First Day of School 2008

Ben's first project

We made it through the first day of school. I am surprised that I did not cry until he brought his first project home. It is a picture of his hand with a heart and a picture of our family and it says...

It's my first day of school And "The Kissing Hand" is what we read.

It's about a raccoon Who did just as his parents said.

Like the racoon's first day at school I was scared and a little shy,

But because of what you said I was brave and I got by.

All through the year I'll make more things for you

So as I change and as I learn you can see my growth, too!

Our little boy is growing up and officially in the school system. They are right when you are told that time goes quickly and too soon the child will start school and that is where they will spend most of their time for the next 15 or so years.

The kids were up bright and early this morning to get ready for school. Justin stayed home and made a special Daddy breakfast of strawberry filled crepes. We all went to the opening service, which Ian had a hard time putting up with. Ben was confident and excited about getting his school supplies put away and meeting his new friends. After a few pictures and a few kisses in the hand (both his and mine), he was officially into his first day of school.
Cami walked in her classroom like she owned the place. She was so excited to be back. She adores her teacher, Miss Howell. She was also excited to see many of her friends from last year. The preschoolers did not attend opening service with the K-8 classes. We checked in on her, through the classroom window, after the service and she was playing with her friends in the kitchen area (one of her favorite areas). Justin took Ian home and they both enjoyed a much needed nap. I was able to have breakfast with a friend whose daughter is in Ben's class. It was nice to be able to go out and celebrate the first day of our child going to kindergarten. Her daughter, Morgan, and Ben were in preschool together last year. We enjoyed some adult time and then I came home so that Justin could head to the Brewer's game with a coworker and I could pick up Cami from preschool.

Ben was excited that his job this week is to be line leader. He enjoys being the leader, so it was a good fit. End of the day playing outside on the swingset. We also played baseball and took a walk around the block. Mommy made some Vanilla Bean Chillers for dessert after our walk.

Boating Weekend

Justin building sand castles with Ben and Kelly...Ian coming to destroy!

Isn't she cute!!!!

Mommy and Ian

Daddy & Ian and Jason & Kelly braving the slightly chilly water.

Ben LOVES going fast on the boat.

Ian and Kelly playing in the sand.

Cami hanging out on the boat.


We had an enjoyable weekend! We were able to go with our friends, Jason and Kris Weber and their children Jared and Kelly, to their cabin in Illinois for the weekend. This was a huge treat as we do not get to go boating very often. God blessed us with a warm and sunny weekend, perfect for time on the water. We enjoyed being able to spend time with them. Ben enjoyed splashing around in the water with Jared. The boys loved the water despite them shivering. Cami enjoyed either sitting on the boat watching or playing in the sand on the beach while the two boys played in the water. Ian was happy as long as he had a truck or car in hand on the sand. He even liked being dipped in the water a few times. I am happy to say that I finally have some color in my skin, no more pale white (at least for now).

This week will be hard as Ben and Cami start school tomorrow, Wednesday. It is a bittersweet day as I see my eldest baby go off to Kindergarten. He is SO excited. He feels like a big boy now. Cami is excited to go to 4 year old preschool. She is going Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, so it will be very different having just me and Ian home those mornings by ourselves. I do look forward to time alone with him in the morning and then spending some girl time with Cami in the afternoons after she is done with school and when Ian is napping. Stay tuned for first day of school photos!

Big Decision

Many weeks ago, Midwest Airlines announced that they were going to reduce capacity by 1/3 and layoff about 40% of the workforce. I just finished my 11th year with the company and was happily starting my 12th (my favorite number). I went on leave July 9 when Ian was officially adopted. I am allowed to have 5 months of unpaid maternity/ adoption leave, which is very generous for a union contract. I was looking forward to going back in December. The last few days after learning more about how life will be or could be when I go back in December was a little disheartening. I have been blessed with a beautiful schedule of about 8 -10 days a month, doing mostly redeyes for the last 2 plus years. I have been able to be home 95% of the time with my kids, while working the night flights. Working a few nights a week and going with little or no sleep was fine. Now I learn that going back will most likely mean being on a reserve/ on call schedule 5 days a week, 12 hours a day. I can be called out at any time during those 12 hours to work a trip that lasts anywhere from 1-4 days. If I would make it above the reserve schedule, I would be stuck with 4 day trips, not very desireable. I was reluctant to even think about taking a voluntary leave initially, especially knowing that I have until December. In the last 2 days, however, I realized that I don't want to have a crazy schedule that would keep me away from my husband and kids. It is not fair to them or me. I am thankful that I can maintain my flight benefits (unfortunately I lose the benefits for parents and friends while I am on a layoff) during this time. I am on layoff for up to 2 years, however they can call me back at any time during the 2 years. For those that know me, you know that I LOVE my job. I really enjoy having a job that I am good at and enjoy being at. I REALLY enjoy that I can do something I love for work AND be at home with my family as much as I am. This was a very tough decision for me initially and am thankful to have a loving and supportive husband willing to support me in whatever decision I made. I know I am making the right decision.

Anyway, Justin is gone in Phoenix for a little over 4 days upgrading Strand's new office. He is down there with a few other people, hoping to get everything up and running soon. We definitely miss him. The kids and I have been keeping busy by running errands, playing outside, taking walks, etc. We also went to a different church today. Our friend, Stacy, told us about a great children's Sunday morning program at a church close to our house. Stacy and I went to the service while her son, Hank, and Ben and Cami went to the kids program. They had such a great time. Ian played in the nursery, which was difficult for me. I hate leaving him with people I don't know. I knew he would be safe, but it is still hard to make that break. Ben celebrated the end of summer soccer with an awards ceremony on Thursday. He really enjoyed playing for the first time this summer.

We got exciting news this week that our friends, Jeff and Kerri, became parents to a baby boy. They have a daughter, Katelyn, who is 3 1/2. We are so excited for them and pray for their family as they bring their beautiful little boy home.

We have a fun week in store for us. We are looking forward to Justin coming home early Wednesday morning before we leave for either a day trip or overnight to Minnesota. We plan on going to the Mall of America. Ben and Cami are looking forward to the Lego store so they can play on the lego tables.

We are still recovering from Cami and Ian's parties last weekend. What a wonderful time for everyone. We enjoyed have a little over 60 people come and celebrate with us on Saturday at the Open House. We praise God for safe journeys for all those that traveled near and far to come and celebrate Cami's 4th birthday and Ian's Adoption. We feel so blessed to have so many friends and family that love and support us.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Friday, July 25, 2008/ Weekend in California

Extreme Makeover house in Richland Center, WI

Picture Stacy and Dana with one of the stars, Paige

Family picture at the beach.

From Left to Right Cami, Austin, Ben, Kylie, and Ian
Cami loves to swim
Ben and Austin holding hands walking back from the park.

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to go to Richland Center, WI to volunteer with Extreme Makeover Home Edition. My friend, Stacy, and I headed out at 4 am to make the almost 2 hour drive there to board a bus to the home of the Wisconsin winners from Extreme Makeover. Upon arriving at the house, we were given instructions that we would be clearing out the house for the demolition which would take place on Saturday. 45 volunteers entered the house with garbage bags and garbage cans to start cleaning. To say that the house was filthy and falling apart is an understatement. This family was in desperate need of a newer home (read about the family at http://veridiangives.com/dream/family/). Since the furnace was out this winter, the mother used a small wood burning stove to keep warm. Everything in the house was covered in soot from it. It took us about 5 hours to clear out every inch of that house. There were about 2 dozen or more volunteers outside clearing out the garbage and also the boxes of stuff to be saved from the 45 plus volunteers from inside the house. It is amazing how much stuff one house can hold. Needless to say, I was more than ready to go home and clean out my own home after this experience! We left a little after one to ensure that we would be back to Eastside Lutheran to see Ben and Hank (Stacy's son) play their last game at soccer / VBS camp. We made it just in time to see them play and then enjoyed a nice cookout.
Things are never calm at our house, so after an extremely LONG day of activity, I hurried home with Ben to let our sitter, Rachel, go from watching Cami and Ian all day so I could volunteer. We finished packing, waited for Justin to come home and then piled in the car to head to Milwaukee to get on a plane to California to visit Mike, Allison, Austin, and Kylie for the weekend. We arrived in LA at 11pm local time or 1am for our body clock and headed to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel to find that they were sold out of 2 bed rooms for the night. Since we were on an airline employee discount, upgrades are not common. Thankfully the lady at the desk took mercy on us and offered us an upgrade to a suite. The room was HUGE. There was more than enough room for the king size bed, pull out couch, crib, table and chairs, desk, etc. Plus there was a ton of room for the kids to run and play! We were very thankful that God took care of us. We needed sleep and room to run after a long day.
We headed down to Irvine on Saturday morning and had a wonderful, relaxing time with everyone. I love seeing the kids play together. It is so awesome that they get to grow up together despite the distance. I pray that this can continue over the years!

A few pictures from the week

Here are a few pictures from the week that we thought you might enjoy...

Cami at her cooking class mixing up some chocolate.

Cami and Ben enjoying ice cream on one of the many hot days this week.

Ben playing soccer.

Cami playing at Vilas park at the Korean Adoption Group picnic.

Ian is proud of himself for climbing on the stoop and being able to sit by himself.

Stitches

We ended up with our first trip to the doctor this week for stitches. We were at bible study on Tuesday night at a friends house. The kids had their bible study time outside, while the adults were inside. Ben went head first into a pile of rocks from a 4 ft wall. We were able to rush him to Urgent Care where the doctors slowed the bleeding and eventually put in 2 stitches. They were hoping to glue his cut together, but due to the depth of the injury, they had to do the stitches. Ben handled it all so well. We are very proud of him for being so brave. He is excited to show everyone his stitches and tell them his story!!!

It's Official!

Ian is officially ours! As of 9:20 am on Wednesday, July 9, 2008, our youngest son is officially Ian Hank Marthaler, son of Justin and Dana Marthaler and brother of Ben and Cami Marthaler. We are grateful that some friends and family were there to support us as the adoption was made final. We had a terrific judge as well! We plan to have a big celebration Open House on August 2 from noon- 6pm. Please join us for this celebration! We will have pictures from the courthouse soon, so check back....