The Joyful Jacks

Look at us go

2012-01-04T17:25:00.000-08:00

Guess the baby? They are happy guys!

We are now 9 months old and cruising all over the house. Mommy and Daddy are having a terrible time trying keep us out of trouble. Gates are up all over the place, but the big kids move them and then we are off on a new adventure. The stairs are especially exciting... Peter has made it up two and Stuart has gone up three. There have been no falls back down, yet.

Stuart is leading the way.

Peter got stuck.

A delightful time for Peter is playing in Moka's dishes and Henry finds this very funny. Moka and Mommy do not see the humor in it.

These stuffed animals taste very good.

We look so cute in our Christmas pj's.

The big kids like to play with our toys.

Peter and Stuart are pulling themselves up on the couches, chairs, stools, tables and people.

Stuart eating his Christmas dinner.

Food continues to be a source of great excitement for the boys, they love to eat. Cheerios are a new food to them and most end up in the mouth. The ones that hit the floor are quickly devoured by Moka.

Cheerio time. Stuart left, Peter right.

Peter and Stuart are sleeping 8 to 10 hours a night, but bedtime continues to be 10:00 pm or later. Someday we hope to have them in bed by 8:00.

Stuart opening a present.

Peter is a present.

They saw the doctor for their 9 month check up today and it was all smiles from the Doc, they are right on track for 9 month olds. Their premie status has not delayed them all that much.

the Joyful Jack family.

Here are the stats:
Peter is 27 inches long and 16 lbs .5 oz.
Stuart is 27 inches long and 16 lbs 3 oz.

Much to be thankful for

2011-11-30T10:26:00.000-08:00

Thankful wall 2011

In November we make thankful leaves and hang them on the wall as we count down to Thanksgiving. Here is the list from November 2011, yep I'm a little late.

Elaine: God, house, holidays - Dad is home, Upward cheerleading, cousins, Momma, Sparks, Daddy, derby cars, Stuart, Jesus, playing with Henry, Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, Peter, family, Moka, Thanksgiving, candy, Henry, hot cocoa, Smoke, Sadie, friends

Henry: family, Legos, FedEx, AWANA, home sweet home, Dad, dogs, Mom, apple trees, cousins, lakes for boating, Thanksgiving turkey and ham, cake, hot wheels, derby cars, God, food, fun, turkey, ham, pumpkin pie, milk, movies, babys, Gramma, Gampa, candy, music, Gramma Linda, Grampa Tim

Peter: Stuart, puffs, family, milk, solids, toys

Stuart: Peter, family, food,, toys, bottles, hugs

Candi: friends, church LSCC, food, Stuart, Henry, Peter, healthy body, birthdays with chocolate cake, Josh, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, flowers, trees, animals, Overlake NICU, God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Mom & Dad, Siblings: Cherie, Beth & Tim, niece & nephews, ACTS co-op, clothes, music, God's word, Elaine, home, warm drinks; coffee, tea, cocoa, sunshine

Josh: God, thanksgiving, Peter, sunshine, Stuart, friends, prayer, beautiful fall days, Bible, Elaine, home, food, health, Candi, In-laws, vacation, parents, Henry, Candi's cooking, sleep, coffee, FedEx, music, homegroup, laughter, sisters, niece & nephews

Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

News Flash

2011-11-22T23:24:00.000-08:00

Stuart weighs more than Peter.

Peter is 14 pounds 6 ounces and Stuart is 14 pounds 9 ounces. We knew this day would come.

Food is yummy

2011-11-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

Guess who?

Stuart eating oatmeal.

Eating again.

Lainee feeding Stuart.

Lainee giving Stuart a ride.

The boys like orange veggies, but don't give them anything green.

Peter trying oatmeal. He was not a fan of solids at first, he would just cry.

Dinner is over and Peter is not happy about that.

Henry feeding Peter.

Peter going for a ride.

Stuart played too hard in the hop-n-pop.

Peter wore himself out rolling around.

Going somewhere Peter?

Time marches on

2011-09-27T23:00:00.001-07:00

It was around this time last year that Josh and I found out that our family would be increasing by two in 2011. Hard to believe how much life has changed in a year.

Smiling babies - Peter left, Stuart right

Hi, I'm Peter.

Henry put a duck on Stuart's head at bath time.

Peter and Stuart went to the doctor for their 6 month check up this week. Really, it's been 6 months?
Peter now weighs 12 pounds and is 24 1/4 inches in length. Stuart weighs 11 pounds 12 ounces and is 24 inches in length, he continues to stay just a little behind Peter.

We are soooo cute!

In the coming months the boys will be introduced to solid foods and we are all looking forward to that. Henry and Elaine helped me set up booster seats today.

Look we have booster seats

Stuart wit his sippy cup.

On Sunday we introduced Peter and Stuart to sippy cups. Watching them try to put the cups in their mouths had Henry and Elaine doubled over laughing. Eventually, Josh and I got the giggles too.

The boys are rolling over and love to put things in their mouths, burp rags are a favorite item to chew. The baby gym still makes them happy, but they don't fit so well side by side.

Peter with his sippy cup.

Twice the smiles and twice the laugher are one of the best benefits of twins. It can get noisy around her when they are testing their vocal chords with adorable screams. They love to interact with us and get cranky if we ignore them. Dinner time is very loud until Josh and I go pick them up and bring them to the dinner table.

We are getting out more and are learning to juggle two car seats and two babies when running errands. We even made it to the Puyallup fair for a few hours. We got out to a Mariner's game in August, along with a trip to the mountains and an all day picnic in a park. It's a little harder when it's just me with the kids, but Henry and Elaine continue to be a big help.

Playing in Elaine's room.

In September we started our homeschooling and are trying to balance our learning with the needs of the babies. History is best learned while feeding a baby, keeps the hands busy and even the boys are learning about the history of the world. Henry enjoys reading books to Peter and Stuart and Elaine likes to sing to them and show them picture books.

a lost tooth

2011-08-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

Henry will now tell the story of his tooth.

When I was riding in the van to go see Daddy at the park I noticed one of my teeth were loose. And when I got to Grandma's house I told Grandma and Jacob and Smokey (the dog) that I had a loose tooth. Tonight when I had flossed my teeth and I was brushing my teeth I lost my tooth. And we took a picture of it and then we put it in my tooth fairy box. I want the tooth fairy to come Wednesday night because I want to have it for one day and that I can show Grandma.

I am excited I lost my tooth because I will get cents from the tooth fairy on Wednesday. So that I could tell the dentist that I lost my tooth. Now the dentist won't tear my teeth out my mouth. She said when I was 8 she would start ripping them out.

4 months, already?

2011-08-09T10:27:00.001-07:00

Fo those of you who check our blog, here's an update on the twins. They are now 4 months old and doing great. They are smiling, cooing, playing, sleeping through the night and bringing joy to our home.

Peter's big smile.

Peter weighs in at 9 lbs 14 oz (that was on August 3rd, I'm sure he's over 10 now) and is 22 inches long.

A happy Stuart.

Stuart weighs in at 9 lbs 7 oz (that was on August 3rd, I'm sure he's at 10 now) and is 22 inches long.

Cute sleeping babies.

Peter just hanging out in the van.

Elaine is learning how to change diapers.

Stuart is wondering when we'll be home.

Peter putting up with Henry.

A very happy Peter.

Stuart and Peter enjoying their baby gym.

Peter and Stuart keeping an eye on the happy star.

Twins - June pictures

2011-07-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

Feeding time - Henry with Peter and Elaine with Stuart

Peter and Stuart

Eating again - this is their favorite activity

It's funny to see 4 baby feet hanging off the couch. (Peter-Stuart)

They are suppose to be sleeping - Peter rear, Stuart front

The kiddos - Elaine, Peter, Stuart & Henry

Happy Stuart, they both started smiling at the end of June.

Soccer

2011-06-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

Elaine's thoughts about soccer:
My day is good. I had a fun day playing soccer. Like I had fun playing bowling. You kick down cones with our soccer balls. I like to play soccer a lot. It is too fun. All the games I played were fun. The best part is getting to play the games and kicking the ball.

Henry is cool in his sunglasses.

Look at the pretty girl.

Henry's thoughts on soccer:
I like to play soccer, it is a lot of fun. I like to kick the ball. I like to play games. The best part of soccer is real soccer. That is where you kick the ball and there are two teams and you try to make goals. I like wearing shorts.

Time flies...

2011-06-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

Peter - 2 months

The twins are now 10 weeks old and doing great! Their stats at the 2 month check up were:
Peter - 21 inches and 8 lbs
Stuart - 21 inches and 7 lbs 11 oz

Stuart - 2 months

Here are some current pictures of them for you to enjoy.

Stuart - just hanging out

Henry and Elaine continue to "help" with their brothers. Tummy time is still a favorite event around here. Both Peter and Stuart can hold their heads up and look around. They can roll over, front to back, and scoot around. It's fun to watch them getting stronger and spending more time awake each day.

Henry and Peter having fun together

I would love to say that they are sleeping through the night, but that's not happening. Josh and I continue to function from day to day, but we often wonder how. Recently Josh put two diapers on Peter in the middle of the night. We both got a good laugh out of it the next morning.

Henry and Elaine enjoying Stuart

Peter

Reality...

2011-05-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

Stuart & Peter chillin' with Mama

It's been a few weeks since we've had the time or energy for a blog post, but we figure some of you are wondering how things are going. Here's a look at life in our house.

We wash bottles at least 3 times a day.

Bottles drying on the counter

We change 20 to 30 diapers a day, sometimes they poop or pee on the clean diaper before you even get it on.

Two weeks of diapers- 248

Bath time - x2

Peter getting a bath

Stuart getting a bath

We get about 4 hours of sleep each night, that's interrupted sleep. Plus, Stuart has his days and nights mixed up.

Who has time for naps with laundry, dishes, housework, homeschooling, etc.?

Peter & Stuart sleeping in their crib

Feedings - 7 or 8 a day and they last at least an hour.

Fortunately, both Peter and Stuart are doing great. We did a weight check today... Peter is at 6 lbs 15 oz and Stuart weighs in at 6 lbs 10 oz.

Henry and Elaine continue to be involved with their brothers. One of their favorite things to do is set up "tummy time" for the boys. They lay down the blanket and get out every baby toy we own. It is adorable.

Elaine checking on Stuart

Henry holding Stuart

Elaine helping feed Peter

Tummy Time

Henry holding Peter

There's no place like home

2011-04-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

At 2:00 this afternoon Peter and Stuart were discharged from Overlake NICU.

We are now home and enjoying life as a family of six. Henry and Elaine helped feed the boys tonight and Henry read us all a book about a car race.

One last thing, Candi went off her blood pressure medication yesterday due to the awful side effects associated with it. Today she stopped by the doctor's office to have it checked and it was 112 over 72. It was just another answer to prayer.

Psalm 100

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Almost... home

2011-04-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

Peter and Stuart are almost ready to go home, they both passed the car seat challenge last night with flying colors, I must add. They have taken all of their feeds by mouth since 4:00 am yesterday (4/19) and have done just fine. They are now on a demand eating schedule, so they determine when (not more than 4 hours) and how much they will eat. They are both exceeding the minimum required by the neonatal nurse practitioner and the nutritionist. They both have to get through the 7:00 pm feeding tonight to be cleared to go home.

Both boys are without any incidents for 5 days (Stuart's incident on Saturday was caused by Mommy), so the neo-natalogist gave him a break and said he's cleared to leave.

The requirements to go home are:
Maintaining their body temperature in an open crib - check
Breathing room air - check
Take all feeds by mouth for 48 hours - almost a check
Gaining weight and growing in length and head size - check
Pass the car seat challenge - check
No incidents for five days - check

It is so amazing to see God working in our boys everyday. We know that the prayers offered on behalf of our family have been answered by an all powerful, mighty God who is interested in our everyday lives. Our prayers offered up over feeding, growing and every little detail have been answered. The doctor said 3 to 4 weeks, but 3 weeks would be amazing and we shouldn't expect it. We knew that with God on our side all things are possible and we have prayed for the impossible and He has answered. Three weeks to the day from their birth our boys will go home.

We need prayer in one more area, Candi's blood pressure has gone back up and she is now on medication for it. Please pray that it will go down asap. She checks in with her doctor next Monday and it needs to be good. We know that the stress of the last 2 weeks has not been helpful to her health. We believe the "prayers of a righteous man (or woman) are powerful and effective." Please pray with us.

Praising God for all of you. We serve an AWESOME LORD!

Changes

2011-04-19T22:15:00.000-07:00

Notice anything different about our boys tonight?

Peter

Stuart

That's right, the feeding tubes are gone. They were removed tonight at the 7:00 pm feeding. Peter has taken 6 of his feeds by mouth today and Stuart took 5.75 of his feedings by mouth. They are well on their way to taking all their feeds from the bottle (8 in 24 hours). We are so proud of the progress they have made. On a side note, Peter pulled out his feeding tube yesterday and Stuart pulled his out today. I guess they were trying to tell us something.

Tonight while we are at home sleeping (maybe) the boys will each have their 90 minute car seat test. This is to make sure they can sit up in the car seat and keep breathing normally. All preemies must pass this test to go home. It's another step out the door of the NICU and towards home in Maple Valley.

Henry listening to Peter's heart

We were also told tonight that Peter has been incident free for 5 days, but Stuart has only been incident free for 3 days. Peter is free to leave the hospital once he takes all feeds by mouth for 48 hours. Stuart needs to remain incident free for another two days and take all feeds by mouth for 48 hours. Please pray about those two things.

Elaine practicing to be a baby nurse

We had another night with just the six of us hanging out in the boys room. Henry and Elaine enjoy being at the hospital and watching the diaper changes and bottle feedings. It's fun to watch them learn about babies.

Thank you all for your prayers, we see God working and are overwhelmed by His great love for us.

Dad loving up on Peter

Candi, Henry and Stuart

Family time

2011-04-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

Josh enjoyed his 4:00 am visit with Peter and Stuart this morning, where he bottle fed each of them. Unfortunately, neither of them finished the bottle, but it's just part of the process. Then Josh was off to work at FedEx.

Candi went up around 9:30 and tried to give both boys a bottle during their 10:00 am feeding. Unfortunately, they were both sleepy and neither of them finished the bottle. At the 1:00 pm feeding we skipped the bottles and just let the boys snuggle up together with Mommy.

This evening we took Henry and Elaine up to the hospital to visit Peter and Stuart. Josh changed Peter's diaper and checked his temperature and then gave him a bottle. Peter finished it off in about 5 minutes and then he let out a couple manly burps.

Next it was Stuart's turn for a bottle and Candi was ready to feed him. He decided it was time to impress us and he chugged his bottle in about 10 minutes. It was his first full feed with a bottle. Henry even helped with burping Stuart.

Stuart with his first empty bottle

Tonight was the first time we've been alone as a family of six and it was wonderful. We got a small taste of what life will be like when Peter and Stuart come home.

Peter now weighs in at 5 lbs 12 oz and he's 18 inches long. He has not had an incident for 3 days.
Stuart now weighs in at 5 lbs 6 oz and he's 17.5 inches long. He has been incident free for 2 days.

Josh, Elaine and Peter as taken by Henry

Candi, Henry and Stuart as taken by Elaine

Henry excited to see his brothers (also sporting a new haircut)

Elaine's excitement to see her brothers

Elaine loving up on Peter

another day...another change

2011-04-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

It's day 18 in NICU and things have changed again. Since the boys arrived on March 31st they have been in 5 different rooms at Overlake. Peter and Stuart started in one corner of the NICU, where all the new babies start out; then they moved to a corner by the nurses station, that was very noisy. On Thursday the boys were moved to the overflow room, which is also used by labor and delivery. With labor and delivery overflowing they were moved back to the NICU on Saturday night. Then on Sunday morning the boys moved again, this time to the main hospital in the west wing, this is the overflow for mother baby and NICU. We had no idea that preemies would be moved so much. We keep our focus on the fact that Peter and Stuart are healthy enough to be moved from the NICU. This new room has windows, it's larger than the other rooms and it has a door we can close when Henry and Elaine come to visit.

At 4:00 pm today Peter took his entire feeding from the bottle and he had no incidents in the last 24 hours. He currently weighs in at 5 lbs 9 ounces. He is growing everyday and maintaining his temperature with no issues.

At 1:00 today Daddy gave Stuart a bath, in attendance were Henry, Elaine, Grandma and Mommy. He currently weighs in at 5 lbs 4 ounces and had one incident in the last 24 hours. He is growing everyday and has no problems maintaining his temperature.

Henry read a book to Peter today about a hot dog and he took a turn holding Stuart after his bath. It's taking a while, but Henry is slowly warming up to his baby brothers.

Elaine loves her baby brothers and just wants to hold them all the time. She loves to just kiss their heads over and over and over and over again. She didn't want Grandma to have a turn holding Peter today.

Please pray for the boys:

Peter and Stuart will have no incidents for 5 days.

Stuart will take an entire feeding by bottle.

Both boys will have the energy needed to take all feedings by bottle.

Josh and Candi will be joyful and trust the Lord for strength each day.

Once again, thank you all for the prayers that have been offered on behalf of our family, we appreciate it.

Newsflash

2011-04-16T22:36:00.000-07:00

Peter and Stuart having some brother time

Thursday Elaine held Peter and Stuart for the first time.

Elaine holding Peter

Elaine holding Stuart

This morning Stuart broke the 5 lb. mark.

Henry held Peter for the first time. He didn't want to hold Stuart because he didn't take a bath and wasn't clean.

Henry holding Peter

Tonight Peter took a full feed by mouth for the first time.

Peter and his first empty bottle

A big day

2011-04-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

Peter and Stuart had another first today, bottle feeding.

Like always Peter got to have the first shot at this new experience. He was given a small bottle with 49 cc's of milk and he successfully sucked out and swallowed 22 of them. He even remembered to breathe the whole time. Since he's sucking a bottle he was given the opportunity to burp, which he did just like a big boy. He gave me two good burps and they even had a funky smell to go with the noise.

Stuart was up next and he refused to be outdone by his slightly older brother. He was given a small bottle with 45 cc's of milk and he sucked and swallowed 22 of them. Just like Peter, there were no breathing issues during his feeding. Stuart is the bigger fan of gross noises, so he burped 4 times and made sure they were all stinky.

We are so proud of our little guys, they continue to be consistent in their growth and have no problems maintaining their temperature, it's always between 36.5 and 37.5 Celsius. They each gain over an ounce daily and Dr. Ryan (neo-natalogist) has no concerns about them. We just need to give them time to grow up.

Please pray:
Peter and Stuart will learn to take all feedings by mouth.
Their brains will mature and they will no longer have issues with forgetting to breathe.
Josh and I will feel well rested, even if we only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep each night.

A first bath

2011-04-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

Now that the boys are out of the hot boxes and are able to regulate their body temperature they get to enjoy a first bath. Since Peter is the oldest we let him go first, so on Sunday evening before his feeding we stripped him down and took off all those sticky pads (senors) and put him in a tub of water. Daddy got to do the honors, he has given each of the kids their first bath.

Daddy washing Peter

Peter is a happy baby.

We've got to wash that cute baby bottom.

A clean baby with new clothes.

On Monday afternoon it was Stuart's turn to have a bath. He got to take his bath in the sink with a heater above him and Mommy had the privilege of scrubbing him down.

Stuart getting his fuzzy hair washed.

In the sink.

Mommy washing Stuart.

A clean Stuart with his new clothes on. They're a little big.

The other big news on Monday was Peter hitting the 5 pound mark. His nurse, Jennifer, even made him a certificate. We are so thankful for the way our boys continue to grow. We see God's hand at work in them everyday and we are blessed.

A funny thing.... With each child Josh has given me a gift that I could wear. Henry was a pearl necklace, Elaine was a diamond heart necklace and with the twins it was an ipod nano. It's even pink and he had it engraved with "amazing woman". Since Josh has returned to work music keeps me company in the NICU. On Monday morning I'm here holding my babies and just praising God in song. Apparently, everyone else in the NICU could hear me. Fortunately, they didn't tell me to stop. I was told by the nurse practitioner and Dr. Ryan that it was soothing and peaceful. Of course, I turned slightly red upon learning that they could hear me. Dr. Ryan said "you look good in red."

Out of the hot boxes

2011-04-10T00:03:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we arrived at the NICU to a blessed surprise, our two little guys had graduated from their hot boxes (isolettes) to cribs. This means that they can regulate their body temperature outside of a controlled environment. It also means that they are one step closer to going home. Of the 5 requirements, they have met 3. The last 2 could take awhile though. They continue to have incidents (forgetting to breathe). Five days without an incident is one of the steps along with taking all feeds by mouth. They have shown some interest but are not quite mature enough to do it. Both of these steps are all about maturity.

Peter in his "hot box"

Peter in his crib

Stuart in his "hot box"

Stuart in his crib

The other big news is that we have been moved to a new "pod". This is what the NICU rooms are called. Our old one was nice because it was tucked back in the corner far away from everyone else. Our new pod is right next to the nurses station and a lot more noisy.

Our first pod where we spent the first 9 days

Our new pod

Both boys continue to eat and grow. Peter now weighs 4lbs 12oz and Stuart is 4lbs 7oz. Today they participated in arts and crafts, they had their footprints stamped by nurse Vicki. We continue to look for ways to distinguish them but have been unsuccessful. The only difference so far is that Stuart poops at every diaper change while Peter gives us a break from time to time.

Nurse Vicki stamping Stuart

Nurse Vicki stamping Peter

Humbled and Amazed

2011-04-08T23:52:00.000-07:00

I sit here looking at true beauty, my wife on the couch with her feet up, paying bills and watching the news. It is hard to think that one week ago she was battling toxemia and pre-eclampsia, one step away from the ICU at Overlake hospital. At the time, we knew only that she was sick but had no idea how bad it was. The toxemia had caused her blood pressure to sky-rocket while her body swelled up from water retention. Some of that water had made it to her lungs. She had a splitting headache and could barely get out of bed because of the pain and discomfort. The pre-eclampsia had caused her muscles to become hyper-sensitive, most likely leading to seizures had she not still been on the magnesium-sulfate IV drip and her kidneys were headed towards shutdown.
Knowing she was in bad shape I called our Pastor and asked if some of the elders could come up and pray over Candi. About an hour later two elders showed up. Glenn had never been there before but was driving home from work on I-405, saw the sign and took the exit. Bill works about a mile away and he came straight from work. They spent about 30 minutes talking with us and praying over Candi. A little later, Pastor Lee and his wife showed up to pray with us.
Later that night, Candi walked all the way to the NICU to see Peter and Stuart. The nursing staff was shocked to see her up out of bed let alone making that walk. The following morning Candi was taken off the magnesium-sulfate and placed on 24 hours of observation. By Sunday morning her blood pressure was at normal levels, her kidneys were functioning properly and the signs of pre-eclampsia were all but gone. There were only two things that she was dealing with, water retention and anemia. She was discharged from the hospital with some dietary and vitamin suggestions to help with those.

Candi with Stuart (L) and Peter (R)
She's not sleeping, just always blinks when pictures are taken.

Yesterday she saw her doctor who was visibly relieved to see how well she was doing. She confided in me that it was truly amazing that Candi was sent home without needing blood pressure medicine. By following her doctors suggestions, Candi had lost 23 pounds since leaving the hospital on Sunday. Looking at her today, I see a beautiful woman who shows no signs of being seriously ill a week ago. Today we went on a half an hour walk between visits to the twins and her only complaint was that she was cold.
We truly serve a holy and awesome God who still works miracles, both big and small, daily. If you don't believe that, ask me about my twins.
Josh

A good day

2011-04-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

Stuart & Peter

It's Wednesday and we find ourselves sitting at Overlake in the NICU just watching our boys sleep. We long to hold them, but the best place for them is sleeping in their isolettes. This gives us a chance to update the blog before heading home. It's been a good day for all of us. Henry and Elaine decided to sleep in (a rare thing) and the morning was less stressful.

Elaine loving up on Stuart

As a family we went in to visit the twins this morning. Henry and Elaine picked out clothes for the boys and we enjoyed having Stuart out of his box. Elaine is smitten with him, holding his hand and giving him kisses the whole time he was out. Henry helped Josh label the clothes we brought in and read some of the parent handbook that has information on everything NICU. After visiting the twins we took Henry and Elaine out for hot cocoas at the hospital cafe. Grandma met us and took them back to her house.

Josh and Henry reading up on the NICU

We went back to the NICU and spent some quality time with Peter and Stuart. Today it was Stuart's turn to have projectile poop. Peter spent some time practice nursing and snuggling with Candi while Stuart kangarooed with Josh. While Josh went to run a couple errands, Candi snuggled with both of her boys. Then it was Stuart's time to practice nursing. We changed the the twins diapers (Stuart had another projectile poop episode) said goodnight and headed home.

The best medicine for a recovering mama

We are truly blessed with the nurses we have had the last two days. They have been long-time NICU nurses who have been a wealth of information. The twins and us have kept them in stitches with our misadventures in diaper changing.

Peter in his new clothes from Grandma

Stuart in his new clother from Grandma

We arrived home to find the floors vacuumed and the kids rooms cleaned thanks to Candi's cousin Nicole who watched the kids this afternoon. We visited with her and put the kids to bed. Now we sit ready to go to bed and start it all over again.

Prayer requests:
Complete healing for Candi
Peter and Stuart would continue to have steady growth with no setbacks
Wisdom for Josh and Candi on how to balance the needs of all for children and themselves

Adjustments

2011-04-05T23:44:00.000-07:00

We've been back home for two days and the adjustment is much harder than we expected. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in each day to accomplish what we would like. We want to spend time with Peter and Stuart but Henry and Elaine also need us and we have a messy house that needs some attention. In addition to all this, Candi is still recovering from the c-section and dealing with anemia and edema.

Stuart Peter

Today was a big day for Peter and Stuart, they both had their IV's permanently removed. This significantly reduces their risk of infection. When we got to the NICU, the nurse told Candi that they would be losing their IV's. She got so excited she hugged the nurse. The other benefit is that there are less wires that we have to deal with when holding them.

Peter's highlight was inaugurating mommy into the world of newborn projectile pooping. During his diaper change he sprayed her with poop, all over her arm. Josh had to step in and clean up Peter. Then the nurse had to change out all his bedding. He made a really big mess.

We spoke with the neonatologist Dr. Ryan about the boys current health and projected discharge. They are doing very well and are now considered growers and gainers; their job is to eat and grow. He explained the brain development that is currently happening and walked us throught what they need to be able to do in order to go home. The most likely scenario would have them coming home in 3-4 weeks but it could be longer.

Stuart

Peter

Henry and Elaine came by for a brief visit after spending the afternoon with grandma at the day care. It is important to them to see the boys each day. Henry says they get cuter every day, but is more interested in the monitors (display the vitals) than the boys.

Bittersweet - being home

2011-04-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

With heavy hearts Josh and I walked out of Overlake this morning leaving behind our precious little boys. We covered them in prayer as we drove away knowing that our Father in heaven will stay beside them. Even typing this post leaves a mother in tears. As much as my heart longs to be with them I know that Henry and Elaine need me at home for a least a few hours. Plus, a shower at home and some rest on the couch is good medicine after the week I've had.
We had a short visit with the boys this morning. First we took Peter's temperature and changed his diaper, it had a wonderful present for Daddy. I held him during his feeding so he will begin to associate Mommy with food. While Peter was eating, Daddy took care of checking Stuart's temperature and then got to change his diaper. Then he and Peter enjoyed some snuggle time. Now it was time for Stuart to eat so he and I got comfy during his feeding. After an hour together Josh and I had to head back to our room to pack up and head out. Plus, we really needed some breakfast.
I am finally starting to feel like a normal person, my iron count is still extremely low which leaves me exhausted and slightly confused at times. Today I started on iron supplements and that will help get my levels back up.
Know that we greatly appreciate all the prayers offered on behalf of our family.
In closing I want to share the scripture that God gave me a week ago when all this excitement began.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord
For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends it's roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But it's leaves will be green,
and it will not be anxious in a year of drought
nor cease to yield fruit.

Trusting the LORD,
Candi

Homeward bound...well almost.

2011-04-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

The big news of today is that Candi's stabilized and her blood work came back good so she was discharged. Just to show how intimately God is involved in the details, He conveniently planned the bridge construction for this weekend so the birthing center would have tons of extra rooms that weren't being used. They offered us the option of "romming in" which means that we get to stay an extra night down the hall from our boys.

Candi is still dealing with issues from toxemia. She is retaining water and she is anemic. The two actually affect each other so resolving one should resolve the other. Please pray that these two issues will be resolved quickly.

Peter and Stuart are doing great. They are receiving larger quantities of food every 12 hours and processing every drop. They are halfway to not needing an IV anymore.

I will finish this post with some photos from the last few days.

Stuart relaxing in his isolet

Peter chillin' in his isolet

Peter's hand, daddy's finger

Stuart's foot, daddy's finger

Elaine holding Stuart's hand

"I only want to touch an elbow or a knee."

It was a pretty good day.

2011-04-03T01:41:00.000-07:00

Our little family of six moved closer to normalcy. Candi was taken off the magnesium. After some period of adjustment and balancing her vitals have returned to more normal levels. Her blood pressure has stayed down despite a fairly active day. The other symptoms and signs of toxemia have also lessened. Her recovery from the c-section has gone much more smoothly. If she wasn't dealing with toxemia, we would probably be home right now. Depending on the results of Candi's blood work tomorrow morning we could be going home tomorrow.

Henry and Elaine came in for a visit again today and were able to stay for a little longer than the last two days. Candi was able to get out of bed and read them a book. The highlight of their visit was the snacks and I took Henry to watch the demolition work on the bridge over I-405. Henry's comments after seeing his brothers, They're cuter than yesterday because they're bigger."

Peter and Stuart continue to do amazingly well. They have had 36 hours of 5ml feedings and tonight were bumped up to 11ml at each feeding. They are continuing to breathe room air without oxygen. They are now in the same room which makes the logistics of visiting them easier.

Overall, God is doing an amazing work in this situation. The doctor's and nurses continue to be amazed at how well the twins have been doing and God continues to provide the right nurses at the right times for Candi's needs.

A few prayer requests:
That Candi's blood work would allow her to be discharged tomorrow.
That the swelling in Candi's legs would go down quickly.
That Candi's random headache will go away completely.
That Peter and Stuart would:

Continue to handle their feedings and learn to feed through the mouth not a feeding tube.
Not have moments where they forget to breathe for 5 days.
Continue to breathe without help
Maintain their body temperature outside of a controlled environment for 24 hours.

The sooner they can do these the sooner they can come home.

Thank you for your prayers. We are blessed to have so many people in our lives who care about us.

Turning the corner?

2011-04-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

This morning brought with it some optimism. Candi was taken off the Magnesium Sulfate and IV drip. Please pray that her vitals will remain stable, specifiically her blood pressure to go down and remain down, her swelling/water retention to go down, that her headache will go away and her that reflexes calm down. If so then we could potentially go home tommorrow afternoon.

Our new room is a little nicer and the construction on I-405 hasn't affected us at all.

View out the window of our old room

Henry with Stuart

Elaine holding Peter's hand

An eventful day

2011-04-02T04:38:00.000-07:00

Day two was full of excitement. Candi is still dealing with toxemia. She has turned the corner but is not out of the woods yet. She has managed to get up and walk around a couple times. Her greatest accomplishment was walking the entire way to the NICU this evening for her second visit with Peter and Stuart today. Her first visit she was able to hold Peter for quite awhile. She held Stuart for a long time on the second visit which culminated in her holding both boys at the same time.

Peter and Stuart are doing splendidly. They both had their c-pap machines removed this morning and are breathing room air on their own, overcoming their greatest hurdle at this point. They have also begun to be fed with a feeding tube and have been able to process all of it. They are progressing at a very rapid rate and have had no setbacks.

The day ended with a last minute move to another room. Just outside the room we were in is the bridge over I-05 that is being imploded tonight. We have finally settled into our new room for the night and are ready to get some sleep.

Praising God for little miracles

2011-03-31T15:26:00.000-07:00

Peter Douglas & Stuart Joshua

4lbs 8oz 4lbs 4oz

17 1/4in 16 3/4in

Twins - update

2011-03-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

So here we are at 30 weeks and still going strong. Honestly, I'm slowing down a little and need far more rest than I care to admit.

The twins had an ultrasound yesterday and we are amazed at the results:

They continue to grow at the same rate and now weigh in at approximately 3 lbs 3 oz with less than a 1% difference between them.

They have nice healthy heart beats and the blood flow is good.

They are very active and do not like being pushed around during the ultrasound.

They are both surrounded by equal amounts of amniotic fluid.

At this point there is no longer concern about twin to twin transfusion syndrome.

We don't have another ultrasound for 4 weeks, generally during the 3rd trimester they are weekly.

So far, I am healthy with no high blood pressure, no gestational diabetes, no signs of preterm labor and no bed rest. It's all so amazing.

We are so thankful to all the people who have been praying for us and our little boys. God is at work and we are in awe of Him.

The goal is to make it 6 more weeks, so please keep praying.

Josh & Candi

P.S. We'd love to put up pictures from the ultrasound but the Dr. can't get a good one. Those boys are packed in like sardines.

Interview with a 7 year old

2011-03-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Henry and his first snowman

Happy Birthday Henry!

Candi: What is important about March 1st?
Henry: My birthday.
Candi: How old will you be?
Henry: 7 years old
Candi: What's the best part of turning 7?
Henry: Getting to be old. Getting to have more energy. I get to do different things; now I can play more games without you, be able to do crafts without you and that's all.
Candi: What is your favorite color?
Henry: Orange, blue and green, because they are such cool colors.
Candi: What's your favorite subject to learn about?
Henry: Science, because I get to do stuff cool with Dad. We got to see what floats and what doesn't.
Candi: What's your favoirte food?
Henry: Hamburgers and hotdogs. Get rid of hamburger and put in cheeseburger. My favorite vegetable is broccoli. My favorite fruit is strawberries, actually raspberries. My favorite ice cream is peanutbutter ice cream.
Candi: What are you going to learn as a 7 year old?
Henry: Why cars and trucks don't float. I want to learn how to cook hotdogs and hamburgers. I want to learn how to find my way to the bathroom at night. More math, but only clocks, shapes and measuring. I want to be a second grader. I am going to learn how to ride a bike without training wheels. I want to spell more words by myself.
Candi: What is one new thing you will try this year?
Henry: Try a lemon. Try licking it.
Candi: What is one thing you will do for God this year?
Henry: Start trying to read the bible.
Candi: What is your favorite toy?
Henry: I can't decide. I have so many favorites. Toy boats and fuse beads and cars and vans and truck and planes and trains.
Candi: What is one thing you want people to know about you?
Henry: I will be taller when I'm 7.

No more questions

2011-01-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

On January 5, 2011 we had the "big ultrasound" where they take a very detailed look at the development of the babies. We learned a few things that day and have decided to share the information with others.

1. The babies are identical.

2. The babies are both very healthy and growing at about the same rate. At that time they weighed about 13 ounces each.

3. They both have strong heart beats and their brains look good.

4. They each have an amniotic sac (can't wrap the umbilical cord around each other), but they share a placenta (only one food source)

5. There is a potential for twin to twin transfusion syndrome, but at this time no need to worry.

6. And for the thing you've all been wondering about...

We're having...

Henry and Elaine with the identical dogs they made for Pip Squeak and Little Squirt!

BOYS!

We are thankful for...

2010-11-25T11:34:00.000-08:00

Every year we have a thankful wall in our house. I tried the tree thing once, but decided it was just too much work, plus it looked terrible. From the first of November until Thanksgiving each family member puts up one leaf, it makes for a pretty display and is a great reminder of our many blessings.

Elaine: food, puzzles, games, babies, ACTS co-op, new hat, Wii, cinnamon rolls, carousel, friends, grandparents, Moka, Daddy, show-n-tell, snow, house, Christmas music, Great Grandparents, racing derby cars, AWANA Cubbies, Mom & Dad reading books, Mommy, Jesus, learning and God

Candi: stay home days, gum, electricity, church, healthy babies, short ultrasound appointment, Josh, Henry, CJ's Bakery, GGB's, God's creation and beautiful falls colors, siblings, music, muffins, warm home, vacations, Elaine, van, parents, hot chocolate, Jesus, books, clothes, friends and extended family

Henry: artwork, MooMa, cousins, kettle corn, airplanes, Moka, book reading class, ACTS co-op, Aunt Beth, friends, Daddy, Mommy, uncles, family, Christmas music, snow, Aunts, dessert, Sunday school, Daddy reading the Hobbit, sillybandz, "cinnabombs", boats, holidays and Wii

Josh: stay home snow days, Thanksgiving, home safely, sleep, Henry, LSCC, school, twins, dessert, two working cars, Dr. Avendano, sunny fall days, Elaine, Jesus, in-laws, Moka, people bringing us meals, parents, Candi, books, watching kids race derby cars, FedEx, sisters, niece & nephews and games

Psalm 68:19

Blessed be the Lord,

Who daily loads us with benefits,

The God of our salvation!

Surprises

2010-11-09T13:07:00.001-08:00

This will be short, sweet and to the point, there is so much more to the story, but at least it gets the news out.

After praying three years for God to bless our family with another child Josh and I had finally given up. This summer we decided that our family was complete and Josh would be visiting a doctor in September to finalize that plan. However, as always, God had better plans.

In early September I was watching TV and started crying at a commercial. In that instant I knew that I was pregnant. Unfortunately, it would be another two weeks before I could confirm my suspicions. Two weeks later I took a pregnancy test at 5:30 in the morning. Poor Josh, as he was walking out the door to work I approached him with a pregnancy test and a question. "Is that one line or two? Please, please say one. I just don't want to be pregnant." He confirmed that it was two and prayed for us and this new life growing inside me.

Fast forward to October 5th and my first prenatal visit. I'm laying there while the doctor is doing an ultrasound and she pauses and says, "Did I just see what I think I saw?" Yep, sure enough we're having TWINS! I saw the two heart beats and didn't know if I should laugh or cry. I think I did a little of both. My Great Grandmother had my Grandpa and his twin brother at 32. Here I am 32 and pregnant with twins. Crazy how history repeats itself.

Some of you may know this about me, but I really don't like pregnancy. The all day sickness, throw up, sleeplessness, exhaustion, not being able to cook, etc. just drives me crazy. Not to mention the wacky mood swings. And it's all worse with twins. However, I am excited about the new babies.
I called Josh on the way to work to share the news. He was thrilled! That's an understatement, but I just don't know what words to use. He has been an amazing husband through all of the craziness of this pregnancy. After he works a 10 hour day he still comes home and takes care of the cleaning, cooking, dishes, kids and whatever else needs to happen. I am truly blessed to have him as my husband.

A funny thing or a God thing, depends on your perspective, Josh and I have always wanted 4 kids, but only 3 pregnancies. I just never thought it would actually happen. It reminds me that God gives us the desires of our heart as we walk in obedience to Him. I can honestly say that each one of my children has been wanted, but not one of them was planned. God's timing is always the best.

In case you're wondering the official due date is May 24, 2011, but the babies can come anytime after 35 weeks.

Halloween

2010-10-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

the Fireman and the Twirly Whirly Princess

Out in the neighborhood asking for candy.

Is is right to ask for candy at your own house?

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

2010-09-28T02:30:00.001-07:00

The kids and I went to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium on a field trip with our homeschooling co-op. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy, muggy day with a chance of rain. Fortunately, the kids were excited and we had a wonderful time regardless of the weather. Of great excitement for Elaine was the carousel at the zoo. She just couldn't wait to go for a ride.

Before we went into the zoo we made a list of all the things we might see: seal, otter, whale, cars, trees, squirrel, lion, tiger, zebra, giraffe, people, naughty children, fish, sharks, birds, peacock, elephant, etc. the plan was to show you the pictures of the animals we saw, but for some reason they were erased from the camera. So these are all that remain.

"I'm a hermit crab!" Elaine

Henry, "No, I'm a hermit crab'.

Henry, "This is George Washington's horse. It was a fun ride."

Elaine, "It has roses on the back and it is so beautiful. I had fun riding it."

Henry, "We are spiders." Elaine, "Elaine is being an ant. It's gets ate by the spider".

Free your Glee!

2010-09-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

We headed to the Puyallup Fair on a Saturday morning for some fun and scones. The kids went on a few rides.

Elaine was excited to get her face painted with a pretty butterfly.

I wish they would do the laundry at home.

They were in a show. Henry played the cow and Elaine was the cutest pig ever!

Seattle - to celebrate Elaine

2010-08-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Every year for the kids birthday we do something fun. Josh and I both take the day off work and we spend the day out having fun. Elaine wanted to ride on the carousel on the Seattle waterfront.

This is the first ride.

After a ride, we went up to Seattle's Best Coffee for a cold chocolate and some coffee.

The best thing is the chocolate bar.

After that we wondered around the market and went back to the waterfront.

Elaine enjoyed three more rides on the carousel before heading home for birthday dinner and chocolate pie.

Each time she rode a different horse.

Here is August Sweetie with Elaine.

Elaine is 4!

2010-08-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Elaine turned 4 years old on August 26th. We celebrated her birthday with a butterfly cake!

Elaine with her cousin Rachel.

Elaine wanted to make crafts at her birthday party,
the girls made necklaces and decorated wands

She really enjoyed opening all those presents!

Henry's Artwork

2010-05-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

Henry took an art class at a local elementary school this spring. He really enjoyed making all these pictures and would like to take another class next year.

Henry's 6th birthday party

2010-03-05T20:26:00.000-08:00

Henry requested a cake with a boat in the ocean and we had to have a beach too. We even had seaweed in the water. Frosting covered seaweed is not so bad. At least Elaine would eat it.

Henry enjoyed having two friends join him for his birthday party, along with his family. He liked getting all those wonderful presents and being the center of attention.

Henry was so excited about his new race track. He likes to see how fast the cars can go and make the cars fly off the track.

Road Trip...

2010-02-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

Elaine - Hank a doodle went to town a riding on a space ship, stuck a feather up his nose and called it macaroni. (This is Yankee doodle.)

Mommy - Henry do you have anything to say about Elaine's song?

Henry - Elaine likes to wear dirty underwear.

Oh yeah, life is good.

First time...

2009-12-13T12:14:00.000-08:00

Since having children Josh and I have focused their attention on Christ as the reason for Christmas and have tried to leave Santa out. However, this year Elaine learned about Santa from watching Christmas videos and reading story books. She insisted that she needed to meet this "Santa" person. We explained to her that it is just a person dressed up in a costume and that there are many Santa's out there. Since she continued to pester us about meeting Santa we decided to humor her and find a Santa, this proved to be a challenge for us.
Josh had a week of vacation in early December and we had fun activities planned so we decided to add Santa to the schedule. Originally, we were going to meet him at the Reindeer Festival at a nearby zoo, unfortunately, it was a little out of our budget. The next plan, was the Nordstrom Santa in downtown Seattle. We headed to Seattle on a very cold evening with the first stop at the Children's museum, next we rode a carousel and then the monorail to Westlake. We walked the one block to Nordstrom and arrived at Santa's little house where Josh inquired about the wait, 1 to 2 hours! Yeah, we decided against standing in the cold for that long, we hadn't even had dinner. Another day passed and Elaine did not meet Santa.
Our new plan was the Supermall Santa, but we never did make it there. Our week of vacation ended and Elaine never met a Santa.
However, Elaine was still determined to meet a Santa. She asked how many there were and where we could see one. Henry and Elaine came up with a list in the car; Seattle Santa, Bellevue Square Santa, Supermall Santa, TV Santa, but what Santa would she meet.
It had been two weeks since Elaine had first asked to see Santa and we were sitting in a local coffee shop, City Perk, having coffee with my dear friend, Amber (who had just come to church with us for the first time). They had a sign posted - Santa Pictures 12:00 to 5:00. It was 10:30 and we wondered if we would still be there at noon. We told the kids about it and Elaine said 'Yes, yes, I want to meet Santa and take my picture!'. Henry said 'no, I don't want to do it, but Elaine can.' We decided to wait and passed the time drinking cocoa and coffee, coloring pictures and chatting.
Elaine was the third child in line and she was so excited about meeting a Santa. When it was her turn she took the picture she had colored for Santa and ran up to him. "This is for you!" Then she gave him a big hug and climbed up on his lap. Henry saw Elaine's enthusiasm and decided he wanted in on the action. He ran up and climbed on the other knee. The picture was taken, the gift list was recited (wow, Henry had a long list), they each received a candy cane and then they waved goodbye.

Henry's thoughts on meeting Santa - I liked getting the candy cane from Santa and telling him what I wanted. I took a picture with him.

Elaine's thoughts on meeting Santa - I like him, he's my favorite. I hugged him. I gave him a picture. He gave me a candy cane.

Will we have another Santa encounter? I'm not sure, but I do know that my children shared joy with others through their kindness, smiles and excitement that day and that is what truly matters.

Snowflake Lane

2009-12-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

We took the kids into Bellevue to enjoy the magic of Snowflake Lane.

Elaine was thrilled to meet the Snow Princess. "She's so pretty. I want a dress like that. I want to be a Snow Princess when I grow up".

The boys on stilts gave the kids a sucker. Elaine liked how tall they were and wanted her picture taken with one.

Henry did not like the guys on stilts. "They are too tall."

Both the kids liked the polar bear, but only from a distance. Neither one wanted a picture with him.

Josh and Elaine took some time to dance to the music.

Henry just watched the lights on the building change colors. He was fascinated by them and refused to watch anything else. The colors were red, green and blue and they danced to the music.

It was a very cold night.

Henry would like to play the drum when he's older, but not at Snowflake lane.

They liked the penguin, but only wanted to take a picture if I went with them.

Henry - I don't like Snowflake lane without snow. I want snow. There was not enough. I liked the penguin. I enjoyed the lights.

Elaine - I like Snowflake lane. I just like the drummers. I like the snow princess dress and hat. The best part was seeing the drummers.

Fun at the Thomasson Family Farm

2009-10-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a new look for our family.

Selecting the perfect pumpkin is a very difficult task. One must walk the entire muddy field and look at every pumpkin in the row. Also, try to find the pumpkins that are at least half your size. That way you don't have to carry it.

A tractor ride is a must at the farm. Elaine liked this the best. She went twice, Henry went once.The corn is so much fun to jump in, they even had a slide for the kids to use. The corn is very cold, but that doesn't bother the kids.

Fun with Ella!

2009-09-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Here is Elaine with the dancing Ella, the elephant.

This would be Josh with Ella.

And here is the crazy lady who started the dancing Ella craze at our house with a very adorable little boy.

My very own library card!

2009-09-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

For Henry's first day of school we filled out the application for a King County library card.

I told him what words went on each blank line and then provided him with the letters or numbers. He very slowly wrote down his name, first and last (he would like the last name Hotrod), his address, phone number and parents names.

We drove to the Maple Valley library. He had his new backpack all ready to fill with books about cars, trucks, dogs and anything else that interested him. When he gave his application to the librarian, she told him to pick a card design. I had to laugh when Henry picked the classic card, it's what my first card looked like back in 1983.

He used the card to check out 5 books - the most exciting one is Jackson and Bud's Bumpy Ride, about the first car trip across the US. I'm sure Henry's library card will get plenty of use over the next 20+ years.

Birthday parties are so much fun

2009-09-02T16:11:00.001-07:00

Elaine celebrated her 3rd birthday with a Minnie-princess-pink party. She wanted it outside and desired to serve her guests carrots, chips and cake for dinner. She had a wonderful time with her family and friends.

Her best gift was the elephant pillow she named Ella. She enjoys playing dress up in all her new princess dresses. Elaine is fond on her new Strawberry shortcake doll and car. The other highlight is her new dog and kennel with a "doctoring set". She likes to doctor her ponies and anything else she can find. It's very cute.

We are blessed to have such a joyful little girl and we look forward to watching her grow and change this year.

Here she is going down the hill in the back yard on her riding toy.

She enjoyed her dinner, but Moka ate her hotdog which upset her.

The first time we lit the candles Elaine blew them out before anyone could take a picture, so we did it again. Then we did it a third time just for fun. She liked that.

Here are Elaine's thoughts on her party:

I liked the Minnie, that's the best part. I like Henry at it. I like you at it. I like aunt Kristi at it. I like Ella the elephant and I like my suitcase, no lunchbox. I like my lunchbox. I like cake and ice cream. I like to eat my cake. I like Bella.

A three year old lives at our house

2009-08-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

Elaine celebrated her 3rd birthday with her family on Wednesday, August 26th. She really enjoyed being the center of attention all day and picking everything from what she ate to what movie they watched. Henry was not so fond of all the choices she got to make.

We enjoyed lunch at Red Robin where the waiters sang happy birthday to her. The grin on her face stretched from ear to ear.

She loved her chocolate princess cupcakes and had no problems blowing out the candles.

Her favorite gift was a Minnie birthday card where Minnie Mouse sang happy birthday to her. She listened to it over and over and over and over. I think we can all sing like Minnie now.

More Disneyland pictures

2009-05-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed It's a Small World three times. The kids loved the song (they sang it all day) and all the pretty things to look at.

Here are some pictures from the street party. All of the characters came and danced in front of us.

The kids got to play the drum.

Mickey and "Minnie-girl" came and danced in front of the kids. Elaine was so excited to see Minnie.
The kids enjoyed delicious Mickey cookies, it was a sugar cookie covered with chocolate.

California here we come!

2009-05-21T17:12:00.001-07:00

First stop was California City where uncle Tim and aunt Jennie live. We were all excited to see them and spend time at their house. The kids got to play go-fish with Tim.

We visited the Borax mine in Boron, CA. That is one big tire. Henry found it all so fascinating and asked uncle Tim at least 100 questions.
Since we were in California Josh's number one thought is: In-N-Out burger! We ate there our first day. I think the kids enjoyed it.
We visited Edwards Air Force base to see all the cool planes. Henry enjoyed this part more than Elaine. Candi ended up taking a little nap in the rental car (we'd been up since 3:00 am).
We had a great trip, the kids enjoyed flying. They got to sit in the cockpit and they took pictures with the pilot.

First trip to Disneyland

2009-05-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

Henry and Elaine went to Disneyland for the first time this May. They had so much fun and they look forward to going again. The rides were a big hit, the characters were scary, the frozen lemonade made for many bathroom breaks and it was all great!

They got to meet Eyeor, Tigger and Pooh Bear, but Elaine didn't like Tigger or Pooh.
Henry was excited to see Pluto.
Henry enjoyed the cars in toon town. He had to take his picture with each one.
Elaine and Henry wanted to have their pictures taken with their new toys, Pluto and Minnie-girl. Then we had to take pictures of just the stuffed animals. This was at the end of our second day in the park.
Elaine loved the teacups. She went on them once and then refused to get off the ride. Fortunately, it was early in the morning so they let her go twice.

Easter pictures

2009-04-13T16:16:00.001-07:00

Henry is 5!

2009-04-13T16:04:00.000-07:00

On March 1st Henry celebrated his 5th birthday. He is very excited about starting kindergarten next year. He wants to get "smarter and smarter".

Henry got a bike for his birthday. Now he just needs to learn how to peddle and steer at the same time. It has proved to be very difficult for him. Oh, and he needs to look up, not at his feet.
Eating cake! This is the best part of a birthday party.
Henry enjoyed opening all his presents, his favorite present was the green lego car. He is really into building with legos.
This is the construction version of "pin the tail on the donkey", you put up a construction cone. Henry did not win.
This is Henry's monster truck cake with snow and a river and rocks. He was very detailed about how his cake should look and told me "Mom, it's my birthday and you have to make it my way."

It's time for a haircut...

2008-12-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

Elaine had her first haircut on Saturday, December 13th. She chose to sit in the airplane and wanted to watch a movie. The most amazing thing happened...Elaine sat still. We thought she would wiggle like normal, but no she just sat there. We were shocked!

She liked getting her haircut and asked if it could be brown.

The long curls are gone, but she is still adorable.

The haircut was a success and she's asked if she can go again.

This is crazy...more SNOW!

2008-12-22T13:25:00.000-08:00

This is the face one makes when it's not your turn to use the sled.

What a pretty house...I wonder who lives there?

Henry likes to drive his cars and his tricycle in the snow. He hitches the sled to the back and pulls snow around the yard. He was busy making Mount Rainier for his cars and trucks to drive up.

Yes, even Josh and Candi did some sledding. We can't let the kids have all the fun.

SNOW!

2008-12-18T11:05:00.000-08:00

We got our first snowfall on Saturday, December 13th. The kids were out before breakfast playing in the snow.
Henry says the best part of the snow is "seeing the cars drive in the snow." "I like to drive my cars in it and I like sledding."
Elaine says the best part is "sledding and it's good."

We have enjoyed this snow and we continue to pray for more to fall.

What happened to the candy...

2008-11-30T16:59:00.000-08:00

We gave the kids their candy and one hour to eat as much as possible. After one hour anything left over was tossed in the garbage. They had fun stuffing their faces and then went right to bed.

The thing they don't like to do is share with Daddy and Mommy.

Anyone want a sucker?

October

2008-11-30T16:46:00.000-08:00

Here is our race car driver and a really cute little lamb. They had fun visiting a few neighbors and eating candy.

We visited a pumpkin patch and each of the kids picked a pumpkin. After giving the pumpkins a bath they painted them. Henry stayed clean, but Elaine got paint all over herself. It was a fun experience for all of us.

Life continues to change

2008-10-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

For those of you who check our blog I wanted to give you a quick update on our family.

As of today, October 20, 2008 Josh is returning to full time work at FedEx. We've done the two part time jobs thing for a year and it's not working. Recently, Josh began seeing a chiropractor for his back and that has helped with the spine alingment issues. Also, he did acupuncture for a month and that helped reduce the pain. Now, we are praying for God to keep his back strong, so he will be able to support his family and Candi will be able to quit working.

Henry is in Cubbies at Hope Fellowship in Maple Valley on Thursday nights. He enjoys doing art projects and earning Awana dollars to spend at the Awana store. His favorite toys all have wheels and he has really taken an interest in drawing and legos.

Elaine is growing up and adding new words to her vocabulary everyday. She likes to tease her big brother and then tattles when he retaliates. (This is slightly amusing.) Every Thursday night she goes to Kindermusik to sing and dance. She really enjoys going and is the only girl in the class, so she eats up all that attention.

September Vacation

2008-10-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

In the beginning of September we took a mini-vacation around Western Washington. Here are some pictures of our fun...

On Sunday...We went to Ocean Shores for some fun in the sun. We had lunch on the beach. Candi drove on a beach for the first time.

If you're at the ocean you must fly a kite, the kids each took a turn and had fun making it nose dive into the sand.
Henry built a sand castle with Daddy's help. Lainee found it boring and preferred playing in the bucket of water.
Next we ran in the waves. Lainee loved this part. The waves would come up to her chest. We would pick up her up and she would just kick her legs and laugh. It was FUN!
Henry did not like the waves and chose a place about 10 feet from where the tide came in. He had to be behind this log. Even then he would scream and run away.

On Monday, we had a picnic lunch at Lake Sylvia State Park. We roasted marshmallows and enjoyed sticky sweet s'mores. We also went on a Ferry boat ride at the end of the day. That was the best part of Henry's whole vacation.

On Tuesday, we headed to Woodland part zoo. This was a big mistake on our part, the kids did not like the zoo and asked repeatedly if we could leave. According to the kids it was very boring and had too much walking. The best part was the flamingos and we saw them in the first 10 minutes at the zoo. I don't think we'll do this again.

This was how Elaine saw the animals, I don't even know what animal we're looking at. After the zoo we enjoyed the Seattle waterfront where we watched the ferry boats and ate ice cream.

Happy 2nd Birthday Elaine!

2008-08-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Lainee's 2nd birthday today with a "pony party" in her honor. She was so excited for her party. This morning she came into our room at 5:30 am and said "Lainee, pony party" with a big smile. She successfully blew out the two candles on her cake and was very proud of herself. She has a great smile
After blowing out the candles Lainee thought Mom and Dad were distracted and decided to taste the frosting. Just a little taste at first and then she took a lot more. Next Henry and Jacob were sticking their fingers in the frosting. (There's Rachel standing beside Elaine, she is out of the hospital and doing well after having a brain tumor removed a month ago.)
Opening presents...yeah, new toys! When we brought down Elaine's presents this afternoon she kept sneaking into the living room to try and open them. She ended up with a couple spankings. Hope she has better luck next time.
Here is one tired "pincess". Elaine refused to take her nap today and now she's worn out. Must be bedtime. Great Grandpa Jim was happy to hold the pretty "pincess" while others took pictures.

A spiritual awakening

2008-08-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple weeks Josh and I have notice a change in Henry. Since VBS (Aug 4-8) he's been different; quicker to obey, kinder to Elaine, more thankful, singing "Jesus" songs, and more loving. Plus, the things that he says (see previous blog) have been interesting.

Last week I decided it was time to ask some questions. While driving in the car last Friday I asked Henry. "Does Jesus live in your heart?"
He responded as only Henry can. "Yes, Jesus lives in my heart. Well no, He lives on my shoulder."
"When did he start living on your shoulder?"
Henry replied with confidence. "Oh, I think today. Or maybe in the morning."
I said to Henry, "I'm excited that Jesus lives on your shoulder. He lives in my heart and Daddy's heart, too."
Henry had a question about that. "How can Jesus live in my heart and your heart and Daddy's heart? He's only one person."
I said. "Well Jesus is God and God can be everywhere at once because God is very big."
Then Henry decided to ask more questions. "Mommy, how can Jesus be God? They are different people. How big is God?"
At this point I said. "Henry, those are great questions, why don't you ask Daddy."

So next time you see Henry welcome him to the family of God. He's now your brother in Christ! It is so incredible to see God working Henry's life. Henry is so young and he has made a wise choice. We pray that God will watch over him as he grows and that he will serve God faithfully. We serve an awesome God!

And remember, God lives on your shoulder.

Henry - random thoughts

2008-08-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on the drive home Henry picked up a "chapter book" and began to read from it. Here are some of the things he said:

In John 14, 3, 7, 80, 10 I read Jesus died for our sins. Did you hear that Elaine? Jesus died for our sins.

In the next chapter it says Jesus helps us climb the big hill. Jesus helps us up the really big hill. Jesus helps us get up the big hill.
This is my (Candi) personal favorite. Think about it for a few minutes. Do you realize that sometimes life feels like a big, big hill and you wonder how you'll ever make it to the top. So you start walking and Jesus walks beside you offering encouragement. After a while you're tired so he gives you a drink and a snack to sustain you. Then you stop, so he picks you up and carries you. After a while you feel stronger, so he puts you down, but keeps his arm around you. He might have to push you from behind for a bit to keep you going. Sooner or later you get to the top and Jesus says to you "with me all things are possible." Then you celebrate with Jesus and can't wait to tell everyone you know how Jesus got you up the big, big hill. To God be the glory!

Let me turn the page. This one says Jesus loves us.

In this chapter is says Jesus got out of the boat and sunk.

In John 14, 18, 12, 15 it says you must turn from evil. (this is from 1 Peter 3: 10 & 11)

Oh, this chapter says that the storm knocked over the road sign and the tree. The the power line fell down on the road and the car ran over it. The car got hurt.

I hope you enjoyed these thoughts from Henry...

Big girl bed

2008-07-01T22:42:00.000-07:00

Last week our little girl, Elaine, would just cry at bed time. She did not want to lay down in her crib and go to sleep. No matter how tired she was, if you laid her in the crib she would cry. One night it was for three hours. It was crazy and we weren't getting any sleep. Finally on Saturday we removed the side of her crib and sure enough that night she laid right down and went to sleep. The only problem is she moves around a lot while she's sleeping. Saturday night she rolled off her bed three times. She never really woke up, just cried a little and then kept sleeping on the floor. It was funny.
One time when Josh went up she was laying half under her bed.
On Tuesday (July 1) morning we found her sleeping in the middle of her floor. She loves being a "big girl" and likes her bed.
One last comment about this. Henry asked me what we were going to do with the side of her crib that was removed. I explained that it would go in the garage for now. Henry said, "Well Mommy, perhaps we could make it into a new bed." Yep, he used perhaps correctly.

Awesome fireworks

2008-07-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

Psalm 19: 1 - The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Living in Maple Valley where fireworks are legal, we have been seeing and hearing them for the last week are so. I think God wanted show us what real fireworks are.

On Sunday night we were surrounded by God's fireworks show. I (Josh) went outside and took a few pictures. Moments like this remind us of just how awesome our God is!

Look...grass!

2008-07-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

We had a local landscaper put in our new grass last week. It is taking nicely. In a few weeks the lines and brown spots should be gone.

And we have a new maple tree to give us shade in the mornings.

Here are the flowers that we hinted at.

There is plenty of room for the kids to run and play.

The wall is built...we still need grass

2008-07-01T16:37:00.001-07:00

Josh actually built two walls in our yard. He had to build this little one so we could level out the grassy part of our yard. Plus, he put in some nice steps so we can access the garden.
This is the wall that Josh built with the help of some men from our church. He put down the first layer and then 5 guys from church came to move the stones. Josh appreciated their help since those stones are heavy.
Here's another picture of the wall and our rocky back yard. Josh did a great job!
Stay tuned for pictures with grass and maybe some flowers...

Before the wall

2008-07-01T16:28:00.001-07:00

We had a friend with an excavator come out and dig out part of the hillside in our back yard.

It was very exciting for the kids to watch him work. Shoot, it was exciting for all of us.

More words for Elaine...

2008-05-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

It was fitting that Elaine said the word "happy" for the first time on Mother's day. She said "happy" ... "mommy"... "day". It was so cute and I loved it.

Yeah! Josh is permanently partially disabled

2008-05-12T10:22:00.001-07:00

Josh received a call from his attorney on the labor and industries claim last week. The state has now closed his case with a category 3 permanent partial disability rating. Now FedEx has 60 days to appeal the decision or they can just leave it alone. Please pray they will not appeal and this will be over by the end of June.
He has also contacted the insurance of the individual who ran into this FedEx truck to close that claim. Pray for wisdom as we deal with the claim manager.

A New Experience!

2008-04-27T20:26:00.001-07:00

Henry played in his first T-ball game on Saturday, April 26th as a proud member of the Rockets. He is the only lefty on his team. Henry had some family there to cheer him on; Daddy, Mommy, Elaine, Grandma "who lives in the green house", Grandma Linda and Grandpa Tim. At the start of the second inning Henry was doing the "potty dance" on the infield and had to take a bathroom break. He missed most of the inning.

Elaine came out to cheer Henry on and drink some water. Her favorite part was climbing up and down the bleachers. She did some yelling "Go Hanee!"
According to Henry the best part of T-ball "is hitting the ball". It only took him four tries to make contact with the ball. He would rather drive the bat in the dirt to make roads. After he hit the ball he stopped to remove his helmet, because it was too big. Then he slowly walked to first base. Running the bases is difficult and one needs a great deal of instruction to make sure you're headed in the right direction. The first time around the bases he decided to run in a circle back to second from third. Who needs to go home and why do I need to touch the plate? Where is the plate?! The second time around the bases he just chose to walk.

"The worst part of T-ball is catching the ball." Of course he never caught the ball, didn't even get near the ball. The reason for that is simple, "the ball is scary". When asked if he liked playing T-ball he said "no, I never want to do that again".

And that concludes the replay of Henry's first experience with T-ball.

Our Yard is Growing Candy?

2008-04-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

The Saturday before Easter was beautiful!
Since rain was expected on Sunday we had an Easter egg hunt in our backyard for the kids.

They had so much fun running around searching for eggs.

Henry found more than Elaine. Every time she found one she wanted to open it. She never wanted to put in in the Easter basket.

Once they were done searching they got to eat some of the delicious candy they had found.

Henry thought it was great that our yard was "growing candy"! He wanted to grow more...

Moka really want to eat some of the candy too, but the kids wouldn't share. Poor dog.

Out of the mouth of Henry...

2008-03-12T18:48:00.001-07:00

I don't want to crazy dance to parent music! - It was Newsboys, that's not parent music.

Where's Daddy's new ikea?

I'm new and Mommy is new, but Daddy is very old. - This was said on Josh's 34th birthday.

And the kicker is...

Those are cows. Where are the chickens? You're a chicken. Chickens eat dirt. You eat dirt. You're a chicken. I don't like you. You go eat dirt like chickens. - This was said to Sammy, the man who sold us both cars, during a test drive. Henry was completely serious and Candi was horrified. Sammy was great. He laughed and said that Henry had a great vocabulary.

Look what we bought...

2008-03-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

A new van! Yes, we replaced the white van with another white van. Not our first choice, but when God does the picking you don't complain. We bought the van on February 29th at Enumclaw Dodge. It's a 2007 grand carvan. It should last us a number of years. We have named her Pearl to remind us that God creates beauty out of discomfort.

Josh finally has a vehicle again, too. We purchased a 2004 kia optima for him. We got a great deal on both cars and it's nice to have to working vehicles again. Just ask Josh...

Fashion forward

2008-03-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

If you're wondering if Henry got any new clothes for his birthday...
The answer would be yes. Elaine wanted to model them for us on Sunday morning before church. She even has his new socks on, they are brown and yellow.

What do you think of her new look?

I'm four years old!

2008-03-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe...we now have a 4 year old in our house. Henry chose this "construction cake" after looking through the cake book at Safeway over and over. He was so excited, because "they are building a road". Plus, "I get new construction trucks and I don't have any of those".

Henry is looking at the candles. This is a new thing for him. The first year he threw up on his cake. The second year he cried. Last year the candles were scary and he kept his hands over his eyes. He's growing up.

Here's the cake again. I know you've seen it enough, but he loves this cake. It was all he talked about for the three days before his birthday and he's still talking about it two weeks later. It was a chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling and white frosting. It tasted great!
The boy had a huge pile of presents to open. He liked all his matchbox cars the best.

Here are Henry's comments on his birthday...

I really did like my birthday. The best part was opening my matchbox cars. I liked my cake. It was so good and it tasted like a construction cake. It was a construction cake. My people came. Like auntie Beth and uncle Mike. You know my people. That's all the people that I met. I was glad people came, cause it was a fabulous party. I got a tent. It was so fancy and I put cars in it. I like playing cars in it. It came with the flashlight, cool.

Coloring...what a wonderful thing

2008-02-11T10:45:00.000-08:00

Elaine has discovered something new that she really enjoys, coloring. Whenever Henry sits down at the table to color she joins him. The problem is, she likes to chew on the markers. Then her tongue, lips and face change color, not the paper.

Henry's thoughts...

2008-02-11T10:36:00.000-08:00

This picture is in Elaine's baby book. Next to it we have the question, 'Do you like the taste of fingers?'

Recently, Josh and Henry were looking through Elaine's baby book and when they came to the picture Josh said, 'Do you like the taste of fingers?'

Henry responded, "No." With fingers in his mouth.

Josh asked, "Why are they in your mouth?"

Henry said, "I always want to taste them. I just try them everyday, but I don't like them."

Crash on Highway 169

2008-02-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

Here they are for all the world to see, pictures of our van and the lexus the hit us.

I heard a car approaching and then a wump, everything went black, then the kids were crying the van was in a different spot.

Here are Henry's comments:
It was a bang! I didn't hurt anything. I rode in Grandma's blazer.

Elaine and Josh had a conversation about the accident.
Josh: Were you in an accident?
Elaine: Yeah and head nodding
Then she made a "vroom" noise followed by "crash"

We are all fine. I have a slight concussion, a bump on my forehead and a very sore left arm. The kids are doing great.

She's talking

2008-01-31T12:11:00.000-08:00

Elaine said two sentances today. Our little girl is growing up.

What is that?

I want that.

I was so excited. Henry replied to her both times. It was adorable.

Singing...

2008-01-11T10:15:00.000-08:00

Have you ever stopped singing, because you didn't know the correct words to a song? Do you really need to know all the words to a song to enjoy singing it? I always thought you did, but Henry has changed my mind. He sings at the top of his lungs even when the words are wrong. Here are a few examples for you.

Rudolph the Red nose reindeer had a very shiny nose and if you ever saw it you would even say it blows

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah, someone's in the kitchen I know
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah, scrubbing on the old man Joe.

This laugh has been brought to you by Henry. I hope you enjoy it and remember, you don't need to know all the words to a song, just sing.

A current family picture

2007-12-30T19:39:00.000-08:00

This is what we looked like on Christmas eve 2007. Those are adorable kids. Elaine loved to prance around in her Christmas dress.

Auntie fun!

2007-12-21T19:55:00.000-08:00

Auntie JJ came all the way from Scotland just to decorate sugar cookies with Henry and Elaine this Christmas.

Auntie Kristi only had to drive here from Redmond, not such a long trip.

Henry and Elaine had such a good time getting frosting all over their fingers. The best part is eating the cookies after you've loaded it with gooey sweet frosting.

Everyone got in on the action! It was fun to have both Aunties here at the same time.

Here are Henry's comments...

JJ and Kristi came over (Is that them?) Kristi has Elaine. There's JJ and she's making cookies. I'm making cookies too.

We are painting cookies with frosting. I really enjoyed it. Painting candy canes was my favorite thing. I enjoyed painting the candy canes. I really love it.

Mommy baked the cookies.

The cookies tasted like dirt. I love dirt to eat and snow to eat. They tasted like snow. They were good, no they were delicious. Cookies!

Nanette is all dressed up...

2007-12-16T19:47:00.000-08:00

Here is our fully ornanated Christmas tree, Nanette the noble.

She does look lovely.

In case you're wondering...ornanated is a word for decorated with ornaments. Henry made it up.

Snow?!

2007-12-13T17:10:00.000-08:00

Yes, we had snow in Maple Valley, WA on December 2nd. Josh was out putting up the Christmas lights while Candi, Henry and Elaine were out shopping with Grandma. When they got home from shopping they had to search the house for hats, gloves and boots for the kids. Then it was outside into the snow. They ran around, but it was so cold.

As you can tell from the expression on Elaine's face, she loved it! She was bouncing up and down and screaming. Henry and Daddy tried to build a snowman, but the snow just wasn't sticky.

Henry: Daddy and me tried to make a snowman, but the snow fell apart so we stepped on it. The snow fell when I was in bed, so I don't see it. I go on a walk in it and I throwed it in peoples driveways. The snow just covered everything. There was snow everywhere, snow on the mountains, snow on the houses, snow on the trees. We play in the snow with Moka.

Searching for the perfect Christmas tree

2007-12-13T16:46:00.001-08:00

On Friday, December 7th, the Jack family went in search of the family Christmas tree. They visited Westover Farms in Maple Valley, WA. Josh, Candi, Henry and Elaine walked all over the farm searching for that perfect tree to put in their living room for those who visit to see. Henry liked the tree branches and thought those would look nice.

Elaine focused on keeping herself upright, it's hard to avoid triping on the long grass when you're very little.

Elaine was dressed in her cute pink coat, a mariner's hat and a pink scarf made by Auntie Jennie. The scarf belongs to her Mommy. It helped to keep her warm in the cold.

This is Candi's peacock tree. Unfortunately, this angle doesn't do it justice. She even suggested bringing it home. Have you ever heard of a peacock Christmas tree. It would look cool.

Here she is...Nanette the Noble. This is the tree that was chosen by the family after walking around the tree farm twice. The other option was Donnie the Douglas.

Here are Josh and Elaine with the peacock tree. Gotta love it!

Henry supervised the cutting of Nanette the Noble. He made sure Daddy didn't cut his arm off or anything gross like that. She fell without much effort. Henry didn't help Daddy carry the tree. He went to the gift shop to get warm

Sugar cookies

2007-12-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

This December Elaine got her first taste of our family favorite, sour cream sugar cookies. Like the rest of us, one just wasn't enough. She would watch them baking in the oven and push Henry away if he came to look. She figured out they were on the counter and would come in the kitchen point up and scream at us. Elaine likes her sugar cookies. The entire cookie would disappear with one bite.

Henry got to help decorate the cookies with sugar this year. He liked to use all the colored sugar, red, green and blue. He also ate his cookies in one bite. We kept telling him that it was okay to take bites. After another cookie vanished we had the following conversation.

Candi - Henry did you take bites?

Henry - Yes, I took one bite and then put the whole cookie in my mouth.

No Fear

2007-12-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

While Daddy and Mommy were busy putting up the Christmas tree, Elaine found something to do. Up the ladder she goes. Henry is not so sure about having his feet off the ground. Elaine didn't think twice about going up. Over and over she went up the ladder. Of course, going down is a different issue. Once she got up there she couldn't get down.

Elaine is getting bigger!

2007-12-03T12:05:00.000-08:00

Elaine had her 15 month check up on Saturday November 24th. She weighs in at 20 pounds 4 ounces and is 29 inches long. She is a healthy little girl who likes to be busy. She gets to face forwards in her carseat now, no more looking out the back window. She is sliding backwards down the stairs and chatters all day long. She says, dada, mama, hi, hey, and bye. Most of the other words we can't understand, but Henry does. He knows when she wants to play upstairs or play with cars. It's really cute to watch them together. They are getting along so well now. They like to drive cars in the kitchen. Yesterday they were playing "Fred Meyer" together. That's when you go shopping for toys in the living room and you use a credit card to pay for everything. They also play legos and make food together. It's such a joy to see them building a friendship that will last a lifetime. Josh and I are so blessed.

Candi's 30th Birthday Celebration

2007-11-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to me...this is the yummy chocolate cake that Josh picked up from CJ's Bakery in Black Diamond. They make the best frosting and pastries. We like that place far too much.

This is the group of people who joined me for my birthday celebration. This picture was taken at the end of the cruise when our hair had been styled by God himself with the wind. It was a beautiful day for a cruise around Lake Union and Lake Washington, a little chilly, but the sun was out and we had blue skies. The tour was informative and fun. I enjoyed it and we got some really cool pictures.

Cherie made me this super cool birthday hat. It said "I'm 30 and fabulous!". Yep, that's me. I was wearing it in the car and we stopped at a red light. The girls in the car next to us rolled down their window and wished me a happy birthday.

Check out my lovely wind styled hair. Hee hee. This is a cute picture of our happy little family.

Grand Prix Car at AWANA Cubbies

2007-11-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

Henry made a grand prix car with Daddy for the AWANA Cubbies. The orange on the car is fire. He painted it blue, purple and orange. His car number was 7.

Here is Henry with his car and his favorite Lightning McQueen shirt.

Here is Henry in the garage painting his car with Daddy. He had a great time working in the garage.
This is the Grand Prix race track at AWANA. Henry's car came in 4th place in all three of it's races.

Tissue Monster

2007-11-05T11:41:00.000-08:00

Elaine is the "Tissue Monster"

She rampaged Grandma & Grandpa Kramers house and destroyed Henry's race track. The cars were no match for her and she drove them with reckless abandon.

It was Auntie Cherie's idea to stuff tissue paper into Elaine's pants, shoes and shirt. Elaine loved running around making so much noise. It was really cute. Plus, we all got a good laugh.

Trains, Trains and more Trains!

2007-10-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

We went to Black Diamond and looked at the model trains. Henry and Elaine both had a great time watching the trains go around and around.

Elaine got very excited and would bounce up and down when the trains went past. She would smile big and laugh, it was cute.

Henry got to drive Percy and Thomas on the track. He made them go forwards and backwards, slow and fast; and then stop at the station.

Henry gave me a ride in the big train. He got to drive us on the track, we went forwards and backwards. The track went from one garbage can to another. Fortunately, he's a good engineer and he didn't run into the garbage can.
Henry, Daddy and Elaine played with the trains and built their own track. Elaine just liked to give the boys pieces to use. After a while she just started chewing on everything. Henry decided to use make a road and found the cars to drive. Oh well, so much for the trains. He's just a car man.

This is what Henry looked like when he was driving the train. Not sure what he's thinking.

Visiting The Great GGB's!

2007-10-10T17:40:00.001-07:00

We visited Candi's Grandparents in Wilson Creek, WA for the Harvest Festival on October 6th. It was great to visit with them and share the small town experience with our children. Henry loved the short parade where they threw out candy.

Henry: We went to their house and stood and played at their house. I liked playing with that big red car. That was a very big giant one. The very big red car sleep beside me, yes. At the park I played and played. Henry and Elaine and Moka and Daddy and Mommy went to the GGB's house. Moka played with Oscar. I ate a lot of stuff. I ate the applesauce jello, it was good. Great Grandma made me cinnamon rolls. I like the cinnamon rolls. I ate three cinnamon rolls.

Elaine is being held by her Great Auntie Kathy and watching Henry chase the piggies. She thought it was very funny to see Henry run around and around after the squealing little pigs.

Henry, "I'm in the old car driving it. Kids can go in the drawer. It's light in the picture. I'm sitting in back of the car. That's an old old car. Is that an old old car? Is that a very old car?"

Henry, "I like chasing the piggies. The piggies are happy in that picture."

Mommy, "Why are they happy?"

Henry, "Cause they like being chased. Cause it's daylight. I liked chasing the piggies."

Those piggies did not enjoy being chased by Henry. They were trying so hard to get away from him, but there was nowhere to go. Poor piggies. Of course, it was funny to watch.

Henry's comments on this picture. "I like Elaine. She's sitting with Great Grandpa."

Hugging Cousin Jacob

2007-10-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

Right before this picture was taken Elaine was sticking her fingers in Jacob's mouth to feel his first tooth.

Elaine just wanted to give her little cousin Jacob some love. Funny, these two are 6 months apart, but the same size. She may be small, but she's tough. I'm concerned she may grow up to be the playground bully. Imagine this cute little girl bossing around boys twice her size. (hee hee)

August 2007

2007-10-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

This is a rare occurance in our household, Henry and Elaine are playing nicely together.
I'm glad we got a picture

2007-10-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Elaine!

On August 26th Elaine Victoria celebrated her 1st birthday with party. She enjoyed dark chocolate cake with plenty of frosting. Elaine enjoyed playing with her birthday cards, but didn't show much interest in the presents. We had a great time and she loved being the center of attention for the day.

We have a blog! Now what...

2007-10-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Joyful Jacks blog. Don't you just love the name?

Now, the members of our family who live all over the world can know what's going on with Josh, Candi, Henry and Elaine.