So much catching up to do...

OK, so I said I would try to update this blog a little more regularly.  Hmmf!

I don't know that ANYTHING has been "normal" for a very long time. 

But, we continue to press on with our daily lives.

I know I can't update on everything, but for starters, we have moved.

I don't remember if I mentioned that in the last post, but we listed our house in May and had an offer on it 10 days later.  We then began house hunting in Indiana and found a house that we all liked.  We didn't get possession of it until September 1, so it has been a loooooong summer of transition.  

Though we have boxes on boxes on boxes... we are starting to settle in.  

Here are some pictures from the summer.

 Safety first!

We spent a LOT of time in the car, traveling back and forth 

between PA and IN (with trips to IA and MI in there too).

Before we moved we spent as much time as we could with our friends.

 Picking dandelions

 These are for you.

 The kids set up their own farmer's market.

 We celebrated Isaac's 4th birthday with friends.

 We played with our speech therapist and friend, Gail.

 Gail even got into our "rocket" with us.

 We had picnics with dear friends.

 Decorated cookies together.

Took pictures of the fish, just in case they didn't survive the move.

Jennai was using a little refrigerator magnet as her camera.

She kept saying "Cheese, fish!"

Thankfully, the two fish that we brought, are fine and happy.

Then it was time to load up the car and head out.

It was a hard day for Guille and me, but we knew

we'd see our friends again... because we had left

a BUNCH of stuff at their house!

 July 4th weekend Isaac and Jennai met 

Gramma, Grampa and some of their cousins

for the first time.  

 We got to spend an afternoon with our friends,

who were also moving... from the west coast to the east coast!

I don't suppose they left a bunch of stuff at a friend's house

saying they'd be back to get it before long.

 We got to spend some time with some of the 

"second" cousins while we were at Gramma & Grampa's house.

The "oldest" and "youngest" of the cousins.

 The boys were happy to pick up walnuts.

 And Guille had fun swinging from the walnut tree branches.

 All three had fun playing at the playground near Gramma & Grampa's house.

Jennai even climbed steps so she could go down the slide by herself.

I took a movie of her sliding down, but can't play it on the computer.

Hopefully I can figure it out soon. I know you'd enjoy watching it.

Not liking the feel of mulch on her legs, the desire to play 

in the mulch won out.  She had such a fun time.

Isaac had fun playing, climbing and sliding too.

 SWEET corn!  The farmer gave Guille his own special ear.

 Fishing with Grampa and learning how to bait the hook.

We didn't catch anything, but had fun trying.

After not catching any fish, Guille and Isaac decided 

that playing in the lake was more fun than watching 

a fishing pole that didn't catch anything.

Jennai kept Gramma and Grampa entertained 

while the boys played in the lake.

 We went on a hay ride while visiting some friends

in IA and both Guille and Isaac got to drive the tractor.

Of course, Ray was right there with them. 

 We picked fresh tomatoes at Gramma and Grampa's.

 I found an old baby blanket and showed the kids how to wrap up the babies.

They thought it was quite fun.  So, I wrapped up ALL of my babies.

We drove out to see a wind farm.  Those windmills are quite tall!

 We finally got to start moving in to our new house.

Grampa and Jennai checked the damper on the fireplace.

 On our trip back to PA to get more of our "junk",

we decided to celebrate Jennai's 3rd birthday with our friends.

 The first snow of the season fell the day before Jennai's birthday.

The boys built a snowman as Jennai watched from the kitchen window.

Happy birthday, princess!  

More to come... I promise.

Still here

No, we haven't dropped off the face of the Earth, even though it may seem that way to some of our blog-followers.  Things have just been incredibly busy!

Backing up to March, when I last posted.  Guille got a 2 day stomach virus where he just didn't have much energy and didn't want to eat anything.  A couple days later, Guillermo got it and a couple days later... I got it.  Or so I thought.  They didn't have a fever, I did.  I "functioned" for the next couple of days then at 2:30AM I woke Guillermo up and told him I was driving myself to the ER.  Guess my gallbladder didn't like me any more and wanted out.  But, due to other surgeries I have had it wasn't so simple.  I spent a week in the hospital (5 days of it before surgery, hoping the stone would pass).  Upon discharge, I told the doctor I needed to be able to take Jennai to her 3 day intensive therapy session in 2 weeks.  He approved that, so I worked on getting my strength back during that time.  Well, I didn't get THAT much energy back.  I took Jennai and she did SO well!  (More on that shortly)  When we got home I didn't have ANY energy.  I was so dehydrated that I couldn't function.  The church family brought meals, Michelle took care of the kids from morning til night, Guillermo had a week of Spring break (which didn't end up being any break for him!).  All in all, it was 6 weeks that I was out of it.  But, I'm back at it now!

Since recovery, we have been busy "de-cluttering" the house and getting ready to put it on the market.  We listed it last Friday and have had 2 visits so far.  Hopefully we get a good offer soon.  I tell you what though, I do NOT like the whole process!!  Guille was so anxious the day the first people looked at our house.  I guess he thought it was like going to the store and buying something.  So, he figured that if the people liked it we would have to move that day.  Poor boy!  He'll get the idea soon.

The kids have been keeping busy with being kids and bonding as siblings.  Jennai adores Guille, but screams every time he comes near her.  We're trying to break her of that!  Isaac and Guille spend lots of time playing together, whether outside or inside.  They generally get along very well.

Guille continues to work on his reading skills and amaze us with his math skills.

Isaac had his follow-up appointment for his surgery that he had back in February.  The word is "success"!! We are so thankful to God for that. His bladder is still a bit thick but that should get better with time.

Jennai is doing very well with her prostheses.  She has great balance and they were able to shorten her "foot" by an inch.  They hope to shorten it more as she proves she can balance with this length.  She is able to walk a lot better with the "feet" being shorter.  She's getting used to using a walker and will hopefully decide she can do that by herself one of these days.  I think that once she sees how independent she can be with it... she will be off and "running".

 Silliness

 Warm March day.  Good day for a picnic!

 STUCK!

 "Happy" Easter

Yep, Happy Easter!

 Have boots, ready to go!

 First picnic on the deck for the season.

 Roasting marshmallows

 And the best part... eating them!

 Fun in the backyard.

 Jumping together

 Sweetness

 Teamwork

 These flowers are for you!

 Showing off the new walker

 Happy 6th birthday, Guille!

 Just what he wanted.

Mini-marshmallow shooters

 Guille wanted to keep his party small this year

and just invite Elizabeth and her parents.

The reason... he wanted STEAK for supper.

Friends

 Fun

 Talk about a bad hair day!...

 Guess it COULD be worse.

 Big kids

 Strong man

 Coloring a picture while waiting for Guille.

We had a tree fall during a wind storm. 

Isaac got his first lesson in sweeping...

 and picking up sticks off the deck.

Well, blogger isn't letting me post any more pictures right now.  Or maybe it's the computer I'm using. Regardless, it's time for me to call it quits for tonight.  I WILL post more pictures and hopefully some video soon.