It's been a while

So, it's been a LONG while since I updated my blog...so sorry if there is anyone out there still actually reading/checking for updates... We are still HERE...trying to get into a school routine, with a full time working Mom, a baby and 3 school aged girls, life is DEFINETLY never dull or boring!

School started before Labor Day this year, which was odd, but come June, I will be so glad that we are done on June 4! I'm working full time as the 4 year old Kindergarten classroom aide, which is always a fun challenge, to get to learn all these new little personalities but also to see them flourish throughout the year!

Charlie-bug splits his time between my friend Jackie who runs an in-home daycare, 3 days a week to Aunt Becky's/Aunt Jenni/sometimes Daddy on Monday's & Friday's... he's adapted just well, but seems to be generally happy to see Mama's face at the end of his day! Other than some sleeping issues, he's a great kid, usually has a smile for you, rarely cries, I can't complain, he's a true blessing.

6th grade has been...fun, should we say? A whole new ball of wax for Taylor changing classroom's and teachers throughout the day, but her first progress report was really good, 6 a's, 1 b & 1 b-, we are very proud. She's playing the flute in band, and is currently playing volleyball and will play basketball later this winter.

Kenzie is in 4th grade, continues to do well in her acedemics and is just an overall great kid. She just completed her "reading around the world assignment" for her g/t reading class, 1500 pages!!! That's more reading than I will probably do all year and she finished in the first 6 weeks of school! She also is the manager for Tay's volleyball team as well as take dance class on Monday nights in Shawano.

Brookie is well, Brookie..She continues to be a ray of sunshine in our lives (99% of the time!) She's in the 2/3 Split class this year, but having only 8, 2nd graders seems to have helped her a little bit acedemically, she only got 1 wrong on her first math test!! She too remains in Dance class and loves her teacher, Miss Katie.

Jerod is still working at JBS (in this day and age, thank goodness for the blessings of having jobs!) he's busy, busy but manages to bow hunt a few days a week...

The best part of fall for the Hoffman's will happen in 10 days when we board a plane for DISNEYWORLD!! To me it is a little slice of heaven on earth, we love it there...and THANKS to Papa & Gramma we can to spend 5 nights/6 days in the Florida sun, again!!

I've included a picture from earlier this month, of bug, smilin' buy his big sisters tractor that she won at the Gresham Farm Heritage Days, oh boy I have another tractor lover in my family!

TTFN!

Summer Happenings...

So, summer is unfortunately coming to a close (4 more weeks to school..YUCK!) but we've had a great time together this summer, lots of fun things and lots of relaxing, a nice mix of both! The girls and I have gone to St. Bay a few times this summer just to visit Papa & Grama, and also we had a rummage sale in July... We enjoyed working on a float for this years Family Fun Fest in Gresham, we made up a float that said "This float stinks" and it contained all the grandkids old enough and Jasmine dressed as skunks.. Then Brandon *brother in law* rode behind on the 4 wheeler dressed as Mr. Clean with a big can of "Stink B Gone* we didn't win any of the prizes, but had fun all the same!

Our family along with my mom, dad and Jerod's sister Jill, went up to Drummond, Wis. (aka "bear country") in late July for a 4 day mini-vacation. We had a great time relaxing, eating yummy food, having nightly campfires and smores, watching movies, renting a Pontoon boat and fishing.

Back to reality it is, Jerod & I are finishing up the 2009 race season at Shawano Speedway, Charlie-bug is getting so big, and when I look back now, I realize our family wasn't quite complete, until he came along :)

The girls are enjoying having a baby brother to love and spoil, Taylor is starting band lessons, playing the flute, along with Middle School. (I can't belive we have a 6th grader this year!) Mackenzie is busy helping us out with our cows (we have 12 now, and she' s a great help) and Brookie has spent the latter part of the summer learning to ride a 2-wheeler, she's doing pretty good! They all have helped their fair share with our garden this summer too, weeding, harvesting and snipping beans for the most part, Daddy did the beets on his own, and the rest is still growing... Last week we went to Bay Beach with most of the Hoffman Clan minus a few who couldn't be there with us...

I'm not looking forward to another birthday in a few weeks, once you hit your mid-late 20's, birthday's are over rated and just another day...

At the top are a few pictures of all the fun memories we have of the summer, we hope you are enjoying yours too!

SUMMERTIME!

Yeah, it's summer! I couldn't be more excited to be off of work, home with the kids and just relaxing! Yesterday was the first official *WARM* day (it has to be over 75 for me to consider it warm out) I think the high reached almost 78, the pool was heated and after morning chores, the kids were chompin' at the bit to dive in!

THANKS GRANDMA & GRANDPA for keeping the pool up after all these years so your grandkids can also enjoy it! They swam from 1:30-5:00 for Taylor, she never got out, and finally at 5, I told her we had to go home and make supper.. Brookie quickly changed into jammies, and said I need a nap...about 2 seconds later she was out on the couch! My girls absolutely love the water, and I'm so proud of Brookie Boo, thanks to the help of Kenzie and Auntie Jasmine, she swam the width of the pool on the deep end yesterday!!

Charlie enjoys the fresh air outside, but it still doesn't help him sleep through the night... I can't complain, he goes down between 8:30-9:30, gets up anywhere between 2-3 a.m., then back to sleep till anywhere from 6-7:30 a.m. Not all that bad but really if he would just sleep straight through until about 5 a.m., I think it would help me a bit!! Oh well, such is life!

Jerod & I are staying busy being parents to our 4 beautiful kids, he's working hard as ever trucking, I'm busy holding down the fort at home. I LOVE MY JOB because I get the summers off!!! We are working at Shawano Speedway on Saturday nights this year, so it's a nice little break from the kids, we get to ride in the car to and from together in peace and quiet, and it's never too late before we are back home again, perfect summer job for me!

2 weeks ago in Relief Society we had a lesson that involved the importance of journal writing..An area I fail miserably at, so I hope my kids know that this was the main reason I started this blog. So they have memories saved in print from when they were younger... I love you Tay, Kenz, Brook & Charlie!

Photo's from our fun day in the sun yesterday and Charlie from last week!

Mothers Day, Return to work, receital, yada yada

So...not too much is new in our house, except Charlie's already growing up way to fast..I think the older they get (i.e. the girls) while it's noticeable that they are growing up, when it's a baby, it's right there in your face, they change every day and seem to get bigger every day...

Charlie weighs over 13 lbs now (well according to when I step on the scale with him, but judging from his upper thighs I would say that's accurate) he's smiling and talking more and more everyday..Much better at his head control, which is a good thing, given that he has a huge head..he's starting to like tummy time more and he has graduated from the bassinette to his big-boy bed! He's doing a little better at night, he usually goes down around 8:30 -9 p.m., makes it till 1 a.m., eats for about 20 minutes and then sleeping till 6 - 6:30 a.m., I can deal with this schedule and hope he sticks with it, when I go back to work on Wednesday am., because I'm not quite sure how I'm going to function if he gets up anymore than that! He's still an awesome kid during the day too, sleeps for 1-2 hours, gets up, plays, eats every 3-4 hours, and then back to sleep, pretty easy going personality... We love him, and can honestly say now we don't know what we did without him, and are just so grateful to Heavenly Father for blessing us with the opportunity to raise Charlie.

The girls are great, had their dance receital May 2nd, and they all did a fabulous job!!! We are anxiously awaiting the end of the school year, 18 more days and then we are free till Sept. 1st, yippee! The girls are hopeful for a warm summer, so they can spend lots of time swimming in Grandma & Grandpa's pool, thanks to Daddy we have a HUGE garden to weed (actually 2, if you count the 1 by Grandma's) we plan to have lots of fun but work comes first!

I had a wonderful mothers day & hope you all did too! I started breakfast but Jerod soon got up & finished it for me, we played Uno Attack with the girls in the afternoon, Charlie gave me lots of kisses & smiles, the girls got me some potted flowers from school and made me beautiful cards, and last...I got to take a 2 hour NAP!!

Work starts on Wednesday for me, I'm sad but excited..I do miss the pre-k kids and the staff that I work with... The great news is that school is done on June 5th and my last day is actually the 4th because the classroom I work in is done on June 4th, so it won't be soo bad and then I have all summer to snuggle Charlie!

Wishing you all a warm, fun & Happy Spring!
Love, Michelle & Crew

It's been a while

It's been almost a month since I've updated..we keep pluggin' along.. Charlie is doing well, he's already 9 weeks old, the time just keeps ticking away on the clock! I've done my best to savor every moment since Charlie's been born, I can definately say I have more patience for him then I did for the girls..maybe it's because I'm older and he's the only one in diapers, maybe it's because I know he's my last, I don't know but I hope my patience continues. His weight is no longer a concern, he weighed 11 lbs 12.5 oz at his 2 mo check-up last week and was 23 in. long. My only concern for him is that he doesn't want to take a bottle, which could pose a problem when I go back to work, we'll keep trying!





The girls are doing well, plugging along in school, they got really good report cards for 3rd quarter. Brookie continues to have some struggles with reading, she's almost to the level she should be for the end of 1st grade, but it's hard for her, so we keep trying! Taylor lacks confidence in math, but her teacher has said all year long she gives it her all, and she's gotten a b+'s each quarter, I'm so proud of her! Mackenzie's report cards have been good too, she loves to read, always has, always will, and I catch her writing stories and song lyrics all the time too.

As I think about my kids, their personalities, I wonder what the future holds, what will they be when they grow up? Mackenzie told me she was talking to her teacher (who happens to be Mrs. Hoffman too!) and she said I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, her teacher gave her the best advice, she said just enjoy it now, because your not even half way there, on that note, I think that's what I'll do, enjoy every moment I have with them now, because all to soon they are growing up and I'll miss these times. This weekend is Dance Receital, it will be Taylor's last as she starts middle school next year, and I gave her the choice; sports or dance, she's choosing to try sports. I hope financially we can figure out a way to keep Mackenzie & Brookie in it, I feel like that's the only fair thing to do, as Taylor started out when she was 3 yrs old, they did too, so they deserve to dance until 5th grade if they so choose.

Until next time, hope we get some *WARMER* spring weather so I can take charlie outside and show him the sights and sounds of the country.

Blessing day...

So for those of you that don't know Jerod & I too close, we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In our church, we bless infants, which basically is a prayer that Jerod (the baby's father/or another family member) gives. I always love this blessing, in doesn't matter if it's my own children, nieces/nephews or just a church members baby, such beautiful words spoken to these children of God. A few things mentioned in Charlie's as he was blessed... that he will grow strong, he will always love and honor his parents, that he will someday serve a mission, and marry a righteous girl; I'm so grateful that my husband holds the priesthood and he can bestow blessings like this one for his family. We felt so loved as all but a few in our family were able to attend, and it was a beatiful day (even if not outside!) The whole crew came to our house after for lunch (Grandpa Jeff counted, and if Auntie Jen & Uncle Mark would've been present, that made 35!) It was also my parents 40th wedding anniversary,wow!! I love them both so much and am grateful for their examples!! I hope all of our family members know how much we love them!

The ups and downs of motherhood.

So, I truly love motherhood, it's the greatest joy and blessing that we can have here on earth. However, when you have sick kids it can be a real downer, and I mean in the sense of you worry so much about your kids, just want them to be better, enough to make yourself get sick! So, after the worry about Charlie's weight gain was over, Brooklyn & Kenzie got sick. Fevers, headaches, stomach aches.. so we went in & the dr. said just a virus. They felt better for a day, than Brook's fever was back in full force, Taylor ended up with the rotovirus on Sunday.. So for the past 2 days I've had Tay & Brook home sick, hoping they get better soon, because it's hard to miss school & catch up on school work, and I know they miss their friends. Brookie went back to the dr. yesterday and an ear infection showed up, so at least we have a cause and meds now, yeah!!

Enough grumbling, I'm not the only Mom who's been there and this too shall pass! Onto the joys, pictures like the one with Brook & Charlie, just fills my heart with so much love and joy!

Hope you are all having a better week than me!