The holidays in full swing!

Well, it's past time for a family catch up on what's been going on. The holiday season feels like it's going so fast, but we've had so many wonderful experiences this year.



First of all Sunday evening I got a very unexpected treat. Due to some circumstances, I got to share the stage with ALL FOUR of my kids. That is right! And Jo directing as well! What a treat! It was the church Christmas program. Robert had the lead of Leon the child director, Jaclyn was a soloist not wanting her solo to be cut because her Grandma was coming all the way from Iowa to hear her sing and then Thomas was a fabulous looking wiseman. Ben found himself as the baby Jesus (and did a wonderful job I might add) while I played Grandpa (didn't take as much theater magic as some might think). Overall just a wonderful experience.





Monday evening the kids had their school concert. All the groups did wonderful, especially Robert's class with their version of Feliz Navidad. (You know...learning Spanish for fourth graders on a tight time schedule is tough so their version included went something like...Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad, Faliz Navidad, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah). It was simply too funny!



Tuesday was carolling at the nursing home with the Cub Scouts and the boys made it a joy this year. Wednesday night was the annual Jesus Birthday Party celebration at AWANA at church.

The rest of the week found us finishing up school and getting ready for the holiday break. Today we had the great annual event of the Janssen Christmas gathering. It's always great to see the kids playing and having fun.

I guess before I go I should give a quick bathroom update...the drywall is ALMOST all up (should get finished tomorrow) and the drywall should get seams mudded tomorrow as well. It appears I'll miss the Christmas goal, but shouldn't be long after that!

Here come the holidays

Well, it's been a little while since I've taken a few minutes to post to the blog here. We've been busy with holiday preparations, shopping, fighting minor sickness and trying to stay ahead of things. Quick update...


Ben's billiruben level is on the way down. We did what we hope was our last billi check this past Monday. Things are headed in the right direction and everyone is happy about that. Right now we are monitoring weight gain and hoping for a more rapid weight gain.
Outside of that he is doing very well and growing more entertaining each day. Watch here for updates after tomorrow night as Ben will follow in his siblings footsteps and make his on-stage debut tomorrow night in the church program.



The rest of the kids have been busy preparing (they have a few more lines than Ben does in fact Robert has the lead this year) for the program. They are also busily keeping everyone they see updated on how many days until the much anticipated Christmas. (A few more weeks added to that would be fine with us so we could be ready!) Thomas missed a day of school yesterday with some sort of illness so he's back on antibiotic (again). It's been a pretty rough winter on the Janssen's health-wise already.




Mixed in with that we've been enjoying time with extended family to celebrate the season. A few weekends ago Jody's mom and step-dad came up to celebrate the season. Everyone was excited to spend the time together and the kids always enjoy the gifts of course. Spreading the season through contact with distance family is always great.



Last weekend we attended the annual Baumgartner Christmas in northern Illinois and as usual it was a great event to see family again. There were many that had other obligations and couldn't make it, but those that did attend really enjoyed the time catching up (and of course passing Ben around as much as possible!). It was a quick one day trip for us with bad weather moving in, but coming home turned out to be a great decision as the ice did come (after we got back home thankfully).

Before I close I guess I better add an update on the bathroom situation. The drywall is almost completely up. Once that is complete, the hope is the rest will go rather quickly. Those of you waiting for the "guest" bathroom to be complete before visiting, get ready because we are planning at least a functional room by Christmas!

Our Little Glowworm

We've had to step up the battle against the jaundice here today. His biliruben count went up again yesterday so after some checking with the doctor and following up, he decided to send out a light treatment. We're very thankful for the medical staff that has been helping us through this ordeal and very thankful for the home health care worker that braved the weather (not sure what it is like where you are today, but here we are iced in with a sheet of ice) to get the light treatment machine out here. As you can see by the photo, he is simply glowing (literally). The other issue we're still dealing with is Jo is still not cleared to drive. We went over yesterday for the blood test that was going to clear her to drive and when calling for results found that the lab ran the wrong test, so we need to return next week for another blood draw (and Ben will need checked again as well).

As a side note...many of you have asked about the bathroom progress, well, we were progressing nicely, but over the last few weeks the taxi service has brought an abrupt end to any progress. Stay tuned for details as we try and squeeze that in as the holiday festivities and parties begin to fill up our schedule.

Catching up

Well, it's been a few days since an update. Things have been pretty busy around here this week actually. Last Saturday we took Ben in to the doctor as he was looking a bit jaundiced. His levels were a bit high, so they thought a recheck the next day would be a good idea. Before it was over, we made daily trips to Canton for blood checks Saturday through Tuesday. Finally on Tuesday, his levels had dropped and since they were headed in the right direction, the doctor said we could wait until Ben's scheduled appointment on Friday to check again. (Part of the issue here was the fact that Jo is still restricted from driving, so trips to Canton were family trips.) He appears to be headed in the right direction now. His weight is going up and bilirubin is going down. He's sleeping fairly well already and we're all adjusting to life with this wonderful addition. It's ahrd to believe that Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is just around the corner now.



Many have been inquiring about the bathroom project. Well, we've been a bit distracted here lately. The plumbing and electrical work is finished ready for the next step of drywall. That will finally happen when we get a little bit of time and then thing should move fairly quickly at that point. So, funcational before Christmas and finishing touches finished up over Christmas hopefully.

Thomas takes an interest

Big news this morning...Thomas has taken an interest in Ben. Now I know that shouldn't be a big deal, but the reality is up to this point he's been pretty indifferent about the whole situation. Robert has been even more excited than I expected (let's face it, the last time we brough home a baby was the twins and that was the time he had a complete fit because we had to switch vehicles in order to bring them home!) Jaclyn...well, she was excited and waiting for this day since the day she was born I'm convinced. However, this morning it was Thomas that came up and requested to hold Ben. Up to this point, whenever he was asked if he wanted to hold Ben, the response was always a quick and emphatic NO. However, this morning he requested. Then later this morning the argument ensued as to who was going to sit closest to Ben during church. (Perhaps his indifference was a blessing in disguise? LOL) Everyone is quickly adjusting and really enjoying the new addition to our family.

Church provides WONDERFUL food and a cultural experience!

Our church family really stepped up and helped out with the arrival of Ben. We've been eating great meals all week. Part of the excitement for the kids as the week went on was who is bringing supper tonight. The kids enjoyed seeing who was bringing supper and even what they were bringing to share with us each night.



The end of the wonderful week actually brought a surprise experience for us all. A thoughtful church family came by with Chinese for supper on Saturday evening. I have to admit it's not something I would think to take a family like ours with young children, but it turned out to be a wonderful meal and even a cultural experience. This was the first experience for our kids attempting to eat with chop sticks. It was a riot! We all enjoyed the experience. They tried their darndest and made them work.



A HUGE thank you to all of the Checkrow Church family for providing such a wonderful service and huge help to us this week. It was a wonderful lesson in learning what giving means and a cultural experience as a bonus!

Thanksgiving

It's a few days late here, but I just wnated to drop a short note regarding Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful day with my side of the family making the trip over to enjoy a wonderful meal and fellowship. We are so thankful for family all of the time, but especially during this holiday season when we actually take time to slow down and be thankful for all of our many wonderful blessings. The other thing that finally got taken care of was a new family photo. We tried at the hospital last week when Ben joined us, but we had three cameras there and not a one of them had a decent battery charge.

So, from our house to yours we would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season! Take time to enjoy your blessings including your family, friends and those people that care about you.

The family is quickly adjusting

Well...the family is quickly adjusting to the addition to the family. The kids are really enjoying Ben. (Especially Robert!) Robert enjoys every chance he gets to spend time with him. Jac of course has been waiting for this time since she was born. Tom, well, he's warming up. Last night he actually went over and read a story to Ben (with help) and was so happy that Ben enjoyed it. So...we are all adjusting. Tom and Jac got an extra bonus in being able to stay home today due to having a fever yesterday, so they got a bonus. It is such a blessing to see siblings getting along so well.

The excitement never stops

What a day! Life ws finally trying to get back in a routine. We were taking off this afternoon to take Ben to the doctor, and then routine was going to set in again. THEN the phone rang at work. Jaclyn had to be taken home with a fever. Before the day was finished, Thomas had one as well! So...we now have a new baby, two sickies and an unfinished bathroom. I headed to town to pickup the prescriptions that were supposed to be called in and the pharmacy knew nothing about it. Oh the fun...it just never stops! LOL Sometimes you just have to laugh! Well, to make a very long story very short, the mess got squared away and we now have two on anti-biotics and we are all adjusting to life with Ben.

Away for a few days with good reason

I've been away for a bit here and haven't had many updates lately, but with good reason. I lost the race with our arriving child. The race was to see if I could get the bathroom remodel complete (at least functional) before he arrived. I had it figured out so the bathroom was scheduled to be funcational by Thanksgiving. I had the plan all mapped out (he however didn't share with me he was coming earlier than expected! LOL)


Benton (Ben) Alfred Janssen arrived 11/16/07 at 2:36 am. He was 7 pounds, 13.6 oz and 19.5 inches when he joined us. He is healthy and doing VERY well and Mommy is doing well too. His siblings have been thrilled and went to see him at the hospital Friday after school. They then went home with Grandma and Grandpa and will return home today.

I'm still making at attempt to have the bathroom funcational by Thanksgiving, however it's going to be a push with this schedule change (however it's worth every second of it!)

Not long now

We're getting in the home stretch until "Flash" joins the family here. Should be within the next few weeks. Everyone is so excited (especially Jaclyn). The boys are excited, but also typical boys in being excited but then moving onto the next adventure. It of course means that I'm frantically trying to finish the bathroom that is supposed to be finished pre-Flash.


We did however take a few minutes to snap a few photos that we don't get a chance to take everyday.

Interesting few days

It's been an interesting few days here around the Janssen household. Yesterday, while I was laying awake in bed (boy I dislike this timechange) we lost power around 5:30 am. When I got up and called it in the power company stated they thought it should be back by noon. Well, long story short, the kids got an unexpected day off of school so they stayed home. Robert was going to be held home anyway as he needed to go see the doctor, and it ended up being Bronchitis. So he's on meds. I took the opportunity to get some help with the bathroom project. After two trips to the hardware store, we finally got the holes and everything else ready for the plumbing to go in. Hopefully that plumbing will go in within the next few days and we'll be off and rolling toward completion. You just gotta love the surprises that come with remodeling! LOL Otherwise all is well here. The race is on to try and get the bathroom finished before the baby arrives in a few weeks.

Halloween 2007

Perhaps Robert captured the evening best when on the way to bed he stated - "Well, another Halloween successfully completed." A good time was had by all even though it turned out to be a busy day for everyone. With three kids having parties at school (Jo helping out with one of course), Trick or Treating and then off to the dress up night at Awana (church children's group) while I ran to Lowes after more bathroom supplies. Like usual we all dressed up for trick or treating and found that since we had to go early due to Awana, trick or treating in the daylight wasn't so bad and actually had some advantages.

First Post

Well, I've been thinking of this for quite a while now. Some way for folks to keep up with what is going on with us. I guess I always just figured who would really want to keep up anyway, but now have realized there probably are family and friends that would like to hear of some of the tidbits of our lives. So, it's time to bite the bullet. With our bathroom remodeling project going on and the family addition on the way, I figured now was as good of time as any. So, here it is! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as we'll enjoy posting.