So Much Going On, Part Two

Well we got back from NJ Monday night, and Tuesday afternoon Phil and I drove to Dayton and flew to Kansas City, MO. The children reluctantly stayed at home under the care and supervision of their grandparents. Phil had a job interview in Garnett, Kansas for a job that would have been his dream job. This was exactly what he wanted and was so excited about this possibility. Sadly he ended up not being offered the job. Not only that, but we weren't officially notified of their decision. We found out by reading the minutes of their Board of Education meeting where they approved the new hire. The only reason I mention this trip at all was because we got to see Julie and Travis! They drove 4 hours from their home in Nebraska just to spend the afternoon in Kansas City and have dinner with us. Then they turned right around and went home. I was so touched that they were willing to make that long drive just for a day. We had a fabulous rib dinner at a local restaurant and talked for hours and hours! It was so good to see them and get to spend some time together without my kids running around interrupting.

We got home on Thursday and headed into the busy holiday/birthday weekend. Memorial Day weekend is typically busy for us. May 30 is Phil's birthday and May 31 is Matthew's. For Phil's birthday, we couldn't do much to celebrate. The lack of income will do that. But Nathan (Phil's best friend) and his wife came into town for the day Saturday and we were able to go to dinner together just the 4 of us. My best friend watched the kids for us. Yay! Getting to spend time with friends and have a quiet, grownup dinner is a rare occurrence in our house. This ended up being a perfect way to celebrate Phil's birthday.

Matt's birthday fell on Memorial Day this year. My baby turned 5!! I can't even believe he starts kindergarten in the fall. Everyone was right when they told me to enjoy my kids while they are little because they grow up fast. Matthew is a bundle of energy that NEVER sits still. He is on the go from the time he wakes up (usually 6:30 or 7 a.m.) until he finally collapses in bed at night. He likes to play pretend and will set up his action figures, tell me who I get to be and even tell me what to say. Being the youngest, he isn't often in control of anything so he especially loves this. He also loves reading books. Well he can't read yet, but he likes being read to. Bedtime especially is a long process because I end up reading 5 or 6 stories to him. How can I turn down the chance to snuggle with my baby boy and read stories? He certainly won't beg me for this forever so I will enjoy it while I can. He is quite good at playing games on the computer actually. It amazes me to see him using the mouse and playing games, just like the big kids. So much has changed over the years. I had never heard of a computer when I was his age! (I know that makes me sound old) He also loves to be silly and clown around. If something he does gets a laugh, he'll do it over and over again.

For his birthday we didn't have a big party or anything. We had an ice cream cake with presents at home the splurged and had dinner at Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. On the way home, we stopped at Walmart so he could spend the birthday money he'd received from various relatives. Boy did he have fun picking out toys. And it was such a hard decision too. He wanted everything and was so disappointed when I told him we could only buy a couple things. But I think he loved the experience of getting to pick out some of his presents himself.

I was going to post a recent picture of him, but don't seem to have many recent pictures of him on my computer. I'll try to add one later.

So Much Going On, Part One

So where have I been lately that has prevented me from blogging? Well we spent a long weekend in Runnymede, New Jersey with Phil's family the weekend before Memorial Day. His grandfather was the pastor of a church there for 55 years. The church was celebrating its 100th anniversary and invited the whole family to come back for the celebration. Lots of firsts that weekend: the 1st really long car trip for the kids (12 hours, including stops at every rest stop between Cincinnati and NJ), 1st time seeing NJ (the kids and I had never been there before). The most fun 1st though was the trip to Ocean City on Saturday with Phil's cousins and their families. It was cloudy and a little cool (only about 65 degrees), but that didn't stop the kids from playing and splashing in the waves and having a fabulous time! I loved seeing the Boardwalk and checking out all the shops. We ate lunch at a place claiming to have the World's Largest Pizza. One pizza measured 26" across. It was HUGE!! But we still managed to polish one off. Yummy!

The church graciously opened up the parsonage for us to stay. This was the house Phil's mom grew up in and Phil visited when he was younger. It was so fun hearing stories from the family about adventures in the house. Friday night there were 19 of us crammed into that smallish house (the 6 of us, plus Phil's sister and 2 of his cousins, plus their spouses and kids). Saturday night we had "only" 14 of us there and Sunday night it was down to only 9 of us. The 6 of us Hahns slept in 1 room on the floor, which was another first. We did manage to get some sleep, although the kids enjoyed the adventure of it more than Phil and I did (we are TOO OLD to be sleeping on the floor!)

The church service Sunday was amazing! Phil's mom played the piano beautifully, his uncle preached a terrific sermon and his cousin sang. It was a tiny church and I think that people related to Phil made up more than half the congregation. At one point the current pastor of the church asked people to share blessings. Rose, David and even Matthew each stood up and shared something. After the service, the church had put together a potluck for us. There was so much food there, including this garlic bread that was absolutely, hands-down the best garlic bread ever anywhere in the world! I ate far too much of course, but the kids evidently didn't because they were hungry a couple hours later.

Monday morning we headed home after a fun, but exhausting weekend. The car ride home was much easier than the trip out. Not any shorter, but at least the kids didn't fight as much! The pictures I posted are of us at the ocean, Phil's mom playing the piano at church, the huge pizzas we ate in Ocean City and a group shot of the whole gang of us that made it back east for this fabulous weekend!

Boy I'm tired!

It's been a busy day for me today. To other people, this may not seem busy, but for me, who rarely does anything these days, this is busy. Today was Muffins with Mom. This is a tradition that started last year at my kids' school. The first graders invite their moms in the Friday before Mother's Day for muffins, juice and a little program. I went with David last year and this year was Rachel's turn. It was such fun. Rachel was so thrilled to have me in her classroom. I ate a small store-bought muffin, drank a small cup of store-bought juice and sat in a small chair. She even had presents for me that she made herself. One was a corsage pin. It was a conglomeration of colored tissue paper glued to cardboard with a pin on the back. It was maybe 2 inches big and very colorful. She also made me a book. Not just paper stapled together, but an honest-to-goodness hardbound book. I don't know how they do it, but David made me one at school last year for Mother's Day/Muffins with Mom. Each page had a picture she'd drawn along with something that she liked about me. Here's some examples: " "My mom is a teacher. She teaches me to color in the lines," "My mom is a chef. She cooks sloppy joe casserole," and one of my favorites, "My mom is a chauffer. She drives me to McDonalds."

Then the entire 1st grade gathered downstairs in the really-stinking-hot gym (the school isn't air-conditioned) and sang a couple songs for us. 2 of the 3 I recognized from last year's Muffins with Mom. It was just so cute!! And of course I forgot my camera so I couldn't get pictures of any of this. Luckily a friend of mine was there with her fancy cell phone and recorded the whole concert. She promised to post it on Facebook so hopefully I can get it posted to my profile also so you all can watch it if you want.

So that's how my day started. Then I had to run a couple errands, pay some bills, drop by my lawyer's office. Boring, but necessary. Head home, hang out with Matthew a couple hours, make dinner and then take a nap. And boy am I glad I had that nap.

Tonight I took my 4 kids to the annual school carnival. The kids had a fabulous time, playing the games, winning (and eating!) candy, jumping in the bounce castles and playing on the playground. I, however, limped home 3.5 hours later, tired, sore, hot and really cranky. The kids tended to see their friends and run off to explore the carnival with them. So at any given time, I had 1 or 2 kids with me, but never all 4 and never the same 2 kids. So it was a constant game of hide and seek as I tried to keep track of all of them. To be fair, Matthew did stick pretty close to me most of the time. Next year, I'm thinking seriously about bringing leashes and a really loud whistle! But I shouldn't complain really because we weren't planning to go at all. Ya see, to play the games and use the bounce castles, you needed a $10 carnival bracelet. Given our lack of income, we had decided it was too expensive. But 4 days ago, Rose came home with 4 carnival bracelets that the guidance counselor had given her for us! What a nice surprise! So Maddux (the kids' school) is taking care of us still. Maddux was one of the buildings Phil used to work in so everyone there knows our situation and has been helping out as they can.


P.S. Nope, no job yet. No interviews either. I am praying and praying but we are both getting more and more discouraged every day.

I didn't do it!

I just have to brag on Rose some. Interim report cards came out last week and she got all A's again. She is just very smart and is really driven to succeed academically. She really wants to maintain her all A's. I am so proud of her for doing so well and for liking school. She also loves to read and will often stay up until 10:00 on school nights (later on weekends) reading. I know I should scold her for not going to sleep earlier, but I just can't. You see, I do the same thing. I, too, will often sacrifice sleep to keep reading whatever book I happen to be in the middle of. I just love that my kids love to read!!

Last Sunday the kids and I were at church. The service had just ended and we were headed to the church library to take home some books and DVDs. A woman I'd never met before stopped me in the hall and asked if I was Rose's mom (kinda easy to figure that out since Rose was walking right beside me at the time). Well she is one of Rose's Sunday School teachers and proceeded to tell me that Rose inspires her. She said Rose has knows a lot about the Bible and has a very strong faith in God. She is really impressed by her and how she acts. Rose inspires her and she just had to tell me. I thanked her of course and we went our separate ways. My first reaction, after I hugged Rose and told her how proud I was, was "That's all God. I didn't do it!" I seriously can't take credit for Rose's strong faith in God, especially since I am faltering in that area here recently. I am so thankful that God gave her to us to raise and that she has been such a blessing to others!! It's nothing that I've done as her mom; at least I don't think so. It's all God!!


On a less inspirational note, Phil still doesn't have a job. It's been 10 months of constant searching by both of us and he currently has no interviews or solid leads. He is getting very discouraged and so am I. Life is stressful and hard. I am trying to lean on God, but that, too, is hard. Worrying is something I do really well unfortunately.

Good Friday 2010

This evening was the perfect way to spend Good Friday. Every year my friend Shannon and I go to a drama that recreates Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Last year I went with her then also went with Phil and Rose. Well Rose loved it so much that she has been begging me for probably a month now to take her back this year. So instead of a girls' night out, it ended up being me, my friend, Rose and David. This is truly an amazing production that this particular church works very hard on. As you walk up to the doors of the church you are greeted by people in authentic-looking Bible-era costumes saying "Welcome to Jerusalem!" The show opens with a reading of the passage from Luke that tells about Jesus' birth while showing Mary, Joseph and a real baby receiving visits from shepherds and wise men. A trio of guys playing drums march up the 2 aisles celebrating the birth of a king! Very cool!! The narration continues as actors highlight Jesus growing up and the time he was teaching in the temple in Jerusalem when he was 12. Then we arrive at Jesus as an adult and the drama begins. It mixes songs with Jesus performing miracles, calling his disciples, teaching the people and more. It's truly amazing! I really felt like I was in early Jerusalem as a witness to all this.

Act 2 opens in the Jerusalem marketplace with Palm Sunday. The entire cast roams through the 2 aisles of the church talking to people, giving away bread and fruit to lucky audience members (my kids LOVED this part!) and leading actual animals around. We saw several goats, a sheep and even got to pet a chicken! Then there were palms everywhere and Jesus made his triumphant entry. But all too soon, the mood turned sad and Jesus foretold his death and celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples. The soldiers were fierce and what little violence there was looked very convincing. The crucifixion was especially moving because they had 3 crosses on stage and a very bloody-looking Jesus hanging from one of them. It just really brought home for me the sacrifice that He made for us and made me realize a couple things. First, the stress and trouble we are going through right now are nothing compared to what He chose to do on the cross for us. And secondly, I can identify with Him just a little bit more since we, too, are suffering right now. Not to the degree that He did of course, but for us, this season of our life is, indeed, hard. It was so hard to watch this scene for another reason. David was sitting on my lap at this point (this scene was a little intense for him) and I just identified with Mary. I can't even imagine what she was going through seeing her first-born son suffering so much. Even knowing that He was the Messiah couldn't have completely diminished the pain she felt as seeing her child suffering. I just hugged David close and thanked God for sacrificing His son for me. Watching David suffer that way would just about kill me!

Throughout the play we saw Satan also: tempting Jesus in the desert, whipping up a nasty storm that frightened the disciples on the lake while Jesus slept and watching Judas betray Jesus. After Jesus was buried, there was a scene with Satan and his demons rejoicing and dancing outside the tomb. Then we heard a loud noise, saw a great light from inside the tomb and saw the stone roll away. The demons and Satan froze in fear, then fled in terror as Jesus walked out of the grave, clean, shining and backlit by a brilliant white light. It was just amazing!! The audience clapped and cheered. What a victory!!!


Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice on the cross!

Matthew's Trip to Africa

Ok, you've probably guessed that Matt didn't really get on a plane and goto Africa. This was something fun that happened in Sunday School a couple weeks ago. They were learning about how God always with us eerywhere we go. Well Matt decided that God would be with us in Africa. So he lined up chairs in a row, with each chair facing the one in front of it, like a train. He sat in the front seat as the conductor and anounced they were going to take the train to Africa. Well all his classmates loved it and piled on the chairs behind him. After a couple minutes their teacher asked where else they could go that God would be with them. Matt gave each child a turn to drive the train and off they went (with God!) to places like the zoo, the carnival and grandma's house. And while he wasn't the conductor, Matt sat on his teacher's lap. She was really touched by this because she said he hasn't been willing to do that before. He is improving so much!

Also did I mention that I officially registered Matthew for kindergarten? Yep I turned in all his paperwork and got him schedule for his screening in August. Our district brings in each new kindergartener to see what they know already so they can make up classes that are balanced rather than having one class full of kids that are having trouble learning the alphabet and one class full of kids that are reading already. It's so hard to believe that my baby is going to school in the fall!! The kids are growing up just so fast!! Matthew does drive me crazy fairly frequently but I have loved having time alone with him this year while the other kids are in school. I love how creative he is becoming. He enjoys playing pretend and will gather action figures and ask me to play pretend with him. It's fun hearing what he comes up with.

He and David are also starting to play together nicely. Poor David has been sortof left out the past couple years. The girls share a room and play together really well (usually) and David tended to be the odd man out. But now I am loving watching he and Matthew wrestle, sword fight and play chase together. I think Dave (he likes to be called Dave, not David these days) likes having a chance to be in charge. When all the kids play together, Rose is always in charge; she thinks up the games and directs how things go. So playing with Matthew is a great chance for Dave to be creative and do what he wants.

In other news, the kids got report cards kindof recently. I can't remember if I mentioned this or not. Rose came home with all A's again. Yeah!!! She is very creative and imaginative and enjoys art class and math.

David came home with very positive comments on his report card. He doesn't get letter grades yet so it's kindof hard to really tell you how he's doing. His teacher commented that he is very creative and very sweet. She enjoys reading what he writes about because he has a great imagination.

Rachel also had a great report card. Her teacher said that Rachel likes to write poetry and read books but has trouble sitting still for at-her-desk work. For anyone who knows Rachel at all, you won't be surprised to read that. She has more energy than almost anyone I know and is continually bouncing and jumping around at home. If I had a dime for every time I've told her to stop jumping on the couch I'd be a rich woman!

As you can tell (if you're still reading this anyway) I LOVE MY KIDS and am tremendously proud of them!!!!

Matthew's "Bed"

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Matthew sleeps on the couch. He's been sleeping on the couch for at least a year. Possibly 2, but I don't remember exactly. This was originally his idea and since he was good about actually sleeping and not wandering around the house, we let him sleep there. We figured it was a phase he'd outgrow. Recently we got rid of the bunkbeds in the boys room and installed an actual twin bed. The bunk beds were really old and didn't have a proper mattress so they weren't too comfortable to sleep on. David loves having a bed to sleep on! But it's just 1 bed, so now Matthew is stuck sleeping on the couch indefinitely. I was feeling guilty about that until we visited my parents last week and spent the night with them.

They have a 3-bedroom house so Phil and I get a room, 1 kid sleeps on an air mattress in my parents' room and 3 kids share a room. The kids' room has a double bed so 2 share the bed and 1 gets another air mattress on the floor. So Thursday after we arrived the usual fight began over who would sleep where. Everyone wanted to sleep on an air mattress in grandma and grandpa's room. There were fights, drama, tears and pleading worthy of an Oscar nomination! But finally we settled it all. Matthew ended up on the bed alone with Rose in a sleeping bag on the floor and David on an air mattress. Rachel was the birthday girl so she got to sleep in grandma and grandpa's room. We thought Matthew would be excited since he usually sleeps on the couch at home. He was in an actual bed! Little did we know what would happen next. . .

So after reading stories and making sure each kid had a pillow, blanket and the appropriate stuffed animals required for sleeping, we got them settled down. 20 minutes later as we grownups were collapsed on the couch, Matthew came out complaining that the bed wasn't comfortable. He wanted to sleep on the couch instead! So we tucked him in on the living room couch and he fell right to sleep! I just had to laugh! But at least I don't have to feel guilty that he doesn't have a bed at home. Apparently he prefers the couch, even when a bed is available :-)

It's Me Again!

So I was working on MOPS stuff earlier today, making plans for a leadership training day I'm helping coordinate in Columbus and Cleveland. And while I worked I was mentally thinking about what to write on my Facebook status. Yep, I'm a Facebook junkie! But as I thought back over my day today, I realized there was too much to include in a Facebook status. Hence, my return to my blogging. Not that I'm gonna go through everything that's been happening in our lives the past 2 months.

So how are we doing? Well it's been 8 months since Phil lost his job and there is nothing on the horizon. He has had a couple interviews in the past 6 weeks or so, which is more than he had most of last fall. Unfortunately the companies decided to hire someone else. Phil is getting frustrated and a bit desperate to find a job. He says he's tired of being at home all the time and I can't blame him. I remember how tough it was for me to transition to being a stay-at-home mom after Rose was born. Anyway please keep praying for us for a job. Life is just really stressful for us right now. We are still getting unemployment, which helps, but doesn't pay all the bills.

The kids are doing great though. In fact, it was today and them that prompted me to blog. Report cards came out today. So I just have to brag a bit here. Rose got all A's again, just like in the fall. Her teacher commented that she is "a learning sponge" and eagerly learns everything she can. That's my girl! She loves math, which she obviously gets from her father, because that was my least favorite subject in school, next to science.

David also did really well, although it's harder to quantify since they don't start giving letter grades until 4th grade. He is an eager learner, likes to read and is very creative. His teacher says he writes very interesting and creative stories. Unfortunately they don't always make sense. Personally I think that his brain moves so fast that he can't get it down on paper quick enough to make sense.

Rachel also got very good comments from her teachers. She is reading very well, spells excellently and enjoys writing poetry. Her teacher said that Rachel is having trouble working quietly at her seat though, which doesn't surprise me in the least. She is a bundle of energy. She never walks when she can run, never runs when she can jump or bounce. She leaps on people, gives giant, squishy hugs and loves to tackle and wrestle her big brother.

And speaking of Rachel, she turned 7 today!! I can't even believe my baby girl is 7 already! She has grown up so fast. Tonight we went over to celebrate her birthday with Phil's parents. Mom cooked pizza and got a cake. It was so WONDERFUL to hang out with them and to not have to clean my house. Tomorrow we are headed to Sunbury to see my parents and celebrate Rachel's birthday with them. Then on Friday the kids are out of school so we're taking a trip to see my grandma. She's 95 now and we want to see her while we can.

Well that's enough of an update for now. It's getting late and I'm getting tired. Good night all!

Happy New Year!!

Well it's the start of another year and another decade. I wonder what this year will bring. My top wish is, of course, a job for Phil. He is getting very tired of being at home all the time and has said he needs to have somewhere to go, needs a job. And I need to get him out of the house. I'm noticing we are together a LOT but don't talk much or spend quality time together. We are just getting tired of being around each other so much I think. Is this a preview of what retirement will be like?

Ok, something more fun! What did you do for News Years Eve? We had a terrific time! Brett kept the kids overnight at his place (he does this every couple weeks or so and they all love it!) and had a party for them there. They called us shortly after midnight. I was expecting that Rose and Dave would still be up, but was very surprised to find Rachel and Matthew still awake also. This is a first for both of them. Meanwhile, we were at home talking, eating and playing games with some good friends who had come in from out of town. Specifically Phil's best friend Nathan and his wife. It was such fun!!!

Then today Brett volunteered to keep the kids all day. So we went out to lunch with Emily and Nathan and visited Krohn Conservatory together. I haven't been there in several years and enjoyed looking at all the different plants. The last time I was there was with 3 very small children and a stroller as I recall. Not quite as much fun as today. The kids arrived back home around dinnertime excited to see us and slightly cranky from lack of sleep! We watched some tv, read bunches of stories and put them all to bed early!

Phil read a chapter from C.S. Lewis' The Horse and His Boy to Rose and David and a chapter of a Junie B. Jones book to Rachel. Matt and I read Dr. Seuss and several of the new books he got for Christmas. I just LOVE reading to my kids and am so grateful that God has given all 4 of them a love of books. Praying they don't lose that as they get older!

Good times and bad

First the good stuff. . .

Matthew had a good report from his Sunday School teacher. You may remember that he was asked to leave preschool early last fall because he wouldn't follow their routine and had trouble listening to his teachers. I've been talking to his Sunday School teachers about this since then and they've been working with him on it. Well yesterday his teacher told me that he had participated in all the class activities, obeyed the teacher and stayed in his seat during Wee Worship. So he got to be the line leader on the way back to the classroom from Wee Worship. Yeah Matthew!! I'm so proud of him!

The other good news is that we have given Rose her own email account. She's been asking us for one since last summer. It was a tough decision but we decided to trust that she will be responsible with her email address. We talked to her about what to do and what not to do and laid down some rules for her. To say that she is excited would be an understatement. It's a step into a whole new world for her. She loved being able to "chat" with me online even though we were in the same room. This is actually a big step for all of us, letting her have a bit of independence. My baby is growing up! I admit I'm nervous and am planning to monitor her very closely to see how she handles it. It's definitely a different world than when I was 10!

Now for the bad news. I went to a funeral today. A friend of mine from MOPS had to bury her baby girl today. She arrived 3 months early and just wasn't strong enough to survive. Plus she had been diagnosed with Trisomy-18, a birth defect similar to Down's Syndrome. My friend knew this would probably happen and had been preparing for it. It was still hard for her though, especially since she just had a c-section about 10 days ago. I am so sad for her and her family. Seeing that tiny casket at the church this morning was just heartbreaking! I haven't been to many Catholic Masses before, but I was raised Lutheran so parts of the liturgy and songs were familiar. We sang "On Eagle's Wings" and "How Great Thou Art" which are 2 of my favorite hymns.

A couple things didn't make sense to me though. They sprinkled incense over the casket at the end of the service, Why? What does that represent? And why did the priest refer to the baby as a saint? He was talking to my friend's kids and told them that they had their very own personal saint in the family and that they could pray to her and she could help them. That doesn't make sense to me. I thought the process of making someone a saint in the Catholic church was a long, involved process including documenting miracles performed and other things. Can any of you, my few but faithful readers, help me understand this?

I did learn something new though. Today, December 28, is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, which commemorates the baby boys under age 2 that Herod had killed in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. Having the funeral on this particular feast day seems appropriate somehow.

More Christmases!

Well Christmas #2 and #3 are both done and I am so exhausted that I want to crawl in my bed, lock the door and stay there for at least 2 days. I had fun though! Yesterday my parents came down from Columbus and Brett came over. We had lunch and talked some then opened presents. The kids got some nice things and a bit of cash (which thrilled them of course). I so appreciated them driving down to celebrate here, especially since they had driven to be with my grandma Christmas Day and are planning to leave tomorrow for a month in Florida. That's lots of driving!

Today we went over to mom & dad Hahn's house for the big Hahn family gathering. Mom had some fun games for the kids, including a white elephant candy game where each kid ended up with a jar of candy and a money game where each kid got to pick out a small tin of money (mostly coins, although Dave and Rachel both ended up with a $5 bill in their tin). Then we exchanged gifts. My 3 older kids got some cash and Matthew got presents to unwrap. Rose, David and Rachel are so excited by the cash they've received this Christmas and are already trying to decide what to do with it. It should be interesting to see what they think. Matthew got this really cool toolbox book with actual cardboard tools that pop out so you can hammer or saw or whatever on each page. He has read it 3 times already and has only owned it for a couple hours now.

At one point mom lined up all the Ford and Hahn grandkids and asked them their name, birthdate, favorite color and favorite Bible verse. I was surprised to learn that Rose's favorite verse is Proverbs 3:5 which says “Trust in the Lord with your whole heart and lean not on your own understanding.” That's such a good one! I am so proud of her – she has such a strong faith in God and I just pray that she keeps that throughout her lifetime! David said his favorite verse was John 3:16 but I'm not sure if that was really his favorite or if he just said that because his cousin Daniel had just said that was his favorite verse.

Anyway. . . I got to talk to most everyone at least a little. I had fun hanging out with baby Jack (Stamper). He is 9 months old now and just so adorable! He was looking around at everything and was very easygoing. He let me hold him and play with him some and he doesn't even know me. I just LOVE babies!!! (not enough to have another one though)

It was a fun couple of days but as I said earlier I am ready for some alone time! Phil and I got the kids settled in bed tonight and immediately went our separate ways to different rooms and different computers. He needs some time away from people, just like me.


p.s. Lori, if you're reading this mom and I ate raw broccoli tonight off the veggie tray and thought of you. Mom suggested that we should have had our pictures taken eating that most delicious vegetable and sent them to you since you "love" broccoli so much! Hee hee hee

Merry Christmas!!

As you may know if you've read my blog before, Matthew has taken to sleeping on the couch in the living room. Last night he fell asleep in the middle of watching Santa Clause 2 with us. I headed to bed about 1:30 and was laying in bed reading a bit. Yep, even that late at night I still had to get some reading in. It was about 1:55 when Matthew wandered sleepily into our room fo no apparent reason. I tucked him back in on his couch and lay on the other couch to make sure he went to sleep and didn't rip open the presents. He was mesmerized by the lights on the tree and spent probably 20 minutes just staring at the tree. I assume he fell asleep eventually, but I fell asleep on the couch before he did.

Fast forward to 6:30 a.m. when Matthew woke up. To his credit he asked me to come downstairs and put in a movie for him. I seriously expected him to want to open presents but he waited until about 7:45 when the other 3 got up. Then they dug into their stockings. That took all of 10 minutes. Next the kids charged upstairs, into our bedroom and woke up their father. Phil came stumbling out, barely awake and headed for the coffee while the kids dug into the presents. The hope was that we would take turns opening presents. Ummmm, that didn't really happen. They dug into presents as fast as they could find them. I loved watching their faces as they opened everything. They were just so excited - well not about the clothes they got, but certainly about the toys.

It was all over in probably 40 minutes. Our living room was strewn with empty boxes and wrapping paper everywhere. Breakfast was our traditional cinnamon rolls then I started work on lunch and even managed to sneak in a nap while they played.

Mom and dad Hahn came over for lunch and more presents. It was a simple, easy meal but everyone seemed to like it. Then a few more presents for the kids while the grownups rested and talked. It was a very relaxed, fun day! I loved spending time with everyone and not feeling stressed!!!

The day ended by Brett coming over wanting the kids to spend the night with him. Matthew and the girls packed a few things and headed for his house but Dave wanted to stay with us. So here it is almost midnight and I have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Day with my family and a restful, relaxing evening with 2 of my favorite guys!

I admit that I was really worried about how this Christmas would go since Phil is still out of work. I knew we wouldn't be able to afford presents for the kids. But we were blessed beyond anything I expected! Friends and family gave us money, gift cards and presents for the kids (even a couple gifts for the grownups). It was truly amazing to see how many people reached out to help us through this holiday. God has given us a special group of family and friends and I am so grateful to all of you for your help, support, gifts, prayers and encouragement. I know I don't tell each of you individually how much you mean to me, but I do appreciate you (yes, you, the one reading this blog!!). Thank you for being a part of our lives!!!!!

December

Well it's been a low-key Christmas season this year. Due to financial constraints, we are not sending out the usual Hahn family Christmas card/letter/photo. I have not done much baking (or cooking frankly). We haven't been able to do our usual outings to the Cincinnati Zoo's Festival of Lights and the Cincinnati Museum Center's Holiday Junction like we have in years past. I have been kinda sad at the change in our routine. But ya know, in spite of all that, the kids are just as excited for Christmas as they usually are. So I certainly learned something about what's really important at Christmas-time.

Oh don't get me wrong. We still did some fun holiday things. We watched Christmas specials, made wish lists for Santa, and spent an evening driving around neighborhoods looking at some spectacular light displays. There is a neighborhood across the river in Kentucky maybe 15 minutes from us that has the same display every year. Their small front yard is filled to overflowing with lights, giant snowglobes, a Santa and sleigh and a shadow box featuring Alvin, Simon and Theodore singing their version of the Christmas song. "Christmas, Christmas time is here. Time for gifts and time for cheer." The kids (and me too!) look forward to seeing that every year!

Fast forward to Christmas Eve. We were tired after a busy week of housecleaning. A friend (actually she's the younger sister of my best friend from high school, but I consider her a friend too) came over to help us clean and pitch things. We worked SO HARD for 2 days. When we were done, there were 4 giant black trash bags filled with stuff we were throwing out! Yahoo! I am so thankful for her help. Can you believe she was willing to spend both of her days off hanging out at our house? The kids loved her and she wanted to help and was full of energy. She is just AMAZING! So now our house is clean and I am snapping at the kids, making sure the house stays clean.

We relaxed most of the day then went to the Christmas Eve service at church. It was less than an hour but not very kid-friendly. My older 3 kids behaved really well and seemed to enjoy the singing. They were bored during the sermon of course but sat still and kept quiet. Matthew however was squirmy and uncooperative. So I took him out and, ummmm, "talked" to him about his misbehavior. Then we just stayed out there the rest of the service, along with probably a dozen other kids and their parents. Next year we are gonna find a church with a more kid-friendly, family service!!!

The kids were bouncing off the walls and had a hard time settling down to sleep. But finally by 10 p.m. they were all not only inbed, but actually asleep. So Phil and I started wrapping everything. We put on our traditional Christmas Eve, present-wrapping movie "It's a Wonderful Life." What a TERRIFIC movie!!!! We had everything wrapped and under the tree by 1:30 a.m. which is about average for us. Now onto Christmas!! Yay!!!

The worst Thanksgiving ever!

At least that's the way it started out. So what happened to make my kids dub this "the worst ever?" Well Tuesday we headed up to Columbus to have an early Thanksgiving dinner with my parents and my sister and her husband. They (my sis & BIL) made a short trip to Ohio from their home in Nebraska where he is a pastor and had to divide their time between our parents and his parents. We celebrated early so they could also see his parents. The dinner was yummy - my mom's usual fabulous cooking. We also did something new this year. Each person had a placecard listing a different Bible verse about being thankful. We went around the table reading them aloud and telling one thing we were thankful for. How cool is that?

It was after dinner that the trouble began. David and Rachel had been coughing for a couple days and continued coughing there also. The others were concerned about them - thought it sounded serious. When David started running a slight fever, everyone kindof panicked. My dad, trying to help, gave 3 of the kids codeine to try to stop their cough so they could sleep. Well Matthew slept so soundly he didn't wake up to use the bathroom. So he was up around 4 a.m. soaking wet and upset. I didn't sleep well that night and apparently neither did he! The next morning we ended up going home. The other grownups were too concerned about the kids' coughs to want us to stay until Thursday like we'd originally planned. It was a very upsetting morning and knowing that no one wanted us there had me in tears as I drove home. We went to the pediatrician's office where I found out that David has an ear infection and Rachel has some slight chest congestion. After everything that happened, their illnesses were nothing serious after all. The kids were crushed that their trip had been cut short.

But in spite of all the drama, our holiday turned out quite well. We managed to find a webcast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Watching the parade is a tradition in our family and the kids were heartbroken when they thought they'd have to miss it. Fortunately they didn't. Hurray for the miracle of the internet. So instead of spending the day with extended family or traveling or cooking, we spent the day playing games, resting, talking, laughing and eating leftovers. Reading on Facebook about my friends who were cooking, running around busy and stressed out made me glad that we were alone together as a family.

As much as I complain, I know I have a lot to be thankful for. Here is a partial list (in no particular order):
1. I am thankful for a wonderful supportive husband who works hard at his current job (which is job-hunting) and lets me nap whenever I need to.
2. I am thankful for my messy house; I know it'll never be clean but the mess reminds me of my husband and 4 loving children. I'd rather have a messy house than a life without my kids!!!
3. I am thankful for my kids; being a mom may not be a glamorous job but it is the hardest, most fulfilling job I have ever had. I wouldn't trade the hugs, kisses and love I get from them for all the money in the world. For all those who say I am "only" a mom who doesn't have a job, I say that there is nothing else I'd rather be and no job I'd rather have.
4. I am thankful for our lack of money because it has taught me what is really important - not tv, not shopping on Ebay but my family and friends.
5. I am thankful for my parents in-law who have been so loving and supportive through this whole nasty time of unemployment and stress.
6. I am thankful for all our many friends - you know who you are!
7. I can't say I'm thankful that Phil doesn't have a job. But I am thankful for God's faithfulness and provision during this time. This has been a real test of my faith.
8. I am thankful for Brett, who loves our kids and goes out of his way to spend time with them, teach them about God and be a part of their lives. (In fact, as I write this I am sitting in a house populated only by Phil and 3 cats. Brett took all 4 kids for an overnight at his house tonight. How cool is that?)

There is so much more that I am thankful for. But in the interest of not putting to sleep the few people who read this, I'm gonna stop now. I've hit the most important ones already anyway.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! I hope your holiday was joyous and fun

Bragging about my kids!

Well fall report cards have come out so it is time to brag a bit about my wonderful kids. The 3 in school are doing very well overall.

David's report card was good, but he doesn't get letter grades yet. Rather they list the skills he is learning in various subject areas and give out either a B (beginning), DV (developing) or IN (independent). He has a few INs, one B (for his handwriting, which is just atrocious) and the rest DVs. Pretty good! Here are some of the comments (summarized) I heard from his teachers at the parent-teacher conference I went to earlier this week. “He is a very sweet boy. He loves the number searches we do in class (note from Amy: they are like word searches only with numbers instead) and is good at them. He'll even ask for another when he is done. He loves to read when his work is finished. Mrs. Knake (his teacher) LOVES that he hugs her before he leaves every day. He is very good at math and problem-solving and can do problems in his head. He likes to go to the board and show his work; she likes that he is comfortable doing that and has the confidence in himself to volunteer for that. He is also very hard on himself - if he loses something or doesn't do something right he will apologize to Mrs. Knake and is very upset about it. He also will frequently ask if he can help her with something.” What a great kid!!!!

Rachel also had a good report card, although she also gets the B, DV, or IN instead of actual letter grades. Hers was mostly DVs and INs. She got INs in reading which is awesome. I just LOVE that my kids all love to read and are good at it. Yahoo!! I haven't had her parent-teacher conference yet so I'll write more about her later.

Rose got a report card with letter grades for the first time this year. She was very nervous about how she did, but came home with all A's!!!!! That's my girl!! I am so proud of her! Her parent-teacher conference was interesting, but not quite as informative as I'd hoped. In 4th grade, the kids start switching classes so the teacher she has for homeroom only teaches her science and couldn't comment much about the other subjects. There is another teacher that does social studies and language arts (they used to call this "english" when I was in school. what happened to that?) . For math, Rose is in the ELO program. I can't remember exactly what that stands for but back in my day they called that the gifted program. So she goes with probably a dozen of the 4th graders to yet another teacher who does math with them. I got to meet Mrs. Smith )the ELO teacher) and see her classroom. She is doing some seriously fun stuff in there, games and such. They are currently learning fractions and will be moving on to decimals soon. They do some basic algebra and story problems. It's a good thing Phil likes math, because frankly, I don't like helping her with all her math homework. Anyway. . . she is getting a 93% in ELO math so far. On her report card, the other teacher did comment that she should be improving her vocabulary by choosing books to read that are more advanced and can challenge her more. Right now she is plowing through the Little House series. Do any of you have suggestions about something that's more advanced reading than that but has subject matter that's appropriate for a 10-year-old. That's the problem I'm running into - some of the books I've found have things in them that I'm not necessarily comfortable having her read about until she's older.

Matthew is not in school yet, but knows all of his letters, basic shapes, basic colors and numbers, can count to 20. He loves to have books read to him and can even identify a couple states. We have this USA map puzzle that he likes to put together. He can identify Ohio, Kentucky and Texas. Yeah Matt :-)

I am just so proud of my kids and love them very much!!!!

A visit from some piggies

Wow! Two blog posts in 1 day! Not bad eh? Anyway, the season of sickness has started very early here in the Hahn house. We have had a visit from piggies. Yep, several of us had the swine flu last month. The girls and I were sick for about a week. David was sick for only a couple days. I'm not convinced it was the flu, although I don't know for sure. We were all healthy very briefly but now poor Rose has pneumonia. Poor kid - she seems to get sick so easily. She has missed quite a bit of school already this year and it's only November. The only good thing about having Rose home is that we can watch girl movies together. As I type this, we are watching The Sound of Music. She loves musicals just like her mom. Yay!!

So what are the other kids up to? David loves to play with legos. He makes action figures out of them and plays Star Wars. He is a huge Star Wars fan! He also likes to cook and wants to be a chef when he grows up. He and I made homemade applesauce last night. His teacher brought in homemade applesauce to school to celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday and he came home wanting to try it too. It turned out more like baked apples than actual sauce but he loved it. He is also developing quite a sense of humor and makes up jokes to tell us at the dinnertable.

Matthew has a never-ending supply of energy. He loves to play pretend and has stuffed animals and action figures he plays with. He loves zebras and giraffes, mainly because he likes the movie Madagascar. Have you seen it? His favorite characters are Melman, the giraffe and Marty, the zebra. He has a stuffed zebra that he carries everywhere and has named Marty. That and his lamb's wool blankie (which he calls "woolie scrap") are his two favorite possessions that he never goes anywhere without. He is still sleeping on the couch in the living room. He started that back when we had a tv in the living room and would watch a video as he was falling asleep. Well we've given away that tv but he still likes sleeping there. He is good about not wandering the house so we've let him sleep there rather than fighting with him to move back into the bedroom with David (who loves having a room all to himself). Matthew is also into playing with tools and doing magic tricks. He'll hold up an action figure, say "Abracadabra make this diappear. Poof!" and toss it over his shoulder onto the floor. Look - it disappeared! And if you don't clap, he looks at you, wrinkles his brow and says very sternly "You didn't clap!"

Rachel? Well I haven't spent as much time with her lately. She is in school full-time so I don't see as much of her as I did last year when she only went to school half a day. She is full of energy and loves to hug people. She loves to play with makeup, wear dresses and look pretty. She loves drawing and coloring and is always coloring a picture for someone. Her favorite possession is her pillow with its Ariel the Little Mermaid pillowcase. She calls her "Pilly" (pilly is a girl) and takes her everywhere. She is a sweet, energetic, caring little girl who wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. She loves our 3 cats and has been very responsible about keeping their food dish full.

So has Phil found a job yet? Nope. He is currently studying for his CCNA and plans to take the certification test next week. Having this will give him more (and higher-paying) job possibilities. CCNA stands for Certified Cisco Network Administrator I think. All I know is that having this will give him some much-needed confidence and make him more valuable/marketable.

The only other big news is that due to a lack of money, we have given up cable tv. So now we have no tv channels at all. Surprisingly the kids haven't protested much at all. We have dvds to watch if they want. But they have adapted really well and spend more time playing and reading books. Yahoo! One unexpected benefit of having no money!

Well it is time for the bigger kids to get home so I'm gonna sign off and hopefully not take quite so long to blog again!

A Birthday!

Well life has been busier for us recently. I can't believe I haven't found time to blog. Rose turned 10 exactly one month ago. I can't even believe she is 10 already! I remember when she was born. She was breech so my doctor suggested they try a procedure to try to turn her around. We headed into the hospital one Saturday where they gave me drugs to relax me. I don't know what it was but it made me as jittery as if I'd had 12 cups of coffee. Then they tried to turn Rose around but she wouldn't budge. She was stubborn even back then! Well they sent us home and scheduled a c-section for Oct. 16. Well Tuesday Oct. 12 in the wee hours of the morning my water broke. Phil was working 3rd shift at the time so I called him at work. He was excited to have an good excuse to drive home as fast as he wanted. So we ended up at the hospital for an emergency c-section. everything went smoothly and Evelyn Rose Hahn arrived at 7:42 a.m. and changed our lives forever.

She has grown up into a young lady who loves Jesus, likes to invent games to play with her siblings, enjoys doing arts and crafts, LOVES reading and is sweet, compassionate and sensitive. I am so grateful to God for giving her to us to raise. She is an amazing girl who I love very much!!

The picture is one taken by my wonderful mother (ok technically Phil's mom, but I'd rather call her mom than mother-in-law). She gave Rose an absolutely gorgeous dress which she modeled. Doesn't she look so grown-up?

It's Been Awhile. . .

since I've posted. Last week I was in Nashville for the 2009 MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Convention at the gorgeous, swanky Gaylord Opryland hotel and convention center. I'm a Zone Event Coordinator for MOPS so it wasn't all sitting around by the pool; I helped out making sure the sessions in "my" ballrooms ran smoothly. I was on my feet around 15 hours a day (I think even my blisters got blisters) and worked really hard. But I got to work with and talk to some amazing moms! I thoroughly enjoyed working with all the MOPS staff and the other ZECs. I miss you ladies already!!!! Hugs to any ZECs reading this :-) I got back Sunday afternoon and spent Monday just relaxing and recovering from all the busy-ness.

Phil was home with the kids while I was gone and he did a good job keeping them alive. The house was relatively clean when I got home. I say "relatively" because our house is never truly clean with 4 kids around, but we do our best. The bad news when I got home was about Matthew. As you all know if you've read my earlier blog entries, Matthew started preschool a couple weeks ago. His first day did not go well. When we picked him up, the teacher informed us that he had hit them and we needed to talk to him about that. Trust me we did!!! We had a long conversation about how you treat grownups and especially teachers. Every day since then we have mentioned this to him. We were hoping this was the end of the problem.

The next week he was vomiting and missed preschool. The 3rd week of preschool (which was actually only his second day) was the Friday while I was gone. Phil took him over to preschool, came home and went back to bed. Now Phil sleeps like the dead so he never hears the phone ring. Apparently the school called but couldn't reach him. To make a long story short, Matthew acted up in preschool that fateful day; he wouldn't listen to or obey his teachers. I didn't hear that he was hitting anyone, but he was evidently unwilling to follow the rules and was somewhat out of control. So they said he can't come back. He's been evicted from preschool. Kicked out. Asked not to come back.

I truly don't understand this because at home he is a sweet, imaginative, energetic child who loves to play pretend, read books and work puzzles. Ok I admit he is strong-willed. I am completely devastated by this news. David and Rachel went to preschool here. This is a fabulous program and I am sad that Matthew will not be finishing there like 2 of his older siblings did. I am very depressed and having a hard time processing this news. I am feeling like a complete failure as a mother. I don't have problems with him at home (well other than run-of-the-mill parenting problems that everyone has with their kids). Where did I go wrong? What can I do? He starts kindergarten next fall and I want him to like school as his older 3 siblings do. I don't want him to be the problem child who constantly needs discipline and ends up in the principal's office. I am just completely overwhelmed and stressed by life without income right now without adding this on top of it. I don't know what to do. I have FAILED!!!!!!!

So, now what?

Today is a milestone in the lives of the Hahn family. I am excited and sad all at the same time. Today is Matthew's first day of preschool. Yep after 2 years of taking kids to preschool, Matthew is finally big enough to go too. So now all 4 of my kids are in school. Of course Matt only goes one day a week, but I'll take it.

His preschool is an amazing program at a church a couple miles from our house. It is free and is one day a week for 4 hours. The teach the kids Bible stories, do crafts, learn letters and numbers, have playtime, snacktime and lunch. Matthew was up early this morning (he's up early every morning!). But he was excited about going to school so by 8 a.m. he was dressed and had his backpack on and his lunchbox in his hand. Poor kid; preschool doesn't start until 9:30. But soon enough the time came. I loaded all 4 kids in the van, dropped off the bigger 3 at their school then headed to Matt's preschool. We got there early (which is very atypical for us) which meant I had time to take pictures of him in front of the school. We headed inside to his classroom. He's in the same classroom that Rachel was in when she went to preschool there; different teachers though. He was the first one there and found his chair right away. Each child has a chair with their name on it and a crate to put their backpack and lunch in. He made himself at home and started playing with playdough. I took a couple pictures then said goodbye and left.

I expected to be excited and thrilled to have time to myself. I am, but I'm also sad. I mean he's my baby and now he's old enough to be in school. It's so hard to believe! I admit I was a little teary-eyed when I left. But I know he'll have a great time!

So, now what? I'm hoping that Fridays will be my day to get some projects done around the house. But today I'm gonna relax and enjoy the sound of silence! Even Phil is out running an errand. I have the whole house to myself!! So good night, I'm gonna take a nap!

Happy Birthday David!

This is a bit late. David actually turned 8 on Monday, August 31. I can't believe he's 8 already. I still remember the day he was born. We were so stressed out because he was due around the end of August. At that time Phil still worked for the school district and couldn't get much time off because school was starting then. David was breech so we'd scheduled a c-section and lined up people to help take care of Rose (who was only 22 months old at this point). But then David decided he didn't want to be breech anymore. So my doctor wanted to wait and see if he'd come on his own. Of course this messed up my plans and meant that there was no one to watch Rose. ACK! Well to make a long story short my doc agreed to do a c-section anyway on August 31. We arrived bright and early at 6 a.m. I got checked in, put on one of those lovely hospital gowns and settled down to wait. Phil brought along cards and we ended up playing gin rummy, a tradition that started with Rose and would continue with all of our kids (some of the nurses actually remembered us from one kid to the next simply because we played cards). My doc was gonna do my surgery then head to the office to see patients. But an emergency c-section came in and I had to wait. By the time it was my turn, my doc had to go to the office. So I was stuck waiting all day until she got done seeing patients. Another doc offered to do my surgery late that morning but by then I'd had 2 sips of 7-up, which meant I couldn't have the drugs. So I ended up waiting anyway. David was born at 5:15 p.m.

Since then he has grown into a kind, sensitive, caring, helpful, generous young man. He likes to cook, play video games, watch Star Wars movies, read books. He is in 2nd grade this year and has developed quite a good sense of humor. He loves to regale us with jokes he's heard or made up himself. He loves to be silly. He is very smart and enjoys school - last year he was reading at a 3rd/4th grade level. He is an amazing kid and I am so grateful to God for putting him in our family!

Happy Birthday David! I love you lots!!!