Therky Blog

pics and interviews

2009-12-15T23:01:00.000-05:00

I uploaded some new pics and videos to picasa. try this link

Eric is in Maui (poor boy) for work this week. The boys and I are trying to weather the weather together, but they miss their daddy. Clayton and Jeriah had their first Christmas performance at church and Jeriah had one at preschool. There are some pics and videos posted on picasa of those.
I hope you all are finding time to cherish the true meaning of Christmas this season.
The Therkildsens

walking?

2009-12-09T14:22:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I forgot to tell you that Mathias took his first solo step on Saturday.He was trying to get daddy's keys. He aalso is clapping ant trying to wave.

Cookies, Germs, and lies

2009-12-07T17:20:00.000-05:00

Last night we hosted our first (Christmas) party in Houghton. We had a good turn out. Any more people and we would have been sitting on each others laps and hard pressed to move.
Unfortunately, I think the party took toll on Clayton. Around midnight Clayton woke up and climbed onto our bed. Immediately I sat up (thank God) and he started tossing his cookies (literally since we had a Christmas party) all over my side of the bed. So Eric and I spent a good hour or so cleaning up and starting laundry and making beds in the middle of the night. He lost it several times after that during the night so i am still tryingto get through all the laundry. He has been fine, just tired, the rest of today.
I think the baby is getting another tooth. Either that or his ears hurt again and he has a cold or maybe again its from teething.

This afternoon I tried to lay down to rest but after 5 or 10 minutes I heard rustling and clanging downstairs. So I trudge down to the kitchen and I find Jeriah squatting in the sink ( a pretty full sink and counter still from the party). He climbed up there looking for crackers or cookies in the cupboard above the sink. He also lied 2 times saying he ate his apples and it was time for a cookie picnic on his new blanket on the kitchen floor. He actually put the apples in the garbage the first time and his cup the second time. That better not become a habit.
Eric is leaving Saturday morning to do some work in Hawaii and hopefully will be back the next weekend to help get ready for our trip downstate for Christmas.
Merry Christmas everyone.

Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow

2009-12-05T23:22:00.000-05:00

Since it has hardly stopped snowing in 3 days i cant give a final count on how many inches of snow we have but i am guessing it is at least a foot to foot and a half by now. Lake effect snow is suppossed to continue until at least tomorrow morning.

So, Mathias officially has 8 teeth and,unfortunately, I think he is still working on more. He was up 4 times last night. He also took his first step today! He will be 10 months next week. He is 29" and 20lbs.

We put up a Christmas tree this weekend and the boys are enjoying the lights and decorations. So much so that Mathias tried to eat a red bulb. It did not break but there is not much red on the bulb anymore. I called poison control just to be safe. I had to call them anyway bc i turned on the tea kettle and went in the bathroom and when i came out the burner was not lit and i could smell the gas. I felt nauseous for a little while but I am fine now. Everyone else was upstairs so they were fine.
well, hopefully tomorrow will lack excitement, other than a little fun at our Christmas party. -Sarah

Finally, we are back after the flu, first ER trip, etc.

2009-11-21T18:26:00.001-05:00

Well, what did i tell ya. I was right. Since that last post i am now finally getting some stuff done again. Clayton was in bed for 5 or 6 days with the flu and still really tired and a little cough for several days after that. He is still a little tired now but pretty much back to normal. I can tell, because bedtime is becoming difficult again :/ I dont wish sickness on my kids, for sure, but it was kind of nice to have them laying low and quiet and sleeping without any trouble for several days. Jeriah was sick for a couple days then better for a couple and then in bed again for a couple more. The baby managed to avoid the flu, i think, but had 2 ear infections and a nasty cough. I had Jeriah and Mathias get the nasal swab test for the flu bc they could have gotten antiviral meds but it came back negative. I read the test is not very accurate and am sure Jeriah had it. Its a horrible test. Jeriah screamed bloody murder, "aaaaaaaahhhh....let go of me!!!!" it was worse than shots!

Anyway, everyone finally started to get better last weekend and then Saturday night i was unloading groceries and i heard a thump-not very loud so i thought the baby just fell off the first stair. i did not hear any crying. eric and i get to the bottom of the stairs, Mathias is face down not crying. i am waiting for that delayed cry as eric picks him up and turns him face up. He is white, his head/neck is flung backward (like when kids arch their back and head in pain or temper) and he is not breathing. His eyes are open but not registering anything.He started to breath and relax his body after i took him into my arms and told eric to call 9-1-1. But he was not crying or blinking and was just staring at me like he was not computing anything. Then he was closing his eyes like he was going to fall asleep. I managed to keep him awake and within 5 or 10 minutes he was looking "normal" and by the time the dreadfully slow ambulance came (i wont call them again) 1/2 hr later, he was acting pretty normal. Actually, before the paramedics left he was trying to climb the stairs again.:( why cant they learn faster?:( anyway, i took him myself to ER for a CAT scan just to be sure he was ok and he was. no bumps, no bruises and he could not have been more than a couple stairs up but that was enough to scare the heebeegeebees out of us. the ironic thing is that he has fallen down 16 stairs and gotten only a little rugburn, so i dont know how he managed this. Thank God for all the angels he must have surrounding our children!!! And yes, we now have a gate that is working "good enough" at the bottom of our stairs. We have a spindle rail so it is not easy to put a gate there.
On a more positive note, the boys are enjoying school and learning to count to 30 and start to read. Mathias is 9 months now and very mobile and talkative. He does not walk alone but he runs on his knees and stand up alone occassionaly and walks with his push toy with much excitement. He is a very congenial and social little boy. He brings much joy to our family. oh yes, and lets not forget all the teeth. he got two bottom teeth at 4 or 5 months. then at 7 1/2 months he started getting the 2 top ones, then the top incisors which finished coming in this week and guess what? yes, lo and behold, the bottom incisors are about to push through now. that is 6 teeth in like 2 months or less with no break in betweeen any of them!! poor boy. (and poor mommy:))
Well, that is just one week and this post is getting long, so it may take a few days to catch this thing up.
Before I head back to the chaos, here is a brief summary of recent weeks. My grandparents were up here in October for their old church's 45th anniversary. They lived up here for 8 yrs til my dad was a sophmore in highschool. My grandpa was a pastor and they were key instruments in building the church. Eric's mom and aunt Lyn were here also for a few days and we did some hiking and a fall tour to Copper Harbor. The day they left eric had to go out of town last minute (yes like very last minute-he got the call tues night and left wed afternoon). I had planned to take a trip to my sisters in St Paul that weekend with the baby so instead I took all 3 kids and decided last minute to leave Wednesday instead of thursday since everyone else was leaving too. It took us about 7 1/2 hrs which is not bad with kids-they are good travelers. We had fun and surprised my mom who flew in Thursday to visit my sister. We will be heading back to ST Paul this Wednesday, with Eric this time, to spend Thanksgiving with Luke, Grace, and Olivia. We are planning to be in kzoo for Christmas.
oh, Jeriah did a dance class today and clayton a gymnastics class. i think in December they will both do gymnastics which they love. they are also learning to ice skate on sundays. imagine how i felt when clayton came home sunday (the day after Mathias' ER trip)from skating with a bump and bruise on the front of his head!! :(
angels, angels, angels....do not leave us

We were hoping to go to Maui next month with Eric, or possibly in February, but we had to replace the solar water heating system in our Maui house this weekend so that cost may keep us in Michigan awhile longer. We shall see. I am glad to live in Michigan but I really miss my Maui family, especially with so much going on in all of their lives right now. I nice long walk in the sun on the Wailea boardwalk with a mango iced tea at Cafe Chow (??sp?) would be nice too:)

Flu???

2009-11-07T21:12:00.000-05:00

Well it might take me longer than i thought to get this updated. Clayton woke up sick so i spent the whole day trying to take care of him and lysol everything and keep everyone away from his germs. Now that they are all asleep i feel like i am going to collapse--no germss no germies no germie no germies! I am not sure if it is the flu or some other virus, but I hope we dont all get it. Eric will be home in an hour or so from his 1 1/2 wk work venture where he successfully played "superman" (just in time for halloween :) ). Just in time for the germ laden family to slobber him with germ-infested kisses :) Lucky him :)

yes we are alive

2009-11-05T23:22:00.000-05:00

i know i know, it has been forever but i promise to update this soon. eric has been gone again and we had visitors this month twice,as well as a trip to St Paul,MN to surprise my mom while she was visiting my sister. so i have lots of pics. hopefully this weekend i can put up some more.

Gate

2009-09-22T21:40:00.000-04:00

Bought a temporary gate to protect our baby's precious head and all while we wait for the other gate to arrive. :) He is trying to cope with another tooth breaking through. I would not be surprised if it is here in the morning.

aaah. baby!!

2009-09-20T22:17:00.001-04:00

Eric returned home Sunday from his 2nd business trip this month. Hopefully this marks one of the last ones as the current project is nearing an end. Unfortunately the end of his work on the project may take up all of December, even through Christmas. :(
This week Clayton wanted to go with Jeriah to his Sunday school class and was all upset because he needed to "play with Jeriah, need to play with my best best friend" :) awwwwwww!
Mathias is still trying to grow up way too fast. He is standing and walking along furniture and trying to eat our food and crawling fast. He even almost climbed into the bathtub Sunday! Unfortunately his advanced development has caught us offguard and unprepared-he has fallen down the stairs twice this week :( We have 16 stairs! Thankfully they are carpeted and the floor at the bottom is not concrete or anything too hard. The first fall was short, i think. He must have slid most of the way down bc i only heard 2 thumps, but today i heard more. i thought eric was skipping down the steps until i heard the baby hit the floor and cry. I'm sure he is fine since he cried harder when i put him to bed than when he fell down the steps and he did not have any marks on him this time. He has a rub burn scab on his nose now from the first incident. Yes, we have a gate, but it does not fit. I ordered one a week or two ago but it has not arrived and he decided to sled down them before we were prepared and of course in the 10 seconds that we were distracted. I may have to hit up Walmart tomorrow and see if they have anything big enough. I expect that he will have two more teeth any day now. Hopefully he does not knock them out anytime soon :/ (sorry, that is kind of ill humor, but trying not to stress out too much)
I hope the next post has only positive remarks.
oh, Clay got to be the "Green Star Student" this week and be the leader and have show and tell. He did a really good job. he likes school and tells me about it when he gets home off the bus. Jeriah is enjoying school also. Tomorrow will be his 3rd day.

pics

2009-09-10T23:36:00.000-04:00

Growing Like Weeds

2009-09-10T22:43:00.000-04:00

The baby is 7 months old tomorrow and growing way too fast. He is off the charts (over 100th percentile)for his height and 75th percentile for his weight-29.5 inches and 18 lbs 14 oz. He is an avid crawler now and standing up all the time and even taking a couple steps along furniture or when holding my hands. He has hair now too and it is growing really fast. Mathias loves the water and tried to crawl back into the bathtub with his brothers several times this evening after I had taken him out. He just never stops moving! Now if I could just get him to stop teething and sleep all night, I think I would be a new woman!
Clayton had his first week of kindergarten this week and Jeriah had his first day of preschool today. They both are enjoying school. They are also still trying to recover from the wasp trauma from last month. Sometimes they are ok outside, but last week they would not go out willingly and whenever they saw a bee or flying insect Jeriah especially, would scream at the top of his lungs. The first time he screamed I thought someone was dying! He saw one at school today and did not flip out but he did run to his teacher and cling for a minute.
Clayton's word of the week is "outrage." He was in trouble for biting and told to stay in his room. He came to the top of the stairs and said, "This is an outrage!" I had to laugh at that one. Apparently it came from his favorite video-Planet Heroes.

Our vacation in Elk Rapids was wonderful. Eric was able to stay the whole time and my sister and brother were there for 4 days. We had a lot of fun in the water and in town. Eric and I did a ropes course that made us a few years younger (or maybe older ??). And I won a round of putt-putt for the first time ever!!
We were able to see uncle Charlie and auntie Kate during their stop in Michigan on their way out to Utah. We also spent a week in Kalamazoo while Eric was in CA on business. yes, again! He is still traveling a lot but hopefully in the next month or 2 that will slow down a lot. Well, i am sure there is a lot more but i am going to bed. Here are a few pics and videos. Here is my first try at posting with picasa. Try this link and let me know if it works. if it does i will add more. these ones are from Mackinac City on our trip back to Houghton on Sunday and Monday.
Sarah

No More Shopping With Daddy

2009-08-15T21:49:00.000-04:00

So we were all in Walmart today and twice I left the boys with Eric while I looked for something else and fed Mathias. Twice I here over the intercom that my children are lost! First it was, "Sarah, please come to the courtesy desk. Clayton is waiting for you!" The second time it was, "There are two children lost waiting at the paint counter" and a minute later, "There are two girls..(silence), oh, I mean 2 boys, lost at the paint counter." Ok, so I did cut their hair this week so why are they still mistaken as girls! And how is it that my children got lost/my husband misplaced my children, twice in an hour and a half or so at Walmart?!! I think they were ready to call CPS on us or at least charge us for their services :/ No more family trips to Walmart!

Poor Jeriah woke up in the middle of the night hallucinating that bees were coming after him, for about 20-30 minutes. I finally convinced him it was just lightning bugs and dragonflies and he fell back to sleep next to me. That was strange. We tried 2 different bedrooms and he said the same thing, "they're coming at me...those...what are those?....." it was not shadows, i really think he was hallucinating or something :(

So much in one day to tell!!!

2009-08-13T23:24:00.000-04:00

Well, i know it has only been a day or two since I updated this post but soooo much has happened since yesterday that i thought i should tell it all before I forget.
WASP ATTACK
Yesterday Eric took the boys for a hike and they were attacked by a huge nest of wasps. Eric and Clay got stung once but Jeriah got it 5 times!! He was up in a tree stand when they came out. He is doing fine but the one on his shoulder does not look very good. I am attaching a picture of his war wound

BABY STANDS
yes, Mathias pulled himself up to standing today, using the boys' mattress to pull himself up. I will try to get him to do it on camera tomorrow.

MORE FIRSTS
Mathias had his first real bath in the big bathtub and he was super excited. He was so excited to get to the bath stopper and running water that he raced forward in his first regular crawl to get to the other end of the bath tub. he did lots of splashing and moving around as well. That boy is always moving and always on his feet!
We took the boys swimming in Hancock for the first time today and then had dinner and ice cream at Jim's Family restaurant. Mathias scooched himself from the sandy beach all the way to the water with serious intent. I saw another family of 5 there with 3 boys that looked the same age as mine so I had to introduce myself. Their boys are also age 5 and 3 and the youngest is 3 months. I am not the only one, Halleluiah!! :) At dinner after swimming, Mathias just stared at our food in jealousy, moving his lips and tongue around, waiting for his bite (sorry, bud) :)He has had cereal a few times now but i am not in the habit of carrying it with me yet.

Our conversation commentary for the night is this: Clay kept getting out of bed and Eric told him AGAIN to get back in bed. Clayton stood in his doorway frowning and in his pouty/whiny voice said, "I'm tired of this! I am upset!" I could not help but giggle and say the same myself, "I'm tired of this too Clay, now go to bed"

Well, I think I must head to bed myself. More soon. Maybe :)

oh wait, i forgot. our friend dave and skye who also went to tech and live in Maui, have family here still. so skye, and their daughter Tia are visiting right now. Tia is in a couple of these pics with the boys.

6 Months Already!!

2009-08-11T23:21:00.000-04:00

WEll, first off I am happy to say that Eric has finally returned after 10 1/2 long days away, and we are all still alive to welcome him home (just barely) :/ Sometimes I am not sure if I should be upset that the Lord has allowed sooo much to be on my plate at all times; or if I should take it as a compliment; or if I should realize I must be a really slow learner and He is still trying to teach me patience, or something :/ (see peanut butter picture above)
Anyway, the best reason for this post is that today is MATHIAS 6 MONTH BIRTHDAY!!!
Wow, time flies. He has had 2 teeth and been working on crawling for about 6 weeks now. He is not crawling across the room yet but he manages to get around pretty quick between his "downward dog" crawl and rolling. He is sitting really well now and has tried baby cereal about 3 times now. He is already starting to instigate trouble with his brothers though :) : I had Clay and Jeriah in bed and quiet and as soon as I started to pray, baby Mathias starts laughing. So of course, the boys start laughing and jumping and doing what they can to get Mathias to laugh again. :) It was funny.

Now that we are getting settled it is about time to pack up and go back downstate for our extended family vacation at Elk Lake. I have not been there in 6 years and am really looking forward to our time there. Now that we have new, regular tires, hopefully we are ready for this trip. Note to all car owners:DONT BUY "RUNFLAT" TIRES!!
Here are some recent pics, including a bike ride, a hike, Jeriah's peanut butter mess, and Clayton and his gecko swinging at McClain Park.
Sarah

We Made it!!

2009-08-01T14:53:00.000-04:00

Well, after a very long and traumatic trip (2 popped tires at different times)we finally have made it to the U.P.-Houghton, MI. We are renting a house here and it is amazing how good it feels. I just realized that we have not really ever lived by ourselves! First, student housing, 2nd another apartment,3rd a condo, 4th a house with 3 sets of renters on the property (1 was downstairs), 5th with my parents in their house and now, FINALLY, in a rental house all by our lonesome! I wonder what my preference will be after the winter up here?? :) Anyway, the space and quiet (except traffic and kids of course) is great.
Eric is in Colorado this week, but somehow I managed to get all the furniture we will probably need, all by myself (I mean with the kids "help").
Here are a few pics from our trip (including the big tow truck that took our van the last 30 miles of our trip) and views of and from our home.
More to update soon.
Sarah

Here we go!

2009-07-22T23:19:00.000-04:00

Well, we finally bought a truck today. Now we just have to finish sifting and packing up and make the long journey. Our plan is to leave Friday or Saturday and stop in Luther for a family reunion. So my guess is we will arrive in Houghton Sunday or Monday.
Mathias is 5 months, almost crawling and has 2 teeth. He is a very happy boy. Clayton and Jeriah are more talkative and energetic than ever.

5 Months Going on 8

2009-07-12T22:47:00.000-04:00

Mathias is 5 months and 1 day old today. As if he were not growing up fast enough already, he decided in the last week that he needed to have teeth and start balancing on his hands and knees to get ready to crawl. Yep, he now has 2 teeth that have broken the surface and today he was rocking back and forth on his hands and knees!! Here is a video of him playing leap frog. I guess he wants to catch up with his brothers. He has had his eyes on our food and drinks as well. He is a very happy boy and very aware of everyone and everything around him.

Clay's 5th birthday pictures

2009-06-29T10:31:00.000-04:00

Clay's 5th birthday pictures... we went to bounceland. Lots of fun!!!

Clay 5th Bday wish

2009-06-25T10:58:00.000-04:00

Clay birthday is coming up, so what does he want?.... "a transforming super hero crashing cake", of course:) I guess now we just have to figure out where to get one!

Growing and Laughing

2009-06-02T14:55:00.001-04:00

Here are some more pics and videos of our 3 growing boys. The baby is almost as big as the other two already!!

Videos

2009-05-15T16:59:00.000-04:00

I am posting a couple videos here from around April 20th. Included are Mathias' first laugh, Clayton and Mathias conversation, and Jeriah feeding lucky duck. The one of Jeriah is hilarious and I don't know if I really should post it, but here it is. Enjoy,
Sarah

11 weeks and counting

2009-04-29T22:11:00.000-04:00

Baby Mathias is already 11 weeks old, today--man how time flies!! He already has a tooth popping through so we had a lovely day of teething (I mean screaming) on Monday :(
On a happier note, Mathias also laughed for the first time a little over a week ago.
He slept through the night a few times a week or so ago but has definitely not made it a habit yet.
The boys love their baby brother, especially Clayton now. He says, "that is our baby." He is always in the baby's face talking to him and kissing him.
Today Eric asked Jeriah to go upstairs and find his phone. He came back down and Eric asked, "do you have my phone?" Jeriah said, "Yes." Eric said, "Show it to me" and Jeriah held out a toy car and said, "Your phone turned into a car." haha Then Eric asked Clayton to go up to get his phone and Clayton said, "No, I am too busy eating an apple." oh, the honesty of children :)

As for our moving plans, we have a place to rent in Houghton starting June 1st, but I dont know when we will actually get up there since clay has school until June 4 and then Eric has a trip to Las Vegas a couple weeks later.

2009-03-31T22:19:00.000-04:00

Mathias is 7 weeks tomorrow. Hard to believe! Today he started to play with his toys and respond to the music and lights and talk while he was playing. Clayton has taken a real liking to "the baby" "Mafias" the last couple weeks. He is always kissing him and asking what the baby is doing...

We took our first long family road trip a week and a half ago. We drove up to Houghton to look for a place to rent. The boys traveled very well, but it was still exhausting. Four 6 1/2 hr trips in 4 days and a lot of driving around to look at houses took its toll. I was sick when we got back but antibiotics worked magically. We have a lease starting June 1st but we probably wont go up until closer to the middle of June.

Sarah

That's not nice!!

2009-03-01T23:26:00.000-05:00

A conversation between Eric and Clayton (4 1/2 years old):

Me: "Please get off the couch"
Clay: "No. I don't want to."
Me: "I need you to get off"
Clay: "No"
Me: "1-2-3-4-5. Now get off the couch or time out"
Clay: (getting of the couch. crying) "I don't want you to talk like
that!! That is not nice!!"
Me: "come here"
Clay: (sitting on my lap)
Me: "Why do I have to talk like that?"
Clay: "It not nice! That why we get mad at you. Its not OK."
Me: "Well, there are reasons we ask you to do somthing you need to
listen. The baby is trying to sleep on the couch."
Clay: "The baby needs to wake up. You need to talk nicely."
Me: "I'm sorry. If you would listen I would not have to count. We
have to think about the baby, too. Can you play on the chair?"
Clay: "OK"

Jeriah's phrase for the day: "This is my pee pee sample.....this is my pee pee sample" as he ran around holding a cup to himself down there. At least he had clothes on :) He was with me at the OB for my last visit 2 1/2 weeks ago and for some reason thought about it today and that was the part he remembered.

2 Weeks Old

2009-02-26T23:03:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe Mathias is already 2 weeks old. My how time flys! So far everything is going well. He is a little gasey, but cute. He still sleeps a lot. The boys are enjoying him, especially Jeriah who is always hugging him and saying, "What's the matter baby" or "Its ok baby."
I managed to successfully tote all 3 kids to a doctor appointment and a children's program at church on Wednesday, by myself. The true test of my mother of 3 status, however, will start Sunday when Eric goes to California again for the week. I covet your prayers.
Sarah

Baby has a name

2009-02-15T22:09:00.000-05:00

Yes, he finally has a name. We could have stayed in the hospital a few more days trying to decide if they would have let us and if I could have put up with more "yummy" hospital food.
Here he is :
Mathias Kanoa Therkildsen, born Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 601am after a very quick and natural delivery-finally! I guess 3rd times the charm!
Mathias means "Gift of God" and its origin is Hebrew and Greek. Pronunciation: (mah THY ahss)
Kanoa means "the Free one" and its origin is Hawaiian. Pronunciation:(kah NOE ah)
We are home and doing well. The Clayton and Jeriah are enjoying their "baby"
Sarah

Baby #3 is has Arrived!

2009-02-12T13:04:00.003-05:00

We found that baby living in my wife's uterus yesterday at 6am (EST).
It was a BOY!!  8 pounds 8 ounces and 22 inches long.  That makes boy
number 3!!!  We are still working on the name...

I have also learned from my 4 year old that the baby currently wants
to eat chicken and he will never want to play with "big boy" toys
because he is going to stay a baby and only sleep, not play with
toys... interesting.

Eric

2009-02-02T23:36:00.000-05:00

Photos:Eric making an ice rink (though it is suppossed to be 35-40 degrees again next weekend!)
Sarah at 38 weeks pregnant
Grandma Hokenson with Clayton, Jeriah and cousin Olivia

Not too much to report right now. Just waiting for baby to "pop out" as my children put it. Jeriah just had his 3rd birthday on friday. We had fun playing at Bounceland for a couple hours.
Clayton is really enjoying sledding and Eric just taught him to play "King of the Mountain"
If all goes well, maybe we will see some of you during spring break--we'll see.
Sarah

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-24T23:48:00.001-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Crazy Michigan Life!!

2008-12-03T15:53:00.000-05:00

Here are our going away Maui pics.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Yes it is cold here in Michigan; and dry, dry, dry. Yes I am kind of missing the 85 degree balmy Maui climate. If I were not sick the last 2 weeks I would not notice as much. We actually exited the airplane in Grand Rapids, MI without a jet bridge, which meant walking off the plane into the lovely snowfall of the day--it actually felt quite nice at that moment and was very pretty. The boys asked, "It's Christmas mommy?" Then shorlty after Clayton asked, "Where is the baby?" :) I guess our timeline of moving and having the baby are not quite understandable by a 2 and 4 year old, but they got it pretty close (Michigan, then Christmas, then Jeriah's bday, then the baby).

Life has been crazy here trying to adjust to the climate; living in my parents house and getting the attic ready for Eric and I and the baby; and trying out a complex (glucose/cassein free) diet for the kids!! We had to test for mold in the attic and tear out old ceiling tiles and carpet so I am waiting for the guys in my life to get together and get it finished up. The carpet will be in next week but some of the ceiling tiles and insulation need to be replaced before we can put in the carpet. Eric can help when he gets here but i dont know when that will be--probably next week. He flew from Maui to California last night for work again. When he finishes up there he will fly to Michigan. We miss him a lot!! We have been apart 3/4 of the last 2 months :(

Clayton started school this week so I am getting a little more rest now--he does not nap anymore. So far he seems to like it and enjoys riding the big bus. I dont know if I can get Jeriah in preschool here since he is not potty trained yet. Hopefully Eric and I can work on that when he gets here--I do not have nearly enough patience, energy or fight left in me to try that on my own right now!
Needless to say, it has been difficult to prepare physically, emotionally, etc for a new baby and even for Christmas so rapidly approaching. Hopefully the next couple weeks will change that.

In case I dont get on here again soon, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Please give us a call if you are in southwest Michigan!! We would love to see you!

First Fight

2008-11-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

This was a few weeks ago, but we thought there first fight/hitting match was pretty funny so here it is!

Here are also 2 videos of the boys doing my Hula workout video with me. They are pretty good at it!

UPDATE

As for the rest of this crazy life, we are on the home stretch now for moving to Michigan. The boys and I leave next Saturday the 15th. Slowly but surely i have been packing the house since Eric was gone for over 2 1/2 weeks this month. He is home now though and his parents are here helping. This weekend we are all taking a little vacation to Kauai and then we will come back and finish the packing and other details. See you soon, Michiganders. :)

Halloween and Insensible

2008-10-31T04:20:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of Jeriah's last day at school and also of the boys and their downstairs buddy Ian tonight. They are all dressed and ready for family fun night at their school. Clay is the lion, Ian is the ninja and Jeriah is the cowboy, Woody from Toy Story.

Clayton's word of the week is "insensible." He was sitting on the toilet yesterday reading a book and got all upset. I thought he was mad at the book and asked him why he was mad at the book. He just looked at me, got a very slight smirk on his face, pointed his finger at me and said, "You are NOT insensible!" I was flabbergasted. Where in the world did that word and phrase come from? I dont know, but he used it several times yesterday while they were playing as well.

ps. still waiting for my husband to come back from CA. I guess they really like him (so do I) and need him (so do we) :)

Pumpkins and Goats

2008-10-27T02:59:00.000-04:00

I forgot my camera, but the boys had a good time today visiting the pumpkin patch. They also got to see horses and goats--even baby goats. There was a dog running around the fence frightening the goats so we got to see a show down. First the mamma goat with the babies was eyeing the dog and taking one step closer at a time and giving him "the look!!" Then the other goats started to notice and one by one each of them turned toward the dog and started moving slowly toward then fence where he was and some of them were stomping their hooves on the ground. It was actually pretty hilarious. It was like a member of an oppossing gang had just come over and given lip and the goat gang turned and almost in unison began moving slowly toward the culprit/victim and giving him the deadly glare that he was about to be pounced!

Anyway, then we went to our friend Melissa's house and she helped the boys seed the pumpkin and carve it and even toasted the pumpkin seeds, while i tried to rest.

I am trying to tell the boys that we might have a baby boy but they seem convinced that it is a girl. We were praying at bedtime the other night and clay squeezed me and said, "you going to push that baby out to a girl... a baby girl is gonna be a baby sister." I told him it might be a baby boy and then i would be a brother, but he said, "no, it's a girl. it's a baby sister." So, we shall see. Let's hope the "faith of a child" is right.

Oh yeah, and here is my latest mug shot:) I usually take my pictures in the morning when i am smaller, but this one was at night so the change may be a little more drastic than my morning shots. I really am bigger in the evening. I even measured myself one day in the morning and then that night and I was like an inch or two bigger around that night--it must be the slow digestion!

Sarah

2008-10-24T00:46:00.000-04:00

A conversation I just heard from Jeriah, standing on our front steps: "No, can't come in. This is my house. It's for boys. Go downstairs. Go to your house....please say ruf, please say ruf. ...Go. Go doggy. Get down. Hi...Bye. Bye." Our neighbors puppy had come over and wanted to follow Jeriah into the house, apparently.

The picture to the left is our family with Eric holding the 15 lb ahi yellowfin tuna he caught while he and the boys were out fishing with our neighbor on his red zodiak.

We have not had any house action for a few weeks. I guess that is good since my house is currently strung with empty bins, boxes half-packed, clothes piled that no longer have a dresser to rest in, and as always, toys strewn on the floor.

2008-10-20T22:33:00.000-04:00

Guess Who?
I walked into the bathroom yesterday and one of my children was squatting on the floor, sticking his pee tool into a bathroom cup. I moved him toward the toilet and he began urinating in the trash can until i turned him toward the toilet.

One of my children just bought an electric guitar (toy) at our garage sale. I awoke at 545am today with the guitar music playing and my son scream singing. A great new alarm clock!

Update
Eric was in CA last week Sunday to Sunday and goes again this Thursday. When we picked him up at the airport Clayton said, "I so glad to see you again, Daddy." It was a heart-melting moment.
While Eric was gone last week I held 2 garage sales and got rid of a lot of stuff. I am trying to pack a few things here and there and prepare them for shipping. Some things I am not sure if i should ship or not, like my nice Pfaltzcraft dishes. If anyone has any suggestions on packing and shipping, please let me know. 3 1/2 wks and counting!
Sarah

Kiddie tales, Doggie tails and Moving tales

2008-10-15T21:17:00.000-04:00

10/06/08 "Daddy....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I so excited to see you. I feel better to see you, daddy." -Clayton

11/13/08 Jeriah was acting like a dog so I tried to convince him otherwise by saying, "Doggies eat dog food and only drink water, no milk, no cookies; and they pee on trees and chase cats." So, what does my smart 2 1/2 yr old do? He heads toward the front door and says, "Wanna go pee on the tree and chase kitty cats, mommy..." and continues to say so until i let him outside where he proceeds to a tree, pulls his diaper down, and says he is peeing on the tree. So much for my bright idea. I guess next time I will stick to the no ice cream and cookies statement.

Jeriah just had his last day at preschool. He has been doing school 5 hrs/week and clay goes all day everyday. Clay just started soccer but his younger brother is much more interested in playing than Clay is! Funny how different their personalities are :) I am posting a cool shot of Clay's thoughts on soccer (throw the ball right at mom while she tries to take a soccer photo!)

As for our moving update, it is a little overwhelming trying to figure out what is worth keeping and what is worth sending back to Michigan but we are slowly working on the process. We go to Kalamazoo first to have the baby and let clay finish school for the year (till May or June probablyly) and then we will head up to the great white north. Eric will still be making a lot of business trips out here to Maui, where the main company location is, and maybe to California, but for now we can live either in Maui or in Houghton, where one of the company owners is still a professor at MTU. The kids and I leave for MI Nov 15 and Eric will come a few weeks later.

Speaking of Eric, he is in CA for work all week (on a one-way ticket so far) so hopefully he comes back to help me pack :)

Sarah

Conversations with Children and Other silly occurences

2008-09-13T15:12:00.000-04:00

Pics: Daddy's helpers; Jeriah "making a line"; and Eric's lates home improvement project, the tiled shower downstairs and our new paint job

Mommy and Clay

"What are you doing mommy?" (Clay)

"I am sweeping the floor."
"Oh, that's great! .. I am getting some water." (Clay)

Daddy and Jeriah and Mommy

Background: Jeriah had a nightmare about a bug, so he came in our bed for awhile. While I was in the bathroom, Eric was telling Jeriah he just needed to "squish" the bug next time he saw it. He was telling him he could "squash them with his feet or run over them with his bike......."

Jeriah lays his head down and says, "Daddy, I wanna go to sleep now" (In other words, 'be quiet and go to sleep, daddy. It is not time to ride bikes.')....

...............................

I come back in the room to lay down and Jeriah is taking up most of my spot, so I say,

"Jeriah, how about you scooch over that way more and 'squish' your daddy instead of me."

Jeriah is quiet for a second and then responds, "Daddy is a bug?"...(pause from Jeriah and laughter from me)..."I dont want to 'squish' daddy."

Things in Odd Places

1. Calculator in fridge (Clayton, a couple yrs ago)
2. Liquid sweetener in dishwasher (Jeriah, a couple days ago). I searched for this one for about 10 or 15 minutes before I found it!

MORE TO COME.................

Funny Boy Stories

2008-09-11T00:55:00.000-04:00

Story #1:
Recently our boys discovered that when we hose down our tiled deck to clean it off that it is slippery and they can slide on it like a "slippery slide." Now whenever I try to clean the deck I hear, "you make a slippry slide, mamma?" Then they get on their bellies and start sliding around. I told them it is too dangerous to do without a helmet, but I've pretty much just been trying to avoid the whole thing. Anyway, today I was just cleaning a small portion of the deck where they had spilled milk and behind me i hear Clayton say, "Look Mom, I can make a slippery slide with my pen*s" so I am thinking, "what?" I turn around and they are both naked and Clayton is peeing on the deck! So I turn my head away so I can laugh before I scold him and when I turn back Jeriah is sliding into first, right through the fresh puddle of urine! I yelled at him that he was in pee pee, but I could hardly do anything but laugh!! Hopefully they dont hate me in 10 yrs for putting this on the internet :)
Story #2:
The boys and I were in the bathroom the other day cleaning up or something. I was facing the sink, helping Jeriah, when I suddenly feel wetness running down the back of my leg. I whip around to see Clayton there, buck naked, about 1 foot away from the toilet, but facing me instead and peeing on my leg!! I am sure you can figure out my reaction to that one! I know he did not pee on me on purpose but it floored me that he could not think fast enough to turn and face the toilet instead of me!
Story #3:
The last couple days when Clayton has gotten off the bus he said, "I had fun at school today, mommy. And I listen to Mr. Arthur" (his teacher) I ask him what he did and he says, "I play with my friends and listen to Mr. Arthur." Then today he also said, "you happy tonight. yeah, you happy" i am not sure what that was all about, but it was cute.

Ultrasound

2008-09-09T03:01:00.000-04:00

So, we had our 2nd trimester ultrasound yesterday at about 17 weeks. The votes are in and the verdict IS.......................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................We
are having A Baby (a boy OR a girl) !!!!!!! Yeah, you already knew that, but we did not find out the sex, so all you impatient people will just have to be patient and all you old-fashioned people (ie: Dad T), will be proud of us this time :)
Everything looks good so far. The ultrasound tech said i am measuring like 8 days ahead of my due date but I told her that is just because I have big babies (#1 8lbs 14 oz and #2 8lbs 5oz)!
Unfortunately I am going to have to try to give up ice cream and hit the pool because sciatica has been keeping me less active and I gained 6lbs this month--aaaaaaahhhhhh!!! On a positive note, my doctor suggested I use a pregnancy support belt to help with the sciatica; so she wrote me a prescription for it and my insurance covered like 90% of it. It is definiteyly not fashionable, but it should help reduce my pains with all the bending over cleaning and lifting of my children that I do.
Well, that is all for now. I will post ultrasound pics as soon as i find someone to scan them for me.
Sarah

2008-09-06T13:47:00.000-04:00

So my last day at Boeing was yesterday. It was bittersweet. The hardest thing was giving up my computer in which I have been using and developing for 3 to 4 years. We went to "Fat Daddy's Smokehouse" for the going away lunch. Then we had rosalani (sp?) ice cream in the break room for good meausre. Anyway, off to PDS. -Eric

Lives Always Changing

2008-08-30T01:58:00.000-04:00

So I did not plan for my big belly to be the first picture on this blog but that is just how it worked out. I am now 16 weeks pregnant with baby #3, due February 13th, 2009. We are hoping for a girl, but waiting till "birth-day" to find out if it is a girl or boy. Yes, this is the last one! He/She was trying to push a limb out of my belly button last night. It was cool to clearly feel her for the first time.

Partially due to this baby's coming and the fact that they dont do v-backs on Maui, we are planning to move to Kalamazoo in December for a few months. Then we will head up nort to da UP eh (Houghton), in the spring or summer.

We are still trying to sell our house.

Clayton is 4 and in preschool. He talks and sings and loves to read and watch movies and play with cars and trains. He is very independant.

Jeriah is 2 1/2 and goes to preschool 5 hrs a week. He has been talking in sentences since he was 1 1/2. He is a social bug and a mamma's boy. I am hoping he adjusts to the baby ok because I am 'his' mamma (he always says, "My Mamma"). He turns 3 about 2 wks before baby #3 is due.

Eric has been busy working 2 engineering jobs and remodeling different parts of the house--the downstairs bathroom and new stairs were the most recent. He officially finishes up at Boeing next Friday, September 5 and will be full time with his new job at PDS, which is located here but is allowing us to move to Michigan.

Well, that is all for now but we will keep you updated as life progresses.

Blog Start

2008-08-10T13:31:00.000-04:00

Sarah and I are starting this blog in an attempt to capture experiences while raising our kids, being pregnant (not me... her) and living the life God has given us in general. Experiences cannot really be captured well like this but I presume these nuggets of text will bring back valuable memories of the events to help us rebuild the experiences in our minds and hearts. We will see how this turns out. If it were left to me this might be the first and only blog but I think with Sarah in the mix maybe, just maybe, there is a chance that this will go on for a while creating a potpourri of memories allowing us to reconstruct a semblence of this wonderfully abundant God given life. I think this may also be a great thing for our kids to read when they are older to get a better understand of how thier lives progressed and personallities and character formed. I pray they will know the Lord in the most real way in there lives as I have had the privledge of experiencing.

Cheers,
Eric