12-21-09 to 12-23-09 Monday to Wednesday

Monday:  The kids have been going through these cuties like crazy.   This is the 2nd 5 pound box I've bought in the last week. 

Tuesday:  Doing a little reminiscing this week, looking at pictures from previous Christmas's.  This was taken at Grandma Helen's house Christmas 1977 of Wade, Corby, and me. 

Wednesday:  Christmas 1975, I was about 13 months old and posing like this blow-up Santa.

12-17-09 to 12-20-09 Thursday to Sunday

Thursday:  Bandit has a candy cane stuck in his hair.  Guess he's getting into the Christmas spirit maybe more than he would want.

Friday:  I really enjoyed using old Christmas decorations in a new way this year.  Thanks for your help Nay!

Saturday:  You better watch out, you better not cry, cause Santa is hanging from the door and keeping a watchful eye!

Sunday:  These are the gift baskets I made for neighbors and friends this year.  A jar of honey, homemade jelly, fair trade dark chocolate and a miniature tree.  Oh yeah, and did I mention the cute basket with all the bling.

12-16-09 Happy Birthday MOM!!!!

60 trips around the sun and still very young!!!  Happy birthday Mom,  I love you!!!

There's just something about a young girl and her horse.  I bond that can never be broken or changed.  It's part of what helps you grow and become who you are.

12-13-09 to 12-15-09 Sunday to Tuesday

Sunday:  Our neighbors, the Gallaghers, brought us this Christmas tree cake for the holidays.  Nick and Jack (3 year olds) baked and decorated it for us. 

Jaydon had his birthday celebration at school.  They made a time line of his life and talked about each year.  A sun was set in the middle of the floor with the 12 months around it.  As they talked about each year, he walked around the sun with a globe to demonstrate his 5 trips around the sun.  It was so cute watching him talk about each of his pictures and take his trips.

12-11-09 to 12-12-09 Friday and Saturday

Friday:  Jared's 3rd grade class took a field trip to downtown Denver.  They are studying communities, governments, transportation, businesses, etc.  So this was a perfect way to see examples.  I went on the trip with him and really enjoyed learning new facts about Denver and it's heritage.  We started out in Civic Center park where you can see the State Capital building and the City & County Building.  We then walked to 16th Street Mall where the kids saw so many different businesses and modes of transportation.  We even rode the free shuttle to Union Station, where we had lunch.  Then we checked out Larimar Square, one of the most historical streets in Denver.  The kids all had a great time and so did I.

Saturday:  We went bowling for Jaydon and Cassie's birthday.  Here Corey is demonstrating his RAD bowling moves.  He's really quite the bowler.

This screen is from the boy's game.  top J is Jaydon, then Jared, Josh and Cade.  Jaydon bowled a pretty good game for a 5 year old.

Later that afternoon we had a little party for Jaydon with his preschool friends.  They played the Wii, Vsmile and went outside for a while.  He invited Mason, Nathan, and Amelia from school and had Nick and Jack from next door.  Cassie stayed to play also.

12-11-09 Friday

Friday:  Happy 4th birthday Princess!!!!!!   Barbies and horses, what more could a girl hope for?  Love you Cassie!

12-8-09 to 12-10-09 Tuesday to Thursday

Tuesday:  Just getting into the holiday spirit. 

Wednesday:  We gave Bandit a bath and got him all cleaned up.  Then he showed us how he can now go DOWN the stairs, instead of just UP.

Thursday:  Can't believe my baby is 5 already!!!  He has celebrated every birthday in this same house.  Amazing, since the other boys have celebrated in 3 different homes. 

Big boys need Big toys!  He got a brand new bike!!!  No hand-me-down!!!  The third kid usually sees a lot of used toys and clothes, but this time we splurged and bought him a NEW bike!!!  We love you Jaydon!!

12-4-09 to 12-7-09 Friday to Monday

 Friday:  Jaydon took this picture of me setting up our tree!  He was a big help, sorting the branches, shaping them and placing them on the pole. 

Saturday:  Nana Nay snuggles with Bandit on the couch.  Roger and Renee came to Denver to visit us this week.  We played a lot of cards, decorated the house with Christmas decor and played with the kids!!

Sunday:  Nana Nay helped Jaydon put his birthday present together.  She wanted him to open it before they left.  He got a Hot Wheels racetrack and LOVED it!!!!!

Monday:  Just a glimpse of how I decorated for Christmas this year.  Loved opening the new decorations I bought last year after Christmas!!!

Jared's Santa Letter

Dear Santa,

I've been pretty good this year and would like to know if you can bring me a present for Christmas? May I please have a remote control helicopter, car, or hovercraft? Maybe instead, you could also bring me Star Wars Legos (8014) with people and weapons? If you don't have this stuff, maybe some cool snake tackle or whatever tackle could catch fish. Or maybe, Dangerous Hunts for Wii.

Also, could you please bring something for our dog, Bandit? Probably something to chew on.

Love,
Jared Staab

P.S. I will be at Grandma and Grandpa Ferrel's house in Hay Springs, NE. Say Merry Christmas to your hard-working elves!

12-1-09 to 12-3-09 Tuesday to Thursday

Tuesday:  Josh had a much better day and because of the steroids, he's been eating like a horse.  His favorite has been dinner salads with Italian dressing and chicken noodle soup.  Auntie Kami visited him today and brought balloons, candy, and Cade's Nintendo DS to play. 

Wednesday:  He did really well last night and I thought he would maybe get to go home today, but then he had a neb treatment and crashed.  His lungs got tighter and he was really struggling to breath, so back on the oxygen.  Looks like we'll be here another night.

Thursday:  Finally got off the oxygen again and is breathing much better.  We've watched a lot of cartoon network and nick.  I'm totally sick of cartoons!!!  We've watched a few movies and played a lot of Rummy too.  Jared and Jaydon have been really worried about Josh and did enjoy visiting him in the hospital.  Josh was released at 6 p.m. this evening!  I think we were both ready to sleep in our own beds.

11-30-09 Monday

Monday:  On our way home from Crawford Sunday, Josh's asthma and coughing were extremely bad.  We just couldn't get a good breath even after using his inhaler.  So this morning I took him to the doctor and after 3 hours in the office, she sent him to the hospital.  He just couldn't move air in and out of his lungs after 4 albuterol treatments.

After we got checked in, he had a continuous albuterol treatment, which is basically albuterol in the nebulizer for 1 hour.  It seemed like forever, and I'm sure it was even worse for Josh.  They did start an IV also, because he was vomiting and not drinking anything.  So he was hooked up to the oxygen/ HR monitor on his finger, 3 probes on his chest for cardiac monitoring, an IV, and oxygen canula in the nose.  He then was getting IV steroids to help with the inflammation in his lungs, which really made him moody and irritable. The first night in the hospital was no fun at all.  They came every 2 hours for a neb treatment and he didn't like the canula in his nose, so they tried an O2 mask.  He just wasn't happy with anything and kept taking it off in his sleep.  Then is O2 levels would dip below 89 (mostly between 83-89) and the alarm would go off.  Once that was fixed, his IV link would kink and his IV monitor alarm would sound.  So about every 10 minutes, an alarm was going off in his room.  I think he learned to sleep through them, but I did NOT and I was on the most uncomfortable chair/cot ever!  I was very thankful that the nurses and respiratory therapists were in charge of keeping his meds and treatments straight.  It certainly allowed me to just be his mom and not his nurse! 

11-28-09 to 11-29-09 Saturday to Sunday

The boys all decorated a gingerbread house today.  They had a great time decorating and eating the candy.  Kylan kept reminding himself to not eat the candy, but it was just too irresistable.  He kept saying, "We don't eat the gingerbread house."

Today was my 35th birthday!  Corey said he was taking me to dinner and a movie in Chadron.  But when we got there, Tiensvolds and Boeselagers were waiting for us at the restaurant to surprise me!  We had a great time and all went to Bob and Lisa's after supper to play cards.  It was really nice to have Nate and Emily come with us too.  Papa Roger and Nana Nay stayed home with their 4 grandsons and granddog (Bandit).  I think we ALL had a great night..."if you know what I mean".  (Thanks for the funny quote of the evening, Nate!)

Sunday:  Ky really liked playing with Bandit...and I'm thinking Bandit liked it too! We left for CO after lunch.  Kylan sat in our pick-up and was planning on going to Denver with us.  He was very upset when he couldn't come along. 

11-27-09 Friday

Who needs Black Friday sales when you have family and a card game to play.  We enjoyed relaxing with the family and playing cards instead of getting up early, standing in a cold line, and dealing with the crowds of "not-so-nice" customers during the black Friday sales!!

11-24-09 to 11-26-09 Tuesday to Thursday

Tuesday:  Looks like Bandit and Grandma are getting along quite nicely!

Wednesday:  Jaydon's favorite book at Nana Nay's house is "Chugga Chugga Choo Choo".  He studies the pictures wishes his room could be like the little boy's room in the book, with train tracks all over!!

Thursday:  Thanksgiving!!  What a beautiful day!  We spent time outside and then had a wonderful meal together!  We are so blessed to have our family all near and healthy this year!

Not much of this turkey was left after we picked it apart!

11-23-09 Monday

This is Thanksgiving week and we have so much to be thankful for.  I am so grateful to spend time with family all week.  Today I just enjoyed playing ping pong with my dad, Josh, and Jaydon.  We laughed the whole game.  Jaydon is quite the little competitor.  Corey and Jared went fishing at Angostura with Roger.  I'm sure they are thankful the weather is still nice enough to fish!

After ping pong, we had to play a little pool!  Jaydon could play games with Pa Pa all night!

He actually looks like he knows what he's doing!!

11-22-09 Sunday

Today we drove to Nebraska for a week stay and Thanksgiving.  When we got to Staab's, they were preparing to close for the season.  So rather than wash the ice cream mix down the drain, we put it all in a big bowl to freeze and eat during the week.  The boys thought this was awesome...a HUGE bowl of ice cream, just for them.  Talk about a brain freeze!!!!

11-21-09 Saturday Honor & Integrity Award

Our Bandits won the Honor and Integrity Award for our division.  The coaches and refs rate each team they play or officiate during the season on sportsmanship.  So this is quite an award to receive!  We were very honored and proud of our kids, coaches, and fans for winning such a respectable title.

11-19-09 to 11-20-09 Thursday & Friday

Puppy Love

The boys are absolutely in love with this dog.  We really didn't plan on getting a dog and just stumbled across this breed.  While he is a playful puppy, he is also quite calm and cuddly.  He really fits well with us and is a good addition to our family.  Even Corey cuddles with him at night while watching TV.  Josh has been very responsible, taking him out, picking up poop, and giving him a lot of attention!  Jared also helps a lot with him, brushing him, taking him out to pee, and picking up "poop bombs", as he says!  Jaydon is on food duty and loves sneeking him little snacks.  He is definately learning to be more gentle!