Kittelson-Burke's

We lean on God for all things.

2012-01-18T22:40:00.000-06:00

It has been a rough day, talking to a friend I realized that it takes a great deal of effort and work to be married. Please pray for him, pray that he would not faulter, that he would follow after Jesus and have him be his first love. Also pray that God will help me, help me be a better father, a better husband, a better teacher, and friend.

Fall Harvest Orchard 2011

2011-10-19T08:45:00.000-05:00

The K-B's love our annual trip to Fall Harvest Orchard!!! They have so much more than apples.

1st day of school pictures

2011-10-18T08:36:00.000-05:00

I know I'm super late again but I always like posting their first day of school pictures.

I guess I didn't take one of James or Jonah this year. Oh well, there's always next year right?!!
Click here to see last years pictures.

Tyler's 13th Birthday

2011-10-18T08:17:00.000-05:00

Wow, It's hard to believe that Tyler is a teenager already. Where did the time go?

Happy 13th Birthday Tyler!

Shane's 10th birthday

2011-10-02T22:33:00.000-05:00

Happy 10th birthday Shane! Love you!

2011-09-14T20:30:00.000-05:00

Every summer I have posted a different insect I have thought to be very interesting. This year I have chosen a Monarch butterfly that is just about to come out of it's chrysalis. Isn't it amazing that this little insect that started as a caterpillar is now a butterfly that will migrate over 2,000 miles.

Vanessa's salad

2011-09-14T20:05:00.000-05:00

My Vanessa loves making salads. This is one that she wanted me to take a picture of. I think this one is a peach, apple, watermelon, lettuce salad.

2011-07-08T08:13:00.001-05:00

My dad recently planted 5 pine trees. One for each grandchild. It will be fun to watch the trees grow over the years.

Tyler

Shane

Vanessa

James

Jonah

Happy Birthday Jonah

2011-06-22T22:43:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that Jonah is one today. Bam, just like that a year has gone by. It is so crazy how fast time goes by. I am so so so thankful for Jonah everyday. You bring me joy every day. Your little voice saying "ball" or your little legs climbing on everything you can find or your huge smile when you see your mama or your high 5's. I love you little guy!!

Vanessa's 6th birthday

2011-04-20T07:50:00.000-05:00

I can't believe my only little girl is 6 years old already. I love you Vanessa!

2011-04-14T17:40:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't updated lately. I thought I would at least some pictures of the kids.

Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

2011-03-17T13:10:00.000-05:00

So here it goes...

Met with a NMO Specialist and he has reservations about if I have NMO or not. He took more blood to test to get an updated analysis on it specifically for NMO.

Getting this guys thoughts about my condition was interesting due to the recent visit with a MS Specialist at the Clinic of Neurology in Golden Valley. That gentleman made it seem like he was leaning toward MS although he did note that it seemed like it was in the very, very, very early stages of it which means I may not have another "flare-up" for 10-15-20 years. I liked to hear that, even more I liked when he said if I was his daughter that he wouldn't move forward with a treatment at this time but would like to continue to monitor closely with new MRI's in a 6 month interval.

So in short I'm waiting again.

You're prayers are very welcomed and appreciated.

Other thoughts:

It's funny that now the initial storm has passed it's almost like life is back to normal with the exclusion of my thoughts. Before I thought about other things, now all I can think about is if I feel tingling in my legs or if I move my eyes just right I could maybe feel some soreness? I am not sure, I think my mind is playing tricks on me. Please pray for peace for me.

All in all I would say that this whole thing has brought a new perspective to my life and to my families lives as we don't take anything for granted anymore.

Update on Kristi

2011-03-04T22:03:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile. It seems as though I don't have enough time in my day to do everything.

As far as my eyesight I would say it is about 99% better! I had a second opinion last Friday. No new tests were done or anything. It was basically just going over my case with a ms specialist. He is not sure if I have ms. I guess to get a definitive diagnosis there needs to be two episodes at two different times. So again back to the waiting table.

My appointment at the Mayo is scheduled on March 14th. I'm a little nervous about even going. I'm not sure what kind of tests they are going to want to do. I've heard that they like to do do a lot of their own testing. Being it's been a couple months now since I've had some tests done that they might want to repeat them anyway. Part of me wants to wait until I have another episode if I even ever do to go.

Kristi

2011-02-11T06:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my first day completely off Prendizone. It makes me kind of nervous because I keep wondering if the symptoms will come back. I have a couple appointments scheduled with experts in the field of ms type diseases in the next month. One here in the twin cities and the other down at the Mayo Clinic. So, we'll see what happens there.

Results Are In....

2011-02-04T12:11:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, my spinal tap NMO test that I had been waiting a month for came back. Of course my Dr. was still out of the country. Her RN looked over the results and told us that the results looked good to her meaning the test was negative but of course she's not the Dr. so blah blah blah........

Today, my nurse called me again to tell me that my Dr. is back in the country and has had a chance to go over the results herself. She also said that the results of the spinal test are negative. Which is great right? Well, yes but in the same breath she told me that she thinks I have ms again. I just don't get it. They just got done telling me that ms was completely ruled OUT. I guess with more research on her part that ms can show itself in different ways. So she still wants me to get a second opinion and still go down to the Mayo. I don't think they know what the heck is going on. I am just really frustrated. I went from having a good day to a bad day.

I met this lady from my church that who is a naturalist or whatever you call it. She has recommended having a complete food allergy test done to see if maybe it could be a food allergy. So, that's what I am trying to get ordered now.

That's all for now. I'll continue to post as I find things out.

Kristi

update

2011-01-28T21:06:00.000-06:00

Still no news on spinal tap results. As for Jonah, he is gaining, gaining, gaining. Part of that though is that he wakes up every 2 hours it seems at night to eat. He still has no self soothing skills being he refuses to suck his thumb anymore which I think is really too bad but what do ya do?

Winter

2011-01-28T20:48:00.001-06:00

I used to hate winter.

Everything about it.

The snow.

The temperature.

The cloudy days.

The short days.

The long nights.

The coats, mittens, hats, scarves, snow pants and boots.

Now...I like winter.

I look at winter as a time for rest.

I think one reason that God gave us winter was to rest.

Just like all of the animals that hibernate or all of the trees that rest in the winter.

The days are short and cold and the nights come all to quick. We have had a lot of "resting" or down time lately that I have been enjoying. Time to just hang out together, go to bed early, wake up late, or not worry about how much we can fit into the day. When I think ahead to spring and summer I get stressed out because they are so short here in Minnesota that I try to pack so much into each day. Waking up early, getting the kids outside, taking them on a walk to the park, making sure the dog gets walked, going to the beach, then a game of kickball, then off to baseball, next a bike ride around the neighborhood, a bonfire, night games, finally baths and a late bedtime of course not at least until it gets dark which is around 10pm.

Don't get me wrong I do love summer and I love all of those fun summer things it's just that now I am starting to also enjoy winter. Yes, the snow and everything but especially the time that I get to hang out and "rest" with my family, not always on the go, go , go like in the summer months.

Check out some of our winter pictures:

2011-01-19T22:13:00.000-06:00

Jonah had his weight check appointment today. He is 14lbs. 8oz. which means he has gained over a pound in three weeks. Jonah's Dr. still would like to see him gain more, but I think she's happy that he's back on the charts.

A quick note about me.....
I heard from my nurse today that the test results that I'm waiting on are suppose to be back Thursday or Friday. I'll post when I find out.

Kristi

James Arthur Kittelson-Burke is 3 years old today!

2011-01-14T22:39:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday James!
We love you so much!
We are so blessed that God gave us you!

2011-01-13T23:44:00.000-06:00

Today I had an appointment with my neurologist. Basically, she went over all of the test results and plan of action for my diagnosis and treatment.

MS is still being ruled out. There is really nothing that jumps out as far as any of the tests pointing to anything. We are still waiting for the results of the spinal tap to give us a yes or a no to NMO even though the blood test is negative. She has me continuing to take 20mg of Prenisone every day instead of weaning me off of it. The reason for that is until we know for sure whether or not I have NMO, it's best to keep my inflammation areas hopefully controlled with the Preinisonze.

My Dr. wants me to go and see a NMO specialist/expert down at the Mayo Clinic. I probably won't be able to get in appointment there for a month or more.

All in all I feel pretty good about my appointment today. Although, still a little nervous that I have NMO but continuing to put it in God's hands.

I am still having the light flashes at night. I forgot to mention that to my Dr. today. I hope that they don't get worse and that it's just part of the healing process.

Jonah update

2011-01-11T20:25:00.001-06:00

Guess what this is?

Avocado! Pureed Avocado that I made for the first time. Baby Jonah loves it! So, thank you to all those who suggested it. I do believe that Jonah is gaining weight. I think he's up at least a pound if not more.

As far as me...

I'm feeling pretty good. My eyes are still seeing light in different ways than before this whole thing started. Also, I'm still having light flashes at night now my left eye as well as the right. Although, it's not as bad in the right eye anymore.

I haven't driven yet even though my eye Dr. gave me the okay. I'm just a little nervous that I will miss something and get into a crash or something.

Thursday is my next Dr. appointment to go over the test results that are back.

So, continued prayer would be for healing and peace with whatever God has in store for us.

Pokemon Champ X2

2011-01-10T21:03:00.000-06:00

Our Shane is now a city champ in Burnsville and Coon Rapids.

Hmmm you may be asking yourself what does that mean? Well that means that he took home 18 Booster Packs, a 1st Place Medal, and bragging rights two days in a row. He first won a city championship back this time last year in St. Paul. He was so pumped and happy to win he could barely contain himself. Here is a picture of him with his loot.

About Pokemon: http://www.pokemon.com/us/parents/

What I would say is that Pokemon is a really fun, clean, safe game to play with the kids and super technical in nature requiring the players to know tons about many cards. All in all, its a good game for kids and adults to play to have fun with make believe creatures that when defeated are knocked out, not killed.

So that leads me to share a story with you about a battle that I had about a year ago in SLP, Dreamers to be exact. I sat down at my table number and then my opponent sat down, he said hello told me his name and shook my hand and then the battle commenced. Long story short, he defeated me and my Pokemon in about 3 turns. I was really down about it until I heard I was just in the presence of greatness as he was coming off of a World Championship Tour taking 3rd place. Yes 3rd place in the world and I thought I could do something. It was fun, it was a pleasant experience even being crushed.

Update for now...

2011-01-06T21:20:00.000-06:00

Okay so the last we heard from the Neurologist Nurse was that the Blood work came back for the NMO results and that was NEGATIVE. Also Kristi went to an Ophthalmologist for a follow-up meeting and that went rather well as he was pretty sure that the Blood work alone should be all that is needed to rule NMO out completely, we on the other hand have been told from the Neurologist that they still would like to see a negative back from the Spinal Tap that was done before Christmas. So all in all, we are still waiting. We continue to lean heavily on God as he is for us, so really who can be against us?

Again I hate to sound like a broken record but we want to thank everyone that is praying for us, and everyone that has helped out in anyway.

On another note, Kristi’s grandpa, Art (Papa) Charlebois is in heaven now. He died early Tuesday afternoon and his service is tomorrow morning. He was a great man. Through his entire life he would always remind us at gatherings that he believed he had the best family one could ask for, and now I think I know what he meant. So to the Charlebois family and it’s now ever growing additions, we too think that it is the best family that we could ever ask for as everyone is genuinely concerned and eager to help out whenever/where ever possible.

Here is our little 6 month old bundle of joy!!!

2011-01-03T07:56:00.000-06:00

2010-12-31T21:37:00.001-06:00

First, I'm really sorry that I have not updated in a while. I don't think it is very good for my eyes to be on the computer for very long. I think most of you have heard that I do NOT have MS.

With that being said, they still don't know what it is that I have because a lot of my test results that were sent down to the Mayo Clinic are not back yet. The results that are back already though are the ones that rule OUT MS.

I do believe that I did or do have a condition in my eyes, Optic Neuritis. So, It's kind of a not so good place to be in, just waiting for results. I expect to get a call on Tuesday from my neurologist (they are out of the office on Monday) to schedule an appointment for some time next week to go over the result when they do come in. Also, I have an appointment with the eye surgeon on Wednesday for a follow up eye exam. As far as my eyes, my vision has improved a lot. I can see pretty well, however, lights and darks are still really off. And it is hard for me to see a lot of detail for example it's hard for me to find something in the fridge or in a cupboard or drawer. It's like the white balance is way off.

The day following my Lumbar puncture I started having very bad headaches when I sat and stood up. Thank you Jesus those are gone now. But they lasted for 6 days.

As far as Jonah, I don't remember if I mentioned anything about him in a recent post. He had is 6 month well check last Monday. He had not gained any weight since his 4 month well check. He weighs only 13 pounds 3 ounces. I thought that maybe my milk supply was decreasing, but I think it is back up there!! His Dr. told us to start him on rice cereal, and then jump right in to the protein foods. So that's what we are trying to do. If anyone has any advice on making baby food or good suggestions for protein foods for babies that would be great! Developmentally, Jonah is doing awesome!!!! He crawls all over, he's pulling himself up on things and babbling quite a bit and just a very happy smiley baby!

Please keep praying for the healing of my body and to keep trusting God no matter what He has in store for our family.

Kristi

Update from my husband, Justin

2010-12-25T22:14:00.000-06:00

Other/NMO (10%) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromyelitis_optica) vs MS (90%) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_sclerosis)

So this is what we are more than likely talking about as Kristi's neurologist has looked at the results from the Lumbar Puncture and will more than likely be waiting to get all the Blood Work results together before meeting with us again.

First, let me say that my wife is one tough cookie! She has been through so many tests, been to so many appointments and all while not being able to see much of anything at first. Thank God her vision is coming back even if it is gradually.

Second, I love my wife very much and I say this because she will more than likely read this and I just want her to know that I will be right by her side no matter what. Which reminds me of that day so long ago it seems back on the 6th day of May back in 2000.

Question, "Justin, do you take Kristi to be your wedded wife to live together in marriage?"
Answer, "I do."
Question, "Do you promise to love, comfort, honor and keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her so long as you both shall live?"
Answer, "I do."

When I said I do, it also means I will. I will love you the best that I can love you. Let's keep God at the center of our relationship as He has been and I know we will be together as long as God allows.

To all the readers of this Blog, I appreciate any prayers that you have said and will continue to say. I would ask that you pray specifically for my wife as this is a really difficult time for her as she is trying to figure out what has just happened and as she attempts to put all of this into perspective. She is a great mother, an awesome wife, and a wonderful leader for our family for Christ.

To all that have helped out in one way or another I just want to say thank you so much for everything that you have done to help make this very difficult time a little bit easier.

I remember the first time we said this prayer together as a family I thought it was kinda weird, however since then it has really meant something when I say it...

Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

Let all we do bring glory to God.

And with that I will sign off for now as my family sleeps and I sit up praying for a Christmas gift for my wife...Healing.

2010-12-24T07:13:00.001-06:00

I wanted to back up a little and share with you that my Dr. did find a couple lesions on my neck and some inflammation behind both eyes. We do not have the results yet from the Spinal Tap. Because of the inflammation and what not my Dr. wanted to me to have 2 more days of high Steroids IV injection. So, yesterday I had the first up here in at the Monticello hospital.

I wanted to thank everyone who has been praying and providing meals, drying clothes, childcare, sharing bible verses and everything else you all have been doing to bless us.

Here our some things we could really use prayer for right now:

1.healing my body if it be God's will
2.all the Dr.'s involved in my case
3.our older kids Tyler, Shane, Vanessa and James
4.baby Jonah may he sleep at night and not be effected by whatever medication I might need. Pray it would be compatible with nursing
5. pray for Justin, he has been my rock during all of this. He has been so supportive. He will need to go back to work on Monday.
6. the part we need for our dryer that is back ordered in Africa will get here ASAP
7. my mom who has been here almost everyday helping out

Thanks again for walking with us through this whole thing. Any bible verses or suggestions or advice or comments are welcomed!

2010-12-23T21:02:00.000-06:00

Thursday Dec. 23: Well....where should I start.....In a nutshell, there were more Dr. appointments, blood work and tests today. Hopefully, Justin can fill in more of the details. Dr. strongly suspects Multiple Sclerosis.

Whatever it may or may not be we know God has a plan for us.

2010-12-22T18:24:00.000-06:00

Wed. Dec. 22- Dr. appointment was not so good today. Some red flag with contrast MRI. Neurologist wants to see me back tomorrow morning. Also tomorrow I have to have a lumbar or whatever you call a spinal fluid test thing. So after the test I need to be lying flat the rest of the day/night. Will give more details later. Jonah is doing okay. He is 6 months old today!!!!!!! Please keep praying.

Kristi

2010-12-22T08:59:00.000-06:00

Wed. Dec. 22 I think that my sight is getting better!!!!!! It's far from back to normal but I think I can tell a difference. I will update more after all the Dr. Appointments today. Again, please pray from continued healing for my eyes and that little Jonah transitions okay to a bottle.

update

2010-12-21T12:09:00.000-06:00

Tuesday, December 21st: Today, my eyesight is not any better or any worse than the last couple of days. I can see my kids, around the house, my computer, and I can even see somewhat around the hospital. I cannot see everything at once though. It's like I have to zone or zoom in on one thing at a time. Everything is VERY bright. There is no way I could drive myself anywhere, but I am just so thankful that I can still see even if it is not very well. No Dr. visits today just a day to hang out with my family and hopefully get a Christmas tree! Tomorrow should be a pretty hard day for us so please keep us in your prayers.

Kristi

Update on Kristi

2010-12-20T22:40:00.001-06:00

Sunday, Dec.12 Kristi has a blur episode in her right eye after church, then again at night before bed

Monday, Dec. 13 Kristi has a right eye black out calls ambulance they come over to the house. Kristi makes appointment to get eyes checked out by her Physician. Having symptoms of eye pain, headache, and funny sensation in right arm the Dr. sends her in an ambulance to Methodist Hospital to get check out for possible stroke etc...
      At the hospital they give her an MRI of the head. Praise the Lord everything looks good on the MRI as far as stroke or ms or anything. The ER Dr. finally lets us go at 10:30 pm or so with the diagnosis of Ocular migraine and gave her some a prescription to treat that.

Tuesday, Dec.14 Kristi decides to have an eye Dr. look at her eye. So she is seen by a Optometrist in Monticello.She thinks it could not be Ocular Migraine because of the pain in her eye when she looks around.

Wednesday, Dec.15 The general eye Dr calls and thinks Kristi needs to be seen by the Ophthalmologist, which is the eye surgeon. At this point the right eye is very blurry and still hurting when rotated.

Thursday Dec.16 Kristi has a comprehensive eye exam with the Ophthalmologist. He thinks Kristi might have a condition called Optic Neuritis. He's is not definite, but it was worth a shoot to treat her as if that is what she has. So treatment fro Optic Neuritis is three days in a row of 1000mg Steroids. At the time he was not sure that nursing was okay with the Steroids so Kristi eventually found out it is OKAY to nurse while on Steroids.

Friday Dec. 17 Kristi suffers from a bad headache and leg pains and a funny leg sensation on top of the right eye blurriness and pain with rotation.

Saturday, Dec 18 Kristi wakes up and thinks it is going into the left eye as well as the right eye and we really need to get the Steroids going. So, we call the on call Dr. at the Ophthalmologist clinic and he calls in the prescription to Methodist Hospital. We journeyed down to Methodist and find out that we have to go through the ER again and basically do everything again. Finally the ER Dr.(who was awesome by the way) tracked down the called in prescription and Kristi started the 1st dose of steroids. The on call    Ophthalmologist from Saint Cloud wanted us to call him in the morning to see how Kristi was doing.

Sunday, Dec. 19 Both eyes still bad. They eye symptoms today are still eye pain and blurriness and everything being vry bright. Ex.- when she looks outside everything is bright white. Everything looks way brightened and colors are "washed out". Like a very over exposed picture.
After church we called the on call Dr. and he said that he would like to see Kristi right away because it had now gone into both eyes.   So he opened up the eye clinic just for us and he did an exam on both eyes. We tried to have the 2nd does of the meds in St Cloud but that didn't work out so well so.... we made the long trek down to Saint Louis Park back to Methodist. At least this time we didn't need to go through the ER.

Monday, Dec.20 Kristi had a follow up appointment with a neurologist from the first Er visit when she had the MRI. That appointment went well except the Dr. wants her to have another MRI with dye. They still don't really know what is going on with Kristi. This Dr. is also having Kristi get a lot of blood work done.
   I guess the big thing now is that the MRI with dye is scheduled for this Wednesday at 1:30pm. And with this MRI Kristi CANNOT nurse baby Jonah. Jonah has never taken a bottle and has mom has NO stored up milk and Jonah as never had formula. So, if you would like you could join us in praying that Jonah will be oay with a bottle for 24hours and then be fine going back to the breast after that.
      We will try to keep you all updated on the latest news on Kristi's condition. Hopefully tomorrow will be a day of rest for our family. Them back for more Dr. visits on Wed. and Thursday.

apple orchard visit

2010-11-30T07:24:00.000-06:00

Last year at Fall Harvest Orchard:

This year:

It's funny how they are all in the same order as last years picture.

First day of school pictures

2010-11-19T15:07:00.000-06:00

I know the first day of school was over 2 months ago now, but I still wanted to post the 1st day of school pictures. A big part of why I have this Blog is so I can go back and reflect on pictures and memories of my family without going through the masses of pictures I have on my hard drive. Thanks for sharing them with me!

ON OCTOBER 2ND 2010.....

2010-11-19T14:58:00.000-06:00

SHANE TURNED 9 YEARS OLD!!

Yep, Shane is now 9.
Here are some things Shane likes:
Cereal: Crunch Berries
Dinner: Tacos
Video game: Halo 3 & Halo Reach
Netflix shows: Ant and Arvarik, Jackie Chan cartoon, Sand Lot
Friends: Gavin, Trey,Tyler Walsh,Allen,Adam,Logan,Mathew,Mitchell
Restaurant: Buffalo Wild Wings
School Subject: Math
Games: Pokemon, chess, rubber band fights
Outdoor activity: Ripstick, pin pong, ladder, 5, chase game, night games(7 steps), trampoline
Kwik Trip w/ grandma: Mega Buddy

WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH AND ARE SO HAPPY THAT GOD LET US BE YOUR PARENTS!!

OCTOBER 13, 2010......

2010-11-19T14:53:00.000-06:00

TYLER TURNED 12!

Wow, time goes by so fast. I can't believe my firstborn just turned 12. Next year he will be a teenage. Justin and I couldn't have asked for a better firstborn. Tyler is a very good and very bright kid. He's definitely a leader and not a follower. Here is some of what Tyler likes this past year:
Cereal: Lucky Charms
Dinner: Tacos, Pizza
Restaurant: Buffalo Wild Wings, Famous Dave's
Games: Pokemon, chess, Justin's phone games
Video games: Halo 3 & Reach, Monster Hunter
Books: Kingdom's Dawn series, Percy Jackson series, 39 Clues series, Fire Star series, Halo

Jonah moving

2010-11-10T20:36:00.000-06:00

Jonah is offically on the move!! Yes my friends he can get himself anywhere he wants on the livingroom floor, bed or wherever. He rolls around both ways and he has started scooting on his tummy. It is so cute, he looks like a little catapillar. I have yet to capure it on video but as soon as I do I will post it. I think he is the youngest of all my kiddos to start "scooting" at 4.5 months.

2010-11-10T20:22:00.001-06:00

Jonah's 4 month birthday October 22, 2010

I know he is already 4.5 months, but, I thought that these 4 months pictures were worth posting!

Halloween candy

2010-11-04T17:40:00.000-05:00

Anyone want any Halloween candy???? We have WAY too much. I think we will be donating some to Noodles this Sunday and getting the kids a FREE kids menu noodle bowl.

Jonah's three months old

2010-09-29T22:17:00.001-05:00

I can't believe that Jonah is already 3 months old. Actually he is 3 months and 1.5 weeks. He is such a good boy!!!!!! He sleeps GREAT at night. He has sleeps a min. of 5 hour stretches but usually much longer than that and not waking more than to eat for 11 hours or so. I remember having to wake him to eat when he was a wee little one. Now that he is a little older he is awake a lot more during the day with about 3 naps, a long 2 hour nap or so, and then a couple shorter ones. He is almost always a happy. If I set him down on his back or in his bouncer he will just kick his feet, smile and make little cooing sounds. He still fits most of his 0-3 month clothes and is still in size1-2 diapers. As far as his measurements I'm not sure how much he weighs but I do know that he is a lot different than the other K-B kids as far as weight. All of the other K-B kids were a lot chubbier than Jonah. There's a poem a friend from my small group wrote about her son and it is exactly how I feel, so I asked her if I could share it here:

Until I met you.

There was a time when I thought our family was complete.

I thought I was right. Until I met you.
I used to think I had it all figured out.
I thought I was right. Until I met you.
Once I thought my life was as full of joy as it could possibly get.
I thought I was right. Until I met you.
At one point, I thought I was stretched to my limit, with nothing more to give.
I thought I was right. Until I met you.
I used to say that I was fine with having just four children.
I thought I was right. Until I met you.
I used to think my heart held as much love as it could possibly hold.
I thought I was right. Until I met you. I am so glad I met you, Baby Jonah. You fill Mama’s heart in ways I would have never thought.

2010-09-22T20:52:00.000-05:00

On the way over to Wisconsin, we stopped at this gas station that had a Veteran Memorial. It was pretty cool! The K-B kids got to climb on the tank and go inside the turret.

Grandpa Dan's Land

2010-09-21T21:52:00.000-05:00

Recently, we journeyed over to my dad's cabin in Wisconsin. We always have such a good time there. Here are some photos that we captured while we were there:

Learn 2 Ride

2010-09-21T07:55:00.000-05:00

Justin and I recently bought James a Learn 2 Ride bike for finally being completely potty trained. I wanted to share how cool of a concept it is. First, it's a two wheel bike so he thinks he is just like his big siblings. Second, the bike has no petals. It is meant to teach balance. Here is James riding his new bike:

Buster

2010-08-31T08:33:00.001-05:00

Here's Buster.......

Our new puppy!

Vacation

2010-08-29T22:33:00.001-05:00

We recently went on vacation up to Breezy Point/Pequot Lakes area with my Mom, Pat, Michael and part of the time Erika.
I think the kids liked swimming the most.. They spent at least a couple hours a day in the pools and lake. Here are ~~some~~ a lot of pictures from our trip:

Here we are in Nisswa. This is a special town for me. My family used to come up here all the time to visit my grandparents and hang out with my aunties, uncles and cousins.

The kids thought this was totally cool, we had a hot tub right in our condo!

Here we are in the hot tub that was right in our condo

Vanessa and Grandma

James

Here we were out in the middle of a huge lake on an island. We named it goat island because their are two goats that live there in the summer months.

We all loved feeding the goats on "goat island"

Tyler on the boat we rented

Grandpa and Vanessa

Here is Shane when he jumped out in the middle of the lake

Here I am with Jonah

Burger King Rap

2010-08-28T12:21:00.000-05:00

Tyler and Shane love making up raps. Here is their favorite one that they made with a neighbor friend Tyler:

Here is the same song only Shane is in this one also:

More random summer photos

2010-08-14T15:43:00.000-05:00

You gotta love summer photos! They are the best!

Baby steps day #7

2010-08-12T23:12:00.000-05:00

*Day #6 update: My "hot spot" is a counter in the corner of my kitchen. It is a place in our house where stuff just seems to always pile up.


It went from this........

to this!

And, it has been kept perfectly clean now for three days!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Remember, these are baby steps here, baby steps.

Baby step #7

Okay, this is another easy one. I already have my clothes that I will be wearing tomorrow. We are actually leaving for vacation tomorrow, so, I have tomorrow's clothes out and all the rest packed away in a suitcase.

Moby Wrap

2010-08-11T22:59:00.000-05:00

I have 5 kids and have not used a baby sling/wrap type carrier until now. I occasionally used a Baby Bjorn with Vanessa and James, but, that is very different from the wraps. A friend suggested a Moby Wrap when was pregnant with Jonah. I ended up getting one shortly after he was born and I LOVE it! It is so simple. it's basically a very long piece of fabric. I like it because it just seems like he is so snug and comfortable. His feet don't just dangle out the bottom like they would in a Bjorn style carrier. I can block the sun from his eyes easily if we are outside which is nice. Their are a lot of different ways to carry your baby with it. Here is baby Jonah in the Moby:

Jonah update

2010-08-10T22:51:00.001-05:00

Jonah is already 1.5 months old. He is a very good baby. He still sleeps quite a bit. At night he will usually sleep a 4-5 hour stretch waking only to eat and then going back down for another few hours. He has started smiling which is super cute and he likes to suck on his thumb which is a first for any of the K-B kids. I think he is somewhere around 11 pounds.

Baby steps day #6

2010-08-09T22:46:00.000-05:00

I took a little break from the baby step plan over the weekend and today. But, I hope to get back on track for tomorrow with day #6.

You can read what a hot spot is here.

baby steps days 4 & 5

2010-08-05T23:11:00.000-05:00

Day #3- Done.

Day #4-

This sounds like a pretty easy step also. I love writing things down. FYI~ If you click on the note, it will take you to the fly lady's web page for that day.

Day #5

Camp QFM 2010

2010-08-05T22:46:00.000-05:00

The past three nights we our church has has what you might call a family vacation bible school (vbs). We call it Camp QFM. It's awesome! Their was a lot of singing and dancing, crafts, dinner, fellowship, and a skit each night. Here are some pictures:

James tie dying his shirt

These are some of the girls in our Sunday school class!

Vanessa, Tyler & Shane

Baby steps day #3

2010-08-03T23:11:00.000-05:00

Day #2 Well...I did take a shower, brush my hair, and put on my cool new tie die shirt I made last night at Camp QFM, does that count?

Day #3 I like this day. It should be easy! Clean the sink again!!

Baby steps day #2

2010-08-02T22:59:00.000-05:00

Day #1- DONE, here is my shinny sink:

Day #2- This one will be hard. Since I just had a baby 6 weeks ago.......

Beginner baby steps

2010-08-01T23:25:00.002-05:00

For those that know me know that I am not a very should we say organized person. In other words my house is messy, my van is messy.... Mess really doesn't bother me. I've always had a messy room growing up, a messy house with one, two,three, etc. children so it's not just that I have kids or whatever. I think it's just me. I know it's not a good example for my kids. And I'm sure my husband would enjoy a clean organized house. So, I am starting a program that I happen to stumble across while doing something else to help change my messy habits. Have you ever heard of The Fly Lady? She has a website for people like myself to learn how to change messy house habits, declutter, get a hold on the laundry and many other things. I have decided to take her beginner baby steps challenge. Day 1 starts tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes!

Vanessa lost her 1st tooth

2010-07-31T23:47:00.001-05:00

It's funny because Shane just lost his first tooth last year at 7 and Vanessa is only 5 losing her first.

Vanessa before she lost her tooth

Vanessa after she lost her tooth

She was so excited! Her tooth had Been wiggly for awhile now. We were at the last day of swim lessons. She was biting on her towel and out fell her tooth. She couldn't wait to tell EVERYBODY!

Random summer photos

2010-07-31T23:36:00.000-05:00

I love the long skinny arms of a newborn!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Jonah

Vanessa and her buddy Dan

Here is this years interesting insect (remember last years?)

Tyler, James, Vanessa & Shane in the hot tub

My dad gave me a Topsy Turvy® planter for my birthday. I didn't really think it would work, but I guess it does.

This was a beautiful sunset the other night. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't do it justice.

I also LOVE the little newborn rolls!

LOVE IT! James loves his little brother.

Tyler in the sprinkler

This picture of a moose was taken at the MN zoo. I thought it was a good one!

Justin and Shane were blessed with tickets to a Twins game at the new field. Here is a shot of them before the game.

Little miss Vanessa

James and Vanessa on the slip n' slide

My kids have had a ton of fun on the trampoline this summer. They put the sprinkler under and jump.

Vanessa and Shane and Tyler on the gulf cart

1st pictures with all 5 K-B kids

2010-07-10T19:52:00.001-05:00

I tried to take a few pictures of my kiddos this afternoon. Let me tell ya that it is harder than you think to try to get 5 children to all smile at once for a picture. Here are some of the "bloopers":

This one I think is one of the only ones that turned out good:

Here it is in color:

I'm not sure which one I like better b&w or color.

Baby Jonah's birth story

2010-07-07T18:20:00.010-05:00

Jonah is 2 weeks and 1 day old today. I haven't had a chance to until now to blog about him and share some photos. So, where do I start? Jonah was born June 22 at 11:07am. I woke up that morning with very mild contractions. I told Justin he should probably stay home from work just in case. I also called my mom to tell her that today might be the day and she should come over to our house instead of going to work. She arrived at our house somewhere around 8 something. We were still packing our bags and getting things ready to go. I called the nurse and she told us we should head in to the hospital right away. That really surprised me because my contractions were still 5 min. apart and they were not to painful yet. Shortly after that we were on our way down to Methodist Hospital in Saint Louis Park. So, that took at least 35-40 min. By the time we arrived at the hospital my contractions were getting worse. I had been using a really cool free contraction counter/timer app for the i phone. By the time we got up to the baby/birth floor I guess they figured I was so experienced or something that they didn't have to check me or anything for admitting they just took me right to the delivery room. By the time the nurse hooked me up to the monitor it was 10am. That's about the time the contractions started getting really bad. That's also when she checked me for the first time. I was already 8cm dilated. I was told that if they were to break by water now the baby would probably be able to start pushing right away. I don't think I was mentally prepared for that yet so I declined. About 30 min. later they ended up breaking my water anyway and then he was born a little over a half hour later at 8 pounds 15 ounces and a little over 22 inches long. By the time of discharge he was down to 8 pounds 6 ounces. Even that was big for me. All of my other babies were all within 2 ounces of 8 pounds. We named him Jonah (meaning man of peace) and Tobias(meaning God is good) Kittelson-Burke. Here are a few of the first pictures of Jonah:

hot tub

2010-06-16T06:54:00.006-05:00

A friend of mine gave us this hot tub last fall. We just recently got around to actually hooking it up. We are still temporarily testing it out to see if it's something we would like to keep or not. So far we are having a great time in it!

baby update

2010-06-15T22:31:00.002-05:00

Still no baby. Actually, my due date has changed a bit from the 12th to the 17th of June. It's kind of a long story. Basically, I have had three ultrasounds during my pregnancy two with an EDD of 6/12 and one with a EDD of 6/17. Since the EDD 6/17 was the first one they are sticking with that due date. So who knows it might still be a few more days.

James in the water

2010-06-04T13:42:00.008-05:00

I just thought these pictures are so cute of James.

Memorial Day Weekend the second time around

2010-06-01T23:18:00.010-05:00

Memorial Day weekend marks the 1 year anniversary of this blog. I don't always update regularly of have much to say, but, let me tell you that it is really cool to be able to look back a year ago and see little snip-its of our family. Here is the K-B's a year ago: Memorial Day Weekend 2009, James seems so little here, Shane just lost his first tooth.

We had another great Memorial Day weekend this year! We got a lot of cleaning done, had friends over for a bonfire, hung out at Jimmy and Margie's, and enjoyed the extra day to just hang out.

9 months pregnant

2010-06-01T22:49:00.008-05:00

I thought I would post a few 9 month belly shots before the new baby comes. Their are 11 days left until my due date.

2010-05-14T00:04:00.009-05:00

Recently, I had the opportunity to review an eBook that is made available by The Old Schoolhouse They have a new I when I Grow Up I Want To Be..... series.

This eBook was great for my family and my kids’ ages extend beyond the recommended 4-10, my eldest is 11 and he enjoyed listening and learning at the same time. My kids really enjoyed learning and discussing the history of firefighters. My 8 year old also enjoyed it and I think appreciated the fact there are pictures for him as he is more or a visual type learner. The worksheets add a nice touch as I didn’t need to think of questions for them or come up with a something on my own. My 2 and 5 year old sat with us coloring the coloring sheets that came along with the download. Another nice touch is that there is a definition call out for the harder words at the bottom of the page. Some of the pages have hyperlinks on them for additional information if you want to dig a little deeper or get another picture of what they are talking about. At 30+ pages of reading it isn’t like we needed to break this up between 2 sessions and I don’t think it was long enough to put them to sleep.

This download only takes a minute at most and you get everything with it, you don’t have to supplement anything as it has items like coloring sheets, a word find, handwriting, copy work, memory verse, math, American Sign Language, science activities and a Quiz. We only did a few of them, but it was nice to have all of the options. They also supply you with the answer sheets to all of the worksheets.

If I would have to list out the pros and cons I would have to say:

Pros-
· Easy to download, you don’t have to wait for it in the mail

· Very complete as in giving your child an idea about the career of a firefighter (what a typical day looks like, about the firehouse, history of firefighting, their salary, and even about fire dogs)

· Fairly inexpensive right around $9.00. That gets you the complete book plus the works sheets and other suggested activities (I know a lot of other places will make you buy the book and activities separately)

· There are definitions at the bottom of each page for the harder words and that

· You can get even more out of the book through the hyperlinks throughout the text.

Cons-
· Even though it is a pretty inexpensive purchase, it did only take us about a day to go through it. So with that being said this is a program that I would not incorporate into our day more than once every 2 weeks or it would start to get a bit expensive.

All in all I think that Old Schoolhouse did a nice job with this new series of eBooks! Here is a link to their site if you would like to get a copy for yourself http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=191_275&products_id=10533 .

One more thing I forgot to add is that they have a bunch more careers in the I Want To Be… series, some of them include farmer, doctor, chef, pilot and many more .

Other offers from this vendor are the complete series of The When I Grow Up, I Want to Be. This series is a fun, interactive way to help you guide your children to better understand the world around them and learn about the many professions that people are involved in and love.
The exceptional WannaBe Series™ E-Books are NOT typical “kids” books! You’ll find no fluff here! What you will find is an excellent, complete unit study perfect for multi-ages, one that the whole family will be excited to dig into!
4-10 Age range

2010-05-09T21:48:00.005-05:00

Huge sale

2010-04-26T23:06:00.004-05:00

I wanted to let any moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, etc.... about an upcoming kids consignment sale in Maple Grove this week. Just Between Friends is a great way to buy quality children and maternity clothes and equipment. They have so many things there. Check out their website to see for yourself to see what it's all about http://twincities.jbfsale.com/ .

Spring

2010-04-21T22:03:00.012-05:00

I know I'm a little late with "spring" but we have just been so busy and outside all the time that there is no time to be on the computer anymore. Well, here are some snippets of our spring:

Justin & Vanessa at grandpa Dan's on the day before her 5th birthday
Vanessa Rose Kittelson-Burke
James and Vanessa at grandpa Dan's
Vanessa playing base ball
Grandpa and Grandma with Vanessa at French park
Vanessa and James on the Chevy truck
Tyler riding the Doddle Bug. The boys new toy!

Vanessa up in a tree at grandmas house
James on his horse
Justin and James on the Doddle Bug
James coloring Easter eggs.
Vanessa coloring eggs
James on the tramp with a static hair
Nana bunny on Easter
Here is almost all the "cousins"
grandpa Pat. James and Erika

K-B kids!!

Here we have the three boys before haircutsJames getting a haircut K-B boys after their haircuts!

Our Princess

2010-04-21T21:38:00.002-05:00

Vanessa recently turned 5. Time has gone by way too fast. This year we celebrated her birthday by staying the night at a hotel (we finally used a gift certificate we've had) the Friday before her birthday. Then on Saturday, we took a trip to the Mall Of America to visit the American Girl Doll store. Vanessa has been wanting to go there for a long time. She had $60 saved up to spend on what she thought before she got there it was for a bed for her doll. But, of course when she got in the store she wanted a doll. So we put our money together and she walked out with a new American Girl Doll for her birthday. Then off to grandpa Dan's for more birthday celebrations! We had a BBQ over there and she opened some presents. Finally, on Sunday which was her actual birthday, we started the day by going to church, then we met up with grandma and grandpa for lunch a Don Pablo's. After that we headed over to French park then over to grandma's for cupcakes.

Random pictures

2010-03-06T00:41:00.004-06:00

Here are my lovely children in 1 of 2 huge boxes that had been sitting in my living room for almost 2 weeks. If you want to keep your kids busy on a cold winter day, get them a big box. They colored them, made forts out of them, cut doors in them, did school work in them, rolled around it them, just to name a few things.One of the first 34 degree weather days we had Shane and Vanessa couldn't wait to go outside and have a picnic. I don't know, personally I would like to wait until at least 50 degrees.

Here is our or should I say Tyler's cat Tikaboo. I know the picture is a little washed out ( I don't do any photo editing).
And last but not least this is the fire we had a few days ago to burn up some of the cardboard we had stored up from this winter. The kids really enjoyed the winter (almost spring) bonfire.

Wedding

2010-03-06T00:28:00.004-06:00

Justin was the best man in a wedding a few weeks ago. Guess who's? His dad's. His dad married his long lost high school sweetheart. It's really a long story, but here are a few pictures of the day:

Tim and Nancy Justin and his dad Justin, Tim and Joe (Justin's brother)

Mini vacation

2010-03-05T23:41:00.008-06:00

This past weekend we were dog sitting for my aunt and uncle. To us it was more like a mini vacation. They left us a big warm clean house, lot's of yummy food to eat, tons of snow to play in and 2 wonderful doggies to play with. Check it out for yourself:

Shane went out snowboarding I would say at least 6 times.

It's kind of hard to see, but Vanessa wrote her name in the snow.

I love this one! Now, if they could just be like this ALL the time!

Tyler hanging out in the snow!

Shane hanging out in the snow!

Here is Tyler up in a tree on an island in the middle of a frozen pond!!

Vanessa had a great time sledding!

Here is "Girlie" she is a very nice mellow doggie.

Here we have the ferocious one.
Okay, I am just kidding. This is Teddy. Teddy is a very friendly and beautiful dog. In the last picture she was just yawning. I just thought it was a good/funny picture.

Valentine's Day carnival

2010-03-05T23:36:00.003-06:00

Baby update

2010-02-04T19:38:00.008-06:00

I apologize for the long wait. Finally, here is a picture of our baby BOY!! Vanessa remains the princess of the Kittelson-Burke family.

Pokemon champs!

2010-01-18T14:37:00.006-06:00

Tyler, Shane and even Justin have been very involved in the Pokemon card game. We have mini Pokemon tournaments at our house on a regular basis. They also have been going to Pokemon organized play for about 6 months or so now. That is where you meet with other kids/adults that also enjoy playing the card game. Tyler is the twin cities Halloween champion! For his win he was given a trophy, a few booster packs, a game and a couple other goodies! Fast forward a months or two and Shane takes 1st place in the Saint Paul City Championships. For that he was given a metal, 18 booster packs ($50 value), a playing mat, and a few other "goodies". For Justin, he hasn't taken first prize yet, but, he gets a chance to spend some good quality time with the boys.

I forgot one other thing, all three boys made it on the front page of the local Monticello Times newspaper. I'm not sure if the article is also online on not, I'll have to check.

Girl or Boy ???

2010-01-18T14:03:00.003-06:00

Any guesses? I had an ultrasound today. We are so thankful that the babe is growing like it should and everything seems pretty normal. We did end up finding out the sex of the baby. I think I will share that maybe on my next post. We haven't told the kids or anything yet so we should probably do that first.

Project Life

2010-01-12T11:52:00.006-06:00

I finally got Project Life in the mail today!! I have been wanting this for over a year now. Last year they ran out of them. Basically, Project Life gives you everything you need to scrapbook a year worth of memories. The kit gives you everything you need to take a photo a day and journal about it for 365 days. Mine came in the mail about a week ago and let me tell you I think it is worth the $39.00. Project Life is also coming out with a digital version. Check it out Project Life

2009-12-23T09:48:00.003-06:00

Here are a few pictures from our Annual trip to Jan's Tree Farm. Every year we journey out to Jan's to cut out tree down. They have a huge variety of tree's, a playground, hay stacks to jump around on, a fire pit, many Christmas scenes for taking pictures, a gift shop with a HUGE tree all decorated and Jan and her staff are all super friendly.

#5

2009-12-22T20:47:00.003-06:00

Yup. We are expecting #5. I have been sick the last several weeks. That's why I haven't posted any updates in awhile. I will write more soon.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-07T22:26:00.008-06:00

I know, I have another delayed post, but, here are some snaps of Halloween this year.

1st day of school photo

2009-10-28T06:37:00.005-05:00

I know this post is long overdue, but, I thought I would post it anyway It's better than posting it in March right? So, I'm sure everyone knows that the Kittelson-Burke kids are homeschooled. Every year I take a photo of them around the 1st day of school.

Tyler's birthday

2009-10-12T06:39:00.006-05:00

Update: Tyler's birthday is actually on the 13th of the month. I'm not sure why it posted on the 12th. Maybe because I started the post on the 12th but didn't post until the 13th.

Today we celebrated Tyler's 11th birthday. I think he had a really good day. When he woke up he recived a big hug from his mom. After that he got to open some gifts. Not too long after that Grandpa Dan made the journey out to our house to see Tyler on his birthday. Then, Tyler opened some more gifts and had some donuts that Grandpa Dan brought out! After that his Grandma Kathy stopped out to take Tyler out to lunch and shopping to pick out his own gifts (a tradition both boys look forward to every year). Grandma also let's him pick out his own birthday card (which he also loves doing). Not too long after grandma left, the neighbor kids got off school and came over to hang out with him on his birthday! They also stayed for birthday cake. Next, Justin brought Tyler home Cold Stone Creamery and a Pokemon Tin. So he was very thankful for that. Next, we treated Tyler to dinner at Applebee's (where he got a free dessert). Last but not least we picked up a movie from Redbox and they are now finishing off the night with Monsters vs. Aliens.

Happy birthday Tyler!!! We love you very much!!

Painting pumpkins from our garden

2009-10-10T09:04:00.004-05:00

Although the pumpkins in our garden pretty much took over everything else, we managed to get quite a few that the KB kids painted the other day.

Apple orchard

2009-10-10T07:22:00.015-05:00

Thursday we took a trip to the Fall Harvest Orchard in Delano. Which is not just any ordinary apple orchard. They also have:
1. A pumpkin patch (great for taking photos)
2. Many farm animals (all the way from chicks to pigs to peacocks)
3. An educational tractor ride (you get to stop along the way and pick a gourd and some popcorn etc..)
4. A store full of apples and many other goodies
5. Three big area's of shelled corn for kids to play in

Grandpa Dan's land

2009-10-09T08:07:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we journeyed over to Wisconsin for our annual trip to my dad's land. Although it was a bit overcast and chilly we had a great time!

A beautiful sunset

2009-10-09T07:52:00.004-05:00

I was driving home the other night and saw this beautiful sunset. I happen to have my camera with me so, I pulled over and snapped this picture:

The last of summer :(

2009-10-09T07:18:00.008-05:00

It's hard to imagine that just a few short weeks ago it was warm enough to have a water fight. Here are some pictures of a visit form Erika:

Happy Birthday Shane!!!!!!

2009-10-02T20:31:00.006-05:00

Shane is 8 years old today! I just can't believe how fast time really fly's by. It seems like just yesterday we were sitting in the hospital with our 2nd Kittelson-Burke boy trying to think of what we were going to name him. Thankfully, our wonderful Aunt Susan helped us out in that department. When she called to congratulate us on our newest edition, we told her that he did not have a name yet. So she got on her computer and searched baby names. After quite awhile of her suggesting names she finally said how about Shane. Justin and I both thought that was a good name. So Shane it was!! And what a blessing he has been to us these last eight years.

Bella

2009-09-12T23:00:00.002-05:00

Last week we were dog sitting this amazing dog named Bella. This dog was born to be a hunter. Anytime she would go outside or for a walk she would have her nose to the ground sniffing out rabbits or squirrels or birds. It was funny that she would not bark at people when they would walk by our house. But when a flock of Geese would fly over she would go crazy. Another thing about Bella which I find amazing is that she does not beg for table food or for that matter even try to eat it if the ground. She loves to go on walks well, I should say fast runs or bike rides. Her current owner is thinking that she might be too much for there family right now. We would love to take her however, I think if she lived with us she would seriously EAT our cat Tika. Here are a couple snaps of Vanessa and Shane loving on Bella:

A day at grandpa and grandma's

2009-09-10T14:03:00.008-05:00

A couple weeks ago my dad came out to our house and picked up Tyler & Shane for a ride in the 1937 Ford. I met them down at his house a bit later with Vanessa and James. Justin was working at the fair that day. I took a few pictures from our trip down to the good old SLP.

Here is my dad's street rod. Although if you have an LCD monitor the color just does not seem right on the car.

What a nice big brother Shane is to give james a ride on the tricycle!

This is the park that is right up the street from my dad's house

Last here is a picture of part of my dad's back yard. (I don't really know why I am posting a picture of it )I guess maybe because he just took down his deck and did all of this new landscaping.

Interesting bugs from our yard

2009-09-06T21:48:00.005-05:00

New job part 2

2009-09-06T21:33:00.006-05:00

We have had a busy 2 weeks. I think I had mentioned before that I had a new job. Well, I have actually quit my job already. Technically my last day is the 18th of September so I guess I'm not done yet. I like the job and it is pretty easy and all of that, but, it was just taking too much of my time from my family. Not only was it the time I am actually away from home but also the day after I am so tired from staying up so late that I am so tired the following day to be able to get everything I need to get done.

Garden part 2

2009-08-20T07:54:00.005-05:00

Okay, so many of you know that we planted our first garden this year. Click Here to see a photo of the garden just after everything was planted. Fast forward a couple months and this is what you get:
Although it appears that the garden is a doing great......the pumpkins have over taken everything, the tomatoes have nothing to hold them up and there are weeds everywhere.

With that being said the kids and I have really been enjoying going to the garden to pick and eat OUR own vegetables. Shane is especially amazed by how those tiny little seeds grew into such yummy vegetables! He is known to come in with handfuls of beans at a time.

2009-08-19T22:51:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we had a friend over that we haven't seen in years. Jacee is a friend of ours from Saint Louis Park. It was a lot of fun to spend the evening with her and her family! We also met at the beach the next day for some more fun. Here are some pictures of our families together:

Vanessa Rose

2009-08-19T22:40:00.000-05:00

I just love these pictures of my only girl.

Papa's 85th birthday

2009-08-19T22:26:00.000-05:00

This picture has been long over due. Here is a family photo of the extended family. I think everyone is here except Peter, Erin, Devin, and Jaden. (Sorry the picture quality is not so good. It looks a lot better if you click on the picture to enlarge it)

New job

2009-08-19T22:21:00.000-05:00

For all of you who haven't heard, I started a new job. I am cleaning some local businesses.

2009-08-11T06:39:00.000-05:00

My mom has been taking my three oldest kids to do something fun once a week. The first week they went to an outdoor water park. Last week they went to the movie theater to see Ice Age 3D. I think this week all of us are going to Valley Fair or the Wright County fair. So, thank you mom for loving on my kids!

Camp QFM

2009-08-08T10:10:00.000-05:00

This past week our church had Camp QFM at a local park in Monticello. Three evenings families gathered together for 2 hours of dinner, drama, music, crafts, games and fellowship.