We've moved!!

After 4 years of renting, while trying to find a small farm, with a house that was big enough for all of us, but in our price range, we've finally found it. The house is a little smaller than we really wanted but it will do for now, and hopefully we can build an addition in the future, when we are bursting at the seams. We have been extremely busy, renovating and moving (who decided to pack up a house and 4 toddlers right before Christmas?) for the past month. It has been very stressful but worth it. We have enjoyed our "new" place very much, so far. The house was built in 1923 and a kitchen was added on in 1950. So it definitely isn't new, but has a lot of charm. I personally love old houses. Lance needed some convincing, but I think he feels the same as I do, now. It just feels good to say this is our house.

It comes with 11 acres that has a nice tree grove, and several outbuildings, including a barn. It's exactly what we've been looking for. Here are some photos. Some were taken from the real estate listing on the Internet. That's why there is green grass and trees. I took some pictures after we did our remodeling also.This is the view from the street, or the front of the house. There is a nice big porch that we plan to use for a playroom, once we get it emptied of all our stuff. Right now it has all our unpacked boxes that we haven't had time to put away. I hate to even look in there. For the time being, I'll pretend it doesn't exist.This is the back of the house. There is an entry into the kitchen and one going down to the unfinished basement. It has a nice big gravel yard to park all our vehicles, plus there is an unattached double garage.This is the barn. We plan to fence in the cattle yard again, and add a few animals. Just enough for the kids to play with.This is the before picture of the kitchen. I haven't included the after yet because it looked way too cluttered. I can't seem to keep up with the kids at the moment. As soon as I put something away, they take it right back out. Since I doubt it will ever get any easier, I may never get an after picture posted. Your welcome to stop by and see it for yourself. Just, please, pretend to not notice the clutter. We have a nice big kitchen, which is good because we couldn't fit our dining set in the dining room. So it became an extended living room.Here is the before picture of the living room. I painted the living and dining room a mossy green. It looks really nice with the woodwork.Here are 2 after pictures of the living room. I plan to paint the wall going up the stairs when I get a chance. We need to find a ladder to reach the top of the wall, near the ceiling, on the stairs. I have a roller extension but can't reach to finish it up.This is the before picture of our bedroom. It's pretty small but fits our bed and a dresser, so it will do for now. We plan to build a master suite on the main floor eventually.Here is the after. I still need to put up curtains. Ashlyn insisted on posing for all the pictures.Here is our tiny closet. My mom helped me put up the shelf and hanging rod.Here is the before picture of the bathroom. We took off the shower doors, put in a new toilet, linoleum, and a vanity. We also installed our washer and dryer in here, instead of putting it in the basement.Here is the after picture. Once again to avoid posting photos of all our unpacked, cluttered mess, I only showed a small portion of the bathroom.
Here is the before picture of the dining room.Here is the after. Notice Ashlyn in the chair. If you are wondering why there are no toys on the floor, it's because I kicked them into the living room just before I snapped the photo. The babies were taking a nap.Here is another view of the living room, going into the kitchen. Yes, we put our Christmas tree in the playpen.

Ok, babies are clinging to my legs and screaming so I better end this post here.

Happy 1st Birthday!!

To my beloved babies:

~Being your mother for this past year, has been the most challenging/rewarding experience of my life, and I only expect it to get better/worse. Thank you for smiling when I am most impatient and teaching me that the most beautiful rainbow can come after the worst rain storm. I wish you all the love and happiness in the world. Happy birthday!!

PS ~ This photo was taken last night by Kampen Photography and I have their permission to post it. They did a wonderful job and I can't wait to send out the Christmas photos.

Has it been a year already?

I can't believe it has been since Aug. 3rd that I have posted. I guess I have been busy being a mom to 4 very active children. Brooke and Ryan are both walking now with Gaby not far behind. They are getting in to everything. It's been fun but I'll be happy when the colds and teething take a little time off.

We are so excited and shocked that the babies birthday is 3 weeks away. I thought Ashlyn's first year went quickly. In honor of this special occasion we are throwing a party for anyone who would like to come. We are having an open house type celebration on Sunday, Nov. 11, from 2-4 pm at the Corona community center. Everyone is welcome. We are serving cake and ice cream. I plan to put it in the paper also but wanted to give you all a heads up. We are not sending invitations because we want to invite everyone but don't want to send out 350 invitations. We hope to see you there.

I wanted to remember the highlights of this year, so here is a year in review.

Help Wanted.

Since the 4 to 2 ratio of babies to adults has increased our work load tremendously, we've enlisted in some paid help. Her ad said "Will work for Oreos" so we just couldn't pass up the opportunity.She actually did this all by herself...............and bunny must have been satisfied, we didn't hear a peep out of her.These are some photos of the girls in the pool. Gaby loves it the most, she splashes up a storm and likes to be on her belly and swim. Ryan also got to swim but since we only had the pink bikini he went skinny dipping. I think I have given him enough ammunition for future therapy without posting photos of his bare butt.So instead here is my little boy standing. Who taught him to do that, already, anyway?As you can see, Brooke is almost baring her butt (and other things) also. The suit is one Ashlyn wore last year and a bit too big for either of the girls.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I mailed out photo's just like the one in the right corner (family photo in the hammock) to everyone on our Christmas list, yesterday. If you don't get one in the next couple of weeks, we probably don't have your address. If you would like one please get your address to us and I'll try to get it to you as soon as I can. Since it took me almost 3 months to send these you might get it by Christmas.

You gonna eat that?

Oh the joys of learning to self feed!! I seem to be the only one with enough patience to allow the babies to start experimenting with food. I'll admit it does take a lot of extra work but I am looking at the big picture here. The sooner they can eat by themselves the sooner I can eat my own meal, by myself, without having to feed someone else.
I've learned a few tricks along the way. One is that the bath tub is the easiest place to wash 3 highchair trays at once. The second is to strip the babies before giving them something messy. Especially if I plan to bathe them anyway. The babies love the teething biscuits but they are a rare treat. I think you can see why.
This is Brooke eating cheerios without making the slightest mess.

This is Brooke with mashed potatoes in her ear.Ryan's first taste of chocolate chip cookie. It's one of the food groups, right?If only I could find a way to bathe the babies and wash the dishes all together.I couldn't get a picture of Brooke in the ducky bathtub. Sorry Brooke, I'll do it next time. She was trying so hard to stand up in it that I couldn't reach for my camera.If you think bathing is fun, check out the after party. They are all getting lots of hair. Brooke even had her first hair cut. I'll post pictures of it soon. Ryan has been standing without assistance now, for a few seconds. He practices all the time. Gaby is crawling pretty good now and has started pulling up onto her knees at furniture.

Thank you.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all those who have helped make our lives easier. First of all, I'd like to thank my mom. In my last post, when I said it was a typical day in our house, I neglected to mention my mom is usually there helping me. She actually quit her job, once the babies were born, to come and help me. Without her, I would either have nothing but gray hair, or none at all. I would probably have sold the kids on EBay by now. I would also like to thank my dad for being Grandpa and for all the times he's been there for us.

Thank you to the rest of my siblings and their families. Rick, Miriam, Bennett, and Elisabeth, for all the times they've come to play with the kids. Cory, for emotional support over the phone and keeping us in his prayers. Brenden, Heather, Josh, and Nathan for also playing with the kids. Patrick, Jamie, and Abigail for sending a big box of diapers when the babies were born and for working on our van (Ashlyn still talks about Abigail since she was last here for a visit). Sarah, Dave, Morgan, Nicholas, and Kayla for all the playtime with the kids.

Thank you to Vicky and Raymond for being Grandma and Grandpa. Vicky has spent many hours babysitting, cooking, and cleaning for us and Raymond comes along most times to help hold the babies. The kids always get excited when they see them.

Thank you to Lance's siblings and their families. Marcie, Ed, Lorranda, David, Austin, Tyler, Dillon, Sarah, and Ellie for all the babysitting and clothes for the kids. Kelly, Donna, Keeran, and Jack for the gifts they've given the kids. Rita for babysitting and for the gifts she's given (we still owe you a thank you card for the Dora book and cute jeans you sent to Ashlyn, she loves them).

Thank you to the secret diaper gnomes from Duluth, MN. They have been sending us money and coupons for diapers since the babies were born. It has been very much appreciated. Diapers ain't cheap.

Thank you to Lance's extended family for everything they've done. Mike and Mary Koski for all the baby furniture and kids toys they've donated. Mike and Jill Koski for the huge supply of diapers, tons of toys, jogger stroller, tricycle and there is probably more that I can't think of right now. Brian and Dolora Musech for outfitting our children in camo (makes daddy so proud) and for the big box of rechargeable batteries and charger. Also, thanks Brian for making sure Lance still makes time for hunting (though it's been hard to let him go, he does need a little time off). Scott, Annette, Sam, Chris, Thomas, and Carly Allen for babysitting (they even spent the night to take care of our 3 newborns). Mary Chapin, Linda Roberts, and Ellen Hudson for all the bargain garage sale finds. Roger and Debbie Anderson and their daughter Tina, for all the clothes and baby items they donated. Jean and Howard Quade for all the babysitting and things you've done for us. Dene for the never ending supply of clothes and all the baby furniture (our kids would be naked most of the time if it weren't for you).

Thank you to my extended family for everything they've done for us. I have so many Aunts, Uncles, and cousins that have helped us out. Also, while growing up, I loved spending time with my grandma, Verla Miller, and now I get to see my kids spending time with her, and they love her too.

Thank you to our many friends and family for being our support and for thinking of us. You've made our lives a lot easier and so much more fun.

Thank you to all the medical staff that helped to bring our children into this world (and have done their best to keep us sane). Dr. Peter Reynen and the staff at Milbank Medical Center and Milbank Area Hospital, Dr. Kevin Benson and the staff at Prairie Lakes Hospital, Dr. Jeffery Boyle and the staff at Sanford, and especially Dr. Keith Hansen and his staff for helping us get pregnant in the first place. You may notice I created a link to his site (Sanford Women's Health) for anyone looking for help with infertility. He and his staff are wonderful.

I'm sure there are people I've forgotten. If you don't see your name, please don't feel unappreciated. It's 10:30 pm and my brain is getting tired.