MrsRadWag

Rest In Peace, Max

2010-03-10T12:13:00.001-08:00

I haven't updated because I couldn't - it was too painful. Max put up a good fight, however we chose to put him to sleep on Monday, March 1st. He had not been able to stand or walk since the Friday before. He started throwing up on that Friday (February 26) and wouldn't eat, either. When we took him into the veterinary hospital on Monday, Dr. James said that his primary diagnosis, anemia, wouldn't be causing those symptoms - it would be something secondary. To treat it, we would need to start the diagnostic process again. And there were no guarantees.

Rob and I had discussed this on Sunday night and decided that we had to be responsible pet owners and do what was best for Max. We got to spend time with him after we made the decision and Dr. James and her technician were very respectful. When we were ready, I was allowed to hold him while they gave him the medication to make him sleep. It was very quick and painless. And I felt a sense of peace that he was no longer in pain. We weren't sure that he was in pain, but he definitely seemed uncomfortable. And his quality of life was definitely poor.

We had Max creamated and have already had his remains returned to us. We have a beautiful metal urn with engraving ordered and plan to have a small memorial service with the kids after it arrives. Max definitely provided us with many years of happiness. I know he's in heaven being chased around and around and around, like he used to love us to do when he was younger.

Max - day 2 at home

2010-02-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

We had a rough day yesterday. Rob called the vet because he was worried about Max's lack of activity yesterday. When we had his PCV checked, it was down to 17. PCV is pack cell volume - it should be between 35 and 50. On Sunday, Max's was at 12. After his blood transfusion, it went up to 22, but on Monday was at 18. We didn't know if the medication just hadn't had enough time to start working, or wasn't going to work.

Last night we saw some good news - Max pooped! That hasn't happened for many days, so was exciting! :-) This morning when I took him out to the vet, he went to the bathroom (#1) and it was yellow! He also seemed a little more awake. His PCV today was back to 19. That is VERY GOOD news! We're going to keep him home for the next 4 days and see how he does. We have an appointment on Monday to have his PCV checked again.

At this point, he's not stable enough for surgery and the chances that he'd survive that are small. We don't want to put him through anything like that. Hopefully his PCV numbers will continue to rise and we'll just keep up with the medication regimine that we've started.

We still need to work on getting him to eat, so I got some different, high calorie, sweet tasting (so I'm told), dog food. Max will eat a little bit if we make small balls of the food and feed it to him. Usually he eats the two balls that contain his medicine and then one or two more, so he's definitely needing to eat.

Please keep up the prayers and good thoughts!

Max - day 1 at home

2010-02-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

We were able to bring Max home last night! He is on an antibiotic for the next 28 days - 3 tablets twice a day. He's also on prednisone for probably the next 6 months - 3 tables twice a day. He walked from the vet's office to the van and then from the van to the house. As soon as he got into the house, he laid down and didn't move. Rob brought him his pillow and he was still there when I left the house this morning!

He takes his medicine OK - I make a "meatball" of 3 pills at a time with some bland canned prescription food. However, he hasn't been outside to go to the bathroom yet. I showed Rob how to look at Max's gums every few hours - it's the best indicator if he's losing blood. Rob's home today on Max duty. Tomorrow we take him back to the vet for more blood work - hopefully his body has started producing red blood cells again and he'll be closer to being "out of the woods".

Max

2010-02-22T13:08:00.000-08:00

Our Max had to be hospitalized yesterday. After hours and hours of tests, he was diagnosed with immune mediated hemolitic anemia, which basically means that his body is destroying his red blood cells. He had a blood transfusion last night with lots of IV fluids. He's also on an oral steriod and antibiotic to hopefully combat the origin of the anemia. As the veterinarian told me this morning, "He's not out of the woods yet." But she's very optimistic because he's been responding so well to treatment. He's even displayed some of his "Max behaviors", such as barking one for no apparent reason, and laying down to eat and drink. (Although this worried the vet techs - they thought he was trying to drown himself in his water dish!)

It's looking good that we might be able to bring Max home with us tonight. He'll need additional tests and monitoring, but it will be nice to have him home - for both him and us!

Please pray for Max and for us. Benjamin is too little to fully understand what is happening, but he does as for Max - "Where's Max?" I heard many times last night. Sam is very sad and upset about the entire situation and I'm afraid that he thinks that Max is dying. I am reassuring him about the care that Max is receiving, but can't bring myself to tell him that everything will be OK - just in case it's not. Emily already has a full worry load as a teenager in high school, so this just makes it worse.

I'll keep posting updates here, so check back.

A Life Of Thanksgiving

2009-11-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

A blog that I follow had the most incredible post this morning. The blogger is challenging himself to live an entire week full of thanksgiving! What a neat idea - to be grateful for everything that we have rather than disappointed or upset about what we don't have! I've always found that when I'm thankful, I'm happy, and my happiness multiplies!

So, I'm going to do the same, and challenge myself! Starting right now, through Sunday, I'm going to be thankful for everything that I have - even if it's not something that I would usually be thankful for! (Like dirty dishes or muddy dog feet!)

You can read Nate's post here: http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/2009/11/life-of-thanksgiving.html. And I challenge you, too, to be thankful this week! It's contagious! :-)

Here is what I am MOST thankful for:

Have a great week!

Leslie

Labor Day Weekend 2009 pictures

2009-09-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Our neighbors invited us to stay with them on Potato Lake! The accomodations were incredible, the weather awesome, and we all had a blast!

Sam with one of many fish he caught off the dock.

Benjamin driving the boat!

Sam and Collin on the inner tube.

I put the camera over the side of the pontoon and snapped a picture. This is the first one I got.

This is the second picture that I got!

Emily and Holly on the inner tube.

Sam skiing! Got up on his second try!

Fundraisers

2009-09-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again! Sam is selling Cub Scout popcorn to earn money for scouting trips. Emily is selling Butter Braids to earn money to go to either Chicago or Denver for dance. These are both great money makers as there is low overhead.

If you're interested in either, let me know!

Thoughts and prayers are needed...

2009-09-15T11:13:00.001-07:00

A classmate of my daughter's died last night.

Please pray for his family.

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/253030/

Random pictures from the last couple of months

2009-08-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

I wish that one of these days Blogger would make it easier for us to upload pictures and then rearrange them. (Maybe there is a way and I don't know it - if so, please enlighten me!)

Here are pictures from May, when I was in Ohio with my mom. Rob and his parents went to Alexandria, MN to celebrate Aunt Kathy's birthday. All of her kids were there - with Rob being an only child, these cousins are like his sisters! And their kids are all around the same ages as our kids!

There are also pictures of us in Ft. Pierre, SD, over the 4th of July holiday. I'll comment after each picture since they're not in chronological order!

Emily riding an old-fashioned bike at the resort in Alexandria.

Emily on a boat with friends in Ft. Pierre.

Sam and Benjamin at Lindenwood park with our favorite neighbor girl.

Sam with the kayak in Ft. Pierre.

Sam resting in the kayak after paddling for awhile!

Sam looking at the Declaration of Independence with Thomas Jefferson.

Sam and Benjamin at the Ft. Pierre parade. (Wearing their flag shirts!)

Grandma Mary Ellen helping Benjamin ride a bike at Alexandria.

Benjamin looking at the fire dog and a clown.

Benjamin playing in the sand at the Lake Oahe beach.

Benjamin pictures (June 2009)

2009-08-02T19:23:00.001-07:00

My trip to Ohio

2009-05-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

I have been away from home for 5 days now. I flew to Ohio last Tuesday to take care of my mom after she had surgery. Amazingly enough, she had the surgery on Monday, and was discharged at 9:30 PM Tuesday evening! She's been doing great! We spend some time each day walking and moving around so that she can continue to heal. In doing so, we've been able to squeeze in some fun!

Wednesday we went to Vermillion, Ohio, which is right on Lake Erie. It was a beautiful day and Vermillion is a beautiful town. We wandered around their business district (all 2 blocks of it), and stopped at an old-time restaurant. (No kidding - hot dogs were $1.45!) Unfortunately, we overdid it a bit and needed to rest on Thursday. Friday we spent time in Milan at the square. We visited the antique shops and enjoyed the weather.

Saturday, Mom and I got pedicures, and then we went to an Indian event at Lyme Village and watched some dancers. Today we drove 45 miles to an outlet mall and got some great deals. My kids will be happy to help me unpack when I get home!

I'm going to do some projects around the house for Mom tomorrow, and maybe some yardwork, too. The weather has been very nice here - hopefully it will stay that way until I fly out Tuesday evening for ND.

Happy Memorial Day!

Easter 2009

2009-05-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

This says it all

2009-04-07T08:19:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guQB_-Nper4

Some additional flood information

2009-04-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

FLOOD UPDATE: Second Red River crest could top historic mark
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/236205

Here is some cool perspectives on how many sandbags the fargo area filled to help fight the flood
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=79764559840&h=Zopzb&u=YFYiD&ref=nf

The Frei family fought a great fight, but water still entered their home. Emily attends school with the younger daughter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MuJ5HQa4Os

And to keep your sense of humor about the whole thing:
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=61395173990&h=noaN2&u=ukDIF&ref=nf

This is so funny!

2009-03-31T14:06:00.000-07:00

CNN - Stop the Press The Daily Show Comedy Central
Source: www.thedailyshow.com
CNN's Susan Roesgen makes a difference while covering the floods in Fargo, ND.

The Main Event

2009-03-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

Mayor Walaker said this morning that it's just the preparation that is over. What we're in now is the main event. Hope we prepared well!

The Red River crested a couple feet below the expected height. Unfotunately, we're still going to be around 38 feet next weekend. We crested a little above 40 feet. Flood stage is 18 feet. And major flood stage is 30 feet and above.

It's been exhausting - physically and emotionally - to get to this point. While our home has been spared from the water, our lives haven't been. We know many people who have lost their homes and just this morning, Oak Grove Lutheran school lost at least a couple of buildings. Emily's school, Shanley, and Oak Grove often combine students for sports. Emily's been on the swim team and softball team with many of those students. It's heartbreaking.

One of her classmates lost her home - the same home her mother grew up in. Her father, brother, and brother's friend had to be evacuated via helicpoter from the roof of their house. Thank goodness that there have been no deaths.

Fargo Flood Update

2009-03-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

We're holding our own here in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Some of the rural areas are experiencing much water and evacuations. The evacuations that have happened in both Fargo and Moorhead are more for safety - no water is in the homes yet. To follow along, here are some web sites to watch:

http://www.valleynewslive.tv/#tvg
http://www.inforum.com/
http://www.areavoices.com/springflood/

Rob and I live in an area that is not planned for evacuation at all - we're high enough that we don't need an evacuation plan. Please pray for all of those affected by the floods. We have a handful of friends and co-workers that live outside of town that have been evacuated and are concerned that their homes will flood.

So thankful

2009-03-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

Good news #1 - After not feeling well on and off for at least a month, Sam was finally diagnosed with mycoplasma, along with strep throat. It's a bacteria that causes walking pneumonia. He never complains and only occassionally said he had a headache or a stomachache. I finally took him to the adult walk-in after being told a few times at the children's walk-in that he had a virus. Thank goodness for a pro-active doctor! 5 days on Zithromax and Sam's back to his usual self!

Good news #2 - Benjamin was discharged from speech therapy 3 sessions early! We originally thought he'd have 9 sessions and he ended up only having 4 because he was sick one time and we had a snow day another time. The speech therapist says a "language explosion" will happen at any time!

Good news #3 - We live in an AWESOME community and work for a great employer. A flood is expected to hit the Fargo-Moorhead area this coming week. Rob and I went over to Moorhead to make sandbags yesterday and were filled with happiness at all of the great neighbors we have. There was a 73-year old man hauling sand bags - not even for himself! And the Moorhead police officer who was spending his supper break filling sand bags - in full uniform with his revolver, too! Thank goodness that we don't need to sandbag our house, although we did spend a decent amount on a new sump pump as well as a new battery backup sump pump with a battery and all the fixings!

Today Emily and I went to help one of her classmates who lives south of town right on the river. They have a pretty cool setup with existing holes for flood wall posts, but still need quite a few sand bags. Then I went to help a co-worker even further south of Emily's classmate! Now I'm home helping Rob get our battery backup sump pump installed. Then we'll need to move all the stuff from the floor of the basement up, just in case!

Beginning on Monday, our company has offered us up to 16 hours of PTO to fight the flood! I'm so grateful! I know we'll be needed. Please pray for all of our neighbors that will be affected by this flood. God bless!

Emily fasted for 24 hours!!!

2009-03-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

We didn't realize at the time, but she was supposed to solicit donations (sort of like a fast-a-thon). The donations are going to be split between 3 charities that provide food for the hungry.

She and about 10 other teenagers from her youth group made it the full time (ended up being almost 25 hours) without anything to eat and only water and Powerade to drink. During that time, they helped out around the church, volunteered at the St. Vincent DePaul thrift store, and eventually broke their fast on the body of Jesus Christ during 5 PM mass.

Afterwards, there was a spaghetti feed for the kids - you should have seen them shovel the food in! I'm so proud of her and all of the other teens. If anyone is willing and able to send a donation, please let me know. You can send me an e-mail (leswagner2@hotmail.com) with the amount as the donation card needs to be turned in on Wednesday, and I will send you the address to send the donation to. Checks are tax deductible, can be made out to St. Anthony's, and will then be distributed to the charties.

Thanks, bunches, for your help!

Benjamin's first hair cut

2009-03-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

We finally got Benjamin his first hair cut. Because Aunt Kathy cut Sam's hair for the first time, we thought we'd have her cut Benjamin's hair for the first time, too! We just didn't realize it would take so long to get to Minneapolis to do it!

Before back:

Before front:

After:

He looks SOOO old! We think that he'll be moving to the PreTod (Pre-Toddler) room next week. (He's in the Older Infant room now.) We're supposed to get a week's notice, but haven't heard officially yet. We do know that 3 infants are moving up on Monday and that means that the 3 oldest in his room will also move up - that includes him!

Benjamin started speech therapy last week. He's scheduled to attend Mondays and Wednesdays through March, when he will be reevaluated. He only attended one day last week because he was diagnosed with strep throat on Tuesday. (The Rapid strep test came back negative, it was the 24-hour culture that turned positive!) I worked a whole 16 hours last week! :-)

So far he can say mama, daddy, pup (for puppy), mo (with the hand sign for "more"), and ba (with the hand sign for "ball"). I'm told that today he learned baa (for the sound a sheep makes), ccck (for cookie), and mmm (for the sound a cow makes). He can hear and comprehend fine, so we're not sure why he's not talking yet, but decided to start therapy now and work through it as early as we could.

We left on Friday for Minneapolis as the kids didn't have school on Friday due to parent-teacher conferences. Emily had a dance workshop all weekend long, so we dropped her off at the hotel in downtown Minneapolis and went to Kathy & Jerry's house. Sam and Benjamin got to play with 6 of their cousins and had a blast!

Kids update

2009-02-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

Emily is in her second semester of ninth grade and really enjoying the socializing that comes with High School! She does outstanding in Religion (usually over 100%), but struggles a bit with the other subjects. She is in charge of statistics for the JV and Varsity boys basketball teams, so spends many evenings with them - both at home and on the road. Her latest broken bone has healed nicely and we're eagerly anticipaing her Spring dance recital in May. She's planning to be a CIT (Counselor in Training) at the camp she attends every summer, for at least 5-6 weeks!

Sam continues to amaze us with his reading and math skills. He gets bored quite easily with his second grade school work because it comes so easy to him. His favorite pastimes include Playing XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, and the Nintendo DS. He also loves art and has quite the collection of Pokemon cards that he's designed and drawn himself, including names, types (fire, water, etc.), and evolutions. It truly is beyond my comprehension! His school's Ice Skating Classic was in January and he got a first place ribbon. (He got fifth last year, so he was pleased.) Now he's taking swimming lessons, and I just signed him up for a week-long Wilderness camp in Minnesota with a friend from church.

Benjamin will be 18 months old on Valentine's day and has finally started walking. At his 17-month checkup, he wasn't walking or talking, so his pediatrician referred us to a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and a pediatric Physical Therapist. Two days later (before either appointment) Benjamin started walking. He's now running all over the place. His speech is following - he says "Mamamama", "Dadada", "eye" (for Hi), and "bu bu" (for Bye Bye). We know he means Hi and Bye Bye because he does the baby wave when he says them (fingers in and out, in and out!)

Rob and I stay busy with work, chauffering kids, cub scouts, dogs, and the house. Rob's additional entertainment includes Facebook and mine is scrapbooking. So there you have it - the family in a nutshell.

Sign this petition!!!

2009-02-02T16:37:00.001-08:00

http://www.fightfoca.com/

The So-Called Freedom of Choice Act

2009-02-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

1. Partial-birth abortion will now be legal.

2. Parental consent laws for minors will no longer be in effect. Although a seventeen-year-old girl has to have her parents present in order to get acne medicine, a thirteen-year-old can get an abortion without her parents knowing. Think of the injury done to these young women, as well as to their children!

3. Laws prohibiting public funding of abortion will be struck down. The American taxpayer will now have to fund something many of us know to be murder.

4. Laws requiring women to be shown information about (including being shown ultrasounds) and alternatives to abortion will be struck down. Think about any other surgery that's performed: you are bombarded with information. And yet, in one of the most invasive medical procedures, women would be kept ignorant of the facts.

5. Laws allowing medical staff and hospitals to refuse to perform abortion on grounds of conscience will be struck down. (Where's the freedom of choice here?)

6. Laws prohibiting medical personnel other than licensed physicians from performing abortions would be invalidated because they may "interfere with" access to abortion. (Talk about protection for women!)

7. Government agencies and officials are prohibited from taking any action that would "discriminate against the exercise of" the FOCA-created legal rights, with respect to any "benefits, facilities, services, or information," would leave government officials open to lawsuits for anything that anybody thought "discriminate(s)" against abortion.

Our new president is busy at work.

2009-01-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

In one breath he talks stimulus package, in the other breath, he's spending taxpayers money on things that have no business being funded by the population as a whole. I was hoping I'd be wrong about this president and things weren't as bad as they seemed to be, but I'm afraid we're in for a whopper of a term.

As I type this, my 15-year old daughter is in Washington, D.C. with hundreds of other teenagers praying for a reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision. Murder of a baby is illegal, but not if the baby is an unborn baby. I challenge everyone who belives in a woman's "right to choose" to watch pictures or videos of abortion. IT IS MURDER.

Obama to reverse foreign abortion rule
Existing policy bans U.S. funds for groups that promote or perform abortion
The Associated Press
updated 10:42 a.m. CT, Fri., Jan. 23, 2009

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order ending the ban on federal funds for international groups that promote or perform abortions, officials told The Associated Press on Friday.

The move, long expected in the Democratic president's first week in office, will be welcomed by liberals and criticized by abortion rights foes.

The policy bans U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of U.S. Agency for International Development funds, from going to international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion. It is also known as the "global gag rule," because it prohibits taxpayer funding for groups that even talk about abortion if there is an unplanned pregnancy.

Also known as the "Mexico City policy," it has been reinstated and then reversed by Republican and Democratic presidents since GOP President Ronald Reagan established it in 1984. President Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but President George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.

The Democratic official and senior U.S. official who disclosed the plans to The AP did so on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to pre-empt Obama's announcement.
Obama was expected to sign the executive order at a low-key event, one day after the 36th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion.
The move was not a surprise as both Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who will oversee foreign aid, had promised to do away with the gag rule during the presidential campaign. Clinton is to visit the U.S. Agency for International Development, through which much U.S. foreign aid is disbursed, later Friday.

Reversing Bush policiesObama has spent his first days in office systematically signing executive orders reversing Bush administration policies on issues ranging from foreign policy to government operations. But, save for ending the ban, Obama has largely refrained from wading into ideological issues, perhaps to avoid being tagged a traditional partisan from the outset after his campaign promises to change "business as usual" in the often partisan-gridlocked capital.
Rather, Obama has chosen to focus initially on issues in which there is consensus across the political spectrum and support from the public, such as closing the prison camp for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to making government documents more accessible.
Organizations that had pressed Obama to make the abortion-ban change were jubilant.

"Women's health has been severely impacted by the cutoff of assistance. President Obama's actions will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, abortions and women dying from high-risk pregnancies because they don't have access to family planning," said Tod Preston, a spokesman for Population Action International, an advocacy group.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Christmas picture - having fun!

2009-01-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

I've been slow posting because I just never seem to have the time to get on the computer and do "personal" stuff these days! We have had a wonderful "holiday" so far. Rob and I took off from December 24th to January 5th, so we're hanging out with the kids and doing house projects. All of our parents were here from the 24th through the 29th, with staggering arrival and departure dates. The kids love it when all their grandparents are here!

We've all been working at cleaning and organizing the house in anticipation for my best Christmas gift ever - a cleaning lady! She starts in a couple of weeks, so we're tring to get everything presentable for her. Of course, it's never that easy. The AstroStart that Rob bought me for my birthday wasn't working 100%, so we had to take it back in for some additional tweeking, and we've been researching tires for my car. The latest problem is the garbage disposal breaking. My handy husband was able to replace it tonight in just a few short hours, including another trip to Menards to get a P trap as the old one was rusted through.

For those of you that usually receive a Christmas card from us, you don't need to keep waiting - it will be a New Year's card this year. They should be arriving shortly and i will have them out in a week. I'll also be posting some of our Christmas pictures soon.

Rest In Peace, Tim

2008-11-16T13:12:00.000-08:00

Calhoun, Timothy Patrick Age 37 of Lakeville died on 11-13-08.

Preceded in death by Grandpa and Grandma Calhoun and Grandpa Bohanon. Survived by wife, Elizabeth; son, Carson; daughter, Courtney; father and mother, Jerry and Caroleen; brothers, Steve (Linda), Scott (Vicki); grandmother, Violet Bohanon; nieces and nephews, Kate, Bryan, Kayla, Andrew; uncles, aunts, cousins, many special friends including Paul Cluskey and Mike Hehr and his beloved pets, Gordy and Henry. Services on Monday 11-17-08 at 11 AM with visitation an hour and a half before at Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley on Co Rd 42 and Pennock. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made.

Rest in Peace, Uncle Al

2008-11-11T08:01:00.000-08:00

Alvin P. Harm, age 84 of Yankton passed away on Friday, November 7, 2008 at the Avera Sister James Care Center, Yankton, SD. A Memorial Mass will be held at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Yankton with Rev. Bob Lacey officiating.

Burial of cremated remains will be in the Sacred Heart Cemetery with military graveside rites by Ernest-Bowyer VFW Post #791. Visitations will be held from 4-8 PM, Monday, November 10, 2008 at the Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home and Crematory, Yankton with a 7:00 scripture service followed by a rosary. Visitations will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Honorary pallbearers will be his grandchildren.

Alvin P. Harm was born on March 28, 1924 in Pierson, Iowa, the son of Julius and Daisy (Baker) Harm. He graduated from Grand Meadow High School in 1941. He served in the U. S. Navy from March 21, 1944 to May 6, 1946 aboard the U.S.S. Massachusetts in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Following his discharge, he was employed at the Cudahy Packing Company in Sioux City, IA, and in 1955, he began his employment with Sioux Radio Products in Sioux City, IA.

He married Claris "Jeff" Luken at Canton, SD on January 7, 1956. In 1957, when Sioux Radio Products relocated to Yankton, SD, Al moved with it. Sioux Radio Products merged with Dale Electronics in 1961 and he continued working there until 1968. Following that, he was employed at Zenith Radio Corp. in Sioux City, IA until 1978, then with Sioux Tools in Vermillion, SD until 1987 and retirement. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

He is survived by his wife, Claris "Jeff" Harm of Yankton, SD; his son, Kevin Harm of Columbus, NE; his daughter, Laurie (Michael) Johnson of Yankton, SD; four grandchildren: Cory and Cassandra Harm of Wayne, NE and Justin Johnson of St. Paul, MN and Alli Johnson of Yankton, SD; a sister, Doris Hendricks of Sloan, IA; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Clark ( Florence) Carnes, of Holstein, IA, Bob (Ruth) Luken of Roseville, MN, and Ruth Schwarz of Holstein, IA.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Bethyl Culler, a brother, Richard Harm, and brother-in-law, John Hendricks.

http://www.kostelfuneralhome.com/obits/harm.html

My new car

2008-11-05T14:50:00.001-08:00

Yes, I know, I've been saying that I want/need a new van for years now. But my husband talked me out of one when we bought the Tahoe in March. However, I got tired of not having my "own" vehicle - you know, one that I could "live" out of. I like having everything I need in my car - first aid kit, shopping bags, bottled water, extra diapers/wipes/clothes, Cub Scout/PTA/work stuff. I hate having to carry everything "just in case", but I like to keep it all close by. SO, we bought a new car for me! It's a 2004 Toyota Avalon and I really like it. It sure is different driving a car - for the last 8 years I've been driving a van or truck. It fit all my van requirements (except for the automatic sliding doors and DVD player), and it even has a sun roof! :-)

Halloween Pictures

2008-11-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

Emily as a hippie:

Sam as the character from Scream holding baby Benjamin bumblebee:

Carving pumpkins earlier in the evening:

Benjamin watched:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2008-10-31T06:21:00.001-07:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged since August! And I really have no good excuse. I'm not busier than I usually am! :-) I do have some pictures to add this weekend, so will just give a quick overview of the last couple months:

September:
We celebrated Rob's birthday!

I spent a week in Washington for work. I've never been to the Northwest before, so it was fun to visit. It's beautiful there, but so many people! I did get to spend a few hours in Seattle and did the touristy stuff - Pikes Place Market, the Space Needle, and eating at PF Changs.

October:
I attended a weekend scrapbook retreat at a resort in Minnesota in October. It was great to have some "alone" time with good friends and I got quite a few pages done.

Rob and I celebrated our 10th anniversary! We spent an evening at a bed & breakfast in Stillwater, MN, while the kids stayed with family in the cities. He bought me a diamond anniversary band. I had to have my wedding set cut off my finger - I put it on right after Benjamin was born and then it hasn't come off for the last 14 months! :-) But, I get the whole thing back today!

Kid stuff:
Emily is busy with dance two nights a week, youth group, and the socializing that comes with being in high school. (I still can't believe it sometimes.) She continues to drive us around town with her learner's permit and is getting closer to getting her actual driver's license. She turns 15 on Monday! She is working at saving money for a week-long trip to Washington, D.C. in January for the Teens for Life group with our church.

Sam has started cub scouts and really seems to like it. He is quite the social fellow if we can get him away from the TV and his video games! We have occassional play dates and birthday parties and his parent-teacher conference last year shows him doing very well. (His reading test at the end of first grade is actually beyond what the school wants him to be at for the end of second grade, so he won't be tested again until third grade!)

Benjamin still has 6 teeth (4 on top and 2 on bottom), but I think I felt two more on the bottom last night - it will be another day or so before I can get my fingers in there again to confirm! He crawls all over and loves to pull himself up and stand. He only walks with stuff if it's not planned, ie it moves and he just follows it! He will walk if you hold both his hands, but if you let one hand go, he either stands there and looks at you or just sits down.

Oh, and we got a new-to-us car last weekend! It's a Toyota Avalon and I love it. It's got a sunroof and I feel so sporty driving it! We still have the van, but it's in storage at Rob's mom and dad's place.

I'll post pictures of the kids in their costumes and the new car soon.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Video of Benjamin

2008-08-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

This is what Benjamin did during Sam's birthday party at the YMCA XerZone!

Samuel's Birthday

2008-08-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

Benjamin at the party.

Sam's cake.

Emily lighting the cake.

Benjamin's First Birthday

2008-08-28T17:11:00.001-07:00

The birthday boy!

With mom and dad.

The birthday party group!

A short video clip of Benjamin enjoying Cedar Point

2008-08-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

Cedar Point Pictures

2008-08-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

We always visit Cedar Point when we go to Ohio! (http://www.cedarpoint.com/).

Here's the Skyhawk.

Emily, Emily, Cole, and Rob.

The ride in motion.

Ohio Vacation Pictures - Rolling Ridge Ranch

2008-07-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

We visited the Rolling Ridge Ranch (http://www.visitrollingridge.com/) in Ohio during our vacation with Grandma Jo and Grandpa Dennis.

We rode in a horse-drawn carriage like below.

We saw a zonkey, which is a donkey-zebra cross.

Sam fed the goats.

Emily fed the camels.

Sam fed elk while Benjamin and Dad watched.

More elk, cooling off in the pond.

Family Reunion Pictures

2008-07-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

Finally getting around to looking at the family reunion photos and realized that I didn't take too many! And I got virtually none of Sam! He spent most of his time playing Nintendo DS with his cousin, Kevin!

Here's one of us with Rob's parents.

Here's Emily with cousin Katie.

Benjamin and Grandpa napping.

Another Samism

2008-07-07T14:17:00.001-07:00

We took a walk the other night and cut across a parking lot. Sam said we were "jack-crossing"! (He meant jay-walking!)

4th of July pictures

2008-07-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

We had a nice, quiet weekend at home - a staycation as Rob calls it! It started with sleeping in on the 4th and then spending time in Lindenwood park riding their rented bikes and eating ice cream! We attended the RedHawks game Friday evening (and they won!). Saturday we attended a post-Independence Day picnic and fireworks show at friends.

Sam waves a sparkler Saturday night.
Benjamin waves a flag at the RedHawks game.
Emily and Sam with Hawkeye and Kaitlyn and Tyler.
Sam riding the banana peel bike.

Rob helping Emily get started on her banana peel bike.

We all drove a "double surrey" in Lindenwood Park early Friday afternoon.

Benjamin's 9 month pictures

2008-07-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm so late getting these posted! I wanted to get them sent to the grandparents first, but it just didn't happen. I do have the pictures ready to mail, so it's time to post!

More New Jersey pictures

2008-06-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Amy, lives in NJ with her husband and 2 sons. We visited them for the day.

Grandma Nana and 5 of her 9 great-grandchildren:

Grandpa Don pushing Benjamin in the swing.

Benjamin relaxing with Grandpa Don in the hammock.

The boy cousins playing in the pool.

New York City pictures

2008-06-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

Rob, Emily, Samuel, and I went into the city on Friday for a day of sightseeing and a night at a play. We saw Hairspray! It was awesome!

Samuel and Emily in Central Park.

I can't remember the name of this place! It's where they have the ice skating rink in the winter...

Sam fell asleep on the double-decker tour bus.

The fashion district.

New Jersey Shore pictures

2008-06-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

We all enjoyed a trip to Sandy Hook. I realized later that day that I didn't get a picture of Grandma! She sat in the lawn chair up near the building under an umbrella. I spent most of the time there with her and Benjamin, but did manage to get some pictures when Benjamin was down by the water.

Rob, Benjamin, and Sam

Sam "riding" the waves. He LOVES the water!

Grandpa Don getting Benjamin's feet wet.

Grandpa Don buried Sam in the sand!

A couple of times...

Benjamin liked the feeling of sand in his toes.

More Philly pictures

2008-06-13T11:14:00.001-07:00

So, while I worked, Rob and the kids toured historic Philadelphia. I'd like to go back some day and visit all that they saw, but Emily insists she's seen enough of Philadelphia and isn't going back!

The kids at the zoo.

Benjamin napping on the duck boats.

Emily, Benjamin, and Rob getting ready to board the duck boats.

Emily and Samuel with their duck noise-makers!

Chinatown

Philly photos

2008-06-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

Samisms...

2008-05-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

1 - "Mom, I want to be a cub scout so that I can do the pine cone derby!"

2 - Reading a bithday card:
Front of card: "You're hot!"
Inside card: "Don't worry, it will pass."

"Get it, Mom? She's having flash backs!"

Bradsdeals.com

2008-05-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard of this site, you're missing out! They have wonderful deals every day. My favorite today is 20% off any order at Shoebuy.com through May 12! (Use code MOTHERSDAY08.) Plus, if you're a new customer and register at checkout, you get an additional 10% off.

They also have free shipping and return shipping (so order 2-3 sizes) and there is no sales tax. I bought the following:

Infant Robeez for $23.72, normally $32.95
Boys' Crocs for $18.32, normally $25.45
Women's Crocs for $21.56, normally $29.95

So if you need shoes - go to Shoebuy.com!

Bismarck Dance Competition Pictures

2008-05-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

Benjamin pictures

2008-05-07T11:31:00.001-07:00

Got some cute pictures that I had to share:

Duluth Pictures

2008-04-10T10:41:00.001-07:00

These pictures aren't in great order, but I don't have enough time to reorganize them!

Grandpa Don and Sam watching for the big ship.

The bridge is up and the ship is going underneath it.

The ship is heading toward the bridge.

The bridge is down.

A big ship in the harbor.

A Coast Guard ship.

A view of Duluth.

Pictures from the dance competition

2008-04-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

Update on Benjamin

2008-04-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Benjamin has anemia. After numerous pokes in both arms, they were able to draw blood from his head and ran additional tests to confirm that and verify that it's an iron deficient-anemia and not a genetic or chronic type. He's on iron drops twice a day for awhile to get his iron levels back to normal.

We have a follow-up appointment with his regular doctor on April 18th to see if the drops are working and what we need to do from then on. He doesn't like the drops, but he has been such a trooper through this whole thing. He slept last night from 11 PM to 5 AM - I kept waking up to check on him because he hasn't slept more than 1 hour at a time since Sunday!

I stayed home with him on Tuesday, too, since he still wasn't feeling too good. And he's not at 100% yet, but he is working his way back to that.

Kid happenings

2008-03-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

We have returned from an eventful trip to Duluth over the weekend! My dad drove up from Texas to deliver a car that he sold and then rode with the kids and me to Emily's dance competition. Rob had to be in Brookings on Friday and work over the weekend, so wasn't able to come. Thank goodness my dad was around! He was such a help! And Emily's friend, Danae also came. She was also a great help!

Emily danced in 3 groups and they won two first places and one second place! I'll post pictures later when my relief comes home. Now - why I'm waiting for relief...

Benjamin work up this morning around 3 AM and I have hardly been able to make him happy since then! He is on his 4th nap - the first three have been 15-20 minutes. So far, this one has been 20, so I'm hoping he'll stay asleep. I'm holding him while he naps.

I finally took him to the walk-in clinic because he was just totally inconsolable. The nurse put down his pain level as a 10 because he was crying so much. :-( The doctor said his fontanel is full, but his neck isn't stiff, so the symptoms don't fit with meningitis. However, he was concerned with the obvious pain that Benjamin was having, so ordered blood work - LOTS of it - so much that they had to put a needle into his arm vein to draw the blood. Poor little guy. Other than 2 bouts of pink eye, he's been healthy all winter long. I hope it's just a virus and nothing serious.

Benjamin's 6-month appointment

2008-03-25T16:21:00.001-07:00

Yes, Benjamin is 7 months old, but he just had his 6-month shots yesterday. He weighs a whole 17 pounds and 14 ounces and is 26.5 inches long. That puts him in the 32% for weight and the 23% for height. His head, however, is 45 cm, which is in the 65%! He's got his daddy's head! :-)

We had a nice Easter holiday with the family in Minneapolis - the kids got to play with their cousins, Riley got to play with Jasper, and lots of cards were played. Hard to believe that it snowed on Easter, but not Christmas this year! Enjoy these pictures...

The cousins and their fort:

Terri holding Lexi and Benjamin:

Sweet Benjamin:

Pictures from the weekend

2008-03-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

The "fam":

Mike and Kim:

Mike and Benjamin:

Grandma and the kids:

At the Wells Blue Bunny museum:

Wedding pictures

2008-03-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

We attended my uncle's wedding last weekend in LeMars, Iowa. Here are some pictures from there!

Grandma and the kids

Uncle Mikey

Samuel in the pool.

Welcome to the world, Grant Matthew

2008-02-28T13:30:00.001-08:00

SweetMarySunshine had her little baby boy last week. He's absolutely adorable! You can see him here: http://sweetmarysunshine.blogspot.com/.

On the Wagner front, we've been very busy with parent-teacher conferences, various doctor appointments, plus a birthday party to attend. Benjamin had his first "illness" - a bout of conjunctivitis, or pink eye. He doesn't seem worse for wear, but sure hates getting the drops put in. On a happy note, he LOVES bananas and seems to finally be ready to eat "big people" food!

Here's a quick picture of my boys.

And a picture of Samuel at his ice skating classic. He's really become a whiz on ice skates.

Benjamin rolled from his back to his stomach last night!

2008-02-21T13:53:00.000-08:00

He worked at it for a few minutes and then just popped over. I flipped him back to his back and he did it again. The third time, he went back to tummy to back. And it shocked him! He was a little upset and Samuel was afraid he hurt himself (since he rolled from a blanket on the rug to the wood floor), but as soon as I picked him up, he smiled!

And the best thing about it is this: I helped chauffer first graders to the ice skating rink over lunch today and mentioned the rolling over to a neighbor friend of ours who was also helping. He told me that he already knew because he had lunch with his daughter and Sam and Sam told him that! He said Sam acted like a proud big brother! It was so cool!

Best wishes to SweetMarySunshine today who's hopefully having Baby C as I write this!!!

Live life to the fullest

2008-02-20T14:37:00.001-08:00

Sombody sent me the link to this lecture. It's amazing and I felt the need to share with everyone.

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ithct48cqw

Benjamin's 6 month pictures - Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2008-02-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

Video of Benjamin in his new bathtub!!

2008-02-09T17:23:00.000-08:00

New Pictures

2008-02-09T17:04:00.000-08:00

Riley

Riley and Max
Wagner 1.0 (with Chester)

Wagner 2.0 (with Dad)

New bathtub

Smiling Benjamin

First time in the high chair.

See my Binky marks?

Hangin' out

Busy, busy busy!

2008-01-25T12:20:00.000-08:00

It just occurred to me that my house will not be clean anytime soon!

Rob is fishing this weekend, so I have the kids by myself. No work will get done.

The following weekend is the Super Bowl. Rob wants to have a "small party". He thinks that spending Friday cleaning his tool room in the basement means he can have guests over. Let me know if you understand that one.

The kids have no school on February 18th.

The weekend of February 22-24, I'm going to MN for a scrap booking retreat. My first nights away from Benjamin. :-(

Then the following week we're going to my uncle's wedding in Iowa. The kids don't have school on the 29th, so we're headed down that day for the wedding that evening and can come back on Saturday.

March 15th is Sam's school carnival, the next weekend is Easter, and the following weekend is Emily's dance competition. Whew! And well, then comes April. Yikes!

Playing in the snow

2008-01-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

Sam and the neighbor kids made a snow fort in their front yard.

They also made a neat snow man!

Bad colds

2008-01-13T06:11:00.000-08:00

Poor Benjamin STILL has his first bad cold. And it's settling in his eyes, of all places. So we visited the doctor on Saturday to verify it wasn't bacterial, and ended up getting eye drops for the conjuctivitis. I'm not sure day care will even let him go tomorrow, but he'll have been on medication for over 24 hours. We'll have to see. Even though he's not feeling well, he's still such a good baby! He's sitting on my lap helping me type this right now!

I was hoping to get some new pictures posted, but have spent pretty much all my free time the last week holding Benjamin and doing laundry! (Don't ask about the rest of my house!) Maybe in the next couple of days!

Oh, and Ben is 15.8 pounds clothed! :-)

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate.

2008-01-09T14:16:00.000-08:00

I just got this e-mail today and I just had to share it.

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and anassortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups.

The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate.

Happy New Year

2008-01-06T20:02:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's already January 6, 2008! I knew having a third child would take more time and energy, but I had NO IDEA how much! I'm not sure if it's my age or the fact that I have 2 others at home who are very busy, but boy, I have NO free time. I'm not sure my house will ever be clean again. And I'm not even thinking about all the extra stuff I'd like to do like organize some closets and go through some drawers. I do have a coule of scrapbooking weekends scheduled for the upcoming months to hopefully get some pages done, but I don't see how I'll ever be caught up! :-) However, I wouldn't trade Benjamin for a clean house or organized closets. He's brought so much joy to our lives.

Unfortunately, he has his first bad cold and is so uncomfortable. Even when he's not feeling good, though, he still smiles and laughs and is happy. We don't visit the doctor for a well-baby check for a few weeks, but by weighing him on the scale, he's 15.5 pounds already! We haven't started solids yet, as he hasn't seemed interested in what we're eating yet.

Here's a picture of Grandma Jo with the boys.

Christmas pictures!

2007-12-27T08:49:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

2007-12-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful day and made lots of memories! Benjamin rolled over from his stomach to his back tonight! He did it twice before he got tired of me flipping him back over and told me so!! I'll be posting pictures after I get them off of my camera.

The Not So Nutcracker

2007-12-11T06:29:00.001-08:00

Emily had her winter dance recitals this weekend so I had a chance to try out my new Sony Cyber-shot. We could only take pictures without a flash, I so was a little concerned, but I think it passed the test!

Interesting story

2007-12-03T12:20:00.001-08:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21843652/

Yeah Fargo/Moorhead!

2007-11-30T11:57:00.001-08:00

I just read this news story and had to share it! Check out the Best and worst environment and the Happy or not? sections! (Best #3 for each!)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22013776/?pg=9#HealthiestCities_SELF

My little elves!

2007-11-28T13:07:00.000-08:00

My kids are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute!

Click on this link to see how cute they are!

Finally - Benjamin's 3 month pictures

2007-11-26T12:28:00.001-08:00

Our holiday pictures

2007-11-26T06:29:00.001-08:00

I'm sending prints of these to the family, so you don't have to print them out. The first one is so cute that the photography place is going to use it in their book of examples! It's also the one we chose for our Christmas cards.

My last few days on maternity leave

2007-11-16T14:25:00.001-08:00

Well, I go back to work on Monday, November 19th. I'll have had 14 weeks off, although it doesn't seem that long. My in-laws are coming to watch Benjamin Monday through Wednesday, then there's the 4 day Thanksgiving holiday/weekend. On the following Monday, Rob starts his leave and will be home until the end of the year. Benjamin will be 20 weeks to the day when he starts day care! I seriously thought about staying home full-time, but just know I would not be a good stay at home mom. I love my baby very much. but need the outside, adult stimulation that I get from my career. I'm anxious to return to work, although I know it will be difficult with lots of tears. Thank goodness I've been able to get Ben to take a bottle. He did when he was younger, but then we didn't have a need for him to use one, so we didn't. It took a few weeks, but he's doing well with the bottles now. I'm hoping that I'll get to see him roll over before I go back - I suppose that means I should let him have some time on the floor - I spend most of the day holding him because I know I won't get to soon.

We're headed to Minneapolis this weekend for Owen's baptism - he's Rob's cousin's son and is 4 weeks younger than Ben. It will be a quick trip, though - Rob's got band practice tonight, so we won't be leaving until Saturday morning and need to be back by 6 on Sunday so I can attend It's a Wonderful Night at the mall. It's a tradition for me and Emily to go to it!

And on a more serious note - I have a request for prayers. My step-mom's sister has been diagnosed with breast cancer. So far the prognosis is good - it doesn't seem to have spread to the lymph nodes or the bone, but her mom and her aunt both died of breast cancer, so it's scary for the family to have to go through this again. Plus, she's my age with 4 children at home! So please say prayers for Lisa and her family to get through this - she's having surgery on Tuesday.

My little fisherman

2007-11-16T11:58:00.000-08:00

I had Benjamin's 3 month pictures taken on Wednesday. He was so good and it was so fun to look at all the options! It was hard to choose, but this was one of my favorites. I'm not going to post the others yet - want them to be a surprise for the grandparents!

When God smiles

2007-11-14T19:16:00.000-08:00

I received this in an e-mail and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy!

Benjamin update

2007-11-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

Ben had his 3-month check-up and shots on Tuesday. He did very well and is growing like a weed! He's gone from around the 10th percentile in height and weight to the 40th percentile! He weighs exactly 13 pounds. Here's a picture of him today.

Pheasant hunting pictures

2007-11-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

Halloween pictures

2007-11-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

Sam at the office!

Emily and her friend, Dayton as 50's kids.
Sam as Darth Vader with the neighbors, Holly as Queen (someone) and Colin as a storm trooper.

Benjamin as a cute little (sleeping) pumpkin.

My kids...

2007-11-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

New Jersey Pictures

2007-10-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

Benjamin and I recently returned from visiting my 91-year old grandma. We flew out to New Jersey, so it was a bunch of firsts for him - first time flying in an airplane; first time meeting Grandma Nana; first time at the shore.

We got to spend time with Grandma, Grandpa Don, who flew in from Texas to help, Cousin Amy and her family (husband Chris and boys Nicholas and Owen), Aunt Ruth and Uncle Bob, and Aunt Linda and Uncle Dick.

Cousin Amy's sons, Owen and Nicholas, with Ben.

This is why NJ is called the garden state.

Touchdown, Cowboys!!! (Grandpa Don was teaching Ben how to cheer for his favorite team.)

My cousin, Amy, gave me this wonderful toy for Ben to play with.

Just looking cute!

Check out the thumb between his fingers.

Ben and Nana having a conversation.

Hanging out with Grandpa Don.

Benjamin and Nana taking a quick nap.

Dreaming sweet dreams of airplane rides. (Notice the smile!)

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

2007-10-27T19:12:00.001-07:00

How Tall This Fall - 2007

2007-10-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

Some Favorite Pictures

2007-10-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

Benjamin enjoying his bath.

Sam "watching" Benjamin for me when I had to leave the room for a minute.

Sam holding Ben in church before Ben's baptism.

I caught Ben sucking his left first finger while clasping both hands together!

My babies

2007-10-16T09:15:00.001-07:00

Ben's Baptism

2007-10-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

Ben was baptised on Saturday, October 6th at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church. He was so good - he didn't fuss at all during the mass - even when Fr. Dodge poured the holy water over his head!

My busy family...

2007-10-08T16:49:00.001-07:00

Even though my blog has been slow, my family hasn't been!

Samuel turned 7 on August 25th.

School started on August 30th. Sam's in First grade and Emily's in Eighth grade.

Rob turned 40 on September 4th.

Lots of pictures to follow...

Sam's 7th birthday

2007-10-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

Rob's 40th Birthday

2007-10-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

First Day of School

2007-10-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

Riley meeting Ben

2007-09-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Ben on the Bilibed

2007-09-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

Sam and Hawkeye

2007-09-06T16:13:00.001-07:00

Emily and Benjamin

2007-09-06T16:11:00.001-07:00

Ben's first picture

2007-09-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

Sam's lost tooth #4

2007-09-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

Busy week!!

2007-08-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

Well - where do I start?

On Monday, August 13th, my water broke. Emily was at Camp Cormorant, Sam was with me, and Rob was playing basketball at the Y. He wasn't answering his cell phone or pages from the Y, so I waited an hour or so and then took Sam to the Y and picked up Rob on the way to the hospital. They admitted me and we waited and waited and waited and waited! No contractions or anything!

Finally the next day, they started me on pitocin to start contractions, and at 4:41 PM, Benjamin Michael Wagner was born! He only weiged 6 pounds and 3 ounces and is 18 inches long. He is such a tiny peanut, we can't get over it! I think that he's the spitting image of Sam when Sam was born, although Sam weighed 7 pounds and 3 ounces.

We got to go home on Thursday, but Ben's a little jaundice, so we had to take him to the clinic on Friday for a test. He was still a little high, so the home health nurse brought over a Bilibed for him to sleep on. He's supposed to be on it as much as possible - only coming off to eat, have a diaper change, and a bath. It's hard to watch him there and not hold him all the time, but he sleeps so much that it's OK. I'm told he's sleeping so much because of his jaundice. However, after his test today, he's doing much better, so we don't need a test tomorrow and can wait until Monday for the next test. They just prick his heal and take some blood - so far he's slept through all of the pricks!

Emily's back from camp and had a great time. She met lots of new friends and was so sad to leave. She was also pretty excited because the camp director told her that she should go to camp in June next summer and then could be a CIT the rest of the summer! That's Counselor In Training, and usually you have to be 15 to be one. She'll only be 14 next summer, so she's thrilled!

And, Sam's other front tooth came out, so his talking has changed a little. This one came out without Brittney's help, but he wasn't happy about it. He got a little happier with his silver dollar from the tooth fairy!

I'll be posting more pictures very soon!