Dostert Party of 5?

Our family is growing; and well, so is my belly! We are indeed expecting a little one, due around January 5. We are all very excited for this new addition to our family. We have kept quiet for 19 weeks, just to make sure all was going well. Today was the 1st big ultrasound, and it appears that baby is healthy and everything looks good. It is a Dostert baby, so of course... "it"has to be difficult. Baby happens to be head up, and face down; so we didn't really get a good look at anything...including those important parts. The technician thought that maybe the Dr. would want us to go back in a few weeks to see if they could get a better look, but for now.....we plan for yellow and green!
Thanks to all of you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. The last few years have been quite the roller coaster, but we keep praying that this time around it will be smoooooth sailing!

It can't be the end of July

Summer is almost over.... Really it hardly even begun. We (as a family) have had a very busy summer. We just got back from camping in Austin, MN. We stayed at a Jellystone Campground and any of you with children can understand there is plenty for the little ones to do. There is even some stuff for us big ones as well. There are pictures on mine and Sam's facebook pages.

For those of you who know me, I try to give credit where it is due. Credit is due to my beautiful wife who keeps me and the family together even though we are running in different directions. She is the one who plans and organizes most family events, the photographer, the web page designer, the packer, among so many things I can't list here. I have known this since the day I met her and she still continues to amaze me.

The kids have had a fun summer. They have went camping a couple times, stayed out at Annie's house, and numerous trips to the pool. They have been doing it all. Holly is now a certified babysitter. She helps Mom and Dad out with Alyssa and keeping the house clean. We have given her more duties like cleaning and cooking and she takes right to it. I am very proud of Holly.

Alyssa is moving back to Mankato and that means I will get to see her much more. She will be attending Monroe again, back with her friends. She has really grown up in the last few months and is making strides to being a great young lady.

As far as other items, the softball season has been fairly successful, but we are struggling quite a bit lately. Not sure if we can get it turned around or not. Hopefully we will as playoffs start next week.

Sam and I are doing great. Last year was very tough and we seem to have pulled through. This year has been a little trying, but that is life. As long as I have family and friends like the ones I have surrounded myself with, we will be good. Thank you all. Sam will be posting something soon, I am sure ;)

Hooray for Spring!

Finally it is that time of year again! I never thought I would be so happy to finally see winter leave. This year the winter seemed soooo long. There are so many things that I want to do outside when it is nice out...not only if I could find the time to do it all.

My little girl turned 11 last week. It is hard to believe that it has been that long. She is a great kid, and too mature to be 11! Chris also had a Birthday on the same day. I won't brag about how old or mature he is. hehe
We spent a lovely Easter up North with the family. I was happy to see that most of their snow was already melted. Our kids had a great time on an Easter egg hunt, playing with their cousin-to-be, going on a 4-wheeler ride, and convincing Grandma to let them have as many snacks as they wanted. It will probably be summer before we get up there again. I am looking forward to spending a couple nice weekends up there this year. I think we may have even talked Grandma into coming down to Mankato for a few days to spend time at our house soon. It has been a while since she has stayed with us. Christian likes to tease me about having my "wicked" mother in law stay with us, but I really don't mind it. She helps me clean, paint, organize; and the kids enjoy having her here.
Chris and I are heading to Chicago in a few weeks to spend our 2nd Anniversary away from home. I am really looking forward to that too! We don't get much time away together, and after last summer...we both are in dire need of a get away!

Another Year older

So..I am not very good at posting on here anymore. I tend to keep really busy andI don't think of posting very often. Things are going alright so far this year. I just had a birthday, to yes that dreaded 30!! And they were all able to pull a fast one on me. I guess I didn't see it coming. I thought I was overly observant and wouldn't let them get me...but they did. The party was great fun. Many of you showed up to surprise me. Such wonderful family and friends. Thanks for sharing in on my dreaded day!!

We lost our beloved Grandpa Roger suddenly back in January. It was shocking for the whole family, as we had just celebrated his 75th Birthday a few days earlier.I hope he is taking good care of his great-grandsons for me! Love you Gramps!

Holly Dolly.....Holly participated in the science fair this year for the first time. We haven't heard the results yet, but either way...she did a great job in my opinion. This kid is so much smarter than I was at her age. She amazes me everyday!

Alyssa hasn't been spending much time with us lately. She is still living in the cities, so we only get her every other weekend. It is a cruddy situation, but we don't have much say in the matter. Hopefully we will get to catch up with her much more this summer.

Chris is still working both jobs, although the hours haven't been there like they were a few months ago. It is nice to have him home more often. Soon the wedding season will start, so he will be pretty busy again.

I have been doing pretty much what I do all the time. Work, Clean, projects, sleep, work, clean..... I seriously cannot wait for spring. The weather has been teasing us with nice weather....and then we get 6 inches of snow a few days later. UGH! I can't wait to get outside to start doing things again.
We took the girls to the Orphium Theaters production of "Annie" with Grandma Joanie. It was a great time! Too bad the little girl in front of us couldn't sit still. We had a hard time seeing, but it was a great show, and the girls loved it! I hope we can start taking them to more shows.
We have talked briefly about taking the family on a small little vacation this year, but are a little hesitant due to the wonderful economy. Maybe we will come up with somewhere where we can drive to in a few days, that won't cost a month's wages. Good luck with that right?!
Well, not much new news from us. Hopefullly in a few months we will have some good news to report, but for now.....
Love to you all.

A New Year

Well it is indeed a new year, and we can only hope that this one will be a whole lot better than the last year. Hooray to the end of the holidays. They were just so hectic, we didn't have much time to enjoy them. We did get to see some family that we don't see very often so that was nice. Our kids made out like bandits, like every year. They are spoiled....but I guess I am probably to blame for that one. I got a new camera, probably my favorite gift; but we have seemed to have misplaced our old camera with our SD card in it (I am beginning to believe it grew legs and ran away!), so all of our Christmas pics are temporarily lost.
The kids are back to school this week. Finally is all I am thinking. Just kidding. They are pretty good kids. They both got to spend some time together last week, which I think was good for them, but towards the end of the weekend, the arguing got to me. They tend to argue just like sisters do.
Chris and I are back to the full work weeks again. Chris had some time off from his part time job, but most of that time was spent traveling to all the Christmas gatherings. He did get to go to the disappointing Vikings game last Sunday, and we went to a casino and donated some money over Christmas week. This week he goes back to working both jobs. And I go back to being the bachelorette on the weekends. It will be nice this weekend to have some time to myself. I can finally get my tree down and my house thoroughly cleaned. Maybe I will find some friends who want to have a few cocktails with me too. :)
Until next time. If I can find that darn old camera, I will post some Christmas pics!

Winter

Well it has been a few months since I have posted. We are all getting ready for Christmas. I am almost done with my shopping, and got my tree up last night. It sure seems like more work every year. Maybe age is a factor. We finally have snow on the ground so it is starting to feel like the Holiday season. I should send the girls out to make a snowman. The girls are both excelling in school. Hardly any not so good reports. Next week I get to chaperone a trip to the Guthrie Theater to see "A Christmas Carol". That should be a good time. It is the first time I have had the chance to get away from work to attend an outing with Holly.
Alyssa still lives in the cities with her mom. It seems to be working out all right, but gets difficult sometimes to drive to get to see her. Chris is still busy working all the time. He hopes to be done working a second job soon. We all are waiting for that! I have been busy at work as well. Although I dont work as many hours as he does at my job, I sure seem to put in alot here at home. I am always finding things to do. I recently just redid my kitchen. There was some god-awful ivy wallpaper on the walls, that I just got tired of looking at; so I decided to take on the task of tearing all of that down and painting. It was a big job, but someone had to do it right? It took me 4 days, but I got it all done. I hope to redo my bathroom next, but I dont think Chris will be happy about that project. He thinks I take on too much.
Our Christmas schedule is hectic as usual. We go here, and there, and try to fit in all the gatherings that we can, but can never get to all of them. We head up north the week before Christmas to spend time with my in-laws, and then the week of Christmas we are all over the place. Our girls will make out like bandits again this year. Boy I dont remember ever getting as much as they do for Christmas. But Christmas is for the kids anyways, isnt it?
Well just thought I would leave a note to let everyone know that we are still alive and kicking. I will try to get on here more often....when I get time. :)

The Fall begins

Well it has been a few crazy months. We have been keeping pretty busy. The girls are off to school. Both are loving it, as much as any kid loves school. Holly informed me today that she got 230 points on the Math section of her NWEA testing, one of the highest scores in the 5th grade. Way to go Holly! They have both started Girl Scouts again also. Pretty soon we will be bombarded with fundraisers. Tis the season! Chris is still working many hours, but I think that is his calling. He seems to thrive on being incredibly busy, although it is tough being home alone so much without him. I have been working on some projects around the house as well as trying to lose some of the very much unwanted pregnancy weight. I managed to get my bedroom painted. I am now just waiting for the bedding to arrive so I can pick out curtains and wall hangings. I have started my fall decorating (my fav time of the year). I am hoping that Chris and the girls will again surprise me with hay bales and corn stalks for the yard. Before we know it, the snowflakes will be flying.
We took the girls to their very first Twins game a few weeks ago. It was a pretty exciting game, one of the last games of the season. I think they both enjoyed it, but were really more interested in all the snacks the dome had to offer. After they both got some cotton candy, I think they were pretty happy. It has been hard to get family time in with Alyssa being in the cities, Holly at her dad's every other weekend, and Chris working so much; but we are managing. This next weekend we are all together again, so hopefully we can do some much needed bonding!

Next Tuesday, will be a pretty tough day for me. It would have been my due date for the twins. I have decided to get a tattoo of the boys' footprints to signify the day. I have been thinking about it for a while now, and thought that day would be the perfect day to do it. I am a little nervous about it, but how bad can it really be? We still miss them very much. Life does get a little easier every day, but there are moments each day that I have to just sit down and take a deep breath to keep from crying.