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Movie date night
My hubby took me on a movie date tonight.  We watched "Blind Side" and we really liked it a lot.  It wasn't overly a chick-flick so guys will enjoy watching it too.  Let's just say it is a "football-flick."  It is also nice to see God included in the movie.  It is hard to find movies right now with God in the picture.  It will be a very good date movie.

It was very sweet of Jeb to plan a movie date for me.  I have been a bit too overstressed, frustrated, grumpy and moody lately, it was time to take me out! :)  It definitely was a much needed and wonderful breather for me.  I actually can say that I really enjoyed the evening out without having to think or worry about the kids.  One of my many "stress-relievers" besides prayers and meditation is crocheting.  So, after the movie, Jebby also took me to Walmart so I can stock up on my yarn to create many crochet projects through the winter.  It is a very nice and sweet gesture for him to do for me.  I love my man! :)  I'm blessed to have him.

Thanksgiving week/end
Like most my weeks, this week has been a busy week.  We had a great time spending Thanksgiving and the weekend with Jeb's family.  Chad, Lora and their kids came up from Kansas to visit and it was wonderful spending time with them and the kids enjoyed all the cousins company.  I did however, missed my family immensely.  I think it is also because of the fact that my sister Cheryl and her daughter Shoshy is visiting my family in the Philippines right now.  If only I could... I would have hopped in the plane with my sister and haul all the kids to the Philippines.  But then again, I might just be talking without thinking... that trip might be a nightmare having all 3 kids with me!

Thanksgiving week was also deer gun-hunting week.  Jeb tried to sit out in the woods and try his luck in shooting a deer, but with no luck.  The deer might be too smart for him.  We see deer all the time when he is not hunting, mostly when the sun is down.  The day just before the hunting season started, the kids and I saw a 6-pointer buck run through the woods and in front of the chicken shed and then walk in front of the driveway and back into the woods.  He circled the woods and the chicken shed 2 or 3 times.  It was so awesome to see.  The kids were so thrilled to see a buck, they were jumping up and down and had to call daddy to tell him all about it.

Moving again...
The unpacking has recently been on a halt for the last 2 weeks.  I did however painted the downstair bathroom.  I also started painting the fireplace wall as an accent wall, but I ran out of paint so just half the wall is done.  I do have my paints again and I will need to finish painting that wall.  Although, it looks like that I will need to paint the entire living room area now the same color as the fireplace wall.  That is A LOT of wall to paint.  So, right now... I am stalling :-p  Well, also I have been sick and tired out a lot the past week.

We also found out recently that Jeb's company is shutting down the facility here in Fond du Lac, and moving us to Illinois.  We will need to wait for our house to sell first though before we move.  Right now, there are no offers on the house yet.  The real estate market here in Fond du Lac is not good at all.  So, it will take a lot of prayer to get our house sold.  We are thinking of moving in the Spring, April as the soonest.

Update on the kids

The kids have been doing well.  Jordan has started to learn how to read.  I have been working with him in sounding his alphabet on and off for a while now.  And just recently, he can sound out and read some short words.  It is really amazing.  It is not perfect, though but at least it is gearing on the right direction for him in learning to read!  Also, a good site that I learned about from a friend is starfall.com, in teaching kids their phonics and learning the basics of reading.  You are able to download a whole workbook in PDF that you can print from your computer to aid with your homeschooling.  I do this with Aubrey as a starter in learning her letters and sounds.  Aubrey sits along with the "classes" and joins in once in a while too, when I do the reading with Jordan.

Aubrey is so into princesses too.  Her favorite bedtime routine lately is Daddy giving her (as the princess) a pony ride to her bed.

Both of them love drawing and painting too.  Jordan also built his very first wooden toy the recently.  I got him a wooden toy train that he can put together and paint.  Jeb helped him with this but mostly he did it by himself.  I will have to show a picture of that sometime.  I also got the kids some needlework projects that they can do with my help.  They love "crocheting" with me when they see me do it.  I got Jordan a simple hook-and-loop kit, and Aubrey a picture stitching kit (comparable to doing cross-stich only you don't do the X's).

Amberly is 6 months old now and is growing bigger and learning new things each day.  She has been fighting a cough for about a month now, since after the Feast, so tomorrow we are bringing her in to see her Doctor.  She is getting really good with the rolling over and can actually get around pretty well with just rolling.  She sits up quite alright for a few seconds to a minute without us holding her, but she still slops forward when sitting.  And she loves playing with her toys.  She is the most content baby I have.  I can not complain... God has blessed us.

 

We're officially moved in.  It has been a crazy series of events around here lately in my part of the world.  Just before the Feast, we decided to move out to the a vacant property that Jeb's parents own out in the country, and put up our house for sale.  Since then, we have been busy packing, and cleaning and getting our house fixed up a bit to sell.

Sunday of October 25 was our moving day.  We got some help from Jeb's parents, Jason, James Roth, and Matt to move most of our big stuff.  By 6 pm we were settled in our new place and started to put our and the kids' rooms back together.  It is quite interesting moving into a house where it has been vacant for a while.  Some of the issues we ran into were:

• laundry dryer won't work due to wrong outlet switch installed in the wall
• stove/range won't work -- so we didn't have any cooked meals for about a week and a half (eating out and PBJ sandwiches can get old fast)
• we had to evacuate the house Wed/Thur night due to gas leak in the house.  We spent the night at Jeb's parents house for the night.  I thank God for my good sense of smell... I might have just saved my entire family
• the next day we went back to the house after getting the gas leak fixed, we didn't have water.
• and the heater won't work because there was no water -- heat runs from hot water running through the pipes.
• dishwasher don't work right.  I ran it once and my dishes came out all icky and greasy and gross smelling.
• you have no idea how dirty filthy a house can get when no one lives in it!

Anyway, everything is working fine now, thanks to Jeb, and his parents for fixing things.  We have pretty much the entire upstairs all unpacked and set up, master bedroom, kids room, living room, kitchen, dining, upstairs bathroom; and for the downstairs, furnace room (Jeb's workshop), laundry room, downstairs bathroom and the office are all set up and unpacked.

Other things that happened since we moved here:

• Jordan celebrated his 4th birthday in our new home (October 28)
• We got a puppy (for Jordan, but mostly it is our family pet).  She's a blue heeler / border collie mix.  We named her Sheba.  She is one smart dog.  And the kids just loves being around her and playing with her.  Interestingly, Jordan was all into the puppy in the very beginning while Aubrey was scared of her (all dogs in general), but now Jordan doesn't pay much mind to her but Aubrey loves playing and spending time with Sheba.  I'm glad she got over her fear of dogs.  She still gets a bit scared of Sheba especially when she scratches her or jumps on her but otherwise she loves her, and takes walks with Sheba outside while helping Grandpa take care of the chickens and sheep.
• We got a new dishwasher! Yay!  And Jeb got an awesome deal on it too.
• We have internet again... and TV!  Moving out here, we knew our internet options are very limited.  We were searching for some options and came down with either radio internet or mobile internet.  None of them gets any signal from this house.  We have another option, satellite internet... so we went with that.  I say it gets getting used to getting an 18Mbps speed (while we were living in town) down to an almost 1.5Mbps speed.  However, it is not that bad... it is still a pretty decent connection and a lot faster than the very last option that is out of the question... dial up!  No way!

I will try and get some pictures up of the house as soon as I can, and post some videos of the kids.  I still don't have a camera but my camcorder that can take still shots will work for now.  So far, we are enjoying living out here at the tree farm.  It is absolutely gorgeous looking at all the fall colors on the trees.  Our house is practically in the middle of the woods. :)  And it has been interesting to see all the wildlife out here.  I already shrieked like a sissy girl when we saw a garter snake while going around the property for a walk.  Jordan wanted to pick up the snake and pet it! (I later learned that Jeb and Jordan actually found a snake and Jeb let Jordan hold and play with the snake when they went out here on one of the moving trips). I know it would have been perfectly harmless, but still... I DO NOT LIKE SNAKES... or anything creepy-crawly, just the thought makes me shudder.  The kids were laughing at me and picking on me for screaming like a crazy person, and running to the house for cover. LOL

This week I turned 29 years old.  I feel old. =P  Regardless, I know every year I turn another year older, I will say that... that I feel old.  This year, I really wasn't as anxious for my birthday to come.  I actually almost forgot that it was my birthday.  Anyhow, I did have a very nice and special day, besides the fact that it was also the Sabbath made it extra special.  Thanks to my family and friends.

I got great gifts from my family.  One of my sisters gave me a much-awaited and needed baby carrier wrap, called the Moby Wrap.  Amberly and I really like using it.  Amberly loves being held and when I do she can get snuggly with me while I can do some tasks like household chores or take a walk.  Also, I got an awesome present from my parents back home.  They knew I was looking into buying a MagicMic karaoke machine, and they sent me one!  I was so touched! :)  Thank you so much, Mom and Dad!  This karaoke machine is a step-up to karaoke singing.  Everything you need comes in a microphone and the mic base.  That's all you need.  Well, and of course your cables to plug the console into your TV or entertainment system.  We've had so much fun using it already and every day my kids beg to sing on it.  It is great for get-togethers and just having a good ol' time of singing.  Singing karaoke for past time is a Filipino thing, I guess.  I love my presents! :)

Also, the sweetest thing about my birthday is I got to spend it with my beautiful and loving family.  Jeb and the kids greeted me as soon as they got out of bed and then my dear, sweet hubby and Jordan picked up some groceries for their "special dinner" treat for me.  Jeb made me a very nice dinner of yummy rib eye steaks (he knows I love steaks, esp. rib eye steaks), with all the other fixings and a yummy raspberry cheesecake dessert.  Oh was it good!  Everything was delicious.

I feel so blessed and loved.  I can not ask for more, than a loving, God-centered family.  They make my life complete and I thank God everyday for them, and I thank Him for giving me another year of life to cherish them and be here for them.

Thank you all for making my life wonderful.  My family.  My friends.  And most especially my God, for the life He's given me and making all these possible.

NOTE:  If you click on the links on each story, it will bring you to the pictures from that event.

It has been a very busy time for the last few weeks here.  For a few weeks, I have been getting over a cold that just don't want to go away.  The odd part is, it seems I get it when I get cold or chilly.  If I go to bed, it goes away, and then when I get up, it comes back.  Anyway... I seem to be getting over it now.

The last update I had here was about our strawberry-picking day.  The next week, we had a combined garage sale from 4 different families at Kelley's place.  It turned out alright.  I made some money out of the "junk" that I had laying around my house.  Of course, like most garage sales, not everything will be sold.  So, a lot of the "junk" that I was wanting to get rid of, is back in my house.  I'm trying to accumulate the stuff that I don't want and need to send back home to the Philippines (or some other third-world country) for used clothing/items for the unfortunate ones over there.  I just hate the concept of throwing things away when I know a lot of people can really use them yet, and would appreciate it.

4th of July Weekend

For July 4th (Independence Day), we went up to Jeb's grandma's place to see their annual fireworks display.  This year was her last year of shooting off fireworks.  They always have awesome displays.  The show lasted up to 45 minutes to almost an hour.  We kept thinking that the current fireworks they were shooting off were the finale, but no... it just kept going and going and going.  It was pretty cool!  I was taking a video of the fireworks at the very beginning.  My camera battery didn't last.  I was a bit bummed since I wanted to get the grand finale fireworks.  It was really grand.

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Trip to the County Fair

Also, for the first time since I have been here, we went to a county fair.  We went to our own Fond du Lac County Fair in July (16).  I always thought it would be kinda fun and all, seeing it (the fairs) from the movies.  It sure was fun but of course, like all movies... it is in the movies so they can do pretty much anything they want.  Well, to my surprise, everything in the fair is OVERPRICED.  And the games, I was told that they are all rigged and are pretty much money-makers.  It is almost impossible for you to win.  I enjoyed watching the little races though, like the pig and duck-swimming races.  The kids and I enjoyed looking and going through all the different animals that was in the fair.  There were all kinds of animals, from the local ones to really exotic ones I have never seen before--chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, rabbits (one was extremely huge and fat, it was so cute!), goats, sheep, camels, ponys, horses, cows, zebra, llama, emus, cattle (one was a really hairy one), water buffalo, bison, huge tortoise, etc.  It was like going through a zoo!  It was cool.  There was a country singer that was singing that night too, but we didn't stay for that, even though our ticket we paid was good for the entire day and the concert included.  I kinda wanted to stay for that and experience a live country concert, but we decided to go home.  The kids were getting tired and I thought it might be a bit too loud for lil' Amberly.  All in all, it was a fun day.

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Camping at Morgan Lake

The week of July 22-26, we went camping up north at Morgan Lake.  Our family loves camping and every year we try to go camping at least once.  Well, last year we weren't able to go camping and this year, it just so happened that Jeb has a whole week off from work, so we decided to go camping this year.  At the beginning of the year, I already told Jeb that I wouldn't be inclined to go camping this year because of Amberly being just born and too young, and I wasn't sure yet of her temperament then (she wasn't born yet).  Anyhow, Amberly is such a good and content baby that I suggested going camping for Jeb's week off.  He really liked the idea and then, before we know it... the whole family is going camping with us!  Everyone, except for Sabrina and Matt.  We even had friends of ours from church come camping with us... it was great.

However, our camping week didn't turn out as well as we had expected.  It was raining and cold most of the time we were there.  If you are a first-time camper, it would be really miserable.  We just love camping so much, we have to brave it and make the most out of the situation.  Unfortunately, some of us that went camping were running out of warmer clothing for the kids that they had to go home a day early.  It was still a lot of fun and these are the times that will always stick in our memories, for a long, long time.

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Kids' First Baseball Game

The next week after camping, our family went to a Brewer's baseball game.  Jeb's dad and mom invited us to come with them.  This is the kid's first baseball game ever.  I think Jordan is a bit too young to understand the game.  All these time, he was thinking that he was the one going to "play" the game, throw the ball and bat and all that stuff.   He got really bored after a while just sitting on his seat and watching the game.  He did enjoy watching the "hot dogs" race though.  We didn't stay for the entire game.  The kids were getting tired and besides, the Brewer's played horribly!  But we all did have a good time.

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Update on Jordan

Jordan is almost 4 years old coming October.  I can hardly believe it has been that long having him.  He should technically be in Pre-School classes now.  I am however, planning on delaying and having him start 1st grade when he reaches that age.  I will just be giving him some home-schooling classes and activities that covers the basic pre-school curriculum.  I don't know how to go about it but we'll manage. :)  We are starting the basics of reading and familiarizing alphabet sounds.  I would like to get him into art as well.  I love drawing and painting when I was younger (still do), so I'll be getting him more paint and art stuff.  He is very creative and imaginative.

He is growing so much, mentally, physically and in all aspects.  He still loves singing and absolutely loves puzzles.  He has been doing some small 12-pc puzzles since he was 3, and at this point he can put those puzzles together in under 3 minutes!  One day, I will have to take a video of him doing his puzzles.  Just recently, we gave him as a reward a bigger puzzle, a 48-pc puzzle and he puts them together very well.  The first time he put it together, he got it done in just under 10 minutes.

Jordan also enjoys helping his Grandpa/ma Mortier taking care of their chickens and sheep.  And loves playing in the waterpark, when we can go there to cool down in the summer heat.

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Update on Aubrey

Aubrey is growing up so fast as well.  She is 2, but seems to be mature for her age compared to other 2-yr-olds.  She pretty much potty-trained herself (which she is still working on, but doing really good).  She is obsessed at changing 3-4 outfits every single day, which is making laundry a never ending chore for me.  Yes, she changes her clothes by herself.  She likes having her nails painted all the time, but lately I am trying to cut back on it.  I, myself am not too big on the whole painted nails thing.  I like more natural and besides, I don't like all the chemicals that can get into her system at a very young age.  I want and am trying to encourage simplicity in beauty with my little girls.  I like them to feel beautiful enough without having to "paint" themselves all the time to feel pretty.  Afterall, beauty is within, and the character and poise that you project to other people.

She is a 'monkey-see-monkey-do.'  She copies most of what Jordan says and do, even with me or Jeb.  She also is such a good helper for me.  She loves taking care of her little sister, Amberly.  She'll grab me a diaper and wipe whenever she knows I am to change Amberly.  There are even times when she hears or smells Amberly go poop, she'll grab the diaper and wipe and hand them to me and tell me that Amberly (she calls her 'Amy' or 'Ambermee') needs a change.

Just like her brother, she enjoys and loves being by Grandpa/Ma Mortier and helping in their little chicken and sheep farm.  She loves singing and dancing and books.  I just love how all my kids are such cuddlers and affectionate children.  Aubrey is extra affectionate.  She loves cuddling and being cuddled.

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Update on Amberly

My little Amberly is almost 3 months old (on the 20th of this month).  She is getting oh-so-big!  She'll be having her 3rd month well-being checkup at the end of the month, and I look forward to know how much she has grown for weight and height.  She is smiling a lot now and gives a little one-syllable chuckle when she smiles.  I'm trying to work on getting her to giggle yet.  She coos when she "talks".  It is such a delight!  She's also starting to rub off some of her hair in the back of her head.  I am so amazed at how content of a baby she is.  I thought Jordan was a really content baby when I had him... but Amberly is even much more!  I couldn't ask for a more content baby.  She hardly fusses and cries, except when she is hungry, tired and wet/dirty.  She still sleeps a lot right now and when she wakes up, she gives you this huge smile when she sees you.  She is so much like Jordan when he was a baby.  She loves being sang at, especially when Jebby makes up songs for and about her.  It almost looks like she is dancing with the music and just keeps smiling at him.  I love watching them interact.

She is starting to notice people's faces and gets concerned when she can not see me or if she is being held by a stranger.  I just love this stage of a baby when they are just starting to be more aware of their surroundings and smile at you, but still very dependent upon you.

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I know the date as I am writing this post doesn't say Sunday anymore, it's 4AM Monday, but I will write as if it is still Sunday.  Anyway... today, we went strawberry picking with Jason, Kelley and the kids.  It was my very first time and I enjoyed it a lot, except for the fact that I only contributed about a fourth of the whole 2 baskets (about 20 lbs more or less) of the strawberries we picked.  I was busy taking care of Amberly.  I forgot to bring my baby carrier for her, and carrying an infant and picking strawberries doesn't go too well together.  Jeb picked most of the strawberries with some help of Jason at the very end.  The kids however, had a blast.  They gave them little tiny basket containers for their own little pickings.  Jordan did pretty good at filling his up and unloading it unto our big basket (but that only lasted for awhile).  Aubrey however, would pick strawberries, put it in her container and then eat it out of her container... it was kinda counter-productive but she had a lot of fun and loved eating all the strawberries she can get.  With Aubrey, you can tell how much she's eaten by how messy and food-streaked her face and clothes gets.  Her face was pretty messy. :)

On our way home, we stopped by Jeb's parents tree-farm to see the 50 new little chicks they got for their chicken-egg farm they are starting.  The chicks are soo cute!  And the kids loved petting and carrying some of the little 'fuzzy-chirps'.  We end up staying later to help Jeb's parents out with building a new shed for the chicks when they get a bit older.  That metal shed and project took forever and still they haven't got it all done.  We're glad we got to help them... it is exhausting!  I know they were and they started since 11 this morning!  Jordan and Aubrey loved being out there.  They were helping Gma and Gpa build the shed, visiting the chickens and sheep, feeding the chickens and Jordan even gathered all the chicken eggs and placed them in the egg cartons.  When Jeb's parents first got the chickens, Jordan and Aubrey was terrified with the chickens, they won't even go in the chicken shed, but now they love being "little farmers."

We had a lot of activities 'planned' for today.  We actually were supposed to go to a beach party in Sheboygan with some Fil-Am families, but that fell through at the very last minute.  I do really feel bad and bummed that we didn't get to go.  It was all planned and I was actually looking forward to it for the last 2 weeks!  I even went to the store to get the kids new swimwear and some sand toys to build their "sand castles".  However, we felt we had to help family... and family always comes first.

By the end of the day, we all are so tired and dirty (esp the kids!)... but all in all, it was a fun and enjoyable day and everyone had a good time.  And now, I am going back to bed. :)

**UPDATED!  I have uploaded the pictures in the Photo Gallery and videos, under 2009 Videos.**

Just like last year, Jeb and I decided thatwe are going to have a family outing at Bay Beach in Green Bay for Father's Day.  We felt this is a perfect Father's Day activity.  This year, we asked Jason and Kelley (with their kids), and a Fil-Am couple (John and Jane, with their kids too -- friends of ours) to come with us.  We all had a great time.  We had a picnic lunch before we went on the rides.  Jeb and Jason had a 'blast... from the past' -- they were like kids again.  I really couldn't tell who had more fun, the kids or them.  They had a great time going on some of the rides with the kids.  Jeb has told me that Bay Beach has been a fond memory of his, growing up, and which he wants to do with his kids as well.  I agree that Bay Beach is a fun place to go for both the adults and kids without having to spend a fortune!

After we were all out of tickets, we headed to the Wildlife Sanctuary which is just across Bay Beach's park (which is still an extension and part of Bay Beach's amusement park).  We were all so tired from the rides and heat that we didn't stay too much longer at their little museum, that we decided to head home.  All in all, it was a fun and enjoyable Father's Day.

I'll have the pictures and videos uploaded in a lil' bit here.  I'm just trying to figure out why my gallery program doesn't want to connect to my photo gallery URL.  It used to connect just fine before...

Here's a quick update before I go to bed.  I had my 37^th week Dr checkup today and my progress is that I am 3-4 cm dilated now and 75% effaced.  We did ask my Dr to "stir things up" a bit.  I'm sure this doesn't really mean anything but I still hope I get in labor soon.  I am really getting anxious to meet Amberly.

Today was such a beautiful day (finally, warmer temps).  We took the kids to the Lakeside Park and had a little picnic lunch by the water.  We had a fun time and the kids loved eating out by the water in the park and running on the grass.  They even get to feed some ducks and seagulls.  Also, before going out to the park, the kids and I went for a walk around our block.  I got to get a lot of walking in.  Hopefully, it'll help get some contractions starting ;)

Well, I am so tired now and Aubrey is refusing to sleep.  I better check why she's being so whiny and crying so much.  She normally isn't this way when she goes to bed, so I am thinking something is up with her.  Have a good night everyone and I'm looking forward to seeing my Mortier family this weekend.  Hopefully, they get to see Amberly too! :)

Just to update everyone who is reading and anticipating me having the baby... I am still here, obviously.  I haven't been getting any more contractions than I normally have, and if I did they are not that bothersome.  One thing though that I have noticed is that I might have back labor with this one.  When I do get contractions and or when just sitting down or the baby moves, I have a lot of pain in my lower back.  Has anybody had experience on having back pain when laboring?  Any ideas on how to help relieve it?  I know a hot pad will help a lot.

My next Dr's appointment is on Tuesday.  I wonder what we'd find out.  I am so ready to have this baby... I am getting anxious.  It is a lil' weird that I was a bit irritable last week of not having the baby yet.  Anyhow, I know the baby will come in due time and when she is ready.

We spent the day at Jeb's parents today and the kids absolutely loved being there and just playing outside.  Also, Jeb took me on another movie date tonight.  We watched Star Trek, and we really liked it!

Anyway, I have to get off this chair, put my feet up and rest some.  My back is really killing me right now... and I am not even having any contractions!

 

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL MY WONDERFUL MOTHERS & MOTHERS-TO-BE READERS OUT THERE.  A SPECIAL HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO MY MOM, AND MOM-IN-LAW.  I LOVE YOU BOTH SO VERY MUCH!

I don't expect much or anything for Mother's Day.  My hubby asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day.  I really couldn't tell him anything in the material aspect.  In my mind, all I want would be a nice family time, a lazy-relaxing day, a lil' break from all the husle-and-busle of mommy life and household chores, and maybe a lil' extra attention and pampering :)  That's all.

Well, my dear hubby and kids already out-did themselves.  Friday afternoon, I was surprised to get a very nice present, and a sweet card, from my kids and Jeb.  My Jebby definitely knows me well.  He got me the 2 things I have always been liking to have, but wasn't a priority at all for me to get, so it was really a special surprise when I received it.

From the kids, I got a nice 11" LCD Digital Photo Frame.  And my Jebby got me a beautiful cherry-wood Jewelry box / armoire, and a very sweet card signed from all of them.  I was almost brought to tears when I saw the presents my family got me.  I never expected anything... and the thoughtfulness of my hubby in thinking these things for me.  I feel so blessed to have such thoughtful and loving family.

I still can hardly believe that my kids are growing up so fast.  Aubrey turned 2 years old last April 12^th.  Yes, sorry I haven't had the chance to write about it.  We really didn't have anything for "celebration" per se, and being it the DUB yet... it is never fun having a bday without a cake or cupcakes.  So, we just decided to skip this year for her birthday.  She did share the cake with Jeb's birthday, though.  And I also made some little cupcakes for her (and Jordan).  She did get a few presents from family and relatives, though.

Jeb and I got her a little doll that she can change the outfits in a snap.  She loves dolls.  It is called the Snap 'n Style dolls from Fisher-Price.  I got her the Erika doll, since it looks like her, having brown hair and brown eyes.

Aubrey is just so precious to us, and we love her so much.  We love all our kids (and our kids-to-be).  The odd thing is, I really haven't noticed a significant change or difference from when Aubrey was a year old to being two.  I mean, with Jordan there was a significant change from his first year to second year.  I guess, it is just Aubrey has been doing and learning a lot of the things that Jordan is doing at the very present time.  However, one really nice change of her recently is that she is even more so cuddly and affectionate.  Both my kids are cuddlers... we love it.  Anyway, Aubrey has really warmed up to Jeb lately and loves to play with him and just go up to him to give him hugs and kisses, play and interact with him.  She used to be a little shy with him and not wanting to go by him as much.  But now, Jeb is loving every little bit of attention Aubrey is giving him.  I am glad for her and him too.  I felt bad when Jeb wants to play with her and she wouldn't want to go by him.  But now, they are actually forming a daddy-daughter bond... and I love watching them interact together.

Here are a few more pictures:

More pictures can be seen at our Photo Gallery for Aubrey's 2nd Birthday and April 2009 pictures.

My family is finally getting over the illness that we got this past week.  Jeb is well enough to go back to work.  Too bad he had to miss 2 days of work.  This has been the longest I (we all) have been sick in a long time.  I began feeling ill starting Friday night yet and am just getting better today.  That is almost 5 days total!

I did end up with the nasty cough too the next day.  My chest and abdomen hurt pretty bad from coughing and sneezing a lot.  I still do cough once in a while up to now but not as bad as it used to.  Thankfully, I am getting my energy back again and have started to do some things around the house.  The kids did end up getting the cough too and Aubrey has a lil' bit of the runny nose, while Jordan just have the cough right now.  Otherwise, everyone is starting to feel better.  I can't understand how kids just have so much energy yet even if they are a lil' bit under the weather.  I know I was practically useless when I was sick and miserable.  I felt sorry for the kids as they watched tons of tv / movies while mommy and daddy were feeling miserable.

Yesterday was the first time the kids and I had the chance to go outside and take a walk, in months!  It was still a just a bit chilly, due to the wind, but otherwise it was refreshing.  I let the kids play outside on our deck for a little bit as well, shoveling and raking snow (what's left of the snow), and splashing in puddles.

This years' winter has been quite too long... even for me!  And that is just because I like winter and the snow.  I know some people hate winter, but I actually think winter is quite pretty (as long as there is snow :) ).  For one, our winter started way too early.  It was just November (even before Thanksgiving) and we have had already a good couple inches of snow.  I think we had all our snow and snow storms very early in our winter season, that we haven't been having much snow the following months.

I found this news... and kinda gave me mixed feelings.  Funny, yet sad... but still, I thought it was pretty cool that they found a rare bird (except the eaten part), since it is from the Philippines.

"A species of bird so rare it was thought perhaps to be extinct was captured on video and still images in the Philippines province of Nueva Vizcaya... right before it was cooked and eaten."

Here's the source to the news: http://ecoworldly.com/2009/02/26/extremely-rare-bird-photographed-for-first-time-then-eaten/

Let me start off in showing you my 24^th week pregnancy belly pic.  It almost feels like from the pictures, my belly isn't looking any different from week to week.  Although, I feel it getting heavier and stretched tighter as weeks progress.

My 24 week pregnant belly

My kids have been doing well and growing up so fast, so with learning a lot.  Jordan lately has been into imagining things and pretending.  He's had been doing this already but even more so now.  He is such a little boy now and with all the adventures and imaginations that little boys think and dream of.  The other day, he came to me exclaiming excitedly that he built a playground in his bedroom and that he and Aubrey are pretending to play in the playground.  He asked me to see it and when I went in, he had his white / magnetic board laying against his bed and making it into a slide.  He and Aubrey had a blast going down the "slide."  Until, Aubrey got hurt.  I don't know how it happened but she cut a flap of skin on her middle toe and was bleeding.  I didn't know she got hurt (since she wasn't crying or anything) until Jordan came in the office to tell me that he is treating Aubrey's "ouwie" with a piece of bathroom tissue, that needed to get wet to wipe off the blood.  He then asked me for a bandaid to put on Aubrey's wound.  Aubrey all through this, didn't fuss or cry one bit.  And then there was another time he was playing with an empty box and brought out his toolbox with his tools (and his own scissor) and told me that he is building a lighthouse.  Even though, what he is doing isn't resembling anything LIKE a lighthouse, but just the thought that he is building something and working with the box amazes me.

I am learning a new craft.  I have always wanted to learn needle craft.  One of my favorites is Cross-stitching.  In fact I have a few projects yet that I have been working on (and need to finish).  Anyway, I asked my mom-in-law to teach me crochet.  I only know the basic single stitch in crocheting, but now I know 4 stictches!  Besides the single stich that I already knew, I learned the Half-double stitch, Double and Triple stitch.  I am excited and love doing it.  I am working on a little project of a simple scarf for Aubrey.  All through Super Bowl last night I was crotcheting, with just occassional glances at the TV to see what the guys are yelling about or for commercials. :)  I have a ways to go yet with the scarf but once I start, I have a hard time putting it down.  I will try and take a picture of the finished scarf when I get the chance... and if it does turn out. :)

I am so thanksful for my mom-in-law to teach me this needle craft. :)  I've always admired women who knows a lot of crafts and want to learn as much of them too.  So, thank you Momma Alice.

Anyway, I promised I will upload my 19 and 20 week belly pics, so here they are:

19 weeks pregnant

20 weeks pregnant

We are trying to get rid of our bunny, Butterscotch.  Anybody wants a bunny?  Also, I have all these beautiful ceramic eggs in different designs and sizes I still am not sure what to do with them.  I have a whole 3 boxes worth of it.  I was thinking and wanting to sell them, just not sure yet as to how.  It is just going to be a weird time, trying to get rid of a bunny and selling ceramic eggs.  Well, I don't celebrate Easter, but I think that is possibly the best time to sell these decorative eggs.

Anyway, I'm am excited to know that my brother Charlie and his wife, Isis, are expecting to have a baby boy.  Finally, a grnadson for the Macaraeg!  He is going to be spoiled by his uncles, aunts and grandpa/grandma.  I'm so glad that they are having their boy and girl now.  What are the chances of every single family member we have (both Mortier and Macaraeg) that have or are having 2 kids now have both a boy and a girl.  I think it is pretty awesome!

I haven't had the chance to update sooner.  My hub and I are sharing a computer at home at the moment.  Almost 2 weeks ago, my hubby was building his new computer (and gave me his old one) when something went wrong with the motherboard.  He has to send it back for a replacement and is still waiting for it to arrive.  Hopefully early next week he can have his mobo back so he can finish building his new machine.  Anyway, right now, I do have an updated machine.  Well, I have my hubby's old box (which is way faster than what I currently had), a new 23" monitor, mouse and keyboard.  It is great!

Interestingly, my old machine, apparently was just holding out enough for me to use and have my machine replaced.  As soon, as I had my new machine, my old one died.  Some of the caps (capacitors) on the mobo was bulging.  Originally, we were going to make my old machine into the kids' learning computer center.  Jordan was so excited that Daddy was going to build him his own computer!  Bummer, that Jordan can't have his computer yet... well, not until we can replace the old mobo, and that isn't in the top priority list right now.  Sooner or later we'll get his learning center all hooked up and working.

Okay, enough of the geeky talk stuff.

Onto other things.  Currently, I am on my 21st week of pregnancy.

I had my last Dr appointment a week ago after my ultrasound and my Dr said that she won't need to change my due date.  For some odd reason though, we couldn't figure out how she came up with my original due date of June 8th.  Anyway, my real due date is on June 6th.  My ultrasound estimated May 31st, but that is just a few days discrepancy so, it'll stay at June 6th.

Other news: I'm happy to say that Sabrina and Matt are engaged!  They are planning their wedding on May 24th.  I'm happy for them.

Last week, I have been quite busy with reconciling my books for our business and personal so we can file our taxes.  So far, everything looks good now and we are just waiting for a few more tax stuff in the mail then we can file.  The only benefit of filing taxes is the hope that you get some money back.  I love taxes here in the U.S.  They actually give you your excess taxes bacck!  Sadly, that NEVER happens in the Philippines.

Anyway, I got company... gotta go!  I'll put my 19 and 20 (hopefully 21 weeks) pregnancy belly pics up later.

I have a few minutes to update.  Things are well in our household.  Although, I did get some food poisoning early this week.  I fried some bangus (milkfish) and apparently it was bad, so I end up puking my guts out so hard my eyes started to swell and get red.  Lesson learned, follow your instincts -- 1) be cautious with fish while pregnant (due to mercury in it) and 2) don't eat fish even if it only smells a little fishy.  Anyway, I felt a lot better the next morning.  The kids and I even went with my momma, Alice, to visit her mom in Green Bay.  Every year at Jeb's grandma's place they dig out their own igloo in their yard.  The kids had an awesome time playing in it.

As far as my pregnancy goes... everything seems to be going well.  I have been feeling the baby move more and more since 15 weeks.  I am now in my 18th week and I'm getting really excited for next week.  I am going to have my ultrasound next week and then hopefully we will be able to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl.  Yesterday, Jeb and I have finally decided on a boy's name.  We have a girls name picked out already a whiles back, but weren't sure and decided yet on a boy's name.  But now that we have a boy's name picked out too, all the more we are looking forward to the ultrasound.  There have been a few guesses from friends and family of what gender the baby would be.  I absolutely have no clue (personally) as to what gender the baby will be.  Either gender would be fine with us.  That is the beauty of having a boy and a girl right away. :)  Jordan wants a baby brother, though. ;)

My dear hubby has recently been promoted at his work.  It is really a great blessing!  Being in the midst of economic turmoil and such, we find ourselves deeply humbled and blessed for this wonderful news.  Because of this, we feel like celebrating... Jebby has planned a dinner date for tonight.  It has been a really long time (too long for me to remember the last time) since we went on a date.  I am really getting excited and looking forward to tonight's date.  Jeb hasn't told me where he is taking me yet but he's made dinner reservations and took care of planning who's going to watch the kids.  He's wonderful and I love him so much even more so...

Well, I need to go and get the rest of my Friday going before sunset and take care of my date preparations for tonight.  Meanwhile, Sabrina is here to spend the afternoon with me and she has a movie that we'll watch together.  Laters, everyone!

PS.  I updated my CrossingIslands slideshow to a winter theme.  Enjoy.  Also, I have uploaded pictures in my photo gallery of our December 2008 break when all the Mortier siblings were over.

We took Aubrey to get her cast off today.  At first she was scared at the sound of the cast-cutter and when they were cutting up her cast.  I admit, the sound is a bit intimidating, but the nurse assured us that the cutter won't cut into skin.  She even demonstrated putting it on her skin to show it indeed won't cut the skin/flesh.  After a while, Aubrey calmed down and just watched the whole operation.  Once the cast was off, Jordan took the liberty of grabbing it and threw it right away in the trash can.  I guess we're not keeping it now (we weren't planning on keeping it anyway).  After they took her cast off, the Dr wanted to take some xrays of her leg again just to make sure all is well in the healing of her leg.  I am so glad Jeb agreed to come with.  He was able to go with Aubrey to the xray room and hold her and calm her down.  I remembered the first time I took her in to get xrays of her leg.  I could hear her screaming from across the hall because I couldn't go in the xray room with her (being pregnant), so the nurses took her away and they even have to get another nurse to help steady her down since she was panicking.  Poor baby girl. :( But she is doing well now.  Her leg is so flaky and dry at the moment, I need to put tons of lotion on it.  She can't walk right on her leg too well yet (although she did try to walk on it a bit to come to me, though a bit wobbly).  Maybe it is just a bit weak and just needs getting used to having no cast on it.  But from the xrays, everything seems to look right and back to normal.

I suppose it is time to update.  Everybody has been reminding me that I still have a website and a blog that needs updating... really bad.  And yes, I have to agree.  I haven't been able to update (or finish my last post) for almost 2 months now.  So, now I am sticking to it.  My readers need an update.

Well, first off, a ton has happened since the last time I wrote a post.  Let's see, let me give you a list of them and the details to come later on.

• Joshua being born (Kelley and Jason's 2nd baby)
• Us, expecting our 3rd child -- yes, I am pregnant once again! (15 wks, 2 days; 4 months)
• Aubrey fractured her right leg a week just before Thanksgiving
• Trip to Kansas for Thanksgiving
• Jeb's trip to Europe (Switzerland and London) for work, right after Thanksgiving
  
• My sister Cheryl and her baby, Shoshana spent the week here with us while Jeb was gone
• Special "surprise" Thanksgiving dinner the next Friday night so we can have one with Kelley and Jason
• Jeb got a promotion at work
• Snow, snow and more snow! :)

That's it for now.  Sorry, this is cut short but I need to get back to work.  I'll try my best to fill in more details later on tonight.  At least you know I am still here!

We got in yesterday afternoon from our 3-week vacation in the Philippines.  We had a super great time visiting with family, friends and relatives, and being at the Davao City Feast site this year.  It sure was a spiritually rejuvenating experience for both Jeb and I.  I really missed the warmth and hospitality of Filipinos and the bretheren back home in the Philippines.  That is one of the many things that I love about the Philippines/Filipinos, that is very hard if at all to get the same feeling here in the United States.

Anyway, when we got home... only 1 of our 4 checked-in luggages made it to our final destination.  But the airline was able to deliver the rest of our luggages to our house for free very early this morning.  I'm quite pleased.  On a different unfortunate note, our hot water line to our shower froze up while we were gone.  At least that is what we think.  The rest of our faucet lines are working properly... it is just that one line to the shower that seems not to be working.  At this very moment, Jeb is crawling under the house to check on that line.  So, as you have guessed, I still haven't showered.  But, we hope to get that little problem resolved soon.

The flight home was a lot better than the flight going to the Philippines.  The flight going was a little too stressful for all of us.  Our flight from Appleton to Chicago was delayed.  When we got to Chicago, we had to rush to get to our terminal to catch our connecting flight to Hong Kong.  Our plane flight to Hong Kong from Chicago was a 15-hour flight!  I didn't realize it was that long!  Normally, if you get a flight from LA to Manila, it takes only 12 hours.  Anyway, and to make matters worse in that flight, our air conditioning wasn't working right, so we were quite warm on that flight.  It was too warm to the point the kids were even sweating and couldn't sleep well.  The kids are just adjusting to the long flights that they got antsy and a bit fussy.  But nothing too bad to handle.  When we got to the Hong Kong airport, we had no idea where to go -- good thing there was somebody waiting to direct us where to go.  Hong Kong airport is a big airport and that stroller we brought along was a BIG life saver!  Talk about all the walking and tram rides, up and down the airport.  It was crazy.  Anyway, we finally managed to get to our gate.  We are connecting with a different airline so we had to go through the whole checking-in procedure again, and we just had about a little less than 2 hours total of time in between.  Good thing all our bags managed to get to the plane even in that short amount of time.  Even with the slight delays, our plane arrived Manila a little bit earlier than the expected arrival.  Way to go Philippine Airlines!!! :)  I have found a new respect for PAL, even if their prices are more than the other airlines in the Philippines.  I'll elaborate more later...

... to be continued. (lunch break) :)

 

It bothered me that much that I took Aubrey's right earring off to get it healed and closed up.  Tonight, we were able to get Aubrey in to have her right ear piercing redone (and they did it for free).  Of course, she remembered and knew right away what was happening as soon as the lady cleaned her earlobe and she panicked (but after a few minutes of crying, she did good).  Anyway, her ear piercing looks A LOT better now.  It is now centered and proportioned (I am such a perfectionist when it comes to some stuff).  I am relieved and glad.  I know having her right piercing off like that would bother me for the rest of who-knows-when.  I'm glad we finally decided to redo it and get it done.  I also don't want her to have regrets that her mom (me) didn't fix her piercing when she gets older and it becomes more noticeable.  You know girls and fashion/jewelry :)

Hope everyone has a nice sleep and Sabbath rest / weekend.

I'm writing my blog, Kimmy-style! :) I stuck a couple more updates below.

A New Pet

Jordan and Aubrey have a new pet -- a baby bunny!  We decided to call her (it's a she according to Jebby) Butterscotch, because of her color.  She is a pretty and cute little bunny.  You will see in the pictures (when I put it in later).  Jordan pretty much does good with her... though he is learning things that he should NOT be doing with her.  He's managed to drop her, put her in containers, under the blanket with him, let her ride their bounce-and-spin Zebra toy. ride Aubrey's bike, stuff in a boot. etc.  At one time, he told me that Butterscotch needs to be "warmed up".  And then, he proceeds to stick her in the microwave -- the kid's play kitchen's microwave.  I was debating whether I should allow him to proceed with his plan or not... Anyway, he stuck her in the play microwave and closed the door.  He pretended to push some buttons and then made the sound.  After a few seconds, he took her out and exclaimed -- "She's all warm now"!  My microwave is high enough that he can't and won't be able to reach it -- I hope!  I did give him a little talk as to why he really should not be doing that to a bunny or to any animal for that matter.  Jordan's a funny and imaginative little boy.

Feast Preparations

So far, so good.  The countdown is 12 days til the day we leave.  Jordan and Aubrey's paper chain looks soo tiny and short now compared to when we first made it.  There's just a couple more things that I need to get and do... and then the big task of packing it all up is planned for late next week.  I still need to call up our bank/CC company to let them know we will be overseas so they won't think the charges we are making on our card are fraud and block our card.  Also, we need to unlock our cellphone (or get it in roaming -- whichever), so we can still use our cellphones while in the Philippines, and lastly... I need to put a hold on our mail at our local post office for the days we are away.

I got the stroller that I ordered today -- it's the Joovy Caboose Ultralight Stand-on Tandem stroller.  It looks pretty cool.  Right now, I just took it out of the box but haven't assembled it yet.  I'm waiting until Jeb comes home so he can put it together for me -- I don't want to deal with the complications of assembling it together.  I'm sure I can figure it out, but it'll be so much easier if I just waited :)  So, I haven't test-run it yet.  I was going to attempt to put it together so I can test-run it and take the kids to the park this afternoon, but I decided against it. =P  Maybe later on this afternoon when Jeb comea home from work, we can try it out.  Jordan and Aubrey already knew where their places were.  I had it up and standing (without the wheels) and Aubrey automatically sat in the front and Jordan went to go sit in the back.  It's pretty cool.  I think the kids will like this stroller.

Also, I got my box of goodies for the kids at the Feast.  I ordered a bunch of little different things (coloring/activity books, crayons, stickers, glow sticks [they love this!], bean bag animals, little toys, canvas totes, etc) from OrientalTrading.com so I (with the help of Jordan, Aubrey and Tephi and Aunties :) ) can assemble a bag of stuff and hand them out to the kiddos at the Feast.  I'm pretty excited!  We'll have quite a bit of baggage to bring over =P  I asked my brother Charlie and confirmed it with my dad how many kids are expected at this years' Feast and they said about 170.  Whoa!!!  That's a third of the population of Feast-goers.  I asked them to have the age cut-off at 11 or 12 years.  It went down to about 50-70.  That's a little bit more manageable, but still quite a bit.  I guess we'll just have to "prioritize" in case I don't have enough for everybody.  I don't think infants need a goody bag yet.  But we'll see.  This is something that Jeb and I have been wanting to do for the kids at the Feast (especially when we go visit the Philippines) -- to make their Feast a bit enjoyable.  When people (and kids) are happy... we are happy -- and that's what makes a Feast a best Feast ever for us.

[Note: Meryl or Mom, if you are reading this... we want this to be a little surprise for the kids, so let's just keep it hush for now, thanks. :)]

I've been tossing and turning for the last 4 hours trying to sleep.  I would fall in and out of sleep but I feel like I am just closing my eyes but not sleeping.  I feel restless and getting sick with the sniffles.  I think I am suffering from temporary and mild insomnia.  I think my restless nights' sleep started a few days ago.  I didn't sleep well last night either.  (Aubrey just woke up and walked in my office.  Yes, she climbed out of her crib [again!] and managed to open the not-so-closed door... for the hundredth time today.  She kept climbing down her crib after I put her to bed when I was putting her to bed earlier.)

I remember getting like this (mild insomnia) when I was pregnant yet with Aubrey and prior to the Feast 2 years ago (we were going to Colorado because we couldn't make it to the Philippines).  I too was suffering from exactly the same thing I am suffering right now.  I don't like it!!!  I think I have been staying up way too late lately, with trying to get some work done or staying up / putting kids to bed all night when they constantly wake up.  And yes, stress.  And now, I just can't seem to fall asleep. I need some remedies!!!!

Yes, I did try the counting sheep technique.  I could go on and on with it... no kidding!  Two years ago was just bad... I tried different sorts of stuff, from counting sheep, to warm bubble baths, warm milk, reading, drinking sleep tea, anything!... just to get me to sleep a decent night's sleep.  Nothing has helped and I did suffer being sick and it went through the Feast.  Hence, me being sick at the Feast and prior to the Feast.  I don't want to end up the same like that.  I know my parents / family from the Philippines reading this won't be too happy.

Anyway, Aubrey's on my lap playing with her bottle (I tried giving her a wam bottle of milk to help her go back to sleep).  She drank most of it and now, she's playing with putting the cap on and off the bottle.  I need to go and put her back to sleep and *try* to get some sleep... with whatever hours I have left before the kids are up again for the morning.

I haven't updated in a while (a whole week feels a long time for me).  It has been a very busy last few weeks for me.  Rob, Kim and Myra came up to visit last weekend, together with a church friend of the family.  It was a very fun weekend.  And then, I had some deadlines for work that I need to finish.  I have a few back log projects yet that I need to do, but it's been a little more relaxed this week.  Jeb is also going on a business trip again to Illinois this week.

As far as my Feast preparations are coming... it's coming together nicely, and slowly.  I am trying to get all the family requests out of the way so I can make sure I don't forget anything.

It is pretty neat that as soon as September came (right after Memorial day), the temperatures dropped that everyday feels like fall now.  Jeb has started to wear his fleece jacket going to work now since it has been cooler outside, he said.  I love this weather... Autumn/Fall is definitely my favorite season of the year.  This weather feels like Feast weather.  I am almost thinking of putting my autumn decoration stuff out now.  Maybe I will.  I am excited to put up all my fall stuff up and probably getting a few more items for decor.

This morning, Jordan came running into our bedroom saying, "mommy, wake up... wake up, mommy. Daddy, wake up... wake up. You guys have to get up because it is time to go to the Philippines!" He sure was super excited this morning urging us to get ready to go to the Philippines. We told him, it will be a few weeks yet before we go to the Philippines.

So, anyway Jeb and I came up with an idea -- we'd make a "Feast calendar" for him, paper chains. So Jordan and I spent an hour of our morning making a paper chain. Our countdown to our Philippines trip -- 36 days before D-Day. :) Jordan helped me tape the links together and he even made designs by stamping smiley faces on each paper. It was a fun little craft for him. Every day, when he gets up he gets to pull out one link from the chain until all the links are gone. He'll be able to see the chain get shorter and shorter... meaning us leaving gets closer and closer.

I think I may have found the kind of stroller that I want to get. I will see first though if I can find something like the one I found that is used. Otherwise, I'll just get it new at Amazon.com. I find it the cheapest at that online store and with free shipping! Yes, I spent most of my morning, reviewing and searching the net for strollers... reading reviews and finding the best kind of double stroller for my needs. I am looking into the kind of a stand-on tandem stroller.  I think this kind of stroller would work best for me since Jordan is almost 3 and doesn't necessarily want to sit in the stroller -- he'd rather walk.  So, when he gets tired of walking, he can stand or sit in the stoller, while I have Aubrey in the front.  Also, this kind is a little more compact and lighter than a regular two-seat stroller or the side by side ones -- especially when we travel to the Philippines, we'd like something compact that won't be too cumbersome for us or the flight attendants who have to stow the stroller away.

I did have a pretty slow and unproductive day today. Usually, this is the day that I get a lot of my house work done. However, I felt pretty miserable today. I have a runny nose and was sneezing all day. It must be a start of a cold. I must have got it from Aubrey. She was having a runny nose for a few days. I did take multivitamins to help with my body's immune system. Today didn't help either that it was slightly cooler outside. I felt chilly all day! I did however manage to do some "productive" things like make breakfast, fold a batch of laundry, help Jebby install our storm screen door in our back door and make dinner. Oh, and I "help" Jordan straighten up their bedroom. He and Aubrey left me a mess of toys. That's what normally happens when I just let them two play in their bedroom (while I was in the bedroom resting =P)

I just realized that I only have 39 days left before we have to leave for the Philippines for 3 weeks (to attend my brother Richard's wedding and the annual Feast of Tabernacles). I still haven't lost weight :( so I could at least look decent in my bridesmaid gown. I just keep gaining more. Oh wells... *sighs* I know it won't help either when I get there because I know I would be pigging out on Filipino food and food that I have been craving and can't get here in the US. Scary. I hope the heat and humidity (plus activities) will help keep my weight down or better yet lose some. :) I won't keep my hopes up, but I will be at least hopeful.

Anyway, I still have a few things that I need to do prior to the trip. Besides some gift shopping, I am looking into getting a double stroller for the trip. I will need to hit some stores to hunt for a good deal on a decent double-seat stroller in the next 4 weekends (those are the only times I can have the truck). I am not sure yet as to the kind I want. There are so many different kinds of styles. But hopefully I can find one that is decent enough without having to be too expensive. Also, I need find a luggage set for the trip. That won't be too hard to find as there are always deals on luggages, especially since the Summer season is almost over.

You might have read in some earlier posts that I wrote about Jordan going in for pictorials for Jeb's company. Well, I didn't have the chance to update about that or post a pic of it. So, here it is. This poster is for one of Jeb's company's big trade shows. In this picture, Jordan is modeling an IPOD earbud. Just click the picture to view full poster image (my 'pop-up' lightbox still isn't working).

I am excited. I just learned that they are making another Superman movie that is to be released in June of 2009. For most of the people that know me, I am a Superman fan. I loved the Superman series with Christopher Reeves so much that when I learned they were coming out with Superman Returns (2006), I was really anxious as to whether they can keep up with the "standard" that fans loved (like me!) especially with Christopher Reeves being Superman. Anyway, after I watched the movie, I was impressed -- they stuck with the "standard" and I thought the guy (Brandon Routh) who played as Superman did a really great job in portraying Superman and Clark Kent's role. I can not wait now to see the next Superman movie that is coming out in the summer of 2009. I just hope it is as good as the last one.

Oh, fun times... brings back childhood memories.

PS. I love Superman. :) (Of course, I love my hubby more than Superman. My hubby is Superman too ;) )

Today has been a very good and happy day, besides the fact that it is my birthday.  Actually this whole week has been really good.  I can't believe I am 28 years old!  I am getting old.  This morning, Jebby was teasing me by intentionally being irritating.  I didn't get much sleep the previous night (with the kids waking up on and off), so I was trying to sleep-in a little bit longer and Jebby was just irritating me by tickling me.  Later that day, he said that he was just seeing how different I would be now that I am 28.  I was definitely grumpy that morning with him... needless to say. I fell for his little trick/trap. :)  But he says, he still loves me.

Also, this morning I got to talk to my family back home in the Philippines and then later on in the afternoon, my sister Cheryl and I had quite the lenghty conversation on the phone just catching up and seeing how our lives has been.  It was a great opportunity to just "talk".  And I am glad we did.  We need those moments to just talk sometimes... it really does something to perk up your day and spirits.

Anyway, my hubby planned things to make my birthday special throughout the whole week.  It started last week Friday.  He and the kids got me greeting cards and my camera accessories (case and tripod) as a gift.  Wednesday night, he took me out (with Jason and Kelley) to go bowling.  He knew I always wanted to go bowling... so that was a special treat.  As soon as midnight struck (to be Aug 15)... he was the very first to sing to me and greet me happy birthday.  He definitely is sweet in his own way.

This post is going to concern mostly my Macaraeg family. Our Macaraeg clan family reunion has just came to an end. It was from August 3rd - 13th, held in Davao City, Philippines. Even though, my family wasn't there personally, I've been told that it was a great SUCCESS! I'm so glad. I did wish though that I was with them all to enjoy the family closeness and be able to see a lot of my Uncles, Aunties and cousins that I haven't seen since they were babies (speaking of my cousins -- some I haven't seen at all yet!) Hopefully someday soon, we can have a family gathering again where I could be there and able to see and meet my Macaraeg family (even just some of them) clan again.

I enjoyed viewing the reunion pictures so much. Thanks to my sister, Meryl for uploading the pictures so we can see it and feel like "part" of the reunion too. I'm really impressed at how much my cousins have grown since the last time I saw them. They are handsome young men and lovely ladies now. :) And the younger ones are just sooooo cute! I am also impressed at how much Davao City and its' tourist spots have improved and developed since I have lived there. By the way, you can view some pictures of the Macaraeg famiy reunion in Meryl's website.

I was surprised by Jeb, Jordan and Aubrey with a gift a week early for my birthday. They all got me a card and something that I have been wanting to get for my new digital camera. They got me a camera case and a compact travel tripod, that extends to 42 inches. It is pretty neat. My family is so sweet and thoughtful. :)

Anyway, today we had such beautiful weather, it was just in the low 70's! When I went out of the house with the kids at around 10:30 am, I was surprised at how chilly I got right away. However, once I got more into the sun, I felt warmer and more comfortable. We had a fun time being outside today.

Also, today... I got a few "unusual" presents (I believe this is Aubrey's doing). We had pizza last night and this morning, I find pizza... inside my flower vase (which absorbed all the water in the vase), and then I found some more pizza on the bathroom floor (like 2 slices!)! I was wondering where my pizza slices went.

Friday, Jordan got his very first 2-wheel bicycle (cycle -- 2 is bicycle already, duh) with training wheels. Also, in addition to the bike, he got a helmet and protective elbow pads. He was so happy and excited riding on a big boy bike. At first, I was teaching him how to get the bike going. He was so used with the little trikes that he goes back and forth with his pedalling. However, with a regular bike, if he pedals in reverse, that is his brake. So, I was getting frustrated that he would pedal and suddenly would pedal in reverse making the bike stop and he'd do it again and again. It sure was frustrating for the both of us. It is almost like teaching someone how to drive a stick shift for the first time. He would go then stop, go and stop, go and stop. Pretty frustrating, isn't it. Anyway, after a while Jordan got the hang of working the pedals on his new bike and today he is riding his bike sooo much better.  And loving it. :)

It is quite muggy and humid lately, because of the thunderstorms we have been getting. Yesterday and the previous nights were the loudest thunders I have heard in a very long time. I remembered the last time we had a real loud thunderstorm like that was when I was still pregnant with Jordan (2005). It was way into the morning already and it looked like it was still dawn or dusk, and the lightnings and thunder were just so loud and so long, it worried me a bit -- I was pregnant and alone. I wonder if that isn't the case why Jordan is a little frightened with thunders now. Anyways, it was still pretty aweome -- I love thunderstorms and lightning.

The thunderstorm we got from the previous night knocked off our power. It was so loud and strong that it rattled the whole house and the bolt of lightning was so bright, it felt like there was an explosion just next door. The kids didn't wake up to that one, but the loud thunders after that. Jordan came out crying and yelling for me 'cause he can't see anything being it pitch dark from no power. He eventually found his way to our bedroom and I had to get Aubrey too, she too was crying. When I got to her crib, she was standing in her crib with blanket in hand, crying, while pointing out the window. It is like she knows, something is not right. Well, I just picked her up and brought her to our room. We all huddled in our bed while listening to the rain and thunder, and watching the lightning so more, until everyone fell back to sleep.

That is the question. I have thought about this question long and hard. I have originally thought that I would wait until Aubrey is a little bit older before I have her ears pierced. Well, Jeb, Aubrey and I were at the mall today (Jordan is with Grandpa and Grandma Mortier and spending the night at their place today) to order Jeb and my sunglasses. Jeb just suddenly mentioned, why don't we have Aubrey's ears pierced? I thought for a moment and hesitated... I'd rather wait. But then, I thought again, it would be nice if Aubrey had earrings when she stands up for a flower girl at my brother Richard's wedding, and for some reason, Jeb really wanted her ears pierced. He said, she'll look pretty with earrings... just like her momma ;) (That's very sweet, Jebby!)

Anyway, after our business at Lenscrafters, we headed to Claire's. They had free ear piercing! So, I braved it (I was more nervous than Aubrey, it seems like). We picked out an earring for her. I wanted at least a 14K gold plated earing so her newly pierced ears won't get too irritated. I know my ears get quite irritated (so with both my sisters) when I wear cosmetic / fashion earrings -- so I want the real thing for her (just in case!). We sat on the chair, I had Aubrey on my lap so I can hold her and she won't get too scared. The lady started to wipe her ear lobes with cleaning wipes and she started to cry already! (it's like she knows what gonna happen). When the lady marked her points with a pen on her ears lobes, Aubrey again cried and almost screamed. Weird. She didn't even do anything with her ears yet. Anyway, Jeb and I held her and tried our best to pin her head against my chest so she won't move while the lady pierced Aubrey's ears with the ear piercing gun. Of course, Aubrey was crying the whole time. I remembered the pinching sensation when I had my own ears pierced when I was a little girl so I felt for Aubrey. After we were done with both ears, I tried to console and comfort her... she was just in tears. We gave her a sucker... still crying. We left the store, she instantly stopped and started sucking on her sucker and was happy again. I guess she doesn't like that store anymore =P It was funny, because just a little bit ago while Jebby was still at the eyeglasses place checking out, I was walking Aubrey around the mall (she was super hyper that day -- thanks to the apple juice I brought for her to drink), and stopped at Claire's and she had so much fun picking out purses and necklaces and hair pieces, etc that when we got back to Jebby, I was telling him how I think Aubrey has a new fave "shopping store"... Claire's.

On our way home from Appleton, just a few houses down from us, I noticed a play kitchen on the side of the curb with the sign "FREE" on it. I quickly told Jeb to stop and turn around so we can pick it up. I was thinking that Grandma might like to have a play kitchen for her toy room for the Grandkids. So, we picked up that kitchen.

The following day, Jeb gave me a call as soon as he got to work and told me that the house that we picked up the play kitchen from, he saw a toy work bench for free as well and asked me if it was still there to pick it up. Mom happened to be coming over my place that day and I asked her to see if the work bench was still there and if she can pick it up for me. Well, she did pick it up and with it were some other kids items as well. There was a tiny tool box with 3 flashlights in it (that works!), and a kiddie sleeping bag.

Today has been a very busy day for us. Actually, this whole week and weekend has been very busy... but fun. I'll start off with today and work my way backwards. This morning, I was asked if I could help my mom-in-law, Alice paint her guest bedroom downstairs. Of course, me liking painting projects and helping in general said yes. I got the kids dressed and ready and packed up for the day. I know it is going to be a long day. After stopping at a few places yet like rummage sales, Jeb's work to pick up the car seats and Starbucks -- we needed our "energy" drink ;), we finally made it to their place. By then, it was almost noon, and I made the kids some lunch. Anyway, Sabrina and I started painting while Mom watched and entertained the kids. I really like the color she picked for her bedroom. She was trying to pull a color from the bed quilt she has for the guest bed. It is somewhat like a slate blue-green color. I'm sure when she's done with the bedroom we'll take some pictures of it.

In the afternoon, while Aubrey was napping, Grandpa, Grandma and Jordan got to work in their yard. Jordan rode the lawn-tractor with Grandma hauling bailed grass from their lawn. This was an all-afternoon task and still they are not yet done. When Aubrey woke up, she too "helped" Grandpa and Grandma. By the time I was done painting, Jordan and Aubrey were filthy and had grass all over their faces and clothes. They look so cute. They were actually really helping -- hauling and unloading the bailed / cut grass. I helped for a little while too and even drove the lawn-mower-tractor twice to haul the grass while having both Jordan and Aubrey riding with me. :) After the grass is unloaded, Jordan and Aubrey would ride in the hauling bin. They absolutely loved riding the mower.

I am a little distressed right now. My clothes dryer is acting up. The other night I turned on my dryer 3 times just to dry my towels, where normally it would only take one time of 60 mins (or less) on high heat. Also, when I turn it on, sometimes, after a few seconds it would automatically turn off, so I have to turn it back on again. I don't know if the heating element is going out or something. I haven't attempted to dry anything today, but if it still does the same thing, we'll have someone look at it, soon.

Another annoying thing to my day is that I installed the latest update to my email program and now it is not working. The "installing" part just cycles and it never gets done and keeps giving me an error that I have to close the program and restart it again. But, I don't even have my program open! It just happened tonight and didn't want to bother Jeb with it yet, but I will need to ask for his help on this since I need my email program working pronto. =P I have work stuff I need to do yet and I just like my stuff working again!

The other night, I was a little upset with Jordan... he'll keep waking up and turning on the light to his bedroom and waking Aubrey up (he did this 2 or 3 times and I had to put my foot down). One time, he was even trying to climb into her crib. The kids have been really fussy this week.

Anyway, sorry... I just had to vent.

I just spent my entire morning until past 1pm (plus some more towards the late afternoon) weeding our garden. It's all weeded now, except for where the peas and beans row are. The weeds are so many (with all the rain we have gotten this past month), that most of the weeds are about a foot high. I know it's pretty sad. We should have weeded a long time ago, but we were just so busy and packed with things to do that the garden (and flower beds) weeding got pushed aside. Good thing, the weeds were easy to pull without much effort, and I think being it that long, there is more to "grab" and hold on to when pulling. All these weeding this morning left me pretty burnt though. The burnt spot doesn't hurt at all but I did get a really good tan (I am already tan to begin with!), you can definitely see the tan lines I got with the clothes I was wearing. I hope my skin tone will even out soon, and that it won't peel as bad. Also, all these weeding our in the hot sun left me extremely exhausted, thirsty and sore. I will sleep so good tonight (I hope!). :)

We got to sample the TurDucHen we got from ChoiceFilets.com for Sabbath dinner. It was good. Although, me being a big meat lover, I liked the Prime Rib roast and Prime Filet Mignon steaks a lot better ;) Ohhh, was it remarkably tender and delicious!

We are so bummed right now. We have fallen to be a victim of petty theft in our neighborhood. We usually don't lock our vehicle since we don't keep any valuables in the truck (well, except for our sunglasses). So this morning, Jeb found the truck's glove box and middle box doors opened and our sunglasses were gone and a few stuff scattered on the floor. Jeb's Rayban prescription sunglasses won't do them any good (even if they sell it -- because it is presciption!), but mine wasn't. It is just such a bummer, 'cause those sunglasses weren't cheap at all!

Anyway, I have been telling Jebby to lock our vehicle ever since the first time somebody "rummaged" through our truck and took our lose change. Basically, we think this petty theft is being done by someone in our neighborhood as this was not the first time someone went in our vehicle. The odd thing is that they only took a thing or two. The first time, they only took the lose change (but left all the other contents of the box scattered all over the floor), and then this second attempt, they only took the sunglasses. I am glad they didn't take anything more than that (or leave with the turck itself!). Our car cellphone charger is still there and some small change is still there, cd player/changer is still there. Weird.

The annoying thing though, I had my sunglasses in the house yesterday but then decided (even though I had the urge to just do it tomorrow) to put it back in its case in the truck. Oh wells, it is just material things but I am really upset of the act of theft. I'm sure God knows who does it and will deal with them in His own good time and way.

Today is a nice Sabbath. We had good messages, and our sermon topic was really interesting. Our minister talked about the other signers we don't hear often enough about, who signed the Declaration of Independence for the U.S., wherein they willingly gave up their wealth, fortune, lands, etc. to attain independence from the English, and in the end never got anything back from the governement (except for their freedom). He contrasted this with the analogy wherein Christs' disciples did the same thing. The disciples gave up their jobs and possessions to follow Christ (not knowing what is to become of them at the present), and morese since they see the goal and the reward in the future, which is eternal life and the Kingdom.

Anyway, after church, Mom, Dad and Sabrina took the grandkids (Jordan, Aubrey and Sophia) to visit their Great Grandparents, so Jeb and I, Jason and Kelley can have a little break from the kids and have a day to ourselves. That is very nice of them, since we definitely need this once in a while! We do love our kids to death and want to be with them all the time, but having a break from parenting once in a while is also very refreshing. Jason, Kelley, Mike, Jeb and I went out to lunch and had a great time just hanging out and conversing without having to fuss over kids. It is a little different not having the kids since we mom's are so used to fussing over them all the time, so even thought it was a little weird at first, we still enjoyed the time with each other.

RIght now, I am sooo wanting to take a little nap before we head out to Jason/Kelley''s and hang out again and have dessert over at their place before the the grandparents drop off the kids. So... I'll update and talk more later....

PS.  Belated Happy Birthday to my brother Danny, yesterday the 11th!  We pray for more years ahead of you and blessings in life.

Our summer has been really mild this year.  The temps have been between upper 60's to low 80's.  Who knows?  It might still pick up as the summer goes on.  We still have 3 months of Summer left.   It is nice that it is not too hot outside yet, and a lil' cooler in the evening to early mornings.  However, it is not so nice because our garden is growing very slowly.  Everything came to a stagnant phase for a while, and now with the mild weather, plants are just growing so slow.  We are not even sure if our watermelons will bear much fruit this year, unlike like last year.  Even some farmer's crops have been affected by the mild summer and excess rain in the previous weeks.  The rain and flooding was so bad that we had to replant our garden (esp the peas and beans) 3 times.  A lot of our seeds haven't come up yet.  They might have been washed out by the floods or rotted away by the water that stayed in the garden. Other than that, our garden has been growing nicely and slowly.  Some of our zucchini plants have flowers on them now and our pea plants (that have made it) have some baby peas on them now.

This might be the only time I am going to blog an advertisement.  This site is one of our clients' website and we are trying to help get his website up there on the Google (and other SE sites) rankings.  One of Google's SEO systems that works is by links.  The more links, the better your chances of climbing up that search list. 

You can digg up this story, and better yet, it would really help if you can create an account on digg and leave a comment on the article.  Also, please feel free to share the link (or blog about it) to as many of your blogging buddies.  Sorry, this is not a paid advertisement, just helping spread the word of a great choice filet website.   

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Hello everyone.  If you remember or have read my post about our Father's Day day, well I have finally uploaded the pictures into our Photo Gallery.  Plus, I have added a new section just for videos (in case you haven't known about it already).  I have placed some videos from that day too in the Videos section for 2008.

Have fun viewing!  

Sorry, I have not much to say today other than I have been very busy.  Today, one of our clients' websites went live.  Both us and our client is excited about this.  And then, I have been trying to get some deadlines for my other work projects done before Jeb leaves for business in Elgin, IL on Wednesaday (thru Friday).  I have 2 of the 3 projects done so far.  I am waiting for Jeb to come home so he can show me what he wanted me to do with the other project I need to do.  

I hope you alls have a good week! :)

The List Of Nine Words Of the Female Language That Men Need To Learn If They Wish To Survive.

Women have their own language. Men need to learn at least a part of this Foreign Tongue for survival. Every man alive on this planet should print the following list, memorize it, and keep it on their person at all times. (After reading it, I would say this is about 99% accurate.)

1. Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2. Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before doing some chore around the house.

3. Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with "nothing" usually end in "fine".

4. Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it, or you will pay.

5. Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6. That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7. Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says "Thanks a lot" - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say "you're welcome" ... that will bring on a "whatever").

8. Whatever: Is a women's non-profane way of saying @#!&% YOU!

9. Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What's wrong?" For the woman's response refer to # 3. Send this link to the men you know, to warn them about arguments they can avoid if they remember the terminology. Send this link to all the women you know to give them a good laugh, because they know it's true.

Ahhhh... it is so nice to have a nice, long hot shower once again.  Our power company finally turned on our gas line.  Not everyone's gas lines are on, unless they were not affected by the flooding or have their furnace / water heater repaired or replaced.  But anyway, it sure is nice to have hot water again.  Right now, I am doing a few loads of laundry.

Yesterday, I went to our post office to mail some passport paperwork but our local post office is temporarily closed due to the flooding.  They have a temporary make-shift post office at the Expo Center.  The lines were long and it tookme about 20 minutes to mail one thing.  Everyone seems to be nice and patient at that time though, which is nice.

Aubrey is finally getting more teeth in.  Her upper molars are coming in and I can see that she is experiencing a little discomfort, but I am glad she's getting more teeth.  Her first 6 teeth came in all at once when she was about 7 months and then nothing after that until now.

Jordan is almost all potty trained!  It seems like it a switch just turned on and now he is wanting to be potty-trained.  He tells us everytime he wants to go use the bathroom for No.1 or No.2.  I have been making him wear big boy underwear and yesterday, he was dry all day!  I still make him use a nighty underpants when he goes to bed just in case.  Night time potty training usually takes longer than day-time.  But we are so proud of him.  I plan to start Aubrey with potty training soon.  I heard that the next kids are easier to potty-train because they see their older siblings and wants to copy them.  Also, I hear that girls are easier to potty-train(?)  Hmm... well, we'll see when I start Aubrey with it.

I got to go now... still have a lot of things and tasks to tackle yet, starting with BREAKFAST. :)  Hope everyone has a good day.

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~Clarence Budington Kelland"

Father's Day has just passed. Jeb, the kids and I had a great time with his parents at Bay Beach. We had a picnic there and walked through the Wildnerness Nature preserve. The kids rode on a lot of rides, like an airplane, train, ladybugs, boat... and my 2-year old son, Jordan even got to ride a pony. Oh, was he ecstatic! He always wanted to ride a horse. He would ride his toy horses, even the itty-bitty ones -- and now he got to ride a REAL horse (well, a pony... but to him it is the real thing). I think that pony ride and riding the airplane MADE his day. Making our kids day (esp our son's day), made my husband's day. To him this is Father's Day.

Father's Day for my husband is all about having fun this day being a DAD. Our lives, especially dad's are so busy taking care of and providing for the family's day-to-day needs that seldom can he take the time to really enjoy and be a dad to his kids. Personally, we had been so busy with work, especially my husband, working a full-time job and running his own business--leaves very little time to play and have one-on-one time with our little ones. He decided to make his day for his kids. He planned out that we go out to Bay Beach which is mostly for kids and family.

There is a book that Jeb just ordered, which was recommended to him, in how to raise your son to be the man that he is. I was curious about the book so, I tied to get a glimpse of it over the internet and I thought it would be a really good book to read. The book is titled: "Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul" by John Eldredge. Just the few pages that I have read from the excerpts made me say, "this would be a really good book for my husband and all the father's and men out there to read--even for me to really get to know my man... and my son."

Ps.  I am not able to use my desktop computer right now.  I don't have a mouse and keyboard (gave it my parents-in-law, 'cause theirs broke).  I will have to upload my pictures and videos later on as soon as my new mouse and keyboard arrives this week.  Meanwhile, I am just using an old laptop (Jordan's laptop) which is VERY limited with programs and RAM/Memory.

I don't have any hot water. The city must have turned off the gas lines. This is my first time to take a cold shower in a very long time. I used to take cold showers all the time while I was still living in the Philippines, even in a colder climate place (like Eden). So, I should be used to it, right? Besides, it is warming up a little bit here too and been a lil' bit humid. At least we still have power (electricity). I heard in some places here in town, they even have no electricity... so I am thankful for the water -- even if it is not hot.

I had to give the kids their baths at Mom/Dad's today while we were over there for dinner. I don't think the kids can handle colder water yet. Hopefully, we get our heat back and be able to be spoiled with hot/warm water on tap again. :-p

This week has been such a busy week, I am soooo glad for the Sabbath. God knew when He created the Sabbath day for us to rest. We definitely need the break and reflect on Him. Have a Happy Sabbath everyone and please help pray for those people who are affected by the flooding and storms that just went through.

UPDATE:  I've uploaded the flooding pictures to my gallery.  I also added a little video of Jordan and Aubrey playing in our flooded backyard.  Just scroll down below to my previous post to watch it.

Today has been an interesting day to say the least.  We still don't have gas for our water heater/furnace.  It looks like our power company shut off the gas lines here in town because of the floodings.  There are other 5,000 homes in Fond du Lac that don't have gas right now.  Our power company didn't say as to when it might be back, but to just be patient.  Meanwhile I have been giving the kids their baths at Mom/Dad's.  The water is way too cold for them right now.  I am even cold and shiver when I take my shower.  I might end up picking up a teapot so I can boil water for baths and stuff.  That is one thing I don't have in the house yet, that I need.  Of course, I can always boil water in my other pots, but still... having a teapot is nice. :) 

We had a good Sabbath today, good messages, nice relaxing visit with the family and the weather was really nice out.  It is such a contrast from previous days, being overcast and gloomy with storm clouds.  Today, the sky was clear and very blue.  The temperatures were even up to the 80's!  It was such a beautiful day.  

Later in the afternoon, when we were all supposed to be napping, Jordan and Aubrey (more of Jordan, than Aubrey) did another mischievous act.  I woke up from screams of Aubrey and Jordan telling Aubrey not to yell / scream.  I went in their bedroom to see Aubrey covered in white stuff.  Mostly her face and her left face and eye.  She has sunblock lotion all over her hands and she was trying to wipe her face and eye with her already-covered-in-sunblock hand.  She kept rubbing her eye with it and crying at the same time.  It was such a pitiful sight.  I don't know how she got to have the sunblock, but Jordan was holding the bottle and had some in his hands too.  Did Jordan give her some?  i don't know.... but anyway, I tried my best to wash her up and rinse off the sunblock on her, especially her eyes.  I didn't have any hot water so Aubrey didn't like the cold water.  Jordan got punished and so he was crying, but also because he got the stuff in his eye too while rubbing his teary-eye.   Aubrey's left face was all red and irritated with a rash-like red patch because of too much sunscreen lotion.  I didn't take any pictures of the kids this time (though I thought about it!).  I was more concerned of getting the sunblock lotion out of Aubrey's eyes than silly picture-taking.

This is the most rain we have had in a long time.  Earlier this afternoon, the kids and I were 'camped out' in our hallway and bathroom, waiting for the thunderstorm and tornado warnings to pass.  It rained so much and so hard with thunders and lightnings -- it is awesome!

With all the rain of course, comes flooding.  Our backyard and garden is flooded again.  I shall say at least a good 4 inches of water.  After the storm subsided for awhile I went outside to check around.  I was curious because from my window in the office, I kept seeing cars drive by our road, and then they stop and then they drive backwards.  I saw maybe at least 5 cars do it.  I thought to myself... what crazy drivers.  Are they just out to have fun?

I went out to see what was going on, people are starting to flock down the intersection of Park and 7th Street (our street).  Wow, the entire Park/7th street is flooded up to waist deep.  I took some pictures but my video camera don't do much justice with taking pictures of it.  I did take some video footage though and hopefully you can see just how crazy-awesome it is.  It is like a little water park :)  We have our very own wading pool.  When cars and trucks drive by it makes quite the waves... Jordan loved it.  It is also funny to see quite a few people out there in their swimming trunk/suits.

{flv}Jordan_Aubrey_flooding{/flv}

Anyway, Jordan and Aubrey had a fun time being outside for a little while playing in our flooded backyard, until it rained again.  And it is still raining as I am typing this.  This is definitely the day you don't want to be out driving in the streets.

I love thunderstorms. :)  AND I love playing in the rain and puddles. :)  I am such a kid at heart yet.  They remind me of fun childhood memories. 

UPDATE:  I've got a little video uploaded in my other blogsite -- This is Life.  

It has been raining so much these past week with thunderstorms and all that my garden got a good 1-2 inches or water, and my pond was full to the top.  The water had receded now and all is good again.  But this is nothing compared to some other areas here in Wisconsin.  I heard from my dad-in-law that Wisconsin Dells' Lake Delton is gone.  Because of the storms, the water level rose so high the lake 'made' a new path and drained itself into the Wisconsin river.  Crazy.  The lake is gone, maybe only 10% of the water is left.  Here is a link to a news article.

That's sad.  Wisconsin Dells is a big summer and tourist spot for vacationists, as well as the site for our annual Feast of Tabernacles.  So much for the Duck tour rides, water shows (like the Tommy Bartlette shows), etc.  Click here to see pictures of the floodings and effects of the storm here in some parts of Wisconsin. 

On another topic, we had an odd request from a teenage boy this evening.  He came knocking at our door at about 11 at night and was asking if we had any cough medicine (specifically Robitussin) for his sick sister.  His parents were not home, he said.  I have a kids cough medicine called Triaminic.  But before we would give the medicine to him, we asked him to dial his parents number so we could ask them if it was okay.  Well, no one picked up in the other end so we didn't give him the medicine.  We didn't want to get in trouble or get him into trouble for giving cough medicines without parental approval.  Well, sometimes you never the real purpose of the cough medicines, especially for teenagers.  We didn't like to take any chances.

For some odd coincidence, just a week ago, while driving home we saw cops parked in front of a house, just a few houses down from ours.  A cop was talking to a teenage boy with his parents (assuming they were his parents) out in front of their house.  I don't want to suspect, but it looks like it was the same kid that came knocking at our door tonight.

I don't feel our neighborhood is safe anymore... anywhere.  We need to have God's kingdom and rule come soon.  Meanwhile, we just need to pray and keep asking God for protection and wisdom in regards to situations like this.  I am glad that Jeb was home.  I most probably wouldn't have answered the door.  I don't like answering the door to strangers especially late at night.  I get too scared and paranoid.  I know that God will and is watching over our household, though.

Good night and be safe everyone. 

My site has been quiet and lonely for weeks now.  It is time to update.  A lot has happened since my last post, obviously missing a whole month!

We had been busy doing a lot of home improvements.  I finally finished my little pond, a few weeks ago.  I spent a good 3-4 hours of digging my 7 x 9 x 1.5 ft hole, with a little help from my dear hub.  It has a shape of a bean (kidney or lima).  We planted some plants around it, installed our water fountain and pond lights.  It looks really nice now and we love the sound of the fountain -- so soothing.

We've also finished painting our bathroom (a Green Tea color) and tiny hallway (Brown Teepee, same as the color for our bedroom).  The only room left to paint is our bedroom.  I think we got a little tired from all the painting, but we'll get it done soon.  Our dining room also needs another coat of paint, so we'll have to do that yet.

Mid-May we had my parents and little sister, Meryl visit us for a whole week!  We had a great time with them and the kids loved being with them and getting to know their other grandparents (esp for Aubrey).  They are "lolo" and "lola" (Grandpa and Grandma in the Filipino dialect), but my parents prefer the kids calling them Grandma and Grandpa.  While they were here, we had a baby shower for Kimberly, so it was really nice to see the rest of the Mortier's again.  I wasn't able to take lots of pictures, but my sister Meryl did.  I will need to dl all the pictures she took while they were here and upload them to my gallery yet, but for now, you can see pictures of their visit at her websites' gallery.

When I get the time, I will have pictures uploaded of the home improvements, and of other things, like the kids and stuff.

My thoughts are wandering right now... even as I type my mind is racing on all the things I need to do (trying to keep a mental checklist).  Okay, now I am experiencing "word block" (or mental block as commonly known).  So I am going to publish this and try to check off the rest of my task from my mental to-do list.  I really should be writing down my to-do list.  In fact as soon as I get off my site, I will do just that.

To my readers who keep the Sabbath and Pentecost, hope you have had a good one.  And to the rest... have a great week. 

Here are the rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

 

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

Hmm... I would have been turning 18... Just started off with college, taking BS in Computer Science.  Life was a little rough, new place to live in, new school, new church... chaos but I lived, had fun and learned nevertheless.

2) What are five things on your to-do list for today?

Let's see...

- Finish doing laundry and folding

- Finish wrapping the Mother's Day little gifts (to be distributed at church on Saturday) 

- Clean the house

- Pick up groceries

- Make Friday night dinner 

3) What snacks do I enjoy?

Chips, Nuts, Fruit, Sandwiches

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire?

Donate some to the church to do the Work, pay off all outstanding debts, set up both my families' future... and my kids... invest.

5) Three Bad Habits

(1) Procrastinate (2) Not exercising as much, (3) Staying up too late and being lazy in the mornings

6) 5 places I have lived… (present to then)

Fond du Lac, WI USA

Eldorado, WI USA

Davao City, Philippines (Mindanao)

Silay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines (Visayas)

San Pedro, Laguna, Philippines (Luzon)

... been and lived all over the Philippines. 

7) 5 Jobs I have had

worked for a summer at a General Merchandising store/warehouse

assist at the UCG-Philippines office Mailing department

Computer Graphics designer

Co-Owner / Owner for Black Tie Solutions, LLC, Phlower Cards, LLC

Contractual Web Master for Hexagon Metrology, Inc.  

... and a full-time Mom

Six suckers, er people I want to know more about…

1 Cheryl

2 Meryl

3 Isis

4 Ann

5 Phou

... 

The more we clean, the messier it gets.

It sure feels that way.  These past few weeks was a series of home improvements, and non-stop cleaning and re-cleaning and re-organizing.  The house (or at least one part of it) would be clean one day and a total disaster the next.  Last Thursday, we tackled fixing up the office.  We painted the room, but in the process of moving the office furniture out of the room, Jeb accidentally broke our computer desks (It was a "U"-shaped desk).  So, now we have to get new desks, which wasn't bad because the old ones were practically falling apart on us.  We keep them from falling apart to hold our computers by drilling tons and tons of screws to hold the legs and top together.  I think the most work among all the rooms we've painted so far was the office.  There were tons of things to move out and when everything was moved out, the entire house was a catastrophe.  It looked like we were moving.  We had boxes all over the place (I placed books from bookshelves and stuff from our desks and drawers in boxes).  And the worst part of it was, that mess stayed in the house for a few days, until we got our office furniture delivered.  We figured, if we are going to go get new desks, might as well get a whole new office furniture.  We stopped in at our local Staples to see what office furniture they've got that we might like and we found one, but they don't have it on stock so we had to order it online.  We got the Staples Mission Collection furniture, which has a warm honey finish and slats sides design, and it looks really nice.  The furniture arrived mid-day Monday, all 11 big and heavy boxes of it and a tiny pack of another office supply.  Next day, Tuesday, another package came, my wireless network connector (my desk is on the other corner of the room and we didn't feel like running network cables, beside the fact that it is unsightly, so wireless network saves the day!) and more office supplies.  Anyhow, all day Monday, I was assembling furniture -- until 3 in the morning!  Well, Jeb did help when he came home from work.  It was getting ridiculously late, I assembled the last piece the next day.  So now, the office furniture is all in and we finally got a pretty new office.  I still have to go through all the stuff and put them back and re-roganize everything yet.

Everytime I tried to clean or organize one thing, a new mess appears.  It doesn't help when 2 curious and active kids "helps" or leave their messes behind.  One neat example, is how they got hold of my paper shredder and dumped the contents of shredded paper all over and behind the coach and floor.  It looks like Aubrey was the culprit this time.  I was in the office and I keep hearing Jordan say, "Aubrey, no... No, Aubrey... Don't".  I really didn't pay mind to it at first (as I was busy), but then after a while I came out to check what the fuss was all about.  And there, I saw Jordan holding the bin where the shredded paper goes and picking up all the shredded paper and trying so hard to put them back in the container... and here Aubrey keeps dumping it out or grabbing the bin from his hands.  Jordan was being a good boy by trying to stop her and cleaning up the mess.  When I was picking up the mess, Jordan kept handing me shredded paper... one tiny shred at a time.  He'd go, "Here Momma, here... Here's more, Momma..."  It was so cute! :)

Another time, earlier in the morning, Aubrey dropped our printer and shattered the power cord of the printer.  The prongs were all  broken off.  Now, we need to get a replacement part for it and it is just a bit annoying since I need to print stuff.  I just hope it gets here today 'cause I really, really need to use the printer.  We have another printer but the rollers on the print mechanism is a little messed up and we didn't have the time to fix it yet.  It always jams up when we print or don't feed right.  Much to say, it is a pain and annoying to use.  I have more waste than a decent print job.

I am just so glad all the boxes and styrofoam and wrapping are all out of the house!  Mom and Dad was nice enough to pick up the boxes and bring it out to their shed so Jason and Kelley can use it for packing when they move.  I bagged all the styrofoam and foam wrap and I came up with a total of 9 trash bags (all those are in the truck and going to the dump yard tomorrow on Jeb's way to work).  My poor dining and living rooms are such a mess.  The house is in such a state of catastrophe that you don't even want to come over! :-p  You can barely come in the front door without it hitting boxes and stuff and you tripping over boxes and office stuff.  But now that that is out of the way, I can walk through the living to the dining now without having to climb over boxes and get into organizing or sorting through all the office and its' junk again.  I would have an after picture already, but the house or any rooms of it aren't ready for such pictorials yet.  I, however did forget to take a before shot of the office before we moved the stuff and painted.  I will have to go through all my house pictures from the past and see if I have any pictures of the office with how it looked then.

I was so tired from last night yet, and my hands and back are so sore from lifting and screwing, that I went to bed at 8:30pm, after I put the kids to bed.  I got up at 12:30am because the kids woke up and I had to put them back to sleep.  It is 1:30am as of the moment, and I don't feel tired anymore... that I am actually thinking of tacking some house work.  I really NEED to clean up my kitchen.  I think I will work on that first and then the bathroom / laundry while I keep working some more on the office.  We'll see how far I can go before I feel like going back to bed. Laters...

P.S.  Oh, by the way... my dearest hubby turned 30 last Saturday!  I couldn't make him a cake that day (still DUB, and the Sabbath) so I made one for him on Sunday instead.  I made him a Black Forest cake, and it turned out great!  Hubby loved it so much... he kept sneaking in the fridge and eating more :)  Kimmy, if you are reading this, I don't know if I will have any left for you when you come in May if he keeps it up.  Black Forest cake is by far my hubby's and my favorite cake, that's why I made it.  I even dosed the cake and frosting with Kirsh/Kirshwasser cherry brandy.  Pictures and recipe of it will be up later, when I get to it.  One special thing he loved was the glass frame he got from the kids.  It is a personalized frame, with a poem etched in the glass and a picture of the kids.  It is now sitting proudly on his new desk. :)

Congratulations to all April celebrants:

• April 4 - my cousin, Patricia's birthday
• April 10 - my brother Richard's birthday; and our friend, Zach's 1st birthday
• April 12 - Aubrey's 1st birthday
• April 24 - my cousin, Gracielle's birthday
• April 26 - my dear Jebby's 30th birthday
• April 27 - Kimberly's 26th birthday

If I missed out anybody... Congratulations to you too!  

Now, I really need to go if I like to accomplish something and before I would feel like going back to bed already. 

P.P.S. Newsflash: Aubrey took a couple steps!!! 

 

This weekend was a lot better than last weekend.  It was a very busy and crazy week, however.  Friday night, we stayed home and had Sabrina come over for dinner.  All week last week was wet and raining.  It was so rainy that our backyard had spots where it is a bit flooded, and to my suprise after coming home from doing some errands, I saw a pair of ducks (male and female) in our backyard!  I have never seen ducks before in our backyard especially that we are in town.  So, that was a nice treat.  As soon as I got in the house, I called Jordan and showed him the ducks.  He liked looking at the ducks that up to now he still asks me where the ducks went as he tries to peek out the backdoor window.

Saturday was a full-day of activities.  In the morning was church, and then we had potluck after services.  We usually have potlucks every last weekend of the month, but this month we had it early to help get rid of all the leavening products that we might have yet.  Saturda, the 12th was also Aubrey's 1st birthday, so we had a little gathering of just family for her birthday.  It was nice, smiple and sweet.  Sweet, because we just had cake :)  I made her an Ice Cream Brownie layered cake (got the idea from here ).  It turned out pretty good.  I was hoping it would turn out okay.  I'll post the recipe in my recipe section later on.  She got a few gifts from her gma, gpa, aunts and uncles, cousins.  I'm sure she doesn't comprehend everything that's been going on but she did enjoy the attention and all the stuff she got.  Jordan enjoyed it more, I think.  He played with her balloons and helped Aubrey open some of her presents.  I have uploaded the pictures of the event in our gallery.

Sunday, we had a family portrait and Aubrey's 1st year pictures taken in the morning.  After that, we went to our local Home Depot to buy our paints and supplies.  We were going to paint some rooms in the house.  In the afternoon, we headed for a birthday party for our friend's 1st year old son.  Their son was born 2 days before Aubrey.  His mom and I had our rooms next to each other in the hospital room.  That was pretty cool.  Anyway, the party went well but we headed out early -- we had a mission to accomplish... paint the dining room!  We started painting about 5:30pm, and finished painting the dining room, with all the touch-ups, at 1:30 in the morning already.   We painted it a rust color, called Copper Mine (Behr paints), and left all our trims white.  It looks really nice now :)

Monday, we tackled the living room, we started a little later, and finished painting 2:30 am.  We painted the living room a brownish color, Cardamon (Behr paints).

Tuesday, kithcen was next.  The kitchen was a slate blue color, called Winter Lake (Behr paints).  We started later yet (we had to get the kids to bed and put all the furniture and stuff back in the living room and dining room).  We really like the colors we picked... I think it made all the woodwork in our kitchen just stand out and "pop".  Even in the other rooms, it made the furniture and sutff just stand out more.  We are so glad we painted.  Jeb's happy that I finally convinced him (with a lot of help from the HGTV home channel ;)) that we paint the walls.  We need to get the house as ready and presentable as it can be because Wednesday we were having guests over for dinner (and also before my parents and sister comes over in May).  We ended our painting job in the kitchen way too late -- 3 in the morning!  We have been doing an all-nighter work for 3 straight days and we are tired.

Here are our paint colors:

	Paint color for the dining room COPPER MINE
	Paint color for the living room CARDAMON
	Paint color for the kitchen WINTER LAKE
	Paint color for the office CREEK BEND
	Paint color for our bedroom BROWN TEEPEE

Jordan gave me (us) a scare that day (Tueday).  It was a nice day out so Jordan was outside playing and riding his bike.  I was keeping an eye on him the whole time, but somehow, while Jeb and I were putting some stuff back in the living room, I noticed that I haven't heard Jordan nor have him come in the house (and this is like maybe not even a whole 2 minutes).  I look out to check on him and I don't see him.  I called his name over and over (saying it louder and louder) and I was running all over like crazy looking for him.  I check the sidewalks, to the left and then the right... and then... I notice I see that familiar figure riding a bike down, 1 1/2 blocks away!  Jordan rode his bike a block and a half down the sidewalk... crossing over a street!!!  I was panicking.  I still had Aubrey in my arms and don't have any shoes on.  I told Jeb about it and he dashed out and ran to get Jordan... before he got to another block, crossing another street.  Jordan was so happy and proud of riding his bike.  He just learned and got the hang of working the pedals not too long ago.  He loves being outside now and riding his bike (well, Trike -- 3 wheels) all the time.  I am glad it is getting warmer here that he can actually be outside more often (with close supervision, of course).

Wednesday, I devoted the whole day to cleaning and cooking.  We are having Jeb's boss' family over.  They are moving to Illinois next week.  The dinner went well.  As requested from my hubby that I make Filipino dishes for the meals, I made chicken tinola, pancit and lumpia.  I'll put all the recipes in my recipe section later on.

Today, we are taking a break from painting.  But I still need to get the rest of the house and vacuuming (deleavening) done before Friday sunset (Passover).  Friday is the last day I need to get the house all ready for the Days of Unleavened Bread season.   We pray that everyone have a safe and meaningful Spring Holy Day season.

Jordan flooded our kitchen.  I was working in the office and went to check on the kids.  Aubrey's playing contently in the kids' own kitchen while Jordan was on top my kitchen counters by the sink and spraying water all over the kitchen with the sink hose.  So, literally, he flooded the floor.  It looked like he had a blast spraying at everything though.  When I tried to ask him what was he trying to do, he said that he just wanted to help wash Aubrey's bottles and the Bumbo seat (yea... right).  Well, he did spray the Bumbo seat down and everything else in the kitchen.  He did help me clean up the mess.  After we cleaned up all the water, he said... "Mommy, Mommy... look, the floor's all clean!"  He was so proud and happy.  So, I guess in way he helped me clean the kitchen floors (except in a very 'watery' way). 

I really was planning on mopping the kitchen floors this morning anyway, because earlier Jordan spilled orange juice on the floor and made the floor all sticky.  But still, he did a no-no when he climbed up my kitchen counter by the sink.  Those step-stools, I tell you... they're the culprit! lol

This week has been a very wet and rainy week.  It has been raining for the last 2 days and looks like it is starting to rain again.  Well, spring is definitely here!  Wait, I am looking at my weather forecast on the bottom right-hand of my screen and says that Saturday is supposed to snow.  Wow, we'll see about that.

PS.  Tomorrow is Aubrey's 1st Birthday!!! She's already got a present in the mail :) 

It feels like our enemy, Satan, is really getting our spirits down for the approaching Holy Days, which starts with Passover in 2 weeks.  After an afternoon nap on Saturday, I woke up with just a slight headache.  I thought it would just go away, and tried drinking water, eating a bit... maybe it is just a dehydration headache or hunger.  However, it kept on until we were at my parents-in-laws place to visit for the Sabbath.  It was getting worse that I had to take something for it so I can enjoy visiting and be able to witness Sabrina's baptism that evening.  Unfortunately, it didn't go away and I had to miss Sabrina's baptism :(.  I was in bed resting, 'cause I feel ready to puke if I tried moving around.  After a few hours of resting, I needed to get up since we needed to go home.  And I did throw up when I got up.   I hate getting headaches.  Headaches for me always lead to throwing up.

Is it just me or is there a force behind from discouraging/hindering me to be able to attend any "spiritual gathering" right now.  First the Sabbath service.  Jason was going to give his first sermonette, and from what I heard was excellent.  And then Dad his first full sermon, which was very good too.  Lastly, Sabrina's baptism -- all in one day! I am so bummed.  Well, it is not unusal and new to me that on times especially nearing Holy Days, Satan gets very active in discouraging and stressing out God's people with trials, from preparing for the Holy Day festivals (Passover, and Days of Unleavened Bread is the HD's coming up).  Well, I guess he managed to put a roadblock for us from being able to attend church today and for me, Sabrina's baptism, but he definitely hasn't dampen my spirit.  Let's just help in keep praying for one another, for their trials, especially in fighting off the enemy so we can keep God's Holy Days peacefully and meaningfully, feeling renewed and rejuvenated. 

We're home from our little get-away trip to Illinois.  We got home on Thursday afternoon.  I went to work with Jeb that Thursday morning so we check right away and not have to go back to the hotel.  It was actually nice being at work with Jeb because I can ask my questions right then and there and he'll tell me exactly what I need to do or needs to be done, instead of me trying to figure it out when I work from home.  I usually would just call or IM him when I had questions, which you could imagine would be a little challenging.  I learn through visual, so sometimes I need to see to know exactly what has to be done.  We worked until noon and then headed back home to Wisconsin.  A friend of ours invited us to have lunch when we got to Milwaukee.  When we got to Milwaukee it was about 2:30pm already.  We ate at an authentic Thai restuarant, called EE Sane (pronounced as "ee-son").  I really liked my food -- I ordered chicken curry (yellow curry; I didn't know that there are different colors and flavors to curry.  I only knew about the yellow one).  Jeb got his Kung Bao as hot as HOT can be... and it was HOT and SPICY the way he likes it, to the point he starts to sweat and his face turns all red.  I still can't believe that he, an american likes really spicy food.  I always had this idea that Americans mostly like and can handle bland food :-p (no offense).   So, if you are looking for authentic Thai food in Milwaukee, EE Sane's is the place to go.

Yesterday (Friday) was a bit stressful for me.  Even though I know what to expect coming back home to the daily grind and the kids, I just felt overwhelmed.  I think maybe it is because it was a Friday and lots of preparing to do before the Sabbath and unpacking and tidying up the house.  For one, the kids got up at 6am!  I shouldn't have stayed up late.  I went to bed at 12:30am watching Terminator, the Sarah Conner Chronicles with Jebby.  We watched 3 or 4 episodes (I don't remember anymore).  I have to say that we are starting to like that show.  I don't know if I can say that it can be at par with BSG (BattleStar Galactica--speaking of which, the first new episode for Season 4 was on Friday, can't wait to watch it after we DL it after sunset.  It is THE BEST Sci-Fi fictional-drama show out there, I'm hooked.), but the Terminator shows are quite interesting.  We like it.  [I am going to go off-track a little bit.]  I am also glad that the Smallville shows are starting to get back on track.  It was getting so lame and silly, we thought it was boring and annoying.  I think they are starting to wrap things up with Smallville (must be the last Season coming up).  I am so glad.  I've always liked the Smallville episodes until it got to be so stretched out, you can tell they are running out of plots.  But now that things are starting to shape up, it is fun and interesting to watch again. :)

Anyway, going back to my Friday.  After the kids were up at 6, I was still pretty much half-asleep, half awake.  I am definitely NOT a morning person.  And then, they didn't want to nap in the afternoon.  They were up so early that both of them took a morning nap at 10.  The downfall to that morning nap is that they didn't nap in the afternoon and that is the time I get most of my stuff done.  Remember the 'not a morning' person... so I usually get my stuff done in the afternoon.  After Jeb got home, he decided that he wanted to try and move some furniture around.  It was fine since it was a chance for me to vacuum under and behind the furnitures (in prep for the DUB).  So that was all good, but then we realized that the current way the furnitures are in the living room is the ONLY way that works for our living room setup.  Besides, I CAN NOT carry the aquarium (I tried), even just one side of it... nor the TV stand/center.  We'll have to clear it all out, and that will take A LOT of work and we didn't want to deal with it especially the Sabbath approaching.  Then, I had to prepare dinner, the kids were hungry and getting really fussy, Jeb had to pick up milk, and to top it all he doesn't feel well.  Needless to say, after cooking, feeding the kids, giving them their baths, putting them to bed (all by myself)... And after the kids were in bed... that was when we were able to have dinner, a VERY late dinner.  Oh, did I mention that I cut my thumb open with a glass frame when I was cleaning out the kids' bedroom? (it is just a little cut, so not to worry.  But the smaller cuts are more annoying than the bigger ones.  I can feel the skin opening and closing as I move it.) lol. Sorry for the description.

This morning, after my shower, I had to take care of Jordan.  He went No.2 all over himself.  Apparently, he was knocking on his bedroom door to let me know he had to go, while I was in the shower.  After we fed the kids their breakfast, got them ready for church, we were off to church (Jason was going to give his very first sermonette and Dad (Donn) his first full sermon).  As we drive down the higway, Jeb realized the fuel needle is below empty and there aren't any gas stations for the next 10 miles, so we do a U-turn in a NO U-turn area :) to go the nearest exit to get gas.  We figured going 1 mile back is better than 10 more miles to find one (cause we're sure we wouldn't have made it. When you have an 18-gallon tank and can put 22 gallons of gas in there, you know you are pretty much running with fumes/vapor. :-p).  Now, that the truck is all fueled up, we continue our drive to church in Omro.  Suddenly, we hear a cough and then retching.  Aubrey puked all over herself and her new car seat (first time she uses it... and she definitely broke it in).  I had no change of clothes for her, we decided to head back home and stay home from church today.  We would have never made it to church on time.  So we do another U-turn, in that same NO U-turn section we just went through when we had to get gas.

We get home... and I had to clean up the mess Aubrey made, on herself and on her seat.  Right now, it is sitting on the deck drying.  Hope it doesn't smell after it is dried.  

Talk about our Sabbath.  We are still enjoying the day though, and are in good spirits.  Hope you guys had and have a better Sabbath than us :)  I am hoping our Sunday is not as bad. :-p

I am in Illinois right now -- just Jeb and I.  Kelley offered to watch the kids for us at the last minute.  Jeb REALLY wants me to take Kelley on her offer.  He wants to have a one-on-one time with me finally and have a 'sort of' vacation-honeymoon (except on business) :-p with me.  So far it has been good.  I am missing the kids SO MUCH though, but I also know we both need this (even though Jeb says, I won't admit it).  I have stayed in our room all day today (while Jeb was at work), watching HGTV Start at Home channel learning about tips on house selling and how to make your house "saleable".  I can watch that channel/show all day and never get tired of it.  I keep thinking on ways and things to update my house and make it look more inviting and cozy.  I think it needs some "up-lift".  Also, today has been such a rainy day that I didn't feel like going out and walking to the nearby stores.  Maybe I will tomorrow, though... Well, I do need to do some contract work also... I am trying to populate and transfer a website into a new site, so I am transferring content, making sure the content layout looks nice, check and update links / images /documents, and pretty much everything from the old site needs to be on the new site.

Yesterday, we havent't been gone for half a day yet and Jeb gets me freaked out already.  Kelley called to return our call earlier to check up on the kids.  When Jeb took the call he had such a serious face and then just blurted out, "Jordan broke his finger".  We were having dinner and I just gasped and almost choked on my food.  He started laughing because he saw that I was starting to cry.  If he didn't say that he was joking and was laughing, I was so ready to grab my purse and coat, and head out the door and make the 3-hour drive home RIGHT away.  That was a good scare.  Up to now, he still chuckles at my expression and reaction at his comment.

Anyway, the kids are doing well according to Kelley.  Aubrey and Jordan actually slept through the night for her and was pretty easy to put to sleep.  I am so glad, as this is one of my worries, that the kids would miss me and won't sleep.  I really hope and pray that they will continue to do well for Kelley.

Today is Jeb's mom, Alice's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Momma.

Hello everyone!  Wow, it’s been more than a month since my last update!  We’ve been well, though extremely busy.  I have been working on some projects and putting hours for Hexagon (Jeb’s company), besides that we also have been busy with our own company, Black Tie Solutions.  Just recently, I have put up my e-commerce site for handmade pressed flower cards on handmade paper, (made by talented ladies in the Philippines), called PhlowerCards.  It still needs a little bit more work yet though, esp with the e-commerce side of it.  But if you are interested in ordering any of the cards, feel free to email me directly (or use the Contact Us form) and I can get the cards to you. 

There have been “talks” about us moving to Illinois.  Well, that is true but it looks like the move is postponed until sometime next year.  We were getting a bit excited of the prospect of moving this year, but it’s alright… another year is not too bad.  Besides, it will give us another year to get some loans out of the way, fix up the house so it can look nice when we put it in the market, and my parents-in-law can have us for another year.  They weren’t too anxious of us (and the grandkids) moving, even if we would be just a 3 hour drive away!  So, they are a little happier again.

In mid-May, my parents (and hopefully Meryl too – pray she gets a Visa) are planning to visit us here.  They would be here because of the annual GCE, and then after their visit with us here, they would proceed to Colorado to visit Cheryl and David as well.  We are really looking forward to that, and getting excited – 2 more months!

The kids are growing up so fast.  Aubrey is turning one year old in 2 weeks (April 12^th).  She is to the point now where she tries to walk.  She will hold on to stuff to get around, and if you hold her hands, she will walk with you.  However, I think she still prefers crawling; it gets her from point A to point B way faster!  I remember that Jordan didn’t start walking until he was 14 months old.  So, I won’t be surprised if Aubrey didn’t walk until later as well.  I wouldn’t mind her walking already, though.   She also loves playing with Jordan and doesn’t even mind when Jordan gets a little rough on her.  She just giggles and thinks it is fun.  It is so sweet to watch.

Jordan is as boy as a boy can ever get.  He’s been talking really big and long sentences now.  He can say and sing his ABC’s, count 1-10 (even up to 20 sometimes!); he knows some songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, “Itsy-Bitsy (Eency-Weency) Spider”,  “Old McDonald”; he also can somewhat say his days of the week (I made up a song for it).  I’ve started doing some “crafts” with him.  Nothing big or fancy… just pasting, and stamping, and sticking stickers and writing, painting… that sort of fun stuff.  He also likes “helping” me with almost everything.  He likes to “help” wash dishes, do the laundry, fold clothes and put them away, vacuum, sweep the floor, water the plants, spray the glass tables with glass cleaner and wiping them, he even likes to help me change Aubrey’s diaper.  He will “wipe” her and put her new diaper on.  I know he just likes to help, but sometimes he is more of being in the way than a help (it can be a little frustrating for me, and for him too, I'm sure).  Anywhow... he also has been ‘wanting’ more and more to do things on his own, like getting dressed, putting his underpants on, which is great!  He is being such a big boy now.

This coming Sunday, Jeb is taking me and kids to Illinois on a business trip.  He has to work in Elgin, IL that week (Mon-Thu), and he is taking us with.  He wants me to be able to see the area of where we would be moving eventually.  I thought that would be nice, so I am looking forward to that little family trip… sorta vacation but on business.

Well, it is getting late and I have been very tired today.  I will attempt to get some pictures up very soon!  For now, good night and have a great weekend. 

Okay... the "Daddy and Son" day was actually a conspiracy between my hubby, my sister, the WHOLE family (even Jebby's parents), and Jordan... BUT ME!!!

He went to Milwaukee to pick up my sister in the airport.  My sister, Cheryl was giving me a surprise visit for a whole week!  Funny, the dad and son day was mostly spent in the airport.  Jeb has misread my sisters' flight itinerary.  He thought her plane arrives at 10:45am, but actually that was the time she was leaving the Denver airport.  So, he and Jordan waited in the airport for 4+hours.  My hub said that Jordan was very good the whole time.  They walked around the airport and probly went up and down the escalators a dozen times.  He even got Jordan a little airplane souvenir.

All these time I thought they were actually somewhere having a grand 'ol time playing and such... they were in the airport.

When they arrived, my hubby hurriedly walked in the door and asked me to take Jordan out the truck 'cause he has to use the bathroom so bad.  Okay, I put my snow boots on and walked to the truck on Jordan's side to take him out of his car seat.  When I opened the door, I noticed the blanket that I placed in the truck (for emergencies like being stranded in the snow or such), was draped over something.  And then, it moved... and then a faced poke out the blanket.  That startled me, that I actually screamed!  I thought someone got in the truck while Jeb was away.  Enough to say, I took a good look at the "supposedly stranger tag-along" and it was my sister!.... and then I screamed again.  This time because I was so happy and excited.

I kinda had a hunch that something was up.  I kinda pieced pieced together of things I have heard/read and just the whole "strangeness" of it all.  My hubby was very vague of where he would be taking Jordan and every time I ask him what his plan was, it was a different answer.  Weeks ago, he kept insisting that I clean out the top bunkbed in the kids room in case his friend Mike would need a place to stay for the night while he was in town.  Before Jeb left for his "little outing" he asked me to bake a pie.  So, little things, like my other sister Meryl calling me that day and asking how I was and what I was doing and to call her back the next day.  And when I ask why... she just said, "to give her an update on how things are".  Okay, that is very weird... she never asks those questions or requests in any of our conversations before.  And then almost not that long after Meryl and I hang up, my mom calls me too.  Earlier, my mom-in-law calls me to and asked as to what I was doing... I said, I was tidying up the house and getting the most out of the time that I don't have Jordan to distract me.  Later that day, she calls me up again and says that we are having dinner at their house.   Weeks earlier, I was able to accidentally see a conference convo between my sister Cheryl and my mom about a supposedly "surprise visit", but I brushed the idea off when I confronted Jeb about the idea.  All the more I got suspiscious is when my sister messages him on chat.

Granted all these hunches of mine, I am impressed at how my hubby kept the surprise visit a secret from me for a a little more than a month.  Knowing him, I know he can't keep secrets very well... so I was totally shocked when he pulled this off.  It is a great surprise and worth it :)  Throughout the whole day, I was keeping my hunch a wish and hope that it would come true.  I guess that's what kept me motivated to tackle a lot of things that Sunday. 

It's been raining all morning, kinda nice actually (except for all the ice on the roads, streets and on everything!) In fact we have a Winter Weather Alert for our area. We're expecting some freezing rain, sleet and snow for the days' forecast. It says some parts of the country will have about 6-12 inches of snow. Well, so far I do not see any snow where I live... I don't know about later in the afternoon though. At least the temperatures are high enough for the water not to freeze that much. It is 33 deg right now.

Today, my dear hubby took our little boy for a "Dad & Son" day. They left about an hour and a half ago... I am not sure as to where he is taking him, but I'm sure it will be a special day for both of them. Dear hub says that they plan to be back by noon, and then later in the afternoon, he plans to take me out (with the kids maybe?). I again don't know where or anything what he plans for later on. I'm kinda growing anxious and excited at the same time.  Jeb says it'll be a family day today :)

Hubby just called and said that they just got down to Milwaukee. I guess that's where they were going, he didn't say where in Milwaukee though. He says that the traffic was really slow because of the bad icy roads. When he first told me to set this day for their "date", he said that he was planning to take Jordan to the Milwaukee Museum, but was planning on changing that plan. But I'll find out as soon as they get home. He says that he and the Jordan are already having fun. He says, they'll be home around 3pm because of the bad roads, but says it should mess his plan yet for tonight.

I'm glad they can have that time together... just him and Jordan. He plans to have a Dad & Son day once a month, if possible. I thought that would be a very great idea and a special thing for them both.

Anyway, I need to get going and take advantage of this day that I can get a lot done not having a little boy to attend to :-p My little girl is taking her morning nap now. I need to tackle the kitchen, laundry, maybe scrub the kitchen and bathroom floors... and Jebby asked me to bake him a pineapple pie. So, that is on my list for today... got to get going!

 

Just another blogsite: This is Life

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3:50 pm

The weather here has turned to be pretty nasty now.  It started snowing about 12:15pm... and it is still snowing, and foggy... and windy.  Jeb and Jordan are on their way home.  I just talked to Jeb a little bit ago and said they should be home within the next 40-45 minutes, if everything goes well (traffic, roads, etc.)  I hope and pray they get home safe.  I can just imagine how nasty the roads can be.  Snow/slush over ice/slush... yeah, bad.

I had quite a productive day today.  Got a few loads of laundry done (still folding the last load), tidied up the kitchen, picked up all around the house, vacuumed, baked my pie... Yes, it's been a good fulfilling day.  I love the feeling when you see that you accomplished something, even as small as tidying up the house.  And Aubrey has been such a good girl for me. 

Looks like hubby just got home... laters.

I'm loving it!  We have had TONS of snow as of these past weeks.  Last week we had AT LEAST a foot of snow and today we had another 8 inches at least, and then it is forecasted that we'll have another 5-10" (inches) of snow for Saturday night thru Sunday.  My hub says that we haven't had a winter with this much snow in almost 20 years.  I guess the weather comes in cycles too.  Anyway, the kids and I had fun shoveling snow today.  It's so cute when Jordan tries to walk through the snow and then flops into the snow... the snow is almost half his height.  We took some pictures of the snow and all, which I hope to upload it later.  (Which I know I have been slacking on the pictures updates as well--been really busy lately.)

I do love the snow but I don't care much for when the temperature is below zero, which has been lately! 

{avi}snowy_day{/avi}

Well, I know some people have been asking why I haven't updated in a while (I'm trying to spend less time on the computer and more time playing with the kids.  And if I am on the computer, I need to do work).  So, here's a quick, random post for you.  I'll try my best to give you a more detailed update soon!

PS.  By the way, I just want to let you know that I am going to be an aunt three times this year.  My sister-in-law's Kimberly ( a girl, around June) and Lora (around October) are expecting a baby, and then my sister, Cheryl is expected to have her baby around October as well.  The extended family is growing!!! :)

I  read this in an email sent to me... boy I didn't know these helpful tips (unless you guys know about these tips already and I'm the only one who doesn't (!) ), but now I do!  And I want to share it with you.  I plan to try this out... do leave me a comment on how these stuff worked for you too!

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DID YOU KNOW?

• Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.
• Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
• Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!
• Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
• Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
• To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich, add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
• For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful mint frosting.
• Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
• Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simple chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

1. Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

2. Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, and keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

3. Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

4. Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

5. Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants; work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

6. Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

7. No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

8. Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

9. Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge, add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

10. Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! – Static is gone.

11. Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butters, and watch how easily it comes right out.

12. Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

13. Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.

14. Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair...

15. Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2 with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

16. Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

17. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like.  Well, the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free -- that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, and well t his stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share! Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right Thru the screen! There wasn't any pudding at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

Source: http://boonelakeassociation.org/DidYouKnow.htm

An interesting start to a new year...

"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, ..." (Proverbs 22:15).

I put Jordan and Aubrey down for their naps this afternoon, like normal routine.  Well, Jordan is still slightly awake and so is Aubrey but they fall asleep pretty easily.  I go ahead and make my apple pie in the kitchen.  I'm making my pie crust when I smell something very familiar... and then later on, Aubrey starts crying.

Jeb comes in the kitchen and I ask him to go check on Aubrey to see why she's crying.  He walks in their bedroom and calls for me... I look in the bedroom and see Jordan in his bed and Aubrey in her crib... nothing wrong (I thought).  But then, Jeb told me to look at Aubrey... and so I saw it... and the smell that I said was very familiar?... it sure was very strong in their bedroom.  It so happened that Jordan got in Aubrey's crib and was "massaging" her hair with Vicks Babyrub (probly thinking it needed a good styling ;) lol).  Yup, the whole container on her hair (and that container was pretty full yet).  He got it all over her face, and clothes too, even on himself. 

So, for 45 minutes to almost an hour, we bathed Jordan and washed Aubrey's hair over and over, and over, and over again.  But the grease of the petroleum jelly won't come off.  We used baby shampoo, regular shampoo... and then Jeb went on the internet to search for a remedy.  Luckily, he found one! (Apparently some 3 year-old dumped a whole container of petroleum jelly on a 9-month old baby -- so this is not an unusual incident).  It said to pat cornstarch on the hair to absorb the grease and leave it on for a few minutes and then rinse it with the baby shampoo mixed with baking soda, and repeat if necessary.  I did this... twice.  I even had her napping with cornstarch on her hair which I covered her head with a cap, and still after this her hair is still greasy.  I washed her hair again tonight with baby shampoo, and then regular shampoo... even put lemon juice on it (I can tell she is getting tired of having her hair washed so many times today) but still the grease won't come off completely.

 

Finally, Jeb suggested to wash it with dishsoap (they claim it to be the grease stripper in commercials, right?) so we washed her hair with Dawn Dishwashing soap with bleach alternative.  It did the trick.  Her hair is not completely grease-free yet, but at least it is so much better than it was.  Maybe, just one or two more of hair washings, her hair will be all good again.

So, if you encounter this incident (or similar) with your little toddlers... think Dishsoap. lol  But, I'm sure there are better alternatives to that remedy but for now, we were desperate so Dishsoap was the solution we could think of.  Better yet, keep those stuff away from reach of toddlers!  A very valuable lesson to remember.

Things have been pretty busy since the last time I've updated.  My family is healthy again, well... for the exception of Aubrey.  I am still trying to figure out what's wrong with her.  Ever since Sunday night she's been puking, though she doesn't look sick at all... she'll be throwing up every now and then.  At first, I thought she has the tummy bug again (but she seems to do fine at some feedings), and then I think she is allergic to green beans ('cause I noticed she'd puke whenever i fed her that).  But then, she'd still vomit even though I didn't feed her green beans anymore.  Now, we are thinking she might be lactose-intolerant... but can an infant get lactose-intolerant later in life?  Or, maybe she's allergic to rice cereal... but she's been doing good with organic rice cereal and oatmeal since she was 5 months old. *sighs*  We're still trying to narrow it down, by feeding her one thing at a time and see what happens.  She'll just have breastmilk for a day (hope she doesn't get too fussy 'cause I know I can't produce enough for her demands), and then, formula, the oatmeal cereal, rice cereal, star puffs... and so on.  The only new thing that I have introduced lately was the Gerber star puffs.  However, she's eaten it a few days ago without having problems.  I really hope we can figure this one out or better yet, she'll just get better.  We'll really appreciate if you can help pray that she gets better.  It's just not fun having to see her puke all the time, and not know why. :(

Anyhow, on a brighter side of things... she's been crawling for a about a week now.  Well, at least scoot on her belly by picking her legs and butt up and then lounge(sp?) forward.  She can get around pretty quick too.  I do need to keep an eye on her now.  She can be on all fours too, rocks back and forth and sometimes she can get in a step or two in the crawl position.   She's been doing really good progress with it too.  Also, she said her first word on Saturday.  She said "dada".  Jeb is sooo estatic that it was his name that she said first.  He is happy and proud... ;)  And, among the other new things she's been doing is waving, and she'd pick her arms up to be carried.  It's so cute. :)  

Well, I'll have to go to bed now... I'm pretty tired and I'll try to update more later.  Take care and have a good week, everyone. 

My family is stricken with this awful 24-hour tummy bug/flu.  I really hope it is a 24-hour deal.  It's not fun seeing your kid throw up everything he eats and can't put down anything.

I was gone for the weekend (with Aubrey) to a Women's conference in Minnesota.  The theme for this years' conference was "Women in the Potters Hand".  It was nice and we have a good time.  I enjoyed the clay molding activity.  However, I wasn't feeling well Sunday morning.  I had a headache and threw up (more of a tired headache from 2 nights of no sleep).  I missed out on 2 hours of meetings.

That Sunday night on our way home, Aubrey started puking... at first she didn't want to take anything.  I was surprised that she didn't want to eat much.  She lost her appetite for 2 days and puking and just got better today.  She had her appetite back and seems to be doing fine.  But Jordan got the bug.  He's been throwing up all night last night, up to 10 times and once this morning.  He just couldn't keep anything down at all.  And I feel for him whenever he asks me for a drink or something.  I am hoping he'll get better later in the afternoon and he can start holding food down.  I'm going to attempt to give him some grape juice today (I heard it is less-irritating for the tummy).

Well, other than the conference for the weekend and coming home sick, things are well.  Oh, and a happy news (for me at least) is that my sister Cheryl is finally here in the US.  We hope to visit soon or them visit us.  I really, really, REALLY am aching to see her.

Okay, I better get going and take care and nurse my sick family back to health (including myself!).

I have just updated my photo albums.  I know it's been a while... I have been really busy!

Next weekend, I am going to the Women's conference in the Twin Cities with a few other women from church and my mom-in-law and sis-in-law.  This is going to be my first time to leave both kids behind with Jeb overnight (if I ever plan to leave Aubrey behind).  I'm still debating whether I should take her or not... or better yet, if I should really go to the conference of not.  Jeb says I should go... get my time off from the kids.  Oh wells, we'll see.

Anyway, to make life easier for my viewers, I'll put the links here to my updated albums.

• Jordan's bday pictures
• Jordan's 23-month pictures
• Aubrey's 6 month pictures
• Jordan and Aubrey pictures
• Jordan's 2nd Fall (Raking leaves) pictures 

Last Sunday, the 28th marked Jordan's 2nd birthday.  We all had a fun day.  I prepared a little special "family" celebration for him.  I had Winnie the Pooh theme for his decorations and stuff.  Jordan and I made some cupcakes, Banana-bread cupcakes and Dark Chocolate cupcakes.  Jebby helped in decorating the cupcakes.  I love that they have the colored icing in a tube that you can just decorate right away!  Anyway, he got quite a few gifts and guests as well.  Among his guests are, our friend Phou, Sabrina, Gpa & Gma Mortier, Mike, Jason, Kelley & Sophia.  Jordan got lots of cars and toys.  We got him a riding stick horse that makes a galloping and whinnying sound (after hours and countless times going through the toy section, figuring out what would be the perfect toy for a two-year old Jordan), and also we got him Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore plush stuffed toy.  He loves his Pooh friends the best... and of course his balloons.  He also got some books, a top spinny toy, a trike, a paddle-and-ball, Pooh outfit, kaledeiscope, and 2 cans of Wasabi peas (oh believe me, he LOVES wasabi peas -- I know he is crazy!)  I haven't seen my little man so happy and excited all at once for nothing than simple balloons (and maybe all the attention).

I have some videos of his bday uploaded in my Multiply account (though it is accessible by member with account only).  I'll see if I can get the videos uploaded here or some other place.  The pictures... I'm still working on them.  I have tons of them and I'm trying to go through them and picking the best ones.  Also, I have pictures from Phou's camera that is in raw files.  I am still converting all 200+ picutures of it into JPEG's.  I wish there is an easier way to convert the pictures into JPEG without having to open them and saving them as JPEG one at a time with Photoshop.  I'll hope to get them up tomorrow or by the end of the week, if possible. 

This afternoon, while Jeb and Aubrey were in for their Doctor's appointment, I took Jordan for a walk and played in our nearby playground.  After that, we came home and Jordan and I raked the leaves off our front yard.  Oh, Jordan had fun raking those leaves.  He just wants and keeps asking me that he wants to help... so I'd give him the rake and he'll just rake away even if he's raking the leaves the opposite way that it should go.  I end up raking all the leaves back into the pile again.  It was still fun watching him and taking pictures and videos of it.

It is amazing at how much difference a one-year old is from a two-year old.  Big difference.  Jordan has been talking so well now that you can understand him.  And he learns so fast!  He is so fun.  The only challenge for me is that his bedtime schedule seemed to disappear.  We usually can put him to bed by 730 or 8pm at the latest for his bedtime and he'll just lay in bed until he falls asleep.  Now, it has been a battle.  He won't be in bed until almost 10 or sometimes past 10pm.  He'll make up ALL excuses that his little mind can think of -- from wanting more milk, to hungry, he needs to go pee-pee (even though he will not go when I put him on his potty), he wants to be read another book, he wants to be rocked and if I hold and rock him, he wants to go back to his bed, he wants his monkey (no the other monkey too, the blue one), he wants his dog, he wants his bear, he wants daddy and if daddy has him, he wants momma; he wants Aubrey and if Aubrey is crying, he'll say "Aubrey's crying"... and so on... (all this in just one night of putting him to bed).   And the worse part is, Aubrey is the same way (for the staying up till 10 part)... and they'd be waking each other up with their cries.  So, I've been overwhelmed with them and their sleeping schedule as of late.  I also can tell that he is a little jealous of Aubrey, or at least he'll try to get my attention back.  Whatever I'd be doing with Aubrey he'd want me to do with him.  He likes to be carried A LOT lately.  He's never been like this before.  He'd drink Aubrey's bottle, he wants to be rocked and put to sleep, sit on my lap (even if I already have Aubrey on my lap).  So this is a new thing for me and I'm trying to find middle ground here... that I don't show one or the other favor.  I know that this also has to be a phase... sooner or later, he'll grow out of it.  But I know that I have to enjoy his little boyhood while it is still here... he grows up soooo fast.  I do love my little man so much, he is a wonderful addition and blessing to the family.

Yesterday, we decided to take Jordan to the Little Farmer orchard.  It was his advance birthday treat.  We were supposed to take him there on his birthday next Sunday (the 28th), but I was looking at the weather forecast and it said that the 28th would be cold and rainy (temps in the 50's).  Yesterday, Sunday was perfect.  The weather was sunny and breezy with some cloudiness.  The temperatures were supposed to be in the upper 60's and 71 as highest, but it turned out that it warmed up even more... up to the 80's.  It was such a perfect day that the place was packed!  I have never seen so many people, kids  and cars in that place ever (being just an orchard).  They made their place really neat... one that people would like to go to over and over and bring their family with (just not to buy apples).  They have a little "feed and pet" the animals (sheep, goat, ducks, farm animals mostly), and they have a play area for kids with hay mazes, teepees, swings, trikes you can ride around on, hay-rides and of course their famous caramelled apples.  It seemed like everyone who had kids decided to take their kids or grandkids to the Little Farmer.  One precipating factor is that there wasn't a Green Bay Packer game that day so the guys didn't mind not having to the watch the football game, I guess.

Anyway, Jordan had so much fun!  I wasn't sure if Jordan would have fun or not, but he did.  He loved going on the swings, the "horsie" swing, going through (and up and down) the hay maze and tunnels, riding the trikes that was around, trying to pick up and roll the pumpkins, looking at the sheep, goat, cattle and just running around and looking at the other kids.  We weren't able to go on the hay-ride or get caramelled-apples... the lines were SUPER long!   Bummer.  'Guess we'll just have to do it some other time.

By the way, Aubrey?... she slept most of the time.  Jeb was watching her while I was playing with Jordan.  We all had fun.  I'll have pictures uploaded in a little bit.

Here's the link to our trip to the Little Farmer pictures.

October 9th marked our 4th anniversary.  Much has happened in our lives in the past 4 years.  It seems that only yesterday Laurie and I were planning our wedding and waiting on her visa to come through.  Within these past 4 years we have had 2 beautiful children, finished remodeling and own our own home, have had to get a new family vehicle, a great job for me which also contracts work to Laurie, and a love for one another that grows strong every day.

All these things would not be possible if it were not for God being the center of our lives, and His blessings that He has given us.  Without God, I never would have met and eventually married my beautiful wife.  As undeserving as I am of God's love and blessings, He has given me a wife that is more than I could have ever imagined.  A virtuous woman that is as much a spiritual helper as a physical helper.  I thank God for her every day of my life.

I received a very special gift from her this year.  She gave me a small, heart shaped box which contained 48 origami butterflies.  Each butterfly contained one of the many reasons that she loves me.  Being a guy, I don't cry much, but this brought a tear to my eye.  She also gave me one of our favorite wedding photos in a nice small frame for my office desk.  I love my wife so much, and her gift to me was a very special way of showing her love for me.  Being a guy, my gift to her was of a more practical nature, though I felt it was still intimate in it's own way.  I bought her a warm, soft, knit hat, gloves, scarf set.  It was something she has wanted for a while now, and it represented how I wanted to keep her warm physically as much as in love.

I had the pleasure of treating my wife out not once, but twice for our anniversary, be it a week early, to two very nice restaurants for dinner.  For the first dinner, we went to Fields at the Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells during the Feast of Tabernacles, and for the second dinner we went to Sarento's, also in Wisconsin Dells during the Feast.  They were very enjoyable evenings for just the two of us.  As much as we love our children, it's important to get away once in a while to have "Us" time.  My parents watched the children for us while we enjoyed the company of one another over a nice glass of wine and a delicious meal.

All and all, it was a very refreshing and blessed 4th anniversary.  I could not and would not want to live my life without my wonderful, beautiful, and amazing wife, Laurie Lynn, by my side.  Thank you God with all my heart, and thank you Laurie for being my wife, my helper, my best friend, my lover, my soul-mate.

Being in marketing, and specifically web development, my career requires a level of creativity.  Unfortunately, depending on the industry you do your web work for, that creativity can be somewhat stifled.  Fortunately for me, working in a marketing department allows me to flex my creative muscles when the opportunity arises.  Having a great boss with a good budget also helps because it also lets us get the tools we need and want in order to do our jobs better.  This is definately true if you cant afford those tools on your own personal budget.

This week, thanks to my boss and the marketing deparmets budget, I was able to pick up a Wacom Intuos3 4x6 graphics pad for my computer.  What is this?  In a nutshell, this tool allows me to draw directly into my computer with the use of a graphich program such as Photoshop.  These awesome tools come in different sizes, and the price goes up quickly depending on the size.  I opted for the 4x6 instead of a large pad b/c I wanted portability in order to easily transport the pad between home and work.  I also wanted a pad that wouldn’t take up all the room on my actual desktop and not leave any room for my keyboard or monitor.  The 4x6 is decent sized pad, and it seems to be just right for my personal tastes.  I would rather draw in a smaler area than have to move my hand all over the pad in order to draw.

I have a first generation Wacom Graphire 4x5 pad at home which I plan to send to my sister-in-law Meryl because I know she would be able to do wonders w/ it.  She is a very creative person, and this would definitely allow her to flex her creativity.  I'm looking forward to seeing what she can do with it.

These graphic pads allow you to draw and apply actually pressure to the brushes in your design programs such as Photoshop.  The Intuos3 has 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity and the Graphire has 512 levels.  This means you could push harder or lighter for a heaver or lighter line, just as you would with a pencil or paint brush.  It really allows you to draw fine detail and make more realistic digital artwork, or even touch up photos with scalpel precision.

The look and feel of both pads is slightly different as well.  The Graphire is an entry level pad, while the Intuos3 is a professional level pad.  Regardless, you can accomplish the same results with both pads.  If you never use the Intuos3, you'd never know the difference, but you would definitely notice a difference if you had.  After using the Intuos3 I really don't care to use the Graphire, even though the Graphire is a great pad in and of itself.  Though they are both quality Wacom products, the Intuos3 is by far the superior of the two pads.

It takes a little practice and getting used to use, due to the fact that you are looking at a computer screen, while your hand is drawing on a pad.  If you can use a mouse, you can use the pad; however, if you like to write or draw, this actually feels very natural to use, minus the fact that your looking at a computer screen instead of where you are drawing.  I was playing around with the Intuos3 and freehand drew a monarch butterfly based on the July/August 2007 issue of the Good News magazine that I subscribe to.  Click on the images below for the full size graphic.

I still need a lot of practice and time to become proficient with the pad and allow my mental muscles to flex.  I think that this is a great start however, and look forward to drawing more.  In order to help this process along, I'm starting a pet project that I hope will help me, as well as other in their creative journey.  When I get to the point of going live with the project, I'll provide more details.

Jordan is fast approaching his second birthday next month and yes, parenting the "two's" is definitely challenging.  There are times that I am almost to my wits end with him.  He is now testing us, and testing his bounderies... seeing if Mommy or Daddy will eventually give in.  I don't remember many times that we actually give in... at least we try not to.  He definitely can be a sassy little boy too, especially when he wants your attention.  Although, as with every little challenge, there is joy in this fun-tastic little two year old of mine.  It is so amazing at the rate of which he learns -- from day to day.  He is being a lot verbal and tries to construct a few words in a sentence.  He'll imitate what you say... and what you do!  This is the time where Jeb and I are very careful of what we do and say around him, because he picks up little things pretty quick.  He knows his animals (and their sounds) pretty good, parts of his body, names and people in the family, his colors, and can distinguish a lot of objects and things.  He is a fun and smart little boy.  He helps me clean the house, picks up his toys and puts them back where it belongs, and entertains Aubrey quite a bit.

One sweet thing that he does is about every 4:00; 4:45 am he goes to our bedroom and sleeps with us in our bed, but as soon as he is asleep, I put him back in his own bed so he can sleep better and longer (so would I! )  Anyway, every single time that he is awake while Jeb is getting ready for work... he watches his daddy get ready for work and follows him wherever he goes.  He even walks his daddy to the door and after Jeb is out of the house, Jordan would run back to our bedroom and go by one of our windows and go under the blinds and waits for Jeb's truck to pull out of the driveway.  As soon as he sees the truck pulling out... he goes, "Bye... bye daddy... bye!" while waving his little hand.  It is soooo sweet!  I love it!

We are still working on his potty-training, and trying to wean him off his finger sucking.  So far, none has been achieved yet   The potty-training is actually a slow process for me.  I can't imagine when I read or hear of parents who has potty-trained their kids in one day (good for them)!  I don't know how they do it but seems impossible for me.  I have been going through the potty-training thing with him since he was 10 months old.  It has been a hit and miss with Jordan and I.  Sometimes, he would tell me that he needs to go, other times, he tells me after he went already, and more times that he doesn't say anything at all.  He doesn't go to the bathroom on his own yet to sit on his potty (even though he has his own potty seat in the bathroom).  I still sit him and would remind and ask him if he needed to go potty.  He always says "no" (of course, I don't think he really gets the concept of yes and no, too good yet).  Any suggestions and experience from other parents out there about potty-training would be very much appreciated.  Anyhow, the other thing is his finger sucking.  We tried almost everything... from mittens, to band-aids, nail-biting and thumb-sucking stuff, hot sauce (he actually likes the thumb-sucking paint stuff and hot sauce! -- unbelievable!)  I don't know... it is just so much a part of him now.  It is how he comforts himself, especially when he wants to calm down or sleep.  I guess we'll just have to keep working on him... I don't know if all the things that we are trying to do / teach (with) him can be overwhelming for a little boy.  Again, any comments and suggestions?

Aubrey now... she's getting bigger.  She doesn't exactly look big, but she does look long.  She's been rolling back and forth now (back to belly, belly to back), grasping and playing with her toys.  She'll make bubbles and blow with her drool, as if trying to carry a conversation with you.  She'll stare at your face and actually "study" you.  She tries to go on all fours (as likened to a crawling position), but she'll just slip back to being flat on her belly.  She is still a faucet (drooler).  Oh you won't believe how much she can soak her shirt or blanket or whatever thing is by her mouth.  Lately, she has been hungry for more food.  I can't cope with just breastfeeding alone that I started supplementing with formula.  And recently, I also started her into solids.  She didn't take solids too good at first, even up to now.  It is not that she needed more food to sleep through the night, I've got no problem with that, 'cause she has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 and a half months old.  I started her with rice cereal when she was 4 months old, and she would just spit her cereal out of her mouth.  I figured she still has that tongue-thrust reflex, so I decided to wait another month.  Meanwhile, I still do try to give her a few spoons every now and then to see if she will take it, but she won't yet.  When she turned five months (just last week), I tried again... still has it.  And then, yesterday and today I tried mixing her cereal with applesauce and just kept the spoon in her mouth until all the food was gone.  This seemed to work pretty well.  I finally figured a way to get her to swallow her food.  Tonight, she ate a whole tiny bowl of rice cereal with appleasauce.  I was happy and proud of her.

Between the two of them, parenting is definitely a challenge.  It is even more so a challenge when both of them needs (or demands) your attention at the same time!  I am still learning the balance of parenting two children, keeping my spiritual life in check (first and foremost), being a wife to my husband (second),  taking care of the household chores (cleaning, laundry, cooking), working by putting hours in for Hexagon Metrology, Black Tie Solutions, and finding time for "myself".  I always have to leave out one or two things in that list of mine (except being a mom and wife).  I have no idea how my mom did it with seven of us kids (!) or my husbands' mom, with five kids.  They must be SUPERWOMAN.

At the end of the day though... I think back and reflect on how my day went... no matter how crazy my day was, how stressful, how overwhelming, the trials hurled at me... I think of my kids and the fun we had and the little things they do and learn.  I think of my loving husband and everything he does for me and the family... the wonderful life God has blessed me with... I can't help but smile.  I have a good life and family -- and my kids, they are worth every bit of my time.

A few nights ago, we had the rare opportunity to view the annual Perseid Meteor shower.  The Perseid meteor shower usually occurs in the summer, every August, and this year it was an added bonus to a lot of sky watchers because of the occurence of the New moon at the time of the appearance, which makes the sky darker and perfect for night-sky watching.  It is fondly called by some as the Heavenly Fireworks, and it is indeed.

One night (Sunday--it was a perfect cloudless night sky), I sat on my lawn reclining chair on our back porch and gazed at the magnificent starry-night sky and in hopes to catch a few meteor showers.  And true to its word, the meteor shower was in display.  I saw about a dozen or more showers in just a 45-minute time span.  It was awesome!  I get all excited when I see one.  Jeb and I would try to see who can find the most showers.

The heavens are awesome and the more I am in awe of God's wonderful creation and how small and insignificant we are in comparison to the vast universe.  It was also a perfect oppotunity for myself to have an intimate time for meditation and prayer.

I don't know how many of my readers know about the Perseid meteor shower... wish I have made a post about it sooner so those who didn't know about it would have that oppotunity.  And to those who have witnessed it, I hope you equally enjoyed it as I did.

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Tuesday night, was a girls' night out.  My mom-in-law (Alice), Kelley and I had the night to ourselves.   We originally planned on going to a movie to watch "No Reservations."  Well, apparently the No Reservations has "no reservations" for a 9 o' clock showing.  The last showing for the movie that night was at 7:05.  The ticketer said that the movie has been in the theaters for awhile that it has lesser show times, but we didn't know that.  Anyway, we didn't want to spoil the night, we had our little babies sleeping and being taken cared of by their daddies.  So, we decided to go to Johnathan's instead and we had a few drinks, appetizers and dessert.  We all had fun -- maybe too much fun (??!) ;)

Kelley's dessert -- Cannoli	Alice's dessert -- Chocolate Tuxedo	My dessert -- Black Forest Cake

 

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Yesterday, the 15^th, I was blessed with an added milestone in my years of living... my 27^th birthday.  I spent most of the day house cleaning and organizing.  In the morning, my family called and we talked for a while and viewed their webcam (mine won't work with Windows Vista!!).  Jebby is getting me a newer, nicer web camera, so me and my family can see each other again.  Anyhow, in the afternoon, Jordan, Aubrey and I went for a walk.  I took them a nearby park (well, mostly for Jordan) and he enjoyed it so much.  I could tell that he has gotten more confident with the swings and slides than the first times he tried them out.  He would actually know and walk right up the steps to the slide and do it over and over, confidently.  Same thing with the swing.  It was fun watching him. 

Jordan is a cautious little boy... he would hesitate to try or touch new things (like animals and "unknown" (to him) things / places), but once you show him what it does or how to do it, he'll eventually warm up and be confident enough to try or touch.  It just takes time sometimes, for him.  He just needs encouragement and our patience that he will try it and warm up to it, eventually.  I guess it is not such a bad thing... that way he won't hurt himself unnecessarilly.  Jeb says, he takes that attribute from me.  I don't know about that... I was always known to be a "dare-devil" in my growing years.  I'm guessing, it was from him getting hurt so much when he was younger... door slammed on his fingers, hot coffee poured over him, falling and hurting his lip, etc., etc... he has hurt his lip / mouth and got bruised so much as a little toddler as he was just learning how to walk.

Anyway, going back to yesterday... I had a nice birthday.  Jeb made me a simple dinner.  He was going to take me out that night for dinner but plans got changed when we thought we were expecting someone, but turned out they weren't coming.  He'll just take me out this weekend, after church.  Later that night his mom and dad stopped in to greet me and drop off a gift, and we visited for awhile.  That was nice and special. 

Today, I got the package my family sent me... it was so sweet... I loved it!  Their card made me teary-eyed... I miss them all!  I think the most special part of my special day was just spending it with my kids and my family, and thankful to God that He granted me another year of life and blessed me with a WONDERFUL family (my own, and both Jeb's and my side). 

I left off Friday...

We got up early that morning, had breakfast, got all our stuff packed and ready to go (when we are)... then, we played a couple games of Clue until we left at about 11:00am.  I won the last game... my first to win after how many rounds of plays.  At least it ended good for me :)  It was a great visit at Chad and Lora's... if only we had more time, we'd stay a little bit longer.  Well, we're looking forward already to the next time that we can come and visit again. 

And so, after that... we head off to Nebraska.  Another 2.5 to 3 hours of drive.  We stopped twice, I think.  I really haven't noticed much change in the road scenery of our drive from Wisconsin to Kansas, to Nebraska.  Maybe for the exception of noticing more big and wide fields of corn... rows and rows, as far as your eyes can see (especially in Nebraska).  I guess that's why these states are called the "Great Plains" (talking from a foreigner's point of view).

We arrived Nebraska at Kim and Rob's apartment around 2pm.  Rob was still at work, but Kim had the day off so she welcomed us into her nice cozy home.  We visited for a while, played with the kids, and then I took a short little nap with Aubrey while Jeb took a walk.  Later on, Kim took Jordan for a walk too (Jordan was very hyper and didn't want to take a nap yet).  Kim brought Jordan to the place where Rob works and they all walked back to the apartment together.  And then, Rob was showing us his new game console and the games they like playing.  Kim introduced to us her favorite game which is called "CrashBreakers".  The object of the game is to crash your car into other cars within a certain amount of time and try to get a really high "damage cost", or the other game option is to try to win a race while crashing into your rivals... it's so totally-awesomely crazy!  You'll have to play it to know what it is all about (I did horrible though, even though the object is to crash... lol -- how sad).  Well, they got us hooked so we were playing that until almost sunset.  That night, Rob and Kim made us dinner and we just visited for the rest of the night.

Next day (Satuday), we were treated with Rob's famous thin pancakes for breakfast.  And then we just took it easy, visiting and napping, since church wasn't until 3pm yet.  At church, we met a couple who the wife was a Filipina.  Her husband is from Korea and they have been living here since the 70's.  Her and I visited and talked for quite a bit (almost the entire time we were there until they had to leave).  She was originally from Cebu, so she speaks Cebuano.  She's been here for 30-some years now so we basically talked in English, with a few Cebuano words / phrases thrown here and there.  It was nice and I can tell that she enjoyed it too and was glad to have met another Filipina.  I can relate how exciting it can be to meet someone from your native land and be able to talk and visit.  It makes the world a smaller place, it seems.  Anyway, after church we went to a pizza place and had Taco pizza (never had that before, but it tasted really good!), and regular cheese and beef pizza (I would have it as beef and onions but neither Rob or Kim liked onions, not that it mattered, it was still good).  After dinner we decided to go back to their place because Aubrey was also getting a little fussy and hungry.  Well, that night... after sunset, we played more of that car crashing game again, (they really got us hooked remember)... until 3 o' clock in the morning!  That was insane!!! lol... they refused to give up until they get the Gold award for each event.  They did the "Tour" one.  I was enjoying more being a spectator this time, also because I was trying to get the kids to sleep.

That night... or, er morning, I didn't get much sleep.  And then, Jordan and Aubrey decided that they have to wake up early... like 6:30am.  So, since the kids are up neither Jeb nor I could sleep any longer... Jeb decided to just play some more of the car crashing game.  We were playing it until Rob and Kim got up and joined in as well.  Jordan even "played" a little bit with Kimmy.  Well, Kim was playing and Jordan had the other game control (which is not being used)... so Kim would encourage Jordan to go faster and keep moving, pretending that he is the one playing, when it is Kim all the while.  It was so funny watching Jordan... he'd press the controls so hard (believing he is going super fast) that his whole body would shake!  So funny and cute.

We moved our going home time to noon, because 1) Jeb still wanted to play (and visit), and 2) Him and Rob are talking / showing and sharing geeky stuff over the computer.  Well, we ended up leaving at 1pm.  I tell you... when geek meets geek... there is no stopping geeky conversations. (lol)  It's cute... I love my geeky husband.

The rest of my story, after all the visits... now that t is heading home... well, is boring.  The drive home seemed longer for some reason than the drive going to Kansas, even though it should have been shorter going home to Wisconsin from Nebraska, than Wisconsin to Kansas.  Anyhow... maybe because the anticipation for the visits and excitement is all gone and we were sooo tired, we just wanted to go home so bad (it seemed forever).  Oh, and I have the roadtrip pictures in our Photo Gallery.

Just for anyone's interest, this is a map of how far / much we travelled (our itinerary): Click here

Well, my hubby is home from work so I got to go... enjoy the pictures and hope you equally enjoyed my little narrative of our long drive (aka Roadtrip).

We've been home for about a week now since our roadtrip.  I just haven't had the time to write an update yet, until now.  Our roadtrip went extremely well.  We enjoyed both our visits to Chad, Lora and Ava in Kansas, and Rob and Kim in Nebraska.  Our kids did really well too, during the trip.  Except for the last 45-so minutes to Chad & Lora's place where Aubrey started to really get fussy and tired (crying and probably hungry again too) of laying on her car seat for almost 10+hours.  Also, the last two hours on our way home, she started to act up again.  She wouldn't stop crying and both Jeb and I were so tired from very minimal sleep the whole week and the driving (my dear Hubby had to stay sane while driving) that I had to hold her in my lap on the last hour-and-a-half stretch home.  At that point, we just wanted to get home, take care of the kids and get some nice needed sleep.   We got home around 10:30pm.

Anyhow, back-tracking a little bit here... we left our house at 4:30 am, instead of our plan of 4:00am.  And then, we had to make a quick stop at Wal-Mart to pick up something.  So, we left Fond du Lac almost 5:30am already.  We headed off to the 10+ hour drive ahead of us.  Jeb got a CD/MP3 connector the day before so we could listen to some audio books to keep us company on the drive.  We found out that night that we don't have our CD player anymore... that's why we had to make that quick stop at Wal-Mart to pick up a CD player.  And so, I start connecting all these gadgets together... only to find out that the car-jack power supply for the CD won't work.  Therefore, we had to use batteries (thankfully, he picked up some batteries too), and then, when I got the CD player to turn on, we found out that our tape player in our car doesn't work.  Well, so much for listening to our audio book.  It was a bummer.  But at least I brought some relaxing Celtic music CD's (and the Kid's music CD that Jeb refused to listen to! LOL) that we can listen to.

We made a total of 5 stops on the way to Kansas, so we could get gas, food, restroom breaks or stop by a way-side Rest stop to stretch our legs, feed and change the kids' diapers (Jeb would take Jordan for a little walk while I take care of Aubrey).  There was one Rest Area in the 119 mile marker to Kansas City (not sure what city we were at), which was really nice.  It was by a lake and when you took the exit, it appears like you are going to a different highway.  But what it was, is that it took you all the way around the other side of the highway, so you could see the lake.  The new rest stops are really nice and modern.  It even has Internet access and information booths.  Anyway, we got to Chad and Lora's in Topeka at 4:30pm.  We stayed at their place from Wednesday evening til Friday morning.  Wed. night, besides the fact the we were up early that morning and tired from the drive, we stayed up almost until midnight visiting and playing Clue.  It was my first time to play that game and I really enjoyed it!  It is also one of Chad and Lora's favorite games that we just had to sneak in another game before we left on Friday.  The next day (Thurs), we went to Wal-Mart to pick up shoes for Jordan.  I forgot to bring Jordan's sandals from home.  We didn't put it on him 'cause we just brought him to his car seat while sleeping.  We picked up a few other things from Wal-Mart and then Jeb and I decided to buy lunch.  We ordered some tasty Buffallo wings from Buffallo Wild Wings, to go.  This is our favorite place to get super tasty buffallo wings... we recommend it!  So, now you know where to go to find good buffallo wings--flavors ranging from very mild to Blazin' Hot!  That afternoon, Chad and Lora showed us the house that they were looking and planning of buying.  After that, Chad and Lora treated us out to HuHot, a mongolian grill.  That place is nice... and has good food.  We'd go to that again (they have a HuHot here in Appleton).  That night, we were all pretty tired, we just played a game of SkipBo, then went to bed.

Friday... to be continued.  (Sorry, I have to nurse Aubrey again (for the night) and put our little man in his bed.  He slept on our bed and now I have to transfer him to his own bed, then go to bed myself.  I'm starting to have a sore / tight neck.) 

Lactogenic Foods and Herbs

By Hilary Jacobson CH.HU.SI.
Based on her book Mother Food for Breastfeeding Mothers

What mothers eat can influence their milk supply

Around the world and throughout history, mothers have known that certain foods support their milk production. These foods were valued in earliest cultures and highlighted in mythology. Mother Goddesses were associated with barley grain, the almond, coconut, lotus, the elder tree, and many other plants and foods that were used historically to increase milk production.

Today, mothers dealing with low milk supply are again interested to learn how foods and herbs can support their milk production. Experts who work closely with low-supply mothers report that certain foods influence milk supply for some mothers. These so-called “lactogenic foods and herbs” are the subject of this article.

Dietary Guidelines Following Birth

Getting a good start the first few weeks after birth can be helpful in supporting the onset and development of a mother’s milk supply:

* Get enough to eat. Simply eating regularly and getting enough calories will support your milk supply.
* Get enough to drink, but not too much. Between 2 – 3 quarts a day is a good goal to aim for. Some mothers discover they need much more, and some find that they need to get “just enough” fluids to maintain an optimal milk supply.
* Eat at least one warm meal per day that includes a source of protein, a portion of green salad, a grain such as millet or rice, and cooked vegetables such as yam, carrot, and fennel.
* Spice moderately with lactogenic spices, for instance with sea-salt or gomasio, with dill or caraway, or basil and marjoram, and, if tolerated, with garlic.
* Avoid food that is hard to digest such as fried or extremely fatty food.
* Take probiotic yogurt or lactobacilli supplements to protect your intestinal flora and to help prevent colic and allergy in your baby(1).
* Get healthy fats such as butter and olive oil, and remember to supplement with essential fatty acids.
* Herbs useful after birth include stinging nettle to rebuild the blood lost during birth, turmeric, to help prevent breast inflammation, oat-straw, to nurture the nerves and to help prevent nervous exhaustion. These herbs also increase milk supply, so keep an eye on your supply and reduce or increase your dosage of these herbs as necessary.
* If you lost a lot of blood during birth, avoid taking ginger for several weeks.
* A traditional Chinese remedy used in the early postpartum is homemade chicken soup, simmered with the bones for several hours and rich with chicken fat, taken only once a week—otherwise, it is said to over-stimulate the baby. This remedy is reputed to prevent depression, to restore a mother’s vitality, and to help develop an abundant milk supply.

Individual Dosage Requirements

Mothers have individual needs when it comes to lactogenic foods and herbs. Although most mothers produce milk well without having to consider their use at all, a few mothers find that they need to take a good amount every day, and that they may need to take a high dosage for two to four days to kick-start lactation.

As a breastfeeding mother gathers experience about her unique reaction to foods and herbs, she will learn the dosage that works best for her, both for building and for maintaining milk supply.

All mothers should consider the following: If you do not have low milk supply, and you take an abundance of herbs and foods to increase your supply, you may create unnecessary difficulties for yourself such as over-supply, engorgement, plugged ducts, or mastitis. Your baby may develop colic due to too much foremilk, or sucking difficulties due to an overly strong let-down reflex, both of which are common with over-supply. Use these foods and herbs wisely, and reduce or stop their use if you notice such problems.

LACTOGENIC FOODS

Lactogenic foods support lactation for many reasons. Eating sufficient calories and getting an abundant supply of nutrients is helpful in itself for lactation, but these foods also contain substances that interact with and support the chemistry of lactation. These substances include phytoestrogen, natural plant sedatives, plant sterols and saponins, and tryptophan, among others. In addition, a rich supply of minerals and a good balance of fats ensure that the mother’s cells and nerves are functioning at an optimal level.

Vegetables

Fennel

Fennel can be eaten raw or cooked, for instance, steamed, or sautéed in butter and then simmered in a bit of water. Fennel seed is well-known as an herb to increase milk production. The vegetable, containing the same pharmacologically active volatile oils, acts as a gentler support.

Carrot, Beet, Yam

These reddish vegetables are full of beta-carotene, needed in extra amounts during lactation. Carrot seed has been used as a galactagogue, and the vegetable, also containing the volatile oils and phytoestrogen, acts as a gentler support. The beet is a wonderful source of minerals and iron. Taking raw beet can help alleviate iron deficiency. These vegetables are naturally sweet, and they support the liver.

Dark Green Leafy Vegetables

Dark green vegetables are a potent source of minerals, vitamins and enzymes, as well as phytoestrogen that support lactation. Dandelion and stinging nettle leaves are diuretic, and can help reduce edema during pregnancy and after birth. They can be plucked from your garden in early spring and eaten whole, chopped into salad, or used to make tea. Stinging nettle can be harvested for salad or cooked as spinach. In your market, you’ll find arugula, beet leaves, kale, Swiss chard, spinach, chicory, collard greens and others.

Grains and Legumes

Grains and legumes have a long history as galactagogues. The most commonly used grains include oats, millet, barley and rice. Oats are the most widely used lactogenic food in the US. Legumes to include in your diet are chickpea, mung beans and lentils.

Nuts

Nuts that support milk supply include almonds, cashews, and macadamia nuts. As much as possible, eat raw nuts, not roasted or salted. The taste of raw nuts will grow on you.

Oils and fats

Healthy fats play a vital role in cellular and neural metabolism. The kinds of fats a mother eats will influence the composition of fats in her milk. Please see the article “Dietary Tips for Pregnancy and the Postpartum” for more information.

The renowned expert in fats, Mary G. Enig, suggests that mothers get regular and substantial dosages of butter and coconut oil. In addition, use cold-pressed virgin olive oil, and take equal amounts of cold-pressed sesame oil and flaxseed oil in salads.

One way to balance the fats is to dribble a quarter teaspoon of olive oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil, and a thin slab of butter over meals. Be sure to eliminate unhealthy fats such as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and transfatty acids from your diet, as these will also enter your milk.

In addition, be sure to have a source for essential fatty acids. For more information, see “Dietary Tips.”

Beverages

Lactogenic beverages include getting enough plain water to hydrate the body, drinking commercial lactation teas, non-alcoholic beer, ginger ale, Rivella, and natural herbal root-beers from your health food store. Check out coffee substitutes based on the lactogenic grain barley, such as CARO, Roma, Caffix, Pero or Dandy Blend. These imitation coffees usually also contain chicory or dandelion, plus malt—ingredients that are all lactogenic. A recipe for “Barley Water,” a potent lactogenic beverage, is at the bottom of this article.

Condiments

Garlic

Garlic is famous for its medical benefits, and has a long history as a galactagogue.

In one study, babies were seen to latch on better, suckle more actively, and drink more milk when the mother had garlic prior to nursing(2). If you do not wish to eat garlic, try adding a capsule of garlic extract to a meal eaten about an hour before breastfeeding.

If you would like to introduce garlic to your diet, and are not used to eating garlic, introduce it very slowly and observe your baby’s reaction. Take only 1 – 2 cloves per day. These can be chopped or pressed through a garlic press into any food after it has finished cooking. Try it in vegetables, rice, grains, pulses, salad sauce, spaghetti sauce, or other sauce.

Our culture does not encourage eating garlic, and many people do not tolerate garlic well (or onions, another food which is traditionally lactogenic). For this reason, garlic is not recommended by the American Herbal Product’s Association while breastfeeding except under the guidance of a qualified herbalist. However, if you do tolerate garlic there is no reason that you should not benefit from it. Take garlic in moderation as do mothers all over the world.

Caution: Do not combine with anticoagulants, as garlic has blood-thinning actions.

Danger: Babies and small children should never be given garlic in any form, whether fresh, dry, powdered or in capsules, to chew, swallow, eat or suck on. Garlic is highly caustic to delicate body tissues, and rubbing it in one’s nose or eyes could be painful and dangerous. Babies will benefit from the garlic a mother eats, and that reaches him through her milk.

Ginger

Ginger is helpful for the letdown and milk flow. Some mothers benefit from drinking ginger ale. Even commercial ginger ale is flavored with “natural flavoring” that is real ginger.

Warning: Do not use ginger or ginger ale in the early postpartum if there was significant blood loss during birth. Do not take ginger immediately after birth due to danger of hemorrhaging.

Caution: Ginger tends to compound and increase the effects of medication being taken. Talk to your doctor if you are taking medication, especially diabetic, blood-thinning, or heart medicine.

Sources: You can find ginger at your local grocery store. Check out stores that sell Asian foods, health food stores, and on line.

Spices

Spices in your kitchen can be used to support milk production. Try adding marjoram and basil to your meals, and anise, dill or caraway. Black pepper, taken in moderation, is helpful.

Turmeric

This powdered yellow root gives curry its yellow color and basic flavor. A potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, turmeric is being studied in connection with the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatism, and cancer. Turmeric has lactogenic properties and can also be taken to help prevent inflammatory conditions. One half teaspoon of turmeric a day may help prevent inflammation in the breasts.
Caution: Some herbalists warn that pregnant women should not use turmeric if they are at risk for miscarriage.

SPECIAL FOODS

Oats (Avena Sativa)

The humble oat is one of our most nutritious foods, and contains proteins, vitamins, minerals and trace elements that nourish the nerves, support the metabolism of fats, and uplift the spirit. In traditional medicine, both the seed and the leaf—called oat-straw—are taken. Oats are prescribed as a nervine tonic in the treatment of nervous exhaustion. In Europe, women traditionally take oats after birth. Oats are taken today in the US to increase milk production, both as food and as a supplement. Like other galactagogues, oats are antidepressant, antispasmodic, and they increase perspiration.

Allergy: Occasional. Persons sensitive to gluten in wheat are frequently able to tolerate oats.

Dosage and Preparation:

Taking large dosages of oats is helpful in kick-starting milk production.

Oatmeal can be taken for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Oat-straw is especially rich in minerals. It is available as capsules or as an ingredient in so-called “green-drinks.” Take as indicated on the package.

Fluid extract: 3 – 5 ml (15 – 35 drops), three times a day.

Nutritional and Brewer’s Yeast

Nutritional or brewer’s yeast frequently leads to a significant boosts in a mothers’ milk supply. Mothers sometimes say that they feel much more energetic and emotionally balanced while taking yeast. This may signal a lack of essential nutrients in their diet, in particular, chromium, vitamin B complex, and especially vitamin B12, found in some brands of fortified nutritional yeast. Brewer’s and nutritional yeast also contain protein and good levels of phytoestrogen.

Allergy: Persons who are allergic to yeast should avoid these products.

Side-effects: Occasionally, mothers or babies become gassy, more so with brewer’s yeast than nutritional yeast. To be on the safe side, start with a small dosage and slowly increase.

Sources: Vegetarian stores and health food stores.

Green Drinks

Green foods are reputed to increase the fat content of breastmilk. Some mothers supplement with chlorophyll. So-called “green drinks” can be very helpful. Their ingredients include barley-grass, alfalfa leaf, spirulina, corellas, kelp, oat-straw and other herbs with lactogenic and medicinal properties.

Caution: Chlorella, a common ingredient in commercial green-drinks, is used by medical specialists to chelate (remove) heavy metals from the body, especially mercury. If not taken at the correct dosage, chlorella can lead to an increase of mercury in the bloodstream and probably in a mother’s milk as well. It is wise to choose green-drinks that only contain a low percent of chlorella.

Sources: Super markets, health food stores, online.

Green Papaya

Green papaya is taken as a galactagogue across Asia. It is a superb source of enzymes, vitamins, and minerals, including vitamins C, A, B, and E. Green papaya is the unripe fruit, and it needs to be simmered until soft. Green papaya can also be taken in supplement form.

Allergy: Persons allergic to latex may be allergic to papaya and other fruit.

Caution: Persons taking Warfarin should consult with their doctor before taking papaya supplements.

Sesame Seed

Large, black sesame seeds are used to increase milk production across Asia. Husked, light-colored sesame seeds are also effective and easier to digest. Sesame seed “butter” known as Tahini can be found in health food stores. Sesame is our most potent vegetable source of calcium!

Allergy: Allergy to sesame is becoming more common.

Spirulina

Spirulina is a non-toxic variety of blue-green algae. It has been farmed in lakes and ponds as a food source for thousands of years. It is valued for its proteins, enzymes, minerals, vitamins, chlorophyll, and essential fatty acids. Spirulina’s nutrients are easily absorbed, even when a person’s digestion is not up to par.

It is important that spirulina be cultivated on a farm that is not located in waters that are contaminated, in particular with heavy metals. It is also advisable not to use spirulina that has been genetically ‘improved.’ Spirulina and other “green foods” may increase the fat-content of breastmilk.

Note: It is not wise to rely on spirulina as a source of B12.

Barley Water

Barley-water is used medicinally to treat colds, intestinal problems (both constipation and diarrhea) and liver disorders. It was recorded in Greek medicine two thousand years ago as a galactagogue. Taken for a week or two, it often helps mothers with chronic low milk supply. Make a pot in the morning and drink it throughout the day, warming each cup and sweetening it with a natural sweetener as desired.

Barley-water can be made with whole grain or pearl barley. Barley flakes can also be used, though these have been processed and are possibly less potent than the whole or pearled grain.

Preparation:

* Quick-and-easy: 1/2 cup of flakes or pearled barley can be simmered in 1 quart of water for twenty minutes.
* Long-and-intensive: 1 cup of whole or pearled barley is simmered in 3 quarts of water for up to 2 hours. About half the liquid should cook off. Some recipes call for only 1/2 hour cooking time. However, the longer the barley simmers and the more pinkish (and slimier) the water becomes, the more of the ‘cream’ will enter the water and the stronger the medicinal effect will be.
* If the barley water becomes too thick to drink comfortably, add in more water.
* When finished, remove from the stove and sieve off the water. The grain is now tasteless and can be thrown out.
* Add 1 tablespoon of fennel powder or steep 2 – 3 teaspoons of fennel seeds for ten minutes in the barley-water before drinking.
* The traditional recipe calls for fennel seed. I personally find that powdered fenugreek seed is tastier than fennel in barley-water.

Endnotes

1. While studies on focusing on probiotics and allergy during pregnancy and in childhood continue and are controversial, a series of studies on the anthroposophic community in Europe convincingly shows results of a different composition of bacteria and lactobacteria in the stool of the lifestyle of these children: breastfed, eating naturally fermented vegetables, fewer treatments with antibiotics and vaccines. Therefore in this author’s opinion, it is fair to assume that each of these factors, and all of them combined, serve to protect the child against allergy. See:

Alm JS, Swartz J, et al., An anthroposophic lifestyle and intestinal microflora in infancy. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2002 Dec;13(6):402-11. Alm JS, Swartz J, et al., Atopy in children of families with an anthroposophic lifestyle. Lancet. 1999 May 1;353(9163):1485-8. 2. Menella J, Beauchamp G. The effects of repeated exposure to garlic-flavored milk on the nursling’s behavior. Pediatr Res 1993;34:805-808. Mennella J. Mother’s milk: A medium for early flavor experiences. J Hum Lact 1995;11(1):39-45.

LINK source


Food to increase breastmilk??

There are no specific foods to eat that will stimulate production of breast milk, but there are things that can help with milk production. More important than what you eat is how your baby eats. When a baby is properly positioned, well-attached and sucking effectively, the longer a baby nurses at your breast the more milk will be produced. This is the single most important way to increase your milk production.

From a diet and nutrition standpoint, there are two important factors critical to producing milk. The first is drinking enough fluid. It doesn’t have to be milk; water or juice is fine. You may be producing from 20 to 40 ounces of fluid a day, and that’s quite a lot. Thirst is a good indicator of need, but may not do the whole job. It’s a good rule of thumb to drink a bit more, past being quenched. It is also a good habit to fill a glass of water for yourself to drink while your baby is nursing. Drinking sufficient fluids won’t make you produce more milk, but is important in replenishing lost fluids.

Nursing requires about an extra 500 calories per day. Women that go on restricted diets in an attempt to lose weight while they are nursing may be eating too few calories, which leaves them fatigued and without the energy necessary for optimal milk production.

Beer has been touted for years as being a stimulus to milk production. However, research shows that babies don’t like alcoholic breastmilk, and actually drink less of it, resulting in less stimulation to the breast. Ultimately, this means a decrease in milk production.

Stress can negatively affect milk production, but reaching for a beer is not the best way to relax. Find an alternative way to rest and de-stress. Have a sitter come in so you can nap. Join a car pool so you can rest or sleep on the trip to and from work. Find ways to eliminate unnecessary chores, or perhaps relax your standards for tidiness and instead, sit down and close your eyes for a moment or two!

Caffeine stimulates milk production, but it also stimulates your baby. Caffeine finds its way into breast milk and large amounts can act on your baby as it does on you. Caffeine stays in baby’s system longer than in an adult’s, which will prolong its effect. Also, caffeine can make your baby irritable, as well as interfere with his sleep. One cup of coffee or a soda will not be a problem, but in large quantities (five or more cups of a caffeinated beverage a day), the levels of caffeine in breast milk can reach amounts that affect your baby.

The best prescription for maximum milk production is effective and frequent breastfeeding or milk expression, plenty of fluids, adequate calories and rest.

[Source: http://mysweetstory.wordpress.com/tag/increase-milk-supply/]

I like looking for good deals on stuff online. For mothers and mothers-to-be, I have found a site where you can get pretty good discounted prices on breast pumps and accessories. So far they have the cheapest prices on their stuff (that I have searched on) as well as comparisons and reviews of each of the product. It is pretty nifty if you have no clue what to get and are shopping to find the right one for you. A lot of the products are FREE shipping as well. Check it out: http://www.breastpumpsdirect.com

Camping at Morgan Lake this year went well.  The campgrounds was unusually packed this year.  This is probably the most campers we've seen in that campsite since we've used Morgan Lake campgrounds.  Instead of heading out at 5pm like we have planned, we left at 6pm instead!  While we were driving it also started showering and then as we got farther and farther... the rain got harder and stronger.  Not a good thing at all!  Not only will it be dark when we get to the campsite, it would have been raining too (we thought)... and no one wants to pitch a tent under the rain in the dark.  Well, we decided to keep on going and when we reached 2 towns before Morgan Lake, the weather was quite nice... the sky started to clear a bit and the sun was slightly peeking.  That was a good sign so we keep heading up. 

We got to Morgan Lake at about 9:30 or 10 at night and we quickly set up camp, we were all so tired and just wanted to go to bed.  Good thing our tent is a pop-up tent and is fairly easy to put up.  Anyway, while all of us are just too tired that we wanted to go to sleep, Jordan however was as hyper as can be.  He was too excited about the new experience being in the woods, sleeping in the tent that he just can't settle down to sleep.  It was cute...  Aubrey, however... slept the night away until morning.  Well, she was crying for hunger when we reached the campsite (after 3.5 hours of driving and her last feeding at 4:30 pm -- you can just imagine), that I was tossed between helping Jeb set up and feeding a crying baby.  She slept nicely afterwards, though.

Friday, we just hang out and enjoyed being in the woods, next to the lake and enjoyed each other's company while Jordan played happily with his buckets, shovels and trucks in the dirt, picking up small rocks and sticks.  He also enjoyed playing in the lake throwing rocks into the water and getting his feet wet with Grandma Mortier.  He did that for almost an hour and then he napped for almost 3 hours!  The weather was perfect with a nice breeze... not too hot or humid nor was it too chilly.  At nights it was nice and cool (hardly used our camp fan).  The biting flies and mosquitoes were a little bit of a  nuisance, though.

Saturday, we swam and cleaned up in the lake for a bit and just relaxed... doing absolutely nothing!  Some things that we absolutely enjoy about camping: doing nothing (and not feel guilty about it), listening to the Loons sing at night, and being close to nature.  Jeb carved his camping time away.  He finally got back into carving and he is working on a Precious Moments "Friends Forever" project that he started a long time ago (that was supposed to be for me while we were still dating).  Jordan and I had fun building a little camp fire and an altar we called "Isaac's Sacrificing Altar".  I think Mom and Dad had fun spending time with the grandkids.  That night, neither Jeb or I were able to sleep good.  Jordan kept crawling into our bed and sleeping in between us.  As soon as he is asleep and I put him back in his sleeping bag, a few minutes later he is back in our bed.  After the third time he kept doing it, I just gave up and let him sleep with us.  By morning there were 4 people on our queen-sized air mattress (Me, Jeb, Aubrey and Jordan), leaving me with a back and neck ache.  I was locked in the same ackward position all night.  Needless to say, we weren't able to sleep in the morning.

Sunday mid-morning we took down our tents and headed home.  When we got home, we were welcomed by our freezer door of our fridge wide  open.  We weren't sure how long the door was open but long enough for all the stuff in it to thaw out completely.  The bottom of the freezer was flooded with meat juices and blood, and everything was ruined.  Meat, fish, chicken, ice cream, popsicles, sorbets, frozen veggies and fruits (even the durian), my expressed breastmilk, pizza... all thrown into the garbage bag.  We have about 2 garbage bags full of freezer food that was not salvageable.  That was a major bummer and I was upset... especially since we just went grocery shopping a few days before camping.  Anyway, we cleaned that all up and then put some of our camping stuff away.

I haven't completely unpacked yet... I'm still doing laundry and then, I have to pack again for our trip leaving very early Wednesday morning for Kansas.  I pray things go well for us in our trip and our kids do well (like they did at camping).  I have pictures of our camping trip up in our Photo Gallery.  I'll update again when we get back from our road trip.

We were bummed out last night from jerks in our neighborhood.  Around midnight, Jeb heard a "snap", he sat up to listen again thinking it was Jordan falling out of his crib (but it couldn't be... it wasn't a "thud" and a cry afterwards).  A few seconds later, another "snap" was heard, so he got up to look out the window.  There, he saw that our 2 crabapple trees in our front yard has been broken in half.  He then went to the front door to see who did it, and saw 3 or 4 men walking past and down the road.  What jerks!!!  Jeb was sooo upset.  Who in his right mind would just pass by and snap 2 beautiful crabapple trees??!!!

Jeb then got out the phone book and called the police to report a vandal.  A few minutes later the cop came by to see and was driving around to see if he can still find those guys who did it.  But anyway, the cop said that we could call the City of FDL and tell them of the report he called in so they can hopefully replace our trees.  That will be nice if the City can indeed replace our trees.  We love those trees... it was Jordan's tree and "our" tree.  Oh wells... we'll see what happens when we call the City today. 

Jerks... grrrr....

------
Anyway, we still are going camping.  It was a last minute decision thing.  We are just going for a 3 day weekend, which would be easier on us and the kids.  We're leaving Thursday afternoon and spending Friday, Saturday camping and then sometime around Sunday, head back home.

Two days later we are going on a roadtrip!  Yup!  Aubrey's first official road-trip, and Jordan's too, I guess.  He has been on little road trips before, and LONG airline trips.  But I think this will be his first official 8-9 hour road-trip as well.  We'll be visiting Chad, Lora and Ava in Kansas and then after spending 2 days there, we'll be heading off to Nebraska to visit Kim and Rob.  We'll be heading back home the next Sunday.  We're all excited!  I just hope Aubrey does well for us on the trip.  Jordan usually does well in drives... but one can never know how kids would be on a longer drive.  It'll be an experience for sure.

Well, I better get things going here to prepare for a long week.  Just have today to prepare everything before we leave tomorrow.  For now, I hope everyone has a good week/end.  By the way... Happy birthday today to Robert and little Sophia.  She is now 1 year old! :)  They both have the same birthday.  And just for the sake of the other July celebrants, my brother Danny, on the 11th, and my mom and Jeb's grandma Dudley on the 22nd.  We're glad for another year God has granted you all in this earth and to be a blessing to many.  We love you all.

This is just a quick update to say that I have new pictures added in the gallery.  I will update more later on...

• New pictures added in Aubrey's 2nd month album
• Created Aubrey's 3rd month album
• New pictures added in Jordan's 19 month album
• Created Jordan's 20 month album
• Added new pictures of our garden

It's interesting how things work out.  When I met and eventually married my wife, Laurie, I knew things would never be "normal" per se.  Marrying someone from the other side of the world is very interesting to say the least.  I would say that we have a very normal marriage, and are a pretty typical family that beyond the fact that other guys are jealous that a guy like me married such a hottie and those same guys are confused that that hottie married someone like me. :P  Yeah, I'm one blessed guy.

This however, is not what I'm referring to regarding the interesting part.  I'm referring to my "family" in the Philippines, my In-Laws.  Seeing as they Philippines is so far away, it is very difficult to head back home to visit.  Since Laurie and I have been married her parents have been here once, and I was able to send Laurie and Jordan back there for a visit.  I personally have not had the privilege to return to the Philippines to see the people whom I love and are as important to me as my own parents, brothers, sisters and extended family.  This is something we really hope we can afford to do in the next year or two, but we'll see what happens.

I find that the two times I was able to visit the Philippines, and spend quality time with Laurie's family, I have bonded with them and felt so welcomed by them that I immediately felt as though I was part of their family, and they were part of mine.  Laurie's family was so similar to my own in so many ways, I felt as if I had come home for a visit, even though it was the first or second time I had ever meet them.  Even to this day I think about my new family in the Philippines as if they were my very own flesh and blood family here in the states.

I will be honest with you, it is very hard for me sometimes to not be able to see them and spend the quality time with them that I have with my own parents, siblings, and extended family.  I wish it would have been possible to spend more time there with them, to even be able to go back and visit more often, but it seems that God has other plans for Laurie, our children and I at this time.  I had even thought about living there at one time but that hope soon revealed itself to be very unlikely due to my career, financial obligations for college, etc.  It may be possible to have a house there in the future though as I near retirement age.  I guess time will tell.

The one thing that has helped Laurie and me through these times of longing for our family in the Philippines is our daily / weekly phone calls back home.  Even something as simple as hearing your loved ones voices can help fill that emptiness in ones heart.  It's still not the same as being there one on one, but it's better than no communication at all.  I really enjoy the talks with mom and dad or with my brothers and sisters there when they are around for a quick chat.  There have been many times that Laurie will call and I will sit in the room with her with the phone on speaker phone so that I can listen to what’s been happening over there.  It's very comforting to hear their voices and to be a part of their lives, even in that small way.

My wife is a strong woman.  She moved around the world to be with me and be my wife, and give up everything she knew to be in a new country away from a family that she loves very much.  When days like Mother's Day and Father's Day, birthdays or even weddings roll around, it's hard on her, and even me, to not be there, but she impresses me so much by being strong and telling me that it's ok.  I know deep down that she really is sad that she misses those things.  I'm glad that I can be there for her and that she feels so close to my family.  That also helps fill that void for her.  My family will never replace her family to her, and that’s not a bad thing by any means, but I can definitely tell that Laurie is loved and accepted by them and that she also loves and accepts them as well.

My wife and I both love and care about each others families.  We are strong for each other, and we know that in time, we will be able to see them all again.  Even though things may keep us physically apart from our families, we are a strong family as a whole.  I know that my wife and I count ourselves very luck to have the families that we do and that we are so accepted and loved by each other’s families as well.

We love you all very much.

I made this picture and framed it for my hubby on father's day, so he can put it in his office at work.  It is a picture of him and our daughter when she was just a day old, and a poem I took from Kelley's blog (thanks, Kelley!).  I was inspired by it... thus I made the picture with the poem.

The poem reads:

"A little girl needs Daddy

For many, many things:
Like holding her high off the ground
Where the sunlight sings!

Like being the deep music
That tells her all is right
When she awakens frantic with
The terrors of the night.

Like being the great mountain
That rises in her heart
And shows her how she might get home
When all else falls apart.

Like giving her the love
That is her sea and air,
So diving deep or soaring high
She’ll always find him there.

By: Oliver Matla"

We had a nice Father's Day.  I called my dad in the morning to greet him father's day and chatted a little bit.  And then, we were planning on going strawberry-picking that day, but it rained so we just decided to postpone the trip.  We then thought of heading out to Jeb's parents earlier and help his dad with whatever yard work he has planned for that day.  So, we spent most of the early afternoon helping out in the yard and garden and then later that afternoon, my hubby and I went kite-flying.  I have been wanting to fly a kite for a while now.  I haven't flown a kite since I was a lil' kid, maybe 10 or 12 years old.  I always made my own kites from scratch, so having a pre-made kite fly is pretty cool.  We had fun, but it was getting too hot out in the sun that we didn't fly our kites too long.

Next weekend is Sabrina's graduation party, and I am looking forward to having that get-together again with my husband's side of the famly, especially with Kim and Rob, and Chad, Lora and Ava coming up to visit.  All the cousins would see each other again.  It'll be fun seeing what the little ones are doing now and how much they have grown.  As a side note, Jordan made me chuckle the other day (he never seem to stop amaze and entertain me).  We were playing for awhile and then I noticed he was getting rather tired, so I asked him if he wanted a nap and go to bed.  Immediately he got up and went to his room and tried to climb up his crib.  Well, he did it and flopped inside and laid down.  I was surprised that he could even do it.  But at lunch when Jeb got home, Jordan woke up from his nap so Jeb took him out of his crib and was spending time with him while I was taking care of Aubrey.  And then, Jordan ran off to his room... we thought he just went in to get a toy or something.  After a while, we heard crying in his bedroom.  Both of us looked in his room to see what it was and saw him inside his crib, crying 'cause he can't or doesn't know how to go down.  It was funny... at least for us.  Jordan is starting to be so into climbing into high-up things now, which he never have done or tried reaching before.  He'll think of ways to reach that thing up there.  Pretty smart.

Anyway, we are also looking forward to our little vacation in WI Dells for the fourth of July weekend.  It will be a nice time to just relax and enjoy the time with the family in a different setting aside from "home".  Not that I don't mind being at home... but it's nice to get away from home once in a while.  Well, I'll update more later after our weekend activities :)

Aubrey woke up and I just fed her, and while I am trying to put her back to sleep I figured I'd put a lil' post in here.

Wednesday was a fun day for us.  Jeb left very early that morning to go to a business trip with his boss in Michigan so I had the truck to myself that day.  It was a very warm and nice day outside (upper 80's) so I decided to take the kids for a little outing in the park, and then visit with Jeb's boss' wife.  She has invited me to visit for quite a while now, and I'm taking her in on that invitation while I had the time and the vehicle.  Well, it turned out to be a nice opportunity for us and her kids to meet me in the park and have the kids have fun with the rides and for us to get to know each other better.  Jeb's Mom and Sabrina showed up too and we all had fun.

This was Jordan and Aubrey's first time in that area of the park.  It is actually the kid section of the park.  They've opened their petting zoo (usually in the summer), which Jordan had fun in there.  He pet the baby horse, rode the donkey, pet a guinea pig and even have a baby calf lick and try to nurse on his arm!  Jordan didn't like that very much, though.  But still it was fun to watch the calf licking and trying to suck on his arm, and when he'd yank his arm off its mouth, the calf would go for the other arm, and he'd pull that one away too and it would just go back and forth licking his arms.  I had to help Jordan in the end, 'cause I can tell he was getting scared and upset.  Anyway, we got to see some sheep and goats, and some llamas too!  (Llamas are known to be very good sheep watchers / protectors from predators).  Jordan kept going "baaa... baaaa" to the animals, even though it wasn't a sheep.  But then when the horse or donkey would make a sound, he would try to copy it.  It was so cute and funny.

And then, we got to go on some rides too.  Jordan and Aubrey rode on a train for the first time... twice!  Jordan seemed to enjoy it, while baby Aubrey just slept through the whole ride in her car seat.  Jordan also rode the merry-go-around.  At first Jordan wasn't sure if he liked it or not but after a while, he did enjoy it.  At the beginning, he rode with Aunt Sabrina and towards the middle she passed me Jordan and he rode with me... and then I think he felt a little more comfortable and "safer" :)  But we all enjoyed the rides.

After that, we headed out to Barb's (Jeb's boss' wife's) house and visited, while the kids had a blast playing all sorts of toys all over the house.  We ended up staying for dinner while waiting for our husbands to arrive.  It was a very nice visit and I think I have found a new friend that I can visit and spend time with.  They are very nice people and a very nice family as well.  I'm looking forward to the next opportunity that we can get together again.

*** I have uploaded pictures from our day at the park in our Photo Gallery.  Also, I have added new pictures in Aubrey's 1-month album, and started her 2-month album.  I have started Jordan's 19-month album as well.  And lastly, I added new pictures on our progress of our Spring yard / garden projects.

PS.  Belated Happy 1st Birthday to my adorable niece, Teatephi on June 12!  Hugs and Kisses to her... I wish to hold her soon...

This weekend has been a very wet one. It was starting to get dry the past week or so until this Friday. On Friday a large storm came rolling in and really started to rain down hard. It was a huge blessing because it helped give all the plants the water they need to grow and thrive. Our garden looks spectacular after that rain.

Saturday and even more so on Sunday it decided it was going to rain again. It rained so hard that the rain was pouring over the sides of the gutters on the house. They just couldn’t drain the water fast enough. The ground soaked up the water fast enough and the garden looked even better by the end of the day.

Our garden is doing so well. We replanted some rows of old seeds to see if they would come up. In the rows were nothing came up we replanted new seeds. All the new seeds we planted are coming up strong, fast and healthy.

On Friday I separated the watermelon plants that were growing in the 4 original mounds we had made. I ended up with 14 mounds of watermelon with 3 to 4 plants in each mound. If all the plants make it, we are going to have a ton of watermelon this year.

We have several rows of peas, beans and corn as well as some cucumbers and cantaloupe. They are all doing very well. Even our onions, chives and tomato plants are doing well. It looks like God is blessing our hard work and we should have a ton of fresh, home grown vegetables this year. How exciting.

Today, Monday, we woke up to some very loud thunder at 5:30am. We love the sound of thunder, but it was so unexpected that I woke up b/c Laurie jumped when she heard it. It was pretty funny, but then Jordan and Aubrey woke up too. Then the funny stopped. Well, not really... each time there was even a little thunder, Jordan would look at Laurie and then at me, and would immediately come to me so I would hold him. Guess he figured I was bigger and stronger so I could protect him from the thunder better.

On my way to work this morning I ran into a police road block. At first I couldn’t tell why they were blocking the road until I realized that the entire street was flooded under a foot or two of water. I took a side road so I could continue on my way to work. That was almost a big mistake because even though I was driving a truck the water was even deeper on the side road. I almost stalled out driving through the 2 to 3 foot water. If I had a car I never would have made it though the 3 blocks of the largest puddle I'd ever driven though before.

I absolutely don’t envy all the people who lived by the flooded streets. Now instead of a basement, they have an indoor swimming pool. Talk about insurance claims. I can’t imagine how much stuff probably got ruined, not to mention how many people either got stalled going to work or cant even get out of their driveways.

Any way, driving through the flooded roads in a big SUV was pretty cool. The tires shot the water into the air about 10 - 15 feet depending on how fast I was driving and it looked awesome.

Once I got to work it was a mess. The facility was leaking from the roof in some places, and from the floor in others. The shop floor where they make the high precision coordinate measuring machines was under a lot of water. It looked like the seams in the concrete floor were natural wells with the water gushing up through them. Talk about a lot of people rushing to get the water cleaned up as quickly as possible. Regardless, the mess is all cleaned up and nothing appears to have been damaged.

This is a good day and, God willing, it will only keep getting better.

The weather has been so nice lately that Laurie and I have been making the most of it every day and working on our yard. We've been landscaping around the house putting in new plants, bushes, shrubs, flowers, etc. We put in some rose bushes along the side of the house this year as well as some burning bushes. We were looking at our house and trying to decide what would look best. We moved some plants to better locations, and planted others in their places. The end result is pretty good. We also have been putting in landscaping timbers and wood chips around the house. The end result is that the yard is starting to look beautiful and the pretty flowering bushes and shrubs stand out and look very striking.

We put in a garden in our back yard to compliment the 8x8 garden we currently have by the back of our house next to the kitchen entry. The new garden is approximately 20'x25'. We decided to plant peas, beans, carrots, okra, sweet corn, onions, cucumbers, watermelon and cantaloupe. God willing, they will all grow and provide a bountiful harvest that we can share w/ our friends and family. Each day we go out and check the progress of the plants and we are starting to see small plants poking their leaves above the soil now. It wont be much longer and we'll see rows of plants. We are really looking forward to the time when we can actually eat the produce.

We've had such great weather that we've been doing a lot of cooking out on the grill... which is sitting on the new deck. One thing that I really love to do is cook out on my grill. I enjoy it so much; I got an apron that says L337 Ch3f, which is a computer geek way of spelling "Elite Chef". Last year, I... er, I mean Jordan and Laurie bought me a new Kenmore grill for Fathers Day. It's a very nice stainless steel, gas grill with 4 main burners, a side burner which I use for sautéing, and a nice, enclosed stand w/ stainless steel doors. It's my favorite Fathers Day gift to date... because it's my first and only one I've gotten so far. The funny thing about this gift... Laurie and Jordan were in the Philippines when they got it for me. Since I bought it for myself, Laurie and Jordan didn’t know about it or that they even got it for me until they got back from the Philippines.

Over the last few weeks, we've been grilling out and having people over. On different occasions, we've had my parents, brothers and sisters, and even friends over. Grilling out is a great way to have people over. It's easy to do, and lends itself to quick and easy clean up. Also, it makes it easy for people to bring easy side dishes over when they ask what to bring. Even if you’re cooking steak or cooking hamburgers and hotdogs on the girl, coleslaw and potato salad always go good. Laurie had asked me if I like to go on Picnics, and I said that every time I cook on the grill it's a Picnic. Besides, I cant take my grill if we go somewhere else to have a picnic. Another reason is that there isn’t much point in landscaping the yard to make it look pretty if we are going to go somewhere else to eat anyway.

Aubrey and Jordan and growing so fast. Every day both of them do something that just amazes me. Jordan had gotten fingerprints on the aquarium and saw me wipe them off with a tissue. About 10 minutes later he was by the aquarium touching it up again and suddenly went to get a tissue and proceeded to wipe it off himself. Then he looked at me and smiled. Aubrey is just over a month old and already she is staring at everything, and looking everyone in their eyes examining them. She appears to be ticklish and I can tickle or kiss little smiles out of her. Also, for being as young as she is, she can pick herself up at a 90 degree angle and turn her head side to side. She's a very strong baby.

Laurie has been updating the website with new photos of both kids to keep everyone up to date on their development. They are a wonderful blessing and I couldn’t imagine my life without Laurie, Jordan or Aubrey. I can only imagine what our next children will be like. When we got married, Laurie and I decided that we'd like to have kids for sure and possibly up to 4 or 5. We want to share our life w/ our children just as our parents did with us. I'm from a family of 7 and Laurie is from a family of 9. We know that as long as we do our part, live our lives as good Christians, and put our faith and confidence in God, He will provide for us and our family. Because of this, we are not afraid of having children, and not afraid of having 4 or 5. We'll see what God has planned for us. He's taken very good care of us so far. We feel very blessed.

Life is a journey. Whether you are landscaping your yard, cooking on a grill, or raising your children and spending your life with your loving wife, God is a part of it all. In the end, it all comes down to how you lived your life, and if you’ve made God the center of it, remembering Him in all things.

Have a great week and take care.

 

**Update by Laurie: I have pictures of our Spring projects in our Spring Projects 2007 album of our Photo Gallery. Also, I have finally uploaded and updated Aubrey's album. I have the Weeks Old pictures and One Month Old pictures. I am still working on Jordan's.

Well, after a few hours of work, our new patio / deck is completed. After work on Wednesday I went to Menards, our local lumber and building supply store, and picked up my lumber. I needed to make 2 trips. With the seats down in our Mercury Mountaineer I was able to haul everything. The first trip consisted of hauling 28 18 foot timbers. That meant that I had timber as long as my SUV sticking out the back of my SUV. I only had to drive 2 miles through town to get home, but it was an adventure. With timbers that long it was hard to drive over 5 or 10 mph the entire way. Each bump caused them to bounce terribly and at one point I had to pull to the side and pull some of the timbers further into the truck so they wouldnt slilde out. I made it home and emptied the truck so I could go back to the rest.

When I got back to Menards for the second load the gate man said I was more courageous than he was, and that he wouldnt have been willing to haul that load. Guess I got guts then. Cheaper than paying them to deliver it a week later when I had the time to do it myself. Anyway, the second load was for 12 and 8 foot timbers so I loaded up the last 34 timbers and hauled them home. That was a cake walk as I only had about 2 feet of lumber sticking out the back of the truck this time. After unloading everything it was already getting dark so I resolved to build the patio / deck the next day.

Thursday came and after I got home I changed and started on the project. With Laurie and Jordan's help, we were able to get it all built in a few hours. Laurie would help me measure and Jordan would hand me screws... when he wasnt running off with them. Laurie helped me to position all the boards in place as well as help me to get the deck boards on straight and tight together. When you have an 18 foot board, there is always a little bow to it. With Laurie's help, we were able to push the boards tight together and screw them down so there were no gaps. As the boards dry over the next few years the gaps will be minimal so it'll look very nice.

There is only a little bit of screwing down to do on the boards to reduce creaking and ensure the boards are solidly in place. I have to trim one end of the boards as the are 18 foot and our deck is 17 foot.

When we bought the house it had a shed attached to the back of the house with a broken concrete floor and a concrete foundation. Our new deck now covers the 17 x 11 foot area. It makes the backyard look very nice and is a very nice expansion to the property and home. It actually makes the area look much larger now. Also, because it isnt attached to the house we didnt need a building permit. Whats even better, it's only 6 inches high and sits directly on the concrete foundation of the old shed so we dont have to worry about it rotting, shifting, or sinking.

We'll stain and seal it soon and then we can move on to landscaping the backyard and around the house. On my lumber run, I picked up 20 8 foot long landscaping timbers. With these timbers, some black tarp to keep the weeds out and some woodchips, I think it will really start to look pretty. I also won't have to worry about cutting the grass in some of the harder to cut areas of the yard anymore. As for plants, my Mom, Alice, has a beautiful garden that she is constantly working on. She'll help us to pick out some good plants as well as give us some of her own that have either "worn out their welcome" or multiplied in her own garden.

We'll try put pictures up over the course of the summer in order to show our progress. Man I love this time of year.

God bless and take care.

I love every season, but spring is always welcome after a long winter. Everything is green, the flowers are blooming, the grass is growing, and projects can finally be started. This year we plan to build our patio off the back of the house and do some gardening and landscaping. Flower beds will be put in, wood chips will be put down, and overall, we plan to beautify our yard and home.

We don’t know what the future holds for us, with the potential of be relocated to the Chicago area, but we figure that we might as well enjoy things here as much as we can. There's no point on putting our life on hold here just because we may move in 1, 2, 3 or more years. We plan to make our yard as pretty as we can in that amount of time and get as many of Mom's extra plants that we can in the process. We figure the more we can learn here on landscaping our yard, the next home we have will be even better.

The only real project we have left after the landscaping and patio is to put in new picture windows in our living room and dining room. Both windows are the original windows that were in the house when we bought them. They are functional but quite ugly. Also, they are old so they leak in the cold and let out the warm air in the winter. They’re definitely not very efficient. That project will take a few bucks so we need to hold off on that one for probably another year, but regardless, it'll really make the house look nice once it's done.

Regarding the landscaping, Laurie keeps telling me she doesn’t know a weed from a flower or planted plant, but my Mom and I are teaching her. She'll actually quite good at gardening and only needs a few pointers in the right direction. She's not afraid to try anything, though sometimes she does need a little bit of coaxing. Together, we will be able to get a ton of our landscaping projects done this summer.

With the grass growing so much due to the rain and warm sunny days, it was necessary to cut the grass. Laurie and I took our push mower apart to prepare it for the summer and found that water had somehow gotten into the carburetor and corroded it. We couldn’t get it started again because of this and needed to borrow my Brother Jason's rider mower. His mower is not exactly the very nice John Deere lawn mower that my parents have but it's nice none the less. Unlike the John Deere, the speed is not controlled by a foot petal, but by a hand lever. This made for an interesting first time cutting the lawn. I almost ran over and killed my beautiful crab apple trees in front of my house because I couldn’t get the lawnmower to slow down. I was trying to push a foot petal that wasn’t there and realized almost too late that i needed to pull the hand lever back. I also took a small branch off of my magnolia and rhododendron bush. Glad it wasn’t any worse than that. The grass got cut and the next time will be much better.

Anyway, I'm excited to be able to work in my yard again and to be outside. I was getting to the point where I couldn’t stand being stuck in the house anymore. I'm sure everyone else was probably feeling the same as well. Anyway, we hope everyone takes care and has a great day. Have fun and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Today is my wonderful hubby's 29th birthday. Just thought I'd let everyone know. hehehe :) He is now a father of 2 adorable babies (I still consider Jordan as a baby even though he is a big boy now). Jebby completes and complements me in every way. I could not have asked for a better man for a husband in my life... he has given and taught me so much in life, both physically and spiritually. He's a great father to both Jordan and now, Aubrey... and I can definitely see how he adores and cherishes his little ones. This last week, after I had Aubrey, he has been a great help for me in making sure the house is in order, getting/preparing me my meals and wants :), taking care of Jordan while I took care of Aubrey, even yet still he took care of Aubrey (except the nursing part). I really appreciate all that he has done for me, for us as a family... in all this time. I love him so much... I love you, Jeb and Happy Birthday.

I hope I don't sound too mushy... I just want everyone to know of how and what a wonderful man I married. :)

Jordan spent the afternoon and overnight at Grandma & Grandpa Mortier yesterday. This is the second time he spent the night at Gma/Gpa's and both times he did very well. He loves being at Gma and Gpa's, because he can run around all over their yard and play (unlike in town, where we live). He had fun too with Jason and Kelley's little lambs and spending time with Sophia. I am glad he does love his Grandpa and Grandma so much. I think back and wished I had experienced more of those with my own Grandparents. Most of my grandparents died while I was still little. I just have my Grandma on my dad's side that’s living. But I did enjoy and cherish all those times that we spent with my grandparents when they were still alive (especially at the Feasts). I'm just glad that Jordan and Aubrey can have that opportunity to spend as much quality time with their grandparents... I just wish that my parents weren't so far away and that they can also share Jordan and Aubrey's growing years with them often. We will do our best to work that out. Have my mom and dad come over or we go visit them.

Aubrey is doing well. She is 2 weeks old today. I'm kinda glad I can have this time alone with her today. It is amazing how much love you can have for another child of yours. I never knew or thought that I can give as much love to another child after I had Jordan... but that love just keeps multiplying it seems. Now, I understand the depth of love our parents has for us kids. That love doesn't divide by how many children you have... it multiplies. This is how I can picture God's love for us... His children. It is amazing!

Yesterday, our ministers' wife came over to help me clean the house and even brought dinner for us. She did an amazing job. That was very nice of her! We really thank her and appreciate her for her thoughtfulness and genuine concern and love. This is a very wonderful example of true servant's leadership. I pray I can do the same for someone else in the future. Jeb's mom also came later and helped out. She has been helping me out so much since I came into their lives, that I know I haven't thanked her enough. But I am deeply touched and thank her for everything she has done for me / my family as well. I know my mom would have done the same if she can only be here... which I know deep down in her heart and spirit she is with me and wanting to be with me. These ladies have set a great example to me, which I pray I can be also.

Before I end, I would like to give my warm greetings on all April celebrants. I hope I didn't forget anyone. :) If so, congratulations to you as well!

April 4 - Patricia's (my cousin) birthday

April 10 - Richard's (my brother) birthday

- Zach Joseph Lueck birth (our friends, Jane and John's baby boy)

April 12 - Our baby girl's birth (Aubrey Lynn)

April 21 - Kimberly and Robert's Wedding -- CONGRATULATIONS! Their wedding was beautiful! (I have some pictures in the Mortier album)

April 24 - Gracielle's (my cousin) birthday and Congratulations as well on her College Graduation -- BA in Communication Arts (I believe)

April 25 - Brenda Coppersmith's birthday (Jeb's Aunt)

April 26 - Jazmin Washington's birthday (our good friends, Brett and Becca Washington's daughter)

April 26 - My dear Jebby's birthday

April 27 - Kimberly's birthday(my sister-in-law)

We're finally home (got home yesterday) and starting to get settled. It is always nicer to be home and sleep in your own bed and not having to be bothered by nurses coming in and out of your room to get assessments of you and the baby all night long (especially when you want the much needed sleep). While in the hospital, the nurses give some babies lil' nicknames for their uniqueness (when they are in the nursery). They nicknamed Aubrey "squeaker" because she likes to squeak when she was first born, and when she cries and when she sleeps. It's like a half squeak and half coo. It is so cute.

Today is Aubrey's first day at home and she's doing pretty well. She's sleeping a whole lot yet, which is nice to get some sleep in and other things done. I have also finally got some pictures of Aubrey up in our Photo Gallery. We think she has both our features. One can definitely tell though that she and Jordan are brother-sister. :) I love her head of hair that has streaks of light brown on the tips. We are not sure if it'll stay or would come off once her hair grows longer and has had a haircut. It definitely looks pretty right now, though.

I feel so blessed to have such an easy and fast labor and delivery of her. I was in labor for a total of 4 hours! I think I got it from my mom... all her deliveries of 7 of us kids were fast and relatively easy. But moreso, all praise and thanks is to God for hearing everyone's prayers for a smooth, fast and easy delivery.

We are definitely thrilled and happy to finally have her into this world, and adore and love her so very much already! We love our kids so much, they are our greatest blessings from God.

Thank you to everyone for your Congratulations, thoughts, comments and prayers on our new baby. We really appreciate it a lot.

By the way, I have some recent pictures of Jordan in his 17 month folder.

Around 1:20pm on April 12th, 2007, Aubrey Lynn Mortier was born. She was 6lbs 9oz and 18in long. She has a full head of brown hair, and is very pretty.

Also, Laurie had a very easy and fast delivery. She started labor around 10am and had Aubrey by 1:20pm and only pushed for 6 minutes. She looked and felt great afterwards and even joked about going out and dancing tonight.

We promise to update this further once we get back from the hospital. We'll get pictures up by this weekend as well.... Promise.

I had another Doctor's appointment today. I lost 1 pound! :) Anyway, for my progress with Aubrey... I am 3+cm dilated and 70% effaced. I 'might' go into labor this week at the earliest or a week or two more from now, according to how I am progressing. I packed my (and Aubrey's) hospital bag today, and then, Jeb will be installing the infant car seat in our vehicle tomorrow.

Jeb's so anxious and excited, that his mood and emotions are a roller coaster ride lately. It's weird, he seems like he's the one going through the pregnancy right now. He's restless at night, can't get a decent restful sleep and is exhausted that he needs a nap when he gets home. For some reason also... he seems to be nesting! Since he's been home, he's been cleaning, taking out the trash, helping me with the laundry and folding. (lol) Soooo very weird. :p But I am not complaining about the help, it is very much appreciated!

Well, any day now... hopefully.

 

I hope everyone's Passover, NTBMO and DUB week went well. We did. :) It was meaningful and inspiring, always a humbling experience for me. On Saturday, we will be having a combined church service in Madison, which is also the annual Spring Dance. We will be having Mr. Tom Kirkpatrick (if I am not mistaken) as our guest speaker. I'm looking forward to that... this is going to be my 3rd Spring Dance attendance since I've been here.

Today, I also had my 36 week Doctor's appointment. We found out that I am 1-2 cm dilated and 60% effaced already! The Doctor even said that it looks like my baby has dropped a bit (she could feel her head). My doctor also said that she wouldn't be surprised if I had the baby early, and labor would go fast. It is kinda exciting to know that (about the dilation and effacement) but we also know that a lot of women walk around 2 more weeks to a month, being where I am right now. So, I am not getting my hopes up. But I know, I do need to pack my (and the baby's) hospital bags pretty soon (just in case).

I have a few more pictures of Jordan in his 16-month album, and a few pictures in there to see how big I am right now, pregnant with Aubrey.

I think this will be all for now. I really am getting sleepy and tired as I am typing this and I should probably call it a night and go to bed. Have a happy Sabbath and Last day of DUB. Good night everyone... until my next update.

Just a quick update to let you know that I have uploaded Jordan's 16-month pictures. I haven't been taking a lot of pictures of him lately, so the ones I have of him are pictures from the same day or activity. But I still hope you enjoy viewing Jordan's new pictures and to have a glimpse of how he's changing and growing.

I had fun with him being outside on that one unusually warm "summer" day. Until my next update... have a good week for now.

These past few days have been unusually warm for a March weather. We were almost up to 80 deg the other day... more like a Summer weather than Spring. It has been so warm, we have to open our windows and keep the fans blowing (but it can just do so much). We feel it is kinda too early to install our air-cons yet, but I have been really warm lately, especially with a huge belly and all the cleaning and vacuuming I'm doing. Maybe we will just get bigger fans to put in our living room. I remember a few years back when I first came here, at this same time, I'm usually pretty much bundled up yet 'til late April. Jeb remembers that they still get snow/blizzards at this time of the month. And Jordan... oh, he just loves being outside all the time now, walking and looking at everything around, picking up pebbles/stones, etc... It is good that it has been warmer lately, he can be out more instead of being couped up in the house like during winter months.

Anyway, we had a nice and successful dinner with the Dowd's. Everything went well, which I'm glad and at the same time relieved that that is done. I have been anxious and kinda nervous about this upcoming dinner. I'm just glad it turned out pretty well. I still have quite a bit of cheesecake desserts we need to eat up before DUB :-P Not sure if cheesecakes have leavening though. Oh, maybe the graham crust has. This is the perfect time I need my sisters here... they'll take care of getting those gone in no time. :) I just don't want to throw it away, but I guess if I really need to, I have to. Jeb won't be much help in eating up the desserts.

I'm pretty much done with my deleavening of the house... just a few more things to do. The majority of my vacuuming and dusting is done. Our bedroom, the office, the bathroom, and Jordan's bedroom are all done. Tomorrow, I'm going to have my carpets cleaned. Then, I'll have to finish vacuuming the curtains, cobwebs on the ceiling, and baseboards in the living and dining room. After that, that leaves the kitchen, which I will still need quite a bit to work on (fridge, cupboards, scrubbing/mopping the floor, behind and underneath the oven/stove and the fridge). Jeb will be helping me with the kitchen though, which is good :) We really need to get a new and better vacuum cleaner. The one we have now, just isn't doing much for sucking up dirt and cleaning the carpets good. It takes me about almost half an hour to 45 mins to finish just one room, because I have to go through the same path a couple of times and using different brush strokes and angles just to get the dirt, fuzz, or lint off the carpet.

Oh, by the way... my mom has her own blog website too! She's pretty excited about it and has been updating it pretty well. I'm surprised and happy that she's even willing and is interested in having her own site where she can share her days with us who are half across the world from her. I'm pretty excited and happy for her as well. Keep the posts and updates coming, Mom! :)

Well, that will be it for tonight, I am really wore out from today and yesterday yet. I'll try to update more later when I have the time and something to write about again, and put up more pictures of Jordan (he's going to be 17 months on Wednesday! -- I know he grows so fast). Good night everyone!

We want to acknowledge and give our warm greetings to our March birthday celebrants...

Our brother-in-law, David Rogers -- March 16^th

My brother, Charles -- March 21^st

Momma (Alice) -- March 31^st (coming up soon!)

... and the happy arrival of our niece, Ava Loren. She was born today, March 21^st. She weighed about 7 pounds and some ounces at birth (don't remember the exact figures and time of birth) and is 20 inches long. She is the first child of Chad and Lora Mortier. I'm sure as soon as Lora can update her blog site, you'll know all the details. I guess we will be seeing them all and the baby for the first time at Kimberly and Robert's wedding.

Congratulations, Chad and Lora! We are soo happy for you both.

[To update you with my last post:] The uninstall/reinstall didn't work for my accounting software. The problem lies with my data file. Too bad I didn't have a backup, which I thought I did. Anyway, I did end up emailing for Call Support and they did call me back (pretty quick actually, I was impressed). The lady walked me through steps in hopefully getting the file running, but to no avail. So, the options for me are to send them my business data file so they can see what is wrong and hopefully restore it, which would take about 14-15 business days... or I just redo everything from scratch. I ended up redoing everything... creating a new business data file and entering my records. I'm almost done reconstructing everything. Good thing I don't have tons of records yet! ... And, I got to send out my invoice yesterday too, which was a relief.

Onto topics other than computers and software (which I'm sure is boring my readers), things have been going pretty well here. We watched the movie, "One Night at the Musuem" last night. It was a pretty good movie and quite humorous, I enjoyed it. A good family movie, I'd recommend. And then tonight, we watched "One Night with the King". This is a Biblical story about Queen Esther. It turned out to be a pretty good movie too. I heard of it from my family and them recommending it (they even played it at church services one time). At first, I didn't remember the whole Esther story, so the characters and who is who was all messed up in my head. But then, towards the middle of the movie, you get the characters and story all straightened out (and you remember the story too, if you knew of it before already). All in all, it is a good movie, even for a Friday night or Sabbath family movie.

Mandy, our dog has been acting pretty weird lately. She'll keep peeing in the house, which she never used to do before. She doesn't even whine or let us know that she needed to go. One time I was in the kitchen standing right there, preparing breakfast and she peed in the kitchen floor. We think she might have some bladder issues, so when we get her in for her yearly vaccine shots, we'll have her examined too.

Other than that, Jeb, Jordan and Aubrey (in my belly) are all doing well. Jebby's glad the week's over. He has had quite a busy and stressful week. Next week, he has a one-day business trip to Michigan with his boss. Yes, one day... they fly out early in the morning and fly back in later that evening. We're glad it's company that pays for the ticket :p But hey, I won't be lonely for him that night... which I can't complain at all!

Jordan won't go to sleep in his crib lately until I've rocked and held him for a while and when he's pretty much dozing off, otherwise he'd cry in his crib calling for me if I just lay him there for sleepy time like I used to. He's been really fun to be with though, and constantly growing and impressing us with the things he learns and does. He's a good helper too. He's doing pretty good with picture association, like if I draw a fish... he'll recognize the drawing and say "ish" (that's how he says "fish"), or I will draw a banana, and he recognizes it and says "anana", or a flower (for some reason he says it as "bulak", which means flower or cotton in Tagalog), a butterfly (he says it pretty similarly with his flower)... I can't help thinking he's so smart. But then again, I'm his mom and I must be biased. :)

Aubrey, she's a constant mover. She moves quite frequently in my belly the whole day... and really hard movements too, makes me go "ow". I've been getting the Braxton-Hicks contractions quite a bit too each day. The tightening sensation always gets me breathless. It's like my lungs are being squeezed tight that I can't breathe, that I have to take quick, rapid, short breaths. I don't exactly remember having it that way with Jordan when I had my practice contractions, until I was in labor. But she's still in there (in my belly)... short of 7 more weeks before her due date (April 30)! I also got her birth announcement layout and design finally done (Jeb might still tweak the design a little bit though). I just need a picture of her when she arrives and stick it in the template and print it out. I also received the envelopes I ordered for the card size and have them addressed now too. I'm glad that is done.

Other things still pending... getting the kids bedroom organized and ready for Aubrey, deleavening the whole house and packing my hospital bags. Oh, I still need to mail my Pre-Admission form for when I go into the hospital when I'm in labor (it's all filled out already, though). Well, those are some updates from my side of the world here. I hope everyone has had a good week and a wonderful Sabbath and weekend.

Even though Computers and Technology and its software give you so much efficiency and help with almost anything... there is the evils of them too. Last night was a trial for me. My accounting software decided to crash on me as I was in the midst of trying to send out an invoice to one of our customers! Why does it have to do it at that particular time... it could have crashed a lot sooner or later when I have the invoice done. For some reason, it can't find my data file or open it, even though I was just working on it a few hours ago before dinner. I can see the working file and data alright in the drives I specified it to. I tried everything I could do get it back up and running, to no avail. I even tried repairing it with the install kit, but still no change. So now, I completely uninstalled the program and I will attempt to reinstall the program with hopes it will run again.

I really need to have it up and running so I can send out that invoice and get paid. (lol) The worst thing I will need to do is redo a whole month and a half of entering records I already did. Oh wells, such is life. This time, I am going to have 3 backups! It is just plain annoying and it is upsetting me.

I'm going to try to think of happier things to make my day not so upsetting. If only Lora had her baby now then that would be a very happy thought! :) hehehe. ... or my baby for that matter. Well, I better get back on working on getting my accounting software back... it's done uninstalling, have to reinstall it now. Talk to you laters... hopefully in a better mood! :)

I'd like to make an announcement. This February, Laurie and I started our own company, Black Tie Solutions, LLC . The exceprt from our company website is as follows:

Black Tie Solutions, LLC is a marketing agency with a strong focus on the Internet. Our unprecedented levels of web expertise and Internet services such as web design, production, programming, hosting and Internet marketing, will provide you with the web presence your company deserves.

What does Black Tie Solutions, LLC have to offer? In a nutshell, we:

• create an Internet marketing strategy thats right for you
• provide you with a stylish design for beautiful & effective presentation
• offer elegant, robust & integrated technical solutions
• develop online branding strategies
• develop viral marketing strategies
• more...

We currently have a multimedia and graphic design expert on our payroll who owns and runs our sister company, Mac-Arts Multimedia Web Developement, located in the Philippines. This expert just so happens to be Laurie's sister, Meryl Macaraeg, who is a very talented young woman with tons of potential.

It's fun to think that we just started our company, and already we have an international office / sister company, as well as an employee. Our company is off to a good start and already we have several potential and existing clients as well as an occasional coveted government contract. All this just through word of mouth.

Things are looking up and we are excited about the future growth of our company.

I continue to work for Hexagon Metrology, Inc. as their Internet Marketing Specialist, and have recently completed several very large projects that will make things much easier for the sales and marketing departments.

My boss, the Director of Marketing, has recently informed me that he will be moving to the Chicago area and plans to make that the cental office for Hexagon Metrology, Inc. marketing. He asked me to consider moving there as well due to this fact. It is something that Laurie and I have talked about and it seems that it is the best opportunity for my career with Hexagon, as well as in general, to continue to grow. Nothing is final yet, however, it may be that in the next year or two, we may be moving.

Well, that's about it for now. Have a great day.

Jordan's 15 month old pictures are up!

My baby is not so baby anymore... 16 months old and he is getting more and more like a little boy, a toddler. It is fascinating though to see what he learns and do each day. He is really trying to talk now. He says a lot of words which I can very well understand, but sometimes he talks to me where I couldn't decipher what he is trying to say, though, I may get a hint of what he wants.

A new thing he has figured out just recently is spinning. Whenever he is in our bedroom, in front of our closet mirrors, he will just spin and spin and spin to no end. And then he will try to walk, falling and bumping into everything. But still he will do it over and over. It is so cute and funny. He also has both his top left and right canines (I-tooth) come in. All in all he has 14 teeth.

Onto other things... I feel and definitely look very pregnant. 9 more weeks to go! I have also been feeling so very tired as of lately. By 3pm... I am sooo ready to fall asleep. But I'm enjoying this few weeks left of pregnancy with Aubrey, feeling her kick and move around my belly because I know very soon, it will end. I knew when I had Jordan... I kinda missed the feeling of him moving inside my belly, but moreso I enjoy him being in my arms now. It will very soon be the same with Aubrey when she finally comes into this world.

I'm working on her and Jordan's bedroom yet. It'll be interesting to see how blues and pinks mix in their one bedroom. I'll make sure to take some pictures of their bedroom once it is finally done. It'll be a fun project for me.

We just had a big winter snowstorm last weekend and it is forecasted that we will be getting another one this evening 'til tomorrow. We already had a foot+ of snow. Since the 3 years I have been here, this is the most snow I have seen... it definitely looks beautiful with all the white snow covering the trees and everything. I love it! It's a pain for my dear hubby though, because he has to shovel all the time. I would have been the one shoveling (or at least helping) but since I am very pregnant, I'm excused :) One plus side of being pregnant... no hard labor or heavy lifting :)

Well, this next 2 days will be busy with Kimberly's bridal shower preparations, which will be this weekend. And then the rest of the weeks ahead, I'll try to get my house ready for DUB, spring cleaning and all! Time does fly so fast and still you wonder where did all your time go?

Oh, Jordan just woke up from his afternoon nap. Got to go spend time with my little man for a little bit now. Hope everyone has a good week(end). Until laters...

**** PICTURES UPLOADED :: MEDIEVAL TIMES ****

I had my 2nd ultrasound appointment yesterday, and thankfully my placenta has moved out of the way! (that was what the 2nd ultrasound was all about--to check my placenta) That was a relief to know... not having to worry that I might end up getting a c-section. Anyway, Aubrey (in my belly) seems to be doing just fine, and is right on schedule. The ultrasound technician measured her and said that she weighs 3 lbs-7 oz. She also said that she could tell from the ultrasound that Aubrey has quite a bit of hair. She showed us Aubrey's head of hair... it was sooo cool!

The weather has been warming up lately as well... no more negative temperatures. I'm actually looking forward to spring now. I am looking forward to seeing our plants and flowers bloom again. I hope the plants Jeb planted last Spring all made it. I kinda missed most of the spring blooms last year when I was in the Philippines for 5 weeks. But this year, I get to see them all! :) I'm excited.

Also, this past Saturday, Kim, Rob, Jeb and I went down to Medieval Times in Schaumburg, IL. They actually have a castle. Jeb and I had so much fun... it was a cool show. Jeb has been wanting to take me down there for forerver. I have never been to a place before where you get to experience the Medieval times. Eating in a coliseum, with your fingers, while watching a tournament of Knights and horses and jousting. It was pretty cool. We werent sure if we needed reservations to get into Medieval Times. It appears that you do. When we got down there, the show was completely sold out. After waiting for about 10 minutes, we were able to get in. We were extremely lucky because there were only 4 seats left and there were only 4 of us. Talk about a blessing. We also got some pretty great seats even though they were at the top of the coliseum. We could see over everyone and had a great angle so we could see everything perfectly. They had some great events, and even had a trained falcon fly about 5 feet over the top of everyones heads.

It has been a really nice night and experience for Jeb and I... our first date in many, many months! Grandpa (Donn) and Grandma (Alice) Mortier were nice enough to watch Jordan for us.

I'll try to put up some pictures from that evening and some of Jordan's newer pictures later on. Right now, I got to get back to work and see what Jordan is up to.

I have uploaded Jordan's most recent pictures.. his 14-month old pictures. I can't believe that Jordan is already 15 months old, time sure flies so fast!

This past Friday night, my mom-in-law and sis's-in-law gave me a "surprise" baby shower for Aubrey. It was really a surprise! Jebby even knew about it and he kept it from me very well. When I walked in my parents-in-law's house, the living room was decorated with baby gifts and stuff, and then they pretended to tell me that they changed Lora's baby shower date to that night... and no one told me about it. I felt so bad that I didn't know that Lora's shower was moved and I didn't have anything for her baby. I was almost going to walk out the door and go to the mall to get something quick and then they told me to sit down and relax... it was for me! It was very unexpected, because I really wasn't expecting any baby showers for me. Knowing that this is my second baby and I already had a big shower with Jordan. But anyway, we enjoyed the evening and I got a lot of very cute outfits for our baby girl. I even got a rocking chair! I always wanted one :) It was a blessing. I really am thankful for all the gifts and touched. I am even more excited now for Aubrey's arrival in about 3+ months from now.

My belly is really starting to show. It's amazing how big it got in just over a week. And she has been moving quite a bit lately too. I really love the feeling of the baby moving inside my belly, it is, I think my favorite pregnancy experience.

Well, I got to go and finish up Kimberly's wedding invites. Have a great week everyone!

Jordan has finally decided to walk.  He has been walking a couple steps now and then since he was 14 months, but last Thursday, he probably got tired of crawling all the time that he walked all over our house.  It was really awesome to see him walk and exciting at the same time.  We have been patiently waiting and waiting for him to finally walk, and now he does!

We have noticed that Jordan wakes up more and more at night, though.  He used to sleep through the night pretty well since he was 2 1/2 months old.  But lately, he would constantly wake up at about almost every hour or so, crying and wanted to be comforted.  I've read and have been told that this is just a phase that a baby will grow out of.  Says, it is "separation anxiety" which peaks at about 14 months old.

At first, I was picking him up every time and rocking him back to sleep, and I would wait in his bedroom until he is sound asleep before I quietly and carefully tiptoe out and back into our bedroom.  Sometimes I would sleep with him on the couch until he is sound asleep and put him back in his crib or if I get really tired, I just bring him to bed with us.  This seemed not to be working too well for us, because he'll keep doing it every night, nonetheless getting us tired and not much sleep.  So, we changed tactics (took us a couple of days to weeks for us to see results).

Lately, we would tell him to go back to sleep, lay him down and not pick him up and just comfort him, tell him not to cry and leave the room immediately.  So, the last few days, whenever he would wake up and cry, I would go into his room, give him a kiss and comfort and tell him that it is still sleepy time.  I would lay him back down and cover him up and walk right out.  He won't cry now and would just fall back asleep.  Now, this seems to work, because last night he just woke up twice!  (compared to every hour throughout the whole night/morning).  We hope he'll learn to fall back to sleep without even having to call for us.  I know he will :)  I have also noticed that he would sleep better if he just has one nap in the day/afternoon and put him to bed earlier in the night.  Oh... we are learning how to deal with all this baby stuff :)

Jordan is just a delight to have.  He'll give you hugs and kisses a lot now and talks.  He'll actually try to tell you something, but we just can't figure out his babbles.  Sometimes he gets frustrated when I don't understand him, that he grabs for my hand and guides it to where/what he wants.  It's pretty cool!  He is a smart little kid, he seems to understand what we are trying to tell him and would actually listen.  I'm still working on potty-training him though.  We had a few successful attempts but I don't get to catch him in time all the time.

My pregnancy is coming along just fine.  I haven't gained too much weight yet because I was sick with the flu for the last 2 weeks and did not have an appetite and all.  The baby seems to be doing well.  She moves and kicks a whole lot, which personally is the best feeling being pregnant.  We are all getting excited for her arrival.  Well, I better get going and put some hours in for work and tidy up the house a bit.  Hope all is doing well with everyone and having a good week.

This is just a quick update.  For those who havent noticed, CrossingIslands.com has gone though a site redesign with a few new added features such as a comment system.  It was time to update the site design anyway, as the old one had been up for a while and the site was starting to look dated.  Today presented the perfect opportunity to do the redesign anyway because Laurie, Jordan, and I were all home sick.

Well, according to Laurie, there are new photos in the Photo Gallery, and she hopes that you like them.  I'm going to eat a little soup and take a quick nap now.  I hope that everyone has a good Sabbath as it comes upon you tonight.

God bless & Take care.

We finally found out what we are having... a baby girl!  We are planning to name her Aubrey Lynn (second name is still debatable).  We are so excited and happy... and can't wait to meet her.  From her ultrasound scans, she seems to be very healthy and normal.  From the very beginning of my pregnancy with her, I kinda had a hunch that my baby would be a girl and indeed it was.

Jordan is the only boy so far among the Mortier and Macaraeg grandkids.  Well, just wanted to share the happy news!  It'll be even better when she's finally arrived.  We will keep everyone posted on my pregnancy progress.

I have uploaded some ultrasound pictures of her in our Photo Gallery, in case anyone is curious to see her. :) 

Even in the midst of difficulties and trials, God sure has blessed us lately.

We got a new vehicle on Tuesday morning.  It was the 1999 Mercury Mountaineer I was talking about earlier in my updates.  It was an excellent deal.  The owners, even though the vehicle being old with 140K miles in it, took great car of it, so it still runs really nicely.  They just  got new tires for it, brakes, coolant has been flushed lately, oil has been changed regularly and it has a powerful V8 engine.  The interior still looks really nice too.  The exterior color is almost a midnight blue (sometimes looks black at night).  For interior, it has all gray leather seats, a 6-cd changer, moonroof, (not exactly interior, but good features) a trailer hitch, roof-rack, and the all good All-Wheel Drive, which is great for winter snows. :) 

It sure is a great blessing and Jebby loves driving it!  It is so much easier now to put Jordan in and out of the car without having to break our backs or toss him into the back seat of a 2 door sports car.  Granted we did love the car we had.  We also were able to sell our old car to a used vehicle/salvage buyer guy for a decent price.

I am going to be starting work next week, from home and I get to be paid pretty well... not minimum pay at all!  So, for being able to work from home and flexible with my hours, with a decent pay per hour, it sure is a blessing!

Those are just some of the major blessings that God has poured upon us.  I'm sure there are a lot of little ones too that we may not notice, but it is there.  God sure takes care of His children, even when we think we are in the lowest of times, and as long as we keep Him in the center of our lives no matter what.  Praise be to God! 

Hello everyone!  I've been pretty busy lately, but here is a quick update for you guys.  Our Feast in Steamboat Springs, Colorado was great!  We have heard really wonderful and inspiring messages and met quite a few good friends of ours.  We weren't able to do much (me being pregnant and not feeling the best), but we still had a great time spending the time with my family and driving through the mountains.  We plan to go back, hopefully, next year for when Cheryl and David would be here then.

Jordan is one year old now, as of October 28.  We really didn't do much per se as for "celebrating" his birthday, but he did get a few presents from his uncles and aunties and Grandpa and Grandma.  He isn't quite walking yet, but he is getting more and more confident in standing all by himself for a short period before he gets tired and flops to the floor.  He is VERY good with crawling and cruising thru furniture though.  I noticed that he has been talking (or making noises) more so now too.  I think he will be more of a visual/analytical kind of a boy.  He is so much into studying things or his toys, which is pretty cool.

As for my pregnancy, I am in my 14th week now (going on 15) and the "pregnancy symptoms" that I should have has been experiencing for my first months are just now starting to appear or make itself noticed by me (for the exception of nausea).  We have heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time 2 weeks ago and it is so nice to know that indeed there is a tiny human being growing inside of you (especially when you don't feel pregnant at all!)  I haven't gained weight at all from my first checkup which was before the Feast and my second checkup after the Feast.  Considering that one would normally eat a little bit more during the Feast time.  I would attribute it to how I was not feeling well and being sick and puking not eating a whole lot for my first few months.

My sister, Cheryl is finally married to David Rogers (too bad we had to miss their beautiful wedding).  By the way you can view their pictures and stuff at their wedding website: http://macaraeg.org/beloved.  Another good news is that my sister-in-law, Kimbery is now engaged to be married to Robert!  Wheee!!! Another wedding.  They plan an April 21st wedding.  Also, my other sister-in-law, Lora (Chad's wife) is pregnant with their first child.  Their baby is expected on April 1st.  I know cool stuff ahead in April.

Let see... yesterday, our '97 Grand Prix finally died on us as Jeb was starting it up to go to work.  The battery isn't dead because it sounds like it wants to turn over but it just won't turn over, more like the fuel can't get through or something.  So, Jeb just had to call the towing company and have it towed to the car shop and get it checked out.  Poor hubby had to bike to work in a very cold morning that day.  Anyway, it appers that our car is good as junk.  We won't even care to have it fixed up because it will entail thousands of dollars and won't be worth it anymore.  The fuel pump is broken, and oil leaks everywhere in the engine, even into the coolant, aside from other problems.  It is getting old and we think it is it's time to retire, even though we LOVED that car.  

So, right now... we are in the hunt for a new (used) vehicle for us.  We are looking more into a family car, an SUV perhaps.  We checked one out today (a 2001 Ford Exlorer) at a car dealership but apparently we didn't know that the vehicle was labeled "salvaged or rebiult".  We tried it out and all but we came to the conclusion that we didn't like it.  It just didn't suit or ride right for us.  But we have another option (a 1999 Mercury Mountaineer) that we would be looking at, this was our first option actually.  Maybe this is what we will end up getting, we don't know yet until we test-drive it out and see for ouselves.  

Yup, it's been a pretty busy and stressful week for us.  It is never cool when your car breaks down on you all of a sudden.  We were really looking on replacing it anyways, but not this soon!  Oh wells, we just look at it as God's blessing in disguise.  Better have it break down now before the winter sets in that later when we are in the dead of winter.

Another good development is that I will be working part time too!  Well, from home.  Jeb's company is hiring me as a contract employee and I will be working under Jeb's boss, but mostly for Jebby.  I will be doing a lot of Jeb's overflow "grunt" work.  This is a great and added blessing for us, to help get ahead in life, especially now that we needed to get a new vehicle.

Also, we are planning on putting up our own business/company.  It would be a webdesign/hosting, custom programming, card printing and custom video editing (kinda all-in-one digital stuff).  We have a name picked up already but we won't be telling more until it would be official.  We are still working on some paperwork and legalities stuff.  Most probably we'll be operating by April/May of next year.  This is major undertaking we will be doing and plan to do a fast for it.  We'll still have to set a date as to when.  We just wanted God to be involved in this and make sure we are doing this right.

I  guess that is it for updates and developments for now.  Oh yes, my title shows "pictures and updates" but haven't touched on pictures uploaded yet. hehehe.. So yea, I have uploaded new pictures of our 2006 Colorado Feast under the Feast Album and Jordan's 11 months and 1 year pictures under Our First Baby Album.  I hope you all have a great Sabbath and weekend!  Take care and enjoy viewing the pictures.

Just want to take the time to greet everyone a most wonderful Fall Holy Days!  We hope that you had a wonderful Feast of Trumpets (just last week), a meaningful Day of Atonement and an awesomely-inspiring Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day.

We pray that everyone would have a safe trip to and from their respective Feast sites, and during the Festivals as well.

Happy Feasts!

Jeb, Laurie & Jordan

 

To know more about the Annual Holy Days of God, visit www.ucg.org or read/download the booklet: "God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for all Mankind"

Sorry for the very long silence.  A month or two ago, our website server was down but obviously it is and has been back up since.  However, I kinda lost the motivation to update regularly.  So, now I am forcing myself to update.

Things has been going pretty good with the same ol' normal routine.  Summer is officially over and fall is starting to kick in--meaning Feast is almost here.  We fondly call the start of the fall weather as "Feast weather".  We had a nice fun-filled summer.  We went to Wisconsin Dells and enjoyed a day at Noah's Ark waterpark, went camping for a week at Morgan Lake, went to the Zoo in Milwaukee.  We've taken wonderful advantage of our little home-grown garden and we are grateful for its produce. 

Jordan has been steadily growing like a weed (as it seems).  He has got 6 teeth in for a few months now and is about 20-some pounds.  He has had his 3rd haircut also today.  Jordan's also getting pretty good with his balancing and standing (holding on to furniture and stuff).  We won't be surprised if he took his first couple steps in a few more weeks.  He also rambles a lot!  He knows how to "give you five" and claps his hands.  He is just an adorable and good little kid.  It's so hard to see him as a baby because that "baby boy" look has gone away and he is looking more like a little toddler/man, even though he is just 10 months old.  He is still and always will be my little baby! :)  He is soooo cute and adorable anyways.

Let's see, what else has been going on?  Oh yes!  I have another niece.  Jason and Kelley gave birth to Sophia on July 25th.  She is such an adorably cute sweetie (just like my other niece, Tephi ;))  You can view their website and see pictures of her at http://kelley.mortier.org.

On another note, the big news is that... Jeb and I are expecting our second child in the end of April.  We wanted a spring baby so that's what we planned for.  I am on my eigth week of pregnancy.  I have gone to my first doctor's appointment already and my next appointment is around October, and we get to hear the hearbeat of the baby for the first time.  It is exciting and we are both very happy.  Jordan is going to like having a baby brother or sister.  He already loves playing with baby Sophie.

Anyways, I'll update more as I get the chance and have something to talk about again.  For now, I'll need to say goodnight and get Jordan to bed.  Take care everyone! 

Hello all!  It has been a while since I wrote something in here.  Well, a lot has been going on and we had been very busy since I got home from the Philippines.  We've been to 3 friends & family gatherings already for Father's Day, Baby Showers, a Graduation party... and we still have an upcoming grand reunion of all the Mortier clan in mid-July.

My garden is constantly growing and looking nice and healthy!  I've got about 5 or 6 bell peppers growing already.  My cherry tomatoes has about 2 or 3 bunches of little tomato clusters.  All my onions, garlic, potatoes and salad greens are growing very nicely.  Which reminds me, I need to snip off the bigger leaves now on my salad greens row.  We'll have some salad for lunch! :)  By the way, I have some pictures of my before and after garden (still have to take pictures of the NOW too).  As well as some pictures of the "new" house.  Mostly outside pictures though, in "Our First House" album.

Jordan has been doing very good with crawling now.  He has got 4 teeth now (2 above, 2 below).  All front teeth.  He's able to say his first ramblings and "words".  He can say a stream of mama, papa and some other consonants that he adds "a" after it.  He definitely is getting bigger each day and week.  Sometimes, it feels like he is growing too fast. hehehe :)  I have uploaded new pictures of him, under Jordan's album, Seven Months pictures.

Jebby... my wonderful hubby.  Well, he's been doing well and with regards to work, he might most probably get a promotion.  Which is cool and great news.  We'll know more in a week or two. :)

After almost 3 years, I have finally uploaded our wedding pictures on our Photo Gallery.  So, you may want to check those out :)

What else?  Oh, we brought home our new doggie just this past Sunday.  It was Jebby's grandma Mortier's dog and she gave it to us.  She is a very good and pretty doggie.  Her name is Mandy, and is seven months old.  She's black with some white at the end of her legs, her chest and tummy, and her face.  She'll be mostly an indoor house dog.  We don't mind it with her, since she doesn't shed.  I have uploaded some pictures of her in our Photo Gallery as well.  It would be under "Our Pets" album. 

Upcoming plans and events... lots!  End of this month and for the 4th of July break, we plan to be at the Dells (Wisconsin Dells) and have fun at Noah's Ark park.  End of July is camping at Lake Morgan with family and some friends.  End of August, there is this plan to go to Branson, Missouri again and visit Silver Dollar City :)  And maybe, somewhere in between there, Jebby plans to take us to Medieval Times which is somewhere in Illinois.  Fun times ahead! :)

Well, we're taking the most out of Summer.  It doesn't last long. :) hehehe.  I hope and pray that everyone else is having an enjoyable summer as well.  I'll talk to you more again when I can have the time to update! :)  

Congratulations to Charlie and Isis for their first baby, Teatephi Isis Macaraeg.  She came into the world on June 12, 2006 at 5:00am (Philippine time) and weighed in at almost 6 lbs.  Both Mommy and Daddy are doing well and are very happy and proud.

Thank you all for your prayers on Isis and Charlie.  Isis had a fast and normal delivery.  Thanks be to God! :) 

I am sooo happy!  I am now finally an Auntie! and Jebby an Uncle!

 

ps.  Some pictures of her (Teatephi Isis) are posted in Meryl's websites' Photo Gallery . 

Jordan and I made it safely home last week, late Tuesday evening.  It has been 5 days since we've been home but it sure feels good to be home.  I almost thought and felt that the flights would never end.  Jordan did very well on both trips going to the Philippines and coming home to the U.S.  We had a 7 hour wait lay-over in LA for our flight to Milwaukee, and thankfully Jordan didn't mind it as much.  He has been sleeping so much.

...(continued)...

Jordan and I made it half-way through our 5-week vacation here in the Philippines with my family and so far, we are still having fun.  My family just adores Jordan soo much, that they jokingly say that I can go home but leave Jordan behind. (lol... there's NO way I will! =P sorry)  My mom and dad (Jordan's Gpa & Gma) make up every excuse they have to stop by or sneak by our room just to see Jordan and play with him for a little while before they go back to whatever they are doing.  They say, he is a stress releaser (being busy with camp prep and all)

Anyways, I thought I'd just update you all of how we are doing here and most especially Jordan... (continued...)

Finally, I'm all packed and ready to go.  It was funny, I already had all my suitcases packed for the most part, but as I was putting in my last minute items, my DH Jebby, was looking at me and thought.... "I need to step in and help her pack... more efficiently" :)  So, we got all my stuff off the suitcase and cut down my clothes to half! (lol)  You know us women when it comes to packing and picking out clothes.  Anyway, after that, we also went through all of Jordan's clothes... and we were able to cut it in half too! hehehehe.  Not only that, my sweet hubby was able to fit all my stuff into one medium-sized suitcase and a little carry-on suitcase (which I am still going to check-in), from my originally one LARGE suitcase and the medium-sized suitcase.  So, all in all, I have 3 bags (including my carry-on diaper bag for Jordan).  I guess I can say he is a good packer.  He reminds me so much of my dad!  The way he packs and the efficiency of it.

Earlier today though, I had quite an interesting day.  I went out to get my last minute shopping done and on my way home... as I was stopped waiting for the oncoming traffic to clear, to turn left into my street, I heard a LOUD SCRREEEEEAACH... then a loud BAM (clinking of metal and plastic) as my car jerked and rocked.  Someone has just rear-ended me!  Fortunately, I am fine... the air-bags didn't go off either.  I was just a lil' shaken up though.  A lady who lived in a corner apartment saw the whole incident and called for a cop right away.  It was totally the other guys fault.  He wasn't paying attention at all.  Worse of all, he didn't have his driver's license on him nor did he have insurance.  So anyway, the damage to our car was the whole rear-right side fender and lights are busted.  Jeb's going to take the car in to have the damages estimated and fixed up.  We'll have to pay the 1000 deuctible (for our insurance) first though.  But they will reimburse us as soon as they can get this other guy to pay.  They will go after him to pay us.  Hopefully, all will work out well.

This is my first accident ever!  Good thing the accident didn't happen to far from home (just 2 blocks from our house) and I called Jebby, so he and Jordan walked over to where we were.  Glad Jordan wasn't with me in the car either. 

To all my family and friends in the Philippines, I will see you all very soon!  Please pray that my trip will go well and that Jordan will take the trip well, too.  And to those I would be leaving behind for 5 weeks, especially my DH (Dear Hubby), I will miss you so much!  I love you! :)

Hello once again, everyone!

I just want you all to know that I have uploaded MORE pictures of Jordan, his 5 months old pictures!  He is just getting so adorable each passing day, week and month.  We love and cherish him oh so much!

Things that he has been starting to do/been doing lately are:

• ate his first vegetable, carrots! (he loves it!)
• picking up his butt (on his knees), while on his belly and attempting to crawl (scoots)
  
• sucks his bottom lip a lot
• rolls both ways now (a lot!)
• reaches for his feet and toes and attempts to suck, which he gets better and better everyday.  He actually was able to suck on his toes already today.
• got into his first trouble.  I'll tell you the story.  I was cooking for NTBMO and left Jordan to play in his play mat, and when I went back to check on him, he has managed to roll and scoot himself into my potted plant and he had soil all over his hands, face, mouth, shirt (you get the picture).  I was freaking out at first (that I forgot to take a picture of him, which I thought I should but wanted to wash him off quick), because he might get worms in his tummy. (lol) hehehe.  Well, I'm sure he'll be fine, sure babies had more "dirtyer" stuff put into their mouths and they have a pretty good immune system that they're gonna be just fine.
• and he can sit up with just a little bit of support, and he absolutely loves playing with his playthings

We are so excited to show and share these precious moments of Jordan with my family in the Philippines too, very soon.  I hope you all enjoy viewing the pictures of Jordan.

(here's something that was shared to me that is in turn worth sharing to you all)

The University professor challenged his students with this question. "Did God create everything that exists?" A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"

"God created everything?" The professor asked."Yes sir", the student replied.  The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil." (...continued)

Paul tells us in Romans 13:12 that we are to "put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light" (New International Version).  He then lists the "deeds of darkness" as sins such as revelry, drunkenness, lewdness, lust, strife and envy.  Then in verse 14 he shows the way to conquer such sins: by being clothed "with the Lord Jesus Christ" (NIV). (...continued)

The Passover:

Passover (Leviticus 23:5) is a reminder of how God took the lives of all the firstborn Egyptian males (Exodus 12:7, 26-29) but passed over the Israelites' homes because they had placed the blood of a sacrificed lamb on their doorposts.

The blood of the lamb foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which spares mankind from eternal death. In the New Testament, Christians came to understand that Christ is the true Passover Lamb (compare Exodus 12:21 with 1 Corinthians 5:7).

In observing His last Passover with His disciples, Jesus explained that the symbols of bread and wine represent His body and blood, offered by Him for the forgiveness of our sins (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24).

Our observance of this annual occasion marking Jesus' death (1 Corinthians 11:26) reminds us that eternal life is possible only through Him (John 6:47-54; Acts 4:10-12). His sacrifice is the starting point for salvation and the foundation of the annual feast days that follow.

Feast of Unleavened Bread:

In conjunction with the Passover, God instituted the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6-8). Historically it commemorates the ancient Israelites fleeing Egypt in such haste they did not have time to let their bread rise (Exodus 12:33-34).

God commanded the Israelites to keep this festival by removing leaven (yeast) out of their homes for seven days.

The first and last days of this week-long festival were specifically set apart as holy convocations—days devoted to rest and assembly for worship. During His earthly ministry, Jesus identified leaven as a symbol of sin (Matthew 16:6-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1). Thereafter members of the early Church continued to observe this festival by putting leaven out of their homes for the week as a symbol of the clean minds and attitudes God desires of His people (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). After accepting Christ's sacrifice for our sins, we must follow His example in practicing righteousness.

From the booklet: Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep?

Passover: April 12 (Observed evening before). Days of Unleavened Bread: April 13 - 19.

SOURCE: UCG.org eNews, weekly news updates from UCG-USA, 07 Apr., 2006.

Jordan and I are going home to the Philippines!!! to visit my family, for 5 weeks. It's been Jebby's wish (and his family's as well) that I be able to spend some time with my family, especially with Jordan growing up so fast. So that they could also enjoy Jordan's growing up before he turns almost a year old, that is when they would have originally to get to see him (when we come for the Feast). But now, they can enjoy his "in-between" growing up. Everyone in my family is excited! I'm excited too, at the same time nervous (hoping all goes well with the flights and all), and also sad, 'cause I'm going to miss Jebby soooo much! I'm leaving just before his birthday (which he says was alright before I made the bookings) :(

I know Jebby would be missing us sooo much too. He'll miss picking up Jordan from his crib and bringing him to our bed every morning before he gets ready for work. I'll miss it too. Jebby says, I hope and he (Jordan) better still remember him when we get back. :) hehehe. I'm sure Jordan will remember his daddy very well.

We'll still go to the Feast in the Philippines, though, with the whole family (Jebby, Jordan and I) and some of his family too. I'm looking forward to that too. :) But I won't stay as long as I will this spring. I'll be going and coming back with Jebby.

We're happy to know that we're going to soon have another niece. Jason and Kelley just found out from Kelley's ultrasound today, that they are going to have a little baby girl. :)

Today was a good, fun day. We went paint-baling. It was my first time to paint-ball ever. Well, I did shoot some paintballs once, but not the actual game. Anyway, it was fun! I shot 2 different people, Mike and Jason (hehehe) The first guy (Mike) I shot, I didn't know that you stop shooting after he says "I'm Out" or something. But I guess I just didn't hear him well enough, because I was kinda enjoying shooting him from a distance (hehehe). it was quite a ways from my shot. He was trying to capture our flag and Sabrina and I were guarding our base/flag. Poor Mike, he got shot twice. He was getting shot from 2 angles... Sabrina and I just kept firing at him. I feel sorry for him, those paint balls do hurt when you get hit with them. You'll probly have bruises for a while.

It was Jordan's first time outside today... we actually took a walk (just around our block because it was also starting to get chillier).  It was a really nice day today, around 46 deg F and just enough breeze.  I put little Jordan in his Baby Bjorn Carrier that my parents got for him (us).  He actually liked being in the carrier as I carry him around and seeing different things other than our house and his bedroom.  I think he really liked watching the cars drive by, the snow on the ground, the leaf-less trees and the nice comfortable weather.  He did not fuss at all, in fact,you can see the excitement and joy in his face.

I can't wait for it to be spring soon and warmer outside that we can take walks more often, even with his daddy. :)

A philosophy professor stood before the class with a large, empty mayonnaise jar and filled it with large rocks. He asked students if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

So the professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles settled between the rocks. 

"Is the jar full now?" he asked. The studenets agreed the jar was full. 

The professor poured sand into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. 

"Now," said the professor, "I was you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, you life would still be full."

"The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, your car," he said.

"The sand is everything else. The small stuff." 
Because this was a philosophy class, the professor explained:
"If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the important things.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party, and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

I have uploaded new pictures of Jordan.  Check out his 4-months old pictures at our Photo Gallery.

Jordan is growing quite steadily.  I did a little measuring of my own and he is approsimately 27 inches long now and weighs 15 lbs (that is with his clothes on).  But he shouldn't be too far off from those figures, I would think.  He'll be having his 4th month doctor checkup in 2 weeks.  I wasn't able to shcedule him early enough.

Anyways, currently Jordan is enjoying his new "play-yard" we got for him.  I'm also starting to try to introduce solid foods to him.  Today, he ate his very first rice cereal meal.  Not much though, just did it for a tial run and how he would fare with it.

Well, I hope you would have fun viewing his pictures as I did have fun taking them.  He is such a wonderful and amazing little baby.  Everyday I can't help myself but admire, cherish and love him even more.  No words can ever express and do justice of how much I love my baby.  I'm sure every mother out there knows and understands what I'm talking about.

Tonight Laurie, Jordan and I went to a movie.  Actually, we went, and we invited my parents, Donn and Alice, as well as my sisters, Kimberly and Sabrina as well.  It was very enjoyable and we all had a very good time.

We watched the movie "Eight Below" which is a story about sled dogs that were left behind in Antartica due to bad weather.  Not only were the left behind, they were on their own for 6 months due to bad weather and the team being unable to return for them.  The movie is about their story of survival, and is great for everyone to watch, including small children.

It's refreshing to be able to watch a movie and not have to worry if there will be too much violence, killing, nudity, etc.  In todays world, it seems that if a movie doesnt contain those things, either the producers / directors put them in needlessly for higher ratings, or the entire movie is based on those.

I'm glad that there are still movies made that you can be glad you bring your children to, and can also double as a great date movie withe one(s) you love.

This is Jordan's second movie.  The first was King Kong.  Jordan really enjoys watching the movies, even if he's only 4 months old now.  He actually watched 90% of the movie, only taking a little nap in the middle.  I must admit, I never expected him to be so intent on watching the movie.  He really gets into it too.  If something is happening that he likes, he gets excited, and pretty much at the same places we as adults do as well.

He's wonderful to take to movies so it's great that we dont need a babysitter and can take him along knowing he'll enjoy it too and be very content.

(Here's something very inspiring and touching to read) 

I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 7 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories.

He often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands.

He knew I loved yellow roses. With a heart filled with grief, I only wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was different since he had passed on.

Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two.

Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and remembered how he had loved his steak.

Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was blonde, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large package of T-bones, dropped them in her basket… hesitated, and then put them back. She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks.

She saw me watching her and she smiled. "My husband loves T-bones, but honestly, at these prices, I don't know."

I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes.

"My husband passed away eight days ago," I told her. Glancing at the package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice. "Buy him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together."

She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away.

I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the dairy products. There I stood; trying to decide which size milk I should buy. A Quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream. If nothing else, I could always fix myself an ice cream cone.

I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the front. I saw first the green suit, and then recognized the pretty lady coming towards me. In her arms she carried a package. On her face was the brightest smile I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled her blonde hair as she kept walking toward me, her eyes holding mine.

As she came closer, I saw what she held and tears began misting in my eyes. "These are for you," she said and placed three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in my arms. "When you go through the line, they will know these are paid for." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again. I wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, I watched as she walked away as tears clouded my vision.

I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal. How did she know? Suddenly the answer seemed so clear. I wasn't alone.

Oh, you haven't forgotten me, have you? I whispered, with tears in my eyes. He was still with me, and she was his angel.

Every day, be thankful for what you have and who you are

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings, Thank you Lord I can hear. There are many who are deaf.

Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible, Thank you Lord, I can see. Many are blind.

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising. Thank you, Lord, that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.

Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned, tempers are short, and my children are so loud.

Thank you, Lord, for my family. There are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like the picture in magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced.

Thank you, Lord, for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.

Even though the routine of my job often is monotonous, Thank you Lord, for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job.

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest.

Thank you, Lord, for life

For friendship is a gift. A friend is someone who fills our lives with Beauty, Joy and Grace and makes the world we live in a better and happier place.

I just learned today that we're going to have a niece!  My brother Charles and his wife Isis, found out today (during her ultrasound checkup) that they are going to have a girl! :)  Wheee!! I am soo excited and happy for them.  They plan to name her Teatephi Isis.  Unique huh?  Her expected due date is around late June.  I'm also looking forward to know what my brother-in-law, Jason and his wife Kelley is going to have.

On another subject, I made an interactive personality profile by Johari Window Interactive Personality (http://kevan.org/johari.cgi).  The Johari Window was invented by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in the 1950s as a model for mapping personality awareness. By describing yourself from a fixed list of adjectives, then asking your friends and colleagues to describe you from the same list, a grid of overlap and difference can be built up.

So, let me know what you think of me by answering this for me:  (Just go to this link) http://kevan.org/johari?name=Laurie+Macatier

I have uploaded more pictures!  Check out Jordan's 3-months old pictures at our Photo Gallery.

By the way, Jebby got even more fishies! (lol) 3 red tetras, 1 pearl gourami, 1 black molly (a male this time), and shrimp. :)  Our aquarium looks so cool and lively! :) 

What Equals 100%?  What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?  Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more that 100%?  We have all been in situations where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 101%?

What equals a 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And:
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But:
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And, look how far the love of God will take you:
L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close and Attitude will get you there, it's the LOVE OF GOD that will put you over the top.

It's been a while since I wrote any entries here in our blog.  Things has been a little busy around here and I just haven't had the time to enter one in. 

Anyway, Jordan is now 3 months old!  Can you believe that?  Time sure does fly by so fast.  He is getting so much bigger and so interactive now.  He weighs 13 lbs and 25 inches long now.  When we went in for his monthly checkups, they said that he is around the 75% (percentile average) for his height and 50% (percentile average) for his weight.  So, he is doing very well.  Jordan's doctor said after his checkup that if he has to rate or grade Jordan in his performance and development, it will be an A+ (hehehe) and he said, he can tell that we do a wonderful job of parenting and caring for Jordan.

I can make him giggle now, especially when you tickle and nibble on his chin.  He also likes playing peek-a-boo and grabs/holds things in his hands.  He is starting or attempting to do a one-way roll over, so we need to have him practice that more yet.  Doctor said, by Jordan's next visit, he should be expecting to see him roll-over one-way already.  Jordan seems like he is starting teething, he drools a bunch and wants to bite and nibble on stuff and gets cranky and cries.  We are not sure yet but it seems like it.  It's not that bad yet though (of his cries) as I am told and have heard/read of when babies start teething, so we'll see what happens with Jordan.

Okay, besides Jordan... we got a fish aquarium!  It has been one of Jeb and my projects that we wanted to do/have, and is definitely one of Jebby's hobbies.  So, we got the fish tank and all the aquarium stuff January 25, and we put 2 pairs of fishes (2 mollies, a black and a white one, and 2 swordtails, one male and one female) in it a couple of days later.  We need to let the fish tank sit for a while for it to stabilize before we put any fishies in, so it won't die.  

And yesterday, Jebby got more pretty fishies to put in our aqaurium.  The tank is pretty stabilized by now and has that good bacteria and all in the water from the 2 pairs of fishes we put in it at first.  So, now we have 18 more fishes in our aquarium!
    ∙ 6 tiny ghost shrimp
    ∙ 6 neons (tetras), very beautiful colors
    ∙ 1 plecostamus
    ∙ 1 silver striped angel fish
    ∙ 1 betta, a beautiful color blue
    ∙ 1 fire gourami
    ∙ 1 blue ram
    ∙ 1 black ghost knifefish, this is a cool looking fish!  It kinda has a mixture of a leech and a sting ray look to it (at least from my perspective, hehehe)

If you want to know how some of this fishes looks like, you may go to this website:  LiveAquaria.com

Other than that... nothing much has been happening here, just the usual days of cleaning, cooking and taking care of Jordan and my dear hubby, Jebby.  Oh, last Sunday... I went to my first bowling in the US (I've bowled before in the Philippines), but Jeb took me bowling and we invited Chad and Lora, and Kimberly (and Jordan of course, he slept through half the game anyway.  I guess the noise of the balls going down the lanes and the knocking of the pins made him fall asleep).  So, while everyone (or  most) are watching the SuperBowl games, we were bowling away! :) 

And one last thing... We would like to greet all our February celebrants in our family:

Isis's 24th Birthday -- February 10
Dad's (Donn Mortier) Birthday -- February 15
Jordan's 4th month Anniversary -- February 28

May God continue to richly bless your lives and good health. 

Isis, I'm so excited with your pregnancy and knowing if your baby is a girl or boy.  Let us know right away! :)  4 more months to go!!! :)  Wippeee! :) 

Jeb, Jordan and myself would like to say our congratulations and wishes to our January celebrants:

January 8 -- David and Daisy's 8th Wedding Anniversary
January 11 -- David's 34th Birthday
January 16 -- Sabrina's 17th Birthday
January 17 -- Meryl's 19th Birthday
January 23 -- Ate Daisy's Birthday

We are thankful to God for the blessings of life to another fruitful year, and being part of our family. May God continue to bless us all. We love you all!

Last night I had a slight mishap.  Laurie and I enjoy cooking together, and last night we decided to prepare some soup for the following day.  As we were cooking last night we were talking, and I wasn't paying complete attention to what I was doing... something not advisable when working in a kithchen, or when you are using a knife... so, I ended up cutting myself.

I seem to be somewhat accident prone when it comes to sharp objects, even though one of my hobbies is wood carving... go figure.  As it turns out, it wasn't just a little cut, it was a big deep gusher.  I slit my thumb straight across from one side to the other.  And to help give a little visualization, blood was pouring out, and you could see the tendon, the bone, and even the little chunky fat that's in your fingers.  Well, I hope that gives you a good enough visualization.

I looked at my loving wife and said... I cut myself, I think I'll go to the hospital now.  She of course didn't believe me at first and thought I was kidding, until she saw all the blood.  Luckily she isn't squeemish, and she is a tremendous support.  She immediately got Jordan ready, and was ready to drive me to the hospital.

As you may know, Laurie is much shorther than I am, and me being the primary driver of our car, I didn't really feel like wating for 20 min while she moved the car seat forward so she could drive.  Even more, I didn't feel like waiting another 20 min to put the car seat back all the way so I could drive the car again.  Those electric seats take forever to adjust sometimes.

We got to the hospital and I went to the ER.  They were very nice and after about 20 minutes they stitched me up with 6 stitches.  It's funny, but it hurt more having the pain killer pumped into my hand than it did getting cut.  I guess that's how it goes though.  At least they used a small needle, and they were very good at what they did.

Before we left the ER, they told me to keep my hand elevated and to sleep with my hand higher than my heart.  As I slept last night, or at least tried to sleep, because I was pretty restless and didn't want to hurt my hand, I kept tossing and turning to find a comfortable position.  All through the night, whenever my hand was "in danger" of being slept on or lower than my heart, my sweet wife would pick my arm up in the air.  It was quite humorous, but I definitely could tell she loves me so much that she kept an eye on me all night.

I sure do love her... and I sure do love advil at the moment too.  One loves me, the other kills the pain.

When we got home, we finished making the soup, and today for lunch we ate some.  It sure was delicious.  It's amazing how putting a little blood and sweat into something can make it turn out so well and taste so good ;)

Jordan has really been changing a lot lately. He is now becoming very aware of his surroundings, and he definitely knows when his Mommy and Daddy is around.

He is a very happy baby and loves to smile and "talk" a lot. He enjoys being cuddled much more now and likes to grab onto our hands. He even enjoys going in his car seat and going for rides now.

I hope that this is a sign of what the future holds for us, and that our next few children will be as good as he is.

He is very good at letting us know what his needs are, and very rarely cries.  The only time he cries is when he is hungry, or when he needs to be changed.  Even then he gives us pretty good indicators that he needs something before he cries.

I have loved my son since before he was born, and the day he was born, my heart was immediately bonded to his.  After he was born, the doctor placed him in my arms after Laurie held and kissed him, and that was one of the most powerful moments ever for me.  All the things that have happened since, and it's hard to believe that it's only been about 10 weeks, have been so amazing.

My brother and sister-in-law, Jason and Kelley, are expecting their first baby this year.  They wanted Jordan to have someone to grow up with.  I was also told that my cousin Amy and her husband Peter are expecting around the same time as my brother, as well as my brother-in-law Charlie and his wife Isis are expecting the same time as well.  This is wonderful news.  Jordan is the first grandchild for both the Mortier and Macaraeg families, but I'm so very glad that more are expected very soon.

Some more good news, not pertaining to Jordan, is that my youngest brother, Chad, just got married.  Well, not just, but on December 17th.  He married Lora Wenzel, and we are all very happy for them.

Anyway, that's about it for now.  I just figured I'd put in an entry so the website isn't all just entries from Laurie.

Jordan is growing and ganing weight nicely.  Yesterday at his '6-weeks' doctor's checkup he weighs in at 10.55 lbs and is 23 inches long. :)  He is starting to be more active and make sounds (noises--talk) and as healthy as can be.  He's also getting pretty strong with his leg and neck muscles too.  Much to our delight, Jordan is starting to sleep longer through the night as well.  There are a lot of times that I even have to get him, wake him up to nurse him.  He is just a wonderful, amazing and awesome baby--a priceless jewel and blessing. :)

Jordan is also looking forward to the coming of his cousins... from Kelley and Isis. :) 

David Rogers just proposed to my sister, Cheryl today at sunset of Dec. 20th. :)   I am so happy and excited for them both.  An October (somewhere before Feast time) wedding is being planned.  Congratulations on your engagement!

A great note for all to read it will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it. In his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.

It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

(A little piece of article I recieved from an email, that I thought is worth sharing.)

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them..  So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for asingle one of those meals. But I do know this... They all nourished me andgave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given methese meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not goneto church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

It's been a while since I wrote something in here in regards to our baby, Jordan.  Well, it seems longer than that, but Jordan is now 4 weeks and 1 day old--a month old! At the same time, didn't I just give birth to him a little while ago and now he's getting older and bigger... fast!  Jordan has surpassed his birthweight already, when he was 2 weeks old, which is great.  Jordan was also blessed last Sabbath, Nov. 19, by Mr. Hanisko.  We would have wanted my dad to do the 'blessing of the children' but he is just so far away and by the time we get to the Philippines next year, he would have been a year old already.  Anyway, it's fine by my dad. :) 

Jordan's really getting bigger now and eats a lot!  We try to give him formula supplements at night before he goes to bed once in a while, because for some reason, it just knocks him out and then he sleeps longer at night.  Maybe because the formula has a heavier consistency and keeps him full longer.  He is a growing healthy baby boy.

Little things that we have observed from our little man:  He likes to pull his own hair and then he cries so hard 'cause it hurts.  DUH! (lol)  He has got very strong muscles, at early 2 weeks he's been raising his head and using his neck muscles quite a bit, so with his arms and legs.  Even the doctors and nurses that's been checking him says that he is a strong baby.  Well, he got that from his daddy ;)

It'll be really great when Jordan starts to "talk" (coo) more and smile and interact with us.  He is starting though, which is quite special.  We'll keep taking pictures of him and post them on our photo gallery often, so make sure you keep coming back to check. 

Jeb, Jordan and I would like to say Happy 23rd Birthday to our sister, Cheryl Lynn! We are so happy and proud to have you as a sister. May God continue to bless you with more years to come and a very blissful life ahead of you yet ;) You have been an inspiration and blessing to all of us. God bless you! We love and miss you so much.

ps. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Be thankful for what we have, as well as the things that we don't have. :)

This is just a quick entry to let you know that Shadow, our dog that we gave to mom and dad died yesterday, Nov. 20. He apparently was starting to run off their yard and driveway and got hit by a passing car. I'm sad but it's okay. No one really liked him anymore :( He still was a very cute and handsome dog.

I got this from an email from my dad which I thought is worth sharing here in our website blog.  To all you mothers out there... we do have a distiguished career and job title ;) 

A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.  She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself. "What I mean is," explained the recorder, "do you have a job or are you just a...?" "Of course I have a job," snapped the woman.  "I'm a Mom."  "We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, "housewife covers it," said the recorder emphatically.  I forgot all about her story until one day..I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall. The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient and possessed of a high sounding title like, "Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar." "What is your ocupation?" she probed.  What made me say it? I do not know. The words simply popped out.  *"I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations."*

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as though she had not heard right. I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words. Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.  "Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest, "just what you do in your field?"  Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, "I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn't) in the laboratory and in the field, (normally I would have said indoors and out).  I'm working for my Masters, (the whole darned family) and already have four credits (all daughters). Of course, the job is one of the most
demanding in the humanities, (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money."  There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up and personally ushered me to the door.  As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3. Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model, (a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern. I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy! And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than "just another Mom."  Motherhood! . What a glorious career! Especially when there's a title on the door.

Does this make grandmothers "Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations" and great grandmothers Executive Senior Research Associates"? I think so!!! I also think it makes Aunts "Associate Research Assistants.

Little boy goes to his father and asks "Daddy, how was I born?" The father answers: "Well, son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway.

Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo.  Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive.

As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that, neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a blessed little Pop-Up appeared and said:

"You've Got Male!"

To those of us who have children in our lives, whether they are our own, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or students...here is something to make you chuckle.  Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to His own children.  After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing he said was "DON'T!"

"Don't what?" Adam replied.   

"Don't eat the forbidden fruit."  God said.

"Forbidden fruit?  We have forbidden fruit?  Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit!!!!!"   

" No Way!"!  

"Yes way!"

"Do NOT eat the fruit!" said God.

"Why"  

"Because I am your Father and I said so!"  God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants.  A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was angry!  "Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?"  God asked.

"Uh huh," Adam replied.

"Then why did you?" said the Father.  

"I don't know," said Eve.

"She started it!" Adam said

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"DID NOT!"

Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY!  If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself.  If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT!

1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk.  Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.

2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.

3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.

4. Children seldom misquote you.  In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.

5. The main purpose of holding children's   parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.

6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.

ADVICE FOR THE DAY: Be nice to your kids.  They will choose your nursing home one day.

AND FINALLY:

IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE, DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:

" TAKE TWO ASPIRIN" AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN"!!!!!

The Feast has ended and it seemed to go so fast. Now, we're back to the daily grind of life. We arrived around 7:30 pm yesterday and I was sooo tired I slept so good all night. This years Feast was awesome. Great messages, wonderful and very inspiring and awesome delivery of Special music and we met a couple of great people and made even closer friendships with old friends. It was a more laid back Feast for Jeb and I and the rest of the family. Because of my pregnancy, we really can't do much. We walked down the strip of shops one day and went mini-golfing another day, sat in the hot-tubs, played in the waterparks and just soaked in the pool, and ate out a whole bunch too. :) It was all fun. We had a really nice accomodation this year as well. We shared a condo with Jeb's parents that has 3 bedrooms, with 4 queen-sized beds and 1 king-sized, which was in the master bedroom. We also had 5 TV's, a jacuzzi, a nice sized kitchen and living room and another den/living room where the jacuzzi was located and 2 fireplaces.

So far, I made it thru the Feast without going into labor, which was really nice because I was able to enjoy the Feast a whole lot and spend time with friends and family. I had a couple contractions and not-too-great days but nothing too dampening. Almost everyday at the Feast, everyone keeps asking everybody in the family if I had the baby yet and saying to me... "you're still here.." or something. After a while it gets so old that it gets annoying but I know they are just concerned and as excited as we all are.

Anyway, for updates on my pregnancy... today, I lost my mucus plug! And a whole bunch of it too. I kept losing it throughout the whole day, which means... I might be in labor soon... or maybe not yet. We never know. Going into labor is soo unpredictable but I know everyone's all excited for the baby to come, even me! Tomorrow I have another doctors appointment, and I'm looking forward to what she has to say regarding my progress, if I am not already in labor. (lol) Right now, I do feel a couple of tightenings and contractions, but nothing that I can't handle, or at least nothing that gets me too uncomfortable. But if this keeps up and gets to be more and more intense... then I definitely would be in labor. So, I'm keeping my contractions in mind and watching my progress. Don't want to get anyone's hopes up too much, yet.

However, you will definitely know when I go into labor and when I have the baby. We'll be calling all our friends and family to let them know and then, as soon as we can update this blog, we'll let everyone know too. For now, it is still a 'wait and see' game. Well, I better get some sleep now and get well rested so I can have the energy I need when the time comes for labor. We hope and pray that everyone has had an equally insipirng and uplifting Feast and a safe trip back home. Have a wonderful rest of the week and a great weekend. Till next entry...

I'm all packed so far... just need to pack some food stuff and do the dishes. I really don't have any energy to do the dishes anymore but I really need to do it before we leave. We'll be leaving in a few hours here and head to the Feast site. I'm sooo excited! We have a very nice accomodation this year, a lake, a fireplace, jacuzzi, etc. We are sharing a condo with Jeb's parents/family--it'll be fun!

I know a lot has already left for their respective feast sites and we pray that your trip is safe and God bless us all as we celebrate His Feasts. I'll update this blog again when we get back from the Feast and hopefully have the pictures up on our photogallery too. If I'm not too busy yet... if I have the baby just after the Feast. We'll see! This is exciting... Keep us all in your prayers. :) God bless!

Our son Jordan's due date is on November 6th, 2005

~d~ days, ~h~ hours, ~m~ minutes, and ~s~ seconds

Here's another pregnancy update for you. I had another weekly prenatal checkup earlier this morning and so far, no progress on my dilation or effacement. I'm still the same on 1cm dilated and 80% effaced. My fundal height (the height of my uterus from my pelvis) is 36 cm, which correspondends to how many weeks gestation I am at and my baby's heart rate kinda slowed down, it usually was on the 153bpm, but today it was only 138bpm. The doctor said though that, the number is still very normal and he might just be asleep at that time. Anyway, I lost 2 lbs already when they were taking my weight! Neat! I didn't have the baby yet and I'm already losing pounds. The nurse who took my weight and stuff said that you usually lose some pounds at the end of your pregnancy. She also said something that made me comforted... it is usually a sign labor and delivery is near. Yea, near... but how near???!!! I am soooo anxious already for my pregnancy to end, can't you tell? (lol) Sometimes, there are days that I am just frustrated and disappointed that things aren't progressing as soon as I hoped it would. I know, I know... I should be patient, the end is almost near. The baby will come out when he is ready. I even put up a desktop countdown timer for my pregnancy on my computer. (lol) :P So far I am 24 days, 06 hours, 57 mins and 54... sec away for my countdown to pregnancy, as I am typing this.

Another interesting thing that happened while I was in the hospital... I was going out to my car and as soon as I opened the door to get in, the car started beeping, signalling something was wrong (not the alarm beeping kinda thing for theft--but more of the sensors inside the car). Anyway, as soon as I heard that beep I knew exactly what it was and I was going... "Uh-oh... oh no!" So, I tried to start the car and.... yep! I was right. I forgot to turn off the headlights to my car when I was in the hospital for my checkups--all one hour of it! And thus, my battery was drained.... well, more like really dead. When I was trying to turn the ignition on, it wouldn't even make a lil' sound of life for me :( Not even the sound you hear when a car battery dies and you try to turn the ignition on... it was total silence. (lol) So, I had to go back in (it was also drizzling yet that time) and make a phone call to Jeb and tell him I couldn't leave the hospital to pick him up for lunch yet cause I drained the battery of his car. (lol). I felt really stupid! I guess this is what they say about pregnant women becoming forgetful and scatter-brained, which unfortunately I am already a wee bit prior to pregnancy. (lol) Anyway, he told me not to worry, he'd call mom (his mom) and ask her to come over with jumper cables. I have no idea how to use a jumper cable!!! It actually should be something that all Wisconsinite ladies know how to use, cause it's a trademark that you are from Wisconsin. Whatever that means... maybe because of their winters or something.

Anyway, I had to wait another 45 mins or so for mom to show up with jumper cables. I was having mild contractions as well while I was waiting for her in the lobby area. Finally, she arrives... and then we go out to our cars and try on the jumper cables! It so happened, someone pulled out right in front of where I was parking and she got that spot right away. So, that was neat! Anyhoo, mom too had never used a jumper cable before, but we kinda knew that it was something like red= "+" (positive) and black="-" (negative). Fortunately, there was a lady who saw us (she looked like she knew about cars and this kinda stuff) and she helped us figure out the connections. Wells, glad to say we got my car started back to life and we were happy. Woohooo!!! You have to congratulate me... I finally got to learn and know how to use a jumper cable! Does that mean that makes me a "real" Wisconsinite?! (lol) But that was fun. Bet my sisters don't know how to use that yet ;) Daddy ought to be proud of his lil' girl ;) (lol)

Well, I got to pick up Jeb for lunch anyway. He just needed to move his lunch hour to one to two o'clock. Also, as I was driving to his workplace, I had really bad cramps and was making driving a hard thing to do. I couldn't control my gas pedal as much as I wanted to, but I still managed fine, and as soon as I got to his workplace... I said... "you drive this time (handing him the keys), I'm in too much pain to drive. But eventually when we got home, my cramps went away as well. Jebby was so sweet to rub my belly and sore back to make me feel comfy. :) I love that man. So, all went well in the end. I guess I am done typing for now. I feel like I am writing a novel for a blog. :) (lol) I got to prepare now for Atonement. We are supposed to meet Jeb's family at quarter to six at a buffet restaurant before the start of our fast. So, I pray everyone had a good week and a meaningful Day of Atonement. Laters... :)

We've reached our 2nd year wedding Anniversary last Sunday, Oct. 9, 2005. We feel really blessed for having each other and the love we can share with each other. Next year, on our 3rd, we will be a family already. :) Jeb and I just spent the whole day together, shopping and just being together at home, which is very special. I love my husband so much and I am so glad and blessed that I have him in my life, and he definitely is God's gift to me.

I also want to acknowledge my dad for reaching another milestone in his life--his 60th Birth Anniversary! I'm proud to have a dad such as he and I love him so much. May God continue to bless you and grant you more brithdays to come. We had our wedding on my dad's birthday, 2 years ago. Jeb always says that he is daddy's birthday gift, cause he just gained another son. We can't wait to come back next year for the Feast and be able to share the joys of Jordan with you and the whole family, and friends. Jeb and I are proud to be part of this family and we love you sooo much and miss you so much as well. We really appreciate all the hardwork you do in preaching God's word and ministering our brethren there in Mindanao part of the Philippines.

I received this from Laurie's Dad and thought I'd like to share it with everyone:

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island.  He prayed feverishly for GOD to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky.  The worst had happened, and everything was lost.  He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger.

"GOD, how could you do this to me?" he cried.

Early the next day he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island.  It had come to rescue him.  "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because GOD is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain, and suffering.

Remember that, the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground.  It just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of GOD.

You May Want To Consider Passing This On, because you never know who feels like their hut is on fire today.

Every Friday night we head to the home of my parents, Donn and Alice.  All my brothers and sisters live close by, as well as a close family friend, Mike, and we have a very nice dinner and share our experiences from the week.  It's very special and we look forward to it every week.

As sunset draws near, we find it very enjoyable to share the Sabbath together.  It's funny however that we always fall into the same traps.  Even though it's the Sabbath, and we have longed for it to come again all week long, we end up talking about work and other topics other than the Sabbath and God's plan.

It's one of my personal wishes that we would be able to focus more on the Sabbath than on those other topics, but it's definitely hard to just relax and drop everything else suddenly after you've been focusing on your job or a certain task all week long.  Those things are on the top of your mind and sometimes it's hard to just leave them behind and move on to enjoying the Sabbath.

Well, we are all growing, and we are slowly making our conversations more and more focused on the Sabbath during the Sabbath.  God willing, we will keep growing as Christians in His grace and knowledge, and He will help guide us and direct us, our thoughts and attitudes, as well as our conversations during the week as well as on His Sabbath.  I find this especially important as the fall holydays approach.

On another topic, my Mom recently had surgery.  Though I'm not at liberty to discuss the details, she was faced with a life threatening health situation, and since she's had the surgery, she's has recovered very quickly.  She is doing so much better now that she's had surgery, and just looking at her, you can see a significant difference in her.  I'm so very happy that God is with her and watching over her.  Not only could she have died from the health issue, she could have died during the surgery, and it makes me so glad that God kept her here with us.  We definitely love and need our Mom, she is a very important part of our lives.

As a matter of fact, not only did God watch over and protect my Mom, He also watched over and protected Laurie's Mom who also recently went through surgery for a very serious health issue.  She is also very important to me, and I wouldn’t want to lose her either.  I love my parents, both birth parents and in-laws, very much.

Please keep both of my moms in your prayers that they continue to recover quickly and that their health issues do not return.

Saving the best for last, I just wanted to talk about the love of my life, Laurie.  She is my best friend, and I would be so lonely without her.

She is currently in the last few weeks of her pregnancy.  She is sore, and uncomfortable, and even still, she doesn't complain, even though I see it in her face and movements.   I try to comfort her and massage her soreness away as much as possible.  I love her so much and wish I could take some of her discomfort on myself so she wouldn't have to go through all of it on her own.  Still, God designed it this way, and I think it's a training ground for us men to learn how to take better care of our wives.

I'm very proud of my wife, and I think that she is a far better person that I could ever be, but I will keep on trying.  Sometimes I wonder what she sees in me that makes her love me so much.  I guess it's just because I'm just so cute and "adorkable" as she puts it.  I've married a very good woman, and I thank God for her every day.  Each day I ask God to watch over and protect my wife, and to help her through her day.  I'd definitely be lost without her by my side.

She is also going to be the mother of our first child, supposedly a boy, whom we've named Jordan Hunter Mortier.  We'll be very surprised if Jordan turns out to be a girl... but just in case, we've picked a girl name, Aubrey Lynn Mortier.  The Lynn is still changeable.  I very much look forward to meeting my son for the very first time.  I will be there for the whole delivery and I look forward to helping deliver him and cutting the cord.  Hmm... I better be careful, don’t want to circumcise him by accident.  Just kidding, anyway it’s time for bed so I’ll be calling it a night.  It’s time to give Laurie a nice backrub and have a nice chat with my beautiful wife before we go to sleep.

God bless and take care.

Finally, fall is here!  The leaves on the trees are starting to change colors and it is so pretty.  The weather pattern here was a lil' weird lately.  A couple days ago, it went from cool to the upper 80's, actually almost 90!  So, it was like summer yet, but now... it's starting to cool off and be around the 40's.  Definitely Feast weather :)  You always know it is Feast time when most of the leaves in trees have changed color, and the weather is nice, cool and crisp.  We even turned on our heater in our house already, cause it's starting to get more chilly in the house, but not too bad yet.

I'm finally getting done as well with a lot of my projects here at home with cleaning and organizing.  My living room looks like a living room again without all the clutter from organizing, our office looks nice and organized too, got most of my ironing done and laundry is all done.  But I still have a few lil' tasks/projects to do yet.  

Oh, did I mention already that my baby crib bedding set that I ordered online last Friday, is now here?  Yup! It looks so pretty in our baby's crib.  It is a 6-piece bedding set, that includes the fitted sheet, bumper (for the sides of the crib rails), a quilt, crib skirting, a window valance, and a diaper stacker.  I was impressed that it shipped out so fast, I placed the order Friday and Monday, I got it.  Also, Jeb got me a Feast present.  He got me a really nice and luxurious gold/tan bedding set with all the accesories that goes with it, like pillows, shams and stuff.  Our bedroom looks so nice and elegant (well, except that we don't have a bedroom set yet).  It goes so well with our curtains that has the gold trims and some pattern as well as the rug in the bedroom and our carpet.  It is so nice and soo sweet of Jebby to get that for me.  He knew I always wanted one but we just couldn't find one that matches our bedroom colors and suits our tastes, until this one.

My family back home has still been asking me where I have been registered for my baby stuff, well... here it is:

Target Baby Registry -- target.com
BabiesRUs Gift Registry -- babiesrus.com

Just type in either my name or Jeb's to find our registry. 

I hope and pray that everyone had had a great week and is looking forward to the Sabbath rest.  I know I am.  With that, I pray that everyone have a great and wonderful Sabbath and week, Holy Days ahead.  Take care and God bless!

I went in today for my monthly prenatal checkups.  My regular doctor is gone for 2 weeks so I had to see a different doctor, which is a guy doctor.  I asked Jeb if he can come along to my appointment and thankfully he said he will.  Anyway, it also so happened that, that doctor had a nurse assistant in training who will be seeing and observing the whole thing, and it is a guy nurse as well!  I made it though... I'm so glad Jeb was there or else I would have been so very nervous.  I never had a guy doctor do "womanly" stuff before. (lol) You know what I mean.

The checkup went smoothly though and according to the doctor, I am 1cm dilated and 80% effaced already!  Wow, I didn't know that.  He said, he could feel the baby's head.  Jeb and I thought that was so cool.  So, according to him I might have the baby a lil' early... maybe in 2-3 weeks.  We never know.  I'll be coming back next week for another checkup and see how I am progressing.  I'm going in every week now since I'm close to my due date, except I guess for the Feast, cause I'd be out of town to do any checkups.  I'm sure I'll be fine though.  If I go into labor by then, I go...  He also mentioned that if you efface and dilate early that usually women have shorter labor and deliver the baby faster.  I am hoping this is the case for me. :)  So, please keep praying for me!  I am sooo nervous and excited at the same time. (lol)

I've gained about 19 lbs so far throughout my pregnancy, which is not bad at all.  Less weight to lose after I have the baby.  I also experience some mild contractions once in a while, which is called the "Braxton Hicks Contraction" and definitely have a sore pelvis and back and wobble when I walk.  It's funny!  Well, that's about what's been going on with regards to my pregnancy.

The Feast of Trumpets went very well for us.  It always seems that as soon as you start having the Feast of Trumpets, then the Day of Atonement that the Feast of Tabernacles is just around the corner and you get all excited for the Feast!  I've been going crazy though on having the house all clean and tidy and ready for when the baby arrives and before we leave for the Feast.  We know, we don't have much time.  So, I printed out a "to do list" for Jebby and I, which we need to tackle before the Feast.  Jeb says it's my "nesting instinct" kicking in.  He might be very well correct with that.  I read that usually pregnant woman go nuts in cleaning and organizing the whole house just before labor and delivering the baby.  I better not overdo the cleaning though. 

Oh! and by the way... I've been craving sweets!  Jeb is helping me though in not eating too much or eat too many sweets. (lol)  I guess it's better to sacrifice now on not having sweets and eat less than regret it in the end when I have a hard time with the baby coming out.  I'll be glad when I can eat some sweets again! (lol)  Well, in moderation... ;)  Just mostly chocolate though, like hot chocolate (on a cool evening/morning), cold milk chocolate, chocolate cake topped with whipped cream, mini dark chocolate nuggets (either Dove or Hershey's), brownies, etc.  I'm starting to get hungry so I better stop now.  I'm just going to get myself a bowl of some healthy Raisin Nut Bran (with Almond slivers) cereal then.

We want to wish our family and friends a very meaningful and uplifting Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and soon coming Feast of Tabernacles. We hope and pray that your Feasts go well and that you all have a safe travel to and from your respective Feast sites. God bless and hope to hear your wonderful stories from your Feast experiences this year.

Jeb and I will be going to the Wisconsin Dells feast site this year. We really can't go too far right now, because of my preganancy, and being in my last month already. He says, it will be great if I had the baby just before the Feast or sometime during the Feast. Well, we'll see. Might be or might not be. I'm getting really close, though. :)

For more information and details about God's Holy Days, please visit http://www.ucg.org, or order/download the booklet: "God's Holy Day Plan - The Promise of Hope For All Mankind" at http://www.ucg.org/booklets/index.htm

Okay, Jeb thinks that it looks like my baby has dropped.  I don't know though, it might have, but I'm not so sure.  Can a baby drop as early as 35 weeks into the pregnancy?  Hmmm... I wonder.  Any comments?  Well, I'll know on my next prenatal checkup, next week.  But right now, he is excited. (lol)  He says, that it would be wonderful to have the baby just before the Feast or during the Feast, so we can show all our friends our baby.  We'll see... I'll keep you guys posted on my progress of my pregnancy.  Just for everyone's information, my expected due date for delivery is on November 6th, 2005.

Oh, also today, I got to order my baby crib bedding collection and it is scheduled to be delivered on the 3rd of October!  Boy, am I excited about that and fixing up the baby's room with it.  We also bought our baby crib matress.  The baby's room is coming along slowly but very nicely.  I'm happy. :)

You won't believe how much of a pain I was last night.  Might be one of those pregnancy "mood swings" and emotional turmoil I went through.  You might think I'm nuts but that's just how I felt last night.  I was crying a whole bunch last night for no significant or apparent reason.  And then, there was a spider on the ceiling in our bedroom just where my head is and I won't go to bed at all until Jeb took care of that spider, killed it or something.  After a while, he already fell asleep and I still won't come to bed, so I grabbed my pillows and slept in the couch for about 2-3 hours before Jebby woke up again and actually took care of the spider and asked me to go to bed.  So, I did... because the spider was gone. (lol)  I was being so stubborn just because of a silly spider.  I've never been this way that I can recall in my whole life.

But anyway, just want to share that lil' weird episode in my life.  I hope and pray everyone has had a great week and a wonderful Sabbath, weekend and Fall Holydays ahead.   

Jeb has found a way to add a "comment" feature to our blogs section/page, now. He is such a genius and sweetie to do this for me. :) So, if you feel like posting a comment on our blogs item, feel free to do so. Please NO vulgar or crude language, though. We'd really appreciate that. Have a great weekend and Sabbath to everyone!

Today, I'm technically 35 weeks in my pregnancy.  5 more weeks to go!  Jordan is going to be here in no time.  It is weird, as much as I want Jordan to be born already, I kinda want to postpone cause I'm nervous. (lol)  I think all first-time mom's are.  And I still have tons to do before the baby gets here.  Cleaning out the house is one, then there's fixing up the baby's room and then the Feast.  We're ordering the baby bedding collection (Lambs & Ivy Country Farm Bedding Collection) that I always wanted this Friday, and a baby crib mattress, too.  I'm excited about that!  Jeb says, it is his feast gift for me and Jordan.  Well, one of his feasts gifts. :)

What else has been happening?  Oh yes!  Yesterday, Kim's feast present we ordered has arrived.  We got Kimberly an Apple Ipod Nano for a Feast gift!  She was so excited when she knew we were getting it for her.  It holds 1,000 songs and is really, really tiny!  It's smaller than a business card.  Anyway, she really likes it, and we're glad we get to get her that one.

Also, yesterday I have been at my parents-in-laws house almost the whole day, helping mom can her beets from her garden.  It was fun canning and almost the whole family helped and pitched in with it.  It's cool 'cause I got to learn how to can beets as well.  So far, I have learned how to can tomatoes and beets.  We're still probably going to can some Applesauce as well.  So, I'm looking forward to learn how to do that too.

The day before that, on Monday, all us girls in Lora's bridal party, except for one, went up to Appleton to try and get our dresses fitted.  You could read about that from my Xanga's blog.  But anyways, when we got there, they didn't make me wear or fit a dress! :(  They just measured me up and gave me my approximate dress size so I can order it.  Well, I really couldn't fit it anyways, 'cause I'm pregnant.  However, the lady who took care of us said that I just have to keep the receipt and dress and if it is too tight or lose, I can always exchange it for a different one or get it altered.  So, that wasn't too bad.  Dad also paid for our dinner after we girls had the fittings.  That was sooo nice of him and we had a blast! 

Jebby took me out on a date tonight.  It was our "early" anniversary date.  It was nice and sweet of him.  We had a great time and really got our money's worth.  Jeb ordered a King size, end-cut Prime rib steak with French Onion soup (his favorite soup ever!), while I ordered Chicken and Brocolli Parmesan with Portabellas and Duck soup in a tomato soup base.  The soups tastes wonderful!  When Jeb got his steak, we were really amazed at how huge the steak was.  It was almost the size of a 2 lb roast!  Of course, he couldn't finish it all so we had it in a to-go box and now we'll be having steak for the next couple of meals.  I also didn't finish my meal 'cause I wanted to make room for some dessert.  Our waitress was really nice and she gave us a chocolate brownie with M&M's and topped with ice cream and whipped cream, which was on the house.  She said it was for the baby's birthday (lol), but Jeb also said that it was our anniversary dinner.  So, it all went very well and we were really full!  I've been hungry for chocolates more and more lately. (lol)  I don't know if that is considered as a 'pregnancy craving' but oh wells, I'm also trying not to eat too much since I don't want the baby to get too big and I'll have to regret it in the end.

I guess I have said more than enough for one blog entry.  Well, I covered pretty much 3 day's worth of stuff.  Too bad, this blog thing on our site can't handle comments, so I won't be able to get comments from my readers.  That's ok, just as long as I can share my day and thoughts, that's fine by me.  If you really want to comment, there is the contact us section where you can send us an email.  For now, I better say goodnight and get some sleep.  I have been really tired and sore all day today, maybe because from standing long periods of time canning.  I was just being lazy and soaked in a warm bath and napped the whole afternoon, pretty much.  I got some stuff done at home though... I got all my laundry done!  So, my day wasn't really a waste.  :)

Jeb and I (and Jordan) would like to greet Charlie and Isis Macaraeg, their 1st Wedding Anniversary! Congratulations! Technically, if you follow the Hebrew calendar, Charles & Isis and Jeb & I always have the same wedding anniversaries, which is the day before the Feast of Tabernacles, since both of us got married on that day. Well, just thought of pointing out something interesting.

Anyway, we are so happy for you and may you have more anniversaries to come and keep loving one another. We miss you so much!