Call Us Cockrell

Food Menu

2011-07-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

Here's the food menu and days, if there is anything that you would prefer to make please make a note of it. Otherwise I'll just make assignments.

Sat evening D: Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, Kool-aid, cherries
Sun B: Cereal, milk, banana/zuchinni bread, 1/2 banana, OJ
Sun L: Ham, baked beans, green beans, roll, frog eye salad, potato fries
Sun D: leftovers and campfire popcorn and nachos
Mon B: Boiled omelets (individually done) Juice V8 water, orange slices
Mon L: Chicken salad pita, grapes, cookies
Mon D: dinner in the park
Tues B: Pancakes, Sausages, Hot cocoa or postum
Tues L: Fish Sandwich, Pasta salad, Pop
Tues D: Turkey, Salad, Rolls, Peas/carrots, yam casserole, stuffing, mashed potato, juice, pumkin pie
Wed B: Yogurt, granola, honeydew
Wed L: Potato bar, Salad, pears, cinnimon rolls
Wed D: BBQ Dinner at fair
Thurs B: Oatmeal Bar, Strawberries
Thurs L: Packed Lunch-Sandwich, chips, apple, cookie, carrots/cellery(ranch), capri drink
Thurs D: Hamburgers, corn on the cob, veggie tray, potato salad, watermelon
Fri B: Biscuit and gravy, peach slices, milk
Fri L: sloppy joes, cole slaw, banana bread remaining fruit
Fri D: Haystacks
Sat B: Cereal cookies and leftovers

I have recipes ready for the large amounts needed and I will post ingrediants needed to see if you can bring some from home and help reduce the cost of food.

FHE Lesson for introducting the pumpkins

2010-10-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

To introduce the happy/sad pumpkins for the month of October we did the following Family Home Evening Lesson on emotions. I drew up 6 pumpkins with expressions for happy, sad, mad, frustrated, embarrassed, and scared. (I did have some help with this from a lesson I had) Then I wrote the words for each emotion on a orange piece of paper. I started about how everyone has emotions and feelings (Dad, Mom, friends etc.) And talked about how having emotions isn't bad (i.e. it is ok to be mad) but that how we react when we feel emotions can be good and bad. Then I had someone pick a pumpkin face. And we would try to figure out what the pumpkin was feeling (with some we had to help i.e. Dad would make the face or we would talk about something that would make us feel that way) Next, if we hadn't already, we would talk about what would make us feel that way and some of the good or bad ways that we could deal with the emotion.

MAD

Good- Talking about what is making us mad, asking nicely for the person to stop, finding something else to do that makes us happy instead
Bad- Hitting, pushing, calling someone names
The boys did pretty well with this lesson. Some of the emotions were a little hard for them to understand put they liked picking the pumpkins. For the emotions he understood well he had a lot to say and as a parent it was nice to know his understanding of them and what we should do.
Then I talked about our charts and what the happy and sad pumpkins mean. Raif has been working very hard not to get a sad pumpkin. I was at the doctors office the other day for a visit and Raif wasn't listening so I told him that he would get a sad pumpkin when we got home. He then made sure that he was extra good to make up for the sad pumpkin which I sure appreciated.

October - Honesty

2010-09-28T16:39:00.000-07:00

I'm part of a Live Laugh Love Group that gets together once a month to put together 2 Family Home Evening Lessons, visuals for a song (that we practice all month), and a monthly activity to work on with our families based on a theme. This coming month of October is Honesty. For this monthly's activity we are working on teaching the kids that they can be honest about their feelings as long as it is respectful and constructive.

We each have an empty pumpkin patch that we start the month with. If a family member is happy or sad because of something another family member did, they give or place a pumpkin in the pumpkin patch of that family member. As the month progresses happy and sad pumpkins are added to the patch. Some families keep all the pumpkins there all month. We count the pumpkins each Sunday talking about how many sad and happy pumpkins there are. For the number of happy pumpkins we have we put a corresponding number of candy pumpkins in a jar. When the jar is full we spend a special movie night together as a family with pizza, pop, a treat and everyone in pajamas. We usually grab our pillows and blankets for this as well. (Our four year old LOVES this.)

This will be the second year we have done it and I thought it went very well last year. As a parent you become aware of how much negative versus positive praise you are giving. The kids learn that if they are mad or upset with a parent or sibling they have a positive way to express it. We had one group member last year who's little daughter (age 4) gave Dad a sad pumpkin because she was upset with Dad. When Dad found out they were able to sit and talk about why she was upset. This same member will also always remember how happy it made her feel when her Hubby left her a happy pumpkin for making him breakfast before work. If your up to the challenge that comes with trying to express to a young child how their actions make you, as an adult, feel then try your own pumpkin patch this October.

Finishing the fair

2010-08-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

I spent the last two weeks getting ready for the Jerome County Fair. I made a toilet monster and a two headed pipe monster for our table display. We also drug out the minigolf dragon for the booth. Now I'm ready to lay back and chill for a bit until Ronin's birthday at the end of this next week. Dennis has been working at the Kiwanis fair booth every night this last week and now will start putting together a cardboard boat for his branch of the bank. That's right a card board boat. It has to float and carry at least one person. The Twin Falls city council is hosting the competition later this month and the bank has decided that each of their branches will come up with a boat. Dennis was put in charge of Jerome's. Needless to say he will probably be gone most of this next week as well. He was hoping that I could help more but I have had the fair to worry about. That and someone has to stay with the kids:)

There's no place like home

2010-07-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

Finally we have come home to stay. Not that our schedule has let up any. This week we are getting the BZ Plumbing business ready for the upcoming county fair. We have a booth that we are putting together. Luckly half the booth we finished before we left to Utah. It's a dragon mini golf game that we plan on using at our booth. Looks great, eh! Now I need to create some signs and prep the trucks for the parade. Somewhere in all this I hope to get the house back in order. We'll cross our fingers.

Vacation after vacation after vacation

2010-07-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

So this summer has been very busy for us. We started it out with a week and a half stay with my sister Isabella around the first of June then we came home for a bit. Then we left for a two week stay with my sister Lillian in California. After being back for just a week and a half we were off again for a week and a half vacation to Dennis' family in Wyoming. Now we have just another week and a half layover before we travel down to my sister Isabella again for our family get-together. I have after all of this concluded that while I LOVE visiting with family I would perfer to squish all vacations into a single month of straight vacationing then having the occational layover between. I get home to "unpack" but I don't want to unpack everything because there are some things that we may need on the next trip that's around the corner.
Another summer vacation observation- so many vacations make the summer go by fast.
Anyway, I'm looking to post pictures from our wyoming vacation as I get ready for the family vacation. Hopeing to post again soon:)

Spent some time in Cali. with my sisters

2010-06-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

So this last two weeks the kids and I traveled down to my sister's Lillian's where we stayed for two weeks. My sister's and I try to get together at least once a year to laugh and chat..generally have a good 'ol time. However we have since discovered that having 9 kids all under the age of 6 complicates this immensely. Most of the time was spent monitoring the kids and sleeping in an effort to maintain our defenses again the fore mentioned kids. We have since decided that future sister time will be spent with as small a group as possible. Beware hubby the shadow looms when Mom will leave you all alone with the kids. Maw haw haw. Hmmmm I think my evil laugh needs some work. Anyway heres some pictures from our trip.

I'm pregnant again!

2010-06-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Dennis and I are expecting a new edition on Dec 8th. I'm hoping that this time it will be a girl but I guess we'll see. Raif and Ronin came with me for the ultrasound and Raif was very excited to see the baby. It even waved at him. I told him that the baby will come around Christmas so now he keeps asking if it is Christmas yet.

Easter was COLD!

2010-04-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

Easter came really cold for us this year. Snow came to join in the festivities but we were not to be stopped. We just bundled the kids up and took them to the park for Jerome's annual Easter egg hunt. Raif was an old pro now and so Dennis had both him and Saun (Brenda's foster kid) with him. I took Ronin to the younger kid area. The fire trucks siren went off and everyone made a mad dash for the eggs. Ronin was confused in general but I did manage to help him pick up a few eggs. Raif didn't cry this year (for which we were all too happy for) and nabbed a few eggs of his own. All in all fun was had by all. Then we went to Grandma Grandpa Buhler's for a family Easter egg hunt. We did eggs for the younger kids and brown sacks for the older kids. By the end of the day Ronin was starting to get the hang of it (especially when he found that the eggs had candy).

We have high speed at home!

2010-03-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, we now have high speed internet at home. I hope that with this I will be able to keep up with this blog. For now I'm just going to post a picture of the boys from the last snowfall

Getting ready for the 4th

2009-06-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

My family will be coming in for the 4th of July so I have spent a lot of time at my parents getting things cleaned up for company. Unfortunately, it also means that I am pulling out cluttered corners for my Mom to sort through. I put all these things on a table in their livingroom. Dad hates having all the stuff sitting in the livingroom and Mom is working as best she can to sort through things she has had for years. You would think that dealing with this stack of "things" wouldn't be that big of a deal but it has been a very emotional journey for my Mom.
There she sits sorting through piles of things that she bought for that special occasion that never happened. The gift that she thought the kids might love but didn't. The piles of books from her long dead mother who she always felt she was a burden to. The holiday decorations she thought would would transform her home into an oasis for the holiday that never quite worked right. The dreams, ideals, hopes, and even some disapointments sitting on a table waiting to separated into trash, give away, and put away. She says that she knows that having the house clutter free will be a release not to mention easier to clean but she always tears up at this point.
I have wanted to help her several times over the years. All of my sisters have. Throwing and giving away many items over the years. However, I have come to realise that this will always be a journey only she can take. I move the boxes around and haul the stuff away when needed, reminding her that the end goal is worth it.

The Lost Months

2009-06-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

If this blog were a cactus plant I would have killed it by now. My parents have gotten back from their last mission to Oklahoma. I felt like I was dragging them home reluctantly but they made it. We have started our garden and the peas look great. The cantalope however has been attacked by boxelder beetles and we only have one surviver (who may or may not get the million dollars). I have retaliated back against the beetles with boiling hot water. I have to admit that I gain great pleasure watching their bodies twitch and die from the water. I can almost hear the buggy screams of death....anyway.

Dennis is still with Farmer's Bank and I'm still here with the kids. On Tues and Fridays I travel out to my parents and do the books for the plumbing business while my parents watch the kids. We are also gearing up for our vacation at the end of July when we will travel to Wyoming to visit Dennis' family. So far we'll try and catch a indian powwow and the Cheyenne Frontier Days. Hopefully I'll get a rough schedule posted so that if anyone wanted to catch up with us they could.

I still do the occationally odd craft and this is my latest one. A hanging tent for Raif. He loves it and calls it his house. When I first put it up, Raif insisted that Dad sit in it with him while they read a story. He also thinks it is fun to say goodbye to everyone and go home.

Ronin is crawling everywhere and has started to climb up things so that he can stand. He started off with an army crawl across the floor but within the last few days he has progressed to hands and knees. He is eating up a storm and somedays I think that he eats more than Raif does. His favorite food are popcicles and you will be his best friend if you share.

TV Dinner Cupcakes and Young Women

2008-11-12T15:49:00.001-08:00

TV Dinner Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

We got these cupcakes at the scout auction. One of the ladies I know made them. They are cupcakes and everything she used to make them with is eatible. I gave them to my young women this last Sunday because they released me from my calling as the Young Women second councilor. I was just getting all their names down and then they released me. I am thankful though that I got to be in Young Women's even if it was for a small amount of time.

Making new chairs out of old

2008-11-12T15:17:00.001-08:00

auction and decorating 004
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

I got some fabric for 40% off and decided to finally change out the seat on our Youth Ranch finds. I think that they look great now and all it took was to staple the new fabric on and screw them back on. Then with a touch of the magic wand that we use for just such occations... whala a new looking chair:) (psst..it's the one on the right)

Halloween with the Cockrell's

2008-11-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know, dang good looking bunch. Here we are for Halloween. We had just had the potty party the day before so this was a busy week for us. Raif, Ronin and I went to a community Halloween thing that they had going in Gooding while we waited for Dad to get off work. No this is not what he wore to work. Bad for the banking image you know:) After he got off work and changed, we picked him up and headed to the trunk or treat that they had at the church. Then we went to another community Halloween party that they were having just down the road. Raif got irritated with the wizard beard that kept getting in his mouth and spent quite a bit of time out of his costume. In the end we got our sugared up bundle of energy in bed a little later then usual but he had a smile on his face. Oh yea, I finally got the chance to try a litte pumpkin carving I had been wanting to try. Our garden produced just one small pumpkin this year so I took that to mean I had a volenteer. Raif had fun seeing the face come alive and I loved trying a new technique. We then took it down to the bank as a Halloween surprize for Dad. I had so much fun with it I might make it a new tradition for us. Nothing like carving tortured faces into pumpkins to get you into the Halloween spirit.

Potty Party Cake

2008-11-02T14:11:00.001-08:00

Potty Party Cake
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

Well Raif finally made it to the middle of his chart and on Oct. 30th we had a big potty party for him. This is a picture of the cake that a friend and I made for it. The base is just a white cake mix and the cars we made out of a cake I baked in bread pans. We then added square devils food cakes (from the store) as the cabs and decorated with frosting and candy. I also hung up about two dozen lighting bolts that I made from paper from the ceiling. Then we watched the cars movie and all the kids got to make their own pizza's. I think that Raif had a really good time and loved being the center of attention. Lisa said that it will be hard to top this with his birthday. I guess we'll see:) Raif is doing well with the potty. He still has a couple accidents but for the most part he's got it down. We are VERY proud of him.

Potty Training

2008-10-24T15:27:00.001-07:00

potty
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

We have started potty training Raif. At first it was a real uphill battle and I didn't think that we would make it. Then my little sister gave me the idea of doing a potty chart. Everytime that he goes potty he moves his little red car forward. If he has and accident then he moves it backward. At first it didn't seem like he would get past go but now he is moving at a swift pace and will probably reach the "potty party car" in a week (small bladder's make for fast progress). Then we will have a huge car themed party. I'm sure that we will be as excited by the party as he will be.

Raif and Ronin in the Stroller

2008-10-15T15:01:00.001-07:00

Raif and Ronin in the Stroller
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

Raif loves riding in the stoller with Ronin. I think it is because it is one of the few times Mom lets him "hold" Ronin for an extended priod of time. He gets to kiss, hug and talk to Ronin for as long as the ride last.

School Set up

2008-10-15T14:27:00.001-07:00

school 005
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

This is the "classroom" I set up for Raif. There are close up pictures of things on the flickr account to the right of my posts. I put out some of the projects that we have worked on.

School Starts

2008-10-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

I have started doing school for Raif. We start at 9 AM every Tues-Fri. It usually last about an hour and we have been doing it for about 2 weeks. Raif loves it and gets excited every morning when it is time. I have put together enough lessons for the month. They consist of bacic things like the sun, rain, wind/clouds, snow, my body, skeleton, senses.... I am amazed at how much he likes to sit down while we talk about these different things. We start by checking the calander and he puts up the date and we talk about what day it is. Then we set up for school pulling out the supplies and assigning seats (I made up slip covers with our names so that he can get used to seeing and recognising his name), and saying pray (this is the only time I have been able to get him to say the prayer). Every friday I get books from the library that goes with the theme and we start by reading the designated book(s). Then we take some time to sing some songs. Next is serious work with practice in drawing in straight lines, recognising letters of the alphabet, cutting straight, and reading practice that consists of a jumble of ideas that I got from the library. We pick and choose among these of course. Then we break off for some fun with an activity based on the theme. Finally it's snack time and recess. I'll try posting pictures of his "work space" when I can.

Ok so maybe once a month:)

2008-05-30T17:33:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad Cockrell just headed out from visiting with us. We got to have them for a whole week and loved it. Raif was really excited to get grandpa up in the morning and have him read him books.

My parents have been called out to Oklahoma where they are planning to be for TWO months. This time Brenda will run the rentals, I'll do BZ work (with Alma running the truck) and Isabella running the farm. They will leave in the middle of June.

We finally got our garden in (thanks to Mom and Dad Cockrell's help) and can't wait for something to start growing. I did plant a large cherry tomato plant that should be producing soon but I kind of think that may be cheating:)

I'm also putting together a large activity for the YW to do while they are doing the temple celebration. I'll try to post the general idea of it later

A Year in Review

2008-04-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well I know it has been a while since we got on to say anything and I now have almost a year to review. In short here it is:
Dennis and I are expecting a new baby, we think it is another boy due at the end of August. (I'll try and post some ultrasound pictures). If it is a boy we may name him Tristan Buhler Cockrell, if it is a girl we are not quite sure what we would name her:) so here's to hoping it is a boy:). I didn't have any problems with morning sickness and I'm not really showing so most people forget that we are even expecting.

We bought a new house in Dec 2007. It is on a nice little side street with mostly local traffic. It has three bedrooms and one bath. Built in 1970's by the guy across the street. Most of our nieghbors have been here long enough to tell us all about the history of the house. The front yard has some beautiful landscaping but the backyard is weeds. I've started drawing up some ideas of what we would like for the backyard but it will take a few years for us to impliment anything.

Mom and Dad have come back from their mission. (BIG relief for me:) Though they have put them in again. This time they will be going on smaller week/weekend service trips to do plumbing for the church when and where it may be needed.

Raif is running all over the place now. He loves playing outside and watching Stuart Little (at least this week he does). He is getting better at talking, using mostly one to two word sentances. He likes watching and holding babies so we hope that he will love the new baby when it comes.

I got called as the Young Women's 2nd councilor about a month ago. They are getting ready for a big song and dance production in Aug when the Twin Falls temple is dedicated. All of our activites until then will have to do with practicing and learning what we will be doing. So far I love being in Young Women's. I am in charge of the Beehives and with the celebrations I will have several new girls in my class bring my total to about 10 beehives. Most seem excited to do the dancing. Dennis has been called into the Sunday School Presidency though I don't think they have him doing anything for it yet.

Dennis is still with Farmer's and seem to really enjoy his work. He doesn't care for the times when he has to do collections on some of the loans but it's a tradeoff that he is willing to live with.

Well that is a quick review. We will try to keep you updated more.

The latest and greatest

2007-06-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

We took a weekend to visit Shem and LaDawn in Boise. There we were able to watch Analee play some volleyball and Damien play some soccer. They seemed to have fun and it was good to see them active. It was a good weekend and it was nice to get away for a short while.

Grandma and Grandpa Cockrell also came to visit. It was really nice to have them come. Raif was a slow to warm up to them, but by the time they were ready to take off, he was ready to follow grandpa around. Dad and I did a lot of yard work. We spent a greater portion of a day trying to get a $25 weed eater to work. In the end, we had cleaned everything possible and adjusted it also. We got it going and it is still working. Sometimes it is just nice to work with dad and try to figure stuff out. We also did some site seeing in the area, but more than anything we just spent time together.

We have a garden that mostly Angela and her Lisa Reeves work on. It is doing OK, but the weeds are tough to keep at bay. We'll see how it all does come harvest time.

Just an update about our finches. Grandma and Angela bought some toys for them, a traumatic experience for them when the "big giant hand " reached in and threatened everything they know. It was questionable for a while whether they would recover or not. They have, and are playing with themselves in the mirror and like to swing on the ladder.

No we are not lost, yet

2007-05-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

After more then a month of no word I'm sure that many of the three of you had assumed us dead or baried in diapers. Ok maybe baried in diapers but not dead. We have however had some eventful...uh...events. In April Alma moved back out to his apartment with Misty (when she decides to stay there) and two weeks ago Alma was slow to move again. At this time I decided to drug test him and he came up positive. Things did not look good because I knew with the way things were, the business could not go through the ups and downs again. So a family council was called and it was decided that the best thing to do would be to shut down the business. Since then I have been going though the motions of doing just that. The rentals have rallied to fill the void in my life by calling with new repairs and problems. Isabella visited for a week to lend her support in the week following the shut down of the business. I'm so glad she came, it is always fun to see how are the kids are growing and hear Isabella expound on how her kids are better than Raif. Kregg then called her home too soon and I was once again left with just my closer loved ones.

It was during this lull that I discovered how important it is for husbands to listen to their wives. And how carefully we should phrase requests. Prior to all of this and late into the night, a brilliant thought had accurd to me. I wanted a fun date planned completely by my husband. To some this may not seem like such a great thing but to my husband Dennis it was akin to giving an hour long speach in church naked. Death was looking better and better. For fun I gave him a full month to come up with this date. Now fast forward through the next couple weeks. By then I had become a bundle of sad, sometimes weepy, over stressed, under loved shell of myself. I began to rip Dennis apart for small things like not helping to set the table, plow the garden, walk on water, etc. While Isabella was here we talked about why I had not received my date, and he wondered if I would want to go out while Isabella was here. To which I happily replied that she was a free babysitter. Days after Isabella left, I had taken these things to my heart and thought on them (Luke 2:51) then cornered my husband again on the nondate. My love language is gifts and acts of service. Dennis' is quality time and physical touch. For those of you unfamiliar with the love languages please refer to the books that mom gave out for Christmas 2004-05. I discovered that I had really asked Dennis to address my love language by taking me on a date. Dennis being the loving husband wanted to make it a major production of Broadway tickets, romance and candlelight. I had moved past these notions to just wanting to get out of the house. After long married persons discussion we learned that I needed to go out. On Tuesday Dennis took me out for dinner and a movie, on Wednesday I got my hair done by a professional salon lady, Thursday I got new shirts and hair things and by Friday I felt like I could once again take on the world. Dennis now has a wife that will pet him and sit by him as we watch movies. We have both learned a little more about loving each other and Dennis has readjusted the budget.

As for the business. We still have people calling hoping to find a plumber and Alma is going through the stages of grief. We know that he has past denial and anger. He has tried some bargaining but we are unsure if he has moved past it. We are hoping that before too long he will get to acceptance and find a new fabulous job that will help him figuire his life out.

Cave Exporing

2007-03-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a fun couple of weeks. Last weekend we went with Brenda and Verlon to explore some of the caves near Shoshone. One was closed for the season and the other had several small bats hanging down. It was really fun and we hope to be able to find some more caves later. Alma has started football and they had a practice game this last Friday. He has started (along with some other guys) a minor league here and is playing as a linebacker. He has another game coming this next friday. This last friday I went up with Brenda for a half day that they had. The kids loved playing with Raif and I liked being able to see where she worked and the kids that she has. They played a pilgram game were the class was broken into teams and they try to survive in the wilderness. They even had hats that they could wear. Next week Dennis' boss will have his retirement party and things will begin to shift around. I'm not sure how Dennis' job will change but I do know that he will be getting a different desk that sets higher. The one he sits at now is too low and he has to be careful not to hit his knees. Needless to say he is looking forward to the new desk

Traveling and Sitting

2007-03-04T13:28:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we were able to go and visit Shem and LaDawn. It was just a one day up and back deal, but we got to see Damian sing. Damian was asked to sing to an all boys choir that they have in Boise and we were excited to see him sing. Unfortunatly, they only sang 3 songs and then they had a band play and some other kids sing. Damian was really excited about it and he really seems love singing. It was also nice to be able to talk to Shem and LaDawn next time we will spend the night so we can get in a longer visit. Sophia kept a careful eye on Raif and encouraged him (several times) to have a drink from his sippy cup, keep close to Mom and Dad, and play with several toys.
Raif is currently enjoying finding various parts of Pepper that he can sit on. Paws, legs, belly he is tring each to see what height he ends up at and Pepper keeps sleeping though it all. He has enjoyed sitting on many objects lately to see what happens when he does. Raif is also tall enough to play some notes on the piano and drags around the makeshift firepoker we have. His favorite surface to drag the firepoker seems to be the kitchen tile. His dancing has advanced to picking up his feet now instead of just bouncing and he takes the chance to dance whenever he can.
Angela has painted some of the laundry room a tan/purple shade and is looking to adds some trim and finishing touches. We are also looking at painting and adding trim to the downstairs bathroom in order to finish it.
Alma and Misty went to church with us today and we have told Quincy that he has until Wendesday to find another place to stay. All in all life is moving, on and we are working in keeping it in the middle 'best we can. Love ya all and we hope that all is well with you.

An attempt at improvment

2007-02-11T14:59:00.000-08:00

Part of our Sunday is now to include time set aside to blog. This is to help me prove to my family that I indeed still care about them. However, writing and correspondence has never been one of my strong points. So there is definitely room for improvement.

The following will be life from my perspective, since Angela tends to have a different point of view.

Work is going well, but presents its challenges. There is a large learning curve for me at this point. I wish that I didn't have to ask so many questions, or make the mistakes that I do. Despite my imperfections and rookie status, I continue to make progress and get a bit more responsibility little by little. I do believe that they are pleased with my efforts and my production. I like being able to interact more personably with customers in the loan department rather than the impersonal phone calls that took place in customer service. I like that bank holidays apply to me, and I get a decent amount of 3 day weekends.

Here at the home front it is a battle of wills. First there is Alma. He has a plethora of personal problems that he is dealing with, along with trying to fill in the shoes of his father in the plumbing business. It is frustrating seeing a business that was built in 30 years through hard work and sweat struggle. I think that the company will take care of it's workers, as long as they take care of it. At this point it seems like Alma just wants the business to take care of him. There are still many hurdles to overcome, but there are signs that this time his resolve to straighten his life out may hold true.

Working out the kinks of international communication never stops. Angela has the organizational skills to handle issues that she can control. One would be quite foolish to believe they could control Brent and Connie or the banks or the cell phone companies. The Bank and Cell phone company have just been block headed about sticking to their rules after Brent and Connie are gone, but when it came to making sure things were set up for them before they left, we have found they were less than thorough.

My optimistic theory includes everything, plumbing and rentals, being fine tuned just in time for Brent and Connie to come back and have to learn everything over again.

My pesimistic theory includes the walls of Jerico falling in on us all.

Just kidding. Now and probably not for the last time, Faith is what's required and not my negativity. I know Brent and Connie need to be on their mission, and the Lord will make it possible both here and in Mexico.

Raif walks, runs, falls, cries, eats, plays, poops, and grows. Though seemingly impossible, he is always doing all of those things. He is really fun to watch grow and change. I like coming home and knowing he is excited to see me.

Fast Mail Is up again

2007-01-21T19:47:00.000-08:00

Dennis has finally cleared out room on his fast mail so that he can recieve mail again. We heard about the celebration for Grandma and Grandpa and we can make it Dennis is going to sign up for some time off of work to go (but we need to make sure that the date is a definate) He also is going to be taking some time off in July (a week) and we will be going to Wyoming to visit everyone (detail will be coming later).

January brings birthdya smiles

2007-01-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas was fun. Dennis has that week off so we were able to just sit and enjoy the holidays. the biggest thing we got for Christmas was a wii nitendo system. It has been really fun to play. Our arms were sore the next day but after that it's not so bad. I would recommend it to anyone. After Christmas I went down to California to visit with my sisters for the New Year. Raif had an ear infection while he was down there and didn't enjoy it as much as I did. It was really fun being able to hang out with my sisters.
On January 5th Raif had his 1st birthday. So he got to be striped naked and eat cake it was really fun to watch him. He got some books, bathtoys, and sleeping clothes for his birthday. The last few days he has been walking on his own without the aid of the couches. He still gets really giggly at night just before we put him to bed and loves when his Dad comes home from work. He can now look at Dennis and say Dada but he still says that at a lot of things.
After Raif birthday we celebrated our anniversary by getting a babysitter and going to a movie. We saw Night at the Museum and I loved it. We'll probably end up getting it when it comes out on DVD. We'll that's all for now Love ya!

Update

2006-12-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone
Things have been busy with Christmas coming so here's a quick update. Dennis is doing well at the Jerome branch. He's even got a desk and phone!:) Raif is feeling better and exploring everything. He's also started repeating many sounds that he hears and loves babbling as he moves around the house. Pepper loves the farm but keeps finding skunks uuhhhh! We think that we might be safe now that the winter has come but you never know. I'm busy with the businesses I finally have all the rentals rented out and the plumbing biz has slowed to a dull roar for the holidays.

The Milestone- Clapping

2006-11-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

Raif hit a developmental milestone today, drum roll please, moment of suspenseful silence, he clapped. Yes today for the first time in our house Raif has clapped. I had been taking some extra time lately to show him how clapping worked and today he decided to try it himself. Of course the Saturday basketball game may have brought his curiosity to a peak. The final result- clapping. He has been practicing it all day. He gladly showed the ladies at Dennis' bank that he could clap and happily clapped them a goodbye.
Of course he is not always successful in his endeavor to clap.
But after careful examination he is once again on track and clapping his way around the house.

And Heerrrreeee's Raif!

2006-11-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

Every morning at 7 AM Dennis and I are awaken by the sturrings of our son Raif. To share the joy of what we see in the mornings Dennis took this picture. Shortly after it was taken Raif asked for the keys to the car. How could we resit? I'm sure as soon as his feet can touch the pedals we'll hardly see the car again.

To hassen the event he has been

practicing his walking and has even started to stand by himself for seconds at a time.
He has also taken to pursing his lips while doing various activies-eating, crawling, standing and we suspect sleeping. At this time we are not sure wheather he picked it up from that play group that's been hanging around the park or learned it on his own but he looks cute enough for our camera:) He looks looks so cute doing it that Dennis has taken it up as well. The bank thinks that it is so funny that they have just encouraged him. I just keep telling him that it may stay that way if he's not careful.

I also thought that I would take this chance to post a picture of the painting Mom and Dad got for us before they left. The hard part has been figuiring out where we want to put it.

Happy Birthday Jen

2006-11-12T16:18:00.000-08:00

We would like to send out a BIG happy birthday to Jen. we hope that you got everything you ever wanted. (Dennis and I were going to send by something tall, dark and handsome but apparently he's booked several months in advance).
Everyone on our side is doing great. Raif is getting over his ear infection and moving, moving, moving. I'll post some pictures later.

The finger and standing

2006-11-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

We got a shot of Raif with his finger poised and ready to touch or grab whatever he can get. Lately, he climbs up the side of various object in the house to see what is on top of them. Then he'll stretch his finger out to grab the edge of various things (pens, paper, stuffed animals, important documents) pulling them to the edge so that he could get a better look at them. I've started to place various objects on top of the chairs so that he can explore. He is also getting good at pointing at pictures in books while we name them off.

One morning Eric wanted to see if Raif could do a cheerleading stand. Raif was delighted to help and pose for the camera. Later that day Dennis came home and decided to give it a whirl as well . Raif is getting to be quite the acrobat. Just the other day I had to tell him to stop swinging on the sprial staircase because batman was NOT going to mistake him for robin and ask him to join the "gang". Come to think of it maybe we should cut back his TV watching as well. Hmmmmmm

Raif's not feeling well

2006-11-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

I took Raif to the doctor today because he was running a high fever. They found that he had an ear infection so now he is on medicine for it. He's been really tired lately. I put him down next to the couch and when I had come back he was stand next to the couch asleep. I should have gotten a picture of it.
Mom and Dad have headed off to the MTC. They say that they have been kept busy so they haven't had a chance to miss us yet. I said that it was probably a good thing.
There was another girl that quit at Dennis' work so he will be staying longer. He had a pow wow with some of the big wigs and they said that they have been very pleased with his work. They wished that they could have moved him on but things weren't looking good for that. On the bright side they gave him a $2 raise and said they give him an additional raise at the end of this year. Well that's it for our update today. I hope things are going well for everyone else!

Quick Update

2006-10-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

Hey, Thought I would drop a quick note to let everyone know how we were doing. Raif is a crawling monster now and climbs up whatever he can. Mom and Dad are finishing up visits to the family so they are gone this week. They have next week and then they go into the MTC on the 30th. Since they will only be here for a week, they moved out of the main house and will be staying where Dennis and I were for the summer. Now Dennis and I are working on moving in and finding places for our massive amount of stuff. Toothbrush? check. Mouthwash? check. Clothes in closet? check. Honey what do you want to do with the remaining 2 drawers and dresser? So Raif has a new dresser drawer where we put all of his earthly possessions. Diapers? check. Sleeper? check. Books? check. As for the remaining spaces? Well I guess the world is our oyster now.Speaking of worldly oysters- Dennis has finally found out where he will be heading next. Thursday his supervisor called to tell him that he will split the next two weeks between the loan secretaries and loan processors. Then they hope to switch him over to Jerome where he will train a bit as a teller then get a shared desk job as a loan officer. In march the Jerome bank manager will retire and Dennis will move up a bit and get his OWN desk. Any time he talks to the "higher ups" they say that they have the long term in mind for him and that is why they want to make sure that he gets a lot of cross training in. So things are looking good for us. The bank has got "plans" for Dennis and we've got unused spaces. We're gonna need shades:)

Soldier Head Twist

2006-09-19T16:25:00.000-07:00


This guy can turn his head completely backwards and see what's behind him.

Work and Raif

2006-09-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

I have just finished my probationary period at the bank. From when I talked with the bank president a few weeks ago he said that the plan was still to move me to Jerome. Before that can happen they want me to have some teller training, spend some time with the loan secretaries, and get my loan officer training. So there is a plan, but it still feels like the end of the commute is a long way off. If management lies in my future, then the training, which is more than any other loan officer has ever had at the bank, will prove to be quite valuable. All in all, they are very pleased with the work I'm doing.

Raif had his doctors appointment on Friday. According to the doctor, he is doing very well with his developmental stages. He weighs about 15.5 lbs, which is about 15th percentile. However, for height he is in the 50th percentile. Basically he is skinny and tall.

He is getting up on his hands and knees more and more, but he still doesn't want to crawl very much. What he likes to do is stand up. He is usually quite happy when he is doing so. I tricked Angela by helping him get up in his crib. She thought Raif had done it by him self, but nonetheless it was fun to watch him play in the crib.

For Angela and I at times, the task of getting everything in order seems monumental. Meaning the bookkeeping, apartment managing, and house stuff. Part of the frustration stems from the fact that some things will just have to wait till Brent and Connie leave on their mission. The good part is that it is coming together, but just at a slower rate we would desire.

Slower Days

2006-09-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

We are on to slower days now. Yesterday, we went on a steamboat ride up and down the snake river. Some brothers built a steamboat look-a-like and they give two hour tours. The ride includes lunch (or dinner) and everyone had a great time. If anyone comes to visit we'll try to spend a day on the river. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera but Isabella got some shots with her camera that I'll try to post later. Not much else going on. Tomorrow Dennis is off and everyone else will be gone so we're not sure what we'll do for the holiday. My guess is catch up on sleep.

August is Almost Over

2006-08-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

OK I know I haven't updated in a while BUT August is almost over. So what does this have to do with not writing you may say? Well it means the end of the 10 birthday's, Alma's wedding and all the planning and clean-up involved, Mom and Dad's farewell (attended by all but 3 of his sister's, considering that he has 13 in all that's alot), Quincy has finally moved out, Alma has gotten rid of most of his non-working cars and at the first of this next month Dennis will be off "probation" with the bank and become a full bank employee. They have actually already started the paperwork for this. Something tells me they don't expect him to mess up anytime soon.Dennis is doing well in his job. It seems like every other day he comes home with a story about how they are very happy with his work. He seems to really enjoy the work and it sounds like he will really like working for this bank.Raif is sitting up really well and has been trying out his hands and knees (he's still working on crawling forward). His next doctors appt. is next week and he'll get is next set of shots. It took us a while to find a doctor and make an appointment.Alma's wedding seemed to go well. We had a treasure hunt to keep the kids busy and Saturday night we rented a projector and made a huge "screen" out of bedsheets to create our own drive-in movie theatre. Everyone seemed to have a really good time. Now we spend our time cleaning things up and packing up the house for Mom and Dad. We hope everything is going well with everyone else. Happy Be-lated Birthday Katie your card is coming.

Raif College

2006-08-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to making a collage out of pictures I had taken of Raif when he was about two months old. Thought I'd post it

OK OK so we'll update!

2006-08-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well around July 4th we had the Buhler Reunion. I got to get my groove on down in California while Dennis spent the week free and easy (and worked). Alma will be getting married Aug. 25th and I have been working on helping him put together his wedding and reception. So far the big things have been taken care of it just getting the little things put together.
The rentals are coming along. I'm drafting a new lease that I will have the renters sign in the coming months. I'm also working on a new system to collect rent so that I will not have to visit each rental each month. The new system will work through the mail and I'm working on adding an incentive program for paying the rent on time.
The plumbing business is coming together and I think that I've gotten it down. At least until I hit tax time:)
Raif is growing like a weed. He's sitting up better each day but loves standing the most. Since he can roll over on his own he has started sleeping on his stomach. At first he would wake up mad because he was on his stomach. Now he has started to get used to it and will actually spend awake time happily on his stomach.
We also replaced our digital camera so we can finally start taking more picture. It has some neat features where I can pick a color and it will turn everything else in the picture to black and white. We'll post more pictures (yes we'll be in some) later. Dennis says that he'll try sitting down and updating everyone on his job within the next couple days.

DENNIS GOT THE JOB!

2006-06-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

OK I know we haven't written in a while but Dennis did get the job with Farmer's National Bank and we have been busy getting our schedules worked out. He is working in the Twin Falls branch. They have two ladies that will be leaving on maternity leave and he will be taking over thier job's in the customer service department. Then they will move him over to the Jerome branch for a little bit. Basically he is cross training in several different departments until they find his perminant postion. So far he is enjoying working for them and says that this job is just what he was hoping that he would get.

Raif has found his toes and loves to try and pull his socks off. He is also working on rolling over. He gets to his side but stops himself when he sees that he may end up on tummy (which he hates). He is sleeping better. He still gets up around 5 but we give him his pacifier and he goes right back to sleep until 7. (Great, considering we put him to bed around 7:30-8 with a sleepy feeding at 11)

I've been working on planting some grape vines along the back fenceline and getting the irragation system working. So far I have successfully flooded the borrow pit and driveway twice in an attempt to water the front lawn. Luckly, I hear that brown is the new green for summer lawns so we should be safe for this summer's lawn fashion. Still working on getting the weeds down and the fences fixed but one project at a time. They have also called me to teach the sunbeams in primary. So far the lesson have been easy like- I can do many things and I have feelings. Both which I could relate to. Maybe that's why they called me. Hmmmmm.

Job Update

2006-06-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Well I thought that I would give a quick update on Dennis' job searching. He's been sitting on pins and needles waiting for THE phone call. Friday Farmer's National Bank had him take a drug test and fill out paperwork for a criminal background check. Friday afternoon they call to tell him that he had passed the drug test (yea we were sweating that one for a while). Monday they called to tell him that Wyoming is one of the few states that keeps criminal records by county instead of state. That means that they have to call each county and find him records. Luckly he has only stayed in two countys. Today Dennis waited by the phone and monitored all internet use (since we use dial-up). At one they called to say that they were still waiting. So we are left still waiting (Dennis in baited breath so I hope it doesn't take too long) for THE phone call.

2006-06-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

I know you were beginning to doubt my ability to write, communicate, and basically do anything which distinguishes me from the Cro-Magnon man. While I am still working on some of those distinctions, I can put to paper some few simple thoughts. Besides that, I also have a reason to be writing which involves the latest results of my attempts to procure employment.
By the time spring semester of school got out last year, I had already been looking for some sort of internship, summer job, or anything that would give me some experience to beef up my resume in the eyes of potential bank employers. I had one good conversation with the HR manager from Farmers National Bank, but nothing that would suggest that my worries were over. That whole summer I only had a couple of interviews that could only be chalked up to practice and experience, because they wanted someone for more than 3 months.
So, that summer was of no benefit to my self-esteem or confidence to get a non-construction type job. Our commitment to manage Brent and Connie’s Rental business and Plumbing books was beginning to seem like a promise that limited my potential job market. However, the HR Mgr said I should call him up if I would be in the area for the Holidays.
I called him up and I was given a chance to meet with him and the Bank President. The informal “get-to-know-you” interview wasn’t what I expected, and I chalked that one up to experience also. But, they said to contact them around spring Break and see if their situation had changed and let them know how I was doing. In that phone call, I learned that I had impressed the Bank President and the HR Mgr. That surprised me and I felt better about my ability to interview. The conversation ended basically the same as the others, and I was left to dangle on the line, but encouraged to continue my job search and contact them when I was in the area and graduated.
In the meantime, I tried to look and apply for jobs via the internet, but was met with replies that they needed to fill the position before I would be in the area or no answer at all. Upon graduation and moving to Jerome, I renewed my job search, and had some success in terms of Teller positions, but that wasn’t really why I went to College for. I called Lee Cline, the HR Mgr for FNB, and when he got back to me I was informed of the upcoming management meeting and that they would discuss possibilities for me, even though they were fully staffed.
In my interviews for other employment, I was received very well and even offered a Teller position. My interview confidence was growing, but the timing of my job searching didn’t seem to match the job openings I would like. Following the Management meeting I received a phone call from Lee saying that he would like me to meet with a Branch manager from Twin Falls and an Assistant Branch Manager from Jerome. I met with them and discussed my career goals and interests while they told me of the benefits of working for FNB. I talked to Lee today and he said the interview went very well. Tomorrow, I will go in and consent to a criminal background check and drug test. Contingent on my passing these steps, I will meet with Lee on Monday to make sure we are on the same page as far as salary (the managers said I could expect a salary within the typical starting range for college graduates) and all that jazz. I would work within a training program, because there are no immediate positions available, where I will be trained and cross-trained while they wait for the new branch to be built or upcoming retirements go into effect and positions to open up. They basically created a position for me so I won’t go to another bank and they lose the opportunity to have me work for them.
It seemed like a completely fruitless summer last year, but has proven to be the motivation to get the ball rolling and the opening of a door which appears to lead to fulltime employment. A job in my area of study and in an organization which will allow a good career start with good potential for advancement. We have fasted and prayed and as a result, we have been very blessed. The whole process has been a huge trial of my faith. We’re both excited and happy on how everything is coming together.
Stay tuned for updates.

Pictures of Raif's First Feeding

2006-05-26T09:24:00.001-07:00

Raif got his first taste of "solid food" today. We gave him some watered down rice cereal. At first he rolled it around and most of it got on him instead of IN him. For a while it was a battle between the spoon and the "Price is Right" on TV. Finally he started paying attention and searching for the spoon. Toward the end we just gave him the spoon to naw on.
He's still working on the coordination for it.

Pepper the Wonder Dog

2006-05-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here she is jumping on the trapoline with Dennis. He takes the soccer ball on the trapoline with him and she'll spend at least an hour (or as long as Dennis can last) playing tug-o-war and keepaway. We uploaded more photos onto the flickr account. Click on the right to follow the link.

Jumping Dogs and Sunday Sermons:)

2006-05-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

I finally figuired out how to change the settings to allow anyone to place comments without being a member of blogger. Sorry for the hassel!
Time flies but I'll try to make up for it. Mom and Dad are getting check up calls from the mission center (more on this can be found on their blogger). Raif is sitting up better every day and we are looking to start him on solids soon. Pepper has discovered the trampoline and loves to jump with Dennis (we'll post pictures on this later). Dennis is getting job offers and is working though what to accept. All the positions so far are for teller positions but some are offering that as a start with strong possiblities for moving up (when the postitions become avaiable). The biggest thing seems to be timing for Dennis. They WANT him they just don't have the position open for him.
The bishopric has also found us and it looks like we get to talk on Sunday. Dennis has been assigned Memorial Day and I get to talk on reverance. I think that they remember me as a kid and are wondering what I may have learned since then:) Dennis is going to tell our dating story since he HATES the way that I tell it (who can blame him). I told him that he can have free rein with it. I imagine it will be along the lines of: she saw me in the distance and was drawn to me. She couldn't explain why or the animal attraction that she felt for me. I tried valantly to refuse her but she just wouldn't go away. I was hoping that the summer in Pinedale would cool her off but to no avail so after wearing me down I agreed to marry her:) Awww the love, ohhh the romance.
I have taken over most of the bookwork for the business and so far I think that I'll be able to handle it. Mom still worries over the money though. I guess it'll take a while to let go after doing them for sooo long. Mom's also been on a rampage cleaning and packing the house. I think that it is really good for her. As she has packed, she has started to throw more and more away not wanting it when she returns or not knowing why she kept it for so long. She's also cleaning like a mad woman wanting the house to be nice for us to move in. I'm just glad that she'll get to enjoy it a bit before she leaves. She's also got a new table (finally for those that know how much she loved the table she passed up) and so far both Dad and Mom love it.
I'm still working on getting out to the farm. The state has a new program to save water for the aquifer that I'm looking into. I'm also looking to start a compost pile for mom and rent a wood chipper to take care of all the branches left over from the wind storm last year. Well Dennis is waiting for me so we can watch the next stargate episode that we barrowed from Brenda. So long from Idaho and hope everyone is well.

Raif's Boxseat

2006-05-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

Raif and Grandpa Buhler have started a morning tradition (when they are both up at the same time:) Grandpa plays the piano while Raif sits in his exclusive boxseat. He's the only one with tickets for it and he seems to really enjoy Grandpa playing the piano.
Dennis is still looking for jobs next week he has two interviews. The first one is with a company that sells something (they were a bit cryptic about it). He's interviewing with them so that he can get some practice interviewing before any REAL interviews. The second one is with First Federal bank. He had applied for a job with them a month ago but they had said they wanted someone before he got out of school. When he checked back they said that they still hadn't hired for the loan officer spot but they currently didn't have room for a new hire (we're not sure what exactly that means). They liked the application though and wanted him to come in so that they could interview him.

We're Heerreeee......

2006-05-08T07:03:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Wyoming, Hello Idaho. Well we finally made it, after scrubbing and cleaning and repairing the house. The drive wasn't so bad after Dennis got the oxen attached and the wheels on the wagon, the pace was quite brisk. Raif and Pepper had sparatic moments of discontent but we worked though them. Dennis has decided to take today off to help move us in. Tomorrow he'll get out and start pounding the pavement.

Oh what a night

2006-05-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

Every new parents dream is that their little one will begin to sleep though the night. Last night we had some friends over so we were a little late getting Raif to bed (8 pm, usually it is 7-7:30). Our friends left at 10:30 and we gave Raif his dreamfeed (we give him a bottle with milk and formula trying not to wake him up) then headed to bed ourselves at 11-11:30. Now usually Raif is hungry again at around 3-4. But last night At 3 he stirred but went back to sleep and I thought that tonight might be the night. At 3:30 Pepper began barking because our new upstairs neighbors had just arrived with their dogs. Now Pepper hadn't meet these dogs yet and wanted to let them know that she could hear them running around upstairs and would not be left out of the fun. It took until 4 to get her to only bark in small woofs. Between 4 and 4:30 we would have to get up and quiet her when her woofs would get loud again. Finally around 4:30 she calmed down. At 4:45 Raif was hungry and ready to eat. We got him back down at around 5-5:15. Again had to tell Pepper to stop barking. By 5:30 everything quieted down for a bit until Pepper heard the dogs stirring at 6. We took another 15 min. to quiet her down and by 6:20 Dennis' alarm went off for work. Hitting snooze he attempted another 9 mins for rest but had to calm Pepper again. Giving up he decided to get dressed and go to work. Surprisingly everything calmed down after he left at 6:40 until Raif got up at 8 to start the day. Now my mama said there'd be days like this but I still keep praying that tomorrow night will be the night that both the "kids" sleep through the night.

Our Dog Pepper

2006-05-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

Last summer Dennis and I adopted a stray puppy. Dennis has always had an inside dog and always wanted a puppy soooo we ended up with Pepper. For the most part she is a good dog. She LOVES people and animals. Energetic and happy. She is also the reason that we are currently repairing 4 ft. of the side of our landlady's house, a hole she chewed in the concert wall of our apt., 4 separate corners in the apt., multiple holes in the back lawn, and replacing our landlady's grill cover. Some might think that this is because she gets bored. I think it is because she has an attention span of 5 seconds. To solve this problem we have gotten her MANY chew toys, most of which she seems to think are beneath her. The best is when I bought her a two foot rawhide bone to chew on. The next day I walked around the back yard to find it. Yep, no bone, not even a scrap. I have a suspion that she may have baried it but that means I would have go though the several different holes that she has dug. Of course, if she sees me doing this she has to dig each of the holes deep to find what I was looking for (plus a couple more just in case I hid something somewhere else. I'm hoping with the additional space of the farm she will be too entertained to be so distructive but what would be the fun in that.

Update on Raif

2006-05-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

At Raif's last Doctor's appt. he weighted in below the average 3% range (it's like dropping off the chart) So the doctor says that we should give him a bottle a day with formula+ milk and that I should wait until 6 months to start him on solids, breastfeeding as long as I could. Personally I started experimenting with my diet. I cut all products that normally cause problems out of my diet and still had some fussy feedings SO I tried eating normally and didn't have a fussy feeding that entire day. One fussy feeding the next, anyway I starting to think that it may not be anything that I'm eating, except chocolate.
I have been doing some research and there is something called dysphagia that has similar symptoms to reflux. Basically with dysphagia the baby doesn't swallow right and some liquid gets down their windpipe. (this could be why he's chronically cogested). They can do a MBS (modified barium swallow to see if that is what it is but we would do anything until we get to Idaho. Another reason I think this may be it is that some of the symptoms sounds like Dennis as a kid: refusal of the breast or bottle and untreated it can lead to ear infections . His uncle (a Dentist) also noticed that Dennis didn't swallow correctly. So we'll see.
Still working on packing and again I am glad that we started early so that we have time to clean and repair (why Pepper desided to chew on the side of the house we still haven't figuired out but we now have 4 ft. of it to replace) and visit with family while they are here. Hope to see everyone soon!!!

Moving

2006-05-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

We starting packing today to get some of the "nonessential" stuff out of the way. Just a jump on it all. Little did we know that packing the bookcase alone would take an hour and a half. I'm beginning to realise that starting to pack a week early REALLY isn't that early. I guess sorting out what you WANT to take with you is probably the most time consuming. But onward we plug away. Luckly Dennis only has one final this week and we can do most of the packing together. (I did marry him to carry all large and heavy boxes for me, pectorals and all that stuff:)

Too Much Snow

2006-04-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Ok I can't take it any more. Here in Laramie, Wyoming summer is being a tease. Sun and hardly any wind (remarkable in its own right) one day and 5-6 in. of snow the next. Yep that's right we just got 5-6 in. of snow. Snow's is fine but I am finally beyond ready for spring (and rain at least!!!!!) Just another reason I'm ready to leave Laramie.

Update--

2006-04-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

Well, After looking at Raif the Doctor says that he has reflux which might be why he's sensative to milk and soy proteins. She gave us some medicine to give him and it seems to be working. Dennis is busy finishing up the last assignments for his classes and it looks like he will only have ONE final to take!!!! Wow! Mom and Dad are coming down to help us move and we have already found someone to take over our apartment after us. I look forward to seeing everyone when we make it up to Idaho. Thanks for the upcoming events LaDawn, I've put them on the calendar and maybe we can make it to some of them. It looks like Dennis is graduating at the same time that Damian is getting his award so you'll have to give him a big hug from us.

Raif's Feedings

2006-04-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

I think that Raif may have a milk allergy. I'm still debating whether this is true. But I have noticed that he has a fussy feeding if I eat anything with milk in it. I'm looking into a doctor's appointment to see what they may say. We are also going to make an appointment with Gem City Bone and Joint because he always holds his head to the left. They should show us some exercises to help straighten it out. I guess we'll see what they say.

ETS Final Exam

2006-03-31T10:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I passed the exam. With that small hurtle out of the way, I just have to pass the rest of my classes and I'll be done with school for the time being. Hopefully a full time job is on the horizon for me as we prepare to move immediately following graduation.

To My Husband

2006-03-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

Thank you for tking care of the dinner dishes yesterday.

Final Exam

2006-03-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

Well dennis takes his "exit exam" for his college today. He is nevous but I think that he will do well. Not too much else going on. I'm planning the FHE but with Dennis' exam we may end up pushing it back to Wed.

Our Date Night

2006-03-24T08:49:00.000-08:00

Well tonight is our date night and we are going to Friday Night Fever. The University puts it on every friday to encourage the students from drinking. Tonight they are showing the movie "fun with Dick and Jane" and then they are going to bring in the big blow-up activities like slides and bouncing fun house.We are looking forward to the fun.

Raif is getting bigger and this morning I noticed that he was putting his hands together (a developmental step) and he is starting to stay awake longer during the day.

We have also start some treasure hunting with my new GPS (I got it from a Pawn shop but it new to me). We started on that has several caches to find. The first was a Lost Dog poster with the next coordinates on it. What a find! Today we are going out to find the next clue.

2006-03-22T09:06:00.000-08:00

Tiny Toes

2006-03-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

Raif

First Day

2006-03-22T08:25:00.000-08:00

Well I heard about this website and thought that I'd try it out. Hello to all my family hope you check in often.