March Madness

6 weeks old!

Still in love!

Visit from Grandpa & Grandma Warta...after a desperate plea of "HELP!".

Spring Open House-

Thank you Aunt Kate, Grandpa & Nana for coming!

God is faithful!

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Philipians 4:13

My sweet Hailey reminded me the other day in a card she gave to me of God's promise to all of us. She surprised me by tucking away a 'Thank You' card in the napkin holder after I had a hard day. Her words of encouragement reminded me that God will never give me more than I can handle. I am so thankful to my children for their constant encouragement to me lately as times have been really tough. Let's just say, the past 5 weeks have been less than perfect. In spite of it all, we have learned many valuable lessons and are learning to smile through the good and the bad. We are stronger today because of what we have endured. Here is a re-cap of what our life has looked like. As I write to you this morning, I can't help but laugh.

-Repetitive visits to the Pediatrician's office for bilirubin testing, a rash, colds & ear infections resulting in more than $200.00 in co-pays.

-Kids home sick from school. (Thank you Nana Warta for taking kids to & from school and replenishing our sweets.) (Thank you Susie for bringing the kids home from school on a last minute plea.)

-A head cold that raged through our home infecting everyone except Daddy and lasting 2-4 weeks.

-A painful breast infection resulting in fever, chills, low milk supply and an episode of a 'black-out' due to a high fever. (Thank you Kristin, Michele & Destiny for bringing me food, flowers & breast feeding supplements.)

-Brian was accepted onto the A.T.R. team (Advanced Technical Rescue Team) and continues to head up the TEMS Team with the Yuba City SWAT Team.

-The new 48/96 hr. work schedule is still taking some adjusting.

-Keagan is wrapping up the season of Upward Basketball. (Thank you to the Morrison family for transporting Keagan to practice.)

-Baseball season is in full swing at our house. (Thank you Applegarth's & Ahler's for bringing Keagan home from practice.)

-Hailey is heavy into her State Report.

-Keagan and Hailey participated in their school Speech Meet.

-Keagan is constructing a Swiss Family Robinson Tree House and Hailey is constructing a State Float. Both are due on March 15. (Thank you Aunt Kate for taking Hailey shopping for supplies, giving her so many great ideas and filling her 'love tank'.) (Thank you Grandpa & Grandma Penterman for taking time out of your evening to entertain Bethany, make dinner and assist Keagan with his project.)

-The weeds and pasture grass are loving all this rain but it doesn't seem to let up enough to keep the mowing under control. At times the property looks like a jungle!

-Sleep is hard to come by.

-Brian's mastered the task of running ALL our family's errands. (Thank you so much Brian! You're the best!)

-The dogs are exceptionally hi-per from the lack of physical activity. Most of the time, they are kennelled because we can't trust that they aren't going to cause raucous around the neighborhood due to their lack of attention.

-The cat is just being right down obnoxious!

-The goats made a speedy recovery from pneumonia after a shot of penicillin.

-Taxes were filed and school registration for 2010/2011 completed.

-A home owners claim was filed on our newly constructed shed which was damaged from high winds in a recent storm. All the while Brian was recovery from a minor surgery. (Thanks Tim for leaving work to come secure what building we had left!)

A very special thanks to Tim & Casey for lining out meals and helping out with Bethany. You guys mean the world to us! We find encouragement in knowing that we're not alone in raising our kiddoes.

A great big 'THANK YOU' to the following families for cooking us dinners: Kizer's, Finch's,

Roger's, Geyer's, and to Tim & Casey for providing us with 5 meals & a couple batches of cookies.

Thank you Amber and Jennifer for diligently checking in on us and always listening to me with an open heart.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, this I know to be true!

Kelden is 1 month!

Kelden is 5 1/2 weeks old already. Although life has been insanely crazy since his birth the time has gone by way too fast! The kids are always commenting on how big Kelden is getting. We would all love to keep him this size for just a little bit longer.

Daddy gets the most laughs from Kelden's serious demeanor and "30 year old man" expressions. Kelden is pretty easy going when all his needs are met. He loves to snuggle and enjoys constant, yet gentle swaying. Kelden's favorite time of the day is bath time. His awake time seems to be between 2:00-5:00 p.m. This can also be his cranky time when he would prefer to be held. All in all he is a joyous addition to our family.

I have decided to take as many of his milestone photos myself to keep the cost down & for time management. I will post them each month as well as send them to all of you via Snapfish/Walgreens. Here are Kelden's 1 Month photos. Enjoy!

I'm getting bigger!

Sister says that I am getting bigger. I am three weeks old now. Mommy says that I am almost one month old. I think she is a little bit sad about that. I have a GREAT family who loves me very, very much! I can't wait to meet all of you!

Love,

Kelden

One Adventureous Weekend

The kids had a four day weekend in honor of President's Day, daddy was off and it was Valentine's Day. Definitely reason enough to celebrate! Our weekend consisted of a picnic lunch at the park (Our first 'family outing' with Kelden), a silly string war, bicycling, and building a potato canon. What more could a child ask for?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is my most loved holiday! I love the color red and I absolutely love anything with hearts! My kids know this about me, so when I asked them to take our annual Valentine photo, they obliged. Thanks guys! You're troopers!

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

ALL OUR LOVE & XOXO,

BRIAN & ANGELA

HAILEY, KEAGAN, BETHANY & KELDEN

Our Valentine Babes!

Just chillin'.

Pucker up.

Sleepytime.

A Birthday Weekened

In the same week, we welcomed into our family little Kelden and celebrated Hailey's 11th Birthday! Caring for an infant and nurturing the needs of a pre-teen can sometimes make your head spin. However, I consider it pure joy to be their mother and to share in all their milestones.

Hailey,
You continue to amaze Daddy and I with your level of maturity and your insight into life. You pour your heart and your soul into everything you do. You are a hard worker and a diligent student. Your love for life radiates through your smile. You are a blessing to us all! We love and appreciate EVERYTHING about you! Happy Birthday, Hailey-Bug. Your are our forever Sunshine!

Much Love,

xoxox

Dad & Mom

Hailey had 2 friends, Ashley & Jessica overnight on Friday. The girls enjoyed making hair ribbons before heading off to their Cheer performance at F.C.H.S.

Auntie Kate assisted again this year with the cheer clinic.

Hailey just LOVES her time with Kate!

Back home for a quick ice cream sundae before bedtime.

Pete broke Hailey's banana at lunchtime so Ashley thought it would be quite fitting to wrap one up in Hailey's present. These two crazy girls!

American Eagle already! Our little girl is growing up!

Brian took Hailey, Ashley & Jessica to a snow park in Immigrant Gap on Saturday. Everyone was up by 6:45 a.m. and ready to leave by 7:30 a.m. Brian swung them into the doughnut shop on the way for a little breakfast. It was not the ideal weather conditions for a day in the snow, but Brian said that nothing was going to slow this group of girls down; especially Hailey. She was like the energizer bunny! The 4 of them did A LOT of fast sledding, built a snow cave and made several hilarious "survival" videos under Producer Brian. They made it back into Yuba City by 4:30 p.m. where I met up with them for dinner at In-Out Burger. The girls were delivered safely to their homes by 6:00p.m. well fed, but absolutely exhausted.

On Sunday, we had family over to enjoy an early dinner and ice cream sundaes. Thanks to everyones help we survived the night and Hailey had a GREAT birthday!