Update

Boy, I went through some photos and realized I haven't even blogged about our trip to Lake Havasu Memorial Day weekend. So much fun! The kids just loved the water, we innertubed behind Grandpa Kessel's boat and wore Chewy out by letting him swim, fetch sticks and explore some of the terrain. Most of Mike's mom's family was there and it was relaxing to have so many hands to keep the kids busy. Thanks everyone!

And it's July. Mike got offered a job with AirMed as a flight medic. This has been a dream of his since I first met him. He used to want to be a pilot before his mission, but then his career choice was halted when the Air Force wouldn't accept him because of a previous ear drum injury. Then we got married, and he started paramedic school; he mentioned how wonderful it would be to work with LifeFlight or AirMed. When I told him he should go fot it, he said he would never be below 200 pounds so there wasn't any way he could ever work on a flight medic team. (The weight limit is somewhere around 200 pounds.) Now he is below 200 pounds and is one of AirMed's newest flight medic team members. I know I know I am biased and it sounds little cheesy, but I am very proud of him and how hard he has worked to get this. I haven't seen him want something this bad before and so it was very satisfying to see the joy in his face when he got the call that he got the job.

And in the midst of applying and interviewing and testing for AirMed, we found out we are expecting our fourth child February 15th. Right after Michaela was born we looked at each other and said, "We should have at least one more." Crazy, I know, perhaps we were drugged up on happiness at the time! Then we realized (especially me) how difficult it is to try and recover from back to back pregnancies and have two little babies at home. I couldn't even discuss a fourth child until Michaela was around 2 years old. Even then, I couldn't bring it up. But then Mike and I finally seriously talked about it and talked about it. We knew economic times would get better, we just didn't know how soon. My doctor had said if we wanted another one, I shouldn't wait longer than 2 years or so with my history of preeclampsia. Plus, I am 34, not so terribly old, but I had always said I didn't want to be having kids after I was 35. As we talked, we decided if we were to have a fourth, now was the time or we were done. But having three just seemed too small. We had the room. After a lot of thought, we just decided to go for it and hope for the best. And six weeks later I was expecting. Pretty lucky. Didn't think it would be that fast, but well, we haven't ever tried too long and didn't try at all for Michaela. We are blessed that way.

When we found out we were expecting, we were both so excited! Even Mike had a big grin on his face--that's a little rare. He's pretty stoic. But then two weeks later the morning sickness hit and then the fatigue and now I am wondering why I was elated to get pregnant!!!! Ah, I think I am feeling my age. Or maybe I just have too much self-pity. I have discovered, however, the power of positive thinking and trying to keep my mind off the nausea. The kids sure help. And now I am starting to cry. I must be pregnant! They are such good kids and really are good to each other most of the time. Caleb is getting so dang smart and loving and helpful. Jake is just Jake and I just love to hold and squeeze him. Michaela is such a little she-devil, but I love it. She loves to follow me around and do whatever I am doing. I just enjoy having our kids around! I thought it was going to be hard to have Caleb home all day during the summer, but I found how much joy there is in our home with him around. I'm actually not looking forward to when he will be gone most of the day. I know we will miss him.

Oh, and I decided to quit my job with BYU-Idaho. With Mike's new job, he will be gone a lot more and I decided the kids needed me to be more available. It was kind of scary for me to let it go, I have always worked, but I think it will be better for our family.

Okay, let's see, is that all? Nope, Caleb will be starting piano lessons in the fall. I'm excited for him. He used to be excited then decided he wanted to play guitar, which I think is great, but I think he just a little small just yet. So I told him to start with piano because it will help him learn guitar.