Happy Birthday Luke!!

I made him a "Thomas" cake. I kinda feel bad that all I did was frost it and put a toy on top...I used to go into a lot of detail with the older boy's cakes...get the special pans and then spend hours on frosting it. I have come to my senses and have learned over the years that it is so not worth all the work. :)

Sorry Luke!! (I think he liked it)

We took the kids to play at "Jungle Bungle" a huge, 3 story indoor play place that's part of a Happy Joe's' Pizza. The kids weren't so much into the pizza, but loved the play place and the ice cream. Joey and Adam complained that they didn't have any fun, but we came for Luke not them, and Luke had a blast!! (I think Adam was just bummed because he was too big to play in the balls and that ruined his evening) :)

Who's the BIG 3 Year Old??

Wow!! Has it really been 3 years?? Time flies by way to fast, and is just another reminder that I need to slow down and enjoy this time that I'll never have again.

We love Luke so much and are so thankful to have him in our family. I never would have thought that we would have such a toe head. My mom says if we were to put pigtails on him, he'd look just like me. He really is a sweet boy.

Lukes favorite things at 3

AIRPLANES- He L-O-V-E 's them and will let you know when he spots one in the sky by screaming and squealing "airpane, airpane" and man he has an eye for them.

CHOO CHOO TRAINS- He can pick out the sound of a train from anywhere, even it's faint and very far away, and then he always looks around to try and find it.

He loves the show "Little Einsteins" and I can pretty much guarantee that I will have 30 min. of peace while its on.

He also loves "Thomas the Train"...it's so cute to hear him say "Thomas"

His favorite food is.....Macaroni and Cheese! (you need to hear him say it, it's pretty funny)

He is going to start Preschool in September. (I know, what will I do with my time with all the kids in school.) We are really excited for that. He has been a little late in talking, and I know a lot of his tantrums are because he can't communicate. I know that with him getting extra help, it will make a huge difference, and probably make for one happy boy.

3 years ago.....


It was so different for us to have a Blondie!

Luke was born 4 weeks early and was so teeny. I took a picture of him next to this loaf of bread, shows how small he really was.

You have brought so much joy and excitement to our life Luke! We love you so much!!!

Happy Birthday sweet boy!!

Happy Birthday Adam!!

10 Years ago today, I fell in love with a beautiful brown eyed boy! He is such a joy in my life and always keeps me smiling. He comes up with the funniest things to say, and he's not even trying to be funny. I can always count on him to make me smile. :) Everyone needs an "Adam" in their lives.

I've been thinking all day about his rough start in life and how grateful I am for Priesthood blessings and for the power of prayer. We could definitely see the hand of the Lord during that trying time. Adam was born a little early (about 3 weeks), but it was such a critical time in his little life...he was not quite ready. His lungs were not developed yet and so he was airvacd to another hospital that was equipped with a NICU. It was so hard for me to see my little baby loaded onto a helicopter and sent away while I had to stay where I was...I so wished I could have gone with him. Luckily John was able to be with him most of the time, so I felt better about that.

Here he is, all ready to be shipped out.

His first helicopter ride

My first time to get to hold him almost a week after he was born (besides the quick minute right after birth before they whisked him away)

He was able to come home with us 10 days later...it was a long 10 days

A cute story: When Adam was turning five, I showed him all the pictures from his birth, and told him the whole story and he got all teary eyed and then asked "Mom, did I die?" I said, "no, silly! You are still here with me!" and then he said, "oh, good" as he wiped away tears. :)

Adam, you are now a HEALTHY and ACTIVE boy whom we love so much. Those big brown eyes melt my heart and I'm sure will do the same for many other girls! :) Ugg, don't want to think about that, I wish you could be my little boy forever!

Here are some things that Adam enjoys right now....He loves to tease his brothers and sister, but he can also be so gentle and loving...especially with Luke and Bekah. He loves hugs, and I think he holds the record for the longest hug. He still loves to build things with Lego's, and is very creative. He is a video game nut. I think it's time to start limiting the "game" time. He is just one happy, fun loving kid! A teacher a school described him best. She said to me, "Adam is my sunshine. As soon as he comes in, it just brightens my day" You brighten my life, Adam. We all love you so much!!!

Called in sick....

I shouldn't have.

Service and Balloons

John had volunteered to help a man who was moving into our branch. I think John was feeling bad about leaving me home alone with the kids, since my day yesterday wasn't the greatest, so he asked if we wanted to come along. Now, I didn't help with the moving, I just stayed inside the car with the kids watching the men do it all, but I noticed how they all had smiles on their faces. I was proud of Joey because he got out and offered to help also. I cringed every time I saw him carry something breakable, like picture frames and stuff, but he did a great job. He is really growing up.


Afterwards, we decided to head into the Quad Cities and grab a bite to eat. We remembered that Golden Corral has a special Tuesday nights where kids eat for $1.99, What a deal! The kids love the all you can eat buffet, and the price was right so went for it. We actually had a pleasant dinner out, despite the conversation with Joey and all his "drama" at school. I think we got a few "listen inner's" on that one. Ahhh, gotta love 5th grade...or not. :)

When we were just about ready to leave a man by the name of Mr. B Loon came and asked if the kids would like him to make them a balloon in any shape that they wanted. It's hard to say no to that, especially because A. Kids love balloons and B. John got me a balloon shaped like Charles Barkley on one of our first dates. (weird I know, but I was a suns fan) so we kinda like balloon art, it always brings back memories from the past. :) Anyway, we thought it might be fun, despite our gut feelings!

Joey had him make an alien with a yellow body and blue head, Jacob wanted an Alien with a yellow head and white body, Bekah wanted a princess crown, Luke got a dragon, and Adam had a Bazooka...ya, whatever. :) They were having so much fun with their balloons and they turned out really cute, so after dinner I wanted to take a picture BEFORE they got ruined on the ride home.

This was the picture before all HE-- broke lose! :)

First of all I noticed the camera setting wasn't right, hence the blurry picture, so when I went to change that, EVERYTHING changed. Bekah knocked the Alien out of Joey's hand which in turn caused him to throw a huge tantrum complete with foot stomping and yelling at Bekah and crying out of control while his Alien was blowing away. John hurried and snatched the Alien but not in time to stop the head from being popped on a bush, which caused an even bigger scene with Joey. John snatched him by the arm and dragged him to the car while lecturing him about the way he was acting, reminding him that he is 11 years old! The wind picked up right then, which blew off Bekah's crown and she and Adam went running after it...through the parking lot! I started yelling at Adam to stop, (to which he didn't listen) which in turn caused me to keep screaming at him, "Adam! Stop! There are cars! Stop! It's not worth it! (as I'm chasing after him) I guess this scene made Luke upset and he decided to throw his dragon down, which also started blowing through the parking lot. Adam caught Bekah's crown just in time to start chasing Luke's Dragon. Becoming paniced I scream even louder at Adam...as I see a car start to back up...you can imagine my fear, as I'm trying to stop him, pull Bekah and Luke to safety while he continues to chase after Luke's dragon screaming hysterically back at me "I'm just trying to help!!" (over and over through sobs and tears) Then John joins into the madness, and yells..."EVERYONE STOP YELLING AND GET IN THE DANG CAR!! WE ARE NEVER GETTING BALLOONS AGAIN EVER!!!" (ya, it was quite a scene, I'm sure we provided entertainment for somebody. John rarely loses it, so we know it's serious when he does) We all zipped our mouths, I snatched from Adam all the balloons, (which included Luke's too) and we quickly piled into the van. There was complete silence. All that could be heard were some sniffles from the back. It stayed this way for a couple of minutes, until Joey pipes in as happy as could be "Actually, I think I like my Alien better this way." John and I simultaneously bursted into laughter, being able to see the humor of the whole thing. John then said, "I guess it doesn't make sense that I yelled at you guys to stop yelling" :) The whole scene reminded us of one of our favorite TV shows "The Middle" it airs on CBS and it's hilarious. We often feel like that's our life. We talked about some of the different episodes, and compared it to us, and ended up laughing and enjoying the ride home. Anyway, so the moral of this story is ALWAYS go with your gut, and NEVER EVER get balloons!! :)

Daddy's Home!!

Yay, he's home! I went to pick up John today at the airport. We are all so happy that he is home, safe and sound! We sure have missed him!!

(The kids were especially excited)

We took my parents to the river side in Clinton.

Then we met Uncle Dan and Aunt Vicki at Pizza Ranch. My parents love to visit with them and visa versa. :) (We like it too)

Sunday-Movie Night

Today was a wonderful Sunday! It was so nice having the extra help at church. :) When we got home, my mom helped me get started on the New Family Search to do some family history. A couple months ago, a distant relative to John found him on facebook. She lives in Poland and was wanting to see what information we had on the American side of the Pawlowski family. She has so many names from family in Poland, dating back to the 1800's. It is so wonderful. I am super excited about doing our genealogy, and connecting all these families together, seeing how far back we can get our family tree. :)

Later on we decided to have a movie night. It was the perfect way to end a perfect day.

Can't wait for tomorrow! John comes home!!!!

The Nauvoo Temple

Today my parents and I made a visit to the Nauvoo Temple. It is so wonderful to live so close to such history. Our dear friends took the kids for the day, so that we could all enjoy a session together. It was so great! I hadn't been in a few months, so I really enjoyed it!!

The weather had been pretty mild (even nice at times) up until today. We had snow come in last night..blah...and more snow this afternoon. Luckily the roads weren't too bad to travel on. I think we all were looking forward to going to the temple, so we were glad. I made my parents stop for pictures, I think they froze! :)

I am so grateful that I was able to spend this time with my parents. It's so hard when they live so far away, I have been enjoying every minute!!

National Mississippi River Museum

The kids and I took my parents to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. ( It is one of our favorite places to visit). We had a great time showing them all the fish and the other wild life that can be found along the Mississippi River. I think my dad especially enjoyed learning more about the history of the Mississippi River. (my mom and I were too crazy chasing after all the kids) :) We had a lot of fun.

The William Black river boat on the Mississippi River.

The Museum also featured Mark Twain a little. There was a statue of Mark Twain outside, it took my mom and I a minute to realize that there wasn't a real person sitting on the bench. My dad sat down right next to him and started talking to him like they were old friends. It was pretty funny. It gave us all the giggles. (as you can tell by the silly picture) Maybe you had to be there. :) I just realized, my parents look like missionaries with their little admission stickers. :)

There was a tank where the kids got to touch a sturgeon. The kids love all the different fish there. The museum has huge tanks with ginormous fish, turtles, water snakes, and lots of other animals. There are even a couple of alligators.

After the museum, we planned on heading to Cici's pizza. We were all excited about it, then were quickly disappointed to find out it was closed. :( So we went to plan B... Red Robin. YUM! :) Thanks Mom and Dad for sharing this wonderful day with us!!

Grandpa's Chair

It has been so nice having my parents here. I wanted to make them as comfortable as possible while they were staying here. I even gave up my room, so they could have the bigger bed. (With John gone it didn't matter, I was going to be sleeping with Bekah anyway.) Well, I guess last night my Dad had an awful nights sleep....mostly because he is so sore from their car accident a week and a half ago. His rib cage and his whole chest area were severely bruised, I guess laying down flat is really uncomfortable. At home he was having to sleep in his recliner. So the solution was easy, we needed to get a recliner and get one quick. :)

My dad and I set off to see if we could find a great deal on a recliner, and luckily we found one. We ended up getting it a Big Lots, and it is really comfortable. We tried other furniture stores, but none of the chairs were as comfortable as the this one. I think my dad is in heaven now. :) I know where his spot is going to be for the next few days at least...in that chair watching March Madness. The kids refer to the chair as "Grandpa's Chair" I'm sure the name will stick. :)

While my Dad and I were shopping, my mom stayed home with the kids. Joey and Bekah had a fun time playing outside with the sidewalk chalk. :)

Pinewood Derby

Bekah, Luke and I took a small road trip today as we went to the airport to pick up my parents in Peoria, IL. It took us a little over 2 hours, but it wasn't too bad. Luckily Luke and Bekah were perfect little angels. I don't think they drove my dad too crazy on the ride back home, It's good for him, right

Adam had his pinewood derby tonight. My friend Erin was so great to take the boys for some of the time while we were coming back from the airport. She has been such a great help. Last night her husband cut out Adam's car (since we always wait till the last minute) and she helped Adam put on the finishing touches this afternoon. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful friend, the Lord has blessed me so much!

Adam wanted his number to be 24, I guess he wanted it to be like Jeff Gordon's car. (Adam wanted me to take this picture just for you Uncle Jeff, he thought you'd appreciate it.)

Luke was so funny during the races, he started digging through my diaper bag, and found his wooden Choo Choo Train. He quickly grabbed it and held it up in the air yelling "Choo Choo Train, Choo Choo Train!" He ran right up to the track, wanting to put it on. Bro. Butler was so nice and after the races were over he let Luke race his Choo Choo Train. Luke was so proud!

Adam's car got 3rd place in the cub scout division. The young men and young women had a division, and the activity day girls and the elders quorum got in on the action too. (only the elders quorum had no rules...they got pretty creative)

I was glad my parents got to get in on all the action and get to meet some of the branch members. ( I feel bad that we never got any pictures...sorry mom and dad) We are excited to have you here!

6 days and counting!!

Joey's Spring Concert

Joey had his 5th grade spring concert which included band and chorus. Joey had decided early on in the year to play the clarinet. I think he is one of the better players. (I never hear him practice) The fifth grade band started off the performance with the "Star Spangled Banner", and only a handful of students were asked to play...Joey was one of them. I was very proud of him. Later on after the concert, he came up to me and said, "Did you see me play the Star Spangled Banner?" I told him yes, then he said, "I wasn't sure if I was going to do it, but I decided to and I did surprisingly well." Such a humble boy. :)

I wasn't able to catch a very good picture of him, but here he is with his clarinet.:)

The Fifth Graders

Here is Joey with his art that was on display in the foyer.

Funny story that I have to tell you about. Earlier in the year Joey was having a hard time deciding what instrument he wanted to play. He thought he wanted to play the flute...uh, no. Then he decided he wanted to play the clarinet. (which was better than the flute, but I still wasn't really happy about it) Joey is already a target for teasing at school, and I was worried that by him playing the clarinet, it would just get worse. (not a lot of boys play the clarinet). I was desperate for him to chose another instrument so I suggested he play the drums. (yes, I was desperate). Anyway, we had talked about it and he decided he was going to play the drums. Well, about a week later, he told me he told his teacher he was playing the clarinet. I reminded him that we had decided on the drums. Then he went on to say, "but mom, they don't have the drums. That wasn't a choice" It was quiet for a few minutes, as I was mulling over the fact that with him playing the clarinet the teasing might get worse. Then he pipes in, "They did have percussion though...What is percussion?" I had to laugh! Oh well, the clarinet it is!!

The Kitchen

Erin came over today and helped me finish the kitchen. Once we finished with all the prep work (taping and stuff) the painting went really fast! Thanks again Erin for all of your help and getting me to get up off my lazy behind and get something done. It will look so nice for when my parents come. :)

Here is what the kitchen looked like before

I will have to post my after picture later, as the kitchen is still kind of a mess, and I still need to put on the finishing touches.

7 days left and counting

Sunday

So I managed to get us all to church by myself, which I guess is usually the case anyway, since John always has an early morning meeting on Sunday's, but still, it feels better knowing at least he is around if I ever needed him. The sad part is though, we were still late! I guess John is not the problem....it must be something or someone else. :) Oh well, life won't always be like this right? it gets better once the kids get older....right?

It was a long day, 8 days left and counting. :)

So long, Farewell

Today we took John to the airport. :( He is going to Brazil with the rest of his MBA class, and will be gone for 9 days. He is really excited though, and has been looking forward to this for a long time. The class went during spring break to study the Brazil Economy. We will for sure miss him...hope I can make it by myself. Luckily my parents are coming for a visit so I won't be all by myself the whole time. I am looking forward to Wednesday when they will be here.

Goodbye John! Have a safe and fun trip! Wish I was there with you!!

After we dropped John off at the airport, I took the kids to get some dinner at one of our favorite fast food joints, Culver's! The kids loved it, I loved it!

All the kids were looking forward to their frozen yogurt that came with their kids meal. They love to go and put their favorite topping on. Luke and Bekah sure enjoyed it!