You're a funny boy, Ben Janssen, a funny, funny boy!

Ben had his surgery for tubes this morning & despite the onset of an infection, lots of thick, goop & a collection of blood vessels resulting in lots of drainage, Dr. Stivers thinks he'll be just fine. The nurses gave up on him waking up on his own after we explained his 10 hr sleep patterns, so they allowed us to bring him home without waking up...good thing - he slept until 2:30 p.m. with only a few minutes of wake time here & there; long enough to vomit a few times - yea, it was great fun! He was awake & going strong for about an hour before he began asking for bed & has been sleeping peacefully for another hour and a half now. Hope he still wants to sleep tonight!

It's That Time of Year Again!

Hair cut time!!! For those of you that don't know, for the last few years, Rob has gotten one haircut - that's right one. Once in the spring & then he lets it grow all year. Chris & I nixed that idea about Christmas time because he had just become too shaggy - it was awful, so we started in with doing "trims"...poor guy, his heart still raced worried mom would take too much, but he's becoming accustomed to it & I'm almost comfortable enough with it that we get it done without too many returns to the chair. At least it's nice enough, we can do it outside for the most part now. So, no big reveals on Rob this year & Chris, Tom & Ben have stuck with the status quo - they're all looking good, crisp & clean cut. This year's big reveal is our little Ms. Jaclyn...check out the pix. We took nearly 7 inches off last night! Cute as a button - even cuter!

Lots of news...

Easter April 12, 2009

Tom's new glasses (above) 4-15-09

Tom's new "window" from losing a tooth. 4-17-09

Ben -hard to believe he's so happy & good-natured despite all the crud in his ears...you should have seen the massive chunks they've already removed! UGH!

Tinker's homecoming to lots of excited little hands!

We lost Diamond, our black lab/border collie mix of 12 years just before Easter. This was traumatic for all the kids, of course, and no thrill for mom or dad, either, but we were fortunate to find a young chocolate lab needing a home rather quickly. :) Tinker joined our family just after Easter.

Then, Tom's glasses came in...just a little near-sighted, but he's quite excited to see "closer" now - the far away stuff isn't fuzzy any more - AMAZING! And then to wrap up the week - he lost a tooth!!! WOW! The excitement!

On a less than thrilling note, most of you know Ben's been battling ear infections since January. The ENT confirmed on Friday that he needs tubes. We're planning on that this week. Doc assures mom that all will be well, but also cautioned that his left ear will be more difficult than most because there seems to be a collection of blood vessels & a lot of fluid. Recovery could be a little more than usual, but all should be well. Prayers are welcome & much appreciated. :)

Happy Birthday to the Big 3!!

Jac & friends with her Junie B. Jones journal cake.










Thomas & friends with his Baseball cake.





Thomas & Jaclyn sing Happy Birthday to each other - goofy kids!!

Tucker, Ben, Rob & Bryce for the annual picture - this time with a chocolate donut treasure chest, filled with puppy chow loot - YUM-O!!! The chest was complete with a donut lock that said, "Cap'n Rob".

And finally - all the cousins (except Logan) together again. Alyssa, Kendall, Bailey, Emma, Robert, Jaclyn, Thomas, Benton & Tarynn

What a fun couple of months we've had!! Thomas & Jaclyn turned 7 in March & Robert just turned 11! How is it possible they are so old already?

Jaclyn hosted a Junie B. Jones birthday party for her friends, while Thomas opted for a Baseball party with his. Thankfully, the Fellowship Hall at church makes for a GREAT baseball stadium!! Robert rounded things out with a Pirate's Bash sleepover at home with his two great friends, Tucker & Bryce. We also enjoyed family parties!! And now mom's beat...