Happy First Birthday, Samuel!

Happy 1st Birthday, Samuel Isaac! You were born on October 27th, 2006. A little miracle child.

This is hard for me, I don't want you to grow up. You are my little baby. I prayed and prayed for you. God told us we would have you, and we waited for 7 long years for your birth. I love you so much, Sammy!

Here is another slide show of Samuel in color.

Today I have become something new

Today I became the parent of an adult. This is new territory for me. While I am proud of Drew, I am not looking forward to the new challenges.
AnDrew Jaimes was born September 14, 1989 in Landstuhl, Germany. I woke up one morning a week before my due date with a very wet bed. I thought he must have kicked my bladder and I wet the bed. But no, it was my water. I called my husband's work, but since they didn't have office phones I had to call a payphone in the hall and hope the person answering it knew who he was. A Colonel answered the phone and I asked for Donnie, and he asked if it was "time." I said it was, but that I just needed Donnie to call home. I started getting ready, waiting for him to call. I wasn't even having contractions. A few minutes later Donnie comes bursting in the door! He started throwing my maternity clothes in the suitcase, no undergarments or pajamas and nothing I could wear after having a baby, lol. And he had left the car running, which isn't legal in Germany. I calmed him down and we got ready more slowly. It wasn't an easy labor and an even more traumatic birth, followed by a 16 day separation in different hospitals. But after we were brought back together, everything went wonderfully. He took right to nursing.
Drew grew so cute and big and special to us. He didn't like to talk until he knew a word perfectly, but he did have one word he would say that made no sense at all. Whenever he wanted to ask a question, no matter what it was, he would say "Baloopah?"
Later, Drew got a baby sister. We took them to France to Smurf Wallaby Park, and he got the desire to become a Smurf. He also liked very much so to break vases. I liked to collect vases. It was not a match made in heaven. For me.
Drew has done many lovely things over the years. He super-glued his eye open. He drank a bottle of Windex with Vinegaurd. He drank a bottle of infant Tylenol. He drank his sisters Albuterol. He crawled way, way up into a top shelf up near the ceiling and took a nap, and I was on strict bedrest and could NOT help him down. He turned into a little terror for a couple of years, but then he turned around. He became a little preacher. He would preach in the bank, he would preach to parents of his friends. (this started at age 4) He grew into such a tall and wonderful young man.
Now he is in his Senior year of high school and is a DEP for the United States Air Force. I have 11 more months to call him my baby, even though he is a man.


Happy Birthday, AnDrew! I'll try to remember you are not my baby. You try to remember who pays for your food.

Kidnapping, hijacking, all in the last 24 hours......

That and turning 36.
Last night Donnie wanted to take me to a movie. I did not want to go. I didn't want to spend money, and we were out of hot water for a shower last night, and the gym was already closed, but Donnie insisted that we were going. So I washed my hair in COLD water and felt like I was getting frost bite on my head. When he called me from his cell on the way home I told him I was NOT going tonight, lets go on Sunday. He said no, he wanted to go tonight, not Sunday. So I said "Unless there is no movie tonight and the girls are coming to kidnap me." To which he said "...................." Then I knew. So he said "When they get there you have to tell them you can't go because I am taking you to the movies, because they told me I had better do a better job of lying than Terry did."
So I decided that I would play a little trick on them. But what to do??? Go to the store so I'm not here and they have to hunt me down? No. How about not be ready? But I have to really be ready because they WILL take me out no matter how bad I look. They would probably let me get dressed, but shower? Not so much. I already was showered and dressed, so I went ahead and got all prettied up with make-up and all. But then I put a towel on my hair and put my bathrobe on.
Donnie beat them to our house and he blew his own slip up by saying "They're here now." when they got here. So they look at me sitting on the computer not ready to go and Jody says "Lets go, we'll take you just like that." and Jeannie says "Unless she's ready under there." Ok, so they got me. They're smart cookies.
I still don't know where they were taking me though.
And Donnie was a good lier. He didn't give it away.
We went to Applebees and met Sarah and another Jodi, and then our friend Kara. Jodi and I share a birthday, though I am 9 years older than she is. We stayed until almost midnight and had a great time. We finally broke Jeannie down to our level, but I won't divulge how that happened or what that means!
We started this tradition with Jeannie's birthday, then we kept it up with Sarah, but she figured it out because her husband, Terry, can't lie. Now they got me. All that is left is Jody. Hers is coming up soon and you know she is expecting it. I was expecting it, though I figured they'd do it today. I think we'll just have to not kidnap Jody and just plan something because her husband is traveling so much and she is temporarily working full time.
While I was out being kidnapped, my mom and dd were hijacking my blog. Putting ugly and embarrassing pictures up. The only one they so kindly left out was one of my in my bra when I was a teenager. Now, I know my mom wouldn't have a problem putting that one up, but Kaytlin was too nice. I think it would have been funny, but I probably would have taken that one down, lol. Kaytlin also wouldn't put pics of me and former boyfriends on there because Donnie gets upset when I even mention old boyfriends. Now, to be fair, he only gets upset about two of them, both having been friends of his, lol.
Then, at church today, we were given 4th row tickets to the Minnesota Twins game. But Sam has pink eye and is NOT handling me being away from him very well, and I really didn't think it was a good idea to bring him in public like that. We batted ideas around and Donnie ended up taking Hope-Anne. Long story, but I'm sure she will appreciate the "date" with her daddy. But Donnie and Hope-Anne is a combination that means he will be broke when he gets home.

happy birthday again!

These would be the hijakers of my blog: My mom and Kaytlin!



We Love You - Have a Great Day

Happy Birthday, Jeannie!

Today is my friend's 49th birthday. There are 4 of us (me and my peeps) who regularly get together and cut up. Usually its at our monthly ladies night out, and it is a riot! It gets us through the month, and one of these months there WILL be soda spewed out a nose! (that's my personal goal for success as the Ladies Ministry Leader)

The 4 of us, Jeannie, Sarah, Jody and I, are also putting together the church pictoral directory. Its taking some time, input from the church for pictures has taken some creative touches from us. (there may or may not have been some people taken out behind the wood shed, but I'm not talkin') Its getting down to the wire, we gotta get it done soon.

So we planned to meet at Jeannie's for a meeting today. As soon as we were all there we decided we needed a break, and insisted on DQ, despite Jeannie offering us some lemonade. We get her in the van, and have Sarah follow us with Jeannie in her van, to the DQ. All is well until we PASS the DQ. I think she was suspicious at that point, even though Sarah played dumb really well. But I'm pretty sure she didn't realize she had been kidnapped for another couple of blocks. She should have been suspicious of Sarah showing up for a meeting with lipstick on.

We took her to a really nice local restaurant for her free birthday meal. Where we proceeded to pretend we were at ladies night out and probably were near being asked to leave, if the faces on the table next to us were any indication! (can I just say "fuddy duddies" and not get in trouble? They weren't talking to each other hardly at all, like an old couple with nothing to talk about)

But really, we may have gotten a touch giggly, and possibly a bit loud in those giggles, but the table on the other side of us...... lets just say that when there is a rare hush in the restaurant, that is NOT the time to announce you have not been sexually active this week. And this was a table of maybe 8 adults in their late 40's or more. Two of them said something about being sexually active! In total seriousness, like a group therapy or something. The timing couldn't have been more comedic.

The waitress did tell us we were having a bit too much fun, lol. My throat hurts from laughing so hard. And there WAS some spewing, on my part, but not soda out the nose, because we hadn't even been seated yet. Sarah did something so naughty and surprising as we were walking in the door that I laughed so hard I spit on Jody. I think she still loves me, but she sat on the opposite end of the table from me. She got me back, though, something about a holy cow.

So, Happy Birthday, Jeannie! I hope you had a great time and weren't too full to enjoy your meal with your hubby! I'm still so full I could burst.

Sweet 16!

Happy birthday, Kaytlin!

Today my daughter turns 16, sweet 16! It also is her "golden birthday."

Kaytlin was a planned child, we (I) wanted another child so much, and I was overjoyed to be pregnant with her. It was rough, I was very, very sick because she was a package deal, so twice as many hormones. Her sister Abigail died in their third month. Kaytlin hung in there, through 6 months of premature labor.

We were living in Germany. Kaytlin was born June 16, 2:05 am on Father's Day in Kusel, Germany after 4 days of very hard labor. Is it any wonder that my first words after her birth were "Happy Father's Day, now get her out of my face!"???

Kaytlin loved her daddy more than she did me that first morning. She screamed whenever I held her, it was a struggle to even nurse her. She would scream for Donnie to burp her. Donnie was tired and eventually needed to go home to sleep and get Drew. He could hear her screaming all the way down the hall until the elevator doors shut.

After that, she wouldn't forgive him for leaving her there, so for four months he couldn't hold her. She would even wake up if he tried to hold her in her sleep.

Kaytlin was very fussy for a long time, we think she felt like she was missing a part of herself because Abigail did not live. For the first year Kaytlin did not sleep in the crib. She only slept if I was holding her.

At about 3yo she finally came out of it. And there was much rejoicing!

Kaytlin was a very sweet young girl. If she told a lie, or just didn't tell something she had done, she couldn't sleep until she came and confessed. Very tender-hearted.

Now Kaytlin is such a mature young lady. Yes, she does back talk a bit, but other than that we really have no complaints about her. She loves the Lord and is waiting on God to bring her a husband, rather than shopping around for one. She does not see the point in dating in high school when you are not in the market for marriage. She wants her first kiss to be with the only man she'll be with.

Its only by the grace of God that she is so mature and Godly, because we mess up all the time.

We are so proud of Kaytlin! She's learning to play the guitar and is starting to play with the youth worship team. She's beautiful inside and out. She cannot wait until she gets her driver's licence, but she needs a job first. She has great friends, showing her wonderful taste! She also works very hard to get good grades, and we are continually proud and amazed.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Cody! I couldn't do it on his birthday, you know, no power, but hey, better late than never, right?

This is Cody and his littlest siblings. He is so nice and cuddly! He had to learn, he was not very cuddly to Trinity, and for many months Cody thought she hated him because she'd cry when he held her. He learned how to deal with a baby and now he is comfortable with them and they like him a bunch!

Twelve years ago we lived in Germany. Wow, 12 years! Cody was not a "surprise" baby, but he was our first baby in trusting God for our family size. And he happened right away. We moved from Germany when I was about 7 months pregnant. That was Cody's only plane ride. Cody was born in Minnesota. That was his claim to fame in our family for a long time. We did not know he was a boy before he was born, but when he was born and they said "Its a boy" I was thinking "of course its a boy! Oh, yeah, we didn't know that." I just knew.

Cody is a video game nut, he'll play any and all things electronic. He's the one we call down to put the computers together, move cords or reconnect things. He has a future in this stuff!

Cody is starting his last year of not being a teen. He thinks this means he is now a "big kid" and should not have a bed time, etc. even though they had to wait until they were older to be a "big kid."

(this will be a long week of posting, Kaytlin turns 16 and its Father's day this weekend!)