Tuesday, August 16, 2011

3Day Follow-up

The first weekend in August, my sister and I completed the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure. We were able to complete all 60 miles! We were so excited to be able to finish everything. It was a blast and we highly recommend it to anyone. It was a hard road, but knowing that we were doing something to help others felt great. There were about 2000 walkers in Chicago. The first day we walked around the Northwest suburbs. We walked about 22.6 miles. The next day we walked more around the West suburbs and walked about 19.5 miles. The final day, the bused us from camp to Lincolnwood and then we walked to Soldier Field. The weather cooperated overall. It rained a little bit, but compared to the heat we were having a few weeks earlier, it was beautiful weather!

I posted quite a few pictures on facebook, so feel free to check them out!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Just another day in....

The Extreme heat! It has been so hot here that in some ways I feel like we might as well have snow on the ground. I know, I know, I shouldn't say that, but honestly, the parks are empty, it's too hot to be outside (even at 8am) and we have cabin fever! I'm hoping that it cools off in the next few days so we can get back to enjoying summer.

Alex has been taking a summer camp at a local park district. He is doing such a good job. He comes home every day and tells us about what he's doing and then his friends he played with. I'm pretty proud of him. Every other Friday he gets to go to the splash pad. He has been having so much fun. I can't wait to see him in preschool this fall.

Paige is toddling around like nobody's business. She is trying more and more to talk and repeat everything we say. Of course her favorite word right now is "mine." Alex gets quite upset whenever Paige says it. He doesn't understand why "she says that everything is her's." They are starting to play together more which is fun to see.

My 3 Day Walk for the Cure is coming up in just 2 weeks. My sister and I are looking forward to it. We're excited to be able to spend time together and talk without kids interrupting one another. We are praying that it isn't so hot like it has been this last week. If you want to come out and support us we'd love to see some familiar faces along the way. Here's the information: http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer?pagename=CH_Spectator

I'll post again after the walk to let you know how it went. Thank you for everyone who has supported us.

Monday, July 04, 2011

A 4 yr old and a 1 yr old!!!!





I can't believe it, but we have a 4 year old and a 1 year old now! It's crazy how fast time goes by. Paige turned one at the end of March. She is starting to toddle around. She's still not walking 100% of the time as she's too much of a princess and doesn't want to get hurt. There are times that she will just turn and toddle across the whole room. She is walking more and more. Every day it seems like she starts saying more and more words. She will try to repeat anything we say and even more entertaining is when she signs the word and says it. She is too funny! She still thinks that her brother is the funniest person ever. She will repeat the silly sounds he makes and laugh and laugh and laugh.



Alex turned 4 at the beginning of April! I am still trying to wrap my mind around him being four years old! He is getting bigger and bigger every day. The more time that goes by, the more that we see him mature and be able to control his energy. He loves trains still and would ride the CTA all day if we'd let him. He is full of joy and of course energy! He finished his first year of preschool and had a blast with his friends and teachers. He talks all the time about riding the school bus and going to Kindergarten. I continue to tell him to slow down and eventually he will go to school. No matter what, he will always be my little boy.

Thursday, May 05, 2011

Finishing up and Starting Anew

This weekend is our half marathon in Indianapolis. I have spent the last 5-6 months training and running at least 3 times a week. I feel ready for this race and I'm looking forward to completing it in a time that I'm happy with. Hopefully the weather cooperates and I feel good on Saturday morning. Kent and I are dropping off the kids at my parent's house tomorrow and then heading to Indy. Honestly, I'm also desperately in need of a break, time away with just Kent, adult time. I love my kids, but I need my time away too. It refreshes me. Plus, I know that Alex (and I'm sure Paige) love being with my parents.

So when the half marathon is over after Saturday, I will officially begin my training for the 3 day walk for the cure. I'm looking forward to the walks, but I will also continue to run as well. Right now I have about $660 left to raise before I can walk, but I'm feeling fairly confident that I can do it. I'm asking for your prayers as I officially start my training and as I finish up my fundraising. I believe this is an important event and I'm looking forward walking for those who have and who will fight breast cancer.

If you'd like to support me in my walk you can donate at: www.the3day.org Search for my name. :)

More updates after the half is finished!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Birthdays Galore!

The end of March and beginning of April are going to be busy for us every year as we celebrate. This year we decided to celebrate each birthday separately since it is Paige's first birthday. We decided on an Owl theme. Afterall, the first year with Paige has been a real "hoot!" She continues to make us smile and laugh every day. She loves to try to imitate her brother. She'll climb over to the trampoline, make her way up and start trying to jump. At her first year appointment she weighed just over 20 pounds and was 29 1/4 inches long. She's still our little peanut.












Alex on the otherhand has grown 4 inches from December til April! Crazy!!! He is still in the 80-90% for height and weight. He continues to keep us on our toes. The things that he is able to remember never cease to amaze us. He loves being active. Kent even made a swing under his bed so during those long winter months he could still be active. For his birthday he got a scooter from my parents and a new bike from us so he will be busy this summer learning how to use each of them.









Thursday, March 17, 2011

3 Day Walk

Most of you probably already know this, but in August, my sister and I will be participating in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure. Over the course of 3 days we will be walking 60 miles. You may be asking "why in the world would we do something like that?" Well, for me, I have been working in the hospital for the last 3 1/2 years where I've seen so many women fight day after day for their lives. Some of those women have fought the fight and won, others have not been so lucky. One thing is the same about anyone I've come across that has to fight this fight. They all have an incredible amount of bravery as they lie in that hospital bed.

There isn't much I can do about fighting breast cancer, but I can walk. I am choosing to walk to raise awareness about the importance of early detection as well as to help raise money to bring about new treatments and hopefully even a cure.

In order to walk, we need to raise a minimum of $2300 each. So, I'm asking you to please support me on this journey that I'm taking. You can go to my personal page to donate: http://www.the3day.org/site/TRC/2011/ChicagoEvent2011?pg=peditor&fr_id=1611&px=5609324

I'll be doing my best to use our blog to also update you on my fundraising and training.

Life Goes On...

I really do have every intention of trying to keep this blog up to date, however it seems like life just keeps going on. Things have been going well for us. I can't believe that Paige is almost one and Alex is almost four! How is that possible?

Alex these days loves to be on the go, just like always. He is enjoying preschool and seems to be doing better with following directions there. He loves his teachers and is having more and more friends. He loves playing with his baby sister and making her laugh. One of his favorite things lately is to swing in his room. Yes, that's right, in his room! Kent put up a swing under his bed since he has a loft. He loves it! It is the perfect thing for him.

Paige is growing like a weed! She is crawling all over the place and pulling up on anything she can. She of course, loves to laugh at her older brother and we think she's even attempting to say "brother." She is our easy-going little girl. That is, as long as you don't try to take her toys away. She is a cuddly, smiley, and adorable if I do say so. :)

Kent and I are still keeping busy with work, kids and with the worship team.

I'll be doing my best to keep this blog more updated.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Time passes by...

Wow! I can not believe that it has been 4 months since I last posted on our blog. We have had a busy few months. As I mentioned in the last post, Alex has started preschool. He is doing pretty well for the most part. His energy level still gets the best of him, but he is enjoying going and talks about his teachers all the time. I often find him suggesting that we play "school."

October brought lovely fall days, a trip to the pumpkin patch and trick-or-treating. We picked probably the warmest day in October to take a trip to the pumpkin patch. Alex loved it!!! He played so hard and asked so many questions as we rode the John Deere tractor out to the patch. Alex also agreed to trick-or-treating this year. Last year he acted all excited about it and then was scared to go to other people's houses. This year, he eagerly ran from house to house, looking for the porch light that was shining brightly. He did great for the first few houses at only taking a few pieces of candy, until about the 4th house when the owner told him to take more than one. From then on, he reached his hand in the bowl and grabbed a handful. I had to tell him, respectfully, to only take 2 pieces. He had a blast!









November brought many trips for us. First, we headed to Disney World with my family. It was a time that was filled with memories for us. We spent 3 days on land, staying at Kidani Village. Over the course of 3 days, 5 out of the 10 of us came down with the stomach flu. By the time it was time for us to leave for the cruise, we were afraid that we would not even be allowed to get on the boat. After those who were sick talked with the nurse, we boarded the boat. It was our first time on a cruise and we loved it! The first night, the waters were a little rough and as dinner progressed, one by one, we dropped like flies, leaving only Kent at the table to finish the meal. He ate it up, no pun intended, and tasted each of our dinners and each dessert that our wonderful waiters brought out to him. After the first night, the waters calmed and we enjoyed our days by the Mickey Pool and our nights going to the shows for the kids. We saw many different characters on the boat. I think my favorite part was Castaway Cay (Disney's Private Island). It was fabulous! We are grateful for the memories that we made as a family. Four days after returning from Disney World, we again packed our bags and boarded the plane to Tennessee to spend Thanksgiving with some of Kent's family. It was great to see family and watch Alex play with his cousins. Paige and Timothy are only 6 weeks apart and it was fun to watch their similarities as well as their differences. Alex played and ran and jumped and laughed the whole time we were there.









December is always a busy month and as we did our best to keep our schedule as free as possible, it was still filled with family time and other obligations. The biggest thing in December was Alex's surgery. Three days before Christmas, Alex had surgery both to take his tonsils & adenoids out as well as to correct his teeth. The tonsilectomy was the easy part as far as the surgery went. It only took about 45 minutes total, but the recovery was harder. Alex took probably a good 10 days to fully recover. It was hard to watch him in pain and barely eat anything, but he is back to himself and no longer in pain now. The longer part of the surgery was the procedure for his teeth. It took about 5 hours, but the recovery was only about 3 days of just tender gums. The dentist did a fabulous job on his teeth putting crowns and caps on almost all of his teeth. They also completed x-rays to see what we are dealing with as far as his adult teeth. We found out that they are also cone-shaped, so we will decide what is best when get to that point. We are so thankful for his dentist. She is wonderful and we can't say enough good about her! Because of Alex's surgery, we took it easy for Christmas. We spent Christmas eve and Christmas day with my family, trying to keep Alex as comfortable and as calm as we could. It was a good Christmas celebrating our Savior's birth.













As the new year as come, we are looking forward to what this year will bring. Paige is now 9 1/2 months old and changing every day. She is crawling on all fours now and trying to pull up on whatever she can get to. Alex continues to enjoy preschool and we can see him turning into a 4 year old as each month passes. I continue to work 3 days at the hospital and love my job. Kent continues to work from home and is always busy.