Klubnik Family

My birthday, the zoo x 2, and goodbye 2011!

2012-01-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

"Happy birthday Mommy! Can we have cupcakes for your birthday?"

Allie was so excited for my birthday and she was also excited that Grandma was coming over to watch her. But what she didn't realize was that she was NOT going out with Mommy and Daddy to celebrate! We felt so bad because she was so excited, but she had fun with my mom!

And of course she had to put her tutu on to dance for me!

Jon and I went to Fogo De Chao for dinner. We love not only the yummy meat but the salad bar is the best!

After dinner, we visited with Bonnie who had just had baby Kampbell a few weeks before and then went and looked for boots for me. No luck- should have looked before Christmas! It was a fun night and good to just get out!

The following day was so nice outside that Allie and I went to the zoo. I love the new zoo! It looks so much better now!

There are 2 baby elephants and they were playing and making all sorts of noise! Allie was having a ball watching them and kept laughing!

And of course, we had to ride the merry go round and she choose a "George!"

We packed a picnic lunch and ate by the lake and then fed the ducks. And to finish it off she got to swing in the park.

She is such a big girl now! But don't let this sweet face fool you to what happened next. We parked right by this park and when we went to the car, I told her to wait by me while I put the stroller in the back and she took off running in front of the car!!!!! I could not believe it! Luckily, it was the grassy area that she ran to because there were cars everywhere. She got in big trouble for that! She told me on the way home "Next time, Mommy I will listen and I won't run off!" She has started the "Next time" thing when she gets in trouble. I was just so shocked at how quickly she went from sweet to crazy!...

Telling George about her day at the zoo

Three days later, we went to the zoo again and brought my parents and nieces with us. This time the elephants were getting a bath.

I always knew that Amanda and my dad were a little "devilish"!!! :O) Check out the horns coming out of their heads!

The Longhorn cattle have HUGE horns!

Just hanging out with the girls!

These gorillas were right at the window and while watching them, one cam running by and pounced on the window right in front and Allie and scared us all!

In line to feed the giraffes!

"Ugh... he is really close!"

Check out that tongue!!

Allie was not so sure about feeding him but she did great with Grandma's help!

But don't let him get too close!

"more please!" This was really fun to do!

Check him out!

She loves hanging out with the big girls!

On Wednesday's we go to Library time and when it is nice outside we pack a picnic and play in the park. Sometimes, Libbie and her kids join us. And it has been really warm this winter, so we have had lots of picnics!

New Year's Eve we had friends over to our house. Alicia and Jeremy picked up the food as I was NOT cooking! :O) We didn't have a sitter for Allie so she enjoyed dinner with us and all the attention with no other kids around! Then off to bed she went and we played games and talked!

Bonnie and Jim; and Alicia and Jeremy. (I look really short these days- I think I am shrinking with my old age!)

Fun picture! And this was the first time in years that we actually celebrated with other people when the new year actually was happening! Bonnie had just had a baby, so they had to leave around 10, but Alicia and Jeremy stayed til about 12:30! So goodbye 2011, Hello 2012... I do hope you have better things in store for us this year! We could use a fun, happy year!

Christmas Day 2011

2012-01-22T20:11:00.000-08:00

After having the Klubnik side of the family over for Christmas Eve, we had the Miller's over on Christmas day (and Jon's parent's).

Allie opening her stocking to find lots of paints and things to make crafts.

This year she is hooked on Curious George and she got CG books, video, shirt, the stuffed animal, puzzles and I am sure other things that I can't remember!

After opening each thing, we would go upstairs and put it away! And then come down and open another one! I LOVE this child!!! (although it did take a LONG time to open presents!)

George!

My brother (in the weird hat), niece Amanda, sister in law Robyn. And everyone is on their phone!! Anybody heard of talking to the people you are with anymore! Geez! :O)
Jon was in charge of the turkey for the day and he planned on smoking it. However, it did not make it in the smoker early enough so it also went into the oven, but since I needed the oven, it got bumped out to the BBQ!!! Surprisingly, it turned out moist and tasty!

Allie, Julia, Robyn and Amanda

Allie always loves playing with Julia and she was pretending to be inside the box as a present. Notice Allie is in the Tutu again! (I actually had to take it back to Nordstrom's the following day because it had started to rip!!!! They had their tailor sew it and luckily Allie was OK with parting with it for a few days!)

My brother and Amanda

I made birthday cupcakes for Jesus' Birthday and of course Allie wanted to sing "Happy Birthday!"

They got cute hats at church that say Happy Birthday Jesus!

Opening more presents!

Allie and I went shopping at Old Navy for Christmas presents and she spotted this shirt from across the store, but they only had sizes that were way too big for her. I had them track one down at another store and my mom went and bought it. But before she got it, we were at another Old Navy and she was looking again for the shirt and I told her they didn't have any in her size because they were all too big. She was SO SAD and talked about it fir days... When she opened this, she looked at me very confused and then asked my mom "Is this too big for me?" She was not sure what to make of it because I had told her so many times that it was too big for her!

George....

The whole gang! I love the pose Jon has in this picture!!

IT was fun to have everyone over and not too bad as far as hosting goes! Allie even took a nap everyday which never happens, so she was able to stay up later and enjoy family time longer! My only request for Christmas was to have everyone play games. I miss just hanging out and playing cards or board games. I am thankful that my parents stayed and played with us and I was happy! I feel like the holidays are always a rush to get somewhere and the eat and then go somewhere else. One year, I just want what I see in the movies; everyone just hanging out and enjoying the time together!...

I put the boys' tree up in the office this year and I actually bought another tree for them and this one was too small as I did not have enough room for all their ornaments. My mom got me two new ones for their tree and I had meant to get them some and I didn't... UGH.

I always love how it looks at night. oh well.

Christmas Eve with the Klubniks 2011

2012-01-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

"I am ready for Christmas and my cousins to come over!"

Christmas Eve day, Jon's brother's family came in from Austin and stayed with us for a night.

Carson, Riley, Reed, and Allie (I think all the kiddos have grown a couple inches in the last few months!)

Jon's parents and his cousin PJ came over for a wonderful brunch. It is a Klubnik family tradition to have Blintzi (crepes with a cheese filling with sour cream and preserves on top) during Christmas. They sound different but are actually very yummy and his mom made them again this year. Kim has made them in the past as well and I am assuming my turn will be coming! I just hope I can do them as well as they do!

PJ brought over a super yummy egg casserole and Jon's parents received the fruit basket.

The Klubnik clan (and Ralph)
Kim makes the BEST sugar cookies and she brought us a bunch to eat that day! YUM!

Aunt Kim and Allie

Nana and Allie

Pops and Allie

Time to open presents!

Kim, Reed, and Tod

Riley sitting in Allie's LITTLE chair.

Explaining the book to Allie

Who needs presents? Ribbon is lots of fun to twirl around!!!

Allie tried to take off every sticker from the presents and then she would put them on herself. In this blue box was pure heaven for Allie...

Another Tutu outfit! But not just any one- it also has a sparkly ice cream cone on the front with a rainbow skirt! She LOVED this and has wanted to wear it everyday since!

And of course it just right over her other clothes to make the perfect outfit!!!!

Klubnik cousins

I like this picture of Allie and Riley because you can see how much they are both growing up
We went to First Baptist for the early Christmas eve service after a very early dinner at the house. This has been our tradition for the last 5 years.

Allie and her silly smile! This will most likely be the last Christmas of me holding Allie for pictures! I am not sure I am ready for her to grow up and I know Jon isn't!

"Let's go Rudolf!!"

"Hurry we have presents to deliver!"

Klubniks

My parents also joined us for the service and they also went to a midnight service later that night!

We had a good time with everyone and it is always so much fun to spend time with the other Klubniks!

Really, Really BIG Christmas show and fun with cousins

2012-01-02T20:19:00.000-08:00

Our Church, Second Baptist, has an incredible Christmas show each year. For the last 3 years we have taken my nieces and did Gingerbread houses the next day.

Allie, Julia and Amanda. Allie LOVES having friends ride with her in the back seat!

We took some pictures before the show.

I told Allie to say HOT DOG, and you can tell by her mouth what she was doing!

I love her smile in these two pictures

The show is absolutely amazing and SO fun for both adults and kids. They take popular songs by various artists like Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis... and change the words to tell the Christmas story. There are acrobats, dancers of all ages, performers of all sorts doing all sorts of crazy things and movie turns into live entertainment. I HIGHLY recommend it for next year!!!!!
Allie was a little afraid this year because she doesn't like loud music and it was dark. Jon took her out at the beginning but once she saw the dancers wearing tutus she wanted to come back and watch!

I took pictures with my IPhone and covered up the screen so that I didn't blind people behind me. I even took some video and Allie loves to watch it

Did I mention how extremely cool this show is?? You can check out the ad for it here and you can purchase the music on ITUNES.

My parents also came to the show

Saturday morning making piggies in blankets and of course blueberry pancakes, which are now a weekly and sometimes semiweekly breakfast at our house! (I use lots of real frozen blueberries and real maple syrup-very yummy!)

Getting a little jumping in before breakfast and of course wearing a tutu! Julia does Ballet and she even fit into Allie's tutu! Julia is so good with Allie and Allie talks about her all the time. She is the 2nd youngest cousin and I am bummed that she won't grow up with cousins her age to play with. Oh well.

Amanda was not feeling well so Jon decided to make a house. Allie and I did one together which meant I had to work faster than her! I also bought candy without artificial dyes in them so that Allie would not eat the stuff we were using to decorate. (More on that later) Side note... the Organic candy canes from Whole foods are Fabulous! They have beet juice for the red color, and they taste SO much better than the other ones!

Julia's, Jon's and Allie"s houses

back side

Doing a puzzle with Uncle Matt (it's actually a puzzle my mom had saved from when we were young)

This is the Christmas plate that I made for Jon's parents. I just LOVE how it turned out and I just used stickers and a picture! I made a different one for my parents with the girls on it but I forgot to take a picture!

Pre Christmas festivities part 2

2011-12-28T19:56:00.000-08:00

It has been so much fun to see Allie's personality really come out this past year. One thing she LOVES to do is play with her babies and line them up according to size all over the house. Here they are watching Cailou with her.

Actually she loves to line up anything and everything!

This was how I found her room during "naptime" a few weeks back.

And here she is "memory" and she is actually pretty good already!

And here all her babies are taking a nap on their "nap mats"!

And here they are on the stairs...

Dancing in the rain!

My niece Julia does Ballet and had a few parts in a "Nutcracker" performance.

My parents and nieces.

Helping me bake! She loves to wear hoodies!

She also LOVES to paint and as you can see she even paints within the lines already! Her teachers have even remarked at how neat she is!

This was the first year that our Sunday school class did not have a Christmas party so Jon and I decided to host one at our house. We had 11 adults and 11 kids and we started at about 5 and by 7:45 everyone was gone! Parties are so different with little kids! It was crazy but I am glad that we did it. We cooked all the meat and everyone else brought the sides.

Bonnie had just had baby Kampbell less than a week before!! We were so impressed that she was out and about!

Dinnertime!

I had a few games for the kids and adults; this is pin the nose on Rudolf.

Jim and Jon playing Rudolf!

Nick and Chris are not quite so sure about this!

The Stellings

Kids' turn!

Allie as Rudolf!

Kirsten and Katie taking a turn!

Nick and Stacie

We tried to get a good picture of all the kids, but it didn't quite happen! Out of 11 kids, 2 were boys- the oldest and the youngest!

Allie and Meagan were just cracking up the entire time!

The older kids and a Stelling twin

All the girls! I think I must have shrunk over the years!! I look so short!

I also tried to teach the kiddos about why we open presents at Christmas. I explained that not only was is Jesus' birthday, but that He is also a present to us and we can "unwrap" it and have him as our own. Then I had a present for each of them to open. you never know how much they actually get or when it will sink in, but as a teacher, I know that it never hurts to teach them as much as possible! A week later, on our way to our Friday Fun group Christmas party Allie asked me what I was going to teach her and her friends while we were there! Too cute!

Alicia has her hands full!

We are so blessed and thankful for our friends!

On another note...

I had Allie switch classes at her Mother's Day out program and it is a night and day difference!!!!! I am SO glad that I spoke up and asked that she be moved up to the older two/three's class. Her teachers are great and she gets to do SO much more in her class!

Her new teacher even tried to do the hula hoop!

Allie was helping me wrap presents and put them under the tree and then she sat under the tree and said "Momma, I am a present too!" Yes, she is- the best present we could ever ask for! We could not have asked for a sweeter girl!

M.E.N.D. Christmas celebration 2011

2011-12-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

December 3rd, we went to our second annual MEND Christmas candlelight service. We are always so impressed with the quality of everything this organization does and it really is a testimony to how much they care about our babies who are no longer with us on earth.

It was a beautiful ceremony and Jaimie did a great job sharing the Gospel and helping us understand how much God really does care about us and how much He understands our pain.

Our friends, Mitzi and Glen lighting a candle for their son, Christian.
Each family goes up to the front and says "We remember (in our case) Baby Klubnik; miscarried June 2010, Michael David and Jake Thomas; born too early September 7, 2010." And we light a candle in remembrance of them.

Our candles that we lit.

Jon and I afterwards. The slender tall candle remains unlit to symbolize all the families that will be joining us in the next year on this new journey. We Hated seeing that candle last year and hate even more that 2 of my friends have lost their babies since that time.

This is the ornament that we got. It has all their name's on it and inside is a purple heart with a needle and tread through it and the verse Psalm 147:3 "He heals the broken hearted"
I have been SO thankful and grateful for MEND this past year for so many reasons, but mainly because we have a way to celebrate and acknowledge their lives. Our children are a blessing from God so matter how long we have them here on earth and each time I go I remember that and it helps to focus on that.
I wish every one who has lost a child could be a part of a group like this because no one else can understand what it is like to be responsible for your child's life and yet not be able to do anything about it when something horrible goes wrong. Death is a part of life and we all know it is inescapable, but there is just something horribly wrong with giving birth knowing that they will never get to live a full life and in fact they will die in your arms.
I think in spite of all of this and everything we have gone through this past year, Jon and I are doing very well. As odd or bad as it may sound, I actually don't find myself missing them all the time. I have moments when it hits me; like taking pictures with Santa, doing our Christmas cards, and when Allie wants to kiss them goodnight (picture).
I know God had a purpose and a reason and we are OK with it. Someday we will know them and it will be so fun! So until that day comes....

Pre Christmas festivities

2011-12-14T13:04:00.000-08:00

Lots of fun things to do in December to get ready for Christmas!

Decorating Allie's tree. I found all the ornaments last year after Christmas at 75% off and this year Allie got to pick out the ribbon and beads for it. IT looks so cute! And I put it up on a table so it won't get knocked down!

We made this foam winter scene to go under her tree.

We have a Holiday in the Park each year with Santa, snow, sledding, horseback rides, train rides, music and food. This has to be her 15th or more time on a pony in the last year! And I love the way she is just sitting there like a pro!

In front of the big tree.

Our Friday fun group went to the mall to take pictures with Santa. This was one of the VERY few times that I actually left the house without a bow in Allie's hair... Luckily we borrowed one for the actual picture!

To our surprise, Meagan and Allie were dressed almost exactly the same! Too funny!

Not a great picture of me...

She was getting a little nervous about seeing Santa! She was SO brave before we got there and the night before at the festival, but when it came time to actually SIT with Santa, it was a whole different story! Santa was a hour late so we went to the castle to play and wait!

the kids and Allison!

Allie did NOT want to sit with Santa and she would not let go of me. I had already decided to let Allie take her picture with Lindsey and Meagan so she would not be so upset. As you can see, Meagan was all smiles!!! Allie was so funny though because as soon as I actually got her on his lap she started talking to him and had this mischievous grin on her face! And she was fine!

We had lunch and then did the merry go round. I love this mall as it is so kid friendly!

Allie and Meagan

Visiting with Jon's parent's at Gringo's restaurant which is a favorite place to go!

I took her to Bass Pro shop to see Santa again and take some pictures. I love this side shot but she is getting ready to pick at the chapped lips!

My sweety pie!

She is growing up into a little girl and it amazes me when I look back on photos how much she has changed within the last year!

My silly goose!

This time, she was excited to see Santa and told him "we saw you last week. " and she wanted to know where the rubber duckies were that he gave out last time! I had to explain to Santa that he gave those out at the mall and must have run out! She was a chatter box with him this time! It was really cute.

I love this one and that is the mischievous look that she had last time as well! We may have to go back and visit this Santa again as it was free and we got a free kids meal out of it as well!!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

My little pumpkin!

Because we were gone the whole week before Thanksgiving, I had to have the house ready before we left. I was pretty proud of myself for having my act together and came up with a fun table centerpiece!

Allie and I made little turkeys for each family and we put what we were thankful about each of them on the leaves. We had a hard time finding good pine cones even though we looked for almost 2 weeks beforehand! (There were GREAT ones in SC, so we packed some for next year!) Allie really enjoyed doing this and they turned out cute.

Our flight landed about noon and we got home about 1pm Thanksgiving day! Everyone was coming for dinner at 4!!!!!! My parents came about 1 to help get things going and Allie enjoyed helping make twice baked potatoes! I had actually been up since 4am that morning (2 hours before I had to) because Allie was making tons of noise in her sleep and then fell off the bed.... So I had been up since 3am Houston time that day. Unfortunately, I was very tired and not much fun!

Allie LOVED having her cousins to play with!

Almost ready...

Did I mention that this was the perfect set up as I really did not cook anything??!!!

Our house will not allow for a long table to hold everyone, so we just split up with several tables.

Amanda played her guitar and sang for us! She did a great job and she is very talented! Allie got all her babies and put them in front of her like they were watching her too! (notice the strollers)

Fun times!

Clean up time! This was actually a great arrangement for us because everyone brought stuff and then somehow we ended up with tons of YUMMY left overs! And I didn't have to cook for several days afterwards!

Our Thanksgiving tree this year...

The Klubnik clan at breakfast the next morning. Jon's brother's family lives in Austin so they stay with us for the night.

Playing "ring around the Rosie"

Allie and Riley.

It was a crazy holiday, but fun to see everybody and we are so thankful for our families! It has been a very hard year and we have had lots of support from them and we have been so thankful for it!

Ms. South Carolina's house

2011-12-07T20:17:00.000-08:00

We week before Thanksgiving, we went to Hilton Head South Carolina for 6 days. The first nice thing about the trip was how NICE everyone was at the airport! We think they must have had some sensitivity training and actually became polite! They even added some fun chairs for the little ones!

We used our timeshare and points on Southwest, so it was a really cheap vacation! We stayed on the beach and had a great time! I had wanted to get some S.C. BBQ and boiled peanuts while we were there and didn't do either! We did have some SUPER yummy seafood though!

Allie and "George" the monkey!

Our balcony and Allie was coloring

There were SO many marsh lands that even though we were on the beach, we still had this super long boardwalk to get to it!

The pool, but it was a little too chilly for us (although we did swim in the indoor one when it was raining one day)

Somehow I never remember to take a picture before the mess happens!

Feeding the ducks

So pretty!

OK Daddy, try and get up!

Allie got to go pony riding AGAIN! She has ridden at least 12 times in the past year! Watch out Daddy, she is going to want a pony one day for Christmas! (Mommy too)

Giddy-up!

There were so many neat little places to go on the island to do all sorts of different things.

We went on a walk through a little forest area. During our outing, Allie had to go potty and she didn't quite squat all the way and uh oh!!!

I was trying to change her clothes without getting her dirty! She is actually laughing, you just can't tell!!

Lunch afterwards at the Salty Dog Cafe. So much yummy seafood and not enough time! Each section of the island has a cute little village area with restaurants, shops and fun things to do. (more so in the summer!)

Trying out the new feature on the I-Phone where you can see yourself as you take it...

We went to the beach usually a couple times a day mainly because Allie loved walking on the "balance beam" on the boardwalk and playing in the sand!

The sand was actually very pretty; white and clean!

We left our mark on Hilton Head!

watching a show with her babies!

At the beach again

Pretty sunsets, but bad for the hair as the fog rolls in and it gets humid!!

So glad I brought the hat otherwise I would have had BAD hair!

"Let's get in the water Daddy!"

"NO WAY! Too cold!!"

Building sandcastles instead

"Ready to go!"

WE took a day trip to Beaufort which was about an hour awhile. I thought it was the Beaufort that all the Nicholas Sparks books take place in... but that is actually in North Carolina! Part of Bubba Gump was filmed here though!

Lots of marsh lands!

I had Jon drive through a neighborhood that I found online and it was SO COOL! It was like a movie set and didn't seem real at all! Absolutely beautiful and none of my pictures did it any justice!

Dinner at a Yummy seafood restaurant! We had gone to the other one on the other side of the island a few nights prior and decided to go back to their other one! The shrimp and crab were so yummy!

Going swimming

Playing follow the leader

Now what are we going to do?? One day during Allie's nap, I went to go play BINGO at the resort and I won every single game! (all 4) and got free drinks, ice cream, and wings!

We actually got her to sleep on the plane home and a good thing because it was Thanksgiving Day and everyone was coming over a couple hours after we got home! She looks so sweet when she is sleeping!

Back in Houston!

Fun things about Hilton Head: There were lots of forests with oak trees with moss (hair hanging down because they needed a haircut), No lights at night because of the sea turtles which made it very hard to find anything after 5!, Great place to go even if you never play golf, outlet shops, Lots of fun little villages, great beaches, and Super yummy seafood! Did I mention that already?? It was a great trip and I think it is a place we will definitely try to go back to. Allie affectionately refers to this place as Ms. South Carolina's house!

Tiny Tots, Library Time, and Play Group

2011-11-28T13:13:00.000-08:00

I am behind in posting things and I usually forget to post about the things that we do all the time so here are a few of our activities!

We have the BEST library time at our library! We have been going almost every Wednesday for 2 years now and it is so much fun! Miss Missy does so much more than just read a book or two and the crafts are always great as well.

Allie is still shy when we go, but she is getting better!

Making a scarecrow

Showing Miss Missy her scarecrow

I hosted another ply group at our house in early Oct. It was still very humid and hot though!

I think we had about 25 people that day! Allie was not too sure about sharing all her toys and was very nervous when she could not see me!

Bonnie was trying to explain something to Christian. Allie, Kirsten and Meagan eating lunch

Another play date at an indoor "green toy" shop right down the road from us!

I even brought Catherine along that time!

Allie and her babies! She always has a baby with her these days!

Zoo Boo with our group. Allison and Lindsey and Meagan

Meagan, Blake, Lindsey and Allie

Checking out the Lion!!!

Allie loves getting to see her friends each week and I love getting to see mine!
Lunch time!

Cheese!

Herman park afterwards

Last spring and this past fall, we also did "Tiny Tots and Tunes" through our church on Monday mornings. It is a super fun music and "play" class.
This is at our church. They have so many great places for the kiddos!

Kirsten and Allie having lunch at the last class

They got to dress up for the last class because it was Halloween.

Getting all her wiggles out!

They always do bubbles at the end and Allie loves to catch them!

Got one!

Pumpkin days 2011

2011-11-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

Jon and Allie carving a "Buzz Lightyear" pumpkin

Gross! Slimy!

Lindsey, Allie, Meagan at a pumpkin patch

This was last year at a pumpkin patch!

Lunch time! Allison, Meagan, Lindsey, Allie, and my mom.

Hi sweet friend, can you see me??

My little pumpkin!

Our Friday fun group had a Fall festival day at Jeri Lynn's house. We rode with Allison and her kids since Jon was out of town and we stayed at my parents' house that week. Meagan as Strawberry Shortcake and Allie was a Ballerina Princess. (it was cold that day)

Allie and Anna Kate who was dressed as Twink from Rainbow Bright. So cute!

They got to paint little pumpkins! It was fun to watch all the other kids paint ALL over their pumpkins, hands, clothes and Allie just painted a little bit on hers and was satisfied! I think she is going to have some artistic talent!

We also went to a Scare-free festival at one of the church's in SL. However, a clown is scary to a 2 1/2 year old! And of course we ran into one right as we got there and as we were leaving!

Allie and Grandma

Roasting marshmallows.

Yummy and one of my favorite treats!

Horse carriage ride. Allison and her girls were there and so were some of our other friends, but it was so crowded that we really didn't see them.

Two nights after the festival, Allie woke up in the middle of the night saying "Mommy, Mommy, I need you!" When I got in her room, she said "remember the clown? with orange hair and big feet?" I said yes and she continued to describe him. Then she said "Remember when we were in California (in Sept) and we roasted marshmallows? We roasted two there!" (At the festival we only roasted one). I am always surprised at what she remembers and that it comes out at such random times!

We did not do any trick or treating because she was actually in bed by 7 that night because she did not nap and had been going non stop for quite a few days.

Trip around the world with Houston as final stop!

2011-11-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

Back in 1999-2000 I lived in England doing Young Life. It was a crazy year and the reason I survived was because of an awesome family that lived right around the corner from us (my roommate Julie and I). The Bates were part of the committee that got YL started in England and at the time had 2 teenage daughters; Catherine and Zsa Zsa. They became like family to me and I ate dinner with them most nights and even went to Spain for 2 weeks with them. So many FUN memories! I was quite surprised last Spring when Catherine contacted me wanting to come visit us. She is now 28 and has finished all of her school and internships to be a doctor. And what better way to celebrate than taking a trip around the world! She went to Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Portland, and last stop Houston! (no need to go to Europe as they go there all the time)

I tried to think of great things to do in Houston, but all that stood out was NASA, shopping, and eating... We did go to the zoo the first day, and I made blueberry pancakes for her, but I had forgotten that she was probably tired! :O)

Monkeying around!

Petting Zoo. When we were in Spain, we went to a drive through safari that was really cool- the Houston zoo is OK!

Who needs a train system that you can actually ride all across the country when you can ride the one around the zoo!

She got us some fun aprons! Jon can now stay clean when he grills and Allie has one to help me cook!

"Breakfast time Miss Catherine!"

Taking her to the finer places Houston has to offer!!!! Getting eyebrows threaded!

Allie LOVED having Miss Catherine with us and so did we! She even taught Allie to use a knife and do it the "proper English way!" Check her out!

Proof too that I did cook!

After taking her to our playgroup on Friday afternoon, we went to Kemah.

"look Miss Catherine!"

Saturday, we went shopping (one of several times) and then to NASA.

It was fun to go and I am glad that my mom was watching Allie so that we could actually look at everything. It had been at least 15 years since I had been there!

We got BBQ for dinner that night and brought it home and my parents joined us. We tried to play Nerts that night, but Catherine whipped our booties! We used to play all the time when I lived there, but when you don't play for awhile, you get rusty!

Monday we rode the Metro train into the Medical Center and downtown.

Jon's friend, Erin, who is a nurse at Texas Children's showed us around. There are not any hospital systems that big in England-especially in Sidmouth!

The water wall

Thanks Erin for showing us around and telling us about the fun water wall there!

It was actually quite warm while she was here so we stopped to get some smoothies!

Allie DID share with me!

Next stop was the Chase tower to go to the 60th floor observatory

Too fun! Great views and would be super at sunset!

We then went to the tunnels for lunch but ended up eating at the corner bakery on Main. BTW- finding a bathroom in the tunnels is a JOURNEY in itself! and we did it twice!

I was glad that I finally did this and now I know how to get around and can take Allie by myself.

We grilled steaks one night, had fajitas at Pappasitos, BBQ from Rudy's, seafood at Kemah, and I even cooked some! That's what we do in Houston- eat!

This cracks me up because when I lived in Sidmouth, I used that same chair many times trying to get some sun- and to no avail! IT was the rainiest season they had on record when I was there and I missed the Texas sun! SO now Catherine was getting some of what I had longed for!

Allie and I already miss Miss Catherine so much! It was so wonderful having her stay with us and she is one of those friends that even after 12 years, you can pick up like it had been one week! She was so mature at 17 that it seemed like old times! Jon talked about going to visit this summer... Allie is at a good age now that I would consider it and she would love to see her again!

In the summer of 2001, Lindsay and I went to visit everyone in Sidmouth and we stayed with the Bates and did all sorts of fun things with them. So we met Lindsay for Breakfast the morning before she had to fly home.

This was taken in 2001 of Catherine and I. I don't think either one of us aged!!! :O) Thanks Catherine for coming to visit us and for being so fun to be with!

Allie is 2 1/2 (and some)!

2011-10-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some random things we have been up to the last two months...

I started teaching her Sunday school class this year with another mom and it has been fun! This past week, Allie has finally adjusted to me being there and didn't act up. In fact, she was the perfect student- singing and following every thing I said! I could not believe it! She LOVES to learn about Jesus and knows 2 verses already. Some of her favorite songs right now are : Lord's Army, Deep and Wide, Jesus loves the little children, He's got the whole world, and Blessed be the Name. She marches around the house singing and she knows the words and tunes really well.

Jordan's 2nd b-day party and she had an Elmo cake!

We made homemade pizzas one night and Allie and Jon did a great job and they were yummy! Allie likes olives, pepperoni, and mushrooms on hers!

Waiting for them to cook- and it is a fun picture with her reflection in the oven.

Doing "crafts" she really likes to paint and is really good about not making a mess!

We started a "Responsibility chart" 4 weeks ago and so far it has really helped! Although she is only 2 1/2, she is capable of doing so much more than I give her credit for- and she LOVES to accomplish things on her own! Right now we are working on saying "thank you and please"- especially in public (like when she got a balloon at Luby's) because she gets very shy. No whining is one that is VERY slowing being worked on... She is better at letting me brush her teeth and staying in her bed at night now. And she does SUPER at feeding and letting the dogs out! She gets mad if I do it because I forgot to let her! After 20 smiley faces, she gets a reward: ice cream, do-nut, cupcake, extra book at bedtime for the week, and still figuring out other rewards.
Jon took her the first time to Chick Fil A for a Daddy/ daughter night.

Eating her ice cream with sprinkles of course! So far each week she has chosen ice cream for her reward, which isn't all bad for Mommy either!!!

Allie's hair cracks me up! She has the best bed head and her curls are so fun! I hope they stay big like this!

First day of School and 2nd haircut

2011-10-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

Allie is now 2 1/2 and such a sweet little girl who loves to squeal with delight and flap her hands when she gets excited! I have been behind in posting things about her so these next couple one will be about our sweet little girl!

She started Mother's Day Out the first week of September at Sugar Creek Baptist. This is the same place we had her last year and she was excited to go back again and she kept asking if her teachers were going to be Ms. Amy and Ms. Christie! I wish they could be her teachers again!!!

First day...

And although they don't "read" in school yet, Allie loves her books and we do a lot of reading at home!

And she LOVES Curious George! We have checked out every book at the library and read them all the time! She said to me one night, "I wonder if George is still curious, let's find out!" HA!

Allison and I decided to take Allie and Meagan to get their haircuts together at a super cute place called Sweet and Sassy back on Sept. 26.

We had lunch at Chipolte first

Sweet Meagan went first and did fabulous just sitting there!She even enjoyed every moment of it and this was her first haircut!

Allie did MUCH better this time, but still had to sit on my lap and was very nervous. Notice the lollipop that she is holding... She never ate any of it until she was completely done with her hair!

Still thinking about this thing!

There's a smile!

OK- so this isn't too bad!

"Are you done yet??"

She finally let me put her in the chair by herself!

They got glitter stars on their face!

Best friends- hopefully for a very long time!

two super sweet, pretty little girls!

How about running?? YAY!

Grandma came to watch as well! Love this picture of them! Thanks Grandma for being a part of Allie's life!

Walk to Remember 2011

2011-10-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday Oct. 1 was one of the first "cool" days we have had in months and it was a beautiful day to have the M.E.N.D. Walk to Remember.

It was at a different church this year, so it felt like our first time again. This year, we decided to invite some family and friends to join us in remembering Michael and Jake. My parents, Jon's mom, and my super dear friend; Allison and her oldest daughter joined us.

Each balloon represents a baby that is in heaven. Everyone who came was able to release a balloon or balloons to remember them by.

They have a"rememberance table" so you can put whatever you have/want to remember them by. I used the wonderful card that Heather designed for the boys' birthday and their picture.

The only downside to the day was that I was having a severe migraine that had started teh day before and I had just gotten some medicine that morning to help it and it didn't go away until the next morning! So needless to say, if I look like I am in pain in the pictures- it's because I was!

Lindsey and Allie

Hanging up the ornaments as they called out their names.

Allie is the only one who looks happy here...

Our three sweet babies.

They have all the children come up to the front to sing "Jesus Loves Me"- Allie was not so sure!

My mom getting a balloon

Allie was writing her message to her brothers!

Mommy's turn

Walking...

My dad and us.

Jon explaining to her that we are sending the balloons to Michael and Jake in heaven.

Here they go...

Bye Bye

One more time...

She was happy this year becasue she understood that she was giving them to her brothers

I love this look she has!

So thankful for such a great organization and support group to help us celebrate our babies' lives and to remember that they are a part of our family! We are also so thankful that we have something like this that we can have family and friends go to to help us celebrate their life.
A couple days later, Allie woke up from her nap saying "Mommy, Michael and Jake got their balloons in heaven- I saw them!!!" She was so happy. I am glad that we can have memories of them and incorporate their short lives into ours! And I did have a profound thought about them... We actually have something a lot of families don't have- a whole another family in Heaven that we will get to meet! What Joy to know that I have 3 kiddos waiting for me and although I won't know them here on earth- I get a BONUS in heaven!

My dear friend, Allison- Thank you SO much for wanting to come and share in this with me and for taking great pictures! You have cried when I couldn't, you have loved them without even meeting them, and you have held my hand through one of my darkest, hardest times. I am honored to call you friend! And thank you also for honoring our boys with your donation to MEND! "May you be blessed as you have blessed me!"

Birthday and Life Tributes

2011-10-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

M.E.N.D. does a bi-monthly newsletter and you can put a birthday tribute in it for your baby(ies). Below is the one I did for Michael and Jake. You can also click on the link below to see the entire newsletter. This past one was on birthday traditions and was really very touching!

M.E.N.D. newsletter

Thank you also SO much Mom and Dad and Priscilla and Lincoln Goodwin for your generous donation made in honor of Michael and Jake! We really appreciate it and it will help to reach so many other families who are going through this hard time.

In September, my parents went to Baraga, MI. where my mom grew up and most of her family still lives. My Grandparents have land up there with cabins and because they have both passed on into Heaven; there is also a small cemetery there as well. My uncle and his wife have also passed. My mom had my Grandparent's headstone made and she also had one made for Michael and Jake. Everyone has been cremated, so it is really just a special place to remember them. Here is what it looked like last spring (yes, spring) with the wooden crosses (now there are headstones).

So pretty with all the snow!

The headstones are not very large, but my mom did a great job designing them! She used our Memorial service handout as the template (and it is their actual footprints).

Thank you Mom and Dad for including them and making such a special place for them with the family!

One year later...

2011-09-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

One year later...

I sat at the table the night of the boys' birthday and thought "what am I feeling?" I was hoping for some profound thought or feeling to happen, but none came.
Everyone has a different journey with their grief and no one can tell you how to walk through it because it will be different for everyone. I have learned this past month that I am not a "feelings" person. Which to those of you that know me well, know this to be true. I much prefer facts and I can "feel" someone elses pain if I have a lot of details about what they are going through. Some call this "the intellectual type" although I do not see myself as being that intellectual! :o)
But, I do know that during the time I was pregnant, I knew something was not right and I said more times than I can count that I did not want to lose the boys. I had read several books on preventing premature labor, I had told my Dr. something wasn't right (he dismissed it- I later switched Dr.) I know that the entire week before going into the hospital I was on the phone with my friend Lindsay, who has twins and had almost lost one, asking her if what I was going through was "normal". I had told a friend the day before we left to go to CO. that something was wrong and I should go to the Dr., but I didn't...

So was God preparing me "intellectually" for what was going to happen? Maybe. Was I just having "feelings" of something being wrong because I was "anxious"? maybe. I don't know. I do know that my grief has been very different than I would have expected. This last year has been very hard, and at times I feel like I have not had any emotional energy to even devote to Michael and Jake. Then I feel guilty for that- yet I know I shouldn't. In the weeks following their death, I had to read books about other people's journey of losing a baby to know what I was feeling! I needed someone else to put in words what I was not capable of feeling or expressing.

The days that I think should be sad, I am usually just fine. It's the times when I am not expecting something and the grief overwhelms me. I still have a need to talk about them and I am still at a loss for words when people ask if Allie is our only child. (How do you answer that w/out giving a huge explanation!!???) I have only had a couple of times when I broke down and cried for them (and I cherish those times). I went to a memorial service for my friend's baby boy, Samuel, who died way too early, and I remember being jealous that she was able to cry for him. At our service (1 year ago yesterday), I think I was still so numb that I really couldn't cry. Yet, I wanted to.

Michael and Jake. I can still hear Jake's cry and still see Michael's sweet pouty lip. I can relive the birth over in my head a million times, yet it won't bring them back. I have put off doing their memory book b/c once I am finished- that's it. (although know I know that each year I can add to it)

I do not want to forget our boys and I will make sure and keep their memory alive, but just like this stupid wave in the picture below that kept erasing their names, days will go by and my memory will fade and people will move on. Of course they will, life happens. I just wonder if I will ever be able to truly feel the grief of losing them, or if this is as far as I will go. Some run from grief- I am trying to find it.

The LORD gives and the LORD takes away. I know that. Can I really truly say "blessed be His name" right now? Intellectually -yes. Do I believe it? Maybe. Depends. Do I think God is concerned about that? no- He knows exactly what I am feeling even when I can't express it.

Jon has done his share of grieving and it has been interesting to see how we do so differently. Even though death is an inevitable part of life and that we will each experience it at some point- it still hurts and it is not a fun thing to go through. So here we are, one year later. I wish I had some profound thing to say or insight- but I don't. Just that we miss you little guys and Allie is such a proud big sister even and loves to tell people about her brothers in heaven!

Pictures taken September 6, 2011 at Newport Beach CA.

To see original posts from their birth click here : Boys' Story and Part 2

Newport Beach California

2011-09-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

We decided to go out of town for the Boys' birthday this year. So a couple weeks ago, when I found the Marriott Villas in Newport Beach available on our timeshare I booked it. We left Sept. 3 and stayed for a week. Allie was so excited to be flying on a plane again! We had just watched her first full length movie- Toy Story 2 and she kept talking about when Buzz, Woody, and Jesse were at the airport with the plane taking off. (She loves Buzz!!!)

No longer a lap child. And she was terrified this time during take off and landing!

But as you can see, she did just fine once we were up in the air! (she won't let me open the window shade though!)

Cool weather, beautiful view, and not in Texas!

I love having the timeshare because we get full kitchens, living rooms, and 2 bedrooms!

Jon's Aunt and cousins live close by so the first night we got there we got to hang out with them. They had some other friends over and a super yummy dinner for us! (Allie is shy at first) She was up very late that night as we started out with TX time and ended with CA time.)

Playing a little B-ball.

We went to the beach a couple times. Sand was great, but water was too Cold!

I brought her little baby pool so she could at least play in the water as I knew she would not like the cold ocean!

Jon is "helping" Allie with her sand castle!

We had a great playground right outside our door! It was super!

All ready to go!

Quick stop at a neighborhood park. Can you imagine having sand in the playgrounds here?? You would burn your feet to a crisp!

View from our place-ocean in the background. I always forget how mountainous California is and how fun all the cute beach towns are along the Southern coast.

Just like home.... HA!

Our sweet friends, Lincoln and Priscilla, had this goody basket delivered on the boys' birthday! It was such a fun surprise and we really appreciated it! (see previous post for their b-day at the zoo)

Too bad the rail cut off Jon's face! Nice pose!

She is actually laughing while he is doing this!

Took a boat ride to Balboa Island. This is where Jon spend several summers growing up (amusement park in background)

It's a beautiful area!

So many super cute (and expensive) houses line the boardwalk.

Great little small town feel along Marine Street with cute shops and restuarants!

This is the first time we ever put money into one of these things... No fooling her anymore!!

Dinner at a great Italian place -and this was taken from outside the window! It was fun to sit and watch people walk by.

Perfect timing with the sunset on the bridge!

Check out the two guys paddle boarding in the picture!

Fun ones!

Like a postcard!

Sweet Allie... God has blessed us with you and you are the BEST little girl in the whole wide world! You make us smile and we can't get enough of you!

Don't grow up too fast! I will miss your sweet baby face!

Ice cream and frozen bananas! Yummy

Another great time at the beach!

So many beautiful houses!

Yes, she has on a fleece and we are at the beach in early September!

And dinner that night at Ruby's Shake Shack

We ate dinner at this place (Beachcomer) and there will be another post about that...

"never mind the picture- give me the shake!"

Overall, it was a good trip. We were both anxious leading up to the day we left, but once we got there- it was a good getaway. I was trying to make sure that I had everything I would want on their b-day and trying to get everything ready that frazzled me. The only time that I really broke down was on their b-day when we got back from the zoo. We stopped at the playground and there were twin girls (one named Allie) who were 4 but smaller than Allie. I found out it was b/c they were born 3 1/2 months premature and spent 6 months in the NICU, and still have many developmental issues. I was talking to their G-pa about them and told him about our boys who were born 3 1/2 months early a year ago that day. I couldn't contain myself and the man was super sweet and kept saying how courageous I was... I am not sure why he used that word- but I will take it! Thanks for sharing in our journey this past year, and for all the love and support you have given to us!

To remember and celebrate

2011-09-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

What is the right thing to do when your babies die and you want to remember them? There is no right answer! What I have learned this past year is that everyone grieves differently and everyone needs different things to help them through it! For me, talking about them and sharing them with others has been what I needed. So to remember their birthday-which was very tragic as it was also their last day alive with us; we decided to make it special. I want their birthday to be a day that Allie will be able to enjoy and we can celebrate the short lives that her brothers had. Our support group, M.E.N.D., has been so great at helping us figure out what to do. One family had decided to go to a different zoo every year, and that seemed like a great way to celebrate Michael and Jake's 1st Heavenly birthday.

The day before the boys' birthday, we went to a fun little bakery in Newport Beach (We went to California for the week) called Wonderland Bakery. Allie got to pick out 3 cupcakes. Two for the boys and one for her.

She really enjoyed this and wanted more than 3 of them!

We decided after getting them to go ahead and enjoy one that day (Jon bought another one just like it) because Allie wanted to carry the bag out and one cupcake got messed up! Oh well- it was yummy. We also got balloons from the store a couple days before. Allie got to pick out 3 of those as well. She covered all of her bases: Winnie the Pooh, Elmo, and Mickey! Jon got me the 3 white roses that morning and we each had a card for the other person.

Sept. 7, 2010. Getting ready to go to the San Diego Zoo.

Allie asked if we were going to go SEE Michael and Jake at the zoo... I tried my best to explain to her that we will only see them in Heaven one day. Made me sad.

We sang "Happy Birthday" to them in the morning and had the cupcakes that night when we got home.

I had wanted to bring in a balloon, but it was against the zoo policy so we had to leave it at customer relations!

We did a bus tour of the zoo first as the place is HUGE, and Allie loves buses! It was a great way to get an overview and know what to come back to look at. (looking at the giraffes)

A huge yellow python.

Lions, tigers, and bears - oh my!

Loved the panda bears! They are beautiful!

It was a lot of fun watching the Polar bears play!

Can you tell Allie was tired? I tried to get her to take a nap on the long way there... Plus she had been sick all week and still waking up on Texas time (5am)! But she was areal trooper and did great!

She calls Michael and Jake's bears, "her special bears!" I wanted to have them with us that day.

Time for a bear hug!

It was actually VERY hot that day! It was supposed to be high of 80, but I am pretty sure it was closer to 95 with a lot of humidity!

fun photos!

She loved the hand dryer after the petting zoo! (I love her smile)

The sky ride that takes you from one end to the other. We rode it a couple of times for fun! There is so much to do and see and I only put a few of our pictures on here!

This was super neat watching a plane fly along the downtown skyline and we were parallel to it!

It was a good day and it took our minds off of being sad. I want to have joy when I remember the boys because I know they are experiencing joy everyday in Heaven. They are a part of our family and we will continue to have a day to celebrate their lives every year.

Happy 1st Birthday Boys!

2011-09-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday, Michael and Jake! We miss you dearly!

Michael and Jake's 1st Birthday Remembrance card

2011-09-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

I had these cards made for Michael and Jake's first Heavenly Birthday. A friend of mine, Heather, does this for a living and she does a fabulous job! She did these for me as a present and I absolutely LOVE them and they look even better in real life!!! They are actually tri-fold cards so the front is of Allie holding the bears and the back is her and the bears in the hats. The balloon release is also on the back.

This is the inside of the card with pictures of the boys and Allie from last year. The sunset pictures were done in Australia (see earlier post).

I wish I could have sent these out to everybody, but we only got a limited amount. This was our special way of sharing our boys with our friends and family this year.

The bears will be a yearly picture tradition and I am thankful that the hospital gave us them to help us remember Michael and Jake.

1st year B-day pictures of Allie with bears

2011-09-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

The hospital in Denver gave us these two bears when we delivered Michael and Jake last year. At first, I gave them back because I thought" what am I going to do with them?" But right before leaving I wanted them "just in case" (and my mother in law had actually already gotten them thinking the same thing!). Last year, I had pictures of Allie made with them -see link -Pictures- and I was glad that I did! I had not even thought about doing it every year until my friend, Allison, suggested it! And I am SO glad she did! We had also received the hats from a church that made them for us and they actually fit the bears perfectly and I found this hat for Allie and I just LOVE the above picture! It shows her spunk and personality!

But I think this one has to be my all time favorite! Notice the cupcake shirt that I found the day before taking these pictures and the wings were a b-day party favor from Lindsey's b-day the weekend before! I think God had everything lined up for me!

This one is sweet and shows her shy side.

Michael's bear is on the left and Jake's is on the right.

These blankets were crocheted for me by my mom's friend Jean and my mom had their names put on them with their birth date.
I also used some of these pictures for the Birthday remembrance card that I sent out.

Boys' Names in the Sand

2011-09-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

Carly Marie in Perth Australia lost her son, Christian, in 2008 and started a wonderful ministry to help others who have also had a baby or child die. names in the sand

Every night, she goes out to the beach and writes the baby's name in the sand while the sun is setting. You can purchase the JPEG's and the pictures are absolutely beautiful. I had waited until early August to have Michael and Jake's name done and the first thought I had when I saw their picture was how peaceful it looked. This past year has been anything but peaceful for me and seeing their pictures made me realize that they are living in perfect peace and it is such a wonderful thing!

She has a "Rainbow Wait List" that you can watch your child's name on it to see when it will be written in the sand. (she does so many every day!) Michael and Jake were Turquoise.

TURQUOISE

Michael David Klubnik

Jake Thomas Klubnik

...

You can click on the link below to see the Memorial that I wrote for each of the boys.

Jake's picture and Memorial page

Michael's Picture and Memorial page

In Australia, their winter season just ended. When I realized that these were done in the winter months, it seemed very appropiate as this last year has seemed like a very long winter.

Written by Jon Sept. 3, 2011

2011-09-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

Our Sorrow... One year later.

by Jon Klubnik on Saturday, September 3, 2011 at 4:20am

Today, one year ago, Tiffany and I were looking forward to the arrival of our twin boys. We had no names yet, but we had so many dreams. On the way back to the airport after vacationing in Colorado, we stopped by the hospital to check out a discomfort that Tiffany had been feeling. We thought we would just stop by for a quick visit and be cleared for the flight home.

The doctors did an ultrasound on the boys and they looked great. We were encouraged.

Then they examined my wife to find out that she was actually experiencing premature labor. A life flight helicopter was called and she was taken to a special high risk hospital. Five days of waiting led to the realization that the labor was caused by an infection that was incurable for the boys and would soon threaten my wife. Her labor must be allowed to continue.

Michael David and Jake Thomas were born Sept 7, 2010 and they each lived an hour.

I can't even begin to share with you what that hour felt like. We kissed each of them, we held them. We sang Jesus loves me. We prayed... and we said good bye.

I wish I could tell you I understand why this happened. After one year, I have more questions. They say that at some point we will "make peace" with these things that have happened. I'm not there yet. It still hurts.

This past year has been a very long winter season in our home. We have been ministered to by some wonderful friends. We have met others who have shared our heartache. It has stretched our relationship nearly to the point of breaking. Our journey is not yet complete.

The one thing I have is hope. Hope that God is faithful. I believe that more than ever. Even in the midst of all of this, I believe it.

Right now all I can taste are bitter tears

Right now all I can see are clouds of sorrow

From the other side of all this grief

Is that you I hear, laughing loud

Calling out to me

See, its everything you said that it would be

And even better than you would believe

He’ll wipe every tear from our eyes

And make everything new just like He promised

Wait and see

Just wait and see

Wait and see

My hope is that some day in heaven, two young men will come up to me and say "Hi Dad". I can hardly wait.

"Don't cry, Mommy. They are in Heaven..."

2011-09-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we went to Allison's house to play. She'd had Shrimp and Grits clothing trunk sales all week, and some of our friends were coming to shop- so I took Allie to go hang out. I decided last minute (told Allison as I was driving over there) to make cupcakes for the kids and sing "Happy Birthday to Michael and Jake." We had been torn this year as to what to do to remember the boys as I was wanting to do something with the kids and Jon wants to do something with just us. So this opportunity came up and thought, "why not?"

It was not anything fancy at all and we used Blake's birthday stuff from this summer. I wanted to include the triplet as well- that's why there are 3 cupcakes.

Lindsey, Claire, Carter, Laney, Allie, (Blake- below), and Meagan
Allie got to blow out the candles for them.

I was not sure how I would handle it and I am glad I had Libbie video it for me. It was a lot harder than I had thought and these girls were so sweet to me! Libbie prayed for us and we had a nice group hug!

THe best part of the day happened right after this. I took Allie to go get the pizza down the road and about 3 minutes into the drive, I heard this super sweet voice in the back seat say "Don't cry Mommy. They are in Heaven... I'm sorry, I'm sorry Mommy!" and she didn't say another word. She is so perceptive and has such a sweet caring spirit! I think God speaks through her even at the tender age of 2 1/2!

Since that day, Allie has wanted to kiss and hug Michael and Jake's picture every night before bed (and sometimes before nap)! A couple times she forgot and I heard her from upstairs crying "I NEED TO KISS MICHAEL AND JAKE!" How could I resist that!
Last year today (Sept. 2) was our last day of "normal" as we went to the hospital on the 3rd.

A flashback to Aug. 2010-Allie is 1 1/2 years old!

2011-08-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

This entry was written while we were in Breckenridge last year at this time, and it never was finished. I am posting it now (no changes made) to remind me of where we were last year before our life changed...

Where does the time go? Allie is 1 1/2 years old now and becoming such a big girl! (and literally)She had her doctor check up and she is in the 95-100% in height (Although when I got home and remeasured her, she was2 inches shorter than what they had), 50% in weight, and still 15% for her little head! I guess people are right when they continually say how big she is for her age! She is very curious about everything and is into the "I can do it myself " or "I will throw a fit" stage!

It's fun to see what she is capable of doing, but also very hard on me as these baby boys are getting so big and making it very difficult to manage her. Jon has been wanting me to update this with some of her funny stories and things she is into for awhile so, here it is!

She loves her dolls and is always eager to push one around in the stroller, put a diaper on her, pretend to feed her, or now try to put her dolly on the potty! (we have been sort of working on potty training).

She understands so much and likes to "help" with laundry, dishes, vacuuming, picking up toys, and getting her snack. Sometimes, this is actually help and other times... well just leave it at that!

She likes to go into the pantry and pull the cereal or whatever she can reach and then gets a tupper ware bowl out and helps herself to the food! She also loves to pull things out of the fridge when I try to get something out!

I have been eating milkshakes to help me gain some weight and Allie goes nuts when she sees it (anything in a to go cup with a straw!) she will say over and over very loudly "MA, MA, MA!!!" until she receives some of her own. The other day, I felt like she was sharing HER shake with me!

She now knows how to unzip her sleep blanket. We tried duct tape- she figured that out. Now we put it on inside out... We will see how long that lasts!

She LOVES all kinds of shoes and luckily, friends have given us hand me downs because she loves to try different ones on and dances around in them! She also likes putting Jon's big shoes on and TRIES to walk in them!!

When she doesn't want something she very kindly says "no" while shaking her head. She says and signs "thank you" and "please" all the time. And she still loves to say "Ralph" at least a dozen times a day. (Ralph is one of our dogs- and he is checking to see if she has a "present").

She is very curious about how things are put together and how they work and gets frustrated easily when she can't figure it out.

She is also very adventurous and enjoys going on adventures and being outside. She is shy at first, but really enjoys new activities and remembers so much!

One thing she does not like is for me or Jon to hold another baby or child! She also is not too sure about sharing her toys with others-especially her balls; which she loves. We will need to prepare her for what is ahead and her two brothers that will be coming soon!

I have been sad that I can't do as much with Allie as she or I would like, and it has been hard for me not to be able to pick up my little girl as much as I would like! She is changing so much so fast and I feel like I am missing out on it. I guess we all have some adjustments to make as we head into the winter of 2010!

August happenings

2011-08-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

I was making dinner in the kitchen and when I checked on Allie in her kitchen this is what I found! There was dog food everywhere!!! She was so proud of herself as well... Oh well, can't get too mad when she is trying to copy me!

My great Randall's deal: $85 worth of groceries and I paid about $8.40 for all of it!!!! That doesn't happen often and this was one of my best trips!!

She got all snazzed up to go to church a few weeks ago! She wanted to wear her Tu-tu- so... why not!??

I absolutely love her smile.

She is actually dancing in this picture! Check out her bracelets as well! I think Jon got it on video!

THis is her "old classroom" as they just switched this weekend to a new building! I will help teach her class this year every other week! Ms. Michelle does a wonderful job with these kids! (lots of her friends were not there that day)

Allie has decided that she needed to catch up on her reading... She really does pick this book up to read it a lot!

Hummmm.... Can you guess why the window is covered and why there is a hole in the door? I tried to install a new lock on the back door because our old one wouldn't shut properly. I got the bottom one installed and then took a break to turn the sprinkler off in the back and didn't realize that the door was locked! The keys for the new lock were still inside in the package!!! Luckily, the dogs were at my parent's house and Allie was asleep upstairs and Jon's office is right in the back. He didn't have a front door key and our only option was to break the window! Jon did it with a hammer (took about 6 tries) and even though we taped it- glass went everywhere! So that one project led to several others! But I am glad to say that I was able to get a new window pane made that day and we installed it and the new lock works great! I told Jon I am done trying to be a handyman!

Playing at Allison's house

Waiting in anticipation for Daddy to put together her new Bouncy!

Might I add that it was actually 109' outside while he was putting this together!!! You can't see it here, but Jon had foot surgery replace his joint on his big toe 2 1/2 weeks ago. It is healing very well and it is affectionately referred to as "Daddy's Boo-Boo toe".

Finally her hair is growing and I love the big curls!

Swimming playdates

2011-08-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, we went to a super fun neighborhood pool with our Friday group. The pool was redone about 2 years ago and it has to be the best kid friendly pool I have seen! Plus, it also has a full service grill to order lunch!

Heather (and Baby Hannah-7 weeks), Andria and baby Anna Kate, Sarah (due early Sept), Trish (due Sept) and Jerilyn and her two boys.

Allie sliding down

We took her water baby with us and she is showing baby how to slide!

Every time she slid down the tunnel; she would let out a super high pitch scream that was so funny!

Love the action shot!

I also hosted one of the play dates at our house and of course it would rain that day! I think we have had rain 3 days in the past 6 months! We did manage to get in the pool for about 30 minutes before the skies opened! But I don't have any pictures outside...

Playing in Allie's kitchen

Some of the moms

Lunch time!

Allie likes having her friends over and she does really well at sharing her toys. We love our Friday group and are SO thankful that Heather coordinates it for us all the time!!!

Rockport Girl's weekend!

2011-08-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

A few weekends back, I got to have a wonderful girl's weekend with Allison and Bonnie! We had planned this literally about 6 months ago and two of our other friends were not able to go. Allison graciously let us stay at her family's wonderful Bay house in Rockport and it was great!

Hanging out at the beach! And actually, Kampbell was there too as Bonnie is pregnant with baby girl #3!

SO much BETTER than Galveston!

At the house... Ready, set, jump! too funny!

The water was at least 90' if not hotter! It was not refreshing but it was fun!

THe house

Allison and Bonnie

Dinner at a cute little Italian place. I got really burned-I usually don't wear sunscreen and I am OK- but not this time!!! HA

Who is cooking breakfast??!!! These girls have been so great to me this past year and I love them dearly! IT was a great getaway that I hope will become a yearly tradition!
And Jon and Allie even went to the beach in Galveston with his parents while I was gone! Everybody had a great time!

Parties

2011-08-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

Allie got to go to 2 really fun birthday parties and they were for "older girls"! Kennedy and Lindsey turned 4! Kennedy had a fun party at the church's indoor play area.

She is always a bit shy and nervous when we first go someplace

Lots of friends! and note to self- no noise blowing horns for little kids! Sorry Bonnie! :O)

Happy Birthday sweet Kennedy!

Lindsey had her party at a sweet little place in Rosenberg called Tutu's and Tiara's. They got to dress up in princess/fairy dresses, get their nails painted and use real china with pink lemonade and cupcakes (Allie only licked part of the frosting off).

Waiting to get her nails painted sparkly purple

She did so well sitting still and using good manners! Meagan kept taking her popcorn and putting it in her bowl and Allie would say "my corn pops!" Good thing they love each other so much!!

Yummy frosting! They got to decorate and keep their wings as well.

Most of the girls

Happy Birthday Lindsey! Such a sweet girl with a sweet party!

Summer Camp

2011-08-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

Allie had a summer Mother's Day Out program that was like a little summer camp for 12 days this summer. (Monday and Wednesday's 9-1) It was fun for her because two of her little friends also went!

Her teacher, Ms. Shelley. They were having a special day with ice cream! They also had 2 field days, snow cones, and pizza each Wednesday!

Allie cracks me up in this picture!

Audrey, Meagan, and Allie

Meagan and the helper Meagan, Ms. Shelley and Allie

Play-Doh time!

This was just a fun day at the indoor playscape with her little friends! (Allison watched Allie so I could get my hair done!!-Thanks!!)

"Let's Pray About it!"

2011-07-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, Jon was trying to explain the gospel to Allie (age 2). He got very creative and told her that Jesus took away her "naughty spoon" so she could go to Heaven and live with Jesus in a big house (they are building one down the street that they like to go look at together.)

She seems to have really gotten the point because since then almost every night, and at random times she will say "Jesus took my naughty spoon- LET'S PRAY ABOUT IT!" So then we say a prayer thanking Jesus for taking her naughty spoon so she can live in Heaven one day. To which she will add "And see Great Grandma and brothers (sometimes she will say Michael and Jake)!" Today she looked at me after praying this at breakfast and she added "That's pretty cool!"

The things that she says sometimes make me laugh and cry at the same time! I love hearing her profound statements and that she really does seem to understand SO much. Having 3 siblings up in Heaven is just going to be normal part of her life. She won't know any differently and I am OK with that. I think she is capable of handling the information and it will never be weird or uncomfortable for her to talk about Heaven to others. She even carries around two babies at MDO and told her teacher that she had twins and their names were Michael and Jake!

July 4th Week in Orlando

2011-07-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

We went to Orlando July 3-8, but because it was planned literally days in advance our flight there was not nonstop and we didn't get to the resort until close to midnight! This was Allie's first time to have her "own seat" which she was not too sure about having to stay put in it! With SW airlines we have almost always had an extra seat for her because they let you sit where ever and it's usually not a full flight, but this time we actually paid for it!

Eating ice cream during our lay over.

Downtown Disney for the 4th. They didn't have any fireworks, but it was fun to walk around and see the different things and eat dinner. Notice her baby doll... she is such the little Mama!

Not too sure about the "statue"!

Waiting for dinner. Jon grilled some stuff two of the nights. Allie referred to this place as "Ms America's home." And our rental car was our "Florida car." She also kept jumping on the couch behind her and when I told her to stop she replied " I am just walking!" another time "I'm just dancing" and yet another time "I 'm just standing here!" (emphasis hers!). I also learned that we now need to pack child proof door knobs when we travel...

On our way to the McDonald Petting Zoo/Farm.

I actually got to caught this chicken! IT was a great place with lots of hands on!

All sorts of animals!

Hayride- it was hot and she had been up late several nights and she was too wired to take naps during the day...

She has been on SO many pony rides- she is a pro! Good thing too because it would be a long way down if she fell!

Love this face!

Cho-Cho train ride!

Loved the guinea pigs

She actually milked the cow and if you look closely- you can see the milk!

She was tired by this point!

We also drove to Daytona Beach one day so Jon could see where I stayed. The beach is really great because there are showers, restaurants, splash pad, the boardwalk and nice clean sand!

They had swan boats at the resort.

She jumped in 2 x's and got out by herself all within 35 seconds!

Even though she does great at swim lessons, I figured it was just safer for her to always wear a life-jacket until she is completely able to swim on her own

She is our little fish and she has NO fear!

We also went to Cocoa Beach one day and actually missed all the rain that was all around us!

She loves the water and sand!

Fun times with Daddy.

Huge storm everywhere, but not where we were!

To the right on the lifeguard stand is Kennedy space Center and you can just make out the shuttle if you look real closely. We actually watched it from the other side of it.

Loves to play in the sand!

This puppy is our friend's kids toy, but she let Allie borrow it and she has been playing with it all the time and she wanted her to go with us. She loved pulling her "Papa dog" around the place! Thanks Allison!

Doing some work

This tub was just crazy! You literally had to climb up into it. She loved swimming in it though!

Love this picture

Right before the last Atlantis space shuttle launch. (it's to the left of them) Jon worked 38 flights when he worked for NASA and never got to see one, so this was really exciting to him to finally be able to see it. He found a great out of the way, non crowded place and we beat most of the traffic (they said over a million people drove in to see it!) We had an afternoon flight to catch after this-so I was glad that we didn't get stuck in the 5 hour drive back!

The smoke from the shuttle. It was pretty cool to see and you could definitely feel it and hear it even though it was only visible for about 20 seconds

At the airport

We decided to wait to go to Disney World until she was older and actually knew who the characters are. She knows Mickey but that's about all that she knows.

Can you tell she was completely worn out? And with this face I had thought she would nap on the flight home... nope!

Love this! She is obediently sitting there, but I think she was in another world and not even sure why she is sitting there!

Lots of water fun!

2011-07-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

It has been one HOT summer already and that means lots of water activities to stay cool!

Helping me wash my car, although I think most of the soap ended up on the ground!

We have done several trips to the splash pad with Allison, Bonnie, and Christie and all the kids! It's great because even the young ones can have fun and it's not too stressful on mom!

Baby Blake

Meagan and Allie

Sometimes, a small pool is easier than getting in a big pool...

Yes, she was jumping off the plastic stool into the boat! And she did it over and over and over again!

What's wrong with this picture? HA!

We went to Galveston for Father's Day and rode the ferry over to Boliver island. Allie loved the boat ride even with the unfortunate accident the bird seemed to have on Allie! (look at her arm) She kept saying "why did the bird poop on me?"

Allie didn't get to go to my friend Lindsay's little girl Jillian's b-day party a few weeks back because she was sick, so we went over there to play and have cupcakes the other day.

Allie copied Jillian with needing a towel

Checking things out! Happy Birthday Jillian!

Little swimmer!

2011-06-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

Allie (and I) has been doing swim lessons at Houston Swim club for the last couple months and a couple months last summer. She does SO WELL and just loves it- especially the part at the end where she gets a lolli-pop! Jon bought a video/camera awhile back that is also waterproof, so I decided to put it to good use!

Allie and Ms. Karen

Getting the rings from the bottom.

Last month, Allie had private lessons b/c no one else had signed up and it was great because her teacher was able to get her to float on her back all by herself. Now she can float almost the entire pool on her back! She won't do it for me or at any other pool though! So I am glad I was able to get it on video!

She loves swimming so much and I am thankful that she is learning how to be safe and hopefully learn to swim on her own real quickly!

Songs of my life right now

2011-06-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

There are two songs on the radio right now that are really speaking to me. There is a lot going on in my/our world right now that most know nothing about. And with face book and blogs you can make your life look however you want and most people would never know the difference. I am a very open person and my thought is -the more people that know, the better because it equals more prayers and more people holding you accountable. But not everyone thinks this way and unfortunately I have heard from so many people that the one place they felt like they had to have it all together was at church because they would be judged! So sad because we as Christians are missing out on being a blessing to so many other people by sharing our trials and struggles with others. Besides "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us" 1John 1:10. Everybody has hard times and goes through difficulties and I totally believe that our faith gets stronger when we are able to be honest with others even when it hurts and to share in each other's pain. I hope to one day be able to share some of the hard stuff of my life right now and maybe be a blessing to someone else along the way! (But not yet...)
So what are the two songs:
Mandisa "Stronger" Click here for song on you tube.
Stronger

Laura Story "Blessings" click here for song on you tube
Blessings

Side note:
Please pray for my friend Stacie who went to the hospital two days ago after having 2 seizures and discovering that she has a brain tumor. It is aggressive and large and will require a very long surgery to remove it.The surgery will hopefully happen this week. She has two young children and they are having a hard time being separated from mom. Pray for the surgeons and for healing as well. I pray this will make her stronger and I am certain that God will make good of this in her life.

2 Birthday parties/one day

2011-06-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

We had two Birthday parties a couple Saturday's ago. One was Allie's little friend Coralia who turned one and the other was our friend Kasey (and she had lots of fun things for the kiddos)!

Keys please!

Playing in the backyard- it was HOT though!

Allie and Lindsey

I love this face!!

Laney, Meagan, allie, Lindsey, and Claire eating ice cream

Baby Coralia turns one!

Jeri Lyn had a super cute cake made but she didn't want any of it! (neither did Allie on her 1st b-day)

"Swiper- NO swiping!" Alex said that Claire could have some icing, so of course Allie wanted some too! Looks like I caught her in the act though!

We road with Allison and her girls! Meagan was actually in baby Blake's seat which was turned around- she had her legs all bunched up- but they loved it! (Lindsey is in the back)

Later that night we went to Kasey's B-day party. We got to see friends that we had not seen in awhile.

Allie LOVED this huge water slide! the girl has no fear!

Jon taking his turn!

"more! Daddy"

Happy birthday!

Allie even shared her cake with Jon- and then asked for more when it was gone of course!

Allie and Ms. Kasey

Trip to Daytona FL.

2011-06-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

Memorial weekend I got to go to Daytona Beach for 6 days by myself! We used our timeshare points and SW airline tickets, so the only real cost was the car rental and food! It's a long story on how I actually got to go but it was wonderful to have time to think and just relax! Jon took care of Allie and the first night I was gone, I told him that I would not give him any instructions with her because he could handle it and the best way to learn was to figure it out! (Plus that is what I had to do and it gave me the confidence to know that I could do it!) I was a little concerned the first night and wondered what I had gotten myself into, but that quickly passed! :O)

Although the town is famous for the race track (and it is HUGE), there was SO much to do!

My room had two balconies, full kitchen, living room, and this is the view from one balcony.

View from other balcony. The hotel was located right by the boardwalk and a water park.

looking out the window

The 1st day was overcast and rainy at times, so I did a tour of a chocolate factory with lots of free samples at the end!

Then I went to a knitting store and ended up making a little hat (Allie can use on her dolls) and making some friends!

Kathleen owns the store and she was so nice to teach me so much. She even invited me to go to the Minor league baseball game that night with them

The baseball field- this is the view from my table at lunch after knitting

A fun little park near by

I loved the landscape there!!!!! I made dinner at the hotel that night since I ate out for lunch.

Baseball game while it was drizzling!

They go to games and knit- called "stitch and pitch"! Too fun

The next day I went running on the beach, had lunch on the beach and then in the afternoon went to the lighthouse

There were 203 very steep stairs that made me very dizzy!

Great views at the top though!

One side is the beach with waves and the other side is an inlet and more like a lake with lots of boats.

Not many pictures of me on this trip!

looking down

right across the street from the light house was a fun restaurant on the water with a guy playing guitar. I LOVE going to places like this- so fun! and it's really not that bad to eat out alone!

Later that night (Saturday) I went to the boardwalk for a Memorial Day celebration concert.

The whole place filled up and I was probably one of the younger ones in the audience! The guy who sat next to me was in his 80's and served in the Korean War. He was having a fun time trying to flirt with me!!

I had some yummy ice cream and I didn't have to share one drop of it!

Fighter jets passing over

Sunday, I did some more jogging on the beach and got a nice tan! It was not that crowded either! It might have been just my location as you had to be a part of the hotels to be there. The weather was awesome and although the water was cold at first, it was so much better than Galveston! I read "Water for Elephants" and a parts of other books as well.

My hotel is the one on the right- looks like a dwarf next to the other one!

Fun bikes on the beach

THis was my spot- I bought the chair for $10 at the store and laid my towel out. I brought my own drinks and food too!

Monday morning I went to the Botanical gardens and it put Brazos Bend park to shame! Absolutely beautiful oak trees with moss everywhere!

There were stone dinosaurs in the park

Later that day, I went to the beach again and the Hare Krishna's were parading through "thanking the Vets for religious freedom"- it was crazy!

Then dinner at another restuarant out on the water! LOVE it! There was even an old couple out of the dance floor having a grand time! It made me smile to watch them! I do miss dancing...

So pretty

This cracked me up! We saw them do this with cars in NYC, but I had never seen boats!

Monday night I went along the boardwalk

It was actually chilly at night with ocean breeze

I had just finished reading "Water for Elephants" and I felt like I was in the book at the circus! It was fun!

Fire juggler

My last day, Tuesday, I drove up the coast about an hour to St. Augustine. It was a beautiful drive and I LOVE that city! I never expected to find so much great stuff in this part of Florida!! I went the Fountain of Youth and drank some of the water that Ponce De Leon claimed would make you young forever- let's hope it worked!

Look at this street outside the park!!!

Recreating the scene!! HA

Fun little trains take you around the town

I was talking to Jon on the phone and this peacock was making so much noise!

The old city with so many fun shops!

I sat here in this garden eating my lunch (that I packed)

(I have some great videos, but for some reason they are not uploading- oh well!)

The old Citadel and there were dolphins swimming right here- but you can't see them in the picture

This is known as the oldest house (in Florida??) I was too cheap to go in!

Thanks for going on my trip with me! It was good to rediscover myself again and I am a fun person and I like being with me! I think I have been so stressed over the last couple of years that I had forgotten who I was and this trip helped me see that!

Jon did great with Allie and even took her to the beach (she loved it!). He said when I got home that he needed a vacation after that, and that it was good for him to be responsible for making sure she ate and slept when she needed to! I was glad to hear that! I think I learned that so many times we as moms don't give the dads the chance to learn how to do it on their own with the kids! I think it is good for dads to have the kid(s) by themselves for a few days to see that it is not only fun and rewarding- but hard work! - but that they can do it as well!

BTW- Daytona is a great place to go on a family vacation-I think we will have to go back sometime soon!

Allie's first day at Summer MDO

2011-06-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

I have to post this as it was so super adorable!

She started MDO one day a week at First Baptist Houston today and all week I had been trying to explain that she would have a new school, teachers, and friends. Of course, I didn't really expect her to grasp exactly what that meant and she kept saying "I go to another school this week; with Miss Amy and Miss Christie too."
As I was dropping her off this morning, I could tell she was nervous so I kept telling her it would be so much fun and we even looked at the new indoor playground that is RIGHT next to her room.
I took her to the potty when we went into the class (there were only 2 boys in there at the time), and when we came out she started to cry.
She looked at her teacher and said "I need a tissue!" the teacher went to go get it and Allie told her "thank you" while still crying. The other teacher asked her if she wanted to color the butterflies she was making and Allie looked at me; sniffles and all, then walked over to the chair to sit down. She wiped her nose and took a deep breath and looked back at me as if to say she was going to be "OK!" Both teachers looked at me and we all almost started to laugh! It was the SWEETEST thing! I wish I had it on video!
She seems very mature for her age and she just cracks me up with the things she says and does!

Opportunity to honor our boys and help others

2011-05-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

Just a couple weeks after our boys died, I received several emails about a Bible study starting up for moms who had lost a child in the first year of life. I contacted the leader (she is a part of M.E.N.D.), and she had a "comfort bag" sent to me from the M.E.N.D. organization (Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death) MEND.org. I went to the first study- just 2 weeks after Michael and Jake died and although I was not not ready to be in such a small group discussing this (I would have to talk even if I didn't want to because there were only a couple of us), Jon and I decided to do the "Walk to Remember"through M.E.N.D. the following Saturday. click here for post I have also been a regular at the M.E.N.D. support group which meets once a month (different than the Bible study). There is also a "Daddy's group" that meets quarterly and Jon has been twice. We also participated in the Christmas candle light service in December. click here to see post
M.E.N.D. has been SUCH a great group and blessing to us. There is a connection with the other moms/dads that you can't have with someone who has not experienced the death of their child. It is unspoken and yet so comforting at the same time. There are women who have been coming for several years (to help others) and some meetings there are parents who have just lost their baby days ago. I have been able to hear "what to expect", "how to make it through..", "there is life after" and all the comforting things that no one else could understand or say.
So why am I writing about this? I am asking for your help. M.E.N.D. is a Texas non-profit organization (Christian too) that relies solely on donations. Not only do they give "comfort bags" to families, they also have the ceremonies in Oct. and Dec., plus a free bi-monthly newsletter. Everything including the meetings is free of charge.
I hate thinking about all the families that will be in our shoes one day, but I am so grateful for the blessing that the M.E.N.D. family has been to Jon and I (and even my parents).
If you would like to honor our boys' lives and be a blessing to others in a VERY hard situation then please consider making a donation on their behalf. All donations will go to the Houston Chapter and you will receive a tax receipt.
Each donation made will be in memory of Michael and Jake and will go in the newsletter "in the Memory of"section. It will include your name, our name and Michael and Jake's names. I will even get you a copy for your keeping if you make a donation.

Please send your check to:
M.E.N.D.- Houston 13519 Pegasus Rd.
Cypress, TX. 77429
PLEASE put MICHAEL and JAKE KLUBNIK on the memo line of the check.

There are not many times that we will get to see our boys' name written down and as silly as it seems, just writing it in this blog and seeing it in the M.E.N.D programs has been such a blessing. It means that they were real, they left an imprint on this world and that their lives can touch someone else.
Thank you so much for being a part of our journey through this and for letting me ask you for your support!

Fun times with friends

2011-05-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

We are so blessed to have so many friends who have kids Allie's age. Heather from our Sunday school class organizes a "Friday Fun Group" each week and we get to do lots of fun things! Plus, it's so great to hang out with other moms who are going through the same thing! Sometimes we have over 20 kids come and sometimes, it is a small group. I usually forget to take my camera, but here are some pictures since Jan

Monkey Joe's back in Jan. - Claire and Allie

Valentine's Party at Allison's house -Kennedy, Allie and Lindsey

Heather, Karen, Bonnie, Trisha, Jeri Lynn

Claire and Allie at the Roller Skate Rink.

They had the music and lights on and the kids could bring puch toys

Allie was not happy and Sam was trying to cheer her up! It was too cute!!

At the park.

Pregnant moms!

Cason, Allie and Christian

Allie and Claire

Bellaire Nature Discovery Center

Learning about frogs

Pretending to be a frog

Looking for frogs!

At the park

we also spend lots of other days with Allison and Bonnie and their kids

Chick Fil A had a princess night and it was PACKED! Allison and her family went and I also saw Lindsay and her family there. Allie and Megan didn't want anything to do with the live Cinderella or Belle! It was fun but way too crowded and will not do that again!

Allie in Megan's Cinderella dress. She is not really into princess stuff yet

At a park with Megan

We went to the Children's Museum the other day and Allie got to ride in Lindsey's car seat since she was with her Grandma that day. Allie was so excited to ride in Allison's car!

Megan and Allie making a picture from stamps.
I have learned so much from hanging out with these moms and getting to see how they discipline and what their kids are capable of has really been so nice this year! Everyone needs a great mom's group and friends!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, Mother's Day this year was bittersweet. Allie is such a blessing and I love being her mom, but I also wish I could have Michael and Jake with us as well.We got to spend time with my parents on Mother's Day and I am also very thankful for my mom. Her mom died just 2 months prior and I know it was a difficult day for us both. My mom has been such a wonderful Grandma to Allie ( and mom to me) and I have learned so much from watching her interacting with Allie. Allie adores her and I am so thankful that they live close by so that they both get to know each other so well. My Grandparents lived in different states growing up and I never really got to know them. I think I missed out on so much not getting to know them better. This is a sweet picture of them.

Three generations

My silly girl! The day was pretty uneventful and I think it was good that way! Sometimes holidays can be over rated!

She just looks so sweet and grown up in this picture!

First year of Mother's Day out

2011-05-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

This year, we put Allie in Mother's Day Out at Sugar Creek Baptist after the twins died as a way to give me a break and time to heal. What we didn't know was that it would be the BEST thing that we could have done for Allie! She LOVED it and her teachers, Ms. Amy and Ms. Christie were so awesome! They were so good with her and loved her so much. We often heard their names at home as Allie loved to talk about them. Ms. Amy's little girl, Taylor, went to be with Jesus last December at 10 years old. When she shared that with me, I knew this was where Allie needed to be. There was a connection there and I am thankful for her.

Mom's and Dad's got to come last week for a little celebration.

Ms. Christie reading a story. Somehow, Allie didn't seem interested- can you tell? :O)

The top picture was taken yesterday and the next one was taken on her first day of school in late Sept.

They made a scrapbook of her year and a basket of goodies for her.

The last day was a fun day and she got her face painted! (Behind her is some of her artwork from school). I love that they did so many fun crafts with them because I would never have thought to do them and now they are great keepsakes! She learned how to sit at the table and eat lunch (without getting up!), how to nap on the floor (when she actually did!), lots of songs and stories, to tell her teachers when she needed something (like going potty!), and so much more. It was always fun to hear what she had done during the day and how she interacted with her friends. I remember for a long time them telling me that instead of taking a nap, Allie would sing to the other kids! I guess she thought she needed to help them go to sleep! She never had an accident while potty training and in fact, some days she didn't ever go!
We will miss this class! But we are so thankful for the great first year experience!

Easter weekend

2011-05-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

Lots of fun Easter weekend... Allie's little friend Audrey had her 2nd birthday party the Saturday before Easter complete with an egg hunt and lots of fun.

Fun little roller coaster!

Audrey, the b-day girl is on the middle swing

Gotta love great friends!!! Bonnie, Alicia, Allison and I

What great sports! The dads put on bunny ears to get the egg hunt ready!

Then we drove to Austin to spend Easter with Jon's brother's family. We left straight from the party and I knew Allie had to use the potty, but was having a hard time going at the party. I guess I just figured she would fall asleep once we were in the car since it was nap time. WRONG! Literally, the whole time we were either listening to her say "Mommy, I have to go potty," or stopping and trying to get her to go! We even tried walking around to see if that would help get things going! We used the travel potty, we went indoors to the store potties-nothing worked! Needless to say our trip took A LOT longer than usual! She was finally able to go once we got there though! :O)

That night, Riley babysat for us so we could go out to eat. What was so nice was that Kim had called me earlier that week asking if it would be alright if Riley watched Allie! I didn't have to ask at all-she was asking me! How fun is that?

Kim was so sweet to get Allie an Elmo basket complete with goodies! (Good thing too b/c I totally forgot hers at home!)

Allie, Cade, and Riley (Reed was not feeling well and Carson was still at church) I love Allie's face!

Riley and Allie

Jon was jumping up and down making them laugh! Too cute!

Aunt Kim

Allie loved this trash can because when she stepped on it, it opened for her. She loves to throw things away and here she is peeling her orange- right into the trash! Gotta love her!

We went to church with them in the morning and then we all drove to San Antonio to have lunch at

Kim's parent's house. Carson (the oldest cousin), shared about his trip to Zambia last year and the incredible things he witnessed God do there. He is going back this summer and I am sure he will have even more incredible things to talk about. It's so neat to see teenagers be so fired up for God, especially when they have witnessed things that most Americans would deny could happen! (I didn't get a picture though! :o( )

A ball is always fun!

Last egg hunt and she was a pro now!

Daddy checking out the goods with her!

When we drove home from San Antonio Sunday night, Allie again had a lot to say about going potty! We made several stops; again to no avail! Luckily, she finally fell asleep around 9pm and she forgot about it! I guess I really can't complain because she has not had any accidents since potty training (well one in the house) and she is really good about going when she needs to!