Christmas reflections

We had a very nice, actually wonderful Christmas.


The weekend before we spent in Iowa with Carmen's family. We always have quite the crowd with over 20 some people at the gathering. That is just the immediate family. You can always count on never having a dull moment with the Luna family!


We had Christmas at home with our kids on the Sunday before. They delighted in their gifts, no disappointments here. Which is good cause I had my occasional guilt that I didn't get them enough or that it's not what they wanted. They got very practical gifts this year like new comforters for their beds, monogrammed backpacks, etc. They had fun gifts too, like John's spyware gear....a whole whoppin' $6 at WalMart, but loads of fun and enjoyment for a young boy. They did each get MP3 players and now we can't step foot in our van without them hollering to take their players. It has been much more quiet in the van the last few trips out. It was so nice to sit back & watch my children's faces light up. We may not be rich in money, but we are so rich in love and that is one of the greatest reminders this Christmas season!!!!


Christmas Day was spent with Jim's family. It makes for a long day, but we get up & drive 4 hours to get there, spend about 4 hours there and then drive the 4 hours home. But it's such tradition for us to spend the day there. It wouldn't be Christmas without it. Grandpa & Grandma Wilson do such an excellent job of not only cooking such good food, but spoiling the grandkids with presents.


Since then we've really spent a lot of down time just hanging at home. The kids are fully enjoying their presents and mom & dad enjoy not having any of that pre-holiday stress. In hindsight it was such a simple Christmas. I do think I could have been a little more prepared and done so much more earlier in the month. I now realize I stressed a little too much over the birth & arrival of Carmen, when I could have devoted all that time & energy to Christmas. Since I didn't though it is what forced me to keep things so simple and that actually made for a great holiday season.


Even though it's a little late we wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Here is a pic of the kids taken a few days before Christmas. If we had more time we would've printed it out & included it in the Christmas letter (that was mailed AFTER Christmas).


And a picture of Carmen, taken on Christmas Day, that is too cute to pass up.

December pictures/slideshows

Well, if you know me & how camera crazy I can be then you know I have been busy taking A LOT of pictures. It doesn't even begin to make a dent in the over 300 pictures we have (from December alone), but it's a peek at some we wanted to share that had not already been posted in one way or another. Enjoy!

December pictures

more December pictures

Our newest animal has arrived!

On December 16, 2007 at 6:09 p.m. we welcomed Carmen Rose into our family. She weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. and was 20 1/4" long.


Everything about the labor & delivery was ideal & wonderful. I'd say our best birthing experience yet. All together it was about 6 hours long, but only 2 of it was hard & intense. 10 minutes of pushing & out she came. Andrew was the only other child present. Which is the exact oppisite of what we expected, but it worked well and made it more memorable. You can hear on the video moments afterwards as he's exclaiming "BABY! BABY! YEEEAAAH!"


My mom was able to be there for the delivery as well. A big family tradition as she has now been present for all 12 of her grandchildren's births.


All of the kids have done wonderfully in adjusting to her arrival. We have a lot of other pictures of each sibling with the baby. Too many to post (you know how camera happy Carmen can be). Here is the big group picture with mom & all her kids.


The big family picture:



And of course, 2 very happy parents:

Choosing her name was not an easy task. It's been a tradition that each of our children has been named after someone specific, either a family member or close friend. We went round and round about who specifically to name her after. (We just love so many of you!) It was Jim who had the light bulb moment and said "well if we really must name her after someone.....who better to honor than YOU, her mother." I had never really thought of that aspect, but it suddenly did make sense. Not to mention that she does tend to favor all of my physical qualities, as well. So that is how we came up with her name. Yes, we do intend to call her just that....Carmen. We've got a few years before it gets tricky as to which Carmen one might be referring to in conversation. For now it's pretty obvious and if not just then call her little Carmen or Carmen jr. Time will tell if she is in fact a little mini me. Until then we just continue to relish in the simple first days of her life.

Disney on Ice & Roller Skating

Last saturday we took the kids to go see Disney on Ice. The kids enjoyed the show quite a bit. Andrew was the most enthused and vocal about it. He kept yelling "FISH, FISH" (from Finding Nemo) and "MeMowe" (which is his way of saying Mickey Mouse). We had great seats, about 10 rows up from rink side. It's still hard to get good pictures when the place is all dark. I really enjoyed this picture I got of Andrew as he showing his delight in what he saw.

A special thanks to Grandpa & Grandma Luna who gave us the tickets to go. Otherwise it's something we probably wouldn't have done on our own.

We also enjoyed some time at the roller skating rink over the weekend. Upon arrival we knew the older kids would be skating, but assumed that Andrew would still be too little and probably scared to try such a skill. In his own toddler talk way he kept saying & showing that he did want to skate. We reluctantly got him some skates and figured we'd amuse him with the gesture, even though it would be short lived and a "waste of our time".

However from the second he stood up in those skates, you'd think he was born with them on. No fear, no hesitation, no teaching of skill even necessary. The kid is a natural. You can't keep him off the skate floor.

The other kids are good skaters as well. I made sure I snapped pictures of everyone. I would have gotten out there myself as I enjoy the activity as well. I grew up a block away from our local rink and frequently spent time there. (Ahhh, memories of Skateland!) I'm no pro, but I can certainly go pretty fast. Can you see me now....40 weeks pregnant, wind sailing through my hair as I wiz around the roller rink. Hehehe, I'm sure I'd be a sight for sore eyes and causing quite a comotion. I'll get out there next time!

Due Date

It's offical. I have made it to my due date. 40 weeks....FULL weeks of pregnancy. This is nothing unusual or out of the ordinary for me to reach my due date. Only one time did I give birth before my due date (that was only 2 days early) All the others, including now this one, have gone past my due date. Ranging from 5 days to 14 days past my due date. It somehow doesn't make it any easier to deal with.

According to my dr.'s office the new ob standard is to not let a patient go past 41 weeks (vs. the old standard of 42 weeks). This gives us a better idea of a target date. It should, no matter what, happen within the next week! I could either go into labor (fat chance!) or be medically induced. I have been medically induced with 4 others already, it's what I'm counting on. We promise to keep everyone updated as soon as we know anything more.

Through out my pregnancy I've taken what we call belly shots. Pictures of me, mostly from a side angle view, to show off my growing belly. It's funny to look back now at those first few pictures and think that I felt "so big". If you're like 99% other people out there you'll say I still look so little and not near big enough to be full term. It doesn't really matter how you all think I look....I feel HUGE! So I created a slide show to showcase my bellyshot journey through this pregnancy. Enjoy! (click on link)

http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a135/petefamzoo/?action=view&current=d13cec5c.pbw

FALSE ALARM!

I went into the dr.'s office today for a regular check up. A few hours before I went though I was sure my water had broken. So once I got there there was a lot of hoopla. Poking & proding, measuring of fluid via ultrasound. All to find out that nope, my water had not broken. So it's offical I've had a false alarm.

I know, I know....BABY WILL BE HERE SOON!

FYI

I may be overstating the obvious, but I did not give birth to our baby yesterday. Baby has gone & messed up this perfect number theory I had for their birthdays. Although no two of our children have been born in the same month, so we are sucessful in accomplishing that.

I need to go make up a sign to tape to my back while out in public. It shall clearly read...."NO I HAVE NOT HAD THIS BABY YET!" Maybe that will ward off the infamous and quite annoying first words out of each persons mouth...."you haven't had that baby yet?"

I only have 1 week until my due date. The dr.'s will only let me go one week past that. So to look on the bright side it will be at the most two more weeks and we WILL have this baby. I promise to keep any & all posted on this special event!

13 years of marriage

I know I'm a few days early. I got this slideshow done & wanted to get it posted. You know.....in case I'm busy the next few days! Ok, ok, I really want this baby born TOMORROW. Here is a show of family pictures we've had taken every year of our marriage. (Click on link)

http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a135/petefamzoo/?action=view&current=c5ac1483.pbw

If you don't know all of our family history then you will confused by the little boy that suddenly appears in 2 of our pics. We had custody of Carmen's nephew for a few years. We included him like he was one of our own.

NON-STOP 24 hours a day, 7 days a week....

CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!!! Ahhhhhh, tis the season. I have the radio on 99% of the time now. I love Christmas music & never tire of it this time of year. Just when I've had about enough, then Chirstmas is over. So it works out perfectly.

Here is a link to my favorite (secular) Christmas song. I just love hearing this song play. You'll see my face light up & if I'm really in the mood I'll get up & dance around. Enjoy!

http://www.minibite.com/christmas/hippo.htm

38 weeks....getting close!

I only have a couple of weeks until my actual due date. I have an ultrasound scheduled on Monday to check on the size of the baby. That will determine if I get to have this baby sooner rather than later. Here is a pic taken of me today at my 38 week marker.

Thanksgiving play

Today at school Brianna had her Thanksgiving day play. She did a wonderful job! I can't post too many pics cause they have other kids in them. I don't want to post other people kids on the internet without permission. So here is at least one picture with Brianna & her teacher Mrs. Tadie.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!

Not many words needed to show off our precious "baby" boy. Them big brown eyes 'bout say it all!

Way to go!

Wanted to share some achievements our kids are making. They are all doing excellent in school. Some have to work harder than others. However after parent-teacher conferences last week we know we have nothing to worry about at all.

Brianna


Angel

36 Weeks

We offically have 1 month left until my due date. It's really hard to tell when I will actually have the baby. I've ranged in going 2 weeks late to 2 days early. Only once have I gone into labor on my own. All the others have been inductions. Your guess is as good as mine! Here is the most recent pic taken of me.

What a weekend....peppermint M&M's & karate tournament

You all know my fasicnation with peppermint coffee creamer. Well, by "pure accident" I found out there is peppermint M&M's. I thought I was buying 2 bags of regular M&M's, but when I emptied them into a bowl I noticed they looked differnent. The peppermint ones are bigger & more oblong shaped....somewhat like a peanut M&M, but not quite. They also come in green, red AND white colors.

They are delicious! I did have to share that inital bag with a dozen or so other girlfriends as we were away at a church retreat this weekend. Good thing for my hips, I'm sure. I'll have to stock up on this new fasicnation as well. It can keep company with my 6 bottles (big ones) of creamer I have at the bottom of my deep freezer.

While I was away at my retreat, Jim had all the kids under his care. For the second weekend in a row now he's taken over while I was away. This weekend he also took all the kids to a karate tournament for him, John & Brianna to compete in. They only started karate back in August. Jim did actively take karate many, MANY years ago so he had some prior knowledge. John & Brianna have had no problem at all picking up what's being taught.

This was their first tournament. Unfortunatley we have no pictures or video of this event. The batteries were dead in both the camera & the camcorder. Without me around to take care of these little details the devices went uncharged. Jim says the kids did spectacular.

John placed 1st in his age group. They competed in sparring.

Brianna placed 2nd in her age group. They competed in sparring & wrestling. (She even beat out some boys to get that second place!)

Jim placed 1st & 2nd in his age group. He even got a set of cracked ribs to go along with that as well. They are not suppose to kick full contact. When his opponent went to kick him, he lost his balance & DID kick him completely, thus the cracked ribs. Please, oh please, let's hope this is not the beginning of another set of injury incidences.

Happy Halloween!

Some pics of our trick or treaters!

Angel, a kitty cat. She, btw, brought home a kitten that was following her non-stop. (you can see that cat in the group pic.) For now it's out in the garage with an old towel to keep warm & a can of tuna. We'll see if it's still around tomorrow.

Mandy, a bride.

Brianna, a ballerina.

John, Darth Vader

Andrew, Po the Teletubbie. He's missing the "antenna" part of his costume. Didn't seem to bother him at all.

And the never ending group picture (stray cat included)

We've got enough "loot" to last us for a loooooooooong time. Well, at least, until I get sick of hearing the kids beg, whine & plead for just one more piece. Which I usually explode with "EAT IT ALL, JUST EAT IT ALL UNTIL IT'S GONE!" You know, those precious moments, our kids will always remember.

Break a board for D.A.R.E

Last saturday John, Brianna & Jim participated in Break a board for D.A.R.E. Our local D.A.R.E chapter lost it's funding and now has to raise it's own money if they want the program to continue.

There was lot of demonstrations of karate. John, Brianna & Jim are all in different levels & classes so each one had a turn to get up there with their class to show off their stuff. I was out of video tapes so our digital camera had to double as a camcorder as well. Here are the pics I did get taken.

John, for some reason they only gave John's class their board after they broke it. They had to break it with a punch (chop) using their hands.

Brianna, I got her board breaking on video (not sure how to upload that). Her class had to use their foot to break the board. She was not given her board. This is her class pic. She is the third one sitting on the floor.

Jim, he's the one in the yellow belt, throwing the guy on the floor. They had to use their head to break their board. So there IS a good reason for his hard head (giggle).

A group pic of the kids (except John) w/the D.A.R.E characters (bear & lion) & McGruff the Crime Dog. In case you can't "read" the look on Andrew's face, it's sheer terror. He loved the animals/characters from a far, but about freaked out when we got too close. I mananged to snap this shot before the tears & screaming took over.

More fall pics

I got the rest of my pics taken for the fall. Not much more to post at this time, so just enjoy the pics.

Angel

All the kids, taken on our front porch

Fall pics!

Mandy

Brianna

John

Andrew

Just posting some fall pictures taken of the kids outside of our house. I still need to get a group pic and one of just Angel.

Tanner's Apple Orchard

We took our "annual" trip up to Tanner's Orchard. I do have to put clause to the annual because last year we never got to go. We were planning to, but an unexpected run in with Bambi complete threw our plans out the window. Our kids (sweet precious beings they are) commented more than once about how we NEED to go this year which followed by the "remember last year...." Ah, yes, they had been scarred for life & would continue to be so until we remedied the situation.



It was a rather warm day that we went. Our previous saturdays and the next the few were already busy with other plans. It was our only day left to venture up there. So despite the 70+ degree weather we took off last saturday afternoon. It was a little all too classic as we left town & the kids were bubbling with excitement. The hour long trip soon turned into some bickering (moooooom, she won't stop singing. moooooooom, he's looking at me) I even mentioned (ok, so maybe it was more yelled) the inevitable "if you want us to turn this van around RIGHT NOW, we WILL!". Just as we were hearing the never ending "are we there yet & how much longer" the orchard appeared on the horizon. Hooray! Three cheers for mom & dad, we made it!

We enjoyed our time there. It was Andrew's first time there. He was very taken in by the ponies he got to ride & the goats he got to feed. The older kids had a great time as well running all over the play ground & playing mini golf. The place is very quaint, perhaps a bit cheesy. It's your typical mid-western idea of a great time of family fun.

After a full round of apple doughnuts & apple cider we packed up and headed home. Mission accomplished. Our children can now beam about their great childhood filled with memories of Tanner's. All complete, of course, with the ride home full of "moooooooooooom...."

Angel (yes, she is as tall as mom now)

Mandy

Brianna (Angel & Andrew in background)

John

Andrew & Dad