Christmas Plans

Todd and I will be hosting The Redden Christmas at our house on Sunday, December 27th. Come anytime between 3-4 and we will eat around 5:00p. Grandma is bringing sandwich wraps. If everyone else would bring a side dish or desert that would be great!

We will also be doing a white elephant gift exchange. So, bring a gift for everyone in your family that will be participating! :)

Let us know if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you all!

Trisha

Sonogram pictures

Here's the first bunch of pictures of the new baby. I'm 13-14 weeks along. The baby was measuring just a tad bit bigger than what we calculated. But everything's looking good. They only gave us two pictures, and they're not great.

See my two teeth!

See my two teeth!, originally uploaded by kkirk78.

I had to share this pic with you all. He is so proud of his two bottom teeth that came in! In the last week he has changed soooo much. He makes this scrunched up smile where his eyes are squinted and he sticks out the bottom teeth. He also said "mama" for the first time on Friday! He's said it a few times since then. He can pull himself up now and wants to go! He's trying so hard to crawl but he can't quite do it. But he has his own way of traveling in the mean time. He sits on his butt with his legs out and hops on his butt. It's so cute. If you put him on a wood floor watch out cause he will go all the way across the floor. I can't believe how much he is changing in just one week. He is so full of energy and smiles. It's such a blessing to be able to be with him everyday and watch him grow.

Thanksgiving at the Hitchcock's---Details!!

I just realized I hadn't posted this yet, but wanted to make sure everyone knew that we will be hosting Thanksgiving on the Friday after Thanksgiving--November 27th. Come around 11:00ish and we will eat the rest of the day away! ha!

We would love to have everyone come that can. If anyone is coming from out of town you are more then welcome to stay at our house.

I looked to see what everyone brought last year as it seems to work out well.

Here is what I remember:
Todd and Trisha-Turkey and mashed potatoes
Dave and Tami-Pumpkin Pie and veggie tray
Steve and Margie-plates, cups, napkins, silverware, a side dish
Joe-Drinks
Mindy and Bobby-deviled eggs or a side dish?
Grandma and Grandpa-Rolls and ? another side dish

We look forward to seeing you! Let me know if have any questions!

Wyatt's 6 month pics

s42760ca113645_15_4, originally uploaded by kkirk78.

We got Wyatt's 6 month pics taken today. They turned out pretty good. He wasn't quite as happy as he normally is (of course). If you want to view the rest of the pics they are up on my flickr page, http://www.flickr.com/photos/kkirk78/.

Update

I met with the surgeon who did my lymph node biopsy today. There were no signs of cancer in the lymph node! (Hooray!) He did not have any explanation for the enlarged lymph nodes and enlarged spleen, and so he wants to wait a few months and do another CT scan to check their size. We are so relieved and thankful for your prayers!

Here are a few pictures from when we went to the pumpkin patch.

Toby has a job!

Toby has a job and technically started last week. It's for a company called Bodine and they do industrial clean up mostly at factories-no haz mat though. He went to Decatur, Il for training all last week. He still doesn't know if he will like the job or not but he starts tomorrow with actual work so I guess he will find out this week what it's really all about. It took him just over a month to get a job so not too bad with the economy. A few of the guys he is working with were out of jobs for quite a while it sounded like. The job is based out of Clinton, Ia, which is about a 30 min drive from door to door.

I'm still liking my job at Sullivan's Grocery store. Wyatt had to start going to the babysitters last week when Toby was away. His babysitter is a girl that was a year ahead of me in school. She has three kids, two of them are in school and the other is just over a year old. He really likes Wyatt and gives him hugs and kisses when I go to pick Wyatt up. It's really cute. She also takes a few other kids part time.

I'm really hoping that Toby likes his new job. It pays decent and is close by. I know Toby is happy to get back in to the swing of working. He liked being Mr. Mom but not being stuck home everyday all day.

Good News

No, I am not pregnant! But I assume most of you know that I have been getting tests done because my doctor found that I had enlarged lymph nodes and was concerned it could be lymphoma. My original blood work came back abnormal, and the doctor said it could be because of cancer. They redid my blood work and did a CT scan. This time my blood work looked good, and the only thing that showed up on the CT scan was that my spleen is enlarged also. The spleen is part of the lymphatic system. This is a common side effect of viruses like mono. It could still be lymphoma, so I am having a biopsy done today, but I am feeling really positive that it will be nothing. Thanks for all of the prayers!

In case you haven't heard....

Tyler and I are expecting our second baby! I'm just barely pregnant, but I figure I'm due June 4th. Josie seems pretty okay with the idea. She goes back and forth over whether she wants a boy or a girl. Tyler's hoping for a boy. I don't care either way. So far I feel pretty good, unlike last time.

So, there you go. One more Kirk!

Recent Pics

Things are going well for us out here in Nebraska. The boys are fun and challenging all at the same time. We love having two little boys to take care of. Keet will be traveling to Russia for 10 days at the very end of October and beginning of November. He will be going with the senior pastor and one other member of our church to asses how we can minister effectively there. Keet's parents will be traveling to see us next week; we look forward to visiting with them. Hope everything is going well with the rest of the fam!

Daddy said "Look what Wyatt learned today" when I came home from work.

Daddy said "Look what Wyatt learned today" when I came home from work. , originally uploaded by kkirk78.

I can't believe it, Wyatt is 5 months old already! I came home from work today and he showed me how he could sit on his own...for a few brief moments anyways. He is such a happy little guy. Luckily our move to Morrison didn't disrupt his schedule or seem to bother him much at all. We are settling in here and almost unpacked. I've been working for a few weeks now. I'm at the local grocery store working part time as the general merchandise manager. I like it so far. Toby is still looking for a job. Good thing is that he has applied to quite a few jobs and there seem to be a few every couple of days that he applies for. Hopefully he'll find something soon as I know he is getting bored being home everyday. So far we are just trying to enjoy living in our small town.

Moving tomorrow!

Tyler and I finally found a place to rent. We're moving in tomorrow. We're both super excited
and we're trying to get Josie excited about sleeping in a big girl bed. The Hello Kitty blanket and
sheets we bought are helping. :) But if she wants to sleep with us it'll be okay since we're getting
our new king sized bed delivered tomorrow, too. What can I say, we're big people.
So everyone needs to pray that the rain holds off til we've got all of our boxes inside.

Also, I don't know how many know this, but Tyler stopped driving a truck and is now working for a different company in Lincoln dispatching trucks. (The owner who hired him said that I write a heck of a cover letter and resume.) He started today and will be working from 3pm to midnight during the week.

And, because it's not a post without pictures of a kid, here are some pictures.

Wyatt is 4 months old.

Wyatt smiling..., originally uploaded by kkirk78.

Wyatt will be 4 months old on Monday. He went to the dr today for his check up.He is pretty average at this point with his height and weight. He is 14 lbs 13 oz and 24 inches long. We get to start him on some cereal soon! I think we are going to wait until we get moved here in a few weeks to start him though. No need to add something new on top of moving.

My mom is flying down in one week to help us with the move. We get the moving truck on Sunday and can hopefully get it all packed. We'll leave Monday morning and we are planning on taking two days to get there since Wyatt doesn't do well after 5 or 6 hrs in the car and it's an 11 hr trip. My mom will ride with Wyatt and I while Toby drives the truck. Toby and I will be making the trip back down to sign the house papers but Wyatt will stay with grandma.

I have a part time job lined up. I will be doing merchandising and ordering at the local grocery store. They will also train me on cashiering so I can pick up some extra hours if I want. We are hoping Toby can find a job pretty quick once we move but at least we'll have some money coming in. Things seem to be falling in place so let's just hope it keeps going that way.

If you want to look at wedding pics . . .

I can only get access to a few "official" photos. If you want to look at the online shots, here is the address:

http://nicolegreenphoto.instaproofs.com/

Scroll down the page to Emilie and Todd and enter. Their last name is the password. If you do not remember last name, email me.

Wyatt's new sounds

P1060016, originally uploaded by kkirk78.

Towards the end of this video Wyatt shows off his new vocabulary.

My last post for today!

I'm sure you are tired of all of my posts by now. I think I am caught up now.
Caroline eating the chocolate covered strawberries at Todd and Emilie's wedding.

Marshall with his T-ball trophy.

My four kids. I know they get tired of me taking pictures but it is so fun.

Sweet brothers!

Ashlee's 6 year pictures.

Grandpa and Grandma

I love these pictures of them dancing at Emilie and Todd's wedding!

Seeing Andrew for the first time.

We were in Indiana at the end of May. I love getting pictures of the kids with Grandma and Grandpa.

I'm sure everyone knows Grandpa isn't feeling well. I am not sure about all of the details but I am asking that we all make sure we are praying for him. We really want to pray that he will be able to go to the Ohio River house and that we will all get to be there together. We are so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents!

Happy 5th Birthday Marshall!!

It is hard for me to believe Marshall is 5 years old today. He is so much fun and so funny. We had some friends over today to celebrate and then we went to dinner as a family. He chose to eat at Subway (he likes to get black olive pizza). We are going to Wilderness at the Smokies (it has an indoor waterpark) this weekend to celebrate Marshall and Caroline's birthdays.

Caroline is 3!!

Caroline turned 3 on June 28th. She is getting so big.

Andrew 4 months

Andrew is 4 months old. Well now he is almost 5 months. I have gotten behind on posting. At 4 months he weighed 15lbs.4oz. He is getting so big! He has an awesome smile. When I go to get him out of bed I am greeted with his smile. He is such a good baby. If I didn't know better I would be tempted to have another one. I don't think Tom would agree.

Pics

Here are some recent pics of the boys! They are so fun - we feel so blessed. :)

Sold our house

Well, we had our house up for sale for one week when we got an offer in. We went back and forth for a few days before we finally accepted an offer. We are very excited b/c we got exactly what it appraised for which we know is amazing with the economy right now. We will close at the end of August so hopefully we can find Toby a job in Illinois before then.

I went to visit Mary Ann and Randy for a week. I went to help out Mary Ann physically and mentally after her knee surgery. Wyatt was a good distraction from her pain. We all had a great time and I know they were sad to see us leave.

We'll see you all in Ohio in a few weeks. We are excited to meet the new little babies!

Moving?

There is a possibility that Toby, I and Wyatt may be moving to Illinois, Morrison to be exact. That is the town that I grew up in. We wanted to move to that area before Wyatt starts school. With the economy the way it is we figured we would stay here for a few more years but we got an offer we could not refuse. My grandma just moved in to a retirement community and has offered to let us live in her house for a year or two and all we have to pay is taxes and utilities. We couldn't pass this up. So we are putting our house up for sale this week. Luckily the market for houses is not too bad here and we were pleasantly surprised at how it appraised. We are starting the search for jobs but hoping that it will all come together at a perfect time. We are hoping this will also give us a chance to let me be a stay at home mom - well I think I might want a part time job after a few months just to get me out of the house. It would be nice too with Wyatt to be so close to family...just sorry that means we'll be farther from Grandy and GranMary.

Wyatt's personality is starting to come through.

this is my "mommy,stop teasing me and give me my milk!" face, originally uploaded by kkirk78.

I was getting ready to feed Wyatt but of course I had the camera in my hand as well. Wyatt gave me the "stop taking my picture and feed me" face. He really is a good little boy. He barely ever cries. Instead of crying he waves his arms and legs around and maybe will moan and groan. I'm still hoping we can make it to Ohio so you can all meet him and I can meet all the other new babies.

Wyatt and I with Ozzie the mascot.

Wyatt and I with Ozzie the mascot., originally uploaded by kkirk78.

Wyatt's first ball game.

Wyatt's first ball game., originally uploaded by kkirk78.

We took Wyatt to his first ball game last night. He enjoyed looking around at everything. He is such a good boy. He never made a peep. He was awake for about the first hour and a half and then he slept the rest. He even got his picture with Ozzie the mascot.

strawberry picking

I took the girls strawberry picking the other day. I thought Maya would be pretty helpful, and she really was! She carried her own bucket, and filled it with beautiful, big red berries! My expectations of Bella were a little less. I was hoping she would just stay near me and not eat, smash or throw all of my berries. I was amazed when I showed her which ones to pick and she not only picked perfect berries, but also put them all in my bucket! Of course I couldn't expect them to make it out of there without eating a few. :)