Desperate Times...

Recently our sweet little boy has undergone a major change in his bedtime routine. For the first 29 months of his life he has always just gone to bed easily without fussing or needing any extra attention. It has been an amazing blessing! Starting last week Jake seems to have decided that he no longer likes going to bed. Now, after reading books, and putting him in his bed he stands back up, jumps up and down, and cries to be taken out of bed. The first night it started with calling for Mama and Daddy. Apparently that didn't work well enough because the next night he called for Mama, Daddy, Akka (Annika), Bebe (Abby). By the third night he was desperate to get out and he changed his cry to: Mama, Daddy, Akka, BeBe, Tate (the cat)! I guess if your parents and siblings let you down you can always hope the cat might come through for you!

The First Day of School

Well, once again we have survived the first day(s) of school. For our family the first day of school has all the usual emotions (sadness over the end of summer, excitement about seeing friends again, anticipation of new teachers...) as well as the overwhelming reality that now Mom is working again! Granted, I've been working 60+ hour weeks for the past few weeks getting ready for school but Tuesday marked the beginning of our actual routine. We are now officially all back into a schedule!

Annika is in 3rd grade this year. She started school on Tuesday just like me. Here she is getting ready to leave for school.

Here Annika poses by the Millbrook Chrstian sign. This is the last year we'll be able to take this picture since next year we will all be moving to the new consolidated elementary school.

Abby started Kindergarten today. She was VERY excited to ride the bus to school this morning with Annika. She's so grown up!


Mike and I are so thankful that we can send our children to a Christian school. The opening chapel on Tuesday was inspirational. I think that as parents we are keenly aware of that a privilege it is to have our kids at Millbrook. Having the added perspective of also working there and seeing Christian education first hand on a daily basis I KNOW it is worth every penny and sacrifice people make to send their children there. God is GOOD and He has blessed Millbrook Christian School and our family by allowing us to be a part of this learning community!

More Talk

See below the video of Jake talking more, as he finally nailed down some names for his sisters. Now he spends time calling them, like when he wanted to say something to Annika in the van the other night, and was yelling "Aka! Aka! Aka!" toward the back seats.

He also says "Wii." Tonight I was playing some LEGO Indiana Jones while Jake sat by, watched and tried to verbally assist me. "Blue money!" he yelled. "Key! Key! Key!" at the key that was sitting on the ground waiting to be picked up. And finally, "Bad man!" at the bad guy I had to defeat by hitting him with thrown chairs. At times he was more commanding me, with a very insistent voice, that I pick up that key. Such a helper.

Talk Talk Talk

Jake's language skills have taken off within the past 2 weeks. He's gone from "talking" to talking! Here he shares some of his newest words with you all. Listen for him to say zucchini, bread, Annika (Aka), and Abby (Beebee). You will also note that he's my little chef! Jake LOVES to help me bake! He's much more into it than either of the girls ever were!

Little Swimmers

Ours girls just finished another week of swimming lessons with Miss Cara and once again we were amazed by what they learned! Miss Cara is the BEST teacher! Here the girls show off a bit of what they are able to do!

The Second Half of Summer

It's July already, but a lot has happened. In what is becoming a tradition for us, we headed to the movie theater with the girls to see the new Pixar movie, which was excellent (as usual). I don't think I've actually cried in a movie theater before, but about 20 minutes into Up was the closest I've come (and this is Mike writing, by the way).

In the past few weeks we enjoyed (and survived with three kids) the three C's: Chicago, camping and Columbus. In Chicago we visited Lisa's mom's side of the family. Annika and Abby even went there earlier than we did and spent four days there, playing with Lisa's younger cousins. Two weeks later we took our first family camping trip, borrowing a pop-up camper and the services of friends to tow it for us. It was a roller coaster experience, ranging from really awesome fun (swimming with the kids, hanging out at the fire, riding horses, tie-dying T-shirts) and the insanity-inducing (like taking Abby for an emergency pee outside the camper at 3am and not having it go well). Finally, we just got home this weekend from Columbus, where we saw my entire family, celebrated Abby's 5th and cousin Will's 1st birthdays, swam at the hotel and went to the awesome Columbus Zoo. It also involved more than 12 hours on the road, which ranged from tolerable (when Jake is sleeping) to the nearly intolerable (when he's not).

Unfortunately, after getting home from Columbus, we had to deal with the four C's: Cat in the Closet and Crashed Computer. We apparently trapped Layla, our poor cat, in the closet of our fourth bedroom for four days. I first heard her meowing early Monday morning. It took me a long time to find her, but there she was. The closet became her bathroom, of course, but that's the biggest issue we have to deal with, since she seems fine otherwise. The crashed computer is a bigger worry for us, since it involves a dead hard drive containing nearly a year's worth of pictures and videos that we hadn't backed up yet (stupid stupid stupid stupid us). We're hoping to recover them without agonizing over a high cost of doing so.

One of my three summer classes has ended, and it was taking up the majority of my time, so we're now looking at a summer that feels a bit more free than before. We're hoping to accomplish a few things but have some fun too - the girls already have a sleepover at Gramdpa and Grandma's and a trip to Great Wolf Lodge with Uncle Mark and Aunt Lizzy on the docket. Lucky!

Fresh Summer Salsa

OK -- So I readily admit I am no gourmet chef but I can follow a recipe well! This one came from a co-worker who shared it as her birthday treat last year. It has quickly become a favorite for everyone who tries it! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to show it off -- it looks quite lovely and colorful when first prepared. Since it is made with fresh ingredients it doesn't last much beyond a couple of days and it looses some of its aesthetic appeal by the second day as the guacamole breaks down. The taste is still great though and sometimes even more flavorful the second time around!

1 can Delmonte "Summer Crisp" Corn (drained)
1 can black beans (drained)
1/2 red onion diced
1 pkg. Italian Dressing
1/2 c. Olive Oil
Mix. Before serving add:
2 tomatoes chopped
1-2 avocados chopped

Enjoy!