Kiera Sings for Grandma

For some reason we can never get Kiera to sing for us, but apparently she will for Grandma. Here she is singing a song she is practicing in Children's Church for the Christmas program.

Little Bo Peep and her sheep...

Caleb, Kiera, and Joel



Caleb didn't mind the outfit...
Joel, however, wasn't so thrilled.
Grandma Link made Kiera's outfit...everyone thought it was so cute...thanks Grandma!!!
We first went to Dairy Queen for supper and then trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Kiera had never done this before and thought it was pretty cool to get all that candy from people! After the boys went to bed, Ryan and Kiera did her Princess Potato Head in the pumpkin (a much easier alternative for little kids...and dads!). Kiera loved it!!!
The finished product
Kiera jumping in the leaves

Now that the boys are crawling, being outside isn't so exciting for mom...I put them in the pack 'n play in the garage while Kiera and I raked leaves. They had fun peeking over the side...the neighbors got a kick out of it and I absolutely LOVE this picture!!!

H1N1: 4 Link Family: 1

Despite all my best efforts, our family was hit hard by the H1N1. Last Tuesday Ryan and I started suffering cold symptoms. We tried to beat it with Airborne, but my body gave in Thursday night. For 3 days I was in bed sleeping and feeling absolutely HORRIBLE. Ryan took Friday off to care for the kids and I did not emerge until Sunday night. Thankfully Ryan's mom was able to come on Sunday as Ryan had a pretty full day at church. Ryan was able to fight off the cold symptoms and avoid the dreaded flu. By Monday, I was feeling 100% better other than a bad cold but then Caleb started coughing and running a fever. Monday night I took him to the ER with a very high fever and rapid breathing. They basically did nothing but look at him, give him some motrin, and send us home. I got home about 2 am, and by 3:30, Kiera was up saying she was sick. So, Tuesday and Wed. were spent battling the flu which means cranky kids, lots of medicine to hand out and keep straight, keeping everyone hydrated, and trying not to let Joel get sick. Ryan had left on Tues. for Grand Rapids to a Staff Ministry Comm. Mtg. Ryan's mom and I tag teamed and managed to keep our heads above water. Kiera had a terrible cough the entire time and we tried to battle it with typical home remedies (sitting in a steamy bath, sitting outside in the cold for hours, honey....) but by Thurs. I was sick of not sleeping and Kiera throwing up everytime she coughed. I took Caleb and Kiera to the Dr. Thursday morning and found out that they had developed secondary pneumonia from the flu. Now they are on antibiotics and starting to get better. However, Joel now has the flu. Thankfully the other 2 are starting to feel better and are less cranky. Ryan is home again and we are trying to find that "normal" feel again. Supposedly it takes 7 days after the last symptom that we are no longer contagious. So we have many days left hanging out at home and avoiding the public. I am getting tired of being housebound and weary of the sick battle. I have lots of respect for parents who battle this everyday. We hope that all of you are staying healthy. Keep our family in your prayers that we will all heal quickly and that Joel will not develop pneumonia also. A very special thanks to Mom Link for all your help...we would have never survived without you!!!!

Finally! New Pictures!!!

Caleb (L) Joel (R) playing with their cups on the coffee table at Grandma's. They scooted themselves over to the table and could barely see over to put their cups on and off. We spent a few days in Prinsburg while Ryan was at the YS convention in Los Angeles. It was nice to have an extra set of hands.
Kiera playing with her Aunt's old Barbie mall at Grandma Link's. She had a ton of fun!
The boys were playing with Farmer Tad on the fridge and then eventually they ended up like this. I think this is Caleb and Joel is behind. They love this magnetic toy. Lately they started fighting over the main barn that plays music. It is a constant tug of war and lots of screaming. Unfortunately it's a sign of what's to come.
My sister Tami and her family came over Labor Day weekend. We had a bonfire one night. The kids had fun staying up late! We didn't do much but sit around, chat, play with kids, and played Wii. It was a very relaxing weekend.
My new way of keeping everyone happy. We only had one baby swing, so one day I thought why not strap them to the glider! They love it! They just giggle and babble back and forth to each other. If you look close you can see cousin Elliana in the airplane swing (:
Matching shirts with cousin Levi
I FINALLY caught Caleb's cheesy smile. What a goofball!
And....the binky snatcher. Caleb will ALWAYS steal Joel's binky. No matter how many I put in, he keeps taking them. On this day Joel had a binky attached and Caleb still got it. Too funny. Joel just looked at him like, what is going on?

The boys are going to be 10 months on the 6th! They are very close to crawling. They get on all fours and rock back and forth. I am SO ready for them to crawl. I am tired of shuffling babies constantly. We have baby proofed everything and are ready for the next phase. They are slowly starting to develop their own personalities. Caleb is a little more reserved and hestitant to try things while Joel just goes gung ho into anything. They are eating lots of table foods and are already eating us out of house and home. Thankfully Joel's little vomiting episodes have disappeared and all the test we did with a GI specialist came back clear. We hope that it was just a fluke and he will be fine now.

Kiera is enjoying Little Lambs (Coffee Break) at church each week. I am teaching one of the classes, so she loves to go to her "school" as she calls it. She is very into arts and crafts now and just learned how to write her own name. She writes it everywhere and we have been doing more preschool type activities together at home. She is a great big sister and knows just what to do to keep her brothers happy (and how to get her share of cheerios when I'm not watching).

We're still here...

Just wanted you all to know that yes, we are still here! Ryan was having problems with his computer and then had to wait for a new one from work. We didn't want to upload pictures on the old one for fear of losing them and then Ryan was gone in CA for a youth leader's convention. So, we hope to update our blog in the next few days...thanks for your patience!!!

WA Vacation Part 3

The kids and me with my grandparents, Harold & Marjean. They even watched the kids one night so the adults could go out for supper. Thanks so much!!! It was great to see you!
Caleb & Joel sitting in their inch of water. They had more fun just splashing and playing with toys.
Oma is famous for her storytelling...the kids love these particular books. Enjoy your break from those books mom!
Rayahna, Kiera, and Julissa enjoying ice cream at the fair.
Opa and the boys ready for church.
Hanging out with Oma (Joel right, Caleb, left)
Opa reading stories...Joel wasn't real interested.

These are just a few more snapshots of our awesome time in WA. Opa and Oma were great hosts and treated us like royalty. We enjoyed lots of yummy treats, hours of Settlers of Catan, great walks, watching lots of baseball and even going to a Mariners game!, lots of swimming at the Oostra's, time spent with extended family we hadn't seen in a long time, enjoyable lunches out all together, a trip to the Fair, shopping trips to the popcorn store (Target), and lots and lots of laughs. Thanks again everyone for all you did to make our trip so much fun and enjoyable! We miss you already!

WA Vacation Part 2...Leavenworth

Ryan mini-golfing. Unfortunately he beat me...but it was close!
At the hotel next to us, there was a man who came out every morning to blow the Alpine Horn. You can barely see him in the upstairs balcony here. It sounded pretty cool.
After enjoying a couple weeks hanging out with my family, Ryan was able to join us. We had planned that while we were in WA, we would go overnight somewhere just the two of us. We decided to return to a place we had visited on a day trip back when we were dating. We headed to Leavenworth. This is a little Bavarian village right over the pass in Eastern WA. It has all little Swiss like decoration outside all the stores and lots of fun shops to walk in. We basically spent the two days looking in shops, mini-golfing on real greens, enjoying the scenery, and not having to follow any type of a schedule!!! It was so relaxing and we didn't worry about the kids at all!!! What a great break. Thanks everyone for watching the kids!