We are going to miss her...

Paula passed away this morning...

Paula

I am sure you are all wondering how Jim's mom is doing... she is declining. She hasn't eaten or drank in almost a week and she cannot communicate. She really doesn't wake up anymore, but at times she'll open her eyes and almost get a smile if you are talking to her. She doesn't appear to be in any pain (she is on pain meds and they seem to be doing their job). We don't know how much longer we'll have her with us, but it won't be long.
Jim has been spending the nights at his parents and tonight Alicia got here, so they both went out to their parents. All three kids will be home tonight. Thank you for all your kind comments and thoughts... we appreciate all the care we get.

Starting to look like a house...

Ta-da!

Posing in daddy and mommy's bedroom.

Carsten pounding nails.

Jim giving the "this is where we'll..." talk

My parents got here this evening and so we were itching to go out and see the progress on the house... we actually had something to show! So fun when it starts to look like a place to live!

Heartache...

This is something I haven't wanted to tackle on the blog, but I know there are those of you out there that care and so I am going to try...
Jim's mom is not doing well. She is failing every day in small ways and it is becoming more evident that the end is very near for her. Our hearts are aching, but there is a part of us that wants to let go too.
Jim is losing his mom, I am losing a very special mother in law and my children are losing a grandma that loves them dearly. She still gets a grin on her face when Carsten comes in the room. The other day Carsten would keep going over to her bed and putting his hand in hers... breaks your heart, but warms it as well.
Not sure how to put in words the tears streaming down our faces...

4 years ago today...

Our newborn...

One

Two

Three

Four
(I should mention that this picture was taken this morning when Reese got up discovered that his very special daddy had gotten up early to go and buy him balloons, treats, and a frisbee!)

Dear Reese,
You are the cutest 4 year old I know... I enjoy watching you learn new words and new ways of doing things. Two days ago your new word was, "awkward". You wouldn't stop repeating it. You actually don't stop talking for much... Your favorite animal has morphed into favorite animals, which we call, "people". You take about 8 people to bed with you every night and they all must be accounted for. Since you are the older brother it is nice that you have patience (most of the time) and are not a fighter. You allow Carsten to tackle you and you just lay there. I love that you have such a great love for the special people in your life. Oma probably tops the list, but you have quite a list. Amazingly your infatuation with hammers has not dimmed. You cry when we forget to take a hammer to the property and most days a hammer is not far from your hands. It is great fun to watch you grow Reese and we love you to the moon and back again! Happy Birthday!
Love, Mommy

Updates and Fiascos

No pictures to go with this one...
Updates...
The house is not being worked on at the moment. Our contractor had other obligations, so our house is still the same...
Carsten's tooth is fine. We went to a very nice pediatric dentist and she filed it down so it will be smooth. She was concerned that the part of the tooth that broke off could be in his lip since we never found it, but after x-rays and a consultation with an oral surgeon he was deemed okay. The pediatric dentist was very kind and they went out of their way to make Carsten comfortable. He laid on my lap and the dentist's lap to have the work done. He still cried, but not out of control.
Fiascos...
Swimming lessons. We thought we were quite brilliant in thinking the boys would like swimming lessons for their birthdays. Hmmm... tonight was the first class and Carsten screamed/cried the whole time. Reese clung tightly to Jim and cried for a bit as well. We are going to keep going and not give up, but getting Carsten in next week will be a challenge.

What are you doing with YOUR incentive check???

$$$ Well, Carsten has dipped into our incentive check... $$$
This afternoon Carsten tripped and fell against a chair and his tooth hit a chair tack (I think that is what they are called). Off to the dentist... kind of. I could not find my keys to the Suburban. The van was in the garage, but the Suburban was parked such that I could not get it out. I called Jim and he had the spare set of keys to the Suburban. Jim came tearing home to take us to the dentist. The dentist pulled a broken piece of tooth out of Carsten's gums and deemed him okay. Next week we get to go to the pediatric dentist to get it "fixed".

Bit by Bit...

We returned home to a little more progress (the contractor would probably not like the word, "little"). I'm sure there is more work being done, just not obvious. Some plumbing has been done, the heating/air ducts are in, they have leveled off the dirt piles, and started the floor. The boys were excited to run around on top of it last night.

The Pacific Ocean!

We decided to take a little break this last weekend and we took off for the coast. Andrew, my brother, met us there. Reese liked to tell people that we were going to the Pacific Ocean. Carsten was very cute and learned to say, "beatsch". These two pictures were on our last morning there...

Jim had to work on Monday, so Unc and I took the boys to the aquarium. We always enjoy it there and Carsten especially liked it this time. Amazingly he was content to stay in this hilarious stroller. It squeaked and rattled something fierce, but he liked it. We had forgotten to take our stroller and I really didn't think he'd stay in it anyway. This stroller was free with our passes.

Unc and Reese.

Carsten was pretending to walk with a stick/cane... don't know where he got the idea.

The dad and mom...

We took our trailer and camped at a little place right on the beach. We were steps away from the water. We scoped out the best spots to park next time, but our spot was pretty good. I should have taken more pictures, but... We had dinner one night at our favorite coast restaurant with our friends Truman and Elinor (who happened to be spending the weekend at the coast as well). Then we met some great people on Sunday, Lee and Lisa. They invited us over to their place Monday night and we had a great time getting to know them! (We talked about you Callie and Darci).

And today...

We have a floor...

Progress

Stem walls are done... now the floor joists are being done.

Auntie Alicia and Justin are here (no pictures yet...). We are enjoying our time with them.

Pumper Trucks, Concrete, and Little Boys...

Today we spent the day out at the *property*. We didn't have Lane and so we just packed up and went to watch the action. They poured the stem walls today so that involved a pumper truck and two concrete trucks. The boys had a great time just watching. The guys working were very nice to the boys and let them get close to watch and explained what they were doing. After the first picture Reese wanted to be in charge of pictures, so here they are...

Nothing new...

The boys sharing Lane's snack. I don't buy these Gerber Puffs and so my boys think they are some kind of special treat!

Not too much going on here, just ordinary days. Laundry, picking up, laundry, picking up, dishes, diapers, picking up, broken washing machine, picking up, baths, kisses, hugs, picking up, reading...
On our house... tomorrow we should have the stem walls poured and then Monday they are to start on the floor joists. Exciting!!!