One month old!

Zeke is one month old today. It's gone really fast, even faster when I think about how quickly my maternity leave is coming to an end. I'm so not ready to go back to work!

Kerry made it home safely from Grand Junction, in the snow last week. He drove over on Monday, spent the night and drove back home on Tuesday. It was fun to be able to spend that much time with the boys, but we were glad to see him walk through the door! He's done with work now until early February. Of course, he's still working hard at school! Getting closer to being done...

The boys are now on "Christmas break" from homeschool while we got back to Kansas for a visit. We're looking forward to heading back that direction, praying that the weather holds out. I have a doctor appointment on Monday and then we'll head back after that.

I'll post a couple of pictures of Zeke at 1 month old. Enjoy! See you (some of you) when we're back there. Love you all! If we don't get to see you, have a Merry Christmas and safe break!

--Erin

3 week update and first smile!

Hello all!
Things here are going well. I've posted a couple new slideshows of some recent pictures. Enjoy!

Gabe and Otto are getting back into the swing of things with school, just in time to take a Christmas break. :) We've been baking some sugar cookies and frosting them. I'm afraid they'll all be gone before we come back to Kansas, so we won't have many to share. Sorry! Otto has had a little bit of a cold this week, he's still got the energy to play, but a stuffy nose so he's kind of crabby.

Kerry is working a couple days here and there. He was in Denver on Wednesday and will be driving to Grand Junction on Monday or Tuesday. It's supposed to get colder and snow some more here so hopefully the weather will hold out before he goes. He's still plugging away at school. Finishing up some projects and such.

I've been doing okay too. My break is going by too fast! I have been trying to get a few things done for next semester so I don't have so much to do after school starts. I'm also teaching a few classes online over break so that's keeping me busy enough.

Zeke is doing great. Still waking every 3-4 hours or so during the night. Growing well. He's got a plugged tear duct like Gabe did so we're doing massage to try to get it to open. He also smiled at us for the first time this week, and we knew it wasn't gas. We actually thought he smiled on Wednesday, but you know how it is, Kerry and I were both "was that a smile?" But this morning he definitely smiled at me while I was talking to him. Kerry was holding him so we both saw it. It was really great because we could see it in his eyes first, they lit up! It was great!!

We'll be heading back to Kansas around the 22nd after my OB check up in Colorado Springs. I think we're going to take I-70 back, but we probably won't be in until later in the evening.

I think that's it for us. We love you!

--Erin

Zeke 3 weeks

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Our first snow

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

2 week well child check up date

Hello all!!
We took Zeke to his 2 week well child check today. He's doing great and looking perfect if I do say so myself. :)
He weighed 8lbs 11oz, he hasn't stretched out too much still 20 3/4 inches long. At this point he's 50th percentile for height, 50th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for head circumference (big surprise, family trait!)He's still waking every 3-4 hours to eat and is doing well otherwise.

Gabe and Otto are doing well too. They're getting a little stir crazy I think, we've been out of our "routine" for a couple weeks since Zeke was born. We're going to have to find a new routine in these next few weeks. :)

I survived my first day home along with all three eventhough it was for only a half day. Gabe and Otto were both sick with the flu that morning and Kerry got to come home early from work to help me. But, we survived!

I have been enjoying every minute I'm home with the boys. Makes me long for the day when I can stay at home full time (if that is in God's plan for us). I really do love being a mom. Don't get me wrong, I certainly enjoy my job, but would be just as happy cutting down to part time or quitting for a few years to stay home. Someday maybe. :)

Kerry is doing great! He's got a few days scheduled to work in the coming weeks. He'll be driving to Grand Junction the 15th or 16th. That's a 5-6 hour drive over Monarch pass. Pray for safe travel! And sanity for me. :) He's also taking a delivery to Denver this next week.

We're tentatively planning a trip back to Kansas for the 23rd through the 29th or so. We're still debating how we're going to get everything back without bringing the whole trailer home. We have a lot of stuff with a Zeke and our two big boys. Along with the dog and gifts for everyone. We'll figure it out I'm sure, it just might be a tight fit.

I'll try to post some pictures this week. We're going to have a little "birthday party" for Kerry tomorrow. He's finally going to catch up with his "old" wife. :)

Have a great weekend!!

--Erin

An update...

Hello all!
We're still surviving at the Rosfeld house. We enjoyed a visit this week from Kerry's parents for the Thanksgiving holiday. Thank you mom Rosfeld for "punting" when making the pumpkin pie and cooking the turkey. It was delicious! We're still enjoying the left overs from the 22lb turkey we had in our freezer!!

The boys enjoyed building a kinex tower with Papa Don and Daddy. It's still up in the basement, surprisingly enough with all the wrestling that goes on down here. We got some great pictures!!

Zeke is doing good. Getting too big for some of his newborn clothes already!! He's sleeping well at night about 3-4 hours at a time. He seems to have a tummy ache most evenings, but it isn't too bad. He's starting to have some more awake alert times which is lots of fun.

Gabe and Otto have enjoyed about 2 weeks off of school with the baby coming and Thanksgiving. We'll start back up again tomorrow and try to get into a little bit of a routine. Ha ha ha. :) Flexibility is the key word right?

Kerry goes back to work tomorrow, my grandparents are going to come down to help with the boys for the day. Tuesday will be my first official day home with all three of them. I've been experimenting with a couple different carriers for Zeke so that I can have some hands free time and still have him close. Although he does sleep well in his crib. I hate to put him down because I know I'm going to miss out on lots of cuddles when I go back to work in January (something I'm starting to dread already! Not that I hate my job, I just hate leaving my family.)

I'm recovering well. It's taken a little longer than I would have liked, but I'm feeling much more like myself these days. I'm not having to take pain medicine very often now and when I do it's been ibuprofen. The extra sets of hands have been very helpful so that I could get the rest I needed to recover.

Below you'll see another photobook of Papa Don and Grandma Mary's recent visit. Hope all is well. Love to all!!

--Erin

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Sorry so late

Okay, so for some reason we couldn't get into our blog from the hospital internet connection so we're a little late posting pictures. I posted a little slide show of Zeke's first few days in the hospital. Hope you think they're as cute as we do! :)

We are home now and things are going well. Zeke is waking up every 3 hours or so to eat, but sleeps pretty well in between. He was almost back to his birth weight on Monday. I got my staples out today. It's taking a little longer to recover from my c-section this time and I'm kind of impatient so I think I may have been over doing it a little this week. I'll try to take it easy this next week again though, we'll see how that goes!

The boys are adjusting well. Otto is completely in love with his little brother and loves to shower him with kisses and hold him as often as possible. Gabe is a little more cautious, although adjusting well. He's not as baby crazy though.

Kerry is doing well. Trying to catch up on some homework that was missed earlier this week due to our stay in the hospital. Who wants to work on homework when you could hold a baby?! I'm so lucky to have such a helpful and loving husband. He is very much in love with Zeke as am I.

We've spent lots of time after the boys are asleep watching the faces he makes and enjoying his "babyisms". It's such a delight to have a baby around again. Don't worry though, we're not neglecting the big boys either. They've had lots of cuddles, hugs and kisses too. They enjoyed some good wrestle time with Daddy tonight.

Hope all is well. We'll try to post more pictures and updates soon. Right now I have to go stare at my beautiful children. :)

Love to all,
Erin

Introducing Ezekiel Jackson

Make a Smilebox photobook

Today is the day!!

Hello all! Just a quick note thanking you for your prayers today! We're getting ready to go to the hospital in about an hour. My surgery will be at 1230 today. We'll post pictures as soon as we can and update about his name, size and vitals. :) It seems a little weird to be adding number three to the mix, but we're very excited. It's hard to imagine having another baby and going back to the diapers and crying. It's been 4 years!! We might be a little out of practice here. :)

Love you all...Next time I update we'll be a family of 5!!!

--Erin

5 days!

Hello all! Just a quick update a couple of pictures.

Things are going well here. Kerry worked this week on Wednesday and the boys and I headed to Colorado Springs for my doctor appointment. Everything looks good. Baby sounds good although slowing down in his activity. He's definitely running out of room!
My c/s is scheduled for the 19th at 1230. We have to be there by 1030, I'm really thankful we don't have to be there by 5 am! I gotta have my sleep. Although I'm not terribly excited about going without food for that long. It might make me grumpy. :)

We finished decorating our two Christmas trees today. The big one upstairs has fallen over "accidentally" once, other than that so far so good.

My mom is coming tomorrow and dad will follow next week. It's turned very cold here the last few days. It's been very windy reminding us a lot of Kansas. :) We're supposed to have another warm up this weekend and we'll see what next week holds for us.

So as promised here are a couple of pictures of my belly. I'm not planning on taking anymore before I deliver. I think the black is a little deceiving because I look and feel a lot bigger!

We'll keep you updated and will post pictures of the new little guy from the hospital on Wednesday. (We'll call too of course!)

9 days

Well, 9 days and counting until our c-section. So ready to meet this little guy!!

Kerry is doing well. Just finished another class and it starting another one. He's on the downhill stretch it looks like and man are we excited! He's started working on Monday and Wednesday at a business our pastor manages. It gets him out of the house and me into it for a couple days a week. We both enjoy the change. :)

Gabe and Otto are being their usual selves. It's been difficult lately because it's been cold and rainy they get a little stir crazy during the day. It was fun for me to do school with them today and be able to enjoy their energy! They have been working dutifully on picture frames for the new baby to bring to the hospital so he knows what they look like. They also helped put up our Christmas tree this past weekend. We have one upstairs in the living room. Otto put one outside (it's actually the top of one that broke off when we were cutting it down) and Gabe has one that we'll put in the basement (we don't have that one up yet).

I'm doing okay too. Getting bigger it seems by the day. Starting to itch a little bit more, but no where close to as bad as with Gabe. I am getting more uncomfortable and sleeping more than 2 hours at a time is getting to be a thing of the past. This baby feels bigger, but it could be because he's still so high. At my last appointment, the doctor said he's got a big head and that may be why he's not dropping. Great! Not that it matters because he's a c-section, but if he'd drop I'd be able to breathe a whole lot better. The bags are packed at least now, except for Kerry's stuff. We still need to get the car seat in the car and then we should be ready for him to be here. In the scheme of things I know that 9 days isn't terribly long, but it seems like forever! The good news is that my c-section isn't until 12:30, so we don't have to be at the hospital until 10:30. (yay for not getting up at 5am!)

I'm done with lectures at school. I just have a couple of tests to give and then I'll be ready for leave. I'm going to stick around this week and next Tuesday to work on my courses for next semester. I'm going to be teaching OB/peds in Canon City, 1st year med surg and 2nd year med/surg in Pueblo. Hopefully I won't have to do clinicals with a new baby. Three courses is a lot to prep, but 12+ clinical hour days plus driving to Canon may prove to be too much for me.

We're anxiously anticipating the visits from grandparents. My parents are coming this next weekend for a week or so and Kerry's folks are coming the week of Thanksgiving. The boys are excited too and it'll be really nice to have so many extra hands here! Plus my grandparents will be around too, so we are blessed with extra help eventhough we're so far away from Kansas.

We have most everything we need for the baby. The biggest thing I'm lacking at the moment is a good pump for when I go back to school. I have the one from when the boys were born, but I'm not sure it'll last the spring semester with as much as I'll be pumping. Other than that we're set. Mary, a lady I work with, had a very nice shower for me a few weeks ago. It was a lot of fun and I'm thankful she was willing to open her home and host it. I've had several students give gifts to the baby as well.

I think that's really it from our part of the country. It's starting to get colder, but not too bad yet. Please pray for Luke Chambers. He's the son of our pastor and his wife. He's in the marines and is currently in Iraq for the next 6 months and 2 weeks. :) He's doing what God has called him to do, but it can't be easy and we want him and his comrades to be safe. Also pray for a healthy delivery next week. Not that there's anything to be concerned about, but it's always on my mind as it comes closer. I certainly wouldn't object to prayers that I go into labor and he comes early. :) But it's okay if he doesn't too. (sort of). :)

We love you all! Have a great week! I'll try to get Kerry to take a couple pictures of our tree and my ever growing belly so you can see just how big I am. (seriously, I look like a walrus). :) Love you!
Happy Birthday Papa Kevin!!

--Erin

Updates

Hello all! I'm updating more than once a month this time!

Kerry preached a really great sermon this morning about the Holy Spirit. We're getting a copy and I may burn some for those who want it. He coached his last game of little league football this week and did great. He really seemed to enjoy it and the kids liked him. :) He's staying busy with school as usual and will be starting a part time job in a couple weeks. Our pastor manages a business that does fundraising for the local school system (the kind that sells cookie dough etc) and Kerry will be working 2 days a week to help pack orders and deliver them. He'll work on Monday and Wednesday through mid December and then start up again in February.

Gabe lost teeth number 2 and 3 this week, all on the bottom to make room for 1 big adult tooth to come in. Makes mom and dad a little nervous if you have to lose 3 to make room for 1! We'll see though. I'll try to post some pictures this week. He enjoyed football this fall and is asking to play some other sports this winter and spring. We'll see when they start and if we can afford it. :)

Otto is doing well. He is very happy today because he got a little Bible (like the Gideons hand out) today in church from Thaddeus (our pastor's son). He was asking for one yesterday because dad has one in his back pocket and because as he said "I'm little and I need a little Bible". Thaddeus gave Otto a little Bible this morning without knowing he's been wanting one, talk about the Holy Spirit at work! Otto has carried it everywhere and opens it up to "find" the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. He "reads" us stories about Jesus and keeps telling us that the scriptures are other words for the Bible. Guess he's learning a lot in homeschool and Awana's about Jesus! Praise the Lord! It really does warm our hearts to hear our kids singing praise songs everywhere they go.

I'm doing okay too. Getting bigger. :) Clinicals are over and one of my classes is coming to a close, so hopefully things will slow down a bit before the baby comes. My co-worker Mary threw a really nice baby shower for me this past Friday. It was nice to be able to get together outside of work and have a little fun. It was much appreciated. I am starting to itch a little though. I'm hoping it doesn't spread, but it does seem to be getting worse, although not as bad as with Gabe. Remember that rash!?! Praying it doesn't happen again, but I'm keeping a close eye on it just in case (not that there's anything I can do about it).

As for the baby, we have decided on a first name, but are still discussing the middle name. We gave the boys 3 choices for a first name several weeks ago and they both picked the same one. We'd bring it up occasionally to make sure they still liked it, and they never wavered. So now we're working on deciding a middle name. We do have it narrowed down to 3 choices.
I'm working on finishing up a few projects before he gets here like sewing a couple hooded towels, making "big brother" t-shirts for Gabe and Otto, and painting the letters for his room.

I think that's all for now. Pray for me this week as I have parts 2 and 3 of my root canal on Thursday. I'm not overly excited, but it has to be done. I'm just hoping it goes quickly and painlessly. We'll talk to you all soon we hope! We will be taking the boys trick or treating this Friday, hopefully it won't be too cold. We'll post some pictures as soon as we decide what they're going to be.

Have a great week!

--Erin

Football slideshow

Here's a slideshow of the shots from Gabe's last football game. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

30 days...

Well, 1 month from today we will be welcoming our new little baby to the world! Hard to believe, but it seems like a long time from now but at the same time like it's coming up fast. I had an OB appointment this last week. Everything looks good. He's head down (not that it matters), heart beat sounds good and he's running out of room (don't I know it!). He's moving around well and still active, although fewer sharp kicks and more "rolls". I'm feeling okay, although uncomfortable. It's getting harder to sleep at night and I'm tired during the day, but that's to be expected. I'm done with clinicals now which is a relief and I'm coming to the end of one of my lecture classes so that should lighten my load a bit.

Kerry is still working hard at school and home. He's working on his sermon for next week. He'll be preaching on the Holy Spirit and the EFCA's viewpoint. I'm glad I get to go. He's doing a great job with the boys and school. They've been tracking the weather lately, so if anyone wants an update of the current conditions in Pueblo, give them a call and they can tell you! The last little league game is next Saturday. They played a double header this last weekend, and won both games (although technically no one keeps score).

Gabe lost his 2nd tooth on Friday morning. He's waiting to put it under his pillow for when Papa Kevin comes out (he thinks the toothfairy pays more then). He made two touchdowns this last weekend in his games. I'll try to post some pictures after I get Kerry to download them to the computer. Gabe is really enjoying school and learning to write "new" letters. He's learning them in cursive which is just enough of a challenge for him that he finds it enjoyable. He's also doing well in math and in general. We're keeping a notebook of all the work he and Otto are doing, so if you want to see their latest work they'd be happy to show you!

Otto is still his crazy self. He often asks if school is over, he's not much for the workbook kind of stuff, so we're still modifying what he needs to do. He's only 3 so the worksheet kind of stuff isn't as important. He does like drawing his letters on the white board. He's also showing a big interest in music, so we're trying to tap into that as much as possible without a keyboard. He does a lot of dancing and singing. It makes our hearts happy to hear both of our boys singing worship songs in the back seat of the car. It really is delightful!

Both boys are having fun in Awana's this year. Kerry has incorporated their Bible verses into the Bible curriculum during the school week, so they're learning the verses really well. Otto has even started picking up some on Gabe's. We've been having discussions about Moses and Noah and creation. It's amazing how much they know and Kerry really enjoys teaching it to them!!

I have a dentist appointment this week. It is a very long story, but I have a piece of dental equipment (ie file used to drill out for a root canal) stuck in my mouth. So I'm meeting with an endodontist tomorrow to see if he can get it out safely while I'm pregnant. I'm a little nervous as most of you know how I feel about the dentist in general. It's been a rough week as far as my mouth is concerned. I am taking antibiotics (totally safe with the baby) and waiting. My OB does know what's going on so we'll see how it turns out.

Share Colorado is going well as a church ministry. We've seen our orders steadily increasing each month and more so due to the economy as well. We really enjoy providing such a service to our community.

I think that's about it from our end. We're still finishing up the baby's room and I'm planning on making some t-shirts for the boys to wear when they come see him. No we haven't picked a name yet. We are getting it very close to being narrowed down to 2 or 3 options. The boys have a definite favorite, but we haven't decided yet. It is guaranteed to be unique. :)

Have a great week!

--Erin

Updates...

Just a few updates for our family...

Gabe has started flag football and is really enjoying it this season. He had his second game today and scored a touchdown! (Talk about a proud dad and mom!) He had a week off school this past week because Kerry had some work to get done at the cabin. They'll get back at it this week. That's the beauty of homeschooling! They can take breaks and then start back in, had he been in public school Kerry wouldn't have been able to go up to work.

Otto is still Otto. :) He's enjoyed his week off from school too. We are working on getting him into gymnastics either this fall or early next year. He seems to really have a talent for tumbling and balance. Kerry came downstairs the other day to find him standing on the rocker arm balancing on it like a surf board. No fear!!

Kerry is still hard at school work and doing all the things great dads do. He's finishing one class this week and starting another one. He's getting so close to being done and I'm so proud of him! He's also coaching Gabe's football team and doing a great job. He works so well with the kids, even without a consistent assistant coach. I look at all the things he's doing and count myself lucky to have him. He works hard at everything he does. The other day in the car the boys used a word like "huge" and he asked what some other words were for huge. They came up with gigantic, massive, big, and Goliath! :) I was so impressed not only with them, but with Kerry for coming up with neat ways for them to learn and expand their little brains. He's so awesome!

I'm doing okay. Keeping busy with school during the week and clinicals on Sundays. I only have 3 more weeks left of the 12 hours clinicals on Sunday. I enjoy this group, but it is very exhausting. The students graduating in December have asked me to speak at their pinning on Dec. 5th, which makes me feel like they maybe don't all hate me. :) I have two more weeks of med/surg lecture, but have lots of tutoring as well, which I enjoy. I'm getting more uncomfortable, but trying hard not to complain (although I know I do). The baby seems to be high, so it's hard for me to catch my breath a lot of the time.

I saw the midwife at my last appointment because my doctor was out of town. The baby is growing well, I'm measuring ahead which is good because I've been a little concerned with how poorly I've gained weight. I know, I know, I should be thankful, but I lost again last month (so now instead of being up 4lbs I'm only up 2lbs from when I started). I want to make sure the baby is getting what he needs to grow and develop. They assured me that my body will feed him before it feeds me, so he should have what he needs. The did tell me to eat more though, I already feel like I eat all the time! He's moving around well. The midwife thought he was probably breech, which wouldn't surprise me with as active as he is. It doesn't really matter too much since I'm having a c/s and there is plenty of time for him to flip back around. No names yet. We're still debating. We have it narrowed down to about 2 or 3, but haven't looked at the baby name book for a while so we might add a couple more before it's all over. :)

We've had some visitors over the last couple of weeks, which has been lots of fun! Mom and Dad came to visit and then Luke and Jenna stopped in with Adalynn on their way to the cabin. They got to see Gabe play in his game today, and he was really proud to have them there. It was also nice to see such a cute baby! My grandparents came down for Gabe's first game too, which was nice. He didn't play as well, but he called them today to tell them about his touchdown! He can't wait for them to come watch him play again because he says "now I know what I'm doing."

Well, I think that's about it for us. We start going to the doctor every 2 weeks, so my next appt is the 17th. Then we'll start every week until baby day, which is still scheduled for the 19th of November. It's *only* 6 weeks from Wednesday, although it doesn't seem long to everyone else, it seems like forever to me! We'll be sure to keep you updated and as soon as Kerry uploads the pictures from the football game and the trees changing we'll post them.

--Erin

Busy busy busy!

Hello all!

We have been really busy these last few weeks. Kerry is doing a great job teaching the boys in school. Gabe is writing cursive really well, still working on our first few letters, but doing a great job. Otto kind of hates the writing part, but does well. I think it's because he has to sit still. :) They both are really enjoying science and social studies. They're getting really good at math too!

Kerry is taking a very intense class about Acts and Pauline literature. There is a lot of reading, so he's keeping very busy there too. He is also going to be coaching Gabe's little league flag football team this fall. He'll have 13 little boys on his team, and as of right now is the only coach. :) He'll do a great job I know. He has practice on Thursday nights and they'll have games on Saturday mornings. He's also getting ready for a sermon on Oct. 26 on the Holy Spirit.

The boys have also started Awanas again. Gabe is now in Sparkies and Otto is in Cubbies. They each have verses to memorize and activities to do to earn their patches. They go there on Wednesday evenings and have a great time playing with other kids and learning about God.

I am still busy teaching. Clinicals started a week ago, so I have 12 hour clinicals on Sundays until the end of October. (I'll be 35 weeks when I'm done). It's with a 2nd year group and I've had them before so it's enjoyable. I am teaching during the week too, but am taking Mondays off and will start taking Fridays off after I get check offs done in a week or two. I look forward to M, W and F because I can sleep in on those days. :) I'm also teaching 2 courses online for Kaplan, so 2 nights a week I have to have seminar (or lecture) online. Monday nights and Wednesday nights while the boys are at Awanas. Those classes will be over the week the baby comes in November. I was also asked by the part time group to be the faculty speaker at their pinning in December (2 weeks after baby comes). I was very flattered to be asked and am looking forward to doing it.

The baby is busy growing! He's still very active, but seems to be staying head down. I can feel his feet in my ribs and his head hits my hip when he has the hiccups (a common occurrence these days). I am starting to feel more uncomfortable. This guy seems a little higher than either of the boys ever were at this stage and he "feels" bigger. I guess we'll see. I might be surprised with a little fry, but we'll see. My next appointment is Oct. 1. Dr. B will be on vacation that week so I get to see his nurse midwife, which will be fun. I've been having some contractions, but nothing regular or too painful for too long. When I think that 8 weeks from this coming Wed we'll have a baby it seems really close. But then I think of all that is going to be done in the next 8 weeks...whew!

Well, I think that's a quick update on our activities as of late. Hope all is going well with everyone! We love you all.

--Erin

Baby Rosfeld pictures

Sorry about the white space around the pictures, not sure how to fix that, but you can see them anyway. :)



Yawning


Back of his neck


Grumpy face


Pursed lips



Grin

3D sono

Hello all! Sorry again that it has been so long since we posted. We have had visitors and started school in the past few weeks so it's been busy!!

Kerry's parents came to see us over labor day weekend. It was great to have them for a visit and the boys enjoyed seeing them (so did we). We were able to take them to the mountains for a day or so and enjoy so very cool weather there.

The boys started homeschool last week and are really enjoying it. Kerry is too. He's doing a great job. The second day of school Gabe asked when he was going to learn a new letter because he already knew the letter I. :) He did really well with his cursive writing too and math! We're keeping a little portfolio of sorts to share with family members who are curious about their progress and what they're learning. They're happy to show it off!

School for me started two weeks ago and it's been fast and furious! I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water for right now and clinicals will be starting soon too. My long days are Tuesdays, but I enjoy what I'm teaching. I think it stretches me as much as it does the students sometimes. :) Esp. with pharmacology II.

We had our 3D/4D sonogram today. Everything looks good. The baby has big lips. :) He also as some little fat rolls on the back of his neck. We got to see him making some really great faces too, he grinned, he looked grumpy and he blew kisses. :)I'll try to make a slide show for you to see them all and will post the video to youtube this week. (I hope).

My parents are here now visiting and will be here most of this next week. It'll be nice to have them here, the boys sure enjoy playing with them. I think Kerry and the boys will be headed up to the cabin later this week to get some work and playing done. I'll stay here and work on school stuff this week.

We'll talk to you all later! We love you all and are counting down the days until the baby gets here. (10 weeks from Wednesday).

--Erin

Sorry it's been so long...

I know I know, we haven't posted in forever. Sorry about that! We've been busy finishing up our summer. Kerry has been working in the mountains and I've been teaching and getting ready for a new semester. The boys have been busy playing...So here in a nutshell is what we've been up to...

* Kerry has poured concrete, stained a cabin and started on another. He's also taken 2 classes and is starting his next set. He also preached a really great message in chapel about David and Saul, using I Samuel 15:8-30. I wish I would have recorded it, but it was really good. He'll be preaching again at church in October and will have more opportunities to do so in the future.

* I finished teaching my high risk OB/Peds class in mid July. I'll be teaching 2nd year med/surg and 2nd year pharmacology this fall. We've hired 2 new faculty, one will be our clinical coordinator and the other will be the Psych Tech Coordinator and teach first year pharmacology. I'm really looking forward to working with them. I think they'll really add to our team at PCC. I'm feeling okay still. Getting bigger, but doing okay. We'll see how that goes when I'm on my feet in clinicals and teaching all day. :)

* Gabe is doing good. We're going to be homeschooling this year and will officially start after Labor Day, although everyday is a learning day at our house. This last week they have been "lizard hunting" for a small lizard we could study and then let go. We'll see how that goes. He lost his first tooth on August 9. He pulled it all by himself with some dental floss. He put the tooth and the letter he wrote to the tooth fairy under his pillow. Then, afraid she wouldn't be able to find it moved it to a much more obvious (in the daylight) spot. Unable to find the tooth and letter, she left money and a note saying she'd be back the next night for it. :) He has a 2nd tooth loose as well and I suspect it'll be out by Thanksgiving.

* Otto is just being himself. Very active, especially since watching gymnastics in the olympics. We've had some tumbling and attempted handstands this week. He's actually pretty good. It scares me a little, cause he's not known for staying out of the ER, but we'll see. He's also been "lizard hunting" this week with Gabe and Kerry. He will also be participating in homeschool taught by daddy this year. He will definitely have a different learning style, but is just as excited as Gabe. He would really like to be able to play football this year at the YMCA, but is still too young, so I imagine they'll be playing in the backyard quite a bit.

*Baby boy is growing well. Very active and kicking, but right on track. Our next look at this little guy will be Sept. 8th for our 3D/4D sonogram. I think my mom is going to head out so she can see it. They'll put the pictures on a CD/DVD for us, so we'll post them for all to see then too. Can't wait! We have his clothes washed and in his room. We haven't set up the crib yet, but I'm sure Kerry will get it done in all his "free" time.

The state fair starts here this week, so we'll probably go to that one day in the next week or so. School at PCC starts on Monday, faculty were back this past week. I don't feel very prepared this semester so am feeling a little anxious. I'm sure I'll be doing a lot more work this weekend than I would like. :)

We hope everything is going well for all of you. We promise to try to be a little more timely in our posting. :) I'm posting a picture of toothless Gabe for you to enjoy. He's very proud of the hole in his mouth. :)

Love to all,
Erin

Checking in

Hello all!
Sorry it's been so long since the last update. We've made it to Kansas and back and are now getting ready for school. Kerry has a lot of work to do in the mountains, which is a blessing, but also exhausting. He's going to build a shed, finish staining not one but 2-3 cabins, build a deck and possibly put some new plumbing in. Quite the handy man!
I'm working on organizing Gabe's school stuff for this next year, eventhough Kerry is going to be doing most of the teaching. I'm the organizer. :) I'm also working on prepping my courses for this fall. I will have a full scheduled which will be nice, but I feel kind of like I'm learning all over again. I've taught these courses already, but since I was so new last year and we've switched text books I'm revamping them quite a bit. Such is life.
My goal to sew cloth diapers this summer is quickly fading, although I still might get a few done before the little guy gets here. If not, we'll use the flat diapers we have. I do have to say, we have all of the baby clothes, blankets etc washed. They just aren't put away yet. Still, a big feat considering how many we have. Now we just have to hang them up and find a place for everything.
The boys are doing well. Gabe is hanging out. Wanting to go swimming and lately do a lot of crafts. (We spent the other evening gluing buttons on paper and Popsicle sticks). Otto is talking, talking, talking. Not like he was ever quite, but wow! Lots to say and big imagination. (Of course you all knew that, but it seems to be growing.)
We hope all is well with you. We'll try to get some pictures taken and posted in the coming weeks. We're still unpacking a lot so house pictures aren't quite ready. Love you all!

--Erin

Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

It's a BOY!!

Hello all.

We got our visual confirmation this morning that we are having boy number 3. We are very excited! (The thought of having a girl kind of freaks us out a little. :)). Otto was excited to hear the news as well. Jumping up and down yelling "it's a boy! it's a boy! I like boys!". The boys were able to watch the whole sonogram and they enjoyed it. Gabe was really good at guessing what body part we were looking at. Everything looked good and healthy. Brain, heart, lungs, kidneys etc. all there and working like they should. The sonographer works for our doctor 2 days a week and the other 3 days works at the high risk clinic doing sonograms, so she was very thorough. We're measuring right on at 21 weeks.

We also tentatively scheduled our c/s date for November 19 so this little guy will share a birthday with Uncle Brandon and our OB doctor.

Here are a few pictures of the little guy...

Profile

Profile 2

Profile 3

Boy Parts

We'll bring the other pictures with us when we come back to visit this Friday. We think he looks a lot like Otto's profile pictures did. We'll have to wait a few more months to find out. :) We'll also bring pictures of our new house. We got all moved in and are slowly unpacking.

We're praising the Lord for another healthy boy and are praying that the rest of this pregnancy goes well. Praise God for new life (and boys!). We are really excited, now if we could just decide on a name...

Love,

Erin

Hot Hot Hot!

It's been really warm here the last week. Gabe started swimming lessons on Tuesday, but we only made it to two out of four. He was sick. He started running a fever and complaining his stomach hurt. He's still running the fever, but acting more like himself. This is day 5 of the fever though, so we'll see what happens. We did take him to the doctor who said to come back Monday if the fever is still there.

Kerry and Otto went to the mountains this weekend. They're helping do some work for Grandpa. Kerry will be traveling this week to St. Louis for the church conference. Grandma and maybe Grandpa will be coming down to help me with the boys while I teach class this week. Gabe has swimming lessons again this week too.

We have been to the pool a couple times as a family. Both of the boys are doing pretty good in the water. Gabe is going under pretty well and jumping into the pool (where he can touch and if he's bribed with $1). Otto has gone under a few times too, but only for $1 :).

We're in the process of packing to move the week after Kerry comes back, so our house is in more disarray than usual. It's a lot harder to pack than it is to unpack. Anyone who'd like to help us move is welcome. :)

I'm still teaching class as well, so that's keeping me busy. I'm also gearing up to teach a few more classes online (so much for summer vacation right?). I'll be teaching two for Kaplan and two or three for Hutch. It's a nice supplement to my income throughout the year. If I could do it fulltime and stay home, I would certainly consider it believe me. Maybe it'll be a possibility next year, we'll see.

Right now our plans are to come back to Kansas around the 18th or 19th of July. I will be at a test item writing workshop for a national testing company in Kansas City on the 20th-22nd. Then we'll stay for the rest of the week and be home in time to help with sharecolorado. Hopefully we'll get some good visits in, but it will feel like a short trip I'm sure.

My next doctor appointment will be on July 14, with the "big" ultrasound. We haven't decided if we're going to tell anyone what we're having, but we're definately going to find out. It's killing us not to know! Everything is going well. I'm feeling better, but still don't have much of an appetite. I'm still having a lot of food aversions (I just don't want to eat) rather than the nausea now. I was down about 5lbs from 4 weeks ago, I've never lost weight in pregnancy. My doctor didn't seem too concerned though, we'll see what happens in the next month.

I've been working hard on our church website. If you want to check it out, it's www.thepeakchurch.com I am still adding some pages and putting some finishing touches on it, but I don't think it looks too bad since I'm not really a webmaster kind of person. It's been a steep learning curve for sure!

I hope all is going well with you. I'll try to post some pictures and more updates. We'll definately be posting pictures of our new house when we get there. Wish us luck packing! It's hard to stay motivated when it just gets messier and messier the more you do. We love you all.

--Erin

Busy Summer

Sorry we haven't updated in a while. We've been plenty busy trying to keep everything a float at our house. The last two weekends we've had a garage sale trying to get rid of some "miscellaneous antiquities" before we move in a couple weeks. My grandparents have also contributed to the stuff and have helped with the sale.

We've been spending our Wednesday evenings watching my cousing Maggie play softball here in Pueblo. Her family lives in Colorado Springs, but she plays in a league that comes here to play. The boys are enjoying going to "watch" and play with the other kids.

I went through the various school supplies we have so we know what we need to buy for next year this past week. We're lacking a few things, but we were able to save some money. I think I might be looking foward to homeschooling next year more than Kerry. :) I will be doing some of the teaching in the evenings with the boys.

I have another doctor appointment on Monday, so hopefully all with go there.

Kerry has been busy working on a sermon for this Sunday. He is preaching because our pastor will be out of town for his anniversary. Actually, they're going to stay at mom and dad's cabin, but Kerry gets to be the "sub" this week. Kerry will also be leaving on the 23rd of June to go to St. Louis as a church delegate for an EFCA church conference. He'll come home on the 27th.

We're trying to plan a camping trip or two before school starts for me in August. I'm going to a test item writing workshop for ATI at the end of July. So it seems like our summer is filling up fast! We're still planning on coming back to Kansas for a visit sometime, but we're not sure when just yet. You're all welcome to come visit too! (It's lots cooler here). :)

We love you all and hope you're having a great summer!

--Erin

Trip to the zoo

Gabe's school got cancelled yesterday due to an outbreak of pink eye and illness. So after running a few erands in the morning we headed off to Cheyenne Mountain zoo. It's a pretty zoo built on the side of a mountain. Which means a lot of uphill walking! Kerry and I got our workout pushing the boys up the hill in the strollers. We got to see lots of animals up close and the boys got to hold a hissing cockroach, touch several snakes and geckos. It rained a little an we got holed up in a building that is mostly hands on so they enjoyed that a lot! They also got to feed a hawk crickets which was neat to watch. In fact, we were so busy watching we didn't take too many pictures. I'll get Kerry to put them on my computer and I'll upload them this weekend hopefully.

Gabe did have school today, but still quite a few kids gone. This evening we went to Pastor Craig and Denise's house for dessert and to discuss the website Kerry and I are building for our church. The boys had a great time playing with toys and jumping on the basement couch! In fact, the first words out of Gabe's mouth as we were crossing the street to leave were "when are we coming back again?"

I'm working on putting the finishing touches on lectures for my summer class that starts next week. We're also planning on going up to the cabin this weekend for some R&R! Ha ha. Actually, Kerry is going to be working and I'll probably be getting ready for class. Next week is Gabe's last week of school and D day for SHARE. It will be a busy week so a weekend in the mountains sounds nice.

Have a great week(end).

--Erin

Our day

Today was a busy day for us! I had to be at work by 0900 to be on an interview committee for a new faculty member.
Kerry and the boys came to pick me up so they could take me to my doctor's appointment in Colorado Springs. They had a little trouble hearing the heartbeat so we did another sonogram. The reason it was so hard to hear is because the doctor was looking too low! So our little baby isn't as small as he thought. Everything looked good. Baby was moving around a lot, so much so it was hard to get a good "listen" the the heartbeat. It was kind of neat though, the baby put it's hand up and we could see all five fingers and his/her hand. Amazing at 13 weeks!

Kerry treated me out for lunch and then we headed to the mall to look at a couple of things for Kerry. He wanted to get a weight lifting bar for his weights so he can "buff" up. :)

We came home and went to look at another potential rental house, but we didn't like it as much as we liked the first one. We're still keeping our fingers crossed we'll be able to get into that one.

We're getting ready to give Jenny a haircut and bath because it's getting so warm and we're trying to save a little money by not having someone else do it. It might be worth it though when we're done. We'll see. Gabe said he'd brush her teeth.

Things are going well here otherwise. Kerry is still doing well with school, writing papers and doine lots of reading! I'm working on the website for our church. It's definately a learning experience for me!

We love you all and hope you had a great weekend!

--Erin

Another week begins

We had a great weekend in the mountains. It was a little cool, but most of the snow is gone now. It was 82 here today, but now we have a cold front moving in so it's windy and cooling off quickly.
Kerry and I drove by a couple of houses that are rent to own here in Pueblo West. We need to talk to the owner about the terms of the rent to own part of it and look at them, but they look promising.
I went to work for a bit today, but will probably stay home the next couple of days and work from home. I'm getting ready for my summer classes, but also want to enjoy the break while I have one.
Kerry is still working hard at school. He's got a few papers due in the next few weeks so he's trying to keep up with reading and the boys during the day. :)
We're still looking for some homeschool curriculum. Right now we're still leaning towards Abeka since that's what we're familiar with and like. Both of the houses we drove by today have a basement so it'd be a great place to "set up" our homeschool classroom.
That's pretty much the news from here. Still not feeling too hot, and hoping this will start slowing down before too long (I'm 12 weeks today). I have another appointment next Monday.

Love you all.

Erin

Headed to the mountains

We're headed to the mountains this weekend! We'll leave after Gabe is done with school tomorrow and then spend the weekend at the cabin with Grandpa and Grandma. I think Kerry is going to be helping Grandpa open some cabins and do a little work up there.

Gabe didn't have school today because his teacher's daughter is sick. So it was nice to be home as a family today. The boys had fun playing outside and we did a little "school work" before lunch. It looks like they are going to be moving more towards a home school co-op, where we will homeschool our kids and then meet as a group 1-2 times per week. Those days we'll focus on things we may not be able to do at home, like music, art, science and foreign language. So we're looking at different homeschool curriculum for the boys. We'd like to start something with Otto and Gabe both. So if anyone has suggestions, we're open to them. :)
With the co-op the boys will still be able to get together with their friends and we can still go on field trips as a group.

The boys got their awards at Awana last night, which is our Wednesday night church group. Gabe will move to Sparkies next year and Otto will stay in Cubbies. We had 3 highschool kids get Citation awards and 4 get Timothy awards. The Citation awards are for Seniors who have memorized over 700 verses, read and summarized all of the books of the Bible. It's a really big deal and very special to have so many from our group get them.

I'm teaching online for HCC again this summer as well as getting my summer course for PCC ready to go. Kerry is still working on his online classes and will have a paper due again this weekend. Gabe only has about 2 or 3 more weeks of school leftbefore he's on summer break. They will have a little awards night at the end of the month.

Things here are going well. We're slowly going through things trying to get ready for a garage sale sometime this summer. We're also looking for another house to rent because we need a little more room. We may just stay here too, especially if our house in Kansas doesn't sell. But be assured, we're not planning on moving back. :) We do really like it here. If we can't get it sold, we'll try to rent it out again for another year and sell it next summer.

We hope all is going well with you. We love you and are looking forward to seeing you at the end of the month.

--Erin

I survived (sort of)

Well students are officially done for the spring semester at PCC. Most of them will be returning for summer semester in a few weeks. I have survived my first year teaching full time nursing. It certainly wasn't without it's bumps or challenges (one or two that may not be over yet), but all in all it was a good year. I learned a lot and hopefully taught a lot to the students. I attended graduation on Friday and Pinning for our Canon City group on Saturday. Pinning for the Pueblo students is the 18th of this month. I am looking forward to teaching again this summer, and will be working on preparing for that course in the coming weeks. Grades are due Monday and faculty development are Tuesday and Wednesday of this next week. We'll also meet several times throughout the summer to discuss course development and make sure all three campuses are on the same page.

Gabe still has school until the end of the month. Kerry is teaching for another week and then I'll go back and we'll finish up the body (I think). They had a parent meeting the other night to discuss our options as a school. I think the parents who are there all the time are getting burnt out. They decided that we will try to fund raise like crazy this summer and attempt to go tuition free next year. They also talked about shortening the week, but lengthening the days. So, if we return Gabe will go Tues, Wed, and Thurs. from 0800 to 4pm. Kerry would have to volunteer one whole day a week, which probably wouldn't be a problem the first semester, but second semester would be harder with a new baby. Also, I'm not crazy about having a baby around a school full of kids during cold and flu season. We're going to pray about it and try to raise money this summer and see what happens. Our other option is for Kerry and I to homeschool the boys, or send Gabe to public school. We're not really even considering the last option at this point. Please pray that a clear answer will make itself known to us.

The boys are doing well otherwise. Enjoying the nicer weather outside these days. Otto has been going with Kerry when he teaches. Otto then spends his time in Gabe's classroom with the older kids and really likes it. I think he talks more than Gabe and has a little more attitude, but seems to do well.

Okay so prepare yourself for some news you're not going to believe...Ready?.... Kerry and I (Kerry!) sang in a mixed quartet this morning in church! He did a great job. We sang with another couple Ruth and Jude. Ruth teaches nursing at CSU-Pueblo (our "rival" not really, nursing school) and Jude teaches engineering there. I kind of agreed to sing before Kerry could object, but we sang Rock of Ages and it sounded really good. Kerry had to sing tenor, which was a little different for him, but he did good. :) So Mom Rosfeld, if you can find an alto and baritone to sing you might be able to convince him to sing once when we come home.

Kerry started his classes this week. Just one for this spring so he can work up in the mountains with Grandpa, but I think he'll enjoy the class. He's going to take 1 more class later on this summer and then will take 4 in fall.

Pastor Craig asked Kerry and I to go to a church leadership conference in St. Louis this summer. I wont' be able to go, but Kerry might in June. We'd have to pay for the flight and hotel (which could get expensive) and the church will pay for the cost of the registration fee. If we can afford it he'll probably go. It'd be a good conference for him to attend with Pastor Craig so we'll see. I'd like to go too, but I have to teach two out of the 3 days the conference is going on so it probably wouldn't work, unless I can find someone to sub for me. We'll see though, that would also double our cost to go.

I think that's about all that's been happening at our house the last week. We love you all and can't wait to see you at the end of the month.

--Erin

Share Colorado Today

SHARE Colorado today was a success! We only had 4 orders total, but it was a good way to start out.
We went to see my cousin Maggie play softball this afternoon. It was very windy and kind of cool, but the boys had fun and so did we. They won their first tournament game so they were happy. She is the oldest on the team, most of her team members are 7th and 8th graders and she's a Freshman so she has to show a lot of leadership.
It's supposed to get down to 24 tonight, so it's going to feel like winter for a little while tomorrow morning. Parts of the mountains are getting snow this afternoon and evening.
I'm working on my last lecture for the semester and will be writing finals this week. I also have careplans to finish grading and evaluations to do this weekend. I'll actually probably work on them tomorrow for a while and then I'm going to Canon City to a "farewell" party for one of our facult members who is quitting after this semester.
We hope to talk to you all soon.
--Erin

End of week

Hello All!
One week down, One to go (until graduation)! I must admit I'm ready for summer break, eventhough I'll be teaching most of it. I'm looking forward to it though as I'll be teaching high risk OB/Peds to our part time students. I've been writing finals this week and finishing up paperwork. Grading careplans! Whoa! There's no easy way to do it (or quick). Lots of reading and marking and whew! I've also been doing some tutoring to help students get ready for finals.
My office is a mess, which drives me crazy. I hate working in a mess, but there's no other way to do it. I have to make a pile here and a pile there. I have one more clinical day, next Wednesday in first year OB. That means one more morning of getting up at 0430, I'm so not a morning person.

Gabe had a field trip today to the Children's Museum and Sangre De Cristo art center. Otto, Dad and I got to tag along. It was pretty interesting and fun. The kids got to watch a clay bowl be made and then make birds that will be fired and sent to the school for them to bring home. Gabe was quite the artist and put a lot of effort into detail and wings on his bird. Otto did pretty good too, but instead of "pressing gently" with the knife to create texture, ended up "stabbing" the little guy. :) It was still cute. I'll try to post some pictures of the adventure yet this weekend.

Kerry is going to be starting classes this next week and we have our first SHARE Colorado distribution this weekend. We don't have too many orders, but they assure us that it takes a little while to build up our distribution list.

The weather is really warming up and it's starting to feel like spring and early summer here. Which means we're having to water the lawn more. We've had someone out here to fix the sprinkler system because not everything getting wet, and you can tell. Kerry isn't fond of standing out there with a hose to water either.

We hope everyone has a great weekend!

Love you all.--Erin

Baby pictures

Our new niece!

Adalynn Grace Lehrman


Hello all!
We had a wonderful weekend visiting our new niece in Kansas this weekend. Adalynn is adorable! I wasn't feeling well, but holding a new baby seemed to help a little. :)

We had another appointment today for our baby. We had a sonogram and I'm also posting pictures of our little bean as well. Only one baby in there. The doctor printing some extra pictures for the boys as well so they can have one to show off. We've never had a sonogram this early, so it was exciting to see his/her heart beating. We could also see him/her moving around. It was so cool to see it wiggle and bend. The boys thought it was pretty cool too, although I'm not sure Otto knew what he was looking at. Other than that everything else looked fine.

The weather here today was pretty nice. A little breezy, but not too bad. I go back to work tomorrow. Hopefully my medicine will still be working and I won't be so sick. The boys are "working" outside this afternoon.

Have a great week! We'll post some more later this week. Only two more to go until graduation!

--Erin

Our little bean

If you look closely, you can see the little arm and leg "nubbins" in the top picture.

We have a new niece

Adalynn Grace Lehrman made her appearance late last night. She weighed 9 lbs 9 1/2 oz and was 19 inches long. Jenna had a long labor and eventually a c-section under general anesthesia. They are recovering today. Luke is doing fine although he is disappointed that he was unable to be with Jenna during the surgery. They all three are tired. We may be heading back this weekend to see the new baby as it will be a little while before we could come back again.

I will post pictures a little later when I get them by email. We love you all and thank you for your prayers and thoughts.

--Erin

They're here!

My grandparents made it here safely this afternoon. The boys didn't get a nap this afternoon because they were so excited. Kerry grilled hamburgers for supper and then we made strawberry shortcake for desert! It was great.

I'm adding some pictures of Gabe's new bruise and broken nose. He's doing better, but looks pretty rough. :)

It's supposed to warm up this weekend and this next week. It'll be nice to be able to get outside with the boys, although it means more yard work too. Hopefully we'll have some nice days and be able to look at some potential houses. We're hoping to move this summer because we'll be needing a bigger house and our rent is going up. We'd like to sell our house in Kansas and then buy one here.

We're hoping everything is going well for everyone. We love you all. Have a great weekend!

Broken nose

Gabe had his first trip to the ER this week on Wednesday. He fell off the couch and hit his nose on the coffee table. They are pretty sure it's broken, but it looks like it will heal on its own. He's very swollen and bruised today. He stayed home from school yesterday, but went today. We've been giving him ibuprofen and tylenol to try to keep him comfortable. I'll try to post a picture of my bruiser later today.

Things otherwise are going pretty well. I actually have this weekend off, which I'm thankful for. I feel like I've been running on fumes this last week. My grandparents are going to be here tomorrow. We were hoping Jenna would go into labor this week so we could make a quick run back to Kansas to see a new baby. We're still thinking of you Jenna and sending labor vibes this week. :)

I'm enjoying the delights of morning sickness. I've been much sicker this time than with the boys. I have been taking some medicine, but it doesn't seem to be terribly effective. I count it a small victory when meals stay down longer than 30 minutes. So very worth it though. I have my next appointment on the 21st.

Kerry is teaching the kids at Gabe's school about rockets this week and seems to be enjoying it. It's starting to warm up here this week. We had snow yesterday, but it was just a dusting and gone by afternoon time. It's supposed to be up to 80 on Tuesday this next week.

We love you all and hope things are going well. Have a great weekend!

Spring break is coming to an end

We've made it safely back to our home in Pueblo West. Mom and Dad Lehrman came out with us and the boys have enjoyed spending additional time with them. I have been sick for the last couple of days with a horrible cold.

Otto's hives have gone away, so either he was allergic to something at the farm and now it's gone or we figured out what it is and we're good. I guess we'll find out the next time we come home. It was so nice for him to be able to sleep without itching last night.

The weather here was beautiful today, although it's supposed to get colder tomorrow. It's feeling more like spring every day. We're starting to think about getting back to our school routine. Breaks like this always go so fast!! Oh well, I guess that means we're that much closer to the end of the school year. Graduation is May 2nd. Then I'll have some time off and start teaching summer classes. I'll still be doing some online courses as well, so I'll still be busy.

Kerry is finishing up his courses for this semester. Well, I should go. The boys are needing a bath and wanting to play some more with papa Kevin.

--Erin

The news is out...

Well, I guess the news is out. We are expecting baby #3 in November. Gabe let the word slip first only after he figured out how to spell b-a-b-y. We're excited as are the boys.

I still haven't told my boss yet, but will do so after I get home from spring break. So this makes for 3 November birthdays. This baby is due on Nov. 26th, but we'll probably deliver on the 19th or shortly before.

I have decided to see a physician in Colorado Springs. Dr. Baer who came very highly recommended from the nurses at Memorial North. I am feeling pretty good. A little sick, but it's still early, so I know more is on the way. :) I had my first appointment this past Monday. Everything looks good so far. The doctor will do a sonogram next appointment, again at 20 weeks and then offers a free 3D/4D sonogram at 28 weeks.

So that's the big happening at our house. We'll be looking for a bigger house so that we can all fit and still have room for the family we enjoy seeing so often. Well, I should go and work on school work . Have a great day!

Coming Home tomorrow

We'll be headed that direction tomorrow morning. We're excited to see everyone and hopefully Jenna's salad worked! :)

We had about 3 inches of snow on the ground this morning when we went to church and it was all gone by the time we got out at 11:30. Our lawn is getting greener by the day (which means we'll have to start mowing before long.)

The boys are looking forward to coming to Kansas. We've talked about a zoo trip on Wednesday but haven't decided yet it's going to depend on the weather.

Well, I should get back to packing so we can be ready to head out tomorrow. Have a great day!

--Erin

Spring Break has begun!

Well, today is the first day of spring break!! I can't say that we're going to be doing anything special today. Kerry is finishing up some homework, right now the boys are watching cartoons and I'm working on school stuff as well. It's supposed to be cooler here today, in the low 50s, so they might get outside later this afternoon.

We'll be packing to come back to Kansas on Monday. We talked to my grandparents last night. They have been at the coast, near Cambria, and are heading back inland to Laughlin NV. They said they'll be there on Sunday. Hopefully some of the snow is melting up at their cabin, but they're always welcome to stay here. The boys sure miss them. Otto had a meltdown when he couldn't talk to them as long as he wanted.

They are getting really excited about coming back to Kansas for a few days. Making big plans to play with the Papas and Grandmas. Gabe is looking forward to seeing Luke, and so is Otto, but I think Gabe wants to hit uncle Luke up for some pool. :)

Well, Have a great day! We love you all and can't wait to see you on Monday.

--Erin

TGIF

It's finally Friday and spring break has begun!!
The boys have pink eye, so they're both staying home today. Kerry will be going to school today to finish the science part today. The kids will be flying airplanes. I think Kerry had fun, but doesn't want to admit it too much. I'm sure the kids loved him too.
Gabe is bummed because he has to stay home because of "eye crust", they'll be started on antibiotics today. We called the eye doctor who called a prescription in, but the pharmacy didn't have it because it's such a new med.
I will run to the office this morning to get some stuff done before spring break. We're planning on coming home on Monday. Hopefully the weather will hold, it looks like it might snow here this weekend.
We'll check in later today, the boys are up and it's time to eat!
--Erin

Snow is melting

Hello all!

It's been getting warmer and the snow is melting. Which means everything is wet and muddy. But the warm up is nice.

Gabe had a spelling test today of "F" words. He passed it with 100%. He hasn't missed any on his spelling tests. It's hard to believe that we have a 5 year old (techinically pre schooler) taking spelling tests!

Kerry is almost done with classes for this semester. We got him registered for summer and fall courses. He may have a couple of electives to finish up next spring, but that will buy us a couple more months before his loans come due too. They've shortened his classes to 5 week classes, so it seems a little more intense when he's taking 2 courses at a time. It's all so condensed, but he does a great job.

He's working on his "lesson" plans for tomorrow when he subs for me at Gabe's school. He's going to be talking about paper airplanes this week. I will be doing OB clinicals with my first year students tomorrow. I can't tell you how ready I am for spring break. I'm sure the students are too.

I bought a turkey for Easter. It sounded better than a ham (sorry Don) when we were at the store the other day. So I'm going to try to make a turkey on Saturday, I really have no idea how, but I'll try it. Why not?

I should go so I can get some good sleep before getting up at 4:30 tomorrow morning! YUCK! I'll be there from 5:30 am to 6:00 pm, so it'll be a long day. Thursday is my 12 hour lecture day where I lecture at 9:00am -1100 and again from 5:30 to 8:30. Friday though, we just teach at Gabe's school and then I'll come home and collapse!! We love you all.

--Erin

Sunday Snow

It's snowing here today. After three days of on and off clouds, it started to snow this afternoon. It's a heavy wet snow. Hopefull it won't last long, I was kind of sick of the white stuff. Although I can't complain the mountains have been getting 12 inches about every week.

So it was a good day to nap, hunker down and snuggle. We bought a new feather top for our mattress at Ross for $35.00. We're too cheap to buy a new mattress, and this seemed like a good solution. The real motivating factor for us was that when we were laying down we could feel the springs poking through. I tell you what though, the feather top helped. It's comfy, and for $35.00 it was a pretty good fix. :)

I made another attempt at making green chili today. It didn't turn out too bad, but have decided I'm going to have to watch someone else make it to have "real" green chili. I can't seem to get the spices right.

The boys are doing well. They're watching Cars now and playing with K-nex. I'm supposed to be catching up on school work, but am actually spending most of my time surfing the internet and stalling.

We're talking about coming home the week of spring break, but haven't decided yet. We'd like to stay here for Easter Sunday and then come back on Monday. We'd only stay until Friday because we have to do some stuff for Share Colorado. We're also thinking about just sticking around here and doing fun little outings, like going to Salida for the hot springs pool and heading to Colorado Springs for the zoo. We'll let you know what we decide. Have a great day!

--Erin

I'm off for once on a Saturday!

Hello all!

We're enjoying a Saturday home together. We took the boys to see Horton Hears a Who last night. It was very cute. The boys liked it and so did Kerry and I.

The sun is out here today, but it's still kind of cool. I made verenika this morning and will fry them tonight. I'm planning on making Pueblo Green Chili tomorrow. I figure if I can cook a lot on the weekends then we'll have good leftovers for the rest of the week.

I'm going to be working on getting caught up on lectures this weekend. I start clinicals for my OB group on Wednesday. Kerry has some assignments due this weekend, but only a couple of weeks left of class before he's done for the spring semester.

I was so proud of him this morning! We have a group of Jehovah Witnesses that come around frequently and Kerry talked to them this morning. He didn't "argue", but certainly got his point across and it was very evident that what our beliefs were and how well he knew his Bible. I was very impressed. He's doing a great job with his classes. They're certainly stretching him, but he's enjoying them. Getting a lot of use out of the concordance that he got for Christmas a few years ago!

Have a great day!

Love to all,

Erin

Family Pictures slide show

Hello All!

Okay, so we're going to jump ship on our geocities site and come here. We thought this might be a better way to keep you all up to date on our day to day lives since we never seem to connect via phone.

Things are going well with week. Gabe had another good week of school. Kerry is going to be my substitute in the coming weeks on Wednesday because I'll be teaching OB clinicals. He's going to do a paper airplane and model rocket unit with the kids. He'll also be teaching grammer and phonics to the 1st and 2nd graders in the morning. I think he'll do a great job, but he's not so sure. He's even been talking about volunteering to teach some math when he's done with his spring semester classes in a couple weeks.

Teaching at PCC is still going well. I'm ready for spring break though. I'm looking forward to teaching OB clinicals, but it will be very tiring for me. I have to be there by 0530 and then stay until 5:30 in the evening. I'm also finishing up my weekend clinicals, so the first week of April is likely to be very busy and exhausting. The good news is that I will be taking Fridays and Mondays off to replace my weekend time.

Otto is growing and learning. He's learning his colors in spanish. Mom Rosfeld gave us a really great devotional book for the boys that Kerry has been reading to them every night. The boys really love it and so do we!

We have successfully (sort of) starting a Share Colorado distribution site at our church. Share Colorado is a way to save on groceries by buying in bulk as a huge organization (country wide) and then distributing the food to those who order. It's very similar to Heartland Shares in Kansas and they have several programs there. Our first D-day (distribution) is in April. Kerry and I are still trying to learn some of the paper work, but it's a great project for us to work on together. There wasn't a distribution site in Pueblo West, so our church is able to fill a need here. We're hoping and praying it's successful. With such a small church I'm a little concerned about finding enough volunteers to do the distribution, but we've had at least 5 say they would help.

It's raining here today, we needed the moisture, but I'm sure the mountains are getting more snow. Hopefully it will be a green spring!

Have a great day! We'll try to keep this updated, maybe I can talk Kerry into posting some too.

Love,
The Rosfelds