Happy 6th Birthday to my big boy!

Well, it's been a few months since I've had any time to update this blog ... Maybe nobody is even reading it anymore.

Life has been extremely busy since last I posted. I'm just a few days away from my due date, and I pray the baby will hold out till then. I'm not the typical pregnant lady who can't wait to deliver. I PREFER to wait :)

Today is Lucas' 6th birthday. I'm so proud of my baby. He is EXTREMELY oinery, but one of the most affectionate and funniest boys I know. Since last I've posted, he's been exceling academically in Kindergarten, he's had a few sessions of ice skating lessons that he's done great in and is currently playing soccer, which I think is his favorite sport so far. He is an EXCELLENT reader, writer ... he's learning lots of math, history ... etc. I have a hard time keeping up with it all, but I love having him read to ME now. :)

We continue to struggle with his behavior at school - trying to get him to listen, complete his work, and not distract his classmates. We have a counselor that we meet with that is really working with Lucas, and is a great advocate for us with the schools. It's been extremely stressful trying to figure out why Lucas does some of the things he does when we know he can do better and has done better. It's also frustrating to hear your baby is in trouble so frequently at school ... you wonder if this could be breaking his spirit. But, Lucas is such a great kid, I think it'd be pretty tough to break him. :)

This past weekend we had his birthday party with the family. He got his Wii that he's been begging for since Christmas. I've been hesitant to buy it for several reasons ... but, we're so glad to have it now. We had a blast playing it this past weekend.

Another change Gary and I have undergone since last I've posted is Gary now works 2nd shift ... which, to spare myself typing it all out and explaining .. it basically means we only see each other twice a week. This has not been a fun transition, especially so early on in our marriage and with a baby on the way. As a result, Gary misses out on a LOT of activities Lucas is in, and I am overburdened with being a single parent once again. We are trying to be content during this time period because there is no indication of it changing any time soon.

Other than that, we're anxiously awaiting our baby boy to arrive. I am excited to be off work for a while, and happy that Gary will be taking off a few weeks during this too :) I'm taking off 10 weeks and Gary will have 2 weeks in the beginning and 2 weeks at the end of my leave! It's been so long since I've had a baby ... I am a bit anxious about it all. I hope it's kinda like riding a bike and I haven't forgotten how to do things.

Here are some pics of our recent activities ...

my friend Arminda asked to take some pics of me preggo. It was a lot of fun and I thought she did a great job. :)

Here is Lucas' bday party. He got the long awaited wii.

Easter Sunday ... a little colder than I expected or I would've bought him some pants :P

A sleepover w/ his cousin Mason in from Pittsburgh

Mommy, Poppy and Gma took Lucas to his first Hockey game. I was a bit disturbed at how much Lucas enjoyed the fighting portion.

This is an egghunt at my neighbor's church's property. I have never been to such a large egg hunt. There were masses of kids and eggs.

Christmas 2008

Tomorrow marks my first day back to work after Gary, Lucas and I enjoyed a two week vacation. It was soooo nice!!! We had a really nice Christmas. Lucas is always a ton of fun and seems to become funnier each year.

Our New Years was nice too. We stayed in for the first time in a few years and it was perfect. I'm not naturally a homebody ... I like DOING things and being around people. I was pretty annoyed at first that we had no plans, but turns out it was exactly what I wanted to do - nothing!

We also got the baby's room together. We had a lot of cleaning out to do in the room, and I'm soooo glad it's done. I was fortunate enough to receive a very nice crib bedding set from a lady at church, so I don't have to worry about getting any of that stuff. I also put Lucas' old crib up and surprisingly had all the parts and pieces to it. As unorganized as I am, that was a true shocker! Not to mention, I've moved 3 times since using it. Unfortunately, since Lucas will be 6 years old by the time the baby is here and I wasn't exactly expecting to have any more children any time soon after having him ... I kept NONE OF my stuff. So, having those couple things taken care of already is GREAT!

Here are a few pics of our last couple weeks.

Our vaca began w/ a night at the Columbus Zoo to see the lights. We went w/ the old farts, who were hilarious the whole time.








Christmas morning I took very few pics since all I do anymore is take video. Whoops!

Lucas LOVED his guitar and made up the funniest songs. Maybe if I get around to it I'll upload one. Otherwise, got to my facebook page and check him out. I guarantee you'll laugh at the short video I posted of him ;)

A few days before Christmas we had my family's Christmas at my parents house. Only about once a year do we all get together. All the grandchildren were present, so we had to take a photo. Hard to believe next year there will be TEN grandchildren. I wish we could've had several of these nights together. Never enough time together.

This is just a silly mistake my dad made on one of my brothers' cards and I thought it was hilarious.

Dad was opening up a present from someone and kept saying "Oh, this is nice, oh this is nice". I happened to be sitting right next to him as he opened it and as he kept saying how nice the present was, I couldn't figure out what it was. I started thinking ... he cant' know what this is, it's still all covered up. So, I grabbed it from his hands and I said "Okay Dad, if this is "so nice" tell me ... what is it?". He started laughing, he had no idea!! Anyhow, maybe you had to be there, but I thought it was hilarious and everyone was cracking up. My dad is so funny!

Boyz ....

Life seems to be going at 100 mph lately. Actually, it probably is pretty typical for us. This past week we had our first ultrasound of the baby, and we found out we are having another wonderful little boy :) Lucas was so proud of himself for getting it right. He has all along claimed he was going to have a brother.

Lucas finally got his bunk bed we've been wanting. Gary spent the whole day putting his room together. Lucas loves it and so do I! The first couple nights he slept on the top bunk, but decided against it after that. We hope to have one of his cousins over real soon so they can have a sleep over using the new bed :)

Tonight was Lucas' Kindergarten Christmas program. Lucas seemed rather bored with the whole ordeal. The only time he sang was during the song that had sign language (which that song name is failing my right now). At one point, I thought he and the girl next to him were going to start fighting. Lucas was so bored, he began bumping her for fun. She did NOT appreciate that!! haha ...

Anyhow, he looked adorable I thought.

As I finish typing this, I'm sitting on our couch watching Polar Express ... Lucas and Gary are fast asleep on either end of the couch. Not sure what to do about this considering I'm in no condition to pick up my 5 1/2 yr old right now .... hmm ...

Trick or Treat, ADHD, Ice Skating ...

Life has definitely been busy lately. I wonder how I'm ever going to handle another baby, in between my job, Lucas' crazy shool and activity schedule ... not to mention Gary's schedule doesn't necessarily make it easy either.

Trick or treat was a lot of fun. Lucas went out for the first time on his own (typically some of his cousins accompany us). He was hysterical and made conversation with every person passing out candy. He would always check out what he was getting, and if he had it already, he'd give it back. haha! He'd scream at all the scary costumes. People kept laughing at him the whole night. Lucas is truly one of the funniest little boys I've ever known. When we made it back to Gary's dad's house (Gary's dad lives in the neighborhood both Gary and I grew up in, so it was really nice to be able to take Lucas trick or treating there) ... Lucas would recruit people to the house by yelling at them across the street "We got treeeaasts heeeere" ... over and over. Good lord! Then when they'd come over, Lucas would talk to all the kids, see if they wanted to play in the leaves, dance around them, pass the candy out ... he's a nut.

All this said, Gary and I are very concerned about Lucas. Lucas' kindergarten teacher, along with Gary and I and his sunday school teachers, feel Lucas MAY have some slight issues that seem to mirror ADHD symptoms. Impulsive behaviors, inability to sit still/focus, calling out answers, interuptive, inability to keep hands to himself, etc. This is not really a shocker for me ... I have always felt Lucas' behavior was different than my nieces and nephews or other kids his age. Gary and I are firmly against drugs at this point in Lucas' life, despite the many suggestions to try them. I think it's a little easier to say that when it's not YOUR kid. So, we are trying to pursue other avenues. We are trying to make an appointment with a Christian counselor, adjusting Lucas' diet, and trying to offer Lucas a lot more structure at home. The kindergarten teacher, with our suggestions, is trying different techniques with Lucas and we are exchanging a daily journal. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have helped the situation so far. So, we welcome prayer, if anyone thinks of us throughout the week :)

Despite all this ... academically Lucas is doing great. We got his first report card, and other than behavioral things, he did excellent. He seems to make friends really easily. And, because of his fun loving personality *wink wink*, he is very well known amongst the teachers, administrative staff and princple. :)

Another thing we believe Lucas could use, is activities to get out all that extra energy he has. We thought hockey would be a fun choice. So, we have Lucas in ice skating lessons right now. He is struggling learning because he gets so frustrated when he falls. But, overall we think he's doing a great job :) Most kids who start out are 3 years old ... who would've thought a 3 year old could ice skate so well? Anyhow, we are hoping Lucas moves up quickly ... I heard one mom say to another mom they thought the age limit for the class was 4 years old ... clearly Lucas is older than that!! Whoops! Sorry ladies ... I didn't get the memo that I was supposed to give my son ice skating lessons before potty training. Sometimes other moms drive me insane!

I voted with my values!

I usually don't type up stuff like this ... But, I have been so shocked by this election and the values (or lack thereof) that I'm seeing occur in our nation. I wanted to type a short (hopefully) blog on how I feel about all this.

First of all, I know God does not want us to judge other people. I know myself well enough, I have NO right to judge anyone. But, I still don't get how people who believe that Jesus Chris is God's son and died on the cross for our sins, a God who values each human life ... can at the same time, side with a presidential nominee who says partial birth abortion, infanticide ... heck, abortion, period! is okay ... Sometimes I think we as Christians sort of turn our heads to these issues of abortion, marriage, faith ... And, say, "We'll, I'm mostly worried about our economic condition and the candidate I most feel would help us comeback financially. I think religion and politics should not be mingled." Since, when did human life become less important than our precious economy? Since when did our values take a back seat to our need for money and power? Since when did God say that there is ANYTHING that we leave him out of?????

My church, which I LOVE, is in the midst of a prophecy series, titled, "What On Earth Is Going On?". I won't do it justice here ... but, it's basically about all the things going on in the world today and how all these things are leading up to the second coming of Christ. Our pastor takes information straight from newswires, history books, and world leaders - and, connects it all with God's plan for his Son to come back and take his people home. It's extremely interesting, and very eye opening. I think too often our Western Civilization, turns our head to these things. How about the fact that Iran would like to see the U.S. and Israel gone off the map? Yet, one of our presidential nominees still thinks it might be a good idea to sit down and reason with these people.

My point being ... this series has reaffirmed to me the reason why I vote the way I do. This world is sooooo extremely temporary. The economy, stock market, health care, gas prices, etc ... I will never allow these issues to get in the way of the values God has outlined for all of us to follow. If I had to be completley honest, I don't know that either candidate has a good plan as far as the economy goes. But, that's besides the point ...

Like I said ... I don't wish to judge anyone who voted differently than me. I just hope they attempt to see past the rhetoric, especially if they are Jesus Followers. I hope they get informed and they seek prayer before they vote.

Whoever wins, I am truly fine with. I know God is in control no matter what. But, I have felt totally burdened by this election, watching people's reasoning patterns when picking their candidate. It's shocking and sad that Americans have become this disengaged from God's value system. And, I'm sad to see the uninformed voter, allow the biased news media and/or liberal minded family, sway them to vote against everything Christianity stands for.

Our pastor shared this video today, which I thought was great.

Good luck at the polls! I chose absentee ballot :)

Soccer

I can't remember if I blogged about Lucas playing soccer this past spring or not ??? But, he's at it again in the fall league. He seems to have improved quite a bit too. Last Saturday he dominated the game and scored 7 points :) Although, tonight, it was a different story. He scored once. So, I'm not claiming him a future soccer star yet. He did grab some girl tonight and try to knock her down. Kinda embarassing ... and, since I had been cheering him on all night, they knew I was the mother!

Gary coached this game. I think he was the hottest coach out there. :)

My sister and her kids and my mom came to watch Lukie play. Lukie, despite this picture, was VERY excited to see the J boys :) Afterwards, we went out to the Indian Caverns, had a picnic and walked through the caves. I wish I had some pics, but I have been busy using my new video camera and have not taken many pics lately. These pics are actually compliments of Rhonda. :)


These are three of my georgeous nephews. I love them so much. They each have their own personalities. Josh can be very sarcastic and he and I can really joke back and forth now that he's so much older. Joey is kinda awkward and hilarious -- mostly funny b/c he doesn't even know he's funny. We call him Eyore (SP???) from Winnie the Pooh ... b/c his voice sounds just like it! Jameson is sorta shy, but very very sweet. Lucas LOVES Jay and wishes he lived with us. haha ...

Her and I have not seen each other since the wedding. Amazingly enough!! I missed her!!

The Big K

So a couple weeks ago, Lucas began Kindergarten. We have been really looking forward to this. Lucas is an extremely oinery child. I love him to pieces, of course, be he is OINERY! Gary and I are really hoping that the structure in Kindergarten helps him a little. :) Plus, I'm so excited to see all the new things he'll learn and do ... um ... Whatever, I'm just ready for someone to whip him into shape. haha ...

That morning unfortunately, I was extremely tired and sorta forgot to start taking pics until the last minute. Plus, it was raining and Lucas was getting very frustrated with all the picture taking. He was sweeter about taking pics when he was younger. Not so much anymore.

So, as I mentioned, Lucas is oinery. Gary and I jokingly talked about placing bets on how long it would take Lucas to get called into the principal's office. Well, it only took a day and a half for me to get a phone call from the teacher and for Lucas to sit at the "sit alone" table!!! When she called me at work, she told me he was talking a lot and being extremely disruptive to the classroom; therefore, she had to sit him by himself. I did not blame her one bit and really appreciated her calling me. But, was pretty embarassed at Lukie's behavior, yet not all that surprised. Lucas wants to be the class clown all the time. He thinks it's his duty to keep everyone laughing, particulary at him. Anyhow, I have not had anymore phone calls since then. We had an open house this past week and the teacher said he still is a talker, but he hasn't acted up quite like that since. Gary and I have been riding his butt a lot, so it must be working. Whew! Oh, and the teacher told us, several kids have sat there already. Whew, again!

I do love this teacher. She reminds me of the nanny on tv. You can tell she really loves all her students, but she won't put up with their crap either. So, it is a great combination. :) I feel very blessed to be able to send Lucas to this school and for him to have been assigned such a great teacher. :) Gary says he loves the school, but the jury is still out on the teacher ... haha ... whatever.

Oh, and this is funny ... first day of school he got a dresscode violation. Apparently his shorts were out of code. My goodness!! The handbook just said "uniform shorts". How the heck am I supposed to know what that means? So, I'm sure this teacher thinks the jury is still out on us as well ... haha

On a sidenote, for those of you actually reading this, I'm six weeks pregnant. Gary and I didn't waste anytime on that! The baby will be due around the end of April. I haven't even been to the doctor yet, but I am not one to keep too many secrets about myself. So, I'm telling everyone. Lucas actually told his whole classroom about it. "My mommy is going to have a baby. It's as big as a fly and it'll be here in 20 minutes." Nice.