Happy Birthday Jacqui Rose!

Jacqui Rose is 6 years old today! It seems like just yesterday she was a little baby that we could all hold and snuggle with... She is growing so big, so fast. We have word that she was accepted into the Montessori program and will attending the one that is closer to our house starting next year. We are both very excited for her to participate in this program, and I think it will be a great experience for her.
Grandma Quack Quack came up to stay with us this last weekend for a special birthday treat. She got to go to school with Jacqui on Friday and help out in the class. They are learning all about frogs right now and Jacqui is loving it! We also went out for birthday lunch all weekend. We went to the Onion on Saturday and the waitress sang Jacqui a Beauty Pageant Birthday and had her walk around the restaurant blowing kisses to everyone. Jacqui was a little bit hesitant, but didn't take long to warm up to showing off. After she was done they had her make a wish, she closed her eyes and got very serious and quiet... After her wish was made she blew out her candle on her brownie ice cream treat, we all clapped for her. She was beaming ear to ear. Then this random lady who was eating lunch came over and said "Happy birthday little girl, I think you are the cutest little girl I've seen and I think you are very special and I wanted to give you a birthday present" and she gave Jacqui a $10 bill! Grandma Quack Quack and mom were shocked and Jacqui was just tickled to death. She talked all the way home about what a special and important girl' she is and how we are all pretty lucky to be around her:) Grandma and mom had to agree of course! We had a great weekend with Grandma Quack Quack and are looking forward to Grandad #1 visiting next weekend. We love you all and Jacqui wants everyone to remember that she is now 6 years old and is going to a big kids all day school next year AND she is going to learn to ride her bike this year. I'll put more pics up later this week for everyone. We love you guys!

Updates for the last month or so...

Well Jacqui is going to six years old on Monday. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by... it seems just yesterday that she was so tiny I could hold her and changed her diapers and all that baby stuff... Now she is growing like a weed and is way to big for me to carry anymore :( But she is excited to be turning 6! I will put some b'day pics up next week for you all to see.

She lost another of her top teeth yesterday. I think she has lost 8 total now, but her adult teeth are coming in fine and the dentist said he is very impressed with her brushing and how good her teeth look.

I had my interview with the team in Walla Walla and didn't get that job. They felt I did a great interview, but didn't have as much experience as some of the other applicants. It was a great learning experience for me and I learned some new areas to focus on and leadership opportunities to pursue. My work here in Spokane just notified me that they are putting me on day shift in the next few weeks. That will be a blessing for when Jacqui is in school all day next year and will allow me to spend more quality time with her and help more with homework. I'm very excited to be able to spend the evenings and nights with her again. :)

We went to see the 'Walking with the Dinosaurs' show last week for her birthday present. She loved it and it was a pretty awesome show! She got a pet dinosaur to take home and has named it Sarah after the triceratops on the 'Land Before Time'.




We also had a pretty special Easter weekend. Grandad came up to spend some time with us since I had to work all weekend and was not able to get any time off. We took Jacqui up to Green Bluff for their Easter Egg Hunt and she was tickled to death about the Easter Eggs and the baby chicks. She was NOT however, so happy about the big bunnies... She would not go near them, let alone get a picture with them. But she did take a picture of Grandad and I, and so we called that good:) Hope your Easter was blessed.


Miss you all and hope to see you all soon!

A Brief Update!

Hey all, So Sorry I haven't posted to the blog in AWHILE... It has been a hectic last couple of months. So I will do my best to give you a quick update of what is going on in our world :)

As I think most of you know, I was accepted to Gonzaga and started my Masters level studies there a few months ago. I completed 2 core classes and found out that their program is not exactly what I had in mind to pursue my degree. They have a great focus in all their courses on building Nurse Practioner skills, and since I do not want to be a Nurse Practitioner, I decided this program was not for me. I have instead decided to transfer to the University of Phoenix, which is a shorter program, is more tailored to just the Masters in Nursing and will cost me $10,000 less (always a bonus!). I start that program on the 23rd, and it has been hectic connecting the dots between the 2 programs to fulfill requirements.

I had a big test for nursing this last month that is a national specialty certification test. I passed and am now the only registered nurse at my hospital with a ANCC Board Certification in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. This also means a small raise as soon as I get my certificate ~ yeah!

Jacqui has been excelling in school. She gets time outs regularly for 'side talking' (imagine that) and her teacher and I do not see eye to eye on many matters, but Jacqui is loving school and the learning experience, and that is the most important thing at the end of the day. We are working on her reading and writing at home for an hour each day and she absolutely loves showing me her new skills as she becomes more secure in them!

Last month we attended a Montessorri workshop for the Spokane School District that I am hoping to get Jacqui into next year. It is a lottery program so if they have room she will get in and be placed in a Montessorri program for 1st-6th grade through the public school district. It seems a bit more in line with my desires for her education and we are hopeful that she gets accepted and excells with the freedom to pursue her own interests in education!

Grandad #1 just got home from Kenya and Cairo, Egypt this last week. He has some amazing pictures and stories, and we are going to work on getting them collected to present them on the blog.

And last but not least, I have applied for 2 management positions within the VA, both would be significant promotions for me... one is in Spokane for the unit I am already working on, and the other position is in Walla Walla as the new Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program Manager. I will probably have interviews for both in the upcoming month, and would appreciate your prayers for God to put me where I can be of the most help and service. It would be great to return to Walla Walla and be closer to family as Jacqui grows up :)

That is all for now, we will try to post some new pictures and stories soon. Love you all!

XMAS 2009

Mike and I had a nice Christmas at home. We dog-sat for Katie and Sean while they were in Maui, so Cassie and Eric, and mom and Matt came to our place to celebrate Christmas. Then, we flew to Montana to ring in the new year with dad and Diana. Here are some pictures from our December.

Merry CHRISTmas to all!

Hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed CHRISTmas this year. Levi was able to spend Christmas with Grandad and Grandma Dixie down in Yuma, I hear it was quite the dinner and a very enjoyable family time. We are hoping to make it down there next year for an even bigger holiday dinner!

Jacqui has spent the last week between Grandad #1's and Grandma Quack Quack's houses while I stay in Spokane and work. I have enjoyed the break (I have been sleeping in every day!), but also miss my little 'helper'. Grandad #1 sent some pics to post on the blog so here they are. Jacqui has been very excited about Christmas this year and was very impressed that ALL the presents under Grandad's tree had her name on it "not even one little one was for Grandad, they were all mine!" They had dinner with some of his friends from work, and she was happily the center of attention as she was the only kid there. She has been giving his puppies lots of attention and love. Grandad was pretty smart for her presents this year and wrapped up the fixin's for s'mores, her favorite. She was very excited and told me all about it on the phone. They also had a tea party outside by the fire, in the freezing cold... Grandad #1 tells me they spend hours out there, it is Jacqui's favorite thing to do with Grandad! They also went to see 'The Princess and the Frog' the new Disney movie, which Jacqui was pretty impressed with. Grandad #2 and Grandma Dixie got her the Princess Tiana doll for Christmas, and she thought that was pretty neat! Hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful. It was cold in Spokane, but no snow. I worked the whole week, but enjoyed some time scrapbooking and looking at family pics. I will put up more pics and stories from Grandma Quack Quack and Grandad #1 as I get them over the next few weeks. God Bless!

Happy Birthday Mikey/Thanksgiving 09'

This year Mike and I were happy to have Thanksgiving at our little home:) We fit 12 people into our space, and it worked! Katie and Sean made a delicious pie and turkey, mom and Matt brought mom's famous candied yams, dad and Diana made a delightful dinner salad, Cass and Eric decorated the cute x-mas cookies in the picture, and I had to make mashed potatoes of course. Mike's brother John and his son Billy joined in on the festivities.


Mike also celebrated his birthday on the 2nd. We had a few gatherings for his birthday. Here are a few pictures including lunch at Ivar's on the pier in Seattle with dad and Diana, and the Outback Steakhouse with mom, Matt and friends.

Lion King on Broadway

Jacqui and I took our friends Cori and Kris to the Lion King last night as our Christmas present. It was a spectacular show! The set was absolutely breathtaking, the lights, colors, details, everything was just amazing. The costumes are so creative, the dancers are the animals, as the costumes, and the lines of the animal blends right into the person. You cannot differentiate where the animal ends, what is costume, and where the human and the dancer begins. The dancers were all so graceful in their portrayal of zebra, elephants, antelope, lions and the other animals of the pride lands. It was a great performance and we really enjoyed it. It was a 3 hour long show, but Jacqui was even able to sit through it, and stay awake (we were up way past her bedtime on a school night!). At the end of the performance they were taking donations for Broadway Cares, a charity for fighting AIDS in South Africa. Jacqui and I were able to donate and got a picture with Mufasa and little Simba. Little Simba is a 10 year old boy, and he was amazing on stage, he has quite a voice and is quite the little spunky dancer! It was a great show and we really had a great time. The Lion King has a great message and if any of you get a chance to see this show, there is definitely a reason it is a number 1 Broadway production. You will not be disappointed, we are hoping to go again next year, if they still come to Spokane. The set was so intricate and detailed, the lighting exquisite, you really felt like you were right there in the Pride Lands, or part of the jungle... The singing was marvelous, these guys can sing! My favorite was Rafiki, who was played by a woman. Her voice was very powerful and moving. It was a great show, and a wonderful Christmas memory.