***We did get to Lake Mills for Thanksgiving.....twice actually. The weekend before Thanksgiving, the girls and I went up to celebrate with my dad's side of the family. Brandon always jokes that that side of my family is "so big" we have to rent out the community center for Thanksgiving.
***The Saturday after Thanksgiving was with my mom's side. We were all there minus Jaci and Michael (who had special relatives visiting the states (Michigan) so they went there, but we'll see them over Christmas), Sam and Sabrina (who live in California and have to be selective as to when they choose to travel to Iowa), and Ben (who lives in Nebraska--but honestly, I don't know why he didn't come....sorry, honesty hurts sometimes). Many of the cousins went to the movie RED that night. Definitely worth seeing. We all got up fairly early on Sunday to put up mom and dad's tree, take a Christmas picture in our stocking hats because no one wanted to shower and get gussied up, and go to breakfast at Denny's in Clear Lake on our way home. It's a good stopping point to refuel for the drive south. There's also a story missing about the creepy Santa...but that's for another day (but don't let me forget).
Sorry to my family who thought I was purposely leaving them out of the Thanksgiving blog.....it wasn't on purpose.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
The Big Monstrosity
Daddy love was home tonight, which was a change of plans. He was supposed to be out scouting a basketball game after practice, but when he learned that it was the 'late' game, he changed his mind and came home instead. He wasn't thrilled about missing putting the girls to bed two nights in a row (he has a game tomorrow night) so it was great to have him home.
We were going to wait until Wednesday night to put up the tree, but since B was home, we got it up tonight. The girls were so excited!! B refers to the tree as "The Big Monstrosity." He thinks it is outrageously big. However, I love it. The extra large tree is a visual of my heart at Christmas time. Big, fluffed, and all lit up!!
It looks great, doesn't it??!! Of course it does because I had my two little elves to help decorate!!
"My name is Kari, and I'm a Control Freak." However, I vow not to touch the clumps of ornaments placed on our lovely tree by the littles I love so much. They will stay clumped in place until the tree comes down in January. The looks on their faces while they took ownership of hanging the ornaments is forever ingrained in my heart. I love them so much!!
The pink and purple trees made it to M&M's room this year. They were pretty adamant to begin with to have them downstairs where they were last year. Once I placed them in the room, though they were excited to have them stay. They make a nice little night light (until I unplug them when I go to bed) when the girls go to bed.
The stockings are hung...
The nativities are displayed...
And a straggly slim jim (looks much better than in this picture)...
are just a few of the decorations in our house. I want to get another slim jim tree for the basement for the rest of the ornaments I have. I'm not typically one to change the decor of my house regularly, but there's just something about decorating for Christmas that I can't get enough of.
I hope your homes are as Merry as ours!
We were going to wait until Wednesday night to put up the tree, but since B was home, we got it up tonight. The girls were so excited!! B refers to the tree as "The Big Monstrosity." He thinks it is outrageously big. However, I love it. The extra large tree is a visual of my heart at Christmas time. Big, fluffed, and all lit up!!
It looks great, doesn't it??!! Of course it does because I had my two little elves to help decorate!!
"My name is Kari, and I'm a Control Freak." However, I vow not to touch the clumps of ornaments placed on our lovely tree by the littles I love so much. They will stay clumped in place until the tree comes down in January. The looks on their faces while they took ownership of hanging the ornaments is forever ingrained in my heart. I love them so much!!
The pink and purple trees made it to M&M's room this year. They were pretty adamant to begin with to have them downstairs where they were last year. Once I placed them in the room, though they were excited to have them stay. They make a nice little night light (until I unplug them when I go to bed) when the girls go to bed.
The stockings are hung...
The nativities are displayed...
And a straggly slim jim (looks much better than in this picture)...
are just a few of the decorations in our house. I want to get another slim jim tree for the basement for the rest of the ornaments I have. I'm not typically one to change the decor of my house regularly, but there's just something about decorating for Christmas that I can't get enough of.
I hope your homes are as Merry as ours!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Checking In
Has it really been two weeks since I've posted?? Where has the time gone? Is it really going to be December on Wednesday? What is it about life that seems so normal, yet so crazy and hectic all at the same time? Here's what we've been up to!!
A glimpse into my future:
On Friday, November 19, I saw this crew sitting at my dining room table:
That's right....three little girls!!
Our guest was our former nanny's daughter, Ava. She turned one in September and Myah and Maysen had an absolute ball with her. Melissa and Dave (Ava's parents) went out to dinner that night so we only had her for about an hour and a half, but she was sure able to wear me out in that time. When she left, M&M couldn't stop talking about their new baby sister coming 'pretty soon' and we had to talk about the fact that our baby isn't going to be able to do all of the things that Ava can do. Eventually she will be able to do those things, but not right away. We'll see the reaction when Miss M is actually here and M&M realize I wasn't kidding.
GO TIGERHAWKS!!
Basketball season is underway for Brandon. He had two games last week, and unfortunately neither of them resulted in a win. Though the team has improved by leaps and bounds since last year and the losses were much closer than they were last year, Brandon is still frustrated. Had he been the coach for this team last year, he may be into moral victories, but at this point, he's not. Two more games ahead this week....hopefully we'll have a win to add to the record!
Thanksgiving
We traveled our usual route this past weekend for Thanksgiving. First to Brandon's family on Thursday Morning. Though it was great to see everyone, we were really excited to meet our newest family member (only 3 days old) Kaylie Lu Smith.
Both girls got to hold Kaylie and loved every minute of it. We're eagerly awaiting the arrival of our newest addition especially after seeing Miss Kaylie. She was so little, I hardly remember the girls being that small!
We took a trip to Storm Lake on Thursday afternoon to Santa's Castle. Of course, my picture of the girls with Santa didn't turn out (my camera wasn't fully charged) so we'll have to visit him at another location or get a picture from Grandma Donna!
We're back at home and have the house mostly decorated for Christmas. We will get the tree up on Wednesday so I'll have new pictures to post after that. Have a wonderful week....our first flakes of snow are in the forecast for Tuesday...ugh. I'm NOT ready for that!!
A glimpse into my future:
On Friday, November 19, I saw this crew sitting at my dining room table:
That's right....three little girls!!
Our guest was our former nanny's daughter, Ava. She turned one in September and Myah and Maysen had an absolute ball with her. Melissa and Dave (Ava's parents) went out to dinner that night so we only had her for about an hour and a half, but she was sure able to wear me out in that time. When she left, M&M couldn't stop talking about their new baby sister coming 'pretty soon' and we had to talk about the fact that our baby isn't going to be able to do all of the things that Ava can do. Eventually she will be able to do those things, but not right away. We'll see the reaction when Miss M is actually here and M&M realize I wasn't kidding.
GO TIGERHAWKS!!
Basketball season is underway for Brandon. He had two games last week, and unfortunately neither of them resulted in a win. Though the team has improved by leaps and bounds since last year and the losses were much closer than they were last year, Brandon is still frustrated. Had he been the coach for this team last year, he may be into moral victories, but at this point, he's not. Two more games ahead this week....hopefully we'll have a win to add to the record!
Thanksgiving
We traveled our usual route this past weekend for Thanksgiving. First to Brandon's family on Thursday Morning. Though it was great to see everyone, we were really excited to meet our newest family member (only 3 days old) Kaylie Lu Smith.
Both girls got to hold Kaylie and loved every minute of it. We're eagerly awaiting the arrival of our newest addition especially after seeing Miss Kaylie. She was so little, I hardly remember the girls being that small!
We took a trip to Storm Lake on Thursday afternoon to Santa's Castle. Of course, my picture of the girls with Santa didn't turn out (my camera wasn't fully charged) so we'll have to visit him at another location or get a picture from Grandma Donna!
We're back at home and have the house mostly decorated for Christmas. We will get the tree up on Wednesday so I'll have new pictures to post after that. Have a wonderful week....our first flakes of snow are in the forecast for Tuesday...ugh. I'm NOT ready for that!!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
A few updates...
Update #1:
This past week marked 22 weeks of pregnancy. Definitely a bump showing up now! I'm feeling great and haven't gained much weight. I guess chasing 3 year olds just might count as physical exercise!
Update #2:
Some of you (the few who know) have been emailing to check in on Brandon.
For those of you who don't know:
Brandon was in a car accident on his way home from basketball practice Thursday night. He's doing very well now, but did suffer a mild concussion. He spent Thursday night at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines. We had a few hours that could have been filmed for the movie 50 First Dates where he was asking re-asking the same questions, which is quite normal I learned. We giggle about it now because when I left the hospital at midnight that night I wrote a note for him with the answers to all of those questions so when he woke up in the middle of the night he could read it and have his questions answered. Most of them had to do with being sure these two:
were being taken care of! Which didn't surprise me one bit since our world revolves around them!
God was definitely watching out for us that night. Brandon was on the phone at the time of the accident. Definitely not a safe idea as we all know. However, in this situation, it may have been good. He was talking to his mom on the phone and all of a sudden she heard what sounded like change rumbling and muffled noises. She stayed on the line for about 2 minutes calling Brandon's name. In the distance she heard his voice say something like "what happened?" and "oh, my head." She then heard a woman's voice say "you were in an accident." Then the line went dead. She called me immediately and we both tried calling his phone. No one answered it. We then proceeded to calling 911 and Highway Dispatchers. BV county (where his parents are located) dispatchers were able to connect them to Jasper county (where Brandon was) immediatly and let them know that yes there was an accident and that Brandon was in it. If he hadn't been on the phone, I have no idea how I would have found out...I hate to even think about it. We all still definitely agree, though that talking and driving is NOT a safe practice (I want to make that clear!)
After picking Brandon up from the hospital on Friday we (his parents came down that morning) went to Marshalltown to see his car. That's when it really hit me how lucky we are. A 1/16 of a second appears to have saved his life. Where the car was hit was completely crumpled and smashed in. You bet we're praying extra hard around here and counting our blessings!
We really are all doing great. Brandon is going back to work tomorrow and will see how it goes. He does have a Dr. note allowing him a week off of work if needed.
This is one of those posts that you're not really sure you want people to read. It was a terrifying experience, and now that we know everything is ok, we just want to move forward. However, we do know that so many people love us and care about us, and I wanted to update those people. It's also a way for me to document the experience and get it 'out.'
A VERY special shout out to Lisa Clayberg who was on my doorstep that night before I even hung up the phone from her. No questions asked, she just came. She knew I needed her before I ever said anything. She got the girls in the tub/distracted them while I was finding out what was going on and stayed with them until I got home from the hospital that night.
Another life saver was Julie Schuster who drove me to the hospital. Lisa called her at the gym and she was to my house in lightning speed as well. Again, no questions asked, she just served!
My wonderful sister (and her husband Eric came later in the evening) met me at the hospital, which was exactly what I needed . An unconditionally loving face and spirit to stand by my side while we met with doctors. She was also a relay person to call Brandon's parents when I couldn't so they could continue to be updated.
If you're like me sometimes and everyday life tends to just carry on and things get taken for granted, today is the day to count your blessings and let the people you love know how much they mean to you!
This past week marked 22 weeks of pregnancy. Definitely a bump showing up now! I'm feeling great and haven't gained much weight. I guess chasing 3 year olds just might count as physical exercise!
Update #2:
Some of you (the few who know) have been emailing to check in on Brandon.
For those of you who don't know:
Brandon was in a car accident on his way home from basketball practice Thursday night. He's doing very well now, but did suffer a mild concussion. He spent Thursday night at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines. We had a few hours that could have been filmed for the movie 50 First Dates where he was asking re-asking the same questions, which is quite normal I learned. We giggle about it now because when I left the hospital at midnight that night I wrote a note for him with the answers to all of those questions so when he woke up in the middle of the night he could read it and have his questions answered. Most of them had to do with being sure these two:
were being taken care of! Which didn't surprise me one bit since our world revolves around them!
God was definitely watching out for us that night. Brandon was on the phone at the time of the accident. Definitely not a safe idea as we all know. However, in this situation, it may have been good. He was talking to his mom on the phone and all of a sudden she heard what sounded like change rumbling and muffled noises. She stayed on the line for about 2 minutes calling Brandon's name. In the distance she heard his voice say something like "what happened?" and "oh, my head." She then heard a woman's voice say "you were in an accident." Then the line went dead. She called me immediately and we both tried calling his phone. No one answered it. We then proceeded to calling 911 and Highway Dispatchers. BV county (where his parents are located) dispatchers were able to connect them to Jasper county (where Brandon was) immediatly and let them know that yes there was an accident and that Brandon was in it. If he hadn't been on the phone, I have no idea how I would have found out...I hate to even think about it. We all still definitely agree, though that talking and driving is NOT a safe practice (I want to make that clear!)
After picking Brandon up from the hospital on Friday we (his parents came down that morning) went to Marshalltown to see his car. That's when it really hit me how lucky we are. A 1/16 of a second appears to have saved his life. Where the car was hit was completely crumpled and smashed in. You bet we're praying extra hard around here and counting our blessings!
We really are all doing great. Brandon is going back to work tomorrow and will see how it goes. He does have a Dr. note allowing him a week off of work if needed.
This is one of those posts that you're not really sure you want people to read. It was a terrifying experience, and now that we know everything is ok, we just want to move forward. However, we do know that so many people love us and care about us, and I wanted to update those people. It's also a way for me to document the experience and get it 'out.'
A VERY special shout out to Lisa Clayberg who was on my doorstep that night before I even hung up the phone from her. No questions asked, she just came. She knew I needed her before I ever said anything. She got the girls in the tub/distracted them while I was finding out what was going on and stayed with them until I got home from the hospital that night.
Another life saver was Julie Schuster who drove me to the hospital. Lisa called her at the gym and she was to my house in lightning speed as well. Again, no questions asked, she just served!
My wonderful sister (and her husband Eric came later in the evening) met me at the hospital, which was exactly what I needed . An unconditionally loving face and spirit to stand by my side while we met with doctors. She was also a relay person to call Brandon's parents when I couldn't so they could continue to be updated.
If you're like me sometimes and everyday life tends to just carry on and things get taken for granted, today is the day to count your blessings and let the people you love know how much they mean to you!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Dear 14 year old Kari:
Middle school is just an awkward time. (Perhaps that's why you find your calling in dealing with middle schoolers each day...don't roll your eyes, you'll love it!) That braces, large-framed glasses and "mall bangs" combination you're sporting now will come back to haunt you :) Hopefully it will make you laugh, too, because you aren't alone!
Know that you are beautiful. Clear your head of thoughts like "I'm just not as pretty as so-and-so." "I'm just not as skinny as so-and-so." "I'm just not as athletic as so-and-so." Some of those so-and-sos grow up to have multiple issues that you aren't aware of at your age. Things you never have to deal with. Be happy.
Believe in yourself. Set goals. You are a goal chaser....always wanting the next bigger thing. You'll grow up to teach math (I said, don't roll your eyes) despite the fact your dad worked with you to learn your multiplication tables in one night because you weren't taking it upon yourself to get rid of that cheat sheet. You'll earn a Master's Degree (and "con" your husband into getting it along with you). You'll have ideas of striving for your National Board Certification, though I can't tell you how that turns out that this point.
You will be a wonderful mother (if I do say so myself). You work hard to raise disciplined, but very loved children who adore you. You will realize that the most important things in life are not things. Don't spend time, money or thoughts on things that are petty and dispensible. Just live day by day taking chances as they come so you don't live with many regrets.
Remember that I love you, and so do so many people. You are special just for being you.
Love,
Kari
(Age 30)
Know that you are beautiful. Clear your head of thoughts like "I'm just not as pretty as so-and-so." "I'm just not as skinny as so-and-so." "I'm just not as athletic as so-and-so." Some of those so-and-sos grow up to have multiple issues that you aren't aware of at your age. Things you never have to deal with. Be happy.
Believe in yourself. Set goals. You are a goal chaser....always wanting the next bigger thing. You'll grow up to teach math (I said, don't roll your eyes) despite the fact your dad worked with you to learn your multiplication tables in one night because you weren't taking it upon yourself to get rid of that cheat sheet. You'll earn a Master's Degree (and "con" your husband into getting it along with you). You'll have ideas of striving for your National Board Certification, though I can't tell you how that turns out that this point.
You will be a wonderful mother (if I do say so myself). You work hard to raise disciplined, but very loved children who adore you. You will realize that the most important things in life are not things. Don't spend time, money or thoughts on things that are petty and dispensible. Just live day by day taking chances as they come so you don't live with many regrets.
Remember that I love you, and so do so many people. You are special just for being you.
Love,
Kari
(Age 30)
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