Kaydree and Kenna's Hoedown Throwdown

Courtesy of Hannah Montana! They worked on it all weekend for Karsyn's Birthday presentation dance. Kaydree has perfected it a lot since this video. She will put it on her blog soon! Watch Grandma and Grandpa jam out and Uncle Spencer smiling in the background.

Karsyn's Spring Musical

Last Tuesday Night, we attended Karsyn's Preschool Spring Musical. I am a little sad that she will be leaving Mt. Olive School to attend Kindergarten, however I am glad we will get to have our next little one attend this fabulous school!

Emma Lambert, Karsyn's little friend from our church, also attends Mt. Olive and they were so excited to see each other. Her sister, Kathryn, and Kaydree hung out during the show.As you can see on the side of this picture, Kaydree was digging the cookies afterward. Karsyn's friend, Elizabeth gave her a singing Birthday card and went to play at the park with us afterward. Not, a good idea, to have them play in new tights, shoes and pretty dresses!

SO HERE IS THE FUNNY PART! WE THINK KARSYN MAY HAVE BEEN STRATEGICALLY PLACED IN THE FRONT WITH 5 LITTLE BOYS. IT IS FUNNY TO WATCH HOW SHE TRIES TO STAY FOCUSED WITH ALL THE CHAOS!

You have to watch!

Actually, Karsyn loves playing with some of these boys at the gym. Their mom's also workout at similar times as I do, so Karsyn has fun running around with them!

So Much to Blog....So Little Energy!

I have so much to blog and Benjy finally requested that I blog...telling me that he misses checking it throughout the day. In fact he has also informed me that he enjoys the comment section and that he would prefer that I leave it on.We got to take a quick 6 hour drive each way trip to Thief River Falls for Karsyn's Birthday. Benjy had a deposition up there so the whole family got to cash in on an over night...Karsyn was so excited about turning 5 in a hotel! I have multiple things to blog for her Birthday but we have two celebrations yet to come, one this weekend in Iowa with Grandpa, Grandma and Iowa Kochs and then her little friend party...

We got to stop at our Beloved ZORBAS in Detroit Lakes on our way home. Here Kaydree is demonstrating the size of the Macho Nachozzzzz again! They are fabulous!

Zuch a fun little place...very reasonable pricez and huge portionz. They replace all the s's with z's.

Karsyn pointing to a Zorbaz plate and somehow a Nevada Gambler one????
The girls talked Benjy into a nest last night since we won't be home for Family Fun Night tonight...when I woke up they were sleeping like this...in fact....still sleeping like this. Funny how when they went to bed it was, "Mom...Karsyn won't move over, Mom Kaydree is taking the blankets.." So to wake and see this and have the picture to prove it, when they wake up...just cracks me up! They would not be in this position knowingly! It was such a sweet moment! Moments that make you love what's right in front of you, right now!

Benjy told me he looks at our girls and has these "moments" where he realizes that they are growing up way toooooo fast. They aren't little babies anymore! But here is our newest baby Villarreal...

I had an appointment on Tuesday and the doctor said, "Are you sure about your dates? Either you are off or you could be carrying twins!" Talk about panic. I didn't sleep Tuesday night and the ultrasound was at 9:10AM Wednesday morning. We are happy to share that there is only one baby in there....in fact Benjy asked the ultrasound technician, "Are you sure there isn't another one hiding underneath of this one?" Twins....would have been really really bad for me. I have a hard enough time as is...holding one baby in long enough to fully cook, two would have been really pushing the envelope!

It was so neat, the tears just welled in my eyes while we were able to see that little heart beating and then be able to see it pumping blood into our tiny little baby! Benjy said he kept thinking about it and smiling all day! My due date has not changed. I guess I am just measuring large...surprise... surprise... I kept telling Benjy nothing fits already!

Elder's Activity

The Anoka Ward Elder's Quorum put on a 72 hour kit Activity last night. We were suppose to be at a family/friend wedding down in the Marshall area, however Benjy and his counselors had this activity planned and the Seaman family move yesterday morning, so we couldn't make the wedding. Althought we were sad to have missed it, we had a great day, yesterday. As Benjy put it, "It just warms my heart to have such great support from the Anoka Ward Elders and their families!"

Nicole's husband, Travis, is one of the counselors and he had drill for the Marines this weekend so Nicole was a trooper and presented their 72 hour kit. We all got a chuckle when Benjy said, "Yeah, Travis is in the military so he has MRE's and hand grenades and stuff in his bag!" Nicole popped back with, "Yeah, so watch out, I have explosives and all kinds of stuff in here!"

On display were also the Seaman's Kits and as Benjy put it, the Cadillac of 72 hour kits, The Ritschels. It was amazing and we got some great ideas!

It was neat to be able to interact with people that I don't get to see very often, being tucked back
in the primary on Sundays.

Mike Hobbs is another counselor, I didn't get a picture of his power point presentation because the lights were off but he did a great presentation on possible catastrophes and how to be prepared.

Then we had a mock Emergency drill on putting together a kit in a couple of minutes. The goal was to mix people up into different families and have them scramble to gather different items. Hopefully to make a point that you don't want to wait until the last minute to put together your kits!

Benjy, Myself and Nicole didn't play because we set the activity up. I have to say that we got some great laughs watching the chaos. Some of the children really did start to panic a little when they got separated from their team and didn't know where to go or what to do. Some of the adults were getting a little frustrated and started to develop strategies to cope. It was really neat to watch.

It was fun to see the children getting into the presentations and activity. Karsyn was all fired up all the way home about "70 hour kits" as she calls them. The Seamans even came after two very long days of moving. They came with smiles but I am sure they were exhausted!

The Daileys seemed to enjoy themselves. Anna and John got in a little teasing when he thought his team reported first to only find out from Anna that his team had forgotten their batteries from the freezer for their flashlight! Hee Hee! The Woodward's baby girl, Ava, was due last week and yet they came... maybe in hope of all the activity kicking things into gear!

It really is amazing to see the Elders of the Anoka Ward supporting each other in moves and in activities that help bring us all together! We know it was a busy weekend and we missed those that were already busy with other plans. It was fun seeing Benjy smiling from ear to ear and really enjoying his calling!

Easter Weekend

Last Wednesday the girls and I went back for an early weekend after my parents brought us up a new (used) dryer. Thanks, Mom and Dad! On Thursday we went into town to have lunch with my Grandma. My Aunt Karen and Uncle Doug met us and at the last minute I called my friend, Becky. She was a trooper and left work on a minutes notice to enjoy some pizza with us. It was so nice to be back in Marshall. I just loved it, there is something about being there that brings me so much peace. I always say this, "Life just seems to slow down and people enjoy visiting for hours!"
It was so beautiful all weekend that the whole family spent the majority of the days outside, well, except for my napping times, which Benjy says was 50% of the weekend. It was great!!!!! My Dad, Steve and Benjy ripped out some bushes and burned them. The rocks got so hot that Benjy fried one of Grandpa's chicken eggs on them.

Then they went out back and started another fire. We smelled like we had been camping all weekend, but we had the luxuries of the house!

Kaydree, Karsyn and Sydney spent the weekend outside whittling sticks? I don't know? It occupied their time.

We went to the Easter Egg Hunt at the Lake Shetek State Park. They hid over 2500 eggs.

Is that the Easter Bunny or Bugs Bunny?

By the time it was all finished Karsyn had participated in 5 egg hunts, finishing up yesterday at the Church Playgroup! Just what we need...more candy!
The girls with their cousins waiting for Grandpa to start them off for the outside hunt! We have started the tradition of doing the Resurrection Eggs lessons before coloring eggs. It was so sweet and tender listening to the kids talk about the atonement and the last week of the Savior's life.
My Grandma, Two Aunts and Two Uncles and a cousin spent Easter Day with us. Although it was a nice crowd, we missed Spencer, Emily, Noah, Kenna, Nick and the Villarreal Family!

Side Note: Went to the doctor yesterday...it's official...I am pregnant and my numbers look good! Due date: December 2nd. The doctor would like to take the baby no later than 36 weeks for fear of increased risk of rupture, however with extra prayers and a determined attitude I am hoping to make it at least until 38 weeks the longer the better! A Thanksgiving baby would be okay, but a December Baby, even better! I want this baby to cook as long as possible!

Blessings Beyond Belief.

As most of you know, Kaydree and Karsyn were both born by C-sections at 36 weeks after months of bed rest due to preterm labor. For some unknown reason I have a thin uterine wall and a lot of scar tissue from c-sections. Which makes is difficult for me to carry a baby and difficult for the doctors to get to the baby via a c-section.
We were told by 3 doctors that we should consider not having anymore children. In fact we were told that we shouldn't. For three years we accepted this advice. We started the foster to adopt program a little over a year ago and didn't feel like it was the right road for us for numerous reasons, mainly the timing of it.
We then began fasting, praying and pondering about having another baby. I received 3 Priesthood blessings, one from Pres. Holt, Bishop Delong and B. Moss in trying to make the right decision. After attending the temple, fasting and much prayer we found a doctor who looked at my chart and said, "We can get you through it." After much more contemplation and prayer we both felt really good about trying to bring another child into our family and decided to leave it up to the Lord.
After months of trying, ovulation tests, numerous pregnancy tests, we took a little break while we went to Florida and debated on seeking fertility help. Benjy just wanted a couple of months to get "in shape" so that his blood work would be stellar!;-)

Funny how things work...when we stopped trying.....Much to our surprise we are happy to announce that we are ecstatic about the little spirit that will be joining our family. Baby number three is on its way! I got the best birthday present ever!
We are so grateful for the thoughts and prayers that have already been sent our way!

Karsyn and Kaydree's General Conference Notes.

I thought these were so cute. Love my new scanner! The girls sat really well through 3 out of the 4 sessions and slept through most of the 4th. For the record I only missed the statistical report on the Saturday afternoon session. ;-) I always come away from General Conference feeling refreshed and uplifted. I love hearing the Prophet of the Lord speak to us. The virtual walk through the temple in relation to our homes was very touching, especially since I was able to go to the temple on Thursday while Karsyn was at school. I loved the scripture shared because it was our Primary Scripture last month....

“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” (D&C 88:119).

We also had some yummy treats today...Audrey called us right before the morning session and said, "do you want some homemade cinnamon rolls?" We went right over and snatched some up. Benjy ate three and we went back with the Welkers tonight for another one. I feel bad, Tyler doesn't get to take any to work now because we ate just about all of them. They are sooooo good. I think she should post the recipe or sell them or something! Thanks....Audrey and Ty for sharing!

It was an amazingly nice, relaxing weekend filled with the Spirit of the Lord.

Interesting Pets.

My brother Spencer was always bringing home interesting pets. Snakes, birds, turtles, lizards, raccoons and many other animals that I just can't remember right now. In searching for pictures to scan, I came across these of Reba and Ranger our pet raccoons. Spencer I believe found them hunting or something? My uncle Doug usually had Raccoons around as pets so we were use to feeding them and seeing them.

These pictures were taken the day Becky and I got back from our Senior trip to Colorado. Becky drove really fast to get home because I was really sick with strep throat. Fever... bad! Thanks Becky... sorry Bob and Mary, she was trying to get me back to the doctor! ;-)

When Reba and Ranger were small they were so fun and cute. They would take their little paws and wash their food and play with your hands. They would climb ladders and chase a sprinkler that went round and round.

As they got older...they got mean. We had to take them out to a farm. At least that is the story I want to believe! I guess it was fun while it lasted but we had to say goodbye! :-(

Playing With My New Scanner! High School Pictures.

I am still trying to figure out how to scan a single picture and crop it or blow it up to it's original size. Hee Hee....I am having fun scanning everything! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Beware you never know what fun old pictures will creep up on my blog or facebook NOW! ;-)

Where Is My Comment Section?

I have been thinking lately about the best way to utilize my time. It is true that it doesn't take more than 10-15 usually for me to post on our blog. I started this blog for the purpose of record keeping, journaling, a history of our families: thoughts, blessings, struggles, activities and fun things to share. I have enjoyed getting feedback and comments from supporters: however I find myself coming back to the computer to check for comments and then I might check my email or facebook. That is where I find that my time is not well spent. So for now and as I have a new focus.... I am making the most of my time because these days...I find time to be a precious commodity and something I just don't want to just slip away from me.

Thoughts of the week:
If you want good friends....you have to be a good friend.

You can't give something only in expecting to get something back.

The ones that love us most are the ones that love us just the way we are.

If you want to be loved, you need to love.

The more you forget about yourself and focus on others...the happier you will be:
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. Mattew: 10:39

Birthday Fun!

Benjy gave me the best presents ever! He got off work early and took the girls and I out to Granite City Grill, my favorite place, now! Thanks Em and Spenc! Then he let me shop at Trader Joe's even though he considers it wayyyy to tree huggerish for him. On the way home he said, "Do you want to go shopping for some clothes for your Birthday?" I thought about it, it was 6:45PM and all of the sudden I remembered it was dollar night at Cheap Skate! Hee Hee. I knew he wouldn't turn me down on my Birthday! He moved his Elder's meeting to Wednesday night so he could spend time with me on my birthday.....since this is how I decided to spend my time on my Birthday, we started texting and calling people to go skating! Benjy and I are very spontaneous people most of the time or we just lack the planning to plan in advance. We are glad that we have friends that just pick up and decide to come on a minutes notice! Honestly, I wish we would have called even more people because it was really fun. Now that Benjy is hooked, don't be surprised if your phone rings at the last minute on a Tuesday night!

When we got there. Debbie Lou was there with her Grandson, Jacob. She even watched the girls for us so Benjy and I could get in a couple's skate! Thanks, Debbie Lou! Karsyn made tremendous gains last night after much help from everyone. We voted for most improved and it went to her and Brianna!
She went from needing a hand to..

holding the wall and by the end of the night she was skating without a hand to hold or the wall!

The girls watching the adult skate! I just love the music, they play a variety of music for the young and the old! I can't decided which one I am???? Even at the rink I am by far no where near the oldest!
Benjy was a little reluctant to go but now he says it is well worth the $8. He said he laughed so hard his stomach hurt.

Kaydree has become a Roller Skating Queen! She is so fun to watch. Her face just gets bright red, next time...we all will wear T-shirts! It does get hot in there!

I think it is safe to say that as a family we have all decided we will visit Cheap Skate again! Kaydree's smile, says it all!

I think most everyone enjoyed themselves. A couple of blisters and a couple of falls....otherwise I think we had fun!

On the way home Audrey called and said she had made me something...

Isn't it cute! It is a little carrier for my camera. It was a little too small, so Audrey said, "Use it for your Ipod and I'll make you a larger one for your camera! Score! Thanks Audrey...Kaydree wants to know why I can't be as creative and make things like Audrey. I said, "Who needs to, when you have friends like Audrey!" ;-) Thanks Audrey!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to everyone who called, texted, facebooked, sent cards, made a pouch for me, organized a lunch and went skating at the last minute! You all made my turning 34 so fun and painless! Benjy kept asking if I felt older and I just kept thinking it was such a fun day that I forgot that I turned another year older!