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Ben’s Dedication
What a wonderful Mother’s Day … our young son was dedicated to the Lord in church today. We so appreciate the love & prayers of our family & friends. We are so blessed to be in this place…
you can tell how “at home” Ben feels there. He often stretches out on the pew after Tom & Jac go to kids church & gets his morning nap in. Thank goodness he’s a pretty peaceful sleeper!
The hands picture is all the kids wearing their baptism rings. The one Robert wears is the one I wore on my baptism day. Ben is holding Rob’s hand, Jac’s is to the right & Tom’s is on bottom. Their hands are resting on their Uncle Don’s baby blanket.
It’s Official….call me Principal
It’s official and has been in the press, so I guess it’s time to share it to the folks here as well. I have been offered a position (and accepted) as 7-12 principal at Spoon River Valley school district. It’s the neighboring school district to the east. This was a major factor in the decision as this will allow us to stay in the home and community we are in and the kids will be able to stay in the same school with the friends they have. It’s a win-win situation. The kids are slowly getting used to the idea of Dad not being in the same district they are, but they are adjusting. The school is a school a little larger than Avon (very similar in size to Pearl City actually). The superintendent is also coming in new, so hopefully we can build things together.
Meet Tiger Tom!
Yes, it’s true! We have another Cub Scout in our family!!
Thomas has been waiting for this day for years – 4 years in fact – and finally it came! It’s official – Tom is a Tiger Cub & can’t hardly wait for his meetings to start! He even took HIS Tiger Cub hat (it’s not Robert’s any more!) to school for Show & Tell today….OH the excitement!!
We weren’t sure how Rob would handle little brother horning in, but last night during our bedtime prayers, he even thanked God that Thomas is a Cub Scout now.
Chris isn’t real sure about taking them BOTH to camp this summer – especially the overnighter, but Tom is sure they’re in for BIG fun!! Jac & I can’t wait to hear the stories!!
Catching up on Ben’s Weekly Mugshots
Here it is three weeks since the last update again….sorry for the delay! Sick kids & busy schedules sometimes get the best of me – I’m really looking forward to summer!
The lineup includes: Dodge Man – 21 wks; Oh Grandma – 22 wks; Hang Ten – 23 wks; Mr. Toes is our 5 month picture
Yes, he’s growing fast! Not much worry about weight any more! Interestingly enough, he is even more long than he is heavy (by standards) and I believe it -he’s already wearing some 12 month jeans! He’s mainly in 6-9 month clothes, but we can still squeeze into a few 3-6 months.
He’s still pretty stationary, but he is becoming an expert roller-over-er. One swift kick & he’s over – almost even creates a breeze!
Meet the three newbies!
As part of their birthday presents from Grandma & Grandpa Janssen, we met up at the mall in Burlington & went to Bear Essentials (very similar to build-a-bear workshop – something Rob has wanted to do for YEARS and by association, so have the twins).
Meet Stacy Jo, Pete & Ricky Raccoon (though he goes by Rick). You wouldn’t believe how the boys take care of their new guys. Of course, we all know Jaclyn was made to be a mommy, but it was Rob & Tom who first set out to find blankets for their guys to have while they napped while they were away at school. And we’ve all been sushed by Tom when Pete has turned in for the night while we’re still getting clothes & backpacks situated for the next morning.
Happy Birthday, Robert!
Hard to believe our baby’s a decade old already! There are days I remember him being Ben’s size…
This is Tucker, Robert & Bryce with his “Cloud City” donut tower (he didn’t want a cake either) comeplete with “clouds” (puppy chow). They all thought it was pretty fantastic.
Rob decided to forgo having a big birthday bash with many friends for the opportunity to have a sleepover with his two best friends. Tom & Jac spent the night with Grandma & Grandpa and I have to say it went much smoother than I could have ever hoped for. It was so much fun, Chris & I both said we’d have to do that again sometime & not just wait for birthdays. Of course, Rob was more than agreeable to that idea!
Ben’s Weekly Mugs
Easter Weekend – Ben meets Mommy’s family
Easter weekend held many firsts for Ben – his first overnight trip, first trip to Missouri, & first time meeting much of Jo’s family.
I love the picture of him & his great grandpa Alfred. It’s priceless. Gpa has been going blind since before the twins were born & he wants nothing more than to be able to see the kids, especially his little namesake. It was amazing to watch the two of them when I put Ben on his lap – it was as if Ben totally understood that Gpa’s blind & that his hands are his eyes. Gpa wasn’t shy at all about putting his hands on Ben & giving him a good feel around his head & face, but he was so gentle…it was awesome to watch & listen to Gpa talk to Ben the whole time.
Also had to laugh when Rob gave Gpa a hug. Gpa felt his head & face as usual & just laughed a good ol’ belly laugh saying, “Boooooooooooooy, you sure did get a hair cut!” To which Rob responded, “Yep, I surrrrrrrrrrrrrrre did!” Too funny!
The first family picture includes our nephew Bailey on the floor by Robert, Jo’s Grandma on the left (who also saw Ben for the first time), & Jo’s dad. The last one has Jo’s cousin Jacki, holding our Jac, the obvious Gpa & in back is Jo’s mom.
We also had a fun time visiting Jo’s Uncle Roger & Aunt Judy & their 4 kids & families on Easter Sunday….no pictures from that, shucks! It was another fun time of watching the kids just be kids with cousins they see way too seldom.
Meet Me in St. Louis!
We took advantage of the long weekend around Easter & indulged in a family vacation day! The kids enjoyed the scenery & Jo even managed to get a shot of the arch through the van window…the kids still aren’t sure whether or not to believe our stories about the little egg trams that take you to the top. Perhaps on our next visit we’ll have to let them experience the ride.
After much discussion, we decided on meeting Papa & Linda (Jo’s dad) & Bailey (Jo’s nephew) at Turtle Park in St. Louis for a picnic & some run the stink off time. From there, we headed to the St. Louis Science Center. What a great time we had! The picture is from the math center in which the kids were to move the pyramid from one peg to the other one disk at a time w/o putting any disk on one smaller. After much deliberation, they figured it out. Jac was actually the first to catch on, but once she got them rolling, they made short order of it!
Supper at McDonald’s & then we were on our way to Mama & Gary’s (Jo’s mom) house to camp there for the weekend. Bailey came with us & oh what a fun time was had by all! It was so great to see & hear the kids laugh & have so much fun together! Being so far away is sometimes hard, but it does make us treasure these times we can be together.