August Trip to the Farm

About the second week after Josh's surgery he wanted to go down to Illinois to visit his family and get the boy's mind off of the fact that they could not be rough with daddy. So, I packed us up and drove us down to Illinois. We got down there on Monday afternoon. Jacob was busting at the seems to be down there.
Tuesday morning we headed over to the farm. Ben was not real happy to be wearing boots...until he got to ride on the mini-tractor and gator. The boys had a blast driving around the farm in Uncle Ronnie's new toys. I never knew how exciting it could be for little boys to see cows and ride on tractors.
Wednesday morning we headed over to see Great Grandpa Toepfer. Great Grandpa had not been able to see Ben last time since he was sick. Ben was kind of sick again, but we hated to have Great Grandpa not see him again. Great Grandpa was kind of bummed not to see him last time. We were not sure how Ben would do since he had not seen him in a while and Ben is kind of shy at first. Ben warmed up to him quickly. Jacob and Benjamin were great with Great Grandpa Toepfer.
Wednesday evening we headed over to Great Grandma and Grandpa Schultz's house. Papa had a meeting for all the Ag Teachers in his district at their house. Nana and Alisha picked up pizza and brought it over to Great Grandma and Grandpa Schultz's house. It was fun to visit with Great Grandma and play with the tractors and stuffed animals that dance and make noises. Around bedtime we headed back to Nana and Papa's house. We thought Papa's meeting was all done. It was not quite done and Jacob ran out onto the deck and yelled "Papa, Papa" right in the middle of the meeting. Finally, we got him back in the house, bathed and ready for bed. He really had no idea, what he really did, he just wanted to see Papa.
Thursday, Grandma Schultz made a huge meal for lunch. We had canned meat, mashed potatoes, corn, fruit and salads. Then afterwards we helped husk corn for a little while before we took the boys back to Nana and Papa's for a nap. Jacob was thrilled to sit on the back of Great Grandpa Schultz's truck and husk corn. We brought back about 20 ears of corn that we husked at home here and I froze. Everytime we have corn, Jacob says, "I like the corn, I husked." Who knew husking corn could be so exciting.
Friday we headed back home, I wasn't feeling the best, Ben's cold was getting worse and Josh was not feeling to well either. It was the longest trip back from Illinois ever!!! Beside all the construction on I-90 and I-43. We ran into rain and an accident that had traffic backed up for miles on I-90. It was such a long trip we needed to stop in Beloit at Jacob's favorite restaurant to eat lunch. I was never so happy to get home.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jacob!!

On Sunday July 12th we celebrated Jacob's 3rd birthday with family and friends. It was a beautiful day. Josh and I had spent the previous day preparing, shopping, cleaning and making a humongous cake.

Of course our theme was John Deere Tractors. For the little boy who loves everything about tractors and farms. If he could live at Great Grandpa Schultz's farm he would. Yes, I know there is an International tractor on the cake, we are an equal opportunity player. I used 7 cake mixes and a huge 16" square pan to make the cake. My friends will tell you I love cake, but this one got a little out of control.

Jacob had a great day opening a ton of presents, transformers, Wall-E, baseball glove, basketball hoop, games and a couple new DVD's and books. He also received a certificate from Aunt Becky and Uncle Brian for a date out with them. A week or so after his birthday they took him to the Big Backyard, which is an indoor play yard. then they took him to his favorite restaurant for supper - McDonald's.

Josh's Surgery

Below are a few messages I sent out about Josh's surgery. I am trying to catch up on my blog.I

I sent this message the day after Josh's surgery.

Thank you all for your prayers!! Josh's surgery went well yesterday. They were able to do the surgery with robotic assistance. They were able to remove the whole cyst. Now we just need to wait a couple of days for the results from the pathologist and hopefully it is not cancer and we can get Josh back to himself. He had a rough night last night. He was in a lot of pain and could not sleep. They switched his pain medicines this morning, so hopefully this afternoon and tonight he can get some sleep. We took the boys to see him this morning. It was hard on Benjamin not to have daddy pick him up. Jacob did pretty well and sat by his bed.

My mom is planning to take the boys up to her house tomorrow afternoon and thru the weekend and will bring them back on Sunday. Hopefully, Josh will be able to come home tomorrow and with the boys at grandma and grandpa's it will give him a few more days to recover at home before we have to monitor them around daddy.

This message is from two days after the surgery.

Thank you all for your continued prayers!!

Last night Josh ended up having a high fever, up to 102.8. They did a bunch of blood work last night and the results came back everything looking fine. They also did a chest x-ray this morning and his lungs looked good and clear. They did give him some antibiotics this morning. They think he has an infection in his lungs. I can't remember the name Dr. Waples called it, but it sounds like it is common for people who have surgery.

This afternoon and this evening he walked quite a bit which is a great sign. Hopefully if his temperature stays down he can come home tomorrow early afternoon. We took Jacob and Ben to see him this morning before they left to go up to my parents house. He was glad to see them, but it really wore him out. So, we will see how things go once they come home on Sunday.

God has been very good and faithful to us. We are so thankful for His provisions! It was kind of scary last night with his increasing fever, but we cried out to the living God and he provided. I was reminded last night that sometimes in the midst of troubles it is easy to lose focus, especially when things seem like they are becoming hopeless. But then God reminded me, that he is there and all I have to do is call on Him. It is so easy, but sometimes we make it so difficult.

This is the last e-mail I sent on the day he came home from the hospital.

Josh came home around lunch time today. He is starting to feel a little more human. The doctor got the results from the pathologist report and the cyst was not cancerous. Praise the Lord. So now he just needs to rest, walk and heal. We are so thankful for all your prayers and continued prayers.

Now I am going to take a nap and enjoy the fact that I don't have to drive down to St. Luke's again this afternoon!!

Four weeks after Josh's surgery he returned back to work. Each day he felt he was feeling a little more human.

Surgery is scheduled & Thomas the Train

Last week Wednesday, Josh's surgery was scheduled for July 21st. Last Thursday night we went up to my parents house to spend the night. The next morning we left bright and early to see Thomas the Train at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay. Talk about the highlight of two little boys. They got to ride on Thomas first thing in the morning. Ben could not even sit still until Thomas started to move. He actually did much better than I had expected. Then we went thru the museum, they had wooden and plastic train sets set up. Ben even sat still for the lady to put a temporary tatoo on his arm. They both got Thomas tatoos. We went thru old trains in the museum, listened to Thomas stories, took a picture with Sir Topham Hat and did a craft. I think Ben even tried to tell us he was having a good time. He kept shaking his head yes and babbling. The boys slept all the way home. Grandma Pat and Grandpa Tom babysat so that Josh and I could go on a date night.
Saturday morning we came back to Waukesha to go out to eat with Uncle T.J. for his birthday.
Sunday morning Uncle Brian and Aunt Becky came to church with us and then came over for lunch. It was a beautiful day and we were able to eat out on the pourch.
Monday we went to Old World Wisconsin. On Mondays in June they have free days. I have never been there, so it was a new experience for all of us. We saw some sheep, ducklings and a horse. We went to the general store, blacksmith, church and school. Jacob and Ben had a great time. Ben toddled around like a big boy.

Update on Josh

Today was the follow-up appointment for Josh's scan. Josh I think felt he was kind of out of the woods. However, after the appointment this morning we are kind of at the same place we were at in October. The doctor had hoped to follow the tumor by doing MRI's, lowering the concern for the amount of radiation Josh would be receiving with all of the scans. Unfortunately, he is allergic to the gallium that they gave him during the MRI. We had talked about and given concern about the amount of radiation also. One of our friends that sells GE equipment also recommended another type of CT that has less radiation. However, the possibility of having scans every 6 months to a year for the next 5 years raises concerns on our end and Josh's doctors end.
The other options are to have the cyst removed surgically (either traditionally or with robotic assisted surgery). By having the surgery, we would know for sure if the cyst is cancerous or not. There is a small chance that it is the early stage of kidney cancer. The doctor is quite comfortable that he could do the surgery robotically even in the difficult location that it is in. This surgery would have a shorter hospital stay and recovery time.

May

May has been a difficult month in the Toepfer household. The boys have been sick, sick, sick. We did have a fun day celebrating Josh's birthday on the 7th of May. We went the zoo (without Josh, he had a meeting) then we met him at work for lunch. We had lasagna and cake for supper and then Josh had the following day off. I spent most of the day cleaning since Grandma Pat and Grandpa Tom were coming down to watch the boys swim. We cooked out for lunch and Uncle Tom came over. It was kind of an impromtu Mother's Day celebration. Uncle T.J. gave Grandma Pat his old laptop. What a nice mother's day present!! Especially since it has a video camera and we can skype with them and so they can see and talk to the boys and the boys can see and talk to them.
Besides that, the boys have been sick with ear infections, colds and I think Jacob has a sinus infection now. He has been very sick since this past Thursday. I was able to make it to the last mom-time of the year on Tuesday and then he got sick. I have been joking that I may need to got to pre-school next year to be sociallized. I feel like we do one thing and then someone gets sick and then the other brother get sick and we are stuck at home for weeks. Josh and I kind of feel like we are hermits. Thankfully today we both were able to go to church!! Different times, but we both made it. It was a very encouraging message on the myth that Everything happens for a Reason. It was a great message on how God allows things to happen in our lives even though it may not be what his desire for us is. We live in a sinful world where Satan is alive and at work and we have free will, therefore there is no gaurantee that good things will always happen to good people and that good will always come out of bad situtations.
This especially has hit home with the losses that Josh and I have gone thru. But also for a family we support for Campus Crusade for Christ. Their young son had a very promissing football career. However during the first game of his Freshman year he was hurt badly. He broke his ankle and had emergency surgery the following day. Things seemed to be healling nicely, but months later they found out that he had lost 90% of the cartilidge in his ankle. Weeks after finding out this information, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota had requested information on this young man. It was the first steps in the recruitment process. My heart goes out to this young man and to his family. As a mother of two young boys who are already crazy about sports, I can't imagine receiving this news. Unfortunately, on God can see the whole picture as to why this has all happened. But as a believer in Jesus we do have God promise Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." God wants the very best for his children, but there are things that he allows to happen that are not always what he desires for us. Sometimes they are the affects of our own sin, sometimes they are the affect of others sins and sometimes it is from the evil one. I think the question is, "How will I respond to this situation in my life." My hope is for this young man to seek the Lord of comfort and to be obediant to his will. I look forward to seeing how God will use this situation in this young man's life.

Sick once again...

Once again the Toepfer boys are sick. Last week was a busy week, we went to the Library, we met daddy for lunch a couple of days, we visited old friends at Ring & Du and we went to the zoo!! We had swim class on Saturday morning and since it was raining we took a quick trip to Rockford to see Nana, Papa and Alisha.
Friday afternoon Jacob looked like he had gotten sunburn. I was stumped because I had put suntan lotion on him. Well, what looked like sunburn turned into a rash. Then we thought he was allergic to the sunscreen. However the rash was not going away. Saturday late afternoon we called the pediatrician to see if we could give him Benedryl and how much. She said that it might not be a reaction to the sunscreen, it might be something viral or strep throat. I was still thinking it was a reaction to the sunscreen, however Sunday morning Ben woke up with a rash. The thing that confused Josh and I is that the rashes looked different. So we kept them home from church. Jacob was so bummed to miss Sunday school class. Then I decided not to go meet with some friends. One of our friends has cancer and we were hoping to catch up, however, I remember with my aunt how critical it is. So, not knowing exactly what was going on I decided not to go. Becky and Brian thankfully did take our dear friend some meals!!
So this morning I took both boys into the pediatrician, half thinking and hoping nothing was wrong and that it was just the reaction to the sunscreen. Unfortunately, they both had red and enlarged tonsils, congestion, rashes and Benjamin had 103.1 temperature Sunday evening and did not sleep through the night. The doctor did a strep test on both of them. The rapid test came back negative but she did sent it in for the two day test. So she said to treat them for a viral illness: warm fluids or really cold fluid, popscicles and motrin for the sore throats. So once again the Toepfer boys are ill. Hopefully their little bodies fight it fast and we can have healthy boys again. They really have to stop sharing their germs.

"Easter"
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life." John 3:16

We talked with Jacob about Easter and how Jesus died on the cross for our sins (the naughty things we do, like pushing our siblings, not listening to mom and dad, etc.), but on the third day God raised him from the dead. Jesus conquered death so that we can spend eternity with him if we accept the free gift of Grace that God has available for everyone.
In church Jacob kept pointing to the two cross's in church. Jacob said, "Jesus died on the cross." Yes, Jacob Jesus died on the cross, but on the third day, he rose again!! We reminded Jacob that Jesus is in Heaven with God. Jacob loves to sing "Jesus Loves Me". It is precious as a mother to hear a little child sing this song. We talk often of how Jesus loves us. My hope as a mother is that Jacob and Benjamin accept God's free gift of grace, so we can spend eternity with them. My prayers are for God to use them for his glory and honor. Josh and I are so blessed to be parents of these two little boys.

Computer Trouble

Oh yes, please forgive me for not updating the blog sooner on Josh. My laptop is out of commission for a while. It is being serviced by my wonderful I.T. person (a.k.a. Josh). Unfortunately it needs to be reconfigured. It was attacked by a nasty virus. Josh thinks he should work for the CIA so they can take out all those mean people who create computer virus's. Maybe once AutoCAD creates a Linux compatible application I can stick my tongue out at those virus creating people. I would rather not have my wonderful hubby working for the CIA, as cool as it would be, there are two little boys that need him at home. I need him home to, who would fix my computer when I have problems???? I can do many things, however, fixing computers is not one of them.

Update on Josh

Monday Josh called the doctor's office to find out the results from his tests. The doctor's secretary called him back an told him that there have been no changes since his last set of tests. However, the doctor still wanted him to come in for an appointment. He scheduled an appointment for June 1st, which was the earliest he could get in.
I thought I would feel relieved after this set of tests, however, I don't. I think part of it has to do with the appointment scheduled 6 weeks after the tests. So, we wait some more until the appointment.
Monday morning I also took Benjamin in to the pediatrician. He was inconsolable for almost half an hour after his bath. I had flashbacks back to his colic. I finally was able to have him take some Tylenol and he fell asleep for an hour before we took him in. The doctor said he had an ear infection in both ears and his eyes looked like they were getting pink eye. Hmmmm, Jacob had pink eye on Friday..... yeah, if only they did n0t share germs so much. If only they could share toys and not germs, we would be in a much better position.

Update on Josh

This morning Josh had his CT scan, X-ray and Ultrasound. He said that they did not tell him anything. We will have to wait until the doctor calls Josh to find out what the next steps will be. It was a very long morning and Josh wanted to spend some time with us. God knew we needed him at home today.
This morning Jacob woke up with pink eye. He also complained his ear hurt. So, after deciding whether or not to take him into the doctor again this week, I called and made an appointment for him with Dr. Esser our pediatrician. The appointment was not till early this afternoon, so I decided I could try and get some cleaning done this morning since Grandma Pat, Grandpa Tom and Uncle T.J. were coming to our house for Easter.
I was trying to clean the windows when Josh came home. Josh decided to eat breakfast and the boys had a snack with him. While I was cleaning one of the windows one of the screens was coming out of the track and Josh came over to look at it. Jacob had gotten down from his chair and went over by Benjamin. He grabbed the Windex spray bottle and proceeded to spray his little brother in the face with it. Ben was screaming, Jacob was laughing (He later said he thought it was water). We were steps away. I turned on the water, we grabbed Benjamin and doused him in the water for a couple of minutes, then we pulled him out to let him catch his breath. The poor little boy. I called poison control center immediately, they told us to put him in the shower for another 10 minutes to wash his eyes so that any chemical that could have gotten to the back of the eyes would be rinsed. So Josh took him into the bathroom and rinsed his eyes, it was the longest 10 minutes ever. Benjamin was such a trooper, he just kept looking like what just happened. He threw up and everything it was just awful. We got him out and warmed up, dressed him and just held him. After twenty minutes or so, he wanted to play with daddy and Jacob. The poison control center called back and asked how he was. I told them that he threw up and she said that was totally expected. She said to watch out for drainage or puss from his eye, but otherwise he should be fine.
Then we did lunch and Jacob and I headed to Dr. Esser's office to get him checked out. I told Dr. Esser about it and he said that he thought that Windex would be deluded enough that the amonia should not have damaged Ben's eyes. He is on call this weekend and told us to call with any problems. Jacob does have pink eye, but his ears look great. So, now he has some drops for his eyes to take care of the pink eye. I will not be washing or cleaning anything unless the boys are sleeping or gone. At least for some time.
We will update on Josh once the doctor contacts us. Thank you so much for your prayers!!

Quick trip to Grandma's house

Jacob wanted to go see Grandma on Wednesday morning. We knew that she had off and was going to be at church in the morning, but by the time we would get up there she would be home. However we needed to be back in time for supper so that Josh and I could go to our last Financial Peace class. So, we headed up, the weather was still a little chilly, but the sun was shining. Jacob pointed out the zoo, we ducked under bridges, he pointed out cows, trucks and farms. He told me I was going the wrong way to Grandma's house. Grandma and Grandpa go a different way. It is amazing how quickly he is becoming very independent.
Grandma was thrilled to see the boys. Benjamin kept giving her lots of hugs. He is such a sweet little boy. Unfortunately, we were not able to stay long enough see Grandpa Tom. We did get to see Uncle Andy and Jacob was glad to see him.
We made it home to grab supper and make it to church for our last Financial Peace University class.

Tuesday

What can I say for Tuesday 4/7/09. I was planning to have a somewhat uneventful Tuesday going to "Momtime" and taking Benjamin to his pediatric dentist appointment for his recent injuries from Sunday and Monday. However, while I was drying Jacob off after bath time I noticed a rash on his arm. I thought it might be ring worm, but it did not have a ring around it. I had a nasty ring worm infection I got on my head after I fell off the monkey bars in elementary school. So, in my mind picturing the horrible experience I had, I called the doctor to make sure it was not ring worm. Also, to make sure it was not contagious. So, we hung out at home for a bit before we took Jacob to his morning doctors appointment, with just enough time to meet Josh for a quick lunch and rush out to Hartland to make Benjamin's dentist appointment.
Ben had bitten Jacob almost a month ago and it was a pretty deep. Benjamin had broken through the skin and Jacob has a hard time leaving things alone. Needless to say, the doctor said, he didn't think it was ring worm since there was no outer ring. He did feel that it was impetigo though. He said that human bites are not as bad as animal bites, for example cat bites. However, if the skin was broken and Jacob rubbed at it with dirty hands, he probably infected it that way. So, he gave us some antibotic ointment and sent us on our way. He said if it didn't get better that it may be ring worm, but he highly doubted it.
Benjamin's appointment went well also. The dentist was great, he talked tractors with Jacob and kept trying to get Benjamin to smile. Benjamin did great and cried only a little bit. (Dr. Esser our pediatrician would be jealous, Ben screams bloody murder at his office). The dentist said that his tooth may turn gray, but it did not look like he cut off all of the blood supply to his loose tooth. He highly doubted that it would fall out and said he should be fine. Benjamin does have an underbite, so when he bites down he could injure it again and cause more bleeding. The injury was right at the gum line.
On our way home I stopped by Waukesha North High School to drop off the keys for Josh. It was kind of sad to officially add that chapter of his life. He really enjoyed coaching the girls. It is too bad it turned out the way that it did.

The Adventures of Jacob and Benjamin!!

Is it warm outside yet???









Are you sure it is not warm outside yet??








Ben in his favorite set of wheels!!! He just got all four first year molars within the last month. Yeah!!







I am finally caught up on my blog!! So, what adventures happened in the Toepfer home this weekend. It was the first swim class of the season on Saturday. Ben was a little nervous in the water, which kind of surprised us. He was a fish in the water last fall, plus he loves playing in the bathtub. The teacher said that he is at the age where kids form a fear of the water, it is totally normal and he should get better. Jacob was splishing and splashing away. Josh barely held on to him, he was doing pretty well on his own.
We took a quick trip to Walmart to pick up a few things and picked up Subway for lunch. As soon as we got home Jacob threw up. Josh mentioned he had swallowed quite a bit of pool water. O.K. not a huge deal, he has a sensitive gag reflex and throws up easily. I am not sure what we were thinking, but we let him eat lunch and then put him down for a nap. He kept telling Josh he was mad. I think actually his tummy hurt and he didn't feel good, but his tummy must hurt when he is mad also. After he woke up from his nap he threw up again. Since we were not sure if it was too much pool water or the flu we kind of confined ourselves home. We limited Jacob to fluids and soda crackers.
After chicken noodle soup for lunch on Sunday we thought things were getting better. Which they were for Jacob, but poor Benjamin has had a tramatic two days. Sunday after lunch Josh was holding his hands and he was walking with him. Benjamin let go and fell down. Josh didn't realize he had a Thomas the train whilstle in his mouth. Benjamin fell down, started screaming. Josh picked him up, I looked at him, and blood was starting to come out of his mouth. Finally we calmed him down and got the bleeding to stop. He injured the roof of his mouth just behind his top middle teeth. He fell asleep after being so upset and it was nap time. When he woke up he must have had some more bleeding. Josh kept saying he was fine, I am on the opposite extreme, so I called the pediatrician. Really I was ready to take him to at least the walk-in clinic. So, we compromised. She said he should be fine. It would take at least 5 days to heal, give him medicine for the pain, and try to give him soft foods. Did I mention Ben likes to eat... a lot. So, pretty much besides playing he was my sidekick all evening.
This morning I thought, he slept through the night, things are looking good. He ate breakfast fine, bananas and an eggo waffle (it was pretty soft). Then he played most of the morning and bugging his brother. We ate lunch, turkey, cheese, mandarine oranges, turkey, more eggo waffle, yougurt. Like I said he eats a lot. We were just about to go up for nap time and Bejamin fell by his little Fisher Price play tent. More screaming and more blood!!! So, I calmed him down and got the bleeding stopped. He bit his bottom lip this time and looked like he might have reinjured the top of his mouth again. One of his tooth seemed a tiny loose so I called the pediatrician again. The nurse recommened seeing our dentist or a pediatrician dentist. So, tomorrow we have an appointment with a pediatrician dentist. They said that there is not much that they can usually do, but it would be good to check the damaged tissues. Like I always say, there is never a dull moment in the Toepfer household. Especially with two young boys in the house!!

Benjamin and Jacob Making Snickerdoodles!!

Jacob's First Bowling Experience!!

The last weekend in March we planned a family day to go bowling. So we headed over to the AMF in Waukesha. We had a coupon for $0.99 games, yeah!! Jacob had a blast!! It was a little slow at first until they offered us a ramp. The first game took an hour, waiting for Jacob's balls to go all the way to the end!! The next two games went much faster. Jacob did pretty good for his first time bowling. Benjamin can't wait to be able to bowl, we just need to convince him that walking is better than crawling in public!!

Trip to Illinois

The third weekend in March we headed down to Illinois to visit Josh's family. We had hoped to have a big day on the farm and have Benjamin get his first tractor ride. Unfortunately, it was pretty chilly down there. Benjamin did get to walk around in the barn, watch the cows and tried to catch the tails of the kittens.
Sooooo... we headed into town to see Grandma Schultz. She was happy to see us. Benjamin was checking out her cupboards to see what fun things she had in there. Both of the boys played with the magnets on her refrigerator and the fun tractors she has at her house!!
Later that night Nana and Papa babysat so mommy and daddy could go on a date!! When we got back Jacob was not quite asleep and asked me if I was done with my date. Josh was not in the room, so he asked if daddy was still on his date?? I am not sure if he was trying to understand or if it was the fever talking. He was starting to feel pretty warm. He woke up that night crying. He was burning up and he woke up his brother also. Josh and I gave him some Tylenol and put a cold washcloth on his head. We finally got them both back to bed and Jacob woke up again. He had wet the bed :o(. So, at 4 a.m. I am trying to change bed sheets, trying to find a new mattress pad and get sheets on the bed without waking up everyone else up. Jacob was chatting away ready to wake everyone else up because he thought it was time to wake up. I finally got the bed changed and Jacob back in bed and he told me his ear was hurting and he wanted to keep the ouwa inside of his ear. Finally we all got back to sleep and slept in the longest we have ever slept in.
Jacob's temperature did break on Sunday morning, just in time to head back home.

Great Grandma Schneider's Birthday!

The first weekend in March we were up at Grandma Pat and Grandpa Tom's house. We went up to spend some time with them and bring Andy down to the airport again. Since we were up, we thought we could pop in for a gathering for Great Grandma Schneider's birthday. Once again, it snowed in Wisconsin!! Big surprise, the party was post-poned till the following Sunday. We decided to not come back on Sunday evening as planned and left early Monday morning to get Andy to the airport on time. This time however, there was a ton of ice that came before the snow and our truck was froze shut. At five o'clock in the morning we were scraping and heating the truck to get it open and cleaned off so we could get Andy to the airport!!
The following Sunday we did sneak up to see Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Schneider!! Thankfully we were able to do that!! The following weekend my grandmother was rushed to the hospital. She had heart trouble and they put a stint in and gave her tons of medicine and put her on oxygen. My grandfather has Alzheimers and is on quite a bit of medications also.

Happy 1st Birthday Ben-Ben!!!

Benjamin turned 1 on February 15th!! We celebrated his 1st birthday on Sunday February 15th at our house. Great Grandma Schultz, Great Grandpa Schultz, Grandma Pat, Grandma Tom, Nana, Papa, Uncle Tom, Aunt Alisha, Great Aunt Julie, Great Uncle Jeff, cousin Kim and cousin Ali joined us for the celebration. I took on the initiative to make his birthday cake. It took a while to decide what to do, but we decided to go with a farm theme.
Jacob and Benjamin went up to Grandma Pat and Grandpa Tom's house after the party. I was signed up to go to the Commercial Code Review in Madison, the following day I had a company wide engineering meeting also in Madison. On my way up to pick up Jacob and Benjamin, I stopped to see my grandparents. My grandmother had pneumonia and my grandfather has Alzheimer's. I was very glad to get to my parents house and see Jacob and Benjamin. Benjamin would not let me out of his sight. He had fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but he did miss mommy and daddy.
Benjamin started to take some steps just after his birthday. He still prefers to crawl, but slowly he walks more and more.
Benjamin, I love your smile. I love how you smile and blink your eyes when you know what your going to do is something you know you shouldn't. I love your curly hair that I never know what to do with. I love how you think that you can hide something behind your back and think I can't see it. I love your excitement for Molly. I love how you look up to Jacob and what to do what he does (most of the time). I love how excited you get when daddy gets home. I love your enthusiasm to play and wrestle. You love to eat and you couldn't wait to eat what everyone else was eating. You are a sweet little boy and I can't believe you are one. I feel like I blinked and you turned one. You are a gift from God and we are so thankful that God choose to bless us with you. We love you!!!

January - Financial Peace

In January, we made a difficult decision to step down from our ministries at Spring Creek Church. We love Spring Creek Church, but we were hoping to find a church were we could connect with people who lived in our area. Since January we have been attending Fox River Christian Church, which is just down the road from our house. Josh had participated in a couple of men's basketball leagues the past couple of years and has always felt welcomed there.
We also decided to attend the Financial Peace University thru the church. I also started to attend a Tuesday morning group called "Momtime". Both have been a huge blessing to Josh and I. I have wanted to attend the Financial Peace Class for some time. Josh went to the class somewhat reluctantly. We still have a large amount of school loans from MSOE that we have not been able to make extra payments on. Even though we paid off our credit card bill every month, we still never seem to have any extra to pay extra on our loans. Needless to say, we have used the tools from the class and it has revolutionized our finances. We also were able to pay almost $2,000 dollars on the smallest of the loans!!! How cool is that. Josh is now a huge fan, even after being such a skeptic. We would encourage everyone to attend a Financial Peace University Class!!
We also got two potty chairs for Jacob. Yeah... I feel like we will be forever potty training. I stopped stressing about it. So many people have told me that once their sons turned three they just decided they were going to do it. So, I have till July. Jacob loves to sit on the potty and watch T.V. Maybe not the best of incentives. Here Ben is trying out the potty chair. He thinks that if Jacob is doing it, I should be doing it too.

Celebrating Jesus's Birthday!

In the midst of basketball season we prepared for the Christmas season. My cousin Ali bless her heart was up late one night helping me wrap presents for grandparents, great-grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and two little boys. I think it was the night of my birthday.
Jacob, Ben and I went to go pick up Ali at school. We stopped at Culver's in Watertown for supper. Then we headed to Waukesha North for the girls varsity game. While we were at the game I took Jacob to the bathroom and noticed he had a rash on his stomach. We headed home and by the time we got home the rash was all over his body, from the bottom of his feet to his forehead. He also started to have a temperature. I called the on-call pediatrician and they said to watch him, it was probably a virus. The next morning it was getting worse, his pediatrician was on call and had us come into the office. Dr. Esser did a strep test, Jacob even thanked him for it. Dr. Esser said he had never been thanked for doing a strep test before. The strep test was negative, he said it still looked like a viral infection. He said that if the temperature reached more than 104 to take him to Children's immediately.
Shortly after we got home from the doctor Josh called and asked if I could come get him, the car would not start. I thought maybe he had something planned for my birthday, no such luck. That evening we hymned and hawed about going out to eat for my birthday like we had previously planned to do. We took the chance with our rash boy, not such a good idea. He threw up at Chili's. Let's say it was a very eventful birthday. My wonderful husband did get me an awsome cake from Sweet Perfections in Waukesha. There were 8 flowers for our 8 years of marriage and two roses for Jacob and Benjamin.


The weekend before Christmas we spent with Grandma Pat, Grandpa Tom, Uncle T.J. and Uncle Andy. It was Benjamin's first Christmas and Jacob's first Christmas with Uncle Andy. We were planning to come back to Waukesha on Sunday, Josh had a big conversion at work and was hoping to work a couple of day before we headed down to Illinois. The boys and I were also going to ride over to the airport with Grandpa Tom to drop Andy off for his trip to Alabama. However, the weather on the Sunday before Christmas was so bad that my brother T.J.'s car got stuck less than a quarter mile from my parents home. Needless to say, we decided to stay an extra night. Monday morning we caravaned down to Milwaukee, dropped Andy off at the airport and headed back to our house.
Josh and I then hymned and hawed about whether we should head down to Illinois late Monday evening. He had a basketball game Monday night, so I packed while he was at the game. I even put the boys to bed, we tried to transfer them to the truck without waking them up, however that didn't happen. As we arrived at Josh's parents house it started to snow. Normally it would not have been such a big deal to go down there, however, Josh's sister Trisha and her family were in town. We do not get to see them very often so that is why it made it a difficult disicion.
Jacob and Ben had a great time with their cousins Kaitlyn and Abigail. We were able to see Great Grandpa Toepfer, Great Aunt Donna and Uncle Vic. Jacob also got to spend some special time with Great Grandma Schultz. Kaitlyn got to ride in the front end loader with great Uncle Ronnie. Shhhhh... don't tell Jacob, he was at Great Grandma's with Papa and Daddy. We spent Christmas Day at Great Grandma and Grandpa Schultz's house with the whole family. Jacob and Kaitlyn thought it was great to open up their presents and their siblings. Ben and Abigail were not really into the whole opening up gifts yet. Ben did catch on for the last present, which happened to be one for Josh and I.
As I reflect on the Christmas season, I am reminded of the anticipation of the Isrealites awaiting their savior. Also the anticipation of the wise men as they traveled to see Jesus. It is like the anticipation of a child waiting to open a present from a loved one. As a parent you love your child and you want the best for him/her. Just like our heavenly Father loves us and wants the best for us. It is amazing to see Christmas through the eyes of a child.

November and December ....

It has been a while since I have updated our blog. As my favorite character Anne of Green Gables would say, "I am in the depths of despair." As Myrilla would remind her to despair is to be without God. Therefore Psalm 23 would best explain the road I feel I have been on, and I would assume that Josh may feel the same to some extent. On October 29th 2008 my dear aunt Gracie lost her battle with cancer.
The lost of my aunt Gracie was very difficult for me. Questions lingered in my head, was she a believer? Had I done enough to be an example to her, to tell her about a personal relationship with Jesus??
It was a Wednesday morning. My mom called and told me that Uncle Dave said that if we wanted to see aunt Grace we needed to get over to the hospital. They had put her on life support and had hoped that they could give her antibiotics to help fight the fungal pneumonia and give her body a chance to fight the infection on her own. I had no idea of what I was going to happen. Our friends Amy and Eric watched Jacob and Benjamin while Josh, my brother Andy and I went to the hospital.
When I walked into the bone marrow transplant unit there were some of my cousins and aunts. I walked into Grace's room and things did not look good. I was praying all morning for wisdom and guidance. Gracie could not communicate. I am not even sure if she was able to open her eyes at all. All that God laid on my heart to do was to read scripture. So I read John 3 and other various passages. I felt so helpless, it was all in God's hands and I had to trust his will for Gracie's life. Josh was out in the waiting room with some of my relatives, I have a large family and a hospital room is only so big. I was able to be there with my mom. The rest of the events of the day are too painful to account, but they will be etched in my heart forever.
The last past six weeks at the church we have been attending, the pastor has been preaching on "Six weeks to Live", how would we live our lives if we were given 6 weeks to live. I guess the last couple of months since my aunts passing have been difficult on me. Having been there as my aunt went thru the treatments and hoping that it would cure her of the leukemia, but not knowing for sure, give me a perspective that others do not have. Have I been using that perspective to the best of my advantage? That I am not sure about. But I want to change that.
Shortly after my aunt passed away, Josh began his coaching season. Josh loves basketball and I know he was looking forward to the opportunity to coach at a high school level. I was excited for him at first, but then when practices and games started, I started to lose my enthusiasm. I was home with the boys by myself for long days. Josh would get up early and go to work and then head to practice or come home for a bit and go to games. My cousin Ali thankfully came with me to a couple of games to help me with the boys. I started to resent basketball. The girls were not winning, Jacob kept asking for daddy, it was very trying to keep up my work projects with Josh being gone so much.