Christmas 2008

Christmas this year was very relaxing for the Meyer Family. Our last day of school was the 23rd. We spent Christmas Eve at Josh's parents, where the kids were spoiled with lots of gifts from grandpa and grandma and aunts and uncles. This is always a fun time for the family with lots of good food to eat. Santa came to our house on Christmas morning. Hannah was up at 4:30 asking if Santa had come. She was convinced to go back to bed for a while. Hannah's favorite gift was her cupcake maker. It only takes about 45 minutes per cupcake :) Meredith had asked Santa for a washing machine for her playhouse and was so excited to see that he had brought it. Lake could really care less about any of his gifts. I actually rewrapped some of his gifts from the night before so the kids wouldn't wonder why he didn't get as much. They never even noticed. I really couldn't justify spending a bunch of money on gifts Lake wouldn't be able to play with for quite some time. I let each of the girls buy something for each other and for Lake. This was really cute and they were really interested in whether the other person liked their gift. In the afternoon, we went over to my brother's and opened gifts. He had a really neat train set that the girls liked playing with. I remember growing up and my grandpa always had a train that went around his tree. I just might try this next year. Friday we headed to St. Louis to visit my family. We had a great time just hanging out. Hannah became a Wii champ and Josh realized he usually goes to bed at a reasonable hour for a reason. We had dinner with my aunt and uncle and their family Saturday night. This was a great time to catch up with family. The girls have lots of cousins on the Silvernail side of the family that they don't get to see too often. Sunday morning, we were up bright and early and headed to The Mills for some much needed shopping. Hannah and Meredith have outgrown all of their clothes and were in desperate need for some new ones. I have never seen such great deals. We could have spent hours there, but needed to get back to celebrate my nephew's 16th birthday. Now we are back to reality and the cleaning has begun. I didn't know it was even possible to accumulate this much laundry. Here are some pictures from the week.


Meredith and Lake telling Santa what they wanted for Christmas. Meredith was so sweet and told Santa what to get for Hannah.

Meredith loved Christmas this year. I think she was finally old enough to get the whole concept.

Lake happy as always. This kid is way too easy.

The kids at grandpa and grandma's before the mass opening of presents began.

Hannah with her first cupcake from the Cupcake Maker.

Uncle Jeff is always trying out new things with Lake.

Meredith was so excited to receive her manicure set. Aunt Jodi did such a beautiful job!

SNOW DAY (Friday)

I remember when I couldn't wait for a snow day. My how my life has changed. It is quite difficult to entertain three children, especially when two of them keep telling you how bored they are. Hannah is at the age where she is bored unless she has a friend over to play with. Then Meredith wants to play with them and of course a fight begins. We finally decided to go to Wal-Mart. I am embarrased to say that we were there for almost three hours. Luckily, they have a Subway inside. We didn't even buy very much, but the kids were entertained by the masses of people shopping.

Lake is finally old enough for his saucer! The box said four months although he still needs a blanket to hold himself up. He is such a happy baby. I love when he smiles, which is quite often lately.

100 Things

I was talking to Rebecca at work about this post and how many things she had done so far in life. She thought I would be surprised at how much I have accomplished. Let's see....
Things I’ve Done (in burgudy)
1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

Wow! I have a lot of things to do still!

Long Post with Lots of Pictures

These last few weeks have been pretty busy for our family. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with extended family and then took the kids to a new waterpark that opened in Iowa, near where we were having Thanksgiving. It was nice to just relax and let the kids play. They took full advantage of the park's operating hours. One of their cousins who lives in Iowa met us there, so that gave Hannah someone to play with. The difference in Hannah and Meredith's ages have really started to show lately. They don't have much in common and find any and every reason to fight. Who knows what we will have on our hands when Lake gets old enough to join in. We also had a trip into St. Louis to visit family and friends. It was so nice to get together with everyone and the girls loved seeing their Aunt Jodi. I like where I live, but when I visit St. Louis I realize how much I miss it.

Lake was baptized this past Sunday. It was a really nice service. Our priest was pretty witty. He made the comment that we "didn't have the River Jordan, but we had Lake Jerome". This certainly entertained those who have thought his name was a bit unusual. His godparents are Mike and Amy Bartig, friends of ours from Kirksville. Josh and I thought long and hard about Lake's godparents and really wanted a couple that was strong in their faith and had good family values. The Bartig's certainly fit the bill! Josh's grandma, Lake's great-grandma was able to attend, which was really neat. Josh was really uncomfortable with the christening gown Lake is wearing, but we assured him it was okay. Josh's mom made the outfit for Lake after I couldn't find one here in Kirksville. He looked so cute and innocent in it, which I think Baptism is all about.

Hannah has been preparing for her First Reconcilliation, which she will receive this weekend. She will then start preparing for her First Communion.

Christmas is approaching soon and we are not even close to being ready. The tree is up and Josh made a gingerbread house with the girls. They thought this was really cool. There are a couple of presents wrapped, but that is about it. There are still more presents to be bought and wrapped, cookies to be made and cards to be sent out. Our community has really fallen on hard times and we are making an effort at school to help those who may go without a Christmas and the stories I hear get sadder and sadder. It has really made me reflect on and be thankful for everything that we have. It's hard to go buy things my kids don't even need when there are families who may not have enough food to eat over the holidays.

Fr. Chris baptizing Lake.

Pretty nice looking gingerbread house!

Can you believe Lake is almost four months old?

Meredith loves her little brother. Often too much.

Aunt Jodi and the girls had a great time raking leaves, if that's what you want to call it.

Lake turns three months old

Ok, I'm sort of plagarizing this post, so hopefully Sara doesn't have hers copyrighted :)

Lake just turned three months old and I think he has to be the cutest thing ever! He loves to snuggle and be held close. Our house is a mess because we spend so much time holding him. Here is a list of the top ten things he can do now that he is three months old.

1. Lake can hold his head up for extended lengths of time, although this requires putting him down and he doesn't really like that.

2. He can roll over from front to back and tries really hard to roll from back to front, but just isn't quite there yet.

3. Lake loves to smile. The girls love to talk to him and have him smile back.

4. He has started babbling and gets really excited trying to talk to you. His arms and legs start moving really fast.

5. Lake eats like crazy. We have had to start supplementing with formula because I can't keep up.

6. He still wakes up during the night at around 12:30 and then again at 5:00. 12:30 is a bit rough, but I don't mind the 5:00. He just eats and goes right back to bed.

7. He has started wearing 3-6 month clothes. Kind of sad to get rid of the cute little baby clothes.

8. Lake loves his babysitter. When I pick him up he is so content and happy. This is such a huge relief to me.

9. Lake worships his sisters!

10. Last of all, I personally think Lake is a "mama's boy". He loves his dad, but he and I have a special connection. I was so worried about this because I had no experience with a boy and wondered if I would know what I was doing. It seems to be working!

A Weekend in Review

Hannah finds her brother to be so funny. Here she is laughing out loud at the faces he makes. She will put him into different poses in the Bumbo. I hope she remembers how fond she is of him and how he is always smiling at her.


This could be one of my favorite pcitures of all time. Meredith thought she was a monkey by dressing like this. We had just brought out all of the hats and gloves to be sorted. It is no joke when I say she thought she was ready to go outside like this and didn't understand why I was saying no. Josh and I are seriously losing our minds with her. She seems to throw a fit about everything and I can tell she is just testing us to see if we will actually follow through.

Here is a great gift idea for those of you who have little girls. It is called the Rose Cottage Garden. Meredith's grandparents got it for her last year for Christmas. Meredith loves playing in it and it is a great way to hide toys in her room. I accidently made the mistake of telling her we would have a tea party in it sometime. She woke up at 5:00 in the morning wanting a tea party and would not take no for an answer. What is it about children who won't get up for school, but can't stay in bed on the weekends.

Family Time

Once again, may I say I love the Bumbo. Lake loves to watch me cook dinner. For those of you that know about Flat Stanley, this is what these Bumbo pictures remind me of. I should just start taking pictures of all of its uses and the places it goes.

Remember in the last post how I said I wanted us to start doing more things together as a family with no electronics involved? Well, we took adavantage of the beautiful weather this week to roast marshmallows in the backyard. While these events aren't exactly peaceful, they are something I hope the girls will remember. I just hope they learn to like each other more and get to a point where there is no crying for at least five minutes at a time.

Here's Hannah pouting for some reason or another. I think it was because we said two smores were probably enough before bedtime.

Luckily we have a privacy fence. Our neighbors might question our way of having dessert.

This would be Hannah's "I know what I am doing. You don't need to tell me." Of course she put her marshmallows on the wood and then caught them on fire. What do parents know? We are in so much trouble when the teenage years hit.

Lots of pictures from a busy weekend

Halloween weekend was filled with lots of events, so I thought I would post them all together while I had time. Hannah has been begging to go camping, so we took the opportunity with the beautiful weather. I can't believe how nice it has been outside, but I am afraid it is just a reminder of how long the winter is going to be. The camping experience was ok, but not necessarily something I want to do too often until the kids are older. The girls just fight way too much right now and can't seem to find things to do in common. We loved camping when we were kids and always could find things to do without having to be entertained. We camped in a place called Yarrow, not too far outside of the city limits, by the Chariton River. The girls liked going down by the river and throwing rocks. I am probably way more protective then I need to be, but I was worried about the swift current and the soft sand shore ledge. We tried to do smores by the campfire, but the girls were scared of the dark and it just wasn't working out as planned. We wound up calling it a night pretty early.

I don't recall ever having the luxury of a DVD player when camping. We used to take long walks and do a lot of exploring. I am hoping we can start doing more family things where all electronics are put away, but it has become such a lifestyle for our kids that it is not an easy thing to do.

We have friends who have a cabin where we were camping. Lake chilled out while Josh set up the camper (and shop vac'd thousands of Asian beetles). I was worried about taking him, but he was all smiles the entire time. It was so nice to have one child not whining :)

Josh with the shop vac. These beetles have taken over Northeast Missouri. They stink when you step on them and they bite. I swear they just come out of nowhere. We are constantly telling Meredith that they are not ladybugs and not to play with them.

Lake is just the happiest little baby. He smiles all of the time and is starting to show his personality. He gets really excited when someone talks to him and starts waving his hands and legs up and down.

My sisters came to Kirksville this week also. This was Aunt Jodi's first time seeing Lake. They were so good with their nieces and nephew. Aunt Julie (on the right) came to see us before she enters the monastery in November. I am really proud of her that she is following her life calling, although I am sad that we won't see her as often. I grew up going to Catholic schools with nuns as teachers, so sometimes it is difficult for me to see her as a nun, but I know she has prayed about this decision for a long time and feels it is God's will. My brother Jeff had a bonfire and we just sat around and talked. It was nice to visit with family and recall childhood memories.

Lake with Grandma Lysle. Unbelievable that we were able to sit outside without coats on Halloween. Halloween is really busy at our house. Everyone who doesn't live in a neighborhood comes to our house to get ready, have a quick dinner and then head out for trick or treating.

Foster, Hannah, Lake and Meredith

This is sort of a random picture, but let me tell you how awesome the BUMBO is. I read a friend's blog who had their child in one of these and had my sister-in-law buy one when she was in Columbia. This is the greatest invention! I only wish it were around when Hannah and Meredith were little. Lake is ten weeks old and it allows him to sit up already. He likes to sit at the table with everyone and it has become useful when I am trying to cook. I think he likes to be able to see everything around him. It has really helped with his head control too. (note: the warning on the BUMBO is not to put it on an elevated surface, however, it appears to be very stable and I am always near by)

Remember the blog entry about Sammy "running away" and Toby being an indoor dog? Look how good he is doing. This would have never occurred when we had both dogs. He even got to go camping with us.

Just chillin in the BUMBO.
Ok, so that's it for the weekend. Now it's time for laundry and grocery shopping. Although it was very busy, I am so thankful for good weather, great friends and quality family time.

Lake meets Toby

We are now down to one puppy since Meredith's puppy Sammy "ran away." Here's the short story. Hannah begged and begged for a small puppy she could hold. Josh was completely set against it. Then the big softie decided to get her a puppy and why not get one for Merdi also. So, Santa delivered two puppies to our door on Christmas Eve. We are no match for two puppies. I felt bad because they are supposed to be indoor dogs, but whenever they were together, they did nothing but play fight and chase each other around the house. It was difficult to housebreak them because they were constantly running abound and being overly hyper. I noticed that neither girl was playing with their dog, so we decided to look for a new home for Sammy. I had a friend whose mom really wanted a small lap dog and was more than happy to take Sammy. Meredith took it really well. She looked for Sammy for about 30 minutes and then all was well. Now Toby is an indoor/outdoor dog and both girls are playing with him. They call him the family dog. He has been so good and you can tell he is so much happier having human attention.