The Big 3!

Caleb turned 3 on May 29. He had to be the world's most excited soon-to-be three year old out there! If you ask him what he is looking forward to most as a 3-year old, I bet you'll be surprised. He can't wait to be 3 because then he can go to "Sunday School"! It's really the Mom's group craft time at church, but I am not going to burst his bubble!

We celebrated with Mark, Jill, Maddie and Mackenzie. He chose a baseball cake and football cake, much to his mothers liking, and couldn't wait to open all the presents!

Just don't sing Happy Birthday to this little one...he'll start to scream and bury his face in you lap or back!

We love you, Caleb! You are an awesome 3 year-old, and you bring a smile to our faces quite often!

5....ALREADY???

Someone once told me that your kids grow up without your realizing it. I used to roll my eyes and say to myself, "As my kids grow up, I'll savor every moment."

Wow! I can't believe I am saying this, but, "Where has the time gone?"

Today Isaac turned 5. If you are reading this and saying to yourself, "5, really?" join the club!

With presents galore, a pirate ship cake specially crafted by Mom, and a small party with friends, this birthday boy celebrated his special day as much as any new 5-year old could.

Happy Birthday, Isaac! What a joy you are to us. We pray that you'll continue to live each day as full of joy as you had today!

Yummmy Peeps!

I hadn't had a Peep in years. Maybe that is a good thing. Thanks to my Mom /Grandma N, I got to relive a very fond childhood experience (well, maybe I enjoyed 1 or 2 in college also)...eating a piece of pure sugar.

Not only did I get to eat one (OK...3), but I got to partake in such a grand event with the boys. One piece of pure happiness later (and blue teeth to show Danae) we boys started a lifetime of new memories!

So, here's to making memories!

Thanks again, Mom /Grandma N!

Oh, and Mom...could you send more than 1 pack next time???

Smiles...

Finally, I am getting our St. Patrick's Day pix on here. We celebrated with smiley-faced and green pancakes. The boys were in awe of the smiles but wished the green pancakes would have been greener. (I did not dare do all of them green in case they were grossed out by the color!)

Here's a picture of the boys hamming it up for Paul before the band concert Monday:

Oh, the joy they bring to our lives each day!

Day at the Wild Animal Park...oops, the ER!

So the boys and I (Danae) were planning to meet up with our moms' group at the Wild Animal Park this morning for animal watching, fun and giggles and lunch. As we were gathering our stuff and put on shoes to head out the door (a little before 9:00 so we were going to be on time if not early!), Isaac ran back to his room to get one more thing. While I was strapping on Caleb's shoes, I heard a LOUD thud followed by piercing screams and cries! When I got there, Isaac was on the floor in the hallway with his baseball cap askew and holding his head. In his rush to run out of his room, he misjudged where the door was and ran directly into the little metal piece on the door frame that the door latches into and got a nice gash.

At first I did not realize what had happened since I could not see anything, but when I removed the cap, his hair was already matted with blood. He had sliced a small gash on the side of his head above his ear (maybe half an inch long), and it was just split open. Because of all the blood, I could not tell how deep it was. While he sat with a wet washcloth and cold compress on the side of his head, I called Paul (wanting somebody else to be there to help me decide what to do) and then our doctor who told me to take him to the emergency room.

Once we got through the three different parts of registration at the ER, we waited--Isaac colored while I read a book and watched basketball. When Isaac went "in," he was put on a bed in the hallway. He got to see many firemen wheeling gurneys with a variety of patients right past us (had to pull my feet in so they did not get run over). One fireman stopped to talk to him and give him a fireman sticker badge; you should have seen Isaac's face during this--he was pretty excited!


A nurse cleaned up Isaac's wound, and we waited for the doctor. The doctor wiped it with the gold brown iodine stuff (which really stung), injected some numbing stuff into his head using a very long needle (I did not look at that for long, and Isaac did not even see it), pushed hard on his would to make sure it was actually numb, and then stapled the laceration together with one staple. Isaac was so brave and so good! I was very impressed (& thankful I did not have to go through what he went through) with Isaac and how well he listened to the doctor. (At one point I was counting out loud to get his mind off the needle in his head, and Isaac spat out at me, "Mom! STOP counting! STOP!" I guess it was more annoying than helpful. :-)

After that we headed to McDonalds for his happy meal and then ate lunch at Calvin with Paul and Caleb where Isaac got to show off his staple. We did get a picture of the wound after it was stapled, but I did not think to take a picture while it was still split open--sorry that I was not that on top of things!

Reasons for thanks in this circumstance (or TYL moments as my mom would say):
~His baseball cap prevented the wound from being worse--softened the blow
~Our first trip to the ER for one of the boys
~Plenty of snacks already packed for the park
~Good medical care and great people working on him
~March madness to watch in the waiting room
~Paul could have Caleb at school with him
~A supportive school community
~A "short" time in the ER--only 2 hours.
~No "seriously" injured patients wheeled past to traumatize Isaac
~Happy Meal promise to get Isaac through the stapling process
~Many individuals praying...thanks!
~Generous teachers who offered their staple removers

We did not make it to the Wild Animal Park today...But things were a little wild, and Isaac got to see a lot of things he doesn't normally see. I guess this is what life with kids is all about--a lot unpredictable and out of our control. Thankfully, our God is taking care of us and has his hand on our little treasures! TYL!

Happy Days

Smiles are all around. The rain came and went, and the sun has come out again! Life is busy as usual, but we manage to always find a way to keep hopping. Life is good!

These two just know how to eat it all up! God is good!

We've got the dance moves that Hollywood dreams of!

I know...he gets his moves from his Dad. Hey, when you've got it, you've got it!