Happy Birthday Jurnee!

14 years ago today a chubby little baby with lots of dark hair was brought into our family. I am in shock at how fast time has flown and what a wonderful young lady she has grown to be! We are so lucky to be blessed with such an amazing daughter who brings so many smiles, laugh and joy to our family!
Some things about Jurnee:
* She loves to read
* She loves Justin Bieber (or "Beaver" as I call him)
* She is funny
* She is moody
* She is a teen (lol)
* She loves her cell phone and texting
* She likes to hang out with her friends
* She is a great helper around the house
* She is a nice big sister (most of the time)
* She is very responsible
* She gets herself up, ready and out the door in the morning
* She is fun to be around
* She is a great friend to her mom
* She knows when her help is truly needed without being asked
* She likes junk food
* She likes to dance
* She is working really hard to get her back-handspring
* She wants to be a cheerleader in high school
* She is responsible to get her own schoolwork done
* She got a 4.0 in her final term of 7th grade

We love you Jurnee! Hope you have an amazing year!

Spring and Summer has come and gone....

So much has happened since my last posting.. I have vowed to myself to keep up on this blog, even though i have said that time and time again.. I feel like it's important to log our family happenings! With the daily stress that life brings, i find myself more and more overwhelmed and my mind not as sharp as it used to be.
I smile when the kids can remember more vividly than Jason and I, especially Janson.

This summer has been pretty busy. The kids out of school for their first FULL summer off.. They loved that and having Jason home a lot with them was nice to!

Janson had a lot of soccer practice, every morning at 7am. He is such a trooper and would set his alarm and get up and out the door by himself. He will be playing for Saratoga Rage again this year and I cant wait! Its so fun to watch him play and progress each year. Janson also went on his first overnight scout camp this year! We were amazed, but he did great! And LOVED it! He is not really into scouts by means of passing off tasks to earn his badges, but he sure does love to go hang with the boys and socialize! The son that I thought would never come out of his shell! He is amazing!

Jurnee is in Westlake Competitive cheer. She tried out and made the squad. It is also a huge commitment and has been challenging working all the required stuff into our schedules, but she is doing it and loving it. I cant say how many times she has come home begging me to go buy her some Icy Hot. Im really proud of her. Practices and cheer gym were all summer long! Luckily her friend that lives a couple streets over was looking to carpool! That has saved me a lot of headache! Otherwise, jurnees spring and summer has consisted of hanging out with friends, and BOYS! yes, this teen is officially BOY CRAZY! YIKES! ..... we wont forget to mention all the time she put in babysitting her sister and brother, and keeping this house running! Shes a great girl! We are lucky parents! Jurn cant wait to start 8th grade at the new Vista Heights Middle School here in Saratoga! I have never seen a kid more excited to start school than her.

Jace... Mr. Social.. Loves to be with his friends. Loves hanging out and playing outside. He has made so many friends his age right in our neighborhood! He loves it. We got him going to scouts right after he turned 8. At first he didnt want to go, but Kenny and Lorri are the Leaders and he decided he would give it a try. HE LOVES IT! He was even able to go up to the daycamp a the beginning of summer. He is loving passing off his badges and earning new awards! (Opposite his brother). He has also met quite a few new boys he plays with! When Jace is not hanging with his buddies, he is watching TV, playing the Wii, or eating. The kid absolutely loves to eat! He has really enjoyed summer but is looking forward to going back to school!

Jene has had a great spring and Summer.. she was able to spend a lot of time with her daddy, which i am truly grateful for. They both needed that. She has a little friend up the road (Ayva) that she cant get enough of. She loves to play and have little girl time. When she isnt playing she is asking me when she can play, when i can "text bree".. lol... i never thought i would see the day when my 4 year old would be requesting i text someone. Jene was able to stay home with the kids all summer and let me just say, this little girl loves, and i mean Loooooooves to sleep in. 11 or 12 everyday! And she still does. Now that the kids are going back to school she will definetely be hitting an adjustment period. Especially on the days I work, daddy will be getting her up very early to go to Aunt Jules.

As for us.. Jason is working and playing soccer, and I am working and being a mom/wife... taking a short break from school, but will be starting up soon to finish my last 3 classes to get my Bachelors.

Swimming and camping is about the extent of our summer.

Its been a rough 7-8 months for me with a lot of different things on my plate.. a sense of lost.. over stressed. Helping my parents get their house on the market and watching my dad decline has really taken a toll on me emotionally and i am learning how to cope.. Sometimes you cant always stay strong, words and actions end up coming out the wrong way and people perceive you for someone that your really not. Thinking about it, i am not even sure if i know that.. but more on my thought process and feelings later...

I just know that i am very lucky to have such an amazing family. My husband and kiddos were definetely sent from above!

12 Years and Counting...

APRIL 17th, 1998
The knot has been tied for 12 years and counting. The "knot" is not getting any looser! We started dating in September of 1995, so that would mean that September of this year would be 15 years of being together! Wow! I do not feel old enough for that! Yikes!
I love the man I chose to spend the rest of my life with. He completes the other part of me. I still get butterflies when I see him! I love you babe! I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you and making many more memories with you! xoxoxoxoxo

My Little Man is 8!

Our little Jace turned 8 on April 9th! I can hardly believe it. He is such a fun addition in our family! We had such a fun day on the day of his birthday. It happened to be my week off work and Jason was home to. We took the family to the zoo along with Grandpa Beach. We met up with Grandma at Golden Corral for dinner after. All in all, I think Jace had a great day. This is the year for his friend party, however, his birthday fell over spring break.. so we held off.. Now I need to get into the planning stages and do a small party for him.

About Jace:
* He is a free spirit and doesnt require much
* He loves the Wii and Xbox (A LOT)
* He loves to watch TV
* He has become a very good reader
* He loves Math
* He loves to have someone to play with
* He loves to play outside when the weather is nice
* He doesnt really like to ride his bike, but loves his scooter..
* He loves loves loves vegetables
* He loves loves loves Fruit
* He gives a lot of compliments (especially to his mom!)
* He is always hungry
* He wants to take guitar lessons
* He wants to be a rockstar when he grows up
* He is a protective big brother
* He chews the ends of his longsleeve shirts and jackets (nervous habit).. he has for about 4 years
* He is very sensitive and sweet
* He loves sports but doesnt have just one that he likes
* He likes to draw, color and do projects
* He is a caring litte man and wouldnt do anything to hurt anyone else

WE LOVE YOU JACE! You make Mom and Dad proud every single day!

Hoppin' down the bunny trail...

This year was our first Easter in our new house.. It really was no different than any other Easter. Minus the fact that there was no egg hunt outside because of the snow that fell the night before.. Its much to my amazement, that one year we go out and egg hunt outside, the next year we egg hunt indoors...
Needless to say, we still dyed easter eggs! Which is always fun, but oh what a mess.. as always.. We had our good friends and their kids over to join in the festivities with us. We dyed eggs, had yummy dinner, and did an egg hunt for the kiddos! Could not have asked for better company and pre-holiday fun!



Jene really got into dying eggs.. can you guess her favorite color of dye? Jace had fun using the stickers and making his eggs just perfect! As for these two, the teen and pre-teen, they had a lot of fun... well.. you get the idea.. Some of the kids checking out whats in their eggs from our egg hunt! Looks as if the Easter bunny came... I had to work on Easter morning until around noon.. so I snapped a pic of what the kids were getting before I left for work.. First Easter ever that I didnt get to spend with the kids. Poor me.... But Daddy did take a lot of pics and I was able to spend most of the day with them! We went to dinner at Mom and Dads. I had to go do a wound dressing change on a patient. When I got to my parents house, this is what I found. Jason and Dad snacking and watching TV.. Jason said he was living the life. .. Looks like my mom found a new "sitter" for Dad.

Hunter (my nephew) and Jurnee put on another egg hunt for the kids.. THey had a lot of fun doing it for the kids.. there was even a few "Surprise" eggs with Dirt, and veggies from dinner in them.. little turkeys!

This is my mom and I.. We don't have very many pictures together.. and I happen to really like this one! I love you Mom! Thanks for having us for dinner...

It was a nice Holiday.. it was even nicer that my week off work started the next day! The kids are off on spring break, Jason is off work this week! We are loving being together at home.... Sort of like Vacation at home..

"I can do it now, because I am 4"...

4 years ago on March 15th, 2006 a beautiful little girl joined our family..

A pleasant little surprise, that added the finishing touches to make us six!...

JENESEE LEE WALLIN

aka: Jene, Jen, Lees, baby girl, princess, "dawg" (a name exchange between Jene and Janson), lee chaws, lee lee

I cherish this time while she is little. I was so afraid to have 4 kids, but much to my surprise, the hardest thing to deal with was LAUNDRY. Its never ever ending!

The first year was challenging with our baby girl. She was so sick all the time. RSV started the spiral effect, and it took until she turned 3 when it started to slow down a little.

Despite being sick all the time, she was such a fun, happy baby..

Time continued to fly and here she is March 15th, 2007 turning 1 years old!

March 15th, 2008 ... we hit the two year mark.. Cutest little thing... loved, loved, loved Dora the Explorer...

She took a real liking to her sister and brothers. She learned that if mom and dad wont give in, she always had a set of open arms that would.

At 2 years old, (maybe a little before and after ;)..) She was a big time Daddys girl. We took a trip to Disneyland shortly after her 2nd birthday and she had a love/hate relationship with the place. She cried all the time, wouldnt ride in the stroller much, and cried everytime Daddy would go on a ride with the other kids. She screamed so loud, that people thought i was kidnapping her. So EMBARASSING!

As I look at these pictures chronologically, I am in shock and awe how much she grew between each year... .

March 15th, 2009 our little princess turns 3! What an angel.... A nurturing little girl that loves to be "pretty", loves to play baby dolls and loves to play outside. She was very talkative and could make friends with any child, but had some shy aspects at the same time..

Smart as smart! Knows how to work us all, including Jace.. Each one of us is wrapped around her fingers, TIGHT! She has learned how to cry at just the right times to get her siblings in trouble. Her and Jace have started playing so good together.. Jene is a little bossy with him, and Jace takes it.. until a few months ago, he is deliberately mean to her, and makes her cry.

MARCH 15th, 2010 SHE TURNS 4!

• She still loves babies and baby dolls
• She hides from us under her blankets every night when we go to tuck her i
  
• Now that she is 4 she informs us she can do everything
  
• She loves having "private" time with her parents.. this is a word she learned from the show "Little Bill" ... its one on one time with us!


• She is very girly and loves to wear "dresses and skirts"
  
• She entertains herself a lot... sometimes I forget she is here because she is always doing her own thing.
  
• She is a sponge and picks up and repeates EVERYTHING


• She was potty trained at 2 years old by grandma while we were in Lake Powell! (FULLY POTTY TRAINED!)


• She loves princesses (So fun for me.. Jurnee never did)


• She is a night owl and would sleep till 11 a.m. everyday if she coulD
  
• NickJR is her favorite channel on TV.. She loves Dora the Explorer, Olivia, Little Bill, Max & Ruby, Wow Wow Wubzy, Kai Lan, and Little Bear
  
• She goes to bed watching TV (yes, she is our last)
• She loves to play Cooking Mama on the DS or my iphone...


• She plays the Wii all the time, and could play it when she was little...
  
• Food is her favorite.. she loves to eat


• She would eat a whole bag of broccoli at one sitting, if i would let her


• Her favorite saying is "It takes for a long time"...


• She loves loves loves to play with other kids


• She asks me on an almost daily basis when her hands are going to be "big" like mine.. (I want to tell her never ..;) )
  
• I love it when she says, "Its a beautiful sunny day today"
  

WE LOVE YOU JENE LEE!

Missing in Action...

I am BAAAAACK! I have been so busy and absorbed in school, family, work, and ok ok.. facebook.... but I have decided its time to come back to the blogging world! As we were coming up on Jenes birthday I had an AHA moment... I should be writing all of this down.. i should be documenting all of the fun things the kids do and the funny things they say! What in the world is my problem then.. It takes two seconds to record them on my blog... and one day, i can print it out and have a little Journal!

So.... I am back on here for good! I have been wanting to for the past year, but school is really sucking it out of me.. Just ask the family. Quite honestly.. I detest school.. Ok, I HATE school. BUt I am almost done. I think 2 more nursing classes and 2 more general ed classes that they just popped on me. blech! but... i cant quit, (i have thought about it, but i wont do it!).. As a mother, it is so difficult to juggle so many things and stay sane..

I have discovered that exercise (running) really helps my anxiety levels to remain on a lower level.. Its fabulous! I can honestly say I think I may becoming a little addicted. I get mad at myself when I dont make 30 minutes to do it! I know that days of rest are good, but its so beneficial to my "soul"!

Onto a few more posts...