We love our neighbors...

On Tuesday morning, Jonathan was taking Parker into preschool and saw one of our neighbor's. She asked him if he would like 4 Pacer tickets for that evening. He told her he would check with me and let her know. (She has offered us tickets multiple times and every time before, I was working!) We ended up accepting her tickets and got Grandpa and Grandma Walden to babysit the twins!

We got a free parking pass along with our free tickets and were completely amazed when we got to our seats and a lady came up to us and said she would be our server for the evening! (They don't have waitresses in the $10.00 seats in the top section of the building!!!)

Severe weather whipped through downtown Indy that night and they came across the sound system to alert us but no one took cover! (We were probably safest right where we were!) Parker had an absolute blast and was too excited to even eat his food! He never once asked if the game was almost over and even got after Jonathan and I for talking during the game!! A total sports nut...

The Pacers ended up losing as usual and we fought the 80mph winds home! It was a fun night and we are greatful to have such nice neighbors! (Jonathan says if she offers him tickets again, he is going anyway, whether I work or not! They have awesome season tickets!)

Potty time!

I have decided to try to begin potty training our twins! I am not being super diligent but they are doing fairly well so far!

Yesterday morning during the sermon, Peyton announced loudly, "I gotta go potty Mommy!" I got up to take him out and saw many smiles and snickering as they had heard him as well!

Today, I was holding Peyton while he was napping and all of a sudden...my sweater got wet! YUCK! He sat up and said, "That's cold Mommy, I peed through!"

Paige was waking up at the exact same time and guess what??? She was soaked through as well! I don't like those new diapers at all!

Tonight after supper I decided to sit Paige on the potty! She never is able to go but always tries! Tonight she actually went a little bit and I was praising her and telling her she could have a sucker when she got done! I was sitting on the floor, facing her on the toilet and watching her "success" when all of a sudden, she strained really hard and peed all over the front of me! (Don't ask me how she did that, I am still trying to figure it out!) I about scared her to death jumping out of the way but it was too late. Soaked sweater and skirt! YUCK! (Remember, this was now the 2nd time today I had gotten peed on!) So, I ended up with my jammies on quite early tonight!

I think we have had enough potty time for today, maybe we will try again tomorrow! Have I said how much I am dreading potty training these rugrats?

Happy Birthday Mom Walden!

Mom & Dad Walden...Fall 2007
Enjoying July 4th, 2007 with some of their grandchildren...

(I am actually posting this late but Jonathan's Mom's birthday was this past Saturday!) They were in Pennsylvania holding a revival meeting and are coming home today! We called her and sang a lovely rendition of Happy Birthday over the phone! Hope you had a great birthday, Mom and we will try to see you this week before you have to leave again for Tennessee!

We love you!
Jonathan, Karen, Parker, Peyton & Paige

iKIDS...

I found the twins tonight jamming on Daddy's iPOD!
Peyton was "in charge" of the song selection...
"Movin up" by Gold City
This is a pretty cool toy Dad!
(Everything was cute until Paige started chewing on Daddy's ear piece!!!)

I think this author knows us...

Happy Birthday Kerrigan!

Today is my niece, Kerrigan's 8th birthday! We helped celebrate her birthday at a roller skating rink! I had never been inside this place before today, and found out that it is about like Chuck E. Cheese!!! Crowded, noisy, tons of kids, etc!!! We had pizza and cake, and anyone who wanted to could try to roller skate! Parker had never had a pair of skates on in his life before today and was a little hesitant at first to try it! He hugged the rail and made a couple of laps with the help of Daddy "walking" with him! No... Jonathan did not wear roller skates!! I however, tried it!! (When I was a little girl, I would roller skate in our drive way for hours! I had a cabbage patch cassette tape that I had a little "routine" that I would skate to every day!) I thought roller skating might be like riding a bike and that it might be something you never forget!! WRONG!!! I got out there and it felt worse than ice skating! I was almost as wobbly as Parker! I made one lap around, only because there wasn't an easy exit, and decided to call it a day! I might have gotten a little better if I would have practiced some more, but decided I did not want to fall and cause a huge scene! The kids had a good time and that is what birthday parties are all about! Happy Birthday Kerrigan!!! We love you and hope you had a great birthday!

Enjoying her roller skating party!

Parker had another birthday party to attend immediately after Kerrigan's this afternoon! This one was for a little neighbor boy, who he also goes to preschool with, and he turned 5! His party was at a gym and Parker had never been there before today either! We had been warned that it would smell like dirty feet so I wasn't looking forward to it! The twins needed to take a nap and Jonathan volunteered to take Parker so I gladly stayed home! There was all kinds of fun things for the kids to do there, pits to jump in, trampolines, beams to walk, etc! When Jonathan got home, I asked him what the place smelled like and he said, "Dirty sweat socks!" Ewwwwwwwwh!!!! Glad I missed out on that opportunity! Parker loved it though and wants to go back! I doubt it will be an option for his party next fall! I can't bear the thought of that smell up my nose for a few hours!


The kids are well on their way to recovery thanks to a little Amoxicillin and grape Motrin! They ended up with ear infections but what's new?!?! My kids always do that!

Bundle up tomorrow, wear your ear muffs so you don't get frost bit!!

Dopey kids...

Well... the kids all slept ALL NIGHT!!!! A record indeed for us! I don't know if was just pure coincidence or if they were all overdosed, but it was a peaceful night!!! I even went in the twins room this morning before going to work to make sure they were still breathing! They were snoozing away! I think this will definitely become a night-time routine! I about cracked up a little while ago though... I picked up the box of TRIAMINIC strips that I had given them all last night, and was reading the ingredients. In bold print on the front of the box it read, "Less than 5% alcohol!" Jonathan said, "Well, that's good!" I asked him if the kids all had hangovers this morning!!! Ha Ha...
Jonathan thought he would please Jesus and our church members if he brought the kids and their germs to church today! They coughed and snotted around and I am sure we will get blamed for someone's sickness, but they were in the house of the Lord on the Sabbath anyway!!! I got off work at 3pm this afternoon so I was able to go to church this evening. Tonight, we all walked out to our car to leave instead of Jonathan coming under the carport to pick us up. Parker forgot his coat at Grandma's but I thought it was no big deal! The night air must have done something to his ear because he cried and screamed with his ear the whole way home! Fun times... The night air also did something to the twins lungs because they coughed and strangled most of the way home, and at one point I was afraid Peyton was going to throw up all over the back of me... We made it home, doctored up Parker's ear with numbing drops, gave him some Motrin and called Papa Bob to pray! (Every time Parker gets sick he wants to call Papa and have him pray for him! He says Papa is his best friend! :) He has calmed down now but I think we will made the dreaded trip to the Pediatrician in the am and go sit in the "sick" waiting room. (I hate that room, it feels so germy...)
Since it is now bedtime for our kids, I am off to find the VICKS and those "alcoholic" medicine strips for each child!
Isn't winter weather just grand???

Is it a full moon???

Did I say I wanted to go to work this weekend??? Obviously, I was delusional from being home with the kids all week! Today was not a good day all for the OB department! We were overflowing with patients, and extremely busy! The patients just kept rolling in with bizarre complaints!!! In order to not violate any HIPPA laws I won't go into details... Everyone at work keeps telling me that it is all my fault and that I "attract" these people!
We decided early in the morning to "order out" which we often do on the weekends! We ordered Johnny Carino's at 11:40am and our order was to be ready by noon. A patient decided to "crash" and had to go to the OR while ER was bringing more patients up at the same time. We practically had a collision in the hall with two patients! (For real...) Anyway, the nurse wasn't able to go get our food when it was ready due to our extreme busyness. Finally, 1 1/2 hours after we ordered, she left to get our food! It was then 1 1/2 hours later that we got to sit down and eat our extremely cold food! My Italian nachos were completely rubbery but I was starved and chewed every single bite!!!
I was so busy that I didn't even use the bathroom for 14 plus hours today and just about decided that I should've anchored a catheter on myself!
Jonathan's day at home was pretty uneventful. He called me tonight as I was giving report to leave and said, "What is it now? You don't call and check on me when I am home with the kids all day?" I could've screamed! Here I hadn't even had time to use the bathroom all day and he was feeling sorry for himself that I hadn't called to "check in" on them!!! He understood though when I explained my day to him and decided to be a nice hubby and order "carry out!"
The kids were all coughing tonight so I decided to try this new medicine that my mom sent home with the kids this week. It is for cough and congestion and is these little dissolvable grape strips! I gave them all a strip and they said, "MMMMMH!" I then thought I should read the directions and it said, "For children 6-12 use one strip!" (My kids are 2 and 5 and it said I should've consulted a physician!) I don't know if it was the medicine or not but about 30 minutes later, the twins were ready for "choccie milk" and didn't even put up a fight to go to sleep. They were asleep in record time and Parker wasn't too far behind them! It might be the Benadryl in those strips but I think it may also become a new nightly routine around here!!! :) I also lathered up their feet tonight with the VICKS and it about made Parker cough to death while I was applying it. So far, so good though. All is quite in the Walden household and I'm loving every minute of it!!!
Have a good Sabbath!!!

Our GAP kids...

Parkerman...
Peyton and Lightning McQueen...
Miss Priss... Paige
Buddies...

(Peyton was throwing a fit and would not get in the picture!)

These outfit were a present from their Great Aunt Vickie!

I finally got out of the house tonight and we went to Chili's for supper! Peyton was horrible and I ended up going to the car with him while Jonathan finished boxing up the rest of our meal. About half way through, Jonathan said, "Well, I am really enjoying this meal!" He has already said he can't wait until I get home from work at 7:30pm on Sunday night! HA!!!!! Maybe he will get a taste of what I have put up with all week!
Peyton is better, Parker's cough is worse, Paige now has a slight cough and Mommy is completely "over it!" I got some Vicks Vapo-Rub tonight and new socks to try out on the kids at bedtime! Anything is worth a try. Parker was up until about 1:30am last night coughing which meant we were too!

Time to get jammies on and lather up those little feet!!!!
Have a great weekend everyone!
I sure will... :)

Cabin Fever!

Peyton has been sick for most of this week with a fever, snotty nose and horrible cough. We have been up multiple times a night this week taking turns holding a very "hot" baby boy! (He did this last year right after his birthday too. Hope this isn't a trend...")
Last night I thought I would just take him into our room and let him try and sleep on one of our pillows in hopes that this would help him to stop coughing! I sat him on our bed and walked into our bathroom. He was choking and gagging and all of a sudden...I heard that dreadful sound! PUKE all over our bed and Jonathan's pillow! (evil cackle) Yuck, yuck, yuck! I had been sitting in a leather chair for an hour with him but did he try and throw up on the chair??? NOOOOOOO! So, here I am at 11:30pm, stripping sheets and throwing them in the wash, stripping Peyton and wiping him all down, while Jonathan was snuggled in the chair with Paige! (I always put her to sleep but since Peyton has been sick I decided that I would take him for the night! Bad choice for me!)
I haven't left the house since Tuesday evening when I got off work and it doesn't look like there is much relief until I am scheduled to work again this weekend. I think this may be one weekend that I don't complain about having to go to work!
You can see what I have been up to this afternoon though! Not housework or cooking but changing my template! Man these things are a pain to change. I suppose it wouldn't be too bad if I were more computer literate!!! I am going to have to send a box of chocolates to Angie Davis for helping me get this figured out!!! Thanks Angie!
I must be off and try to be productive in the last hour before Jonathan gets home! Hope he doesn't ask what I did today!!!

Elvis's Birthday!

Hello, this is Jonathan!
I know many of you are aware of my fondness of Elvis. Today, would have been Elvis’ 73rd birthday!
Due to a canceled flight, two guys I was to meet with today were not able to come to Columbus from Memphis. However, our company plane was still going to fly to Memphis and back home this evening, so we quickly changed plans to allow myself and two others to fly to Memphis to have this important meeting. This afternoon the weather turned very bad in Memphis with tornado watches in effect and winds exceeding 40 mph. At some point there were doubts as to if we were going to be able to fly home this evening or not. I was already making plans to go to Graceland if we were stranded! Needless to say, we did not get stranded, but made the journey home inwhat turned out to be one of the worst flights I have ever experienced. I fly many times a year and have never been on a flight like this one. Our 18 seat jet was tossed around like popcorn in a kettle! You could forget about drinking anything, it would have been all over you. We even went through a storm cloud with lightning flashing all around the plane. I was just waiting for a jolt! This is the same pilot that I was talking with one day and asked if he had ever been hit with lightning, to which he replied, “Oh yes!” He said, “There are only two types of pilots, those that have been hit with lightning, and those that will!” I have never been on a plane when it was hit with lightning and would rather avoid that little experience! When we finally rode our tube shaped roller coaster all the way down to the ground and parked in the hanger, the co-pilot emerged from the cockpit and said, “Wow, I am glad that is over!” I can confidently say, she was not the only one that felt this way. (as I considered kissing the ground) Maybe I should have stayed in Memphis with the Elvis fans! Maybe next time! Thankyou, thankyouverymuch!

Birthday Party at Chuck E. Cheese

Peyton & Paige's 2nd Birthday Party

We had a good time at Chuck E. Cheese despite the loudness! The place was packed and we had 4 tables right smack in the middle of all the games! The kids loved it and the adults endured it! (At least I didn't have to stress over my house this way!!) Poor Jonathan had to spend part of his birthday with "Chuckie" as well! The twins enjoyed their party and were ready to crash when we left! The rest of the day was for Daddy since it really was his birthday!

Jonathan bought himself a new "amp" for his bass guitar for his birthday and got money and some things for his new "toy!" (IPOD) We ate supper at TGIF's and had dinner with Montie and Elaine Dunn and their boys, and Donnie, Cammie and Jennie Walden! It was just a coincidence that Donnie and Cammie were eating there at the same time! Our party of 12 was quite chaotic at times but Jonathan enjoyed his birthday dinner so that is all that mattered!

It has been a busy weekend and we are about partied out! The twins love their new 4x4's that they got today. We just wish they knew how to steer the things! Our poor furniture and woodwork! I see these things in the basement right away!

Peyton hasn't been feeling well today and has a slight fever tonight. Last year, the day after their birthday he thought it would be real nice to barf all over me at church! I was wearing a new black suit and he promptly ruined it on the first wearing! That was a long week as we all 5 ended up with that bug... Hope the day after their birthday this year ends up going much better! We'll see what tomorrow brings!

Nite!

Happy 2nd Birthday Peyton & Paige!

Happy 2nd Birthday to our twins, Peyton Duane and Paige Danielle! We love you both very much. You two have definitely made the Walden household "come to life!" We have a hard time keeping up with you and your older brother, Parker, and cannot imagine how easy our life was before kids! We wouldn't trade you for anything though and hope you have many more wonderful birthdays! You have made our family "complete!" Have a wonderful day on your new 4x4's! (What were we thinking???)
Love you both very much!
Mommy & Daddy

Just a few minutes old...
Daddy and Paige in the operating room...
Mommy and Peyton on the operating table...
(Beautiful picture huh??? :) Approx 1 week old...

Almost 1! Love the nose...

Almost 1! Such cute teeth...

Almost 2! Thanksgiving 2007

Almost 2! Thanksgiving day 2007

(#2 Birthday party pictures to follow... It has been a busy weekend!)

"Happy Birthday Dear Jonathan..."

Today is Jonathan's #32nd Birthday! Happy Birthday honey! We will be spending part of Jonathan's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese having the twins #2nd birthday party!!! (He is so excited!) The twins were born the day after Jonathan's birthday, so ever since he gets kind of ripped off on his birthday. He says he doesn't mind though! What a good daddy to share so well! Hope you have a good birthday despite having to spend part of it with "Chuckie..." I promise we will do something more your speed later in the day! Happy Birthday!!! We love you very, very much! Thanks for taking such good care of all of us!
Love,

Karen, Parker, Peyton & Paige

Do you recognize Stephen Cassady in the dread locks???

And what were you doing when the clock stuck twelve???

Some of you know that Jonathan was to sing with the Singing Friends at Teen Triumphant in Beech Grove, on December 31st! It was my holiday to work night shift but I finally found someone to work for me so I could go to this service! (I had to agree to work day shift on New Year's Day!)

We left the house before 11am on New Year's Eve as we had several stops to make! (I had to work every other day the entire Christmas break so I hadn't had time to do much since Christmas! Jonathan was thrilled that I decided that this was the day to catch up on my shopping!!!)

We arrived at the church a little after 4pm and I was hoping to see some of my "girl" friends there! Much to my dismay, no wives were there at that time and I began my long evening of chasing my kids! Jonathan had to practice singing and playing the bass so he was NO help! The service was not to start until 8pm so I just let the kids "run" in the sanctuary!!! I was way stressed out, long before 8pm, and if we had driven two vehicles, I would've celebrated the New Year at home!

Luckily, my sister-in-law, LuRhe, came to my rescue right at service time and sat with me to help with the kids! Peyton started out being a total terror! He had only gotten a short nap and was not thrilled to be in church! It was extremely hot in the sanctuary and of course, I wore a new "boiled wool" jacket! (Big mistake!!!) I literally fought Peyton for most of the first half of the service. This included taking him out during the service, practically giving him every toy in my diaper bag, feeding him every snack I had, and drinking two sippies!!! I finally got him to sleep right before the sermon! (It was a short sermon by Travis Johnson!) During this time, Parker kept turning to me and asking, "Mom, is it almost over?" How many more songs do they have left?" Is this their last song?" Etc!!! I was about to scream!

They had an intermission at 10pm and were serving snacks in the gym across the parking lot! I was dying of thirst, hot and ready to move! I forgot to mention that Parker was asleep by this time as well! Jonathan and I decided to try to carry them to the gym and at least get a drink! Parker woke up grumpy and Peyton woke up SCREAMING! He screamed the entire time we were in the gym! I was ready to walk home by this time! I finally had taken all I could handle and told Jonathan I was going to the car and would see him next year!!! My diaper bag was in the church so I hauled Peyton across the parking lot, fighting 40 mile an hour winds, only to find that the car keys were NOT in the diaper bag! (They were in Jonathan's pocket!) I tried calling him but did he answer??? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! So, back across the parking lot I go, with a screaming child, mumbling to myself the entire time! :) I got the keys, went to the car, started it up and turned on a movie!!! Peyton quickly quieted down, and all was well! Parker too was totally over the night and did not want to go back inside with Jonathan! So, Jonathan threw Paige in her seat, told Parker to get in, and headed inside to sing some more! He forgot to even tell me to have a Happy New Year!!! So there I sat... for 1 1/2 hours, in the vehicle, wasting gas, killing Jonathan's milage and watching a dumb DVD as I rang in the New Year with my three children! Talk about making memories!

Jonathan did come flying out immediately after the service was over and we came right home! I got to bed about 1:20am and had to be up by 5:45am for work! Short night and so not worth it! (I didn't even hardlly get to talk to my friends, and only saw some from across the sanctuary!) I told Jonathan on the way home that night that next year "I get to pick out what we are doing for New Year's and I am pretty sure it won't involve a watch night service!!!"

And how was your New Year's????