http://www.pleonast.com/user/kemplefam recent pleonast.com entries by user kemplefam en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/kemplefam?l=5&entryID=600777 Well, here's a recent picture of Ethan. Yes, we are wearing coats and hats here. It snowed yesterday and today! This picture was taken at my sister's house. Seth is Spiderman, Hannah is Dora and Ethan was a puppy dog (thanks Amber!). If you know my sister, Sam is the Viking, Zack is a Packers football player, and Erin dressed as a 50s girl. They all had lots of fun! Carli is now too old for trick or treating, but she helped pass out candy. 2008-11-18 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kemplefam?l=5&entryID=600033 Well, since my last entry, not much new has happened around here. We're just enjoying one day at a time. The kids are keeping me busy. Seth is doing well in 2nd grade and I get to help his teacher every week on Friday afternoons. I enjoy being in the classroom. He has a fantastic teacher this year; we're so thankful. Hannah is loving preschool and coming out of her shell a little bit more every week. Last week for "share time" (like show and tell) she wanted to take some green plastic vampire teeth. She insisted, but I didn't think she would actually get up in front of the class and put them in. She surprised me and her teacher said the class got a big kick out of it. She is home sick with a cold today, so she, Ethan, and I stayed home from services. I hate missing Sundays; it just doesn't feel right. Anyway, that's the way it goes when you have kids and your husband is the preacher. Ethan is growing like crazy! He has rolled over about 5 times from tummy to bac... 2008-11-16 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kemplefam?l=5&entryID=579423 Okay, so here are 8 random facts about myself. 1. One of my favorite things to eat for breakfast is a piece of toast with peanut butter on it and a glass of milk. 2. I love the movie West Side Story. 3. I like all kinds of music (country, musicals, soundtracks of favorite movies, pop, some rock, the Beatles, barbershop, hymns, and I even like a lot of the kid music that my kids listen to). 4. My favorite room in my house is the screened in porch on the back. I especially like it on days like today (68 degrees and sunny). 5. I love to read. Harry Potter is one of my favorites! 6. I really like to color. Hannah and I will sometimes sit and color for an hour. 7. I played clarinet in the band in high school. 8. I like most sports; I enjoy playing softball (even though it's been a long time and I'm probably pretty rusty) and I like to watch most all college and professional sports, especially when it's tournament and championship time. Our favorite family sport lately is kick... 2008-09-24 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kemplefam?l=5&entryID=578555 That's all. 2008-09-22 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kemplefam?l=5&entryID=574213 It's hard to believe: *It has been 7 years today since that horrible terrorist attack. I remember being 6 month pregnant with Seth and crying about what kind of world we were bringing this precious child into. *I have a child who is almost 7 years old! Seth has been such a joy and a blessing (and a challenge at times). He is loving the 2nd grade and has a wonderful teacher. I will start volunteering tomorrow afternoon and I am looking forward to helping some of the students and getting to know his teacher better. I like for my face to be known at school and to keep up with what's going on there. *My baby girl is 4 years old now and she started preschool this past Monday. Hannah is very shy at school, but she talks non-stop about it when we're home. I'm hoping this experience will help her to open up a little bit more. We are looking at starting Kindergarten next year. Yikes! *We have a baby boy who will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. He is growing like a weed! At his check-... 2008-09-11 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kemplefam?l=5&entryID=561870 It is a big day at our house today. My baby girl is turning 4 years old today!! I can't believe it! We are taking the kids to Chuck E. Cheese this afternoon and she helped me make cupcakes this morning. I think we might be crunching into some eggshells, but she was so proud of herself. Today is also Seth's first day of 2nd grade! I took him in this morning and we met his teacher. His class size looked big, but she said she offered to take more students because a lot of hers are more independent workers. He wasn't excited at first this morning; I think he likes being able to just play all day. But, once we got there and he saw some of the names of the kids from last year he was really happy. When I left him he was all smiiles. That made things easier on mom! :) I hope all of you have a great day! 2008-08-12 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kemplefam?l=5&entryID=556325 Most of you have heard, but our little Ethan Mark has arrived safe and sound. Our prayers were answered and he came without having to be induced. My water broke about 2am on Friday morning and we headed to the hospital. He was born at 9:12am on Friday, July 25th. He weighed 8 lb. and was 21 1/4 inches long. I think he is just perfect. We came home Sunday afternoon and so far everything is going well. He seems to be a very mild-mannered, content little baby. Hopefully that will stick. My mom and sister are here now helping out with the older kids, laundry, and cooking. Mark has also been such a wonderful help. I promise to post some pictures soon. I'll have to get some help from Mark on that since I've already forgotten how to do it. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and well wishes. I am so thankful he is here and the labor and delivery are over. Now comes the fun part!!:) 2008-07-29 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kemplefam?l=5&entryID=554397 Well, I am now officially 3 days past due with this baby. Physically I feel okay, not great, but okay. Emotionally, I'm beginning to feel frustrated and impatient. I saw the doctor today and he offered to send me to the hospital and induce me. I really don't want to be induced. I decided to give it a few more days and if nothing happens by Monday, I'll go in at 7 am and we'll get things started. I really appreciate all of your prayers and concern. I'll keep you posted. 2008-07-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kemplefam?l=5&entryID=551573 Well, we are now about 4 days away from due date. I'm still feeling pretty good, but hoping for some signs of labor soon. I went to the dr. today and he isn't in a hurry to induce (which is good), but he won't let me go more than 1 week past the 21st. I really would prefer to start labor on my own. Say a little prayer for me if you would. We got some pictures via email of our new neice yesterday. She was born about 1am on Wednesday. Her name is Annessa Lynn and she is absolutely beautiful. Seeing her pictures made me really anxious to see our little one. Anna labored a long time, but as far as I know she is doing okay. Mark's parents are just beside themselves; two grandbabies within days of each other!! Everything else is pretty normal around here. We plan to go car shopping this afternoon. We have been looking at vans. Mark has resisted as long as I think he can; he's really not thrilled about driving a mini-van. But with 3 carseats across the back seat it's becoming... 2008-07-17 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kemplefam?l=5&entryID=544488 Well, I'm sitting here in a very quiet house right now. I'm trying to appreciate the fact that this will probably not happen again for quite a while after today. With baby coming and Seth out of school there is rarely a quiet moment around here and probably won't be for some time. Mark is at the church building conducting a young men's training class for some of our young guys. They came here last night and had pizza, played, and watched a movie and then spent the night. Mark and I fixed them breakfast this morning and then they headed to the church building for a 3-hour session on learning how to participate and lead in the worship services. There were 5 guys (6 counting Seth) and only 2 have obeyed the gospel so far. I was pretty pleased with the turn-out. Mark put a lot of work into planning this and I pray that they will especially get something out of their time with him this morning. I was so pleased with how nicely the guys treated Seth. They just included him in every... 2008-06-28