MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Well, it's the holiday season again and although it can be stressful planning and helping out the kids with school stuff, home stuff & everything in between -- I am trying to remember each day why we are celebrating this special time of year. I am working with the kids on an advent calendar, decorating the house, learning more about Haannakah and doing fun stuff like helping out in class with school projects, etc.

The kids are enjoying kindergarten this year and although there have been some ups and down with getting settled into a routine, for the most part they have adjusted well. Their teacher is a friend of mine and having twin boys, was up for the challenge of any sibling issues that might come from having them all in the same class~
The kids have also been evaluated for therapy at a local clinic here in town. Alexis was going to two other clinics farther away and recieving therapies there however once Anthony and eventually the other kids got evaluated as well - we found moving them all to the same clinic to recieve therapy was the only way to keep my sanity levels normal ! We go three mornings a week to the clinic and four of the five quints recieve services there....Alexis still gets her OT, PT, ST & Feeding and now we have Joshua getting ST, Anthony getting PT, OT and ST and Julian getting OT and ST....it's a busy schudule but we are so thankful that they are finally getting the help they need - we'll take whatever we can get!
Steven got hired on full time at Wells Fargo Insurance Services where he'd been temping for the past six mos....it's not much money but there is a benefits package and we can finally get some medical coverage for he and myself out of it - so we are thrilled about that change as well! Also we are looking to buy a home hopefully after the first of the year and Steven is hoping to use his VA loan that is due him....we are thinking up in the mountains about fifteen minutes from town but we'll see where God leads us !
The older girls are doing well with homeschooling although I think we will try a different ciriculum next year as this one was a bit too much focused on hours of attendance vs. weather the material was actually relevant or not.....this area is such a big homeschooling area - we are finding so many levels of involvement and groups, programs, etc....I am excited to investigate other options for next year so the girls can be more engaged and on task~
As for me, I am enjoying having my parents out here - they moved in Sept. to be closer to us, the grandkids, etc....and although it has been a hard adjustment I think they are getting used to the changes. There is, of course, the better medical care, cheaper cost of living and other things that are a bonus, but the change in climate can be a bit much on any native southern Californian I am sure!

Well, we are off and running to do our daily stuff but I am sure there will be more news soon as things are always changed around here ! Blessings on your holidays & a happy 2010 !!

NEW FOUND STARDOM !!!!

Even if it is just on youtube, the kids had so much fun doing this commercial a few mos. back ! There were a series of seven, some funny, some sexual in nature, but of course I think ours is the best !!!

We are hoping to take another trip out to Ca to do some publicity for the commercial, but we aren't sure since some of the other clips are getting more attention then ours and not all of it is great.......I encourage you to watch all the clips on www.getcrackin.com and you be the judge !

Then, if you like ours, shoot an email to the Ellen Show and let her know about these cute kids (she likes kids and is funny).....I would love for the children to get some well deserved coverage for doing such a great job !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l_BJf1m2tM

We are getting back in gear for another great school year; homeschooling the older girls and the quints attend half day kindergarten in the afternoons!!! So far, so good but then we just take it one day at a time; some days are better then others !

Take Care & God Bless,

Mama Denny

Newsworthy Notations

Here are some links to media coverage we had in our community for the first day of kindergarten. There are also a set of quads in the half day class so it was newsworthy in Colorado anyways ! I heard thru the grapevine that CNN even picked it up and a few others did blurbs from the AP as well! There are two video clips & one article from the local paper - we made the front page even ~! All the kids insisted on their "own" copy of the paper this AM ~ cute ~!

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/strange/offbeat_cnn_colorado_video_quads_quints_in_same_classroom_20090825915_2803828


http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2009/08/25/dnt.quad.quints.class.koaa?iref=videosearch


http://www.gazette.com/articles/kindergarten-60727-quads-quints.html

Picture Woas

Okay, after trying more then once to upload pictures to photobucket so I can post a slideshow on here; I have given up. I am terribly sorry if you aren't on facebook and haven't seen them there however I cannot seem to get the photos up and running on here no matter how many times I try (three so far) ....it is much too time consuming and energy draining to sit on the computer, compose and upload pix for an hour just to have them shot to hell when something goes wrong with it.

Perhaps I will try again soon, but as of late, not sure and no guarentees - or you can get on Facebook where I also post stuff.

On a side note, the kids will be doing a commercial at the end of next month and Briana perhaps has an opportunity to get in the business as well soon -- more details to come soon !

Take Care & God Bless

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE !@

Now that summer has officially been underway for some time now I have finally gotten on the ball and am taking enough time to update everyone about our family adventures this summer. The month of June & the month of July (so far) have held lots of activities, time with friends and one big long vacation to California.

The kids started summer vacation with swimming lessons at the YMCA - just the quints - and for the most part they all did well ! A few of the kiddos were hesitant at first to venture out into open water but eventually after a few sessions they were all dipping in like pros - Julian of course leading the pack in silly and overall life threateneing behavior poolside !

Our trip to California was a huge success and though we were all sufficiently exhausted by the end of it -the kids had a blast at the beach house, Legoland, Sea World, Grandma's house, stopping in Phoenix to see their special doctor & finally a few nights at Steven's aunt & uncle's place in AZ where we met.

July called for fireworks in the house and firworks in the sky ! It seems after a long road trip, everyone was intent on making someone else' life miserable ! For some reason, though they did great on the trip itself, the coming home and getting settled back down left a lot to be desired........whew ...what a first week home that was ! There were lots of time outs, a few spankings, losing electronic privleges (unplugged) amoung other things. Coming home to sleep in our own beds, play in our own rooms and have our own bathrooms to use as we chose was an added perk though!

Sammy missed us profusely and showed us by chewing up and eating the bottom 2/3 of the screen sliding door on the back porch rendering it a total loss....we couldn't really blame him though -- this was the first time he was left on his own for such a long time with just the neighbors stopping by a few times a day to check in on him. He did however let everyone in the whole neighborhood know how dissatisfied he was the first night by howling from sundown to sunup - my poor neighbors ! They didn't know what hit 'em !

Well, I shall sign off for now with a photo spread to come -- hope everyone has a great summer and here's to another great school year starting sooner rather then later !

Blessings on your week XOXOXOXOXOXO

SUMMER SENSATIONS !

Well, since it is "almost" summer- even here in Colorado - I should start getting ready for our summer vacation next month to California. We will be going to the beach for a week and then going back up to Bakersfield to see some old friends & family. We will go to Disneyland, Legoland & I will be taking the girls to Magic Mountain one day as well. The kids are so excited to see friends and familiy, plus going to the theme parks will be an added treat too ! Some highlights of the past month have been the end of the school year, getting a pass to the zoo here, taking swim lessons & working out at the gym as well. We have had visits from grandparents and have helped some folks out by letting them stay with us for a bit until they got back on their feet; we look forward to what God has in store with house-buying, schooling options for the kids and what the new job for Steven has in store for him ! We also had some family photos taken which I will try and post -they turned out lovely ! Have a great May and stay safe ! XOXOXOXOXOXO

APRIL ADVENTURES

I have recently started doing a morning bible study and have come to the realization that although I have done well in improving my daily schedule and getting the kids where they need to be and get there on time, part of my struggle has been leaving the smaller details to linger. So as not to dissapoint myself down the road for not keeping up, my new committment is to update this blog once a week; perhaps if I can keep up with it, I will feel more committed to keep up with other "small details" I have forgotten more recently....although I must say, I am very thankful I haven't forgotten a kid or a "large scale item" ever, period. Perhaps my mind isn't going as fast as I thought it was !!
We have had quite the interesting weather to speak of here and though I love a change of season, I must admit the prospect of having all four in one day doesn't do much for me! The kids and I have suffered sinus problems, coughing, runny nose, etc...due to the rapid change in temp. on a daily basis. Perhaps stock in "kleenex" is next for us! The mountains are lovely; the people are great and the kids are on the mend from various illnesses, surgeries, etc.

Some tidbits from out lives in the past weeks:

Grammy & Grandpa Ray came for a visit and we went to the dinosaur museum one day(though the kids liked it, it wasn't as big as I thought it would be!), the famiy fun center another day, and Grammy took the kids on various outings in pairs plus Briana got her own day out with Grammy to celebrate her birthday. They went to the art museum, out to lunch, shopping a bit, etc......and she got to miss a day of school for that, so she was happy ;-)

Spring break was the last week in March and Joshua was down for most of it due to having his tonsils & adnoids out the previous week. Though he had a hard time the first few days; he was an easy recovery with no complications so now everyone is done with surgeries - praise the Lord !

Easter weekend was busy but blessed indeed. Briana sings in the traditional choir at church and they were involved in all Easter weekend services, so we attended a Good Friday service that night, Easter egg hunt Sat. morning (put on by middle & high school kids) then I drove my mom to the airport to fly home. Briana had practice Sat. afternoon for the Sunday morning services and then sang in all three services. Steven and I ushered and I helped in the nursery during the late service. Steven made dinner for Easter Sunday and we enjoyed some much needed time at home with out anyone having to attend any birthday parties, no one had to work and no one was sick - yeah !

Briana turned 12 last week and already I have more grey hair to prove it! I'm not sure how long I am expected to handle her hormone and mine, but my patience is dwindling quickly !@ Though we were supposed to go out of town overnight for a girls activity alone, our plans were quickly shot down by the blizzard that swung thru town and hit the day we were to head out. Alas, breakfast with mom, a movie by herself with dad and having a blue cake didn't improve her mood as much as we thought it should but having an unplanned snow day added to a long weekend already (kids had off MON & Tue) well, it was interesting to say the least !

Steven & I were blessed to go and see two famous Christian artist who were here in town last week; Steven Curtis Chapman & Michael W. Smith.......WOW - what awseome men of God they are ! I even got my t-shirt ! How life changing to see Christian artists who are so talented team up and sing each others' songs, give testimony about love and loss, etc.....they have been friends for 20+ yrs. but finally now have taken the time to tour together. What a blessing for everyone who gets to see them !

With that, I realize it's 7AM and I must wake up offspring for school to be on time ! I hope this finds everyone having a great week and a great Spring! Be thankful, be giving, speak good things and help those in need. This is what God has commanded me to do and I hope you will do it, too. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOOX

Spring Time (Sort Of)

So the past few months have gone by in such a whirl that I have hardly had time to come up for air ! Alexis was in the hospital back in Februray and I am so happy to say that she has been doing much better since coming home - not even an asthma attack to mention ! Praise the Lord ! March was a month of busy-ness including a visit from Grandma & Grandpa, spring break & more evaluations & appointments. Joshua had his tonsils & adnoids out so that makes six out of the seven kids with no more tonsils ! We have visited the dinosaur museum, the local family fun center, focus on the family, mcdonalds, gotten kindergarten shots & been to our first birthday party for a girl from our Sunday School class.

Taylor got baptised at church this past Sunday too ! It was so exciting to see her make that committment! What an awesome thing to witness & participate in!

I will try and post pictures of all the various events soon - it was lots of stuff in a short period of time !

Here's hoping you have a safe & blessed springtime !

GRAMMY TIME :-)

Grandma and Grandpa Ray are here ! We recovered from Josh' surgery just enough to enjoy Mom and Ray coming to town for a visit -- it has been fun to see them lead there grandparents everywhere to play the Wii, pretend to be monsters, etc......Grammy is also planning alone time with the kids in pairs and Briana gets an evening out alone since her birthday is coming up in a few weeks.....
Grandma has also helped out a lot with dr. apts, shots, etc.........to leave a few kids at home with Grammy and take some others with you for apts. is much easier then taking everyone !
We have had spring break this week and so far, so good. Kids have enjoyed the lax schedule and jammie days work for me! Though I will never get caught up on laundry and perhaps my ear plugs will be used more this week; it's nothing a good game of Hi-Ho-Cherrio or Princess Uno won't solve !!!

Steven and I went to a foster care training class last weekend and learned so much about foster to adopt kids and stable enviornments; we didn't realize how many kids there are that are just left to fend for themselves. I can't imagine not having a place to come back home to after turning 18 and venturing on my own.......*sigh* perhaps one day, I'll win the lottery so I can adopt them all ;-) Have a safe and productive week !

Blessings on your Easter Break !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS

So, all the kids celebrated this "momentous occasion" in their classrooms this past week and all came home telling stories of sampling green eggs & ham, reading books by the author, playing silly games and so on........however the icing on the cake was the "Cat In The Hat" Hat that Joshua made at school. It was such a unique activity to do at school and bring home to show off ! I was quite impressed with it until I asked him to put it on so I could take a picture. You'd have thought I told him he was getting a shot or something! The look on his face was worthy of a photo op contest with prize money ! I will try and post it on here as well.

I am thankful that for now anyway, there is no sickness or contagious disease to speak of running it's course in the house and we are feverishly trying to put the breaks on outside activities so we can make time at home to go thru boxes and get rid of things we no longer need or use. We would love to buy a home this summer and hope God provides a way to do so - we would like to have stability and consistence for the kids, especially the two older girls who have been thru more moves in their shorts lives then most folks go thru in a lifetime. Our prayer is to secure a home with some acreage so we can have some room to spread out and perhaps, one day, get some farm animals or a horse,etc......well, that's all for now - take care !

Loving life, Loving God and Loving You ! Have a great day !

The Bowling Blogger

As you can see, from my last post - we finally broke down and took the kids bowling! We were so relieved to have Lexi out of the hospital, have the family under one roof again and have everyone recovered from their various sicknesses - that Sunday afternoon after church, I wanted to do something with the kids. Just to get them out of the house as a family seemed so important to me for some reason, so after noticing a few other posts from other HOM parents, I decided to try the bowling outing as a first with the kids (seeing as they thought it would be the same as Wii bowling, I was happy to change that prospective !) ....needless to say, Julian didn't find his mark, Taylor pouted about not winning, Briana's speciality was gutter balls and Alexis shocked everyone with her 8th frame strike to win the game!@ We went to a local family owned bowling fun center since they have Family Sunday's where you can have shoe rental and two games for 5.00 pp....not too bad when you are looking for "cheap" fun for the kiddos.....we also got some snacks and a pitcher of pink lemonade for the kids to share.....I, myself needed a beer to keep everyone under control (for me not the kids !)
Overall, it was a successful outing and tho there was some whining at the end of the day -- I felt like we had fun and the kids listening decently plus an added bonus was that due to the colder weather and later afternoon time, the place was nearly empty! Another feat tried, tested and mastered !

Our First Bowling Alley Experience ~!

PRAYERS ANSWERED !

Alexis got to come home the day after Valentines Day last weekend on Sunday ! She is doing so much better and although she is on a ten day regiment of orapred and on oxygen at night - she is happy to be back at school and back at home with her siblings for sure ! The past week has been spent catching up on Dr. apts, phone calls, school stuff, etc........but we are all thankful to be together under one roof again !

Thanks for all your prayers and thought over the past few weeks ! They truely make such a difference !
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

CONTAGIOUS DISEASE (round two )

First off, I would like to say I am sorry for not updating my blog sooner then five weeks ago - I temporarily got sucked into the world of Facebook and neglected this site which I will try not to repeat too often.
My poor Alexis, she was finally recovered from the last sickness last month (see last post) and she has been hit again.........this time it's pnemonia and she has been admitted to the hospital for treatment. This poor girl never gets a break it seems and it's so frustrating to watch her struggle for every breath, have IV fluids, go to ER's and take the hard road each time someone gets sick in the house.

The other little ones are doing fine however they also have a contagious disease of the week including but not limited to sinus infection, ear infection (now on the mend) and another one with treatable at home pnemonia........it's amazing how fast everyone goes downhill during winter / RSV season........*sigh*

I must say that tho this has caused uproar in the home and with work, school functions, girl scout cookie delivery, etc.......we are so thankful God has brought us to a place of knowlege and understanding where staff and facilities here are more organized and caring with pediatrics then anywhere else I have seen before. The nurses just love the kids and treat them so nicely and with care........I have seen RSV cases, viral cases and not sure what it is cases with pediatrics here and always the time managed care and consideration for the parents amazes me.

I must check on my poor baby and prayer over her for healing and wellness again -- I hope she can go home soon to be with her sibs and get well enough to return to school next week -- prayers for her recovery would be most apprecaited as well as prayers for some sleep and peace for mom and dad !

Blessings on your weekend !!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR (and other medically based stories!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR ! I trust that this finds you enjoying the winter months (as much as possible!) and trying to stay healthy during this lovely cold and flu season ! Things here have been educational to say the least. Last weekend I had to take Alexis back into the ER because she was breathing optional again (and in true Alexis- style - she only does this whole lack of breathing thing on a weekend, after 5pm or on a major holiday so to ER we go) .....her o's were at 85-89 % without oxygen so they called the RT downstairs and got her into a room where they hooked her up to oxygen and monitored her BP. Off to xray to have a look at her lungs (which were clear -thank God !) and some litocain and pain killers to stop the coughing to the point of throwing up that landed her in there in the first place.

It was a long afternoon combined with Steven working (on a Saturday) and the weather getting bad as the day went on; but ER is only five minutes from the house and I am thankful we weren't in California anymore - the staff here knows us and knew who we were right away when I brought her in....called her by name and took us back immediately......as I was thanking God we were in such a loving place that truely cares about my kiddos !@

Alexis was sent home on oxygen and had a follow up apt. in four days, this past Wednesday. The dr. ordered a nocturnal pulse ox on room air and wants a recheck in two weeks - we also did an RSV swab which we never got a call back on so as of yet - we assume it's negative. No fevers, no more coughing (love that Zithromax!) and the doctor said we could just have the oxygen on at night during bedtime so she doesn't have to have it at school, or therapy, or MOPS or church - she can be "normal" which I am again so thankful for !!!

Glad to have such wonderful folks praying for my children daily -- and knowing that God provides all things,

Lyndsey

HAPPY & BLESSED 2009 !

HELLO EVERYONE - Here's hoping each of you had a blessed New Year's Eve & Day ! We went decidedly low key - which was nice for a change ! We took the kids and went over to a girlfriend's house where she was hosting a family get together for the New Year -- there was her family, our family and one other couple with their kids bringing the grand total of bodies in the home to 16 kids & 6 adults ! Amazingly the commotion in the house wasn't too much - well nothing an alcoholic beverage couldn't solve (us not the kids!) Our kids were all in the same age ranges - from 12 all the way down to 2 so it was nice -everyone had someone to play with......

.......the kids are enjoying the time at home - lazy days, not too many committments, playing new computer and Wii games, taking down and packing up Christmas stuff and cleaning out rooms and closets to pass on stuff we don't need anymore.....here's hoping the new year brings you wonderful times and blessed days !