Fall pictures

We spent some time outside today playing in the leaves, and I thought some current pictures might be a nice addition to the blog. So, here you go.... Enjoy!

Joshua throwing leaves up in the air...

Matthew does his part to get the leaves picked up.

Paige enjoys the leaves!

William watches from the sidelines.

Paige is already looking forward to getting her license to drive.

Follow-up to the race

Hi all. Carl here again.  I figure if anyone read the last post that they might be interested in whether or not I survived the race (or maybe not). :)  Anyway, here's a quick recap of what happened.

Angie's team (Warriors 4 Angie) all met before the race. It was an amazing show of support for Angie, Jeff, and their whole family. I believe there were over 70 team members, and it was very cool to see everyone come out to walk or run in celebration of Angie. Overall, there were over 24,000 registered participants at the Race For the Cure. Watching this mass of people move down the road was truly something to behold.

I did complete the race, and I did so without having to stop or walk. So, that felt good. And I was there at the finish line when Angie and Jeff came across. What a wonderful moment. Way to go Angie and Jeff!  Keep fighting, and remember that countless numbers of people are praying for you. We love you guys!

This One's For Angie

Hi everyone. This is Carl. Tomorrow I will be doing something previously unthinkable. I will be running 3.11 miles of my own volition. For those of you who’ve know me long enough to hear my canned answer about running, no, it won’t be because I am being chased or because I am chasing something. It will be for a much, much better reason. That reason is our good friend Angie.

On May 17th of this year, Angie was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer. It was found because Angie was having other problems with her health, which were caused by the cancer spreading throughout her body. In their normal way, Angie and her husband Jeff knew that no problem was too big for God, and they vowed to fight and beat this cancer with His help.

We’ve known Angie and Jeff almost as long as we’ve lived in Iowa. They have been a true blessing in our lives since we first met them and they continue to be a blessing to this day. Now, though, they’ve added “inspiration” to the long list of amazing adjectives that would describe this wonderful family. On August 31st, Angie and Jeff and their family received amazing news. Angie underwent a scan to see how the chemo was working and 99% of the cancer was GONE. The doctors were amazed and said that it should have taken at least a year of chemo to get those type of results, which still might have been unlikely at that point. Obviously, Angie and Jeff and family and friends were elated, and, in typical fashion, Angie is now working to knock out that last 1%. She does so with grace, patience, and a smile always on her face. Or so Jeff writes in their online journal.

You see, one thing we haven’t been able to do for Angie and Jeff that we’ve dearly wanted to do is to be there for them in person. If you are reading this blog, you already know why. But, we have continually prayed for them all, and we are so happy with how this fight is going. That’s what leads to tomorrow. Mid-summer, Jeff announced that they would be forming a team to run in the Race For the Cure in October. I’ve never been a runner (sorry, Dr. Patterson; maybe I should have taken you up on that offer (every year) to run cross country in high school), but I felt compelled to do this to show our support for Angie. Shannon and I discussed it and she supported my running in the race. She even thought about walking it with the kids, but then we thought about how many people show up for this (estimated 25,000 this year), and decided that wasn’t really prudent.

As a result, I became the representative for our family. I started training this summer* and I have continually been aiming towards one day: tomorrow. I owe Shannon a HUGE debt of gratitude. She has taken more than her share of nights to read books at bedtime, and to generally watch over the kids while I’m out running around the neighborhood. And tomorrow, she’ll be taking care of everyone while I’m off supporting Angie. So, thank you, Shannon. I love you. And I’ll make sure Angie knows how much we love and support her.

So Angie, from all 6 of us, this one is for you. Thank you for your amazing friendship. And thank you for the inspiration you have given us in the way that you have approached this fight and in the way you are winning it. Now go knock that remaining cancer out!

* Check out the Couch to 5K program if you are sedentary (as I was) and would like to start moving more. It really works.


*While I know Jeff and Angie will appreciate any new prayers that may come their way from this post, if you also feel compelled to monetarily donate to this worthy cause, you can do so here: Carl's Race Page

It's the day of the big game here in Iowa!

Here's our little Hawkeye cheerleader! Go Hawks!








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And it only took me a week!

Matthew Wade - May 28, 2009

Matthew Wade - May 28, 2010

Paige Naomi - May 28. 2009

Paige Naomi - May 28, 2010

William Braden - May 28, 2009

William Braden (and Dad!) - May 28, 2010

There was cake.

They were cautious...

at first!!!

Am I supposed to be doing this?

Matthew conquers the cake!

Later, there was a family photo shoot...getting harder to get a good picture of everyone!

But, such cuties!

Check out our big boy!

The Flight of the Fish

In 5 Acts

This isn't a fish!  This is a seahorse!

Ahhhh.....the fish!

I must have the fish!

Give me the fish!!!!

The fish is mine!  Don't mess with Matthew!

Love.

And thus ends the first year of the triplet....what will year two bring?

Next time....Joshua turns 4!

Just the Pictures, Ma'am, Just the Pictures

There has been a clamour for pictures.  Here you go....

Easter Eggs at Grandma and Grandpa Gausman's in Kansas

(yeah, we're behind)

A new use for the Easter Basket

Yes, I'm Matthew.  And yes, I'm this cool.

Ahhhh......

Beautiful little doll!

The soccer player

Matthew - approximately 9 months

Paige - approximately 9 months

William - approximately 9 months

I wonder what they see...

The other view!

What are you trying to tell me?

Let's play in the water!

Beautiful

The child has no fear

I think he's practicing his sumo moves

Paige preferred the calmness of the water table

Lest you think it is all fun and games!

Here come the birthdays!!!

More to come very soon...I promise...really, I do!!!

Happy Anniversary and other musings

Hi everyone (if anyone still checks this blog).  This is Carl. I just wanted to post a few quick thoughts, and this seemed like the best place to do it.

First, while not directly kid-related, I want to wish my lovely wife (and the normal author of these posts) a Happy Anniversary. It's been 8 wonderful years since that extremely hot day in Kansas that we celebrated our love with our family and friends. In some ways it's gone really fast. In other ways, it seems like we've known each other forever. Being a Tuesday today, and given that both of us had to work, we really didn't get to celebrate our anniversary. But, we hope to soon (thanks in advance Grandma and Grandpa!), and I just want to tell Shannon "Happy Anniversary!". I love you.

Second, kid report.  We've all been fighting the crud that is going around, but everyone is rebounding well.  Since our last post, the triplets turned 1 and Joshua turned 4. My how time flies. The triplets birthday was extremely fun, and we'll try to get some pictures posted before they turn 2.  Joshua's birthday was a grand celebration with friends at Chuck E. Cheese's, and he had a blast!  He continues to ask when we can go back.  :)  Joshua has had a busy summer of field trips with his pre-school, and he is having a great time. Matthew, Paige and William continue to learn and grow. All are walking very well (the boys often are nearly running when they go), and they are working hard to figure out how to tell us all the things that they have to say. All 4 keep us on our toes and we're having fun watching them figure everything out.

Third, and finally for tonight, a request.  One of Joshua's recent field trips was to go roller skating (yes, Mom went with him and showed off her 1980s-era skating moves). During the skating party, the DJ lapsed into 80s music. Now, being children of the 80s, we wouldn't complain about that at all. Joshua, however, latched on to his new favorite song there.... We Will Rock You by Queen.  Don't get me wrong, I love the song, and the band. But as he continually requests that I play it on the way to work every morning, we've realized that we need to work on expanding his horizons with other classics. Not kids' songs, per se, but just quality music. So, this is where the request comes in. If you were creating a playlist to play for a 4 year old who is just getting his feet wet with real music, what would you put on it? We have lots of ideas, but I thought it would be fun to get other people's ideas as well (again, if anyone is reading this). We have managed to work some Beatles into the repertoire (Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da and Yellow Submarine seem to be popular (with Joshua knowing a lot of the words to Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da already) and Vertigo by U2 was fairly well received this morning, though I'm not sure Paige was crazy about the guitar riff.  Anyway, I have fond memories of listening to my parents' music as a child (Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Gordon Lightfoot, Tom T. Hall, various Broadway musicals, Rodger and the Tempests, etc.) and I want to try to recreate that fun for my kids. So, leave a comment about what you play for your kids, or what music kids really like in your experience (again, looking for non-kid specific music; LOVE Justin Roberts, but we've already got that covered). :) 

If you've read through this far, thanks for sticking with us even though we are terrible at getting this site updated. And, thanks again to my wife for making me the happiest man in the world for the last 8 years as her husband.

Take care everyone. And God bless.

-Carl