UT. We had a nice time visiting my brother and his family and an awesome time at the baby shower we threw for both my pregnant sisters.

We have a lot of extended family out there in UT so we decided to throw them a shower out there-family only, kind of . So we all got to see many of the aunts and cousins that live that way. It was a great time.

Now we are home and planning on heading back out to UT in two weeks when Jessica has her baby on the 24th. Then we move a week later on May 2nd. I really need to get some packing in there somewhere!!

Kansas

We were in KS all of last week for a wedding. John's younger sister, Jordan, tied the knot to a wonderful guy. Blake fits in the family well and we are all thrilled to have him as the newest addition. We were able to be in attendance when Kailyn, the newest baby, was blessed. We had an Easter Egg Hunt and got to play with the cousins a lot. It was nice to visit John's family, especially given that we haven't seen them in almost nine months!!

We headed out there on the 20th. Allen, John's younger brother, and his wife flew here from SLC and drove with us out to KS. I feel a little bad that we crammed them in the far back seat of the Odyssey. Not so bad when I think about how car sick I got last time I rode back there. Anyway, we had a nice ride out there and a very nice time visiting the zoo that is John's mother's house (when everyone is there--he has a large family). This past Sunday Kathi wanted to do an Easter Egg Hunt while we were in town. The kids had a great time. Abbi had a wonderful time eating a bunch of her candy that evening. I think she may have regretted that decision when she puked all over herself, her brother and both their bedding later that night. Given that we were to head back home the next morning, I threw it all in some trash bags, a lot of trash bags, and everyone went back to sleep.

We were a little worried about the weather on the way home but, except for the area around Limon, the weather was nothing more than windy. What we should have been worried about was Abbi's stomach...

We had been off the toll road (headed up Colorado Blvd.) for no more than 5 minutes when Abbi hurls all over the far back seat. Poor Allen and Megan, you know the suckers we stuck in the back. I felt terrible. There is no gas station or anything in sight so I tell John to pull over so we can clean it up. It's freezing outside, there is vomit everywhere in the van, Megan is gagging due to the smell (we are all grateful at this point that she has a cold and can't really smell it all, she jumps out of the van with one shoe).

Well, we had to strip Abbi down and throw her and Jake in the front seat so I could clean up as much as I can. The van is at it's limit of people and stuff (mostly due to John's need to buy Guitar Hero while we are out there so we can drag this huge box back with us) therefore, Abbi's booster seat is currently on the side of Colorado Blvd somewhere covered in puke. There was no way we were fitting that disgusting thing back in the van so I could take it home to clean it all off. So if you know of anyone desperate for one used booster send them that direction...oh yeah, in case you need a slightly used Easter basket too...

We all get back in the van, short a booster seat, to try to make it home. We get a few yards down the road and we notice that the kids had dumped over John's fountain pop from the last stop, upside down into Abbi's Easter basket. The little vinyl basket was pooled with Diet Coke and the jelly beans and all the other candy in it. I am at my limit at this point, I instruct John to pull over, I open my door and I toss the basket.

Fun times!!