on busy season that flies by so quickly.....

Christmas with four children 3 and under is definitely different than what it was with newborns or even just with adults.  They add such a different feel and the time together really becomes all about them.  As I have shared earlier and on Jackson's caringbridge site...he was so excited to give others their presents before the holidays.  He could hardly wait.  However I have to say, once he learned that he got presents from people the joy of giving to others slightly was minimized and the joy of receiving became a much bigger priority.  All in all he did great...even when his sister tried to steal his present. 

 Christmas pj picture #125...oh the joys of three toddlers and an infant when trying to get a posed picture. 

 The joy was high and in full swing with all the kiddos even with very few naps.  Sleeping was not a high priority for any of them. 

 it will be so much fun next year when all four are running around and full of energy.  I think we might need to hire a sitter if we think that the traditions of games and puzzles are going to continue...but we did get one more year in.  We accomplished a 1000 piece puzzle and a 1/4 maybe a 1/3 of another. 

 Jackson even decided he was big enough to play the adult games....fast scrabble involves spelling little man...maybe in a few more years. 

All in all the Schrock Christmas was a great time and we look forward to many more in the future.  We even seemed to make it through this one with no sickness....Tims' family Christmas to come.....waiting on the pictures...

Christmas preparation.  We have finally gotten our systems rebooted around here and I think we are on the mend.  We will see what the traveling gets us.  Usually we come back with one of us at least not feeling well. 
We have been doing lots this year to get prepared for christmas.  It has been so different this year having two little ones who want to help and be a part of everything.  When I say different, sometimes that is good different and sometimes it, well just takes alot longer.  Which I guess isnt' a bad thing. 

The other day Jackson and I wrapped presents.  He helped hold the paper and then he carried all the no breakable presents to the tree.  He was so cute....he got so excited when he found out who each gift was for.  It is great that he hasn't asked one time, if there are presents under the tree for him...he is much more excited about the ones he is giving to others.  Trust me this is not something that he got honestly from his mama...I was always curious about which present was for me....  My mom usually had to hide the presents and wrap them just before...because we were to nosey.  The hunt was always so much fun. 

We recieved a gingerbread house from one of Jackson's doctors at Riley.  WE are keeping it in the garage until next week when we are going to put it together...everytime he sees it...he gets all sweet and says: mama, my gingerbread house, awe.  He is so stinking funny sometimes.  I think I am mainly waiting for a time with some help.  I can't imagine...frosting, trying not to break pieces and an 18 month old weapon of mass destruction running around that = wait for a weekend with Daddy. 

I gotta say all in all this year has been the best so far with Christmas preparations...it has been fun having the kids participate in things and get so excited about everything: the tree, santa, singing happy birthday to Jesus, singing christmas songs, watching christmas movies and making lefsa with Nana Corrine.  There is not one thing that has topped anything else...but it has been a joy watching the two of them enjoy the season with us.  WE are So BLESSED!!!

A big week.....

This week started with news of Grandpa Cross' passing.  He was a very humble man.  He loved his family and would do anything for them.  I am blessed to have met him. Jackson was named after him.  I have always wanted a name continued through my kids middle names.  Even though we have been harassed by many do to its similarity to Jack Daniels, I am glad we chose Daniel, when we were naming Jackson.  I spoke with a young woman in the nursery during the funeral on Tuesday.  She was a member of their church and sat near them on Sunday mornings.  She didn't even now Grandpa as personally as those of us in his family, however his kind heart shown through to her, just in the way he handled himself sitting next to her and her family.  She said he never got upset even when her kids were loud.  My response was that he probably enjoyed it more than it bothered him.  We took the kids with to the funeral, we spent most of our time in the nursery, however we took them out to the grave site mainly for Avenlea to get a nap as we drove.  Jackson and I were talking as we waited for Adrian to return to the car.  We were talking about how Grandpa was sledding with Jesus in heaven in all the great snow.  He then asked where Daddy was and I said he was in that big green tent saying Goodbye to Grandpa.  Jackson responded:  Jesus is there too.  Some days I am sure this kid is connected in such a powerful way with our Lord and Savior.  I am certainly Glad Jackson has another Guardian Angel in heaven.  This holiday season will be a bit tougher not having Grandpa smiling at us and playing games with us, but we know he is in a much better place and God's timing is just right.

During this weeks events, we were also all taken down with the stomach flu. It was a great reminder to me that Jackson's immune system just isn't what everyone else's is.  All the rest of us have been hit for about 12-24 hours.  Jackson has been down for the count for about over 48 hours.  He has been able to continue drinking through this one and tylenol seems to give him some relief, but it reminds me how fragile he really is.  Sometimes I get annoyed when our plans have to change due to him or someone in the home we are going to getting sick, but It is for his good.  I need to remind myself of this when I am being scoffed at by people who just don't get what we are doing when we hunker in during the flu season.  But I am reminded this week how fragile life is and how much we need to take advantage of the time we have, living a life that is speaking to those around us with our actions.   I guess if I go out being someone who overly protected her family, I am ok with that.

Thank you Grandpa Cross for the incredible life you lived and I feel greatly blessed to have been able to be a part of your family for the last 6 1/2 years.

christmas 2010

What A Year Christmas Card

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Happy 18 months Sweet Avenlea!!

 Happy 18 months Baby Girl!!!!  Wow how time does fly.  This saturday marks Avenlea's 18 month birthday.  She is such a different kid that Jackson.  I can't even tell you.  IF I had one word to describe her:  SPUNKY.  There is never a dull moment in our lives since she entered the our world.  I love every minute of it.  Even on the rough days I can usually find some funny moments in our day. 

 She is very curious about everything.  She loves to explore and has to do everything herself.  ON her own without any help.  Her funniest thing to do by herself is walk up the steps.  It is so funny.  Most of the time she tries to take the steps like an adult alternating her steps with each foot.  if we are not bracing her from behind she would fall straight backwards.  She would be a great model for a V8 commercial.  Her feet get so far ahead of the rest of her.  Anyway the independence is great and a struggle at the same time.  LIke I said she loves to explore.  This also means their has been about a hundred percent increase in the mischief and discipline around here too. 

 We have started with time outs and they are surprisingly going really well.  as long as you don't get too far away from her.  This was actually quite funny.  These are all the typical things that I have seen other kids do but they are new to this house. 

I gotta say this is cute.  most of the things she does are cute...just don't tell her.  My friend Laura said to me today that she is too cute to be a trouble maker...that is exactly what is going to keep her in the trouble maker world.  Everyone is going to let her get away with it, because she is cute.  So far this mama is immune for now. 

She is jibberjabbing as well.  THere are some words , more, ma, dada, grandma even came out today.  But the funniest part is the jibberjabbering actually sounds like a conversation.  The intonations go up and down and she waits for me to reply.  Sometimes I try, but to be honest...most of the time I have no idea what she is trying to tell me.  She also can tell you what a couple different animals say.  My favs are the puppy and the lion.  When it comes to toys.  She is still into carrying everything around, but for the most part her favorite toy is whatever her brother is trying to play with or her kitchen.  She loves slamming the doors and dumping all the dishes out on the floor.  (she does very well helping to clean up too).  They are so cute when they sit and read books and play together.  it is moments like these that make me happy they are close in age. 

She is taller than Jackson now and weighs a bit more too, however she is still in her 12-24 month clothing range.  She just seems to be getting taller and thinner.  She is cutting two molars which has caused some drastic changes in eating habits.  So much so that they did some blood work on her last month to make sure everything was ok.  she was drinking over 64 ounces of milk, juice and water and pretty much not eating anything through out the day.  But we are happy to report all is well. She has started to eat things again and still drinks on the high side...but we have made the move to a little additional water...which doesn't taste as good so she doesn't drink as much. 

She has started hiding and she usually has her pants filled when she comes back out, so we have started working a little on potty training.  THe other day we found her banging on the bathroom door and then a diaper filled with poop.  I think she might have been trying to tell us something.  This mama is in a new world so we will see how this goes.  the ease of no public restrooms is going to soon be in our past.  SCARY!!! 

I hope you all enjoy the holiday's!!!  hopefully we find my camera soon so we can share ours with you. 

Ok...I'm a little OCD about my Christmas Cards

I have always loved all the different cards I receive in the mail over the holiday season, but I have to be honest, my favorite are the photo card.  Before I had kids I always spent time deciding weather to include the dog in the family photo, use an old snap shot, or take a new picture. Now that I have kids I make sure I have a decent picture on the kids that I can upload soon before Christmas and I spend all kinds of needless time deciding on weather the colors of my picture go well with the color of the card.  I know I am completely OCD, when it comes to matching my pictures.  just ask the girls I scrap with, they get a good laugh every couple of months.  However since it would bother me everywhere I saw our card, I take the time.  Over the last 5 years I have ordered my cards every year from Shutterfly.  Sure there are other places out there that offer deals, but I have never been disappointed in the quality or the timing of my order through Shutterfly and in my opinion they have the best options.   Link here to their photo cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery
Here are some of my favorites: 

 who doesn't love the subway art card....

for more options you can follow this link.   http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards.....

not only have I at the last minute been able to get my Christmas cards on time...but I also struggle at times for gifts for Grandparents and other significant people in my children's lives.   what better thing to give them than a Photo book:  recapping the kiddos lives for the past year or a calendar for the next year with all the important dates already written in.

personalized calendars to http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

 Photo books as well. 

they even recently have added my favorite section.  the home decor section.  if you are like me you are always looking for great ways to add a new flavor to the pictures you hang on you walls.  They have wall canvases. Which are fabulous and totally on sale right now.  HEad over and check them out.  You don't want to miss this sale...cuz most of the time they are on the spendy end.  home decor: http://www.shutterfly.com/home-decor .
I am sure you will all have no problem finding all your holiday gifts.  At least enjoy browsing. I know I am pumped about this years selection...I just have to find the right picture to match the right card...and of course write a little update on the Schrock clan.  Happy Shopping Everyone!!!

Random Updates:

(Apologies in advance our camera is again MIA so no pictures with this post)

We have had a busy day today.  I gotta say I think sometimes I MAKE my life busy, just so I don't have to sit and mull over all the stressors and things that could be cluttering my mind.  I have made a decision though.  My busy life is costing us way too much moola.  So I am going to make a decision that for the Month of December I am going to Hunker in.  We are going to get the projects done around the house that need to get finished and we are going to get back in the mindset of doing anything I can to save money.  I watched a lady at the grocery store the other day save 50  bucks on her grocery bill.  I want to be able to do this too.  But I need to get organized. 

I started yesterday.  I got my groceries to make a set group of meals and I only spent 75 dollars.  That even included toilet paper, paper towel and new mascara!!!  Last night was chicken chili and I saved a buttload of money rehydrating my own beans.  However after eating it I think they might have needed a little longer.  But practice makes perfect people and this is only time number one.  I am so excited to get a new recipe for black beans too.  I would love to make my own and save the money.  I am back into making my own bread too.  Love this and Jackson loves to help.  It ususally requires more clean up, ok maybe not alot more, cuz I am one of the messiest bakers you have ever seen.  It is so much fun to do it with him too, as long as Avie is sleeping. 

I am happy to report that Jackson is doing well.  We have started him on a new medicine ( not my first choice, but better than cathing him) to get his bladder to empty.  It has also been decided that we need to go ahead and prep him urology wise for his transplant.  This means we need to correct his urninary reflux.  Good thing things are moving forward, but disappointing that it is another surgery.  WE are making sure there are not any other things that can be done at the same time.  We hate to see him go under the knife too many more times.  IT is heart wrenching to see him after and after doing it 10 times I don't really care to see it many more.  So far so good he is not complaining of any pain with urination, so that is a good sign. 

on a lighter note...he still enjoys his cartoons, he is consistently sleeping through the night and is ready immediately to help fix anything around the house.  In his mind I  think he believes himself to be Handy Manny (a disney cartoon character for those of you not in the kids cartoon loop).  Avenlea and he get along for the most part and fight like pros when they want too.  It is so cute to watch him with her.  She is now bigger than he, however when she gets hurt he is the first to report it and the first to comfort her all the time.  He is one super sweet little boy.  As I said he has been surpassed by his sister.  The flu hit our house about a month ago and it hit Adrian and Jackson the hardest.  Both of them lost significant amounts of weight and haven't been able to gain it back.  Jackson dropped over a pound which is not so good in his case.  he is now at 23 lbs which he was up to 24 lbs 6 ounces. (31 and 1/2 inches) So we are attempting to get back up there, cuz they prefer him at 11 kilos for transplant.  He should gain faster now that he is in love with eating.  Well in love is only the case if it is TURKEY and GRAPES!!!  WE are working on expanding our  love of food. 

Avenlea, well she keeps us on our toes.  She is great at playing by herself, however you gotta now what she is playing with, to make sure she is safe.  She enjoys to usual little sister stuff.  She wants and destroys anything Jackson has or is working on and acts so innocent when she gets caught.  Usually starts giving hugs and kisses immediately.  She is now 23 lbs 13 1/2 ounces and 31 and a 1/2 inches tall.  She is a climber and likes to stand on top of everything.  She doesn't stand by our little play table she tries to sit on top of it to play.  Wish I could share pictures.  ARGGGG!!!  So frustrating.  She loves her kitchen and to scribble, so far just on paper and her magnadoodle. 

WE are preparing to enter Adrian's busy season right after the holidays too.  I give a big hats off to those mom's out there that deal with their hubbies being gone year round.  I dread this season and the lack of a break I get.  I no longer get to look forward to 5:30 and count the minutes til we get there.  This year I think we will be taking a long trip to MN to help use up some of the time.  I just pray the weather and Jackson's health allow us to go.  WE will see.  For now we are just looking forward to the holiday and great memories made with family and friends. 

We have made it!!!!

I remember about a year ago thinking...this kid is going to be in highschool and still drinking his bottle.  However I am so PROUD to say we don't have bottles anymore.  Two nights ago we decided to go cold turkey.  I just told Jackson that I gave his bottles away.  I remembered a mom telling me that she did this with a baby blanket or a pacifier and it worked, so hence I had a moment of pure genius when I remembered that.  Whoever you were, THANK YOU!!! 

It must be me, but pictures are so much cuter with the sippy cup than the bottle.  I am packing them away tonight when he goes to bed.  (oh that is kidda sad to think about.  Packing them away possibly for good.  This is the first moment that having no more kiddos has really hit me.  I guess we will see. )

 Jackson, we are so happy that you decided not to be pigheaded and decided to drink your first night.  Now that you got the hang of it, you love it.  THanks for trying something new buddy.  You have been through alot and I know that your bottle was always your crutch.  Thanks for trusting us and growing up just a little bit more.  We love you buddy. 

 And of course we send a big thank you out to this crazy girl and all of Jackson's little peeps at Preschool.  with out you guys and the Lord above, for giving mama peace about dehydrating her baby boy.  This wouldn't have been possible.  THanks for the peer pressure kiddos!! 

Plus she is so stinkin' cute...who could leave her out!!!

WELCOME OCTOBER!!!

I couldn't love a season more than I LOVE FALL!!!  Driving around makes me so happy.  Love the trees changing colors and the beauty of God's creation all around us. 

I have been doing crazy stuff too.  I had this fabulous Idea to start to make the things that I see in stores that look cool for fall decorations out of our scraps.  THis has meant in the past three days I have used power tools I said I would never touch and tried out things like hand writing painting.  I have had my fingers in dirt, wax, hot glue and many other mediums and I still don't have a picture to show you the final product.  Some things I will admit....I gave in and bought them...not because I didn't think by next march I would figure out how to make them...but because at 50% off it was cheaper to buy them and it is time to move on to Christmas if I am going to have a handmade Christmas!!!  WHich is totally the plan.  From Gifts to decorations I want them to be handmade.  We will see what happens.  This might be a year to year addition kind of thing. 

 love this garland and I want to see if I can remember how to knit and make this hat pattern into a stocking pattern...we will see...I am not very good with knitting needles.  but I love the colors...

We have been so homemade this year.  I sense a tide turning.  We decided last spring to plant a Garden and it did well...not as well as we wanted in all aspects but well. 

We have plans for doubling it next year.  Heck after next week when our whole yard gets torn up...we could plant our whole back yard...but i am sure I am not up for weeding that.  :)  But I have become a canner and a freezer of all sorts of things and let me tell you making your own tastes so good.  The vegetables have so much more flavor out of the garden and something about doing it yourself gives it all so much more satisfaction when you get ready to make a meal.  WE canned all sorts of tomatoes too....we have sauce, salsa and a bunch of diced and a few whole tomatoes. 

I Even began making my own bread again....I still can't master how those baker out there make their stuff so soft.  Mine dries out so fast.  I will keep researching and trying though.  I have made some uber delicious rolls and I am working on trying out some bagels and english muffins in the next couple of weeks.  I will let you know how it goes.  I have found that the budget is so much easier to keep...when all I am buying at the store is meat and fruit.  We might need to look into fruit trees in the backyard.  if any of you have good recipes for breads, bagels, and muffins....please, please share.  I would love to try. 

This fall we have also been making apple stuff like it is going out of style.  We froze some chunky applesauce and we made some apple pie filling.  of course there were set backs like over flowing pie filling in the canner and air pockets...but we made it work.  We still have superbly delicious pie filling that for me makes warm amazing apple crisp.  Thank you Anne and her mom for picking them with me and letting me bring them all home for free!!!  Apple's coming out of our ears but oh so much yumminess!!!  We even used them in some stuffing recipes. 

LOVE Squash another thing that makes me think of fall.  My friend colleen has this delicious stuffed acorn squash recipe too...sausage, apple and mushroom absotutely delicious!!!  but this year we tried out some new varieties too.  I have made a speghetti squash and how cool how it comes out.  I still have butternut squash upstairs to try yet.  We will see, still haven't found a great recipe.  If you have one, please share...love it when it comes highly reccomended. 

All in all this fall is starting out fabulously.....Jackson is loving school and Avie and I are enjoying our time with just the two of us.  We are finding time to play together and get some things done. 

WISHING YOU ALL A FABULOUS FALL SEASON!!!

What a blessing you could be?

we are so blessed by our church. i have never met a group of people so dedicated to discovering what a community truly is or leaders that guide us to it no matter how difficult the path is to get there. God left us the bible as a guide & here we attempt to apply it to every facet of life whether it seems impossible or not, because the bible is absolute truth. this has been my experience anyways. we're far from perfect, totally broken, but we are truly blessed to be a part of this family.

this friday night there is a benefit for one special little boy from our church.
meet joshua:

isn't he the cutest?? this sweetie was diagnosed with autism late last year. his family is trying to raise funds for an assistance dog through 4 Paws for Ability. this is a great organization that trains dogs specifically for each child with a particular need. their careful process comes with a pretty big price tag.
that's where the rest of us come in!

so come on down!!

Friday October 1st
Goshen Theater, Downtown Goshen
Silent Auction & Dessert
Event Starts at 5:00pm, Auction Winners Announced by 8:30pm


Some items up for Auction:
Hand made/painted Guitar
Colts Tickets
Manni/Peddi
Original Art
Photography Session
Catering From The Brew
Ecuadorian Jewelry
Furniture
Stamped Concrete
& More!!

Along with the Auction there will be a ton of decadent
homemade desserts that will drift
you off into a euphoric sugar coma!
Sugar coma for a cause!

If you can't make it out you can still donate!
Click here for online

Or mail checks to:
Downtown 808
216 S Main
Goshen, IN 46526
C/O Joshua's Dog

AND, the benfit is taking place during Goshen's First Fridays.
So there's tons of stuff to see & do downtown that evening!
yay!

couldn't write this better so i stole it from Rachel.   thanks chica!!!  see you all on friday!!!

 So as I look back I see that we started this kitchen in July.  OH my....it was built in a day, but the painting became difficult with the heat.  Then the dreaded Basement flooded and we had to move the thing back to the garage with everything else that we own....so here it is.  In a few stages.  Jackson and Avenlea loved it at Jack's party last night!!!  I am sure this might be the best 85 dollars we ever spent.  This will get used for years by both of our children. 

 certain parts were a little tricky....the oven door has a chance to be dangerous.. but it has proved quite sturdy.  As there have been many children standing on it. 

 many hours were spent to get it to look like this.  i have such a handy hubby.  I have always wanted the Pottery Barn kitchen for my kids...but I refuse to have a pink kitchen first and then second...seriously spending that much money is ridiculous (sorry if I am offending anyone who has purchased it for there kids).  But ours was just as cute and it cost us less than 100 dollars for everything. 

As you can see he loves it.  Can't wait to get our felt food from Mariah...but I am supporting her business by letting her use it for display at her craft bazaar in October.  Can't wait to get to play with it all.  I went through so many ideas of how to create or build our own kitchen and I am super happy that we made this one.  It turned out (in Jackson's words); perfect mama, my kitchen perfect!!!

basement pictures...take 1

our upstairs stairs got recovered...for those of you that remember
you are probably saying wow....those look so clean

then Avenlea's room. She will have some additions

coming in the future as we add her twin bed in

when she is ready but here it is until then

these letters will get covered here in the future...

one of the many little projects left to do. Super excited...

Playroom....

 A reading nook back in the new corner...toys neatly organized in baskets on the painted shelves, and a hint of the kitchen...that I am not ready to show you yet...it will be revealed in Jackson's party pictures. 

then Jackson's room:

Love how his room turned out.  Even the letters and shelf on his wall.  I have had his intials since we first decorated the nursery and they have never been displayed.  Love it.  There is a sweet picture that will be on his wall when the hanging system gets delivered and I have a story to tell with that too.  So till we have pictures of the family room and the kitchen reveal...we will see you all later..

Good morning!!!  I can finally say this...we have had two nights of our children sleeping a floor away from us.  Let me say it is good to finally get some good sleep.  For the most part uninterrupted.  Wow it has been a few years since I had two nights in a row.  I am sure it won't last...but we are enjoying it while it does. 


Three years ago on Friday September 7th, 2007, we got to finally bring our baby home from the hospital.  After almost a month in the NICU, four hours away from home and family and friends, we were able to start our life with our baby boy.  Who has continued to brighten our lives and keep us on our toes ever since.  Can't wait to celebrate his birthday tonight with our friends and some of our family.  He has been so patient since we had to cancel his party in August due to his high fever and then our house falling apart.  He woke up this morning and said mama  I awake and my party today.  Super cute.  Hope we are able to get a nap today with him so excited for his Handy Manny party. 

Update on the Basement:  We have carpet, the kids rooms are set up, playroom set up, a chair to sit on (the couches are still awaiting recovering haven't had time), so we are moving along.  We even had our first spill and our first dings on the walls.  That didn't take long right?  Touched up and dried up and we are moving along.  That is why we went with the stain guard pad right?  I will have pictures soon.  Spent yesterday at the hardware store and good thing we did.  I got 7 fabric baskets for my craft storage for 26 dollars...quite the steal for the size.  Regular price they would have been close 60 dollars.  So happy with that.  Big Shout out to Diann for helping me organize it all.  It is so nice to have everything have its own place.  We are gaining so much storage that we didn't have before.  I have loved using things in new places too.  IT has been so much fun and I am super excited to show you all how it turned out.  Just a few minor adjustments to be made before we show you.  My favorite is how we got lined curtain panels for our one big window downstairs for 8.50 a panel...and then adjusted them to work for what we wanted.  They turned out great.  Pictures soon I promise. 

Thank you to all our friends and family for there help and support as we went through this process.  Without the encouragement from afar, the physical help and the massive amounts of questions answered and advice, this all would have been difficult.  So Big hugs and Thanks to everyone. 

We are ready to kick back and party tonight with Jackson!!!  It is long overdue for all of us. 

On the home front

 ok after much deliberation...with my self...I decided to go with my original idea in Avenlea's room.  I fell in love with some fabric a long time ago and I have been pondering making her a quilt...I gave in a decided to make her some curtains.  GOT and absolute steal on the fabric....so this changed the whole decor of her room.  I have witnessed too many of my mommy friends not having much of a say in there kiddo's rooms once they are a little older so I decided to take advantage early.  I have been loving all the owl stuff here recently...so I am in the process of making a couple of owl pillows...fashioned after a few I found on etsy and in the anthropologie and pottery barn links.  Plus I had to take advantage of my friend Diann and her amazing freehand I might add, paintings.  isn't she fabulous. 

just a few more butterflies to go.  I tried my hand at one last night...it is pretty good, if I say so myself.  We are working hard on saving money on all of these decorating things...cuz you know....we just paid for basically a new basement.  So I am proud to say with Diann's help...we spent nothing on paint...used up some of the nursery colors by making our own.  It definitely got frustrating at times and down right funny others.  especially when I attempted to make a primary color out of non primaries.  I know, I know, you already now it didn't work...but it was a nice attempt right?  

The rest of our basement is coming along nicely.  We got the trim up last week and we are now doing some touch up painting.  on the trim and painting one of our built ins too, which is going to be toy storage.  Got some baskets today for a grand total of yes let me say it 15 dollars.  four of them!!!  and wait to you see them...they will just be perfect in the spot.  Already started sorting the toys into them.  I am also taking pictures so that Jackson can help put the toys away in there appropriate baskets. 

We also made the decision to carpet the stairs, after a very informative conversation with my sister in law.  I decided it was to risky to put wood in the entry.  The risk of just someones shoe with a stone destroying it made all the work not worth it.  So we are carpeting both flights.  We remembered we had a remnant from when we moved in for the upstairs ones...and yes wait for it...it was JUST THE RIGHT SIZE!!!  GOtta love that when it happens.  I am starting to feel the tides shifting, we might be in for less gloomy times ahead.  So as the lists start to get smaller and smaller...we scheduled the rest of the carpet to be put in next Thursday. 

On the preschool front....HE LOVES IT!!! he gets excited to go and he has been doing so much.  HE is clearer when he talks, and he has started eating alot of things.  I am going to cry when I write this...but he ate Chicken last night with no gagging and even asked for more.  WE have eaten up to 10 grapes at a time and he is always wanting what everyone else is having.  I am thinking we might not have to wait until his graduation Grandma Corrine, before you get to fix him one of his favorite meals.  HE has even started to try to drink out of a cup.  Preschool, all though not really extremely challenging to Jack in the normal school stuff....has been an amazing motivation in the speech therapy realm.  I don't think I could have asked for anything better!!!  The unfortunately news is that Jackson is going to have to have another surgery.  HE has had bone growing over the plates in his legs for about 6 months now and the Doc's say we can't wait any longer.  We got a second opinion and both docs agree...So on September 29th we will be headed down for yet another surgery.  WE are happy to share this one will NOT include a cast.  only a few days of no jumping or falling in Jackson's case.  Low key activities for a couple of weeks. 

That is about it.  Looking forward to unloading the garage and setting up our new basement family/play rooms and we will get pictures up as soon as it is ready. 

I am so happy to say that progress is being made and we are approaching d day for the unexpected basement remodel. BOY has the last week or so flown by.  I guess when you days are busy from 7 am to 1 am, it is easy for time to fly.  Tile isdown, wallpaper removed, ceiling is back up...and partially mudded.  Can you picture it...two kiddo and all this chaos.  Gotta admit I am looking forward to it all being done.  I do not envy those who build houses with small children.  I don't think I will ever build a house.  I didn't even enjoy picking out carpet and tile.  I think My decorating will stick to coordinating curtains, bedding and paint.  I like that part of decorating.  The other things are way to expensive to change if you make a mistake.  I think the carpet guy got a good laugh when I asked what happened if we ordered it and it wasn't what we wanted.  He very gently told me that it was mine to keep.  Big time scary in my book. 

Now that carpet buying and tile laying are finished.  I get to continue to check things off the task list.  This whole processes is a bit overwhelming.  you definitely wouldn't feel as defeated if every tasked didn't have three to five steps before you got to cross it off.   Pictures will come of the whole process when we are done. 

I just keep remembering that I am going to enjoy the clean and fresh space for my kiddos to play when we are all done. 

That is the update for now.  Avenlea is climbing on everything lately and experiencing a bit of separation anxiety again.  Which she is for the most part with me all the time...but seriously.  She has also gone back to not taking a good nap.  All in all though she is the funniest little girl to watch and has been talking all the time. the best is how she walks around the house. 

She has to have something in each had and then she will randomly drop those and pick up something new if she thinks it is best.  Makes for a messy house, but it is fun to watch her just play on her own.  pretty sure she is going to keep us on our toes well into her young adult life.  Gotta love her. 

Jackson started preschool a couple weeks ago and it is going much better.  HE still cries when I leave him, but he stops and trots to class as soon as they get inside.  IT is crazy to say this but we have noticed a difference in his vocab and clarity already.  Plus who can knock the place the boy first decided to drink from a cup.  So far I love his preschool.  I will have to admit, this whole process has been super hard on mom.  Giving up the control I have had for three years has been more than difficult.  Not seeing what he is doing all day and especially in his therapy sessions is really hard.  I am sure I too, with time, will get used to this. 

HE also has been asking to eat more and more.  We have loved the summer fruit seasons.  He has enjoyed watermelon, musk melon, honeydew, cheese (thank goodness with all that fruit), popcorn, crackers, chips, cucumbers, green beans, and M&M's.  Can you tell in the above pic?  WE are always trying more.  He loves to do arts and crafts,

play with his kitchen (he makes wonderful crispy bacon and coffee for his mama), and he also has been totally in to Handy manny, so he likes to think he is helping us fix the basement too.  We are incouraged by his increased mobility and we also have begun Potty training.  Crazy I know....it is amazing how much this little guy as done in his brief three years that those Doctors said he might not do.  That will teach you to always listen to Doctors, right?  He is a joy still even with his little three year old attitude.  HE is the sweetest little boy in my house.  :) 

Prepping again for the wakie resale....

Man I love this time of year.  I have been spending the last two weeks pricing gently used toys and clothes for the Wakarusa Children's resale.  I love that this sale provides an amazing place for our community to find gently used, in great condition children's clothes, and every other accessory your child may need.  My favorite items for the fall sale are the shoes and winter coat selection.  Last spring I got fall I got shoes coats, and half the winter clothes I needed (only because I had no idea how a normal child grew) for 120 dollars.  that also included a few toys for each too. 

you can click on the this or wakie resale link on the right side bar on my blog to see pictures through out this week of what they are offering this year. 


Can't wait to see the great finds This year. 

Chaos Part One

 We had just moved all of our stuff to our basement to start a family room playroom minor remodel.  A little paint some recovered couches and some new storage for the kids toys.  We also had planned on moving the kids into their own rooms this fall.  We were all super excited when this happened.  Adrian had found some water in our basement carpet one night by finding both kids with wet butts....we cleaned it up and didn't think much of it until the next day when I was trying to clean up a mess about 10x as big.  Adrian spent the afternoon (yes I called him home from work) and evening investigating and cleaning up the mess.  However we were not able to get the water out of the carpet even with a shop vac.  So we called our insurance and made a claim.  They came out in just a few hours to investigate and decided that we needed to have the concrete dried out and the carpet removed.  They on that friday afternoon....brought in 5 industrial fans, a dehumidifier and an air scrubber.  Lets just say WIND TUNNEL....I felt as though we were living in one.  WE had the tv maxed out on volume that night and we still couldn't really hear it.  So instead of watching tv we decided to start a project that we were going to avoid, but since we were getting rid of the carpet anyway...why not right?  So we shipped the kiddos to grandmas and started this:

 it started one by one

 and turned into this....unfortunately I forgot that my scrapping room and glass jars were on the other side of this wall.  Oh well...I can recycle a few more in the new craft room/office that will be upstairs. 

 I enjoyed the swinging of the sledge hammer....I didn't enjoy the 50 5 gallon bucket loads of bricks that I carried or the war wound I now have...but I gotta say it looks so much better and we don't have an external wall in our family room/playroom anymore.  Which I would like to exclaim with elation that I LOVE!!! 

and we did gain about two feet of room too.  and the fireplace actually looks more like a focal point.  I would show you a picture of it drywalled...but I kinda did something before Adrian was ready for me to do it...so that will have to wait.  But we are in full painting mode...well that was until we (the weather) broke our air conditioner.  we had a 90 degree house with about 200 % humidity for the last two weeks.  this is not ideal for painting.....the walls were tacky still last friday when we got back from Indy and we had painted them on wednesday.  So we are in stand still mode until the furnace/air conditioner/vent work all gets done. 

I keep trying to focus on the room that we will have and not the drastic amount of money it is going to cost.