The Clark Corner

Family Home Evening: Cultural Awareness

2011-04-04T15:38:00.003-05:00

(Early on this year, Nathan and I decided to do FHE's that would expose our children to different cultures. Hopefully it will blossom into visiting festivals and other diverse experiences but for the time being we are having a cultural family night the first Monday of every month.)
We start the evenings by singing a neat song Holding Hands Around the World. You can listen to the song or see the sheet music here. Then we open the gathering with a prayer
Then we learn about the country. What its flag looks like, how to say "hello" in their language, what it is like to be a child there, and other exciting details.
Eventually we will learn a dance or some other custom from that country but for now with 2 three year olds we will do these basics and then try the country's foods.
We sing a closing song and then we close with a word of prayer.

This month we are learning about Greece.
population: 10.6 million
Money: Euro
Language: Greek
Hello: Kalimera
Pronunciation: kah-lee-MEH-rah
Then I am loosely tying it to a story about the Greek philosopher Socrates called the Triple Filter.

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance that ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students called Plato?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the "Triple Filter Test".

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to filter what you're going to say. The first Filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the Filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student is something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, even though you're not certain it's true?" The man shrugged, a little embarrassed. Socrates continued. "You may still pass the test though,
because there is a third filter - the Filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really..."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True, nor Good, nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed. This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

Welcome to Holland

2011-01-29T18:00:00.002-06:00

(this is a picture from Sara & Emma's first day of school)

I haven't posted now for a few months, missed the 3rd birthday and everything. I will probably had some pictures of the bday and also Christmas later but this week brought us some changes in our family.

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by
Emily Perl Kingsley.

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

I have known for a while that the girls were "behind" and different. They didn't walk until they were 18 months. They didn't say at least 50 words at 2 years. I took comfort when someone would tell me, oh that is normal for twins, or preemies, or anything. But it started to be apparent I could just hope they would out grow their delay or I could seek out resources to help them. That is what I have been up to, taking them to an Early Intervention program called Kids on the Move. They would get speech classes and home visits from there. When they turned 3 they aged out of that program and we had to go through all of the testing with the Special Education department of the local school district. These tests are long and hard and almost impossible to do by myself so I have had Nathan take those mornings off from work. I have filled out countless forms, spoke on the phone with 5 specialists for each girl, we have gone to what is called an IEP meeting--the special services/special ed planning meeting, and we have prayed. So this week the girls were classified as developmentally delayed, they are in a Special Education preschool two days a week at the local school, the same one that Hannah attends. They are in different classes, the teachers and specialists that work with them are amazing.

For someone who loves children, spent most of her adult life teaching them, and wants more-regardless of how they come, this whole process has been humbling, so humbling. I have had to turn back to God again and say "I can't do this alone. I need your help, how am I supposed to raise and help the children that you have trusted me to raise."

Welcome to Holland, and it is beautiful!

Family Home Evening: Revelation

2010-11-08T09:42:00.003-06:00

Revelation: Knowing for yourself if something is true.
The ability to pray and ask if it is true.

Revelation is communication from God to His children. This guidance comes through various channels according to the needs and circumstances of individuals, families, and the Church as a whole. When the Lord reveals His will to the Church, He speaks through His prophet. Prophets are the only people who can receive revelation for the Church, but they are not the only people who can receive revelation. According to our faithfulness, we can receive revelation to help us with our specific personal needs, responsibilities, and questions and to help us strengthen our testimony.

Articles of Faith 5-7

5 We believe that a man must be ^acalled of God, by ^bprophecy, and by the laying on of ^chands by those who are in ^dauthority, to ^epreach the Gospel and administer in the ^fordinances thereof.

6 We believe in the same ^aorganization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, ^bprophets, ^cpastors, ^dteachers, ^eevangelists, and so forth.

7 We believe in the ^agift of ^btongues, ^cprophecy, ^drevelation, ^evisions, ^fhealing, ^ginterpretation of tongues, and so forth.

Hannah closed the lesson by playing her flute for the family.

Bigger family

2010-11-03T19:14:00.003-05:00

Nathan and I have always wanted to have a big family, even before we got married we talked about how having a lot of kids. He came from a family with seven kids and in the end I came from a family of four kids. We both love our siblings to pieces and cannot imagine a holiday or summer vacation without all the fun that siblings means. When we got pregnant with Hannah shortly after getting married we thought we were off to a great start! Fast forward eight years and no siblings for Hannah we decided that we were stable enough to start the adoption process, two weeks later, we were pregnant with twins. Funny how things work. Now the twins are about to turn three and we want more and I don't want to wait another eight years. We just became licensed foster parents. Why?

We want a bigger family.
We want a child that is closer to Hannah's age-or as Nathan says "fill in the gaps."
We want to help kids.
We can't sit and say that the most ideal place for children to be raised is within a two parent family that consists of a mom and a dad, and not be willing to help kids that don't have that opportunity.
We want to adopt and we can't afford the $20k per child for private adoption.

So I know the questions that people have about this topic, so I will just answer few:
Is foster care and adoption safe?
Yes, we get to decide what we can handle as a family. We have decided that we cannot handle children that have safety issues such as cruelty to animals and others, sexual re-activeness, and violence. Plus we are teaching our children, all of them about modesty, the sacredness of our bodies, and safe boundaries.
Can you handle more kids?
Yes, we both know that more kids means more work, more trips to the doctor, visitation with birth parents, but sleepless nights. We also know that it means more hugs, more laughs, more tears, more band-aids, more groceries, and more love.
What is the thing you are most afraid of?
We are not afraid of what the kids bring to the table as far as behavior and disabilities, we have already had plenty of challenges with our birth children. Our greatest fear is getting attached to a child that becomes a part of the family and then having to let them go back to their birth family because everything is safe there. (Foster care lasts anywhere from 8-12 months in the state of Utah and then the child either returns to birth family, if it is safe, or becomes adoptable) But letting go is also a lesson, even our own birth children are not really ours, we are really raising them for a Father in heaven. They will always be a part of us and our families can be together forever, but we may not have them for long here in this life. Anyone who has had a miscarriage or a stillborn baby or has lost a child learns this lesson. But if a child gets to go back to their birth family that means that a family is doing better and overcome a huge challenge. That is also a victory.
Aren't you afraid of how this will impact your other kids?
No, because all changes in life, including siblings, affect us. We believe that having more siblings is good for our kids. Yes there will be bumps but there will also be awesome times too.

One of the foster care billboards in Utah says "Become a branch in someone else' family tree." This is what we want as couple and as a family. We haven't come to this decision lightly, it has been many years and countless hours of training and preparation. We are grateful for this opportunity.

Amelia Earhart is Found!

2010-11-02T08:19:00.003-05:00

Thursday night Hannah's school will be presenting the 5th grade Wax Museum of American Heroes. Hannah chose Amelia Earhart and has done a wonderful job preparing. I wish I could post outtakes, but a picture will have to do. She is super cute, (and yes I know how creepy it is that she is my clone.) It brings back memories for me too.

Family Home Evening: Heroes

2010-11-01T15:45:00.006-05:00

(One thing that we regularly do each week is have one night set aside to spend time together as a family at home. We may play a game together, rake leaves, go to the zoo, but we always have a short lesson about a timely topic. We have had lessons on honesty, tithing, honoring your father and mother, etc. I am going to start putting my lessons on the blog so I can remember what we have taught about and go back and re-use a lesson if I need too.)

This week's lesson: Heroes

Hannah has been working on a big school project all about American Heroes. She picked Amelia Earhart to present to the school for the 5th grade live Wax Museum. With Halloween just behind us I thought that it would be a good idea to look at what it means to be a hero, and what does being a hero have to do with being faithful and as the scriptures say 'stand as a witness of God at all times. (Mosiah 18:9)?

hero

1. a person distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, fortitude, etc.

2. a person who is idealized for possessing superior qualities in any field

Standing as a witness of God involves both who we are and what we do. In order to be a witness of the Savior, we must strive to be like Him. This means setting a Christlike example for others through the clothes we wear, the words we speak, the music we listen to, the service we give, and the friends we make. UAdd a Note

Take advantage of every opportunity to share your testimony of the gospel with others. Your beliefs may sometimes be questioned or challenged, but you can stand as a witness when you defend your testimony. You can also stand as a witness when you withstand temptation. You can ask Heavenly Father to help you have the courage to stand up for what you believe. UAdd a Note

Standing as a witness of God will give you confidence and power because it means you are living as the Savior would have you live. If you are striving to be a witness of God, stand tall and remember that the Lord has promised eternal life to those who faithfully witness of Him (see Mosiah 18:9).

2010-11-01T15:35:00.002-05:00

So I guess I am blogging again... I have lots to put up here, like that we moved to a new bigger house, that we are licensed foster parents now, and we are planning on adopting. I know it is like a big wildfire all the things I need to update people on. I will get to it all eventually. Honestly I thought no one was even reading this blog anymore and then today I see that there were comments, and people had visited. So I will try to be a little more entertaining and also add pictures.

Things I am working on this week:

FHE (family home evening) lesson: What is a HERO and what does it mean to 'stand as a witness of God at all times' (Mosiah 18:9)?
Hannah's Amelia Earhart costume for the 5th grade Wax Museum.
Handmade and Heartfelt Christmas gifts for all of my nieces and nephews. (We have 12 ranging in age from 2-14, so it is a challenge, but I have a killer idea!) Also gifts for our parents, also a pretty cool set of ideas.
Planning the Thanksgiving menu: We have 16 confirmed(including us) and a possible 5 more coming for dinner and I am so excited!
Put out Thanksgiving and fall decorations.
Start 25 days of gratitude journal.

Good Riddins' Halloween!

2010-11-01T09:14:00.005-05:00

As much as I loved Trick-or-treating as a kid or love getting our 3 girls dressed up in cute little costumes, I really don't like what Halloween has become. The other day we were looking for a costume ideas for Nathan(for work) and we stopped at the Halloween City in a neighboring city. It is one of those Halloween places that is only open for like a month and a half, that takes over an abandoned Kmart or Circuit City building. We were really blown away by the costumes that were there. We had checked out the local Walmart and were a little disappointed in racey nature of everything, since when are Little Bo Peep or Alice in Wonderland sexy characters? What we saw at Walmart paled in comparison to the trash at this Halloween City, we left feeling gross, like we had just been tricked into walking through an Adult Bookstore-GROSS! If someone wants to dress up like a nurse/stripper, whatever that is their choice, but there was a costume that was basically an orange prison jumpsuit with a fly and a realistic looking plastic phallic. There was also a human breathalyzer with a blow here reference. It wasn't in a back room or in a clearly marked adult section, it was right there by the Where's Waldo costumes. People had their kids with them trying to find the latest princess or Star Wars dark lord. Kids don't need to see that trash and for that matter neither do adults. What happened to ghosts and cute goblins? I remember dressing up with my "step-twin" sister when we kids as cute little witches and our mom had made us little capes. Sometimes I really long for a simpler time when little girls costumes didn't include little garter belts. I am just grateful for the Thanksgiving season to finally be here.

Perspective

2010-10-26T13:13:00.002-05:00

I haven't blogged in over a year, partly because I have been busy, very busy raising three beautiful girls, partly because I remember being taught "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." There have been times this year where I haven't really had much of of anything good to say, not because there was no good going on, but because I was too busy murmuring and whining about the crumby things that I couldn't see the good. Looking back, there was plenty to be grateful for then and is now.
Today while trying to get the twins to settle down and take a nap, I heard a really strange sound coming from their bedroom. I go upstairs to see them swinging in the handmade wooden cradle that we keep in their room. It holds their baby dolls and little stuffed animals. It was constructed by my dad just before Hannah was born. The cradle is custom, so my mom, Deb, had to sew a special sized mattress and a special cover for it. Before I could get too mad about their shenanigans I was reminded of how they both used to be able to lay down feet-to-feet and sleep in the cradle in the first few weeks home from the NICU so they could be close to our bed at night. It is hard to believe that in less than 2 months they will turn three. While days when they won't take a nap get to be very tough because they turn into little beasts by 4pm, I do have a lot to be grateful for...Sweet babies, loving grandparents, lots of loving family, and good memories.
Another perspective that I have gained in the last few days happened while helping Hannah with homework. It was obvious that she hadn't put much effort into the book report that is due on Wednesday and before I could stop myself I said words that I heard my Dad say to me when he helped me with homework--"if you would just apply yourself..."
So things have gone full circle, the cradle that once held Hannah as a baby and Sara Emma so tiny and new, is now a swing for avoiding nap time and I have become my dad. (Which isn't such a bad thing--the dad part, not the swing!) Things have changed and things have stayed the same, it is funny what little perspective will give you.

Busy summer and 20 Months!

2009-08-18T09:16:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe how the time has flown. Hannah has just returned from a visit to MN to stay with Grandma & Grandpa H. She was able to take swimming lessons with all of her cousins and she loved every minute but admits that she was homesick. To surprise her, we made-over her room with a fairy/Tinkerbell theme. It now has giant leaves coming out of the walls and a green canopy over her bed complete with floral accents. Her favorite part is the reading corner with a giant green butterfly chair. She loves to sit there and just hang out.
Amidst the craziness of getting everything prepared for back to school, the little girls turned 20 months! There are so many things that they are doing now:

They walk every where, this took a little longer but they both nailed it by the beginning of June. Emma was walking about 2 weeks before Sara. I attribute this to Emma's easy-going nature, whereas Sara is a little more cautious and meticulous.
They both climb just about anything you put in front of them. They climb the stairs, the furniture, and us!
They are both working on the coming-down-the-stairs. This is taking longer because most kids get to practice every time they go down whereas I hold one on my lap, while I help the other one down. Let's just say I tried letting them both go at once and it wasn't pretty!
They are in full swing of Twin-speak. They have a little language of their own, sprinkled with some of our words.
They go to nursery class at church. This started at 18 months. They get to go have a little lesson, sing, and play with the other kids that are 18 months-3 years all while the rest of us go to Sunday school classes. They love it!
They are eating with a spoon and a fork. Successfully most of the time. One of their favorite foods is yogurt, and that is quite messy to clean up, but with practice I am sure that they will have this down soon.

On Wednesday, we will start school for Hannah. This year she is attending the UT Virtual Academy. It is an online public school. I will be posting more about that in subsequent posts. A few weeks ago, a computer, and boxes of textbooks, workbooks, and cool supplies for art and science showed up on our door step. Last night we made the final touches to the organization system that we will be using. It looks like an amazing system, I am really excited for Hannah because she will finally be able to challenged in language and reading and get the individual attention in math that she needs. She has already told me that she plans to finish 5th grade early so she can start in 6th. I keep telling her, "we'll see", thinking "mmm, am I ready for a middle-school child?"

She's Back!

2009-08-13T08:25:00.002-05:00

Some of you know that I have been very busy this summer with two toddlers, a 10-year-old, and 15 credits at school. "Why?" It is a question that I have asked myself all summer. After it is all said and done I am glad that I am doing this. I believe that education is important, and just as my oldest daughter is starting to get to that stage where school is less enticing, I have showed her that it is important to me. I would like to finish what I have started 10 years ago, but I would also like to not be that old lady who is featured on the news at 82 years old for being the oldest college graduate! I can see the end in sight. I will be taking a semester or two off so I can really focus on getting Hannah started with school this fall and spend some time just dinging around with my girls. I might just take a class or two here and there to keep the momentum going. Hopefully I will be posting on the blog more often too!

Where in the world?

2009-07-28T11:42:00.004-05:00

Where have the Clarks been and what have they been up to? Well, we have been super busy, too busy in fact to post on our blog, things will probably slow down in a few weeks. I know I need to post about our vacation and what we have been doing for the last two months but something happened today that was just too cute. Check out the video for yourself.... (pay special attention to the last 5 seconds.)

10 years

2009-05-21T05:00:00.004-05:00

10 years ago The Clark Corner welcomed our first child into the world. Nathan and I had been married just under a year and although we didn't necessarily plan to get pregnant a month after being married we were excited and nervous and thrilled and felt extremely blessed to become parents. On the 17th of May (Hannah's Due Date) Nathan and I went to visit Dr. Moody, not my doctor but his partner, to find out that Hannah was in the breech presentation-butt first so we were told that she would have to be born via c-section. This was a huge disappointment because we studied the Bradley Method and natural childbirth. None-the-less we were happy to know that she would be born safely. So we scheduled a c-section for May 21st at 8am. Future Grandparents were called and bags were packed.

A few days before the big day my parents Deb and Dave and my little brother flew out for the big day. They brought with them a beautiful grandpa hand-crafted wood cradle for our sweet new baby. The night before the surgery I had my mom french braid my hair and then I could eat or drink anything after midnight. The morning of the big day Nathan and I drove to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and checked in at 6am. There ended up being some mix-up with the doctors and we were postponed and had to sit around a wait in a skimpy hospital gown until just before 10 when the anesthesiologist arrived to give me the worst epidural ever. It was horrible and painful. They prepped me and wheeled me in to the operation room. My parents and Dano had arrived by then and were waiting to meet the new baby. Once in the operating room they began right away. About half way through the surgery, I let out a scream because I could feel them cutting. I was quickly and completely knocked out. Nathan admitted later that he thought that I had died, but then the anesthesiologist announced that he had just injected my IV with "Angel Dust" and that I was ok. Things got a little weird then because I could hear everything that was going but could feel nothing and couldn't move or speak. I heard them all talking as they brought Hannah into the world. Hannah Mae Clark was born 10:10am weighing 8lbs. 4oz. and 21 inches long. They cleaned her up and she cried right away. That is all I remember until I was in the recovery room. In the recovery room I could hear my parents and Nathan all talking but I couldn't move or speak. I felt like I was out of my body. I started to come to and was congratulated on the sweet little girl I had just given birth to. Eventually I was moved to the Mother/Baby wing and was allowed to wake up. I remember when the nurse brought Hannah to me, it felt surreal to hold her. I felt like I might drop her, it was unreal to think that she was mine!

Within the day we were informed about a birth defect that the nurse found in her hips. We were scared, we didn't know what to expect. Nathan and our best man from our wedding, Jonathan Bird, gave Hannah a priesthood blessing. (In our church, anointing of the sick and other sacramental rites are preformed by lay members of the church who have been given the holy priesthood.) In the blessing Hannah was promised that she would walk and run and play like other children and that the doctors would be guided to heal her little body. As young new parents we were scared for our little girl but found comfort in the promises of the blessing. Within a few days we were home from the hospital. My mom stayed to help take care of us as we cared for our new little lady. Nathan's mom NanEtte came to stay with us once my mom needed to head home. We had many doctor appointments for both Hannah and me the first days home. Hannah was seeing an Ortho Surgeon that first day home the hospital. He put her in a "frog leg" brace. Within in a week she was up at Primary Children's Hospital to see a pediatric ortho surgeon. After a few tests and an exam we found out that within a month Hannah would be having a surgery to correct her hips. She went on to have 3 different hip/body casts in the first 9 months of her life. She was the sweetest new baby even with all of the garbage she had to go through. We love her so much. She is growing up to be an amazing person.

1. Hannah is super bright and loves to read.
2. She is kind and loving and a great big sister.
3. She loves to dance and sing in her room when she thinks no one is watching.
4. She has been in 12 plays.
5. She loves sweets and ice cream.
6. She loves her big giant cat Dojo.
7. She is a really great artist.
8. She loves to garden, go for walks, and ride bike.
9. She skipped up a grade this year.
10. She is the most beautiful and amazing firstborn a mother could wish for!

Happy Birthday Hannah Mae! We love you!

Happy 17th Months!

2009-05-17T07:25:00.002-05:00

I will be posting a a few birthday pics of the girls later, but I cannot let this day go by without saying Happy Birthday to our sweet little babies! I cannot believe how fast these past two years of expecting and having you in our lives has flown by. We love you Emma & Sara.

Contest Giveaway!!!

2009-05-17T07:17:00.002-05:00

I have decided to do a contest giveaway. There are two categories:
1. Guess how much we spend on tolls.
2. Guess how many miles we have driven, (including the miles while at places, so you be able to just mapquest it. )
The two contestants that come the closest to one of these categories will receive a fabulous prize!
Just email me at nathan_melissaclark@hotmail.com with your guesses!

Summer Trip: The Rest of Week One

2009-05-17T06:54:00.003-05:00

Wednesday: Hung out with Grandpa, Visited The Beaudry Family, Visited with my friends from Monarch Montessori, Hannah went to Isaac's baseball game.
Thursday: Went to see a very interesting play with Jamie and Ellen. Hannah got to have a special Girls' Night out with her Aunties Carrie and Jamie.
Friday: Packed up the van and left for points east! After stopping at Sam's for gas we hit the road at about 9am. I would like to take this chance to say that I absolutely hate Chicago! Beyond the crappy traffic, people drive horribly there, it is dirty, it stinks, I could go on but I don't want to waste another second on that horrible place! We spent the night in a suburb of Cleavland, OH (I should actually say morning because we finally put our heads to the pillows at 4am, the girls all slept in the van, but I just kept driving. I did stop to rest my eyes for about a half hour at about 2 am because the horrible rain was just hypnotizing me.)
Saturday: Slept in and went to visit some local historic church sites. We also went to the boulevard of 500 flags. That was amazing! This memorial has 500 flags for fallen soldiers, each flag pole has a name of someone that gave their life striving to protect our country and freedoms. (pics to come) They also have a memorial to 9-11. It was beautifully designed with pieces of twisted I beam from each of the Twin Towers, and granite from the pentagon. It was all put together on a pentagon shaped platform of grass. There is a sign there saying earth and grass from the field in PA. If you are ever driving through Cleavland, you must stop.
Sunday: We are heading out to VA & MD and will stay until Friday when Nathan comes! We are excited to have Daddy back.
Check back later tonight because Hannah is doing a toll count to tell us how much we have spent on tolls.

Summer Trip: Day 3 & 4

2009-05-12T16:24:00.008-05:00

We spent a nice morning having breakfast with Ahnah and Maren then left for Historic Winter Quarters in Omaha, NE. Then drove the rest of the day to Grandpa & Grandma's House in Otsego, MN. Thankfully the girls all slept nicely and we have been dingin' around all day. I managed to vacuum out the van while the twins took their nap. We are trying to make the rounds to visit as many people in MN as possible. If you would like to come and see us, stop in at Rockwoods on Saturday May 30th @ 8pm.*** (by that time Nathan will have joined us so you can see him too.)

***this date has changed because on Friday night we will be celebrating Hannah's "decade" party

Summer Trip: Day Two

2009-05-10T21:08:00.009-05:00

Oil Change for a mini-van =$30

New Tires for a mini-van =$350

New Breaks for a mini-van =$150

Cross-country trip with my 3 daughters =Priceless!

Today was an adventure! I heard a weird noise with our new tires-I kept thinking that it was maybe mud in the wheel well or something about the pavement. It just wouldn't stop, so I decided to stop at Walmart Tire & Lube and have a guy look at it. It turns out that something was done wrong when the Dealership changed the breaks and a bolt that holds the caliper in just fell off while I was driving. It was making a horrible thumping sound. The guy didn't have to fix it, it wasn't even something that they do there but he said he would run to the parts store and get the part to fix it. He left and when he returned he said the parts stores that were actually open on Sunday don't have it in stock, and that he went to his house and got a bolt from there to make the repair. Talk about an angel!
We are staying tonight in Lincoln, NE with our dear friends the Lingards. We will just see whose front lawn we end up on tomorrow!

Summer Trip: Day One Summary

2009-05-10T07:16:00.002-05:00

On Saturday we packed up the van and said goodbye and gave lots of hugs and kisses to "daddy" and left at about 1 pm MDT. Everyone is doing great! We stopped in Rock Springs, Wyo for gas and to stretch. That Walmart there is gross, by the way, I am not sure if any other place in that town would have been any better. We got to Laramie by about 7pm and the girls were starting to let me know that it was their bedtime. I saw a sign for Ramada that said free hot dinner and free hot breakfast, so I couldn't pass that up with 4 mouths to feed. I, of course, have packed lots of things in the van for everyone to eat so we don't have to stop to feed all of us, but that was too good to pass up. The staff at hotel was nice and the room was adequate. Hannah loved the fact that dinner included a salad bar--fresh food--yeah! After taking 10 trips to the van to carry stuff in, while Hannah played with her sisters in the room-with the door locked, chained, and a secret door knock to signal that it was me, I set up the pack-n-plays and proceeded to get everyone to bed. Just so everyone knows, I do not ever want to be a single mother, it takes a ton of work to get everyone to bed at home, and even more work during a road trip! Day two will bring us to Lincoln, NE, more later!

One small step for mankind, One Giant Leap for Emma!

2009-04-27T20:59:00.004-05:00

Both of the girls have been cruising around furniture and walking with handholding for some time but Emma is venturing out on her own!

Horsing Around!

2009-04-09T14:39:00.003-05:00

Where have the last two months gone?

2009-04-08T18:08:00.004-05:00

Well hello there, long time no see. I am sure you are all wondering where I have been and what I have been up to the last two months. I have been chuggin' along in life trying to organize the rooms around the house, finish projects, empty boxes, make 72 hours kits, plan menus, save money grocery shopping by cutting coupons, helping the little girls learn to walk, helping my big girl plant a garden, and well just keeping busy.

Teething has been a real chore. You don't even want me to tell you about the sheer amount of poop or vomit that a little 15 month old can make but I will tell you that I did give 4 baths to each of the girls in one day and I also wased 14 loads of laundry that same day for the very same reason. No they didn't ahve 14 loads worth of messes but it was laundry day so in addition to the 8 loads of laundry I do each week, I washed all sorts of crib sheets and blankets and pajamas and towels that day. The end is in sight, I hope, now we are on the runny nose stage, which can be super gross too.

Hannah is doing great with school, next year she will be doing part 5th grade and part 6th grade so she can be challenged. So smart and equally sassy!

Nathan just got a new job that is a part of a really great company, that is stable and a nice place to work. There is growth potential there--teaching has been set aside yet again, but time will tell.

I have been geeking out with making my grocery budget as small as humanly possible, the other day I saved $50 in coupons for one trip. AWESOME. I spend my free moments during nap time checking out www.funwithfoodstorage.net and www.squarefootgardening.com I am getting pretty good at making homemade bread. Let's just say if we ever lose a job again, please don't take this as a request, but I will be ready for it in the kitchen.

I had a great birthday, lots of calls, emails, a delicious gift card to Olive Garden-thanks Jamie, and a beautiful plant-thanks Ellen, and a nice night with new friends-thanks Tuesday nighters.

I promise to post more again soon, and pictures too.

14 months!

2009-02-17T17:45:00.003-06:00

It is hard to believe that the girls are now 14 months old. Both girls say all sorts of words including their own little versions of Mom, Dad, Hannah="Na", yes, no, boo, and all sorts of other words we still don't understand. They love to talk to each other in their own little language. They squeal with glee whenever we pick Hannah up from school, they know the place and love the sight of other children. They both can pull themselves up from laying to sitting, from sitting to standing-by furniture, and love to cruise around the couch and table and chairs and us. Both have snuck up a few stairs when the incentive was good enough, (i.e. trying to get to big sister's purse or Dojo's kitty food dish.) They behave well during church and love to make faces and smiles at all of the people. They love music, they love it when we sing and they love listening to all kinds of songs on the CD player. They both be-bop their little bodies along to the beat, Emma seems to have a strong sense of rhythm and Sara just loves to boogie. Their favorite food is yogurt, any flavor really, and string cheese, and bananas. They eat just about anything. They still take two naps a day. One in the morning about 2.5 hours after waking (around 9am) and one after lunch at about 1pm. They go to bed (after a bedtime snack of yogurt and fruit, family prayer and song) in their own room in their own cribs with few minutes of white noise and usually dose off and may even fuss a little. They usually sleep through the night unless one of them is sick, or teething. They have been very healthy babies that have only had slight colds a few times during these past 14 months and once or twice have just had icky fevers. They love to take baths, together of course. They love to go shopping just like big sis did when she was little. They love to visit Dad at work. They love to play with the cordless phone and TV remote. They are getting so big. They already wear 18-24 month clothes. Sometimes we dress them alike and sometimes we dress them in similar outfits that have different colors or patterns. They love to play together, they could do it for hours. We are grateful everyday for our sweet, healthy, happy babies!

A little bit country, a little bit rock n' roll

2009-02-01T06:25:00.002-06:00

It all started when Marie Osmond was on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, then our local community theatre also did Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Our family watched the video of Joseph starring Donny Osmond. Then the Osmonds were on Oprah and several other media outlets. Somewhere along the way Hannah found out that the Osmonds are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was over-the-moon excited there were other LDS people out there and that they were on TV, too. Here in Utah a study of state history is a part of the curriculum at her school and so came the written reports of a famous Utahan. Did she pick the Ute Indians, Brigham Young(first Utah Governor), Karl Malone (Utah Jazz player) Philo T. Farnsworth (inventor of the television)? Nope! She picked Donny and Marie Osmond. We are out window shopping yesterday and she found a CD, not just a CD but a box set of "Donny & Marie Osmonds Greatest Hits" is was a 3 CD set in a special tin case. Hannah knows that we have been very careful with the family budget, trying to keep the extra purchases to a minimum. But I could tell she really wanted it. It was on sale for only 11.99, so I had to get it for her. After all most moms of a "tween" are dealing with obsession of Brittney Spears or other pop stars that are less than desirable role models that sing about being a "slave for love" or "oops I did it again." Nathan and I spent the whole night listening to our daughter in her room, in the shower, everywhere, rocking it out to "I am a little bit country, I am a little bit rock-n-roll", "Puppy Love", and "Paper Roses".

Smarty Pants!

2009-01-24T15:47:00.003-06:00

Hannah made the honor roll at her school. She proudly presented her special certificate to us at dinner last night. Toward the end of dinner she seemed a little off and I inquired as to what was going on.

Her reply: "My only wish is that my school had the bumper stickers that said 'My child is an Honor Student at Lakeview Academy'!"

Smarty Pants!

Just so you don't think we fell off of the face of the planet...

2009-01-19T11:25:00.002-06:00

Things have been sort of weird around here lately. In the last few weeks,

I decided to go back to school to get the rest of my BA degree, it was super awesome for a week but after I realized exactly how expensive out-of-state tuition is, I decided to wait until at least this summer.
A 6 year old little girl that lives a few houses down from us, passed away unexpectedly. When an old person dies, people reflect "So-and-so lived a good life" but when a child dies it is very unexpected and hard. Amazingly so, she had an incredible spirit. Phenomenal family, special girl.
Nathan started Full-time at Walmart, we are thankful for the blessing of more income and wondering what exactly God has in store for us.
The babies, specifically Emma, has been sick this weekend, no symptoms except a high fever, not wanting to sleep at night, etc. I am quite worn-out from three nights of not sleeping.
Hannah doesn't have school today so we are going to try to go get the safety and emissions test done today. Nathan and I tried to go on Thursday, but get this, they ran out of the stuff needed to calibrate the machine for the test. So hopefully Hannah and I will be able to get out and get that done.
Tomorrow Nathan has the day off, so we are planning on going to one of the dinosaur museums in the Utah Valley. Hannah is super excited and even better, it is free!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2009-01-08T19:56:00.008-06:00

Happy Birthday!
Much love from Utah.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T07:34:00.003-06:00

So many gifts this year to be thankful for.. salvation, life, health, home, marriage, children, family-near and far, dear friends, education, love, the greatest gift of all is the light and life and hope that Jesus Christ brings us.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

We made it! Happy Birthday Sara & Emma

2008-12-17T08:10:00.006-06:00

12 months ago we went in for a routine (well as routine as it gets with a high-risk identical twin pregnancy) OB appointment and than went into the hospital to bring Sara and Emma into the world. We knew that they would probably come early but we didn't know that they would come over a month early. We were scared but excited to welcome them into the world. That day was a wonderful one in that they were finally here, but it was also very hard in that the girls had to be wisked into the NICU becuase they both had blood sugar issues,(not uncommon with twins) and Emma liked to just stop breathing. The nurses all assured us that the girls were a good size and that I would probably get to have them in my room within a few hours and for sure by the morning. Well the next morning came and we still did not get to have our babies and we went to the NICU to find, (what I think was probably the worst bed-side mannered Neonatologist) She said that the healthy girls that we let go to the NICU the day before, were not doing so great and that they needed to stay for a while possibly weeks and that we should not hold or touch Emma! Devastating news. But the girls and their mom, defied those orders. Mom said over and over that her girls would be home by Christmas, or the new year at the latest--and they were! They were tiny and couldn't leave the house for months, but they came home. There were lots of bumps in the road along the way. Emma had to wear a apnea/breathing monitor day and night and it seemed like Sara constantly cried when she was awake. But we made it! Today we celebrate their first birthday and also the strength of a mother and a father and enduring love. We celebrate Hannah and the sweet love she gives to each of her sisters. We celebrate friends and family who helped us along the way. We celebrate the strength that our faith has given us. Today we celebrate 2 little miracles that have blessed our lives more than we can ever express. Happy Birthday Sara & Emma!

Clark Family Christmas Letter

2008-12-11T10:34:00.012-06:00

(Nathan told me not to worry about this, noting "we have never done this before, why start now?" I was adamant about letting people know what is going on in the Clark corner of the world. With all of the changes that have happened in the last 12 months, I thought it completely necessary. Most people getting out Christmas card would wonder what is going on, just by the postmark, some people don't know that we have moved or that we had twins, so here goes, it may be a little longer than the usual “Christmas Letter” but I haven’t written one in ten years...)

The Clark Family Timeline

December 2007
Nathan, Melissa, and proud big sister Hannah welcome identical twins Sara & Emma into the world 5 weeks early on December 17, 2007! Weighing in at 6 lbs. and 6 lbs. 10 oz. respectively, the babies each spent about a week in the NICU before coming home. Grandma & Grandpa Clark came to stay for a few weeks to help us around the house and to get to know the babies.
January 2008
The proud parents were bleary eyed and sleep deprived. Nathan returned to work, Hannah to school, and Melissa handled taking care of the new babies the best she could, with a few delicious meals from friends and family to help keep everyone fed!
February 2008
Nathan and Melissa left the house for the first time, together, without the babies and Grandma & Grandpa Hedburg were dubbed "Chief Baby Watchers". Nathan began the production of Anne of Green Gables for Youth Theatre Workshop, the local children's theatre that Melissa co-founded.
March 2008
Melissa turned 30! It was no big deal, she hardly even noticed that it happened. Grandma & Grandpa Clark, Nathan's brother Colin, his wife Heather, and their twin boys, Carter & Tyler come out to freezing and snowy Minnesota for the baby blessing of the girls.
April 2008
Hannah appeared in YTW’s production of Anne of Green Gables as Minnie May Barry. Melissa found time to start a family blog to detail the events of the family.
May 2008
Hannah turns 9! Melissa was very smart to have her birthday at the local community center water park to avoid any set-up or clean-up. Hannah appears in YTW’s production Disney’s Aladdin Jr. The babies both learned to roll-over!
June 2008
Melissa, Hannah, Sara, & Emma began to enjoy the summer together. Since Melissa started teaching, this was the first summer she had off. The babies started some solid foods. Sara and Emma met Great-Grandma Hanson.
July 2008
We had a 4th of July garage sale! Nathan became a Cub Scout leader for our church. Hannah decided to cut her hair almost all the way to the scalp at her bangs. (Check out our blog, we have a great video of her explaining why!) Nathan and Melissa celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss!
August 2008
We took a much needed and deserved family vacation to Nauvoo, Illinois (a historic Mormon Church settlement and the place where we went on our honeymoon.) We also stopped at the SPAM Museum in Austin, MN.
September 2008
Hannah began the school year at a wonderful new school, Kaleidoscope Charter School. There she got to be in many classes with her cousin Isaac. Nathan was abruptly laid off from Carlson Marketing Worldwide due to cut-backs after over 6 years of faithful service.
October 2008
We decided to move to Las Vegas, NV to live with Nathan’s parents and re-group a little, but after further consideration made a switch to Eagle Mountain, Utah-a fast-growing city near Salt Lake City and Provo. Nathan’s dad, Rod, drives with us all the way from Minnesota; the trip took 3 days. It was unexpected and crazy, and we miss all of our friends and family in Minnesota, but it was the right move for us.
November 2008
Hannah started school at a new school—Lakeview Academy, another charter school, with her UT cousins! Nathan decided to start a new career—teaching, with a little economic supplementation from a 2nd job at the local Wal-Mart. Melissa loves the discount!
December 2008
Sara & Emma turn 1 year old! Both sets of grandparents made the trek out for the big event. Things are kind of quiet, with no children’s theatre to run, and no boards to sit on, yet. But we love it! We are grateful for our full year, our three beautiful daughters, and our roof over our heads. We are grateful for our 10 amazing years together. We are grateful for the peace that the Christmas season brings and for the trials and triumphs we have been blessed with. Most of all we are grateful for the neighbors, friends, and family that have shared this truly memorable year with us.

May the humble peace that Jesus Christ brought so many years ago be with you this year and always!
The Clark Family
Nathan·Melissa·Hannah·Sara·Emma
Check out family photos and current events at http://theclarkcorner.blogspot.com/ or email us at Nathan_melissaclark@hotmail.com

Everything in twos!

2008-11-30T19:45:00.003-06:00

Everything is different with twins and my girls have always have a buddy. They play together and get into trouble together. The other day I was hanging laundry in our walk-in closet, so I couldn't see them, but they were right in my toddler-proofed bedroom, so I figured I was OK. All of a sudden I hear this roaring giggling and I looked out to see that they had both crawled into the bathroom. They thought they were so funny because they had sneaked away into the bathroom. They both crawl now, Sara started on Oct 30th and Emma on Nov 1st. They have gotten so big that they can no longer sleep in the same crib. It turns out that Emma really likes to play with a.k.a pull Sara's little pony tails so we have them separated now. I thought that they would never be able to sleep apart because they have slept together since we brought them home from the NICU. I was wrong, they slept great. That was it my little babies are now going to be toddlers!

This is the girls catching a ride downstairs with Daddy. (Sara is on the left and Emma on the right.) They are almost too big for me to carry them together.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T05:38:00.004-06:00

These are the pies I baked with Hannah this year with her cousins, Abby & Harrison.

This year especially, I am grateful for many blessings...

Grateful for my faith and for the atonement of Jesus Christ, and forgiveness.
Grateful for my husband , who loves me
Grateful for our three girls, who light up our life, sometimes at 3am!
Grateful for my parents, past and present, and for the things that they have taught me
Grateful for siblings
Grateful for nieces and nephews
Grateful for a home to live in
Grateful for wonderful friends, new and old
Grateful for Thanksgiving dinner to cook
Grateful for talents
Grateful for trials and challenges

I grateful for so many things, too many to list everything. I am grateful!

Bath Time!

2008-11-17T17:09:00.003-06:00

You will notice that this tub is white without the mold that grew under the shower panels in our old house! I feel a lot better giving the girls a bath in this bath!

Happy Birthday!

2008-11-17T16:16:00.003-06:00

As you can see from the pictures, it is not easy getting two little busy bodies to both look in the same direction and be cute at the same time, so take your pick!

Yes, that is Sara on the left, she is giving Emma a run for her money.

Totally identical in this pic...

Sara is cracking up, it must have been something that Emma said.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful little girls! I cannot believe it has been 11 months already! Next month we are having a 1st birthday party on Saturday December 13th, if you have any extra frequent flier miles, or happen to work for an airline, or are planning on being in town you are totally invited to a Twinerific 1st Birthday!

More moving details...

2008-11-07T06:30:00.006-06:00

We left quite late on that Sunday, ugh, it just seemed like no matter how hard we pushed there was more to pack, clean, load, etc. Rod & Hannah left in the big rig 10:30ish and Nathan, the babies, Dojo, and I left I want to say 2ish. We fit everything we could possibly fit into the big rig, the cab and back of the truck, and in our van, and on top of the van. We cleaned the floors and fridge, made little piles in the garage for my dad and Jamie to help us take care of (Goodwill, Garbage, Boxes, Stuff we couldn't fit, etc.)--super big thanks by the way, and locked the doors and left! It was snowing, the weather and roads were horrible. I drove and Nathan said the prayers. The girls were great travelers. We made it to Lincoln, NE the first night. We stayed at a hotel thanks to Rod's travelers points. We even got to see our long time friends Adam & Ahnah & Family. We had breakfast with them on Monday morning, got to see their new house quick and hit the road. We got to Cheyenne, WY that night and relaxed in a super-seedy motel. I found a tin of tobacco under the covers-um, yuk! But it was again free, thanks to Rod's points. We left early that Tuesday morning, like 7:00 and drove pretty much straight to Eagle Mountain, UT--stopping only for gas and a quick bite once. We made great time. As soon as the big rig arrived at our new house about 10 guys were there to help unload it. Everything was in the house, basement, or garage within an hour. We had gas, power, and water set-up, but the phone, internet, DSL were another story!! We are still working on our cells that don't work in our house or on our block but, we have internet and directv, so we are doing ok. Hannah went to her new school on Thursday and loved it! We are getting everything unpacked and making it feel more like "home".

We made it! Home Sweet Home

2008-11-04T14:47:00.005-06:00

It is beautiful here! I love my new house. We finally have internet and will soon have phone and TV too. Our stupid Qwest cell phones don't work here in this city so we are switching to Verizon. Our phone numbers will stay the same. I will post pics of the new house and our trip out as soon as I get a free moment. Thanks again to all of you who helped us pack and move. We love you!

We are heading out!

2008-10-26T06:01:00.004-05:00

We are leaving today, later than we had planned I'm sure, for our new home in Utah. Email us if you would like our new address. We would love to hear from you! We will miss Minnesota and most of the people in it! A very special thank you to those of you who came to help at our time of need. It is official-I hate moving and packing. We are sore and exhausted and we are less than halfway done with the whole process--we still have the drive and the unload and the unpacking!

Love,

The Clarks

Now accepting help!

2008-10-22T17:49:00.002-05:00

If you know me at all, I don't usually ask for help or even say "why sure" when help is offered, but I am in need of help and I am not too proud to ask. I still need help packing dishes and some other kitchen stuff. We also need help putting all of the furniture and boxes on the truck. The truck will be here on Thursday afternoon and my dad is chief truck packer, but we need lots of back power! I also need help cleaning the deep recesses of my house and patching/painting over holes in the walls. So if you are available anytime Thursday or Friday please come over and lend a hand. We have been working so hard every day but with two little ladies under toe we feel like we are falling short. And yes, we could still use some more boxes.

Thanks from the bottom of our hearts!

What am I supposed to get out of all of this?

2008-10-17T07:51:00.002-05:00

If you know me at all you know that I am constantly thinking either about what happened and what my effect was on something or what is going to happen and what I am supposed to do about it. I have done this for as long as a remember. One of the questions that I have been asking myself during the last two months is "What am I supposed to be getting out of all of this?" I talk to friends about this and many have asked themselves the same question while facing a trial in life such as a loss of a loved one, loss of a job, premature birth of a child, illness, etc. I have been lucky in my life because during most of my trials I have been able to quickly assess the situation and know what I was supposed to get out of a situation. But this job loss, new career, moving to Las Vegas, then moving to Utah, etc. has really stumped me. Until this morning. Many people have said "I don't know how you do it." Meaning mom to twins and a 9 year old, and probably all of the other stuff I get involved in. I have quoted scripture in the past and just said "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Frankly, I have muttered that under my breath at 3 in the morning, not neccessarily as an acknowledgement of it actually being the case but more as a pleading for help. Today at 5 am when Emma decided she didn't want to sleep anymore, I stumbled to the nursery to pick her up and comfort her. Soon after Sara awoke and I before I could feel sorry for myself that I am here by myself taking care of two great babies, wondering why God would send three amazing children to my self-proclaimed woefully inadiquate care, a thought came to me: I can do this, I am doing this.
We are taught that God will never give us a greater trial or burden or lesson than we can bare. I have been thinking a great deal about that and wondering just how much I can take, how much much more could possibly happen. (I do not want to find out. I will just leave that to Job from the Old Testament) But I am also comforted knowing that whatever I will face, I can know that it wouldn't be given to me unless I could handle it. I am capable of making it through this. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. That is what I am supposed to get out of all of this.

Settled on a location...

2008-10-16T18:23:00.005-05:00

Nathan has been out west all week--ugh, it has been hard being in charge of packing and the three kids--looking into the Alternate Route to Licensure teaching programs and he found that Utah's program is probably going to be the best fit. While Las Vegas does offer a little more in the pay department, Utah has a lower cost of living and is not as HOT! He checked out living situations in both places and found we could have more for the money and in a "safer" area in Utah. So we are excited to announce that we will be moving to Utah and he found us a house to live in and everything. One of the bonus aspects to this house is that is on the same street as Nathan's brother Trevor and Rebekah and their 6 kids. It is at the end of a cul de sac and Hannah will be able to ride her bike to school if she wants. We can see mountains out of every window of the house. We don't know what the future holds beyond that, but we are grateful to have such kind friends and family here and there to help us and to love us.

"Last night I had a strangest dream.."

2008-10-14T20:04:00.003-05:00

I thought I would give an update... everyone is doing well at our house. Nathan is out west interviewing for jobs and looking for a place for us to live. Hannah and I are holding down the fort. The girls are getting bigger and into so many neat things. Emma likes to dance whenever she hears anything remotely like music and Sara loves fabric and little details in things. I will post some photos or a slide show soon. Friday they will be 10 months old and I cannot tell you where the time has gone. Someone told us when were pregnant with the twins that this first year will be the fastest year of our lives yet the days will be the longest and that is exactly right.
I have to tell everyone about my brilliant and witty 9 year old. Tomorrow in class she is going to do a reader's theatre-a play script written to be read aloud in class. Her part is a reporter/scientist and she has created a costume and a prop. I guess the show has something to do with frogs and she took a drawing of a frog and some construction paper and a few other art supplies and created a full blown realistic frog habitat in a plastic shoe box container. I sent her down to take a shower and when she came up to say "goodnight" she showed me what she had done in just a few minutes. I was blown away. We are all "hanging in there". There are times when I am driving or working around the house and I am thinking to myself is this a weird dream. Am I going to wake up and none of this will have happened? You know like those weird dreams where you wake up and say "I had the craziest dream last night, we had twins, and then I quit my job to stay home with them, and then you lost your job, and to top it off we moved across the country. Weird!" That's my life right now, one crazy dream.

Rumors...

2008-10-06T17:30:00.002-05:00

Just so this doesn't come to a complete shock to everyone when we start telling people, it looks like we might be moving. Of course we are sad to leave friends and family in Minnesota. We have built so many wonderful associations and friendships here. I cannot imagine not living here the last 6 1/2 years. I think I will use this post to tell you the story of how we came to return to Minnesota after college. We had many places we could move, Las Vegas, California, Utah, Nebraska and other states where jobs were biting, but we chose Minnesota to be close to family and, truth be told, so I could make and decorate Terry and Ellen's wedding cake, (It was the best cake I ever decorated!).
When we moved Nathan was supposed to start work with a large insurance and financial company but once we got here the recruiter that had interviewed him and offered him a job starting jerking us around and not calling back and finally when he did get a hold of her she said "um, I am very sorry but we are under a hiring freeze." Crazy! So we had to make some decisions and we decided to stay, we had great landlords, Randy and Sony. Nathan went to Prostaff and was hired to work for Carlson and until 3 weeks ago worked there ever since. It was actually a good thing that it all worked out the way it did because just a few weeks after moving to Minnesota my mom died, fortunately we were here to be able to handle all of the arrangements and we even got to see her one last time on Mother's Day that year.
During his time at Carlson, Nathan started working on a Master's of Education degree, hoping to be a elementary teacher. Eventually Nathan started making more at Carlson than he would have starting out as a teacher and with the teaching market so competitive here, he decided to discontinue the Master's knowing that it would be hard to walk away from Carlson to ??? and student teach with a family to support not knowing if he could get a teaching job when he was done anyway. Well, God works in His own way and sometimes He sends a big change your way even when you are not wanting it. Nathan will finish his Master's of Education and will do so through an Alternative Route to Licensure program. It is a pretty cool set up that allows him to student teach for a year under a mentor teacher in his own classroom yet still receive a teaching salary. Before starting he has to complete courses that are offered through the school district and the university. Upon the completion he has a license and a Master's of Education. He has an interview to do long-term subbing and will probably do that until he gets into a classroom. It is ironic that it took all of this to get my stubborn, very-comfortable husband decide to finally chase his dreams. I am happy for him and excited for what life holds for us. To answer the big question on everyone's mind--MN does not have ARL program as far as we know, but if you know about one please forward any information to us. Nathan has applied for a few of these programs and is in the process of doing informational meetings and orientation stuff, we will end up where ever he can find a job in the mean time and where ever there is an offer. As of right now that place is Las Vegas. Nathan's parents live there and we are looking for an apartment there. We will be having a going away/pack up the truck party at the end of October. I plan on cooking up sloppy joes and a bunch of other great stuff from our freezer before we have to go. We are having a moving sale on Friday, October 10th. There will be a ton of great stuff for sale because we will be majorly down-sizing.

Who could ask for anything more?

2008-09-24T12:21:00.003-05:00

I looked out the window today and all I could see was a beautiful world that God created for you and for me. It isn't too hot and it isn't too cold. The trees are swaying in the breeze and there are birds chirpping. The sky is the most beautiful blue with gentle whisps of white clouds. My children, (just getting to say that is a miracle), are safe and happy and healthy. As I type this my husband is playing with the babies. I am even thankful that I have a window to look out. I am truly blessed. Things aren't so bad, who could ask for anything more? Thank thee Heavenly Father!

Apples to Apples!

2008-09-21T18:45:00.004-05:00

We made the annual trek to the apple orchard. I like going to the Emma Krumbee Orchard because there are a ton of fun things to do down there and we get a fall leaves scenic route on the way down. The girls all had fun and we could not have asked for a better day. It was beautiful! Now I need ot get busy making and canning applesauce and other apple things. Nummmm....

Hannah really got into picking "prized" apples, as she called them; while Sara and Emma were just interested in the grass and leaves. It was a fun trip, we might need to go again to another orchard, hopefully there will be a few good weekends left.

Palin Power!

2008-09-19T18:30:00.000-05:00

We all went as a family to the McCain-Palin Rally and it was super fun. There was a guy who had an Obama sign and bunch of ladies with Hockey Moms went and stood in front of him to block him, then he would move and they would move too. He finally gave up and fold up his sign and put it in his pocket. I can only hope that is what the election will be like--all of the hockey moms and women decide we are not going to be pushed around by fringe elements stand up and vote in a unified voice--then the fringe take their signs and fold them up and put them away in their pockets. I don't know about anyone else but I am sick of being told that I am not a real woman just because I support life.

I was even quoted in the Star Tribune:

http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/28676954.html?page=3&c=y

I said pretty much what most of the other women there were saying, I was luke warm about McCain, but I like the addition of Palin to the ticket because she is one of us, just her kids' mom working together with her husband to make the world a better place for her kids and for all of our kids.

Peace, Be Still

2008-09-10T04:37:00.006-05:00

OK so it is 4:30 in the morning and I should probably resist the urge to write in the blog. It doesn't seem very sensible, but I have a lot on my mind, I am warning you now, you can still leave the blog and come back in a few days and something else will be up and you can just skip this entry all-together. Nonetheless, I am writing this to sort some stuff out.

1. So my husband was laid-off, part of me is scared and worried and part of me is hopeful and reassured that something amazing will come of this.

2. This weekend at church, the bishop (for those of you who are not Mormon-that is our head pastor) made an announcement about a guy in our ward (our congregation) who was very ill and in the hospital. He has had health problems throughout his life--heart issues, I think. He is married, both he and his wife are about the same age as Nathan and me. I have been thinking about them both and with technology being what it is, I have been keeping tabs on them on Facebook. Yesterday, he passed away. My heart goes out to Marla and Rob. I can't even imagine what she must be going through.

3. The girls have not been sleeping well(babies-teething, Hannah-allergies/cold). Which means I haven't been sleeping well (at all).

1+2+3=I am up because the girls were up and now I can't go back to sleep. I am just thinking about everything. I want to be worried about Nathan and the whole not-having-a-job thing and what to do with our life, but all I can think about is what is must be like to have to crawl into bed alone without my husband ever again. I am so grateful for his snoring and drooling; I am grateful for how positive he always is about everything, saying "it will all work out". I am grateful that I have three beautiful girls that need their mommy in the middle of the night. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have about God and the peace that we can find with Him. Right now I am thinking about the hymn "Master the tempest is raging..."

Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high!

The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness.

No shelter or help is nigh.

Carest thou not that we perish?

How canst thou lie asleep

When each moment so madly is threat’ning

A grave in the angry deep?
The winds and the waves shall obey thy will:Peace, be still.

Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea

Or demons or men or whatever it be,

No waters can swallow the ship where lies

The Master of ocean and earth and skies.

They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, be still; peace, be still.

They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, peace, be still.

and the Bible verses that it is based on in Matthew Chapter 8 Verses 23-28

23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

As I sit here typing I am moved by the incredible courage that so many around me have, I am grateful for this trial and think that I have a choice, we all have a choice really. Do I fear or do I have faith? Will I allow this horrible storm and tempest overcome me? Or will I have faith that our Lord is over all things and can calm this storm? Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, we need them, I need them. I have faith in Him who can calm even the greatest storm. Peace, be still. It will all work out.

Every time a door closes, God opens a window..

2008-09-08T15:52:00.002-05:00

Nathan lost his job at Carlson today after being there for nearly 7 years and two promotions. Over the last three years Carlson has laid off a huge part of their workforce and the ax finally swung Nathan's way. We don't know yet what we are doing. That company is interesting in how it lays people off, it calls you into a office, sits you down and then tells you that you are done, then they walk you to your desk and stands there while you get your stuff and then you are escorted out of the building. (they have called security in case someone gets out of hand.) See ya! Last day, say goodbye to your co-workers as you walk by. So that was it, then Nathan called me and told me the news.

We have felt prompted to look for a new job, new place, new plan for the last year but needed to stay put with the babies coming and then being so new, but maybe this is our time to make a change. We are praying for guidance as to where to look, and what to do about insurance, housing, etc.

Hopefully if you get a call wondering about Nathan's character you will give him a raving reference.

Where have you been? A Monthly Update???

2008-09-03T10:26:00.004-05:00

My apologies to all of my readers-NOT!-I have been so busy getting ready for the school year and the big wrap up of summer that I have not updated in a month!!! I will be posting vacation photos, along with a State Fair update, and Back-to-School when I get the chance. I am busy enjoying my time with this beautiful fall weather and being home with Sara & Emma. Hannah started 3rd Grade yesterday at Kaleidoscope Charter School. She loves it, but as she said, does not like the stinkin' bus trip. I have asked her to give it a week and then we will see.

My friend Ellen, who has a newborn and is consequently very tired and busy, has often resorted to just writing weekly updates so I guess you could say this is my monthly update. Too Funny!
Hannah has now mastered riding a bike so well that she is allowed to ride to the library and park around the corner. It is neat to see the sense of freedom she has while riding. She is really an incredible person. I just love her and the person she is becoming. I was grateful that it was sprinkling yesterday morning at her school. I think most parents were, it served as a cover-up to the tears that we all shed as we handed our kids off to a almost complete stranger to teach our babies. "Are you crying? Oh me? No. It is raining!" It really is crazy how I turn into a big pile of mush when it comes to my kids.

The little girls are doing great--almost nine months old! They are rolling and scooting all over the place. Their favorite thing to do right now is to be outside on a blanket. They love the feel of grass and leaves. I can see a bunch of beautiful fall pictures in our future! :) Last night after our walk, they both played on the blanket and tried to eat the grass and leaves. They are really starting to be aware of one another and giggle when they see each other's face. It is a cute time.

I will try to be more regular about keeping you posted with the happening at The Clark Corner.

On the Road Again....

2008-08-04T06:00:00.003-05:00

This week we are taking a road trip through the midwest. Some of the places we will be going are:
SPAM Mueseum, Historic Nauvoo Illinois(where we went on our honeymoon), President Lincoln's birthplace in Springfield, Illinois and we will see where else we can get to... I don't think that I will be able to make updates to the blog until we get back but I can assure you that I will have plenty to say when we return. Make sure you keep checking because I might find someplace great to post a little trip update! Please send prayers our way that we will be safe and that all three of our girls will be healthy and the van runs well, oh, and cheap gas would be nice too. :)

Thanks to my dad for watering our garden and Nathan's roses, and keeping DoJo fed!

My Husband!

2008-08-01T06:00:00.003-05:00

I just want to tell you a bit about my husband today instead of an update on me or the girls.

He is 33 today!
He is a great father.
He loves God, his family, and his country.
He loves music from the 80's especially Erasure.
He is a freek for all things Disney.
He snores really loudly!
His favorite foods are lasagna & yogurt, not neccesarily together!
He is an Eagle Scout and as you can see from the picture above, he is also a Den Leader.
He loves his children, when we were dating in college, I once asked him what he wanted to major in and do when he grew up, his answer: a dad.
He loves me.
He can be a total turd sometimes, but I love him.
He loves Red Vines licorice.
He honors his parents.
He is patient and kind.
He listens to talk radio and KS95
He is really good at mowing the lawn.
He grows beautiful roses.
He takes good care of us.
He is loved by me more than words could ever say!

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Happy 10th Anniversary!

2008-07-31T08:51:00.004-05:00

Today Nathan & I celebrate our 10th anniversary. It is hard to believe how fast these ten years have gone by. I love him more than ever. I have learned a few things over the years:

Sometimes things don't happen when you want them to, you have to wait 8 1/2 years.

Marriages can work even when you get married young.

I can't imagine my life without Nathan.

I can't imagine our life without our girls.

I don't ever want to be a single parent.

Nathan really does love me!

I really love him!

You can teach yourself to cook.

He can teach himself how to do laundry.

We can make it through anything.

God won't give us more than we can handle.

Nathan is a great father.

...and a great husband.

It is good to go out on a date once in a while.

I appreciate my parents and his parents even more.

You should write each other notes.

You should call each other during the day for no reason at all.

A messy house isn't that big of a deal for a day or two as long as it is filled with love.

Don't start a fight over email.

It is okay to say how you are feeling about something, get it out and get it over with.

Nathan is the perfect man for me.

Two is always better than one!

I love you Nathan!

Cheap Family Outing!

2008-07-22T20:03:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to let you all know about Elk River Community Theatre's production of Oliver! The Elk River Rotary has donated 100 tickets for children so if you come this opening weekend, kids get in free with a paid adult. There is a lot of lively music, adorable children, and a beautiful set! This show is appropriate for probably 1st Grade and up, maybe younger if you have a die-hard theatre fan in the family. But a free ticket opening weekend, you can't beat that. Please see www.ERCT.org for more information about tickets.

P-touch Crazy!

2008-07-19T19:09:00.004-05:00

In an effort to get things organized in our kitchen I use labels on our Tupperware containers, today we were being silly and put labels on each of the girls. It was pretty fun, and just an example of how to get a little out of control when it comes to organization.

The Buzz Cut Kid

2008-07-19T19:08:00.003-05:00

The craziest part about this video is when I ask her if she will do it again and she has to think about it and almost says yes! Do you see what I am dealing with here? True confession time, when I was her age, I thought that it would be very pretty if I trimmed my eyebrows, it probably would have been except I trimmed them completely off. I look funny enough with eyebrows, I will just let you imagine me without them!

What was the last thing the man said before the turtle bit him?

2008-07-19T19:01:00.003-05:00

Everybody loves a parade!

2008-07-18T21:00:00.001-05:00

Are you ready? Mommy is ready on the float!
Here is part of our line-up of double strollers.
The whole parade crew.

It is county fair time and the Mothers of Multiples club that I belong to had a float in the Sherburne County Fair Parade. It was the girls first parade and they loved it, except for the big semi-trucks air horn. Everyone kept asking if they were dolls...I don't get it either. Hannah walked along and gave out double bubble gum! It was a blast.

Papa & Great Uncle Tom come to our rescue!

2008-07-18T17:03:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my Dad and my Uncle Tom our mailbox has been repaired. It was cool to see those two old guys, who mean so much to me, holding the girls. THANK YOU!!
Emma with my dad's brother, Uncle Tom.
Sara with Papa!

What has Melissa been up to?

2008-07-18T03:00:00.003-05:00

Besides doing the impossible everyday, sometimes more than once I manage to get a few other things done around here. I may not be a body builder, and there may be clothes that need to be folded but I manage to get a few things done.
Here is a day in the life of Melissa:

Wake at 3am--Emma doesn't like to sleep in yet. Feed Emma, put her back to sleep. Try to fall back to sleep or just give in, wake up and start the day.
6am both girls are up. Nurse. Change 2 diapers, go for a quick walk around the neighborhood, change 2 diapers again.
8am Feed them homemade baby food, yes, I actually find time to do that, keep reading. Change 2 diapers again.
9am girls lay down for morning nap--I get to work, I have to make labels for my Mothers of Multiples Club and I have a theatre program that I am working on for Elk River Community Theatre's production of Oliver! Take 6 phones calls either from parents of children in the show, other board members, or artistic staff. Read an email from the stroller company explaining that it is not their fault that they were misrepresented on the walmart website and that I should contact Walmart again. I do, I send off a very carefully worded email expressing my disapointment.
10:30am Hannah finally wakes up, she has been really enjoying the relaxed summer schedule. Sit down with Hannah while she eats breakfast to talk and read scriptures.
About 10:50am the girls wake up, feed baby cereal, green beans, and bananas. Wipe girls down, and give them some toys to play with while Hannah and I make baby food. Take the vegetables and fruits out of the fridge that I had cooked yesterday during nap time. Puree peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, peaches, pears, carrots, and bananas in the Smoothie maker blender and pour each into ice cube trays to freeze. Girls are ready to nurse, so I sit down for a little bit to do that.
After eating, playing while I made baby food, the girls are ready for a nap at about 1:30pm. I get to work again. Hannah goes out to play with some neighbor kids and run through the sprinkler. The Oliver! program is still very pressing, it is 20 pages long. I answer a few email about ads and biographies in the program, then type like crazy! Hannah wants to work on her blog so I stop for a little bit and pop the frozen baby food cubes out of the trays and into bags that I label & date. The phone rings and the tickets are ready for the show and I need to get them picked up and delivered to the bank, and also the Lions representative.
3:15 The girls wake up, nurse and we hit the road at about 4pm. It takes a while to load the diaper bag. The babies are carried to the car one at a time, buckled in, and away we go. We make it to the printers. I call to drop off the tickets and I also stop to pick up some names from the director of the show to be included in the program.
5:00 Hannah wants to learn how to make fajitas so she helps me get things going and we set the table. Where is Daddy??!!!
5:45 The girls get hungry so I nurse them. They get to eat their babyfood with us at dinner.
6:15 Nathan gets home late, so dinner is getting over cooked. I ask him to stir it, he comes in after deadheading his roses and a bunch of other things outside. It is the girls' 7th month birthday so I get them all dressed up in cute outfits, make the sign on the computer, and take pictures.
6:30 Dinner finally can be eaten now, urgh!
6:45 I leave for Mothers of Multiples meeting. Lots of crazy drama there. Us moms put so much pressure on ourselves.
10:00 arrive home to feed the girls and help Nathan get them put to sleep.
11:30 Finally done, now I check my email to see if there are any messages related to work, volunteering, etc. Check my friends' blogs to see how they are doing.
12:00 Read my scriptures, say prayers, then try to go to sleep, lots of stuff rolling around in my head--tomorrow is going to be a busy day, I need sleep.
3:00am start all over again!

Happy Birthday Babies!

2008-07-17T18:25:00.001-05:00

7 months already!! I cannot believe it! This month you have both mastered eating lots of new foods, and drinking from a cup with help. You both roll and scoot all over the place and sit up without any supports for a few minutes. Sara sleeps through the night almost every night and Emma still likes to wake up at 3am to eat. We love you and cherish having you in our lives!

Storms, Storms and More Storms!

2008-07-12T15:56:00.003-05:00

Recently there have been thunderstorms, tornado activity, and all sorts of craziness with the weather. Our mailbox was one of the latest casualties. Nathan tried rigging up with bungee cords but that lasted about 2 hours.

Como Zoo

2008-07-11T15:39:00.002-05:00

Nathan took the day off of work and we all took a trip to the Como Zoo. We walked all through the Conservatory and saw lots of neat plants and flowers. Nathan was very excited about each kind of flower because his work has a little photo club, and he fancies himself as a photographer. A slide show will be posted of Como Zoo pictures, watch for in the margin.

Then we got to see where the polar bears are going be living in their new digs. Hannah got to see Sparky the seal on the seal island exhibit. It was a fun day. The traffic coming home was not!

Here is some video of Emma basically saying "are we there yet?" and then they both conked out!

Kelley Farm

2008-07-10T10:21:00.003-05:00

I took all three girls to the Kelley Farm and we could not have asked for a more beautiful day yesterday. Hannah loved seeing all of the animals and helping in the pioneer kitchen. The little girls really enjoyed the new scents and sounds of the farm, but weren't really into seeing the animals yet. They enjoyed it all so much that they fell asleep. If you haven't ever been, you must pack a lunch and go. It is so neat, there is lots to do and it is close so you don't have to spend a fortune on gas.

Chipmunks, argh!

2008-07-09T09:36:00.009-05:00

Scary chipmunk, terrifying!

Yesterday morning somehow a chipmunk got into our house. It consequently scared the living daylight out of Hannah who screamed bloody murder, which scared the living daylight out of me and I ran to see what the matter was, I was talking on the phone with Jamie and just yelled hold on into the phone, threw it down and ran to see what the matter was. Jamie sat there on the phone wondering if there was an intruder or if Hannah was hurt. She said "I was thinking I am only 10 minutes away!" basically running scenarios in her head. It was a whole ordeal, I had to shew it out with a broom, setting up little barricades so that he would not go into the rest of the house. All the while that I our giant cat Dojo, just laid around like nothing was going on. Seriously do you think I could our money back from a free kitten?

LAZY, FIERCE CAT!

Garage Sale! On the 4th, What is More American Than That?

2008-07-07T09:26:00.006-05:00

I haven't posted for a really long time because every free moment that I have has been consumed with getting ready for a garage sale. We had it over the 4th of July and it went quite well. We joined together with my brother Dan's girlfriend, Jamie and we had a ton of stuff. Ironically enough I think I could go through the house and find enough stuff to have two more sales but at least we got rid of a bunch of stuff. I have learned from the best--the Paukert women--they really know how to have a sale. They mark stuff low, so everything will go, Andrea had a sale just the other week and she had everything inside the garage 25 cents, we did that on the second day and people love it. Ellen also taught me to have everything 1/2 off on the second day and so basically everything that was left in the garage was 25 cents and everything that I could not price down that low was 1/2 off. Thanks to those well-seasoned garage sellers for the training.

Hannah and I are really excited because now it feels like the summer can finally start. We have plans to go to the Kelley Farm and berry pickin' and bunch of other cool things. Hopefully I will get back to more regular posting here too! Included in the slide show are some pictures of Hannah and her big pop sale during the Garage sale and also her working out the kinks with her bike riding skills.

Emma Stands!

2008-06-22T19:39:00.003-05:00

You are going to have to turn your head to the side but I caught Emma standing for the first time! (I am still trying to get this camera stuff figured out.) Our little baby is getting so big! I am sure that Sara will not be far behind.

Long Time, no post!

2008-06-19T06:10:00.002-05:00

It is not that nothing has been happening around here I have just been too busy to post! We are getting ready for a garage sale and any extra moments that I have left over after caring for the girls are spent helping Hannah go through old toys and clothes to get ready for the sale. It is a boat load of work! I am tired of piles!

I know a lot of people have complained about the weather not being hot enough but could someone please tell me what is so wrong with 70's during the day and 60's at night. Boo go away 80's! ergh!

Happy Birthday Babies!

2008-06-17T19:43:00.001-05:00

Can you believe it hase been six months already? I can't!

Great Grandma comes for a visit!

2008-06-08T23:06:00.004-05:00

Last week my parents came over for a visit and I entitled the blog entry for that day "ol' folks come for a visit" I teased grandma that after today I would have to say Really Ol' Folks Come for a Visit! Seriously how cool is it that my three girls have great grandparents. Nathan only ever knew one grandma before she passed away, and I have been blessed to know everyone of my grandparents. In this day and age where so many people are foregoing parenthood for the career and big house and fancy toys, sometimes I can feel a little jealous that we don't own our own home yet or have lots of luxuries because we did the kids thing first and decided to wait to have our big house and toys. When I get to see my almost 79 year old grandma holding my babies I realize that the sacrifice Nathan and I made to bring children into this world first has been all worth it.

Hannah's Wet Birthday Party!

2008-06-08T20:20:00.003-05:00

Hannah had a super birthday at the Monticello Community Center Pool and water slide. I loved it because they did all the work and I actually got enjoy Hannah's birthday for the first time ever!

Ol' Folks Come for a Visit

2008-06-04T11:18:00.002-05:00

Grandma & Grandpa came over to play this Sunday! It is so nice to be able to see them.

quarter size ice nuggets!

2008-05-31T22:49:00.004-05:00

It is that time of year! The weather is volatile. Last Sunday after church there was a big tornado warning in Buffalo an we all had to pile into the church gym for a half hour. When we were driving home I felt a strong impression to drive around the storm down through Buffalo, St. Michael, then Otsego. Once we got to Elk River the black sky and hale hit us and the radio was telling everyone to get off the road and take shelter. We were a few miles from the safety of our home so I drove very fast! I told Nathan to have his finger on the garage door opener so that when we got close I could just zoom in. I was really bad! Then we got home and within a few minutes it was beautiful and sunny. Crazy Minnesota weather!

Today the sirens went off again and we headed for the basement, I then realized how unprepared we are for any sort of emergency. It really bothers me because I used to be so good with emergency preparedness, and the oldest three members of our family would have been fine, but there were no diapers down there, no blankets, etc. I guess I know what I will be working on in the coming weeks, updating our 72 hour emergency kits to have "baby" stuff.

Please pray for the families in Hugo who lost loved ones and all of their earthly possessions.

A Whole New World....

2008-05-29T09:38:00.004-05:00

Hannah is in yet another play. Youth Theatre Workshop is producing Disney's Aladdin. It is the best one we have done yet. The costumes are beautiful, the singing is fantastic, and the kids are doing a great job! The show times are:

Thursday 7pm

Friday 7pm

Saturday 2pm & 7pm

Sunday 2pm & 6pm

You can purchase tickets online at http://www.youththeatreworkshop.org/

If you have a chance come and check her out. She has worked really hard on this one.

Growing up, Climbing Hills, Fighting, and Scaring Our Parents!

2008-05-26T10:17:00.008-05:00

It is really neat that my little babies are getting so big and making little milestones everyday. My dear friends Terry and Ellen just welcomed their little Oliver into the world yesterday 8 1/2 weeks early and he is fighting to get big & healthy. All of this makes me think about what our little girls have accomplished in the last 5 months. I really gives me hope for little Oliver. I know he was born earlier and has more hills to climb. But I know how special children are to the Savior, he wants them to thrive and grow.

This is Emma & Sara in the NICU five months ago.

Look at my sick little babies now! Chubby and eating cereal and pears...

Hang in there Oliver, before you know it you will get your cereal and pears too!!

Ellen & Terry are strong, faithful people that want nothing more than prayers that their little guy will heal. Please pray for strength and peace and hope for our friends and check out their progress at http://thebeaudrybeat.blogspot.com/

Last night

2008-05-25T11:32:00.002-05:00

Last night was a great night! The girls ate every three hours like clockwork during the day. 7am-play,then nap,

11am-play, then nap, (Emma fussy, got up early),

2 pm-play, then nap (Sara fussy-got up early),

then at night it gets closer

4:30pm-then a short cat nap,

6:30pm then we went out to dinner.

They were super good the whole dinner, which is rather amazing, they are usually bucky at that time of night. We got home from the restaurant at about 8:40, then they got dressed for bed and ate again and were sleeping in their crib by 9:40. I was in bed by 10:00pm and they slept until the next morning, Sara was up at 5:30 and we woke Emma up and they both ate at 6am. Then after eating and playing for about an hour they went back to bed and slept until 9:30ish. They laid in their crib and talked and played together until we went in and fed them again at 10am. I know some of you were praying for us. Thanks, it worked!

Sleep, sleep...

2008-05-22T23:27:00.002-05:00

I had to publish this picture. I am hoping that the girls will sleep very well tonight, I really need sleep. It has been a rough couple of days/weeks/months.

Happy Birthday Hannah!

2008-05-21T21:14:00.006-05:00

Happy 9th Birthday Hannah!

My little baby is 9 years old. She woke up to streamers and her special box of birthday cereal. Right away Grandpa H was calling, then Grandma H, then her cousin Isaac, and then Jamie! Nathan took the day off and we went to lunch at school today and then she challenged Nathan to a game of air hockey when we went out to dinner tonight. Hannah got a new bike, complete with streamers, and a telescope. We are looking forward to a super fun summer with her new toys! At school she got a special surprise, Jamie sent her flowers and a balloon and she got to go down to the office to get it! The office worker said she was beaming from ear-to-ear. I am glad she had such a special day.

Five Months Already!

2008-05-17T18:52:00.002-05:00

I cannot believe that 5 months ago I was worried what would happen with our babies and now they are chubby little cherubs!

Happy Birthday Emma & Sara!

Hannah's Informance & Mother's Day Concert

2008-05-16T23:14:00.003-05:00

This is a picture of Hannah's school concert, the teacher called it an "informance". When we first heard about it we thought that meant that we would be indoctrinated and informed, which of course produced big eye rolls at our house. We eventually figured out that it meant an informal concert. Funny! Hannah also belongs to an all girls choir and this is a pic of her recent concert. They are dressed funny because they are singing songs from Annie.

Roll Over!

2008-05-16T16:51:00.003-05:00

On Wednesday Emma decided that she was going to roll over, no sooner had I called Daddy to let him know the good news, Sara decided she was not going to be out done and did the same!

We also started rice cereal on Wednesday, we have been busy!

Could you please pass the remote?

2008-05-08T20:21:00.002-05:00

The girls are getting so good at sitting up with support. Sara loves playing with her hands, she is on the left and Emma is on the right.

"ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!!!"

2008-05-07T15:53:00.005-05:00

One-Two-Three! and the winner is.....

I am trying to come up with some creative ways to engage the girls in tummy time to aid in their gross motor skills and I came up with the Twin Tummy-to-Tummy Time. They really like it, it kind of looks Sara has pinned Emma.

Emma is pinning Sara in this one!

Here Sara takes Emma down and still finds the time to suck her thumb!

Old Mother Hubbard-The Clark Cupboard

2008-05-06T13:35:00.003-05:00

She went to the cupboard and it was... what are we having for dinner? Has anyone seen my black shoes? How do you make sourdough bread? All questions that have come up in our 10 years of marriage. I really started this blog to keep people up on the 3 girls and everything that is going on in our lives. I have other interests! I love homemaking, being frugal, and all things crafty. I wanted to start keeping a log of some of the great ideas I come across. If you get a chance plese visit The Clark Cupboard. I will be updating it often and I hope that you continue to leave comments and some of your own great ideas too!

Spring is here!

2008-05-05T11:33:00.003-05:00

Here you see the ladies sporting the lastest spring fashions-Sara is in the hoodie and Emma is wearing the hat.

2 Bowling Balls, one with teeth!

2008-05-02T04:34:00.006-05:00

Good news! I had an appointment at the doctors' office so I had them check Emma & Sara's weights. It is a sore subject with me because as any breastfeeding mother knows you have no real way to know how much your baby is getting, you have to rely on growth and weight gain to know if they are not starving. So I really try to celebrate growth, it helps me to feel more at peace and confident in what I am doing. Like, "I must be doing something right, after all they are growing!". I have to remind myself that babies cry for all different reasons--colic, gas, tired, hunger, overwhelmed, reflux, overstimulated, and other things. Plus when you throw in a child's personal temperment one may be more laid back and the other a little more 'assertive' in her views on the world.

Sara weighed in at 12 pounds 1 ounce, and Emma at 13 pounds even. Woohoo! The doctor was so excited! 12 & 13 pounds is what most people would bowl with. That is 25 pounds of baby! Emma (left), Sara (right)

We also found two teeth breaking through on the bottom in Emma's mouth last night and I am sure that Sara will be quick to follow.

Hannah's Campaign

2008-05-02T03:50:00.003-05:00

There must have been something very interesting down on the floor that day when I took the picture because both babies are looking it at it.

Hannah is such a big helper. We have been very careful to make sure that her world didn't change too much when the girls came. We wanted her to still be a normal kid. After all she started this whole thing! About 3 years ago, it must have been after a Sunday School lesson on prayer, Hannah started this whole campaign to get a baby. It started out innocently enough--she first started off by asking Heavenly Father to "help Mommy have a baby" at bedtime prayers. She was about 5 or 6 years old when this started. She had always wanted a sibling. I, frankly, thought it was really cute when she would pray for it. I had pretty much given up, after all I had been praying to have another child for, oh, 7 years! I finally had closed a part of my heart off so that I could feel the sting of longing for another child.

Hannah's campaign started to branch out, eventually she would thank God for the food at dinner and throw in at the end "please bless mama to have a baby". She persisted. Eventually she got what she wanted last March I had been feeling like absolute garbage, so one afternoon I finally broke down and secretly took a home pregnancy test. Through all the years of trying, I had gone through the drill so many times, that I expected it to show a big fat negative. But it wasn't! I cried out "oh my gosh!" Hannah was playing in the other room, oblivious to what I was actually doing, she came running in and yelled out--"You're having a baby!" It was like the Holy Spirit whispered it to her before I had even decided to take the test. The next day I confirmed it at the doctor's office. We were all so excited! We broke the cardinal rule to tell people early and told everyone!

A week later I started to have a miscarriage. I was devastated. I felt horrible for letting my excitement out about the pregnancy and telling everyone so early. How would I break the news to Hannah. She was old enough to know that I wasn't going to have a baby, but still have the question of "why?"

Weeks went by, Hannah kept up her campaign of prayer to have a sibling. Eventually "things" did not get back to "normal" so I took another test at home, and it was positive again. This time I kept my mouth shut. I did call Nathan, to which his response was a matter of fact, "huh?" We went together to have the test confirmed at the OB, they wanted to do an ultrasound to check for a heartbeat right away to make sure that they hadn't made an error in assuming that we had miscarried earlier. We found out that day that it was a new pregnancy, it looked like it was about 6-8 weeks along, and there were TWO HEARTBEATS! What???? After all of these years and a miscarriage, to have two heartbeats-twins, we were, understandably so, over the moon.

The lesson I learned from all of this is how close children really are to God. Hannah set her mind to this. It took her complete faith, but it happened. We adults have so much to learn from children.

If you are tired, please raise your hand!

2008-04-30T02:06:00.002-05:00

Me! You may be wondering why I am up at 2:07 am blogging when I hardly get any sleep. Here in lies the problem, my fragmented sleep schedule is catching up with me and I am now suffering from insomnia. I get into bed and lay there after getting up to take care of the girls for 30-60 minutes. I lay there and think about EVERYTHING! My husband can't figure me out, he is one of those people that can be woken up out of a sound sleep, get up to do something for 3 minutes and then fall back to sleep in a matter of seconds. God bless him! I, on the other hand, think about why someone said "that", or what should I have done, or what should I make for dinner, or Oh that's right I need to call so-and-so, or do you think the babies need to move to size two diapers? Just everything, so much so that I decided this particular morning to sit down for a second and just get some of it out and then go lay down. (you are getting very sleepy, very sleepy) Mother's day is just around the corner and I am really looking forward to it. I went from being a mother of 1 to a mother of 3 in such a short time. (you are getting very sleepy, very sleepy) I prayed, hoped, and waited for this blessing for so long, 8 years, and now I finally have it. (you are getting very sleepy, very sleepy) I am very blessed, both to be a mother and now to be sleepy....(yawn) Goodnight...

It has been a while! Birthday Party Madness!

2008-04-29T13:25:00.001-05:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a week or so, things have been absolutely crazy around here. Maybe it is because it is spring and it is that time of year when everything seems to be bursting out! Hannah is excitedly planning for her birthday party for friends from school, choir, and church. It is going to be a pool party at the community center. She is very excited. Last year we had a big sleepover at our home, it was crazy. 9 little girls painting nails, watching movies, playing inthe backyard and that was within the first hour. Hannah told me the next morning "Mom, I don't want to have any more sleepovers. I didn't get enough sleep!" (I secretly thanked God right then and there.) I actually like the idea of having someone else worry about the set-up, entertaining, and clean-up. I know I would spend at least that much money and time on dinky decorations for the house.

When I was a kid my mom did a variety of things for birthdays. I remember having McD's b-day, and also birthdays at home. Did anyone else play that game where you stand on a chair and drop clothespins into a jar? As I got older there was the roller rink, and the bowling alley, but I had my share of homespun birthdays as well. No one can tell me that kids these days don't have it easy. It isn't too bad to be a parent either.

Early Morning Talks with God

2008-04-21T02:33:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid I honestly though my Grandma Krueger never slept. I got to visit my grandparents a lot when I was a kid (like Hannah's age.) I swear whenever I would wake up in the morning she would always be sitting at the kitchen table with all of her prayer books out, the bible and her Rosary beads. I am talking like 3-5 in the morning, because they milked the cows at 5am. When I was younger I used to think that she got up that early because that is when God was listening, you know less call volume at that time of the day. Now being a mother to three I realize that she probably didn't get up that early because that was when God was listening, but that was when she could really listen.

It is amazing what your heart can hear when it is 2:43 in the morning if you only listen to what He is saying to it.

Happy Birthday Ellen (observed)!

2008-04-18T10:21:00.000-05:00

A few years ago a few of my closest friends were out to dinner and we had a vote and decided to change Ellen's birthday. You see Jamie's birthday is 2/16, and mine is 3/17, Ellen just came eight days early. (If you know Ellen you know she has pretty much done that her whole life, potty trained by 17 months, graduated from college 2 years early, and so on.) So we decided if Ellen was a real friend she would have been born on 4/18 to keep the neat number thing going. "All in favor say, aye!" and so it was--Ellen's new birthday at least for our purposes was 4/18. If the presidents can do it, why can't Ellen? Trust me she will thank us when she turns 40 and gets those extra 8 days!

Here's to you Ells!

Happy 4 month birthday Sara & Emma!

2008-04-17T18:40:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it has been 4 months already. We love our sweet babies! They are so kind to eachother. It is so neat to see such pure love between two souls.

I want to thank everyone who has supported us, loved us, and lifted us up. This journey has been incredibly hard and filled with many lessons and blessings. We know that these little ladies are miracles. If God chose to send them to us, He must have thought we could do it. It is those quiet moments at 3am that make me realize who the ultimate authority on parenting is--the Father of all mankind. I have read 43 different books on parenting, pregnancy, sleep, twins, childbirth, prematurity, but the best books of all are those that contain the word of God. Jesus showed us how to be parents, and when it isn't in the book, He gave us the Holy Spirit to be a still small voice that whispers "You're doing OK!" and "Keep it up, I know you are trying." Sometimes we just need to plug our ears and block out the voices of this world and listen to the one who loves us unconditionally, who is always there for us, who knows what we are going through, and comforts us when others have turned their backs on us.

My heart is full with love for the those who do the Lord's work here on this earth! Thank you for supporting me in this difficult yet rewarding task of motherhood.

Happy Birthday my sweet babies!

Today was so nice...

2008-04-14T20:28:00.000-05:00

Can you believe how nice it was outside today? It got into the 50's here. I loved it! I got a lot done around the house, managed to do some volunteer work , and I also took the the girls for a walk. We got to see so many birds. It was really neat. I love spring, like I said yesterday, it is a time for starting fresh and marveling at all the beautiful things that God has made for us.

In a funk

2008-04-13T19:32:00.000-05:00

I haven't been blogging much lately, well, because I am in a funk. Hannah was sick for a large part of last week, the girls have been going through a phase and well, the weather--need I say more. I think there are times in our life that we end up in a funk so the good times can seem that much better. I guess if we didn't have those funk times we would all walk around with permagrins on our faces not really knowing why and maybe we wouldn't appreciate things at all. I am really looking forward to getting up tomorrow, taking care of my family, maybe even going for a walk if it is nice, and a fresh start. That is one of the really great things about spring, everything turns from rotten old dead grass to fresh new green grass, and the birds reappear, and it is like we get to start all over again.

I was just re-reading this entry and all I could think of is the 7-up commercials where the guy walks around saying "seven up yours!" There is something to the word funk, that just makes me giggle.

Happy Funking and Cheering up--Here's to spring!

Ok, so I take it all back..

2008-04-11T18:41:00.000-05:00

I really feel quite horrible for saying spring was here and causing the GREAT APRIL BLIZZARD of 2008. On a super awesome exciting note, the girls had their 4 month check up today and I am proud to say that they are growing and healthy and perfect!

Emma weighs 11 lbs 10 oz, Sara weighs 10 lbs 15 oz. Each have gained 5 lbs since birth and I am proud to say I did that! Many people have questioned our choice to breastfeed twins, saying that we should be giving formula (cow's milk) to our human babies . I know it is a lot of work but it is totally worth it, and yes, they get enough to eat, and yes, I actually feed them both, and no, I don't care to hear any negative opinions!

I am not a nut, just a mommy who wants the best for my babies, even if it means a lot of work!

2008-04-08T18:01:00.001-05:00

Well, just when I thought things were getting easier, Hannah got the stomach flu, the girls decided to stop sleeping through the night and I got a killer sinus infection! Argh!

Spring is here at last!

2008-04-04T10:25:00.000-05:00

It is so beautiful outside! Maybe that is why we all put up with living in Minnesota; 1) so we have something to complain about when it is too hot or too cold, and 2) we always have something to look forward to. I know my husband is looking forward to getting back out to his roses. Some of you may not know this but Nathan decided a couple of years back that he was going to take up growing roses and has gotten quite good at it. This a picture of Hannah and Nate last year in our front yard digging up the flower beds. I can almost smell the roses now.

Mothers and Fathers

2008-04-03T09:21:00.000-05:00

Let me just start by saying I love my husband more than any other person in the whole wide world. I can really see why children are meant to have two parents--because we compliment each other and it is hard to grow up without both "mom" and "dad". Today I nursed the girls, did "tummy time", sang a few songs, talked and brought them to the crib and laid them down. Usually they lay down all smiles, coo a little, and do a few little whines and protest cries and fall right to sleep. Today was different in that I woke the girls up at 7:15 so they could have a better set point to start the day. They have been waking up at 8 or later so Nathan has been long gone to work by the time we finish with our morning routine. The girls did the usual little murmurs and whines and Daddy, trying to give me a helpful hand, went in to see what they needed. Boy-o-boy! Did they love that! "Someone came in for our little whimpers" That began a morning of "wait a minute, we whined and you came in, NOW COME BACK!" and lots of "We want to play with Daddy, PLEEEEEEASE COME BACK!"

If you know me at all, you know that I have worked this morning thing down to a complete science, so you can imagine the words that I had waiting for my husband when he came out of the nursery. (Deep Breaths Melissa, it is only one morning, He was trying to help.) I am just grateful that my husband takes part in parenting our children. I am grateful that we have three, count'em, three little girls! Our Father in Heaven knows just what we need, and I needed this lesson today--Be grateful for your husband. I Love you Nathan!

Another Star in our Family...

2008-04-02T22:34:00.000-05:00

Some of you have known me for a while and know how much I love theatre and being dramatic, apparently it is genetic because Hannah, our 8 year old, has a part in Youth Theatre Workshop's Anne of Green Gables. She is really excited to be playing the part of Minnie May Barry, she gets to wear lots of costumes and even has a near death scene where Anne gets to save her from the croup. If you are looking for a fun night out this weekend please come and see our Hannah. We are so proud of her!

Youth Theatre Workshop is a local children's theatre that I started over 6 years ago to give children and youth in the area a chance to create theatre and learn the craft. This production is especially important because it is being directed by a student director. The sets, the costumes, everything is created by 'kids' under direction of adults in their respective fields. Our next production is Disney's Aladdin.

The show runs only this weekend. If you want to order your tickets ahead of time, please visit http://www.youththeatreworkshop.org/ FYI--the last show we did was Disney's Cinderella and it sold out before the show even opened.

Hippety-Hoppety

2008-04-02T22:30:00.000-05:00

Look who has hatched at our house! Sara is in the pink bumbo and Emma in the purple. They like their chairs really-I love being a mom!

Just Starting Out....

2008-04-01T19:12:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I have plenty to say on a variety of subjects. Why not start my own blog? To be honest I have put it off for a couple of months afraid that I might say something and offend someone. I have decided to throw caution to the wind and start one up. The first few posts are going to be me just rambling, and then when I really get going I hope to just keep rambling! Here's to the first amendment!