Joppa Journals

Finally.. An update!!!

2009-06-11T00:49:00.003-05:00

Wow, I can't believe how fast time sure can fly by! A lot has taken place with our family since I last posted in March. Here's a quick catch up for us..
In April, we celebrated Easter in Sun Prairie, WI and the kids had a blast! The weather was just beautiful and the kids even had an Easter egg hunt outside! What a great time we had celebrating our Lords resurrection!!!

At the end of April, we took our first family vacation! We took a long weekend and headed to Sioux Falls, SD for the Shrine Circus. A co-worker got tickets for us (Thank you again Larry) and kids had a blast! We took them first to a butterfly garden house and it was very cool to see all the different colors of butterflies! God's creation sure is wonderful! We surprised the kids by taking them to see one of my co-workers semi truck. Nate was just in his glory!! They even let him blow the horn! Totally freaked out Jason!!! Sunday we went to the circus and our hotel was right across the street from the arena, so we walked over there! Kids really had fun swimming and was a great kids pool.. it had a pirate ship full of slides!!! Monday, we took the kids into MCT. Midwest Coast Transport is the company I work for and the "home office" is in Sioux Falls. Kids, well.. lets just say they would have made great clowns at the circus! it was a quiet ride home as they fell asleep from being so tired! They talked about that weekend for a long time!

May came and so did the end of school! Caitlin graduated K5 and was fun to watch their program and to see her in a cap and gown was precious!! The following week, Hannah finished 2nd grade. They just love being on summer vacation!

That's been pretty much our busy lives the past few months! We're looking forward to the next few weeks here in June with a new niece coming and July.. a few birthdays and a wedding!!

A new toy.

2009-06-02T21:30:00.001-05:00

I'm testing out this new toy my loving husband bought for me. It's an iPod touch. Very similiar to the iPhone. Thank you honey for your love and this wonderful toy!

Happy 8th Birthday Hannah

2009-03-28T20:34:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday, March 21st, our first born, Hannah Joy, turned 8! Happy Birthday Sweetheart! We have been so blessed with this precious child God has given us! She is a great helper and such a smart girl! We were just told last week, that she made the "A" honor roll for the 3rd quarter! Praise the Lord!! We celebrated her birthday with Grandpa Joppa, Auntie Lissa, Uncle Jeff, Madi, Wyatt, Grandpa and Grandma Nelson, Uncle Andrew, Aunt Angela, Great Grandma Ten Eyck and James. The weather was just beautiful and we were able to take the kids to the park as well! Here are a few pictures for our fun weekend!

Gymnastics

2009-02-20T23:48:00.002-06:00

Hannah and Caitlin are in gymnastics and this past week, we received their pictures.

Finally.. Updating!!

2009-01-26T22:37:00.005-06:00

Sorry we have not been keeping current! I am not sure what took place, holiday's for one, sickness for another!! So here's a brief "catch up" of what's been going on in the Joppa household!

Christmas was such a blessing to us! We had Christmas with my parents and our kids were sure spoiled!! We had our family Christmas and kids just got clothes from their parents.. I kinda fell bad, who would LOVE to get just clothes, well.. our kids did!! Whew! We took off for a nice long weekend in Wisconsin! Kids were spoiled and our two older girls along with my niece received enough money for an American Girl doll! The Friday after Christmas, Melissa and I took 4 girls down to Chicago to the American girl store. They were just in their glory!! :)

We celebrated the New Year in style.. just home with our family and enjoyed every minute of it!

My brother, Ben came home shortly after Christmas and we were able to spend a lot of time with him and his girlfriend, Becky! We were finally able to meet her, after getting to know here a little more from facebook. We had a great time getting to know her and were sad when she... they left :)

Our family has gone threw a few weeks of sickness!!! We're thankful it hit us at one time, and not spread out over a long time. It started with Nate coughing.. finally he complained of an ear ache, so we thought.. ah here comes the infection. So off to Urgent care we went.. Pneumonia! We were shocked! Samantha and I were heading down the same path, so we made an appearance at the clinic. She was in the beginning stages of pneumonia and I had bronchitis. Later on that week, Caitlin and Jason went to the clinic, She ended up with a double ear infection! Jason, just the good ol' fashion cold. Hannah, was the last to get it and when she did, thankfully, it wasn't so bad! Praise the Lord we're on the road to recovery! Jason and I are still dealing with some of this, but we're getting there!

This pretty much catches us up!! Hopefully, I'll do better with this!! The temps have been very cold and we're looking forward to spring!! yeah!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T13:34:00.002-06:00

We sure have a lot to be Thankful for! Our salvation in Jesus is one!! Family, friends, food, clothes, homes, vehicles, just to name a few. Wednesday, the girls had a Thanksgiving meal, so my mom and I went to have lunch. The girls were so excited and cute! They were able to leave after lunch, so they had a great afternoon with Grandpa and Grandma. Thursday, we had thanksgiving meal at our house. This was the first time I had done this, so was pretty nervous. The turkey didn't burn :) and the food all got done at the same time!

Here are some pictures of Wednesday and Thursday.

Thursday night, after the kids were settling down for the night, I went with my sister and my mom off to Albertville Outlet Mall. Some stores opened at 10 PM for their after Thanksgiving deals! And BOY did we get the deals! We were shopping and at 4 in the morning, had Burger King! That seemed strange! We headed back and hit a few stores around here. All in all, was a pretty LONG day! I slept from 7:30 to 9:30 and felt like I was hit by a mack truck! It was fun and I'd do it again.. next year! No way I could do this all the time!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!!

Mall of America

2008-11-25T00:29:00.005-06:00

This past weekend, my father in law, sister in law, niece and nephew came to our house for the weekend. We had such a great time!! The day started off sleeping in (for some) and relaxing/goofing around. In doing so..

BeforeAfter

Caitlin's tooth was really loose, and just the right amount of being silly is all it took :)

We headed for the Mall of America and had lunch there and the kids were just as excited as could be! We took them to Underwater Adventures! It's costly, but Arby's has coupons for a free child admission with the purchase of an adult and we brought in food donations for $4 off our fee, so that helped! Here are several pictures of Underwater Adventures.

I posted some videos on facebook, if you get a chance to check them out, one is Sammy dancing and the other is a HUGE stingray floating over our heads!

Forty O'clock

2008-11-18T15:53:00.005-06:00

This morning, I was fortunate enough to sleep in! (Thank you to my wonderful Husband). I slept until it was forty o'clock! That's right! Forty O'clock. According to Nate, that's the time to get up! :) It was 7:15 actually! How could one even think about going back to sleep after seeing him with his hands flapping all over the place that it was forty o'clock and time to get up!

Thank you Lord for my son's GREAT imagination! Believe it's time to start learning numbers off the clock! :)

Trick or Treat

2008-11-07T22:00:00.004-06:00

I know it's been a week since we had Trick or Treating, but I've finally taken the time to up load some pictures. The day started off with the girls dressing up for "Fall Festival". They had to dress up as a Bible character. Hannah went as Hannah in II Samuel. Very creative.. :) Caitlin went as an Angel. Thank you mom, Grandma, for making our costumes! Hannah won for her costume and Caitlin won a race that day. Earlier she told me she needed to wear her tennis shoes so she could run. Smart move :)

After work, we came home and the girls wanted to change their costumes. Hannah went as Cinderella and Caitlin went as a baseball player! Yeah, my great Twins jersey came in handy :) Nate was our Army man! He loves his army clothes, so it was easy to dress him! Pretty much in his daily clothes! Sammy was our little lady bug! She cried wearing her costume. She just didn't want to have it on. Hence the tears in this next picture!

A neighbor gave her a chocolate chip cookie! Cookies do make things better!
We ended up coming back home to get coats. Oh, I forgot to mention the weather! It was the best Halloween day EVER! We, here in MN, always bring up the blizzard of 1991 where we went trick or treating in drifts upon drifts! This year, the weather was high 50's, low 60's for trick or treating! It was great to be able to see the kids actual costumes, not just guess what was under their coats!

After we came back home for coats, Sam was in a better mood, so I took a quick picture of the all happy :)

Pillsbury Baptist Bible College- Our Alma Mater

2008-10-23T20:28:00.001-05:00

The Pillsbury Baptist Bible College Board of Trustees has announced that the college will cease academic activities on December 31, 2008. National economic conditions combined with deficits caused by declining enrollment have exhausted Pillsbury’s financial reserves, leaving the college without funds to complete the school year.
Pillsbury is committed to help current students complete their educational goals. Several sister institutions are working with the college to facilitate the transfer of credits and academic programs for those who choose to transfer.
Pillsbury will invite college representatives from sister schools to the campus to inform students of the academic and financial assistance programs they are making available to Pillsbury students affected by the closure.
The Registrar’s Office and Financial Aid Office will assist current students transferring to other colleges. Transcripts and academic records will be maintained for perpetuity at a sister college. The campus will be sold and the proceeds used to meet obligations to creditors as well as assist faculty, staff and students with the transition.

Our House is FINISHED

2008-10-21T01:55:00.004-05:00

I've posted earlier on our outside house repairs from the May storm. Well, our house is done!! Here are a few pictures, I have more posted on Face book. We do need to paint our shed, and will do so this spring.

Our roof being changed back in July

This is our house after the roof is put on and before the siding!

These men worked so long and late on the siding! They did a great job!

Here's the house, we have stone put on the bottom part on the front.

Here they are working on the stone.

Here she is!! We really like it! The company, Amen Roofing did a great job!

Samantha's Dedication

2008-10-21T01:20:00.004-05:00

On Sunday, the 19th, we had Samantha dedicated at our church Hope Spring. We want to make a public commitment in front of our church and to the Lord that we want to raise Samantha in a Christ honoring way and to Glorify HIM and lead her to the Lord.

We were so thankful that we had our families there to join us in this commitment to the Lord.

Since Sam's middle name is Faith, we chose Psalms 100:4-5 as a verse for her.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations"

Please pray that we will continually strive to raise all our children to honor and glorify our Lord!

Happy 6th Birthday Caitlin

2008-10-21T01:05:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, the 18th, our precious daughter turned 6! We are so thankful for such a sweet and precious girl! She is a huge blessing to our family! We took on the adventure of having a birthday party for her. She had a few friends over and it was cute to see her with her friends :)
Thank you Grandpa Joppa, Uncle Jeff, Auntie Lissa, Madi and Wyatt for coming from Wisconsin for her Birthday!!!
Sorry there are so many pictures, she just had a great time and it was so fun to see her all excited and happy like that :)

My Wonderful Husband!

2008-10-11T17:35:00.003-05:00

On Friday, the 10th, I aged.. I turned 34! Jason had asked, what would I like for my birthday. My answer.. nothing.. I'm trying to pretend I don't have one. Secretly, I was thinking, the same thing, I really don't have anything in mind, so no matter what happens, I'm great! I have my family, health and friends, I'm completely content!

Well, I have the best husband in the world! Yes, that is correct ladies, the best husband! :) Here's why I have the best husband. Jason has a plan and would NOT tell me anything! I kept asking, what are we doing, what do you have planned? He would say, I have to go, love you and hang up the phone. When we were at home this past week, he would go in another room, even as much as going to bed WAY before me, just to keep his secret a secret! I finally was able to get this out of him.. Your parents are going to watch the kids Friday night. Then, it started to slip, you parents are going to keep the kids OVER night! I had mixed emotions! I had never left Sammy over night somewhere with out me and I still nurse her to sleep at night. How would she survive with out me?? Jason re assured me that she'll be ok. She sleeps there during the day for her naps, so it'll be like taking a LONG nap for her.. OK I trusted him and still kept asking what we were doing.. HE NEVER TOLD ME! Friday came and I asked, how should I dress, where should I go after work. FINALLY, he told me to come home after work. I arrived home to have him tell me, I can pick the place for supper and that's all.. OK Since I had no idea, I was ok with this "plan".. No this is not what took place! He told me, OK let's go to the Olive Garden.... We drove past 2 Olive Gardens we could have gone to, and he goes, oh where are we.. lets pull in here and turn around.. We were at the Crown Plaza in Brooklyn Center (or Park?) and saw went to the Mystery Cafe and it was great! I enjoyed laughing and the bad "puns" and dry humor. Afterwards, Jason asked if I wanted to do anything else... um.. not really, unless there is something else planned. This was turning out to be a great night! He said, let's go and think about it. Off we go and again, I have no clue what is up his sleeves! We drive to a location, I have no idea where we are going. We finally stop at a Super 8. Jason goes in and I wait in the car. I go in to use the ladies room and he tells me to give him a few minutes.. I go to our room and it's beautiful! He has candles light, a dozen roses and a box of chocolates on the bed! I was falling in love again with such a wonderful man! I know this post is long, but I had such a wonder night with my husband! We chuckled, we have this room all to ourselves, a king size suite and we fell asleep on the couch watching T.V! We woke up and finally crawled into bed! NO kids woke me up and I got to sleep in! What a great night :) We left and had brunch with my parents and siblings to top off a great birthday! Thank you Jason for being such a wonderful husband! I truly had a wonderful time!

These are the towel swans we had in the living/kitchen room!

This is what Jason surprised me with in the room!

This is the sweet TV in our room :)

Prayer request!!!

2008-10-08T23:23:00.002-05:00

Please take a look at this blog site and pray!!

House Repairs

2008-10-08T22:37:00.006-05:00

Last May, we had a hail storm, and we finally have some repairs done!

Our roof was done on Nate's Birthday, the 29th of July!

Here's our house, roof done and the day before the siding was changed!

Here's the house "naked" when I came home during my lunch break! They tore that off fast!

Here's the back of the house, partially naked!

Here's the house with the siding done! We have a stone man coming to put stone in the front!

It was fun changing the color of the house :) It's like we moved and didn't have to pack!

A Blessed Day!

2008-10-05T00:29:00.007-05:00

What a great day this has been, not only because the Bible says, "This is the day the Lord has made." This has been a great day, as my wonderful, husband woke up with the kids this morning and I got to sleep in!! Thank you Honey! I so needed that! We had breakfast and the kids played, Jason taught Hannah how to play cribbage, great math game by the way! I left to go spend time with some friends from school, Holly, Jenna, Angie, and Jessica met at the Macaroni Grill for lunch. It was nice to get together and catch up on our summer and a variety of things going on in our lives.

Myself, Jenna, Holly, Jessica (and Raelyn), Angie

When I was on my way home, I took a minor detour and found this street!!The men working on our house, (That will be a later post, when it's done) had our back yard open so the dogs couldn't outside that way. So we got the kids ready to go outside and we took them to the park that's near our house, the kids played and the dogs went on a walk.

Imagine my surprise to see Hannah like this!!

We saw a rabbit running all over the park, I said, if you can catch it, we'll keep it.. thinking they'd try once and go play.. Not Caitlin, she kept looking for it! Thankfully, never finding it again! Whew!

Nate had fun realizing he's no longer the "baby" and had fun climbing the way he's never climbed, and then would say, "Look at me go!" :)

Little Sam so wanted to be a big girl! She climbed all over the place and I caught her just in time!

Thank you Lord for a great fall day!!

Teacher Visit

2008-10-01T23:31:00.005-05:00

Tonight, we had Mrs. Keister (Hannah's teacher) and Miss Scholze (Caitlin's teacher) over for a home visit. They came for supper and we had a great time visiting with them. The kids had fun showing off their bedroom and of course getting silly.

Thank you for a great evening! We had fun spending time with you!

Happy 34th Birthday!!

2008-09-16T23:35:00.004-05:00

Today, the 16th, my wonderful loving husband celebrated his 34th Birthday! How did he spend most of it? Fargo, ND.. Any one's dreams :) He traveled there on Monday to set up a new kiosk for Qwest and while there he also drove the Qwest jeep back down here to Mpls. He came into town and picked up the kiddos and we met at the girls gymnastics, then we gave him his gift and off he went to return the jeep to the Qwest garage.

I feel bad that his birthday was so hectic, we'll for sure have to celebrate it, hopefully tomorrow!

I know today's been a busy one for you honey, and I love you very much and so do your wonderful children! :)

Labor Day 2008

2008-09-06T02:45:00.005-05:00

This past Labor Day was not what we started out to be, but we found ways to lift the kids spirits up!

We were originally going to head to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Winthrop, MN, but.. I woke up with a horrible eye pain, so off to Urgent care we went after we were all ready and would head to my family's house after a "quick" stop at the clinic.. OK So when I checked in, was told a 45 min wait. ugh. OK, I can live with that.. An HOUR later my name is called, so I'm in the cold room visiting with the nurse who tells me the Dr will be in shortly, so I'm texting Jason letting him know what's going on and was able to transfer my old cell phone to my new phone for contacts, then I realize it's been about 30, 40 minutes since I've been in this room, so I poke my head out and asked a nurse how much longer? Oh, there's one a head of you and your next.. WHY am in this room if I'm still two away? I was getting frustrated and thinking this is nuts, I have better things to do than sit here while Jason's out in the waiting room with four kids! So out I go, I'll just call and make an appt with my regular Dr for Tuesday. So I go out and find I'm actually next and take Samantha back with me. I waited an hour in that cold, plain room.. 2 hours total for waiting, just nuts! I found out it's pink eye! Joy! So no going to my Aunt and Uncles house, so it's not passed on to them. We came home, Jason grilled for lunch and afterwards the kids were playing outside and heard this song coming for a certain "truck".. the ICE CREAM MAN!! What a great way to lift spirits!

The girls treat has 2 gumballs at the bottom!

Nate was kind to share with Samantha and boy, they were both a mess!

Love that dirty face on Samantha! :)

Jason turned our in ground sprinklers on and the kids had fun running threw that and playing in the mud that was created at the end of the driveway. Hannah told me later on that it was the best day EVER! I asked her what was her favorite part? Waiting in the van so long or ice cream or sprinklers.. She rolled her eyes at the waiting part (HA) and it was the ice cream! I agreed with her, it was fun getting ice cream from the ice cream man! Something we haven't done before with them! Hannah was right in the fact that it was a great day after all!

Curlers in her hair.. curlers every where....

2008-08-29T00:33:00.004-05:00

I purchased those foam curlers the other day and since our girls.. are girls.. I thought I'd try them in their hair. They thought it was funny that they could sleep in them! Hannah did well holding still and would hand me the curlers and kept making sure I had enough.

Since Caitlin can't hold still, I was trying to think of a way hold her still, so I offered her Jason's ipod, which he has a few cartoons on it!

They had so much fun being girls! They were so surprised that sometimes girls would wear them during the day for whatever reason they have at night and they'd wear them like that to school! They just laughed and laughed :)

I'm so thankful the the Lord has blessed us with these two precious girly girls :)

First Day of School

2008-08-26T19:50:00.005-05:00

Today was the first day of school for Hannah and Caitlin. Hannah started 2nd grade with Mrs. Keister and Caitlin started K5 with Miss Scholze.

Hannah ready for her first day!

Caitlin ready for her first day!

Our girls all excited for their first day!

Caitlin came home tonight and told me she can't wait to go back and wants to go EVERY DAY! She just had the biggest smile on her face!

Hannah told me that she was sooo excited that on their first day, they got to do a craft!
Caitlin at her desk in the K5 room
Hannah sitting at her desk in 2nd grade!

Newest place to fall asleep

2008-08-24T20:46:00.003-05:00

Our precious son, when he's really tired, can basically fall asleep anywhere.. This time I mean, any where! He started to fall asleep while on the toilet. He kept telling me he wasn't done, I just had to chuckle and then Daddy, come see this.. and bring the camera!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Trip to Wisconsin

2008-08-23T08:45:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, we took a much needed trip to Wisconsin! We hadn't been there since Mother's Day weekend and hadn't seen our family since Father's day weekend, and we were truly missing them! (and they were missing our kids :)

We celebrated Nate's 3rd birthday and Samantha's 1st birthday at Jason's Grandpa Barlow's house. He has an in ground pool and was kind enough to have us over to go swimming! We had such a great time!

Here are a few pictures from our great weekend!

Happy 36th Anniversary Dad & Mom!

2008-08-13T23:23:00.003-05:00

Happy 36th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

On Tuesday the 12th, my parents celebrated their anniversary. The Lord has truly blessed them these past 36 years, with one blessing, of course being me :) (And guess my other siblings... ha).

Thank you Dad and Mom for your example of love to one another!!

Happy 1st Birthday Samantha Faith!

2008-08-04T22:37:00.002-05:00

Wow, what a year this has been! August 4th, 2007 our lives changed! We added # 4 to our family and have been so thankful for a wonderful little girl! The Lord has truly been great to our family!
Today or little sweetie woke up in a really good mood and that sure does start the day off right :) We went and had lunch with my sister and then went to the grocery store to get the birthday cake and stuff for supper. We found Daddy at Northtown at the Qwest kiosk and was fun to say hi to him while he's there. We ran to Target, and the kids picked out their birthday presents for her (All though earlier in the day, Caitlin found a "gift" for Samantha and gave her a plastic baseball that I believe belonged to Nate! (cute. She LOVES to give something to any one for what ever occasion she can find.) We had our birthday party at my parents house, as my Dad is recovering from surgery still. Pancakes and scrambled eggs were on the menu, easy for a 1 year old to eat! Plus it's always a fun treat to have breakfast at supper time :)! Enjoy our pictures from tonight!

Happy 3rd Birthday Nate!

2008-08-02T22:23:00.002-05:00

July 29th, Our only son turned 3! We have been so blessed by him! God has truly given us a gift with him as our son. He loves to learn so many things and play with his cars! He brightens our day and brings joy to our lives!! Thank you Lord for Nathaniel Lowell!

Update on my Dad!

2008-08-02T12:22:00.004-05:00

Thank you for your prayers for my family and my Dad! Our God is GREAT! and answers prayers! My dad's surgery went well and every day he improved. They ended up doing a quadruple by-pass and we met the Dr. before hand and he told us surgery would take 4-6 hours. We began our game playing and after 3 hours, we were told they were done!! WOW! Everything went well and we were able to see my dad an hour later. That afternoon, they started removing tubes and needles. Every time we saw him, his color was coming back and he was beginning to look really well. He came home on Friday and was so great to see him home! He was excited too to be there!

Again, thank you for your prayers!

My Dad on Wednesday

They had sign, "Share them memories, not the germs" so I just had to..

Mountain Dew was our "drink of choice" this week! Long days would become long evenings some times!

The Air Force allowed Ben to come home for a week, so we had a picture taken with him and the kids

Welcome home Dad! We love you and are praying for a speedy recovery!

Prayer request!!!

2008-07-27T23:20:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, last fall, my Dad had a massive heart attack, and thankfully has been doing great! Toward the end of June he started having some chest pains. Thankfully, (I know that sounds strange) they found the problem, more blockage. They took him into the hospital and decided to do open heart surgery. The date was set for July 31st. Well.. The Lord says, In my time, not yours! On Sunday, he started having more chest pains and was taken to the hospital. Thankfully no heart attack, but the doctor decided to do the surgery on Monday, the 28th instead. He'll be having a triple by pass, so I ask for your prayers for him as he goes through this surgery and for my family! We are ALL SO VERY nervous!! We've prayed together (Jason and I) and ask that the Lord show himself threw this!

I will keep you posted! We also have some birthday's coming so I'll have plenty to be posting on :) Nate turns 3 on the 29th and Samantha (can you believe this.. turns 1 on the 4th!)

oh.. Also a blessing, the Air Force allowed Ben to come home on Friday, so he'll be here as well!

Thank you all for your prayers!

First steps.. nope.. tears...

2008-07-15T21:25:00.003-05:00

So we are outside playing and Samantha took about six steps all by herself!! YEAH!! So grab the camera and what do I get.. tears!! She wanted me to hold her.. No, I want you to walk so I can tape you.. Nope!!! So here's a short video of her "crying".. My favorite part is her throwing her head back and crying. She has such a cute cry, at least I think so :)

Best Parents?!?!

2008-07-15T19:45:00.007-05:00

Ever have one of those days where you feel as though you question your ability to be parents? I had one of those days a few weeks ago, it started with a long rough day at work, and I felt like I was abandoning my children, working outside of the home. I come home, do the regular things, supper, playing, bath time. This particular day, that I thought I was the worst mom, I was proven wrong by our oldest, Hannah! Thank you Lord for reminding me of our blessings!! The coolest part, she had no clue the day I had at work, so this brought tears to my eyes as I realized, she does love us! :)

Daddy's note, found a drop of water :( but I think you can get the idea :)

Day at the Library!

2008-07-10T23:30:00.004-05:00

On Wednesday, Jason had the "joy" of going to the dentist to have 2 teeth pulled! It was originally set for 3 teeth, 2 wisdom and a molar, but just needed 2 done. The worst part, he was awake the whole time! The Lord gave him the courage, I don't think I could have had! He's blessing him with a good recovery, painful, but getting better! After I got him home and settled in for a good afternoon nap, I headed over to the kids at Grandma's house.

Wednesday afternoon is library day! This particular day was reptile day! My thoughts exactly.. yuck! But, a great chance to see God's creatures up close! Out came the snakes, turtles, lizard, iguana, cockroaches, and a chinchilla. Caitlin is our reptile lover! She loves lizards, dinosaurs, iguanas so of course, this was her cup of tea! She kept moving closer and closer to the line they set up. After the man was done with his show, he pulled out a snake for everyone to touch.

Then he let Caitlin hold the snake! She was so excited!!!

It was great to show the kids, that even the gross animals are beautiful in God's sight since He created them! Thank you Lord for these animals as they are created by you for us to enjoy!

Samantha Blowing Kisses :)

2008-07-08T23:10:00.002-05:00

Tonight, we were getting Sammy ready for bed and wanted her to blow a kiss to Daddy.. She did! All by herself :) It was so cute, we had her due it a few more times :)

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-05T12:25:00.001-05:00

First Steps...

2008-06-29T00:27:00.003-05:00

She finally did it!! Samantha took her first steps! We had a busy day today, my friend Liz and her family was in town and we got together for a few hours this morning at a park and the kids played really hard!

Then we went to McDonald's for lunch and we got a group shot of the kids.. Kinda :) Little Abby wasn't a fan of getting her picture taken, but got her as she was running off :)

We then went to my cousin, Josh's open house and came home to rest for late night wedding reception!

My other cousin, Linnea was married today and we went to the reception/bonfire! She was married in her back yard. The decorations were beautiful and she told me it was perfect! Samantha has been on the verge of walking alone but just wouldn't do it. She was walking back and forth from my sister and myself and Angela set her to walk to me and let her go.. she took 'em! 3 all by herself! Now, it will be a while before she really takes off, but I've had the fear that I'd miss so much since I'm working and so far from the kids. I am very thankful that our Lord has blessed me with seeing a lot of 1st.. first roll over, first steps.. words.. Thank you for for allowing me to be there for their first steps.. all 4 kids right to mommy :)

Nate's 1st Dentist Trip

2008-06-22T23:36:00.003-05:00

Nate had his 1st dental appointment on Saturday and did a great job! We talked to him about the fun things at the dentist and his response was.. Do I get a sticker when I'm done?.. Ah.. yes.. you do!!

Nate getting ready! He got to go on a ride on the chair! That was fun!

Getting his teeth counted.. he as 20 of them!

Mr. Thirsty kept the water from dripping out~

You did a great job Nate! We're so proud of you!

Father's Day Weekend

2008-06-15T23:02:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, we met Jason's dad, sister and her family in La Cross, WI for the day. Our plans were to meet at noon... we left about 45 min late, and thankfully, so did they! We were about 20 min to Rochester when we received a call that the interstate between Madison on the Dells were closed due to flooding!! We decided to make a pit stop to take up some time.. Well, the story we have is the Tortis and the Hare...We WERE ahead.. then we lost :(

We had so much fun seeing them! We went to a park where the kids had so much fun running around and chasing each other! The supper at Outback! Samantha was kind enough to grab my glass of pop and dump it on the floor :)

We had so much fun seeing them!! I am blessed to have such a great father in law who loves the Lord and puts Him first! Even through trials, he stays with the Lord!

We love you guys!!!

Sunday the kids helped make breakfast in bed for Jason! They had fun making cards for him :)

We went to my parents house for lunch and it was great to spend some time with my dad!! I truly have been blessed with my dad and his love for the Lord to pass that on to his children and grand children!

After lunch, Jason had to fly to Denver for work! He'll be gone until Wed. evening :( We all felt bad he had to leave on Father's Day :(

I have to brag on my husband! He is great father and loves his children so much! He tells them ALL the time that his job is to one, have them trust in the Lord, secondly, to be the best Hannah, Caitlin, Nathaniel, Samantha they can be! He puts so many things aside to wrestle, tickle and just plain love these 4 wonderful children!! I love you honey!!

Here are some pictures from our fun weekend!

Happy Birthday to My Mom

2008-06-08T22:17:00.004-05:00

On Friday, the 6th, my mom celebrated her birthday! After work, we took her out to the Olive Garden. We had a great time and enjoyed their singing :)
Here are a few pictures from our fun evening.

My Dad was enjoying Samantha's toy too!!
Nate and Andrew making silly faces.

Caitlin and Angela had fun "matching" green stripes

Hannah and I had fun playing the dot game waiting for our food

Sammy was thrilled to be sitting by Grandpa!Jason was the only one paying attention..

Happy Birthday Mom!! We love you

Pictures from our past...

2008-06-01T20:59:00.003-05:00

My kids think this is a picture of our niece, Madi and our son Nate. It does look A LOT like them, but it is not them! It is their parents however, Melissa and Jason in a wedding in 1979!

This is at Woodcrest and we are getting the gym decorated for our wedding. This was taken 2 days before we said "I do"! I'd say it all over again too.. to Jason of course! :) I love you honey!

The next two pictures are of my siblings and parents. One was after my college graduation (I think that one will be obvious as I'm in my cap and gown :) The other one was taken at Jason's church in WI, Sun Prairie Community Church, Sun Prairie, WI. I'm not sure what my problem was, but I don't looked so thrilled..

A Shelter In A Time of Storm

2008-05-25T19:21:00.000-05:00

Here are pictures from today's storm that rolled thru our area. We are praising the Lord that the damage we had is fixable, unlike our neighboring city that had the tornado do a lot of damage.

Golf ball sized hail!

A variety of sizes of hail

Damage to our siding

Girls Day!

2008-05-24T18:11:00.005-05:00

Today has been a great day for us Joppa girls! The day started off where we went to McDonald's for breakfast as a family. Hannah, Caitlin, Samantha and myself went to Maplewood Mall, in Maplewood, MN. We had our nails done, bought a new outfit and had lunch! We topped the day off by riding the carousel in the mall and bringing home a chocolate treat for the boys!

So what did the boys do? They went to Best Buy and then came home. I received a call saying that Nate was complaining he was hearing noises in his ears.. Like a bear was in there.. Off to urgent care they go.. Yep, ear infection!! Poor boy! We have fun, the boys go to the clinic!

Here are some pictures from our great day! Thank you Lord for giving us 3 sweet and loving girls and one boy who has a great imagination to to describe pain! :)

Hannah having her nails done!

Caitlin having her nails done!

Our pretty nails!

Hannah on the carousel

Caitlin and Samantha riding on the carousel

Our sweet girls!!

Weekend at the Hilton in Mpls

2008-05-23T00:17:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, Jason's sister Melissa came to town for work and was able to bring with her Madi and Wyatt! Her work, (DirecTV) put her up at the Hilton, downtown in Minneapolis. We had so much fun! Friday night after the K4/K5 graduation, we headed their for the weekend. On Saturday, Lissa had to work for a few hours. When she came back for lunch, she found out she didn't need to go back! We took the kids swimming and the first time, I forgot the camera! ugh! 2nd time we went, both Madi and Nate were sleeping so Hannah, Caitlin and Samantha went, Wyatt was sleeping/resting with his mom too!

Here are many pictures from our fun and exciting weekend!! Thank you Auntie Lissa!

End of the school year!

2008-05-22T23:38:00.005-05:00

As summer is approaching, the school year has come to an end! Last weekend, Caitlin finished her first school year and the K4 class has a little program during the K5 graduation. They do a review of things they have learned during the year and sing a few songs.

Here is Caitlin on her last day of K4!!

Caitlin during K4 program!

Caitlin's teacher, Mrs. Towberman

Hannah and another week to go, this past week was an nice easy one for them. Tuesday, they went to the MN Zoo, Wednesday was clean up/out the desk day and Thursday was pizza party and get done early!!

On Wednesday, it was the elementary awards chapel and Hannah was given the Christian character award! We are so proud of her! She has such a sweet and giving spirit and we've seen her grow spiritually through out the year. She told me that her friend McKenna was given the academic award. There are 4 girls in her class, so Hannah told me the other 2 girls didn't get an award and she felt bad for them. How sweet!! My dear Hannah, you keep that kind heart and you will be blessed!

Hannah with her Christian Character award! Congrats honey!

Hannah on her last day of 1st grade!

Hannah and her 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Walters

Mother's Day

2008-05-15T00:17:00.004-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms! I hope you had a great day being pampered by your family!

We left Saturday morning and went to Wisconsin. Saturday evening we went to Jason's Aunt Beth's house to spend time with the Barlow family. It was a little chili, but we had fun! My sister in law has been sick and was not able to come, but my niece came to play with the girls. They were all bathed and told they could watch cartoons for a while and this is what I found!

Sunday we went to Church and then to Jason's mom's grave site as they has put her plaque in now that it's spring.. Plaque you ask? My sister in law came up with this. A plaque is a reward..Isn't heaven a reward? A plaque it is!
It was very difficult to see. Jason told me it seemed more permanent. It was a hard day to not be able to hug her and tell her happy Mother's day! I was thankful I was able to tell my mom that, even tho we were apart (They were in VA for Ben's college graduation). Take every time you can to tell your family you love them!

When we came home on Sunday, we brought Jason's dad home with us for a week. It's been a blast to have him here and the kids are enjoying him! Friday is a big day for Caitlin as it's her last day of K4! I'll post pictures from their program Friday night!

Chapel time

2008-05-10T01:16:00.003-05:00

This morning I went to chapel with the girls, I knew Hannah was singing, and thought that was it. To my suprise, I found out Caitlin was singing as well!

Sorry, K4 was a little shakey, Nate was trying to climb on me..

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Hannah's class, sang 3 verses of Jesus Loves Me..

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Saturday and Tuesday-a fun day off!

2008-05-07T01:22:00.004-05:00

On Saturday, a friend from Sioux Falls, SD came to town and we met for brunch on Saturday with the kids! It was fun and he was able to see our "family in action" as the kids we very energetic that morning! We were in the area my Grandma Nelson lives, so we stopped by to say hi! It was fun to spend some time with her! Thanks Grandma for letting us "drop" in!

On Tuesday, my mom was not able to take the kids, so I took the day off and what a great day it was too! The sun out, shorts on!! It felt great! Even the little rain we had felt good to play in :)

Caitlin pushing Samantha in our back yard. It was their first chance to play in the sand box this year!

Silly girl! This isn't how we swing :)

Now that Sammy's in the baby swing, Nate's on the big boy swing!!
After playing in the backyard, we went to lunch with Auntie Angela, which was fun since she and my mom will bring the kids to have lunch with me normally! After lunch, we went on the search for a fun park! We found one and kids had fun. We only played for a bit.. Caitlin fell off the swing and hurt her leg, so back to the van we go to get cleaned up!
We topped off our day by taking Samantha in for her 9 mo. check up! She's growing great and having a blast! She's 20.3 pounds and 28 1/2 inches long! Thank you Lord for providing for her!!

Hannah was in school, so I don't have any pictures of her :( but after Sam's appointment, we went to my mom's house (thank you Angela for picking her up) and off to DQ for a treat!!

Caitlin's first lost tooth!

2008-05-01T22:44:00.000-05:00

Caitlin has had a wiggly tooth for what seemed like months. The time had come where she could wiggle it back and forth and she showed it to Daddy, he took a look and asked for a wet paper towel, so I put the towel in her mouth and pop.. out it came! She's so excited!! Way to go Caitlin!! We're so proud of you!

Caitlin before, having all her teeth...

Caitlin with her brand new smile :)

Weekend in Wisconsin

2008-04-26T18:15:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, the 19th & 20th, we went to Sun Prairie, WI to visit.. That was it, just spending time with our family. Usually, when we go, we are going for a reason, or holiday, but this time, it was just to visit and enjoy! That we did! We were going to leave on Friday night, Jason's had the flu/stomach bug all week, and looked just tired when he came home, so we decided to leave early Saturday morning. Yes, as most of you know, can never be anywhere on time, but we were pulling out of our driveway at 5:45 AM!!! We got there and just played! Melissa and I took 5 of the kids to the park, and came back just muddy! Hannah finally had the courage/strength to make it across the monkey bars and was just thrilled! The weather was great, sun was out (we got there after the rain came threw) and enjoyed spending a relaxing weekend.

Cute kids sayings..

2008-04-18T11:19:00.002-05:00

I should be putting these in the kids baby books, and while I'm thinking of it, thought I would post it here, so when I remember to put in the kids books, I can then just print it off!

Last night we were at my parents for supper (Thank you again Mom!)and my mom gave Caitlin a choice of vegetable, do you want corn or green beans. She picks the green beans. She comes out to the living room, sits on the floor and says, I like green beans plus they are healthy. Hannah then goes on to say, and they help heal your bruises (which I've been told from our doctor that is correct). Caitlin looks at her and says, " What.. they heal your boobs??".. I just chuckled.. corrected her, then she asks me.. do I have bruises on mine? I'm not sure where or what she was thinking, but I had a good chuckle!

On our way home, my brother, Andrew, called to find out where Nate put his toy gun. I ask Nate (let me remind you, Nate is 2 1/2 and makes up things still) where is Andrew's gun. Nate tells me, I put it back, to which Andrew replies.. well not exactly, but close to where it belongs. I then tell Nate. You're right, Andrew found it. He (Nate) goes.. What.. I put it back? Just to prove, he was making it up, he just got lucky on that one!

It sure is a blessing to have these wonderful children! We so enjoy them and every moment we have to spend with them! Plus we get some great stories outta them!

Congratulations to Dover Air Force Base!

2008-04-16T22:40:00.003-05:00

For those that do not know, my brother Ben is in the AirForce. He is stationed in Dover, DE. He sent this email today! Congratulations Dover AFB!!!

Team Dover:Congratulations!! Today the Secretary of Defense announced that Dover AFB has won the Commander In Chief’s Installation Excellence Award for 2008! This is big…REAL BIG! In the 23 year history of the award, none of the 12 bases in Air Mobility Command have ever won the award. What a tremendous testament to the men and women of Dover AFB…Active Duty, Reserve, Civil Service Civilians, and our many team partners including the Dover community, our Congressional Delegation, contracting partners, and sister service and other governmental agency partners! Ultimately, this award represents certification of what we already knew—no other base is consistently more engaged in the Global War On Terrorism (GWOT) mission, more creative and efficient in the use of limited resources, more dedicatedand committed to accomplishing their critical roles in such a world-classfashion, more focused on quality of life, or more important to our national security. YOU made it happen, it was a Total Team effort, and we are going to celebrate as a team.

Thank you to those men and women who have sacrificed more than I'll ever know and again congratulaions!

Field Trip Day!

2008-04-12T09:10:00.004-05:00

Since I'm working full time, I'm not always able to go to things for the kids at school. This past Friday, the 11th, I took the day off and went on a field trip with Hannah. I told her I could go on one and which one would she like? So she picked bowling and lunch and McDonalds! It was really fun to see her interact with her friends at school! Here are some pictures of the day!

Nate playing the harmonica for Samantha.. She loved it!

I caught Caitlin's K-4 class coming back from gym.

Hannah so proud to show me her desk!

Ready.. set....Bowl!! And yes, thankful for the bumpers (they had rails they put up)

Even I participated! Didn't do too bad.. thanks to the rails!

Girls Night Out!

2008-04-05T10:45:00.002-05:00

Friday night was girls night out! Four of us from high school got together for supper at the Macaroni Grill. It had been a while, so it was nice to get together and catch up on what we have been up to. This man came along and was singing to people and sang a song to Samantha. I have no idea what he sang, but he said it was something to do with the father's most precious jewel.. that was so sweet!

Myself, Jenna, Jessica and Holly at the Macaroni Grill

Thanks girls! It was fun laughing and going down memory lane! It would be great if we could get more of us together!

Hannah's Birthday Party/Sleep over

2008-03-29T14:48:00.002-05:00

We took on a new adventure for Hannah's birthday, a sleep over!! Next question, how many girls you ask? Only 3, plus Hannah and Caitlin, so total of 5 girls. Not too bad.. Oh I learned that girls can be just as noisy as boys! They did an art project of a picture frame they decorated, then put a picture of them all in it. Then they made their own pizza's with pita bread. We then did presents and cake. One of the girls was not able to spend the night, and we are very glad she came for most of the party. They watched a movie and had popcorn and fell asleep. The girls were good and believe had fun! Hannah told us her "worst" part was having them leave :)

Hannah's 7th Birthday & Easter weekend

2008-03-26T23:50:00.000-05:00

On Friday, 3/21, our oldest turned 7! As I look back on that day, I still can't remember the pain of contractions (Thank the Lord for that!) She was born and we were so thrilled! Jason was so proud to be a dad!! We didn't know what we were having, and my sister in law was getting married, and needed a flower girl! Jason went into the waiting room and announced that Melissa had her flower girl!! She has been a Joy (her middle name too) to us since! She loves Jesus and is a great help with her sisters and brother. She also LOVES to be our "party planner". or as my mom calls her "Little Candace" since she can figure out a way to get what she wants and if plan "A" doesn't work, she's quick for plan "B".. oh so like her mother!

Here are some pictures from her birthday:

We had Easter at our house this year and had so much fun! Melissa and I went shopping on Saturday and thank you my dear husband, he took 4 kids (him and my father in law took on the challenge) while we took the 2 babies! Our church, Trinity Baptist Church, had a contata and was a real blessing on what our Lord sacrificed. The kids had an egg hunt and had fun! Here are some pictures from Sunday

Has spring finally arrived?

2008-03-15T12:50:00.006-05:00

On Thursday, we really felt spring in the air! The kids were out with NO coats on and enjoyed it. We got home and Hannah and Caitlin got their bikes out!

Sorry this is the back view of them, I kept missing the front of them for some goofy reason

Samantha was enjoying her nap in the sun :)

Nate wouldn't wake up to ride his bike, poor boy, was sad when he found out his missed out :(

Here's a longer video of them riding! I'm so ready for spring!!

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Samantha's 6 month pictures (A month late)

2008-03-13T15:10:00.001-05:00

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I finally found this video

2008-03-06T00:33:00.005-06:00

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I had been searching for this video for a long time and finally found it (I thought I had it named, turned out I hadn't). I wanted to send this to America's Funniest Video's now that you can post them online.

Now that Hannah will be 7 in a few weeks, I can't believe how little they girls were. This is 3 years old, I was pregnant with Nate!

Girls playing in the snow

2008-03-01T18:17:00.001-06:00

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New Furniture

2008-02-16T11:57:00.003-06:00

Caitlin enjoyed the chair that lifts ya right up! She tried to not hang on, but had to after a while! :) She didn't fall out, which Jason was trying to get her to do! We all had a good laugh!

This is the couch we were going to get, rather glad in the end we didn't.

What do you do when the couches have been moved out... run and use that energy that's been built up all winter!

The kids looked on as the couch was being inspected for any scratches.

The final couch! Very nice and comfy!

We finally became sore from sitting on our couch, which was left here from the previous owners of our house. Off we went couch hunting! We picked out one pit set, then realized it was going to be too big for our living room, so Jason called and switched it. I'm so glad he did!

Samantha laughing

2008-02-03T22:05:00.000-06:00

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Spirit week at Woodcrest

2008-02-02T10:29:00.000-06:00

This is basically for those that went to Woodcrest Baptist Academy, and will send you down memory lane!

This week was Spirit Week! Monday was trend setting day (Kids missed that to visit my new nephew). Tuesday was color day. Each class had a color they had to wear. 1st grade was brown and I missed taking Hannah's picture. Wendesday was Duct tape day. I was in my glory! I, who works for MCT (Midwest Coast Transport) at 3M was able to load the girls up with duct tape (and cheaply I may add.. $1 for a roll!)
Hannah all duct out

Caitlin all duct out!

Thursday was "fake an injury day", again, 3M-medical supplies and my sister's abiltiy to get injured helped on this one!

She even had bandages (or NexCare) on her legs over her tights because it was so cold out.

Friday, of course, was Red/White/Black day and the Homecoming game.

Sitting at the game brought back so many memories (and reminded me of how old I'm getting). Hearing Mr. Roadabaugh "Let's go Woodcrest, let's go" (I know you just said it just like him too! and "Way to go Woodcrest" was so fun! The Alumni is called out at halftime. I don't recognize half these kids any more!

Needless to say, it was a fun week, I'm not sure who had more fun, me or the kids :)

Wyatt Alan

2008-01-29T23:01:00.000-06:00

Friday, Jan, 25th, 2008, my ONLY nephew was born in WI. We left Friday afternoon and drove 7 hours (should have taken 4) to Madison, WI. The weather was snowing and windy, so we decided to stop at Jason's dad's house. Saturday, we went the rest of the way and met our nephew/cousin. Wyatt was 6# 1 oz and 19 inches long, born on Friday morning. I just loved holding him and sadly realizing my babies are growing up! He is so sweet and I just love him! Congratulations again Lissa and Jeff and big sister Madi :)

Catching up...

2008-01-29T22:45:00.000-06:00

Wow, I can't believe January has gone by so fast! A lot has happened this month. To start with, Jason has gone to Denver, CO twice this month for Qwest. On his first trip back home, the kids made a welcome home sign!

I am so thankful for my sister, she came over almost every night to help me with the kids and take them to school! One night we even spent the night at my parents (thank you Mom and Dad). It was so nice to have Jason come home! I have never appreciated my husband more!!!

Last Friday, the 25th, my sister in law Melissa called in the morning. She was (note the was) due for a C-section on the 1st of February. That morning she called her water broke! I'd like to devote one blog to the newest addition to our family :)

Happy 60th Birthday to my Dad!

2008-01-06T00:32:00.001-06:00

My dad turned 60 on the 5th of January and we had a small party. We did an open house with the intentions of things beinging small, but I believe everyone that came, came at the same time! We kept the party small mainly for the sake of my dad. He's been getting better, and at the same time, he's been getting tired so easily.

Happy 60th Birthday dad! We love you!

Cereal time!

2008-01-06T00:17:00.000-06:00

We've finally started Samantha on baby cereal. She's begun eyeing our food, and thought, it's time! The first time, of course, more comes out of the mouth, than goes in and I'm convinced this cereal stuff, no matter how good you clean up, appears in odd spots magically! She has gotten better as time's gone by, so that's good! We started her the day after Christmas, and I've forgotten to post this..

Punishment (and way to cute)

2008-01-03T23:31:00.000-06:00

I missed the picture opportunity as Nate took a piece of sidewalk chalk to my hutch!! He was so proud of himself because he "wrote his name". So what kind of punishment does he get (after I turned the other way to giggle), he is given a scrub thing and told to wash! He actually didn't do to bad! He missed a couple of spots, and with my hand over his, he got them!

Merry Christmas 2007

2007-12-28T00:43:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas from the Joppa family! I hope you had a great time with friends and family. This year was particularly hard since it was the 1st one since Jason's mom passed away. I wasn't sure how it would go, but our God is great! We left here on Friday night at 10:30 PM!! Yes we are crazy!! drove threw the worst fog ever and made it to Sun Prairie, WI around 3 AM! Again, our God is great and we made it safely! Saturday morning, we opened gifts and the kids were spoiled!! How are we going to get this home??? We went to see the movie "National Treasure, Book of Secrets". That was a great movie and was nice to go on a "date". Great Grandpa Barlow came over and played with our 3 kids and our niece. We took Samantha with us. Sunday we had our family tradition of a word of the year. 2007 our word was Joy. This coming year, 2008, our word is Grace. We go threw the year and grow with grace and how we can show and apply to our lives. We decided to come home Monday morning (thankfully, the snow was pretty, but not on the roads) and Monday night we got home, wrapped some gifts and headed to my parents house for Christmas. We fondued and then opened gifts and again our kids were spoiled! On Christmas Day, we did some cleaning and then had our family Christmas. We however did NOT spoil our children.. I kinda feel bad, but these kids are growing so we gave them clothes! At least it wasn't cole :)

Here are a few slide shows of our Christmas's.. we do have another one on Saturday and we are looking forward to it!

Christmas at Grandpa Joppa's house

Christmas at Grandparent Nelson's house

Our family Christmas

Happy 10th Anniversary to us!!!

2007-12-23T12:11:00.000-06:00

On Thursday, December 20th, Jason and I celebrated our 10th anniversary! I knew he was going to make supper for us, but I didn't know the extent of his greatness!! Three of the 4 kids stayed at my parents house that night and we had a candle light dinner next to our fireplace and Christmas tree. He also suprised me with a dozen white beautiful roses! We had a wonderful time and then he suprised me AGAIN with a diamond ring! This is actuallly the 1st time he's bought me a diamond! My wedding ring is a family heirloom, I think he was more excited about it then I was :) He has been such a great husband and has such unconditional love for me, that I tell the girls they need to marry a man like their father!

Here are some pictures from our anniversary night:

Our family pictures

2007-12-19T02:59:00.001-06:00

Make a free ecard - it's easy!

A rollover...

2007-12-17T23:24:00.000-06:00

She did it!! Samantha rolled over for the first time tonight!! She did it purely on accident and probably has no clue she did it, but I will take it! :) She was on her back, went to her side and I helped her to her tummy.. She looked up and flipped right back over! I'm so thankful that I was able to see it too!! I'm gone so much during the day, that I'm always afraid I will miss something! Thank you Lord for letting me see this! She received cheers from the other 3 and they wanted her to keep going. Before we know it, I'll be posting about her first steps.. oh dear..

Ear infections in our house

2007-12-16T18:00:00.000-06:00

This past week, has been one for the books! Last weekend, Nate started with a raspy voice and turned into a fever.. cold.. then ear infection! Poor baby! He, of course, passed it along! Wednesday, took Caitlin to the dr for something other than a cold and was able to make an apt for Nate and Samantha. The cough on this poor little baby was so sad!! I just felt terrible that she coughed so hard. Nate had the ear infection, and the other 2 just colds.. Friday morning, Caitlin woke up telling me her throat hurt.. oh great! Was able to get her into the clinic that afternoon. She was on the verge of an infection and Samantha just moaned! We knew something was up, and the Dr (which we just love him) took a look at her and she has an ear infection! 3 outta the 4! Hannah was hit with it on Saturday, fever, soar throat, so we just started her on the anti-biotic too. Jason and I both are feeling crumby, so it's a fun time at our house! We just hope to get rid of it before Christmas, that's for sure!

New beds... new roommate :)

2007-12-11T00:03:00.001-06:00

This past weekend was a fun and busy one for us! On Saturday, Grandpa Joppa came to visit! The kids (and us) were so excited! We did take advantage of him here and re arranged the kids room! We put all 4 kids in the same room and amazingly there is still room for them to play! Samantha has finally outgrown the bassinet, plus it is my sister in law's and she's going to need it on February~yeah, so Grandpa was kind to bring it back to WI for us. We promoted Nate into a toddler bed (he has a race car coming, but we'll need to find room for it). He just loves it!

Sunday, Caitlin and Nate's Sunday school class sang in the morning service and I have a video of it (thank you so much Jason!). I need to convert it to mpg first.. Nate was/is sick so I stayed home with him and Jason so wonderfully recorded Caity singing. Sunday night, Hannah had her turn. The 1st-6th grade put on a "Christmas Carol" which I recorded for Jason to see. His turn to stay home with Nate. I don't think I can post a hour long video.. or who has time for that.. so I'll have to find bits and pieces to show you all...

We just had so much fun with Jason's dad here! We know his mom would have had a blast too, and would have so enjoyed seeing the girls singing. We just miss her so much, especially on events like this!

Here are some pictures of the new room.. and roommate :)

Samantha's 4 months!

2007-12-06T00:13:00.000-06:00

On the 4th, Samantha turned 4 months and today she had her check up. Our little one isn't so little! She weighs 17 pounds 8 ounces and is 25 inches long. We are so blessed to have a healthy little girl! I cannot believe she weighs so much. She received a good clean bill of health and did get 3 shots along with some liquid form immunization. So far tonight she's done real well as far as being fussy from them! Praise the Lord for her!!

Joppa's in the snow

2007-12-02T17:36:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-25T01:13:00.000-06:00

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as we have so many things to be thankful for, not just for our Lord and Savior, but our country, family and friends. This is the first holiday with out my mother in law and was hard as there were many times I was waiting for her voice to pop in about something for direction, but it never came.

On Thursday morning, approx 5:30 AM we took off for Wisconsin. We arrived at 10 AM at Grandpa's house and was able to let the kids run for a few minutes before taking off to the Milwaukee area (Waukesha) to go to Jason's Uncle Bruce and Aunt Jean's house. We had a great time there with the Barlow family (Barb's side). The kids even got a chance to play outside in the SNOW! We don't have snow at our house, and they were thrilled to see it!

Friday morning, my sister in law, Melissa, and I woke up and a crazy hour for "black Friday" shopping. We left the house at 5:15 AM and came back home around 2 p.m. only for a break! We did go back out at 7 PM to the best store ever.. The Children's Place.. to finish up some shopping. We had so much for such little cost, we are truly amazed!

Saturday, we began decorating the house for Christmas. The tree went up and the lights went around and the kids began helping! On the lower right hand side is where they stood :) It's rather obvious, but really cute and they had a great time too!

Enjoy the pictures!

My time at the hospital

2007-11-22T03:50:00.001-06:00

I have been feeling "chest" pains for several days, basically 2 weeks now, and the pain was getting worse and I was getting numbness in different spots. I made a Dr. appt, for a week out, and was hoping it wasn't anything serious. Monday night that all changed! I just felt terrible and the pain was so strong and seemed to be getting stronger. I called our "care line" just to talk to a nurse to make me feel better. She advised that I call and reschedule for the next day. I did that and had a 3 PM appt on Tuesday. I then went off to work for a regular day. I started to get light headed and just couldn't concentrate on anything. I started having shortness of breath and thought if I walk around it would go away.. no such luck! My heart was pounding so fast that I thought it was going to pop right out of my chest! A co-worker called the 3M Emergency group and they came right away and started giving me oxygen. I was then taken to the 3M Medical clinic and given an EKG. The results, they told me, were abnormal and they had an ambulance on their way. Before I go any further, I had all ready called Jason and he was on his way to 3M. I met him in the medical clinic area. I was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph's hospital, where my Dad had his heart attack, and was thankfully told, no heart attack and no signs of one, but what was my problem... They kept me over night for observation and talked to a few Dr. and they came to the same conclusion.. A strained muscle! Go figure.. we think it's from carrying the car seat strange. So what was my big go nuts deal at work.. Jason thinks, and I have to agree, that it was an anxiety attack because I didn't know what the pain was from and was thinking it could be worse-thankfully it wasn't.

My wonderful and loving husband was there by my side the whole time and I just loved him more and more! Our family has sure been threw a lot lately and I'm so glad this wasn't anything serious. I couldn't have any of the kids over night and was so lost with out them! It sure did give me time to pray and thank our Lord for his protection!! I sure had it!

Needless to say, we're off to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving and hope you all will also be Thankful for EVERYTHING! Especially, our Lord for salvation, our country, family, friends and health!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Potty Training....Mission Impossible or Mission Achomplished?!

2007-11-18T23:45:00.000-06:00

We finally got the umpf needed to potty train Nate. We had been trying off and on and not very faithful. I wanted to do it while on maternity leave, but never did. We took off his pull-ups/diaper one evening and put on "big boy" underwear! He loved them and cried when we put his pull up on for bed time. The next day he got to wear them in the van to Grandma's house and oh was he excited! He kept them dry ALL day! He's had very few accidents, I think maybe one or two, and had kept them dry at night! He told me one night, "I'm not a baby, I don't want to wear pull ups" and kept his underwear dry! PRAISE THE LORD~Only 1 in diapers now.. If only I could potty train a 3 month old :)

Here's a picture of the proud boy!

The Joppa's Fall 2007

2007-11-11T15:04:00.001-06:00

Our past week!!

2007-11-07T06:21:00.001-06:00

This past week has been one of the hardest weeks I have ever faced, something I would never want to do again, yet, may have to someday and that would be burying a parent. Monday, October 29th, my mother in law, Barb Joppa passed away, suddenly. It was something one never expects, but happened. Jason received a call from a police officer trying to get a hold of his Dad, which got us nervous. Jason then received a call from his Dad with the news of her passing and out the door he went to Sun Prairie, WI (Thank you all for your prayers as he traveled). Tuesday they made many arrangements and I stayed here with the kids to keep things as normal. I sat the girls down on Tuesday morning, not sure what to say and asked the Lord to help me tell them. The first thing Hannah said "Mommy, Guess what, Grandma's walking now!" For those of you that do not know, my mother in law was unable to walk and was in a scooter! Oh the simple minded for such an occassion! She was actually excited for her and in such a way, that she understood the concept! I was blown away and just cried!!

Tuesday afternoon my dad went in for more stents and they put in 4 more. (He know has a total of 9 and wonder if he's looking for some kind of record- :) ) I was able to spend some time with him at the hospital before leaving for WI on Wednesday morning. Off I go with 4 kids, one I'm hoping would sleep all the way there.. no such doing! She woke up earlier than I hoped, so a stop was in order.. Once back on the road, we had 2 hours to go, one by one, they all fell asleep! I was actually grateful for the peac and quiet, being able to think and pray.

Thursday, we went thru pictures and it was actually a good time to go down memory lane, there were some pictures I had never seen (Like Jason, 2 days old) and some they let me keep!!

Friday was the viewing and they had her beautiful! She would have been proud, once again, of her family! Barb loved the Lord and it showed! There were people that came that we didn't know, but they knew her from church or even past connections and they all said how she loved Jesus and would pray for them! She did, she was the best prayer warrior I know!

Saturday was the funeral and I think I've never been prouder of my father in law and husband! It's not easy to stand up in front of people to talk about the passing of a loved one and they did it! along with many tears, and laughter, they did it! At the cemetary, they had it arranged for the kids to release doves! That was actually neat! they circled around 2 or 3 times and then head back to their home coop, about 30 min. away!!

It was hard to leave on Sunday, and the Lord sure has put His arms around our family! The outpour of love and prayer and been something amazing!! Thank you all for praying!

Here are a few pictures of the flowers that Midwest Coast and Qwest sent (our works) and the kids by the dove cage.

Jason's Mother Suddenly Passes away to Heaven

2007-10-29T22:40:00.000-05:00

We received word this evening that Jason's mother (Barb Joppa) passed away this evening. We are currently not sure of any details at this time, but I ask for those that are still up this evening on Monday that you pray for Jason's safe travel to Wisconsin. He has a 4 hour ride ahead of him. For those that see this in the morning, please pray for our travel and for our children as they just lost their Grandmother, We PRAISE HIM that she is now in the presence of our Lord and Saviour, worshipping at his feet. Please pray for the Barlow and Joppa family as there are many unsaved family members, that thru this difficult time they may come to know Him has their personal Lord and Saviour.

Thank you
Candace Joppa

First Day Back to Work

2007-10-29T20:20:00.000-05:00

The day has come and we have survived! Samantha is not the best bottle taker, so that makes her extremely hungry when Mommy's not around! That was biggest worry, I know she's in good hands during the day, when you have Grandma, you are spoiled! I left with Kleenex's in hand and Jason just holding me and letting me cry. I told him I just can't do this! I can't leave her knowing it's going to be so long! He sweetly reminded me that God isn't going to give us anything we can't handle and to trust in Him, He has a plan for our family! My mom and sister had some errands to do downtown St. Paul and they brought Nate and Sammy over for lunch! I was so excited!! The best part was seeing both kids smiley faces when they spotted me! I just love that! Tomorrow will be another day, and my dad goes in for more stints, so Jason is staying home with the kids, so I'm excited for that, hoping another lunch date with the kiddos! Wednesday, I'm able to work from home (I'm so thankful that I do have a job that is VERY family orientated and my boss works really well with me at times like these) since my dad will be in the hospital.

On a side note, if you could please pray for my parents. Since my dad hasn't been working very much, his paycheck is tiny. They are also losing their medical insurance on Wednesday, so please pray that they will be able to find medical insurance they can afford, especially with my Dad's heart conditions.

Thank you for those that have prayed for me for this transition back to work. It was nice seeing everyone again and being able to brag about the kids, but I sure do miss them and wish and pray someday I can stay home! Only the Lord knows for sure!

My maternity leave is ending :(

2007-10-28T20:46:00.001-05:00

Monday, October 29th, I return to work after 12 weeks of maternity leave. I have loved every minute of it! I really wish I could stay home, but financially, we are not able to have this! I have mixed emotions, as I enjoy my job, but I love my family more! We are truly blessed that my parents can watch the kids for us AND able to pick up the girls from school for us as well. Here are some of the "highlights" from the past 12 weeks of being able to be home!

I didn't do it...

2007-10-25T17:07:00.001-05:00

I had to gasp, then grab the camera! Jill, you are right, grab the camera first, discipline next :)

Our appliances came! and our kids are sick

2007-10-24T18:34:00.000-05:00

Today our appliances came! We are so happy and excited! We were in awe of how they use those straps and move the appliances around! We had a separate company install them and I was worried about the timing of things. I sure do need to learn to "cast all my cares" on Jesus! Viola, they each came at the same time! PERFECT! Here are some pictures. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the old stove, but trust me, the new one is better! My favorite part about the fridge, the thing beeps at you if the doors been open to long! I'm sure we'll be filling up the fridge soon, but for now, we just need toast!

Three out of the 4 kids are sick! Nate was first, I'm sure not a fan of seeing what he ate for the 2nd time! Hannah came home from school not feeling well and it hit her, Caitlin looked at me with a sheepish grin and told me her tummy hurt. A few minutes later, she was throwing up! oh dear! I'm glad the kids don't have school on Friday and Hannah's sad she'll be missing show n tell on Thursday :(

The Old fridge

New Fridge!

The old dishwasher

The new dishwasher! (the blue you see is the protective film. I couldn't get off, so Jason was the lucky winner!)

Here's the hood, which we replaced with the microwave, and now we have a lot more counter space! Our kitchen is not that big, so any space we can get, we take!

The old microwave, off the counter and on the floor

The new microwave, above the range

The new stove/oven!

Caitlin's 5th birthday pics, part 1

2007-10-22T11:37:00.001-05:00

This past Thursday, October 18th, our 2nd daughter, Caitlin turned 5! We're just amazed on how God has blessed us and her these past 5 years! Since there was no school on Thursday or Friday, we took off Thursday morning and went to see Grandparents in Wisconsin. We stopped in Tomah, WI for Pizza Hut (which they had alfredo sauce, awesome!) for lunch and finally arrived to see Grandma (Grandpa had gone to work)!! We gave Caitlin a couple presents on her birthday (even tho the party was on Saturday) and the kids couldn't wait for Grandpa to get home!

Friday we went to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Lissa's house and the kids just played! it was a nice time. I thought I lost my camera, only to find out I had it with me the whole time at Lissa & Jeff's house so I missed out on several pictures.. ugh..

Saturday we went back to Grandparents house for Caitlin's party with family. It was nice basicallly just the 11 of us and Great Grandpa Barlow. Sunday we headed home (that would be another blog in itself.. traffic and construction) and was so nice to lay my head on my own pillow and bed! Ah... :)

Happy 5th Birthday Caitlin

2007-10-18T03:27:00.000-05:00

Happy 5th Birthday, Sweetie!

Dear Caitlin,

As I look back on this past year of you being 4, I thank our Lord for such a sweet and loving daughter that you are! You have a smile that can light up a room and you love being a helper and you do a great job at that! You've watched your older sister and have used that example to be an older sister, and a great one that you are! You are Daddy & Mommy's sweetheart and I love listening to you sing as you make up some song that is truly your imagination! You are now in school and it's been amazing watching you grow into a sweet and loving young girl that God wants you to be!

Daddy and Mommy love you with all our hearts and ask that you love Jesus more than you'll ever know! Enjoy being 5 and remember to "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart"

PS>> We're heading to Madison this weekend since there is no school, so I of course will post pictures as I can :) Thanks

Samantha's 1st Bottle

2007-10-16T21:49:00.001-05:00

Appliance Shopping

2007-10-15T00:19:00.000-05:00

I thought grocery shopping could be tiring, oh no.. appliance shopping is the winner there! Our fridge went out a week ago and we're in need of a new one! Thankfully, my parents of a few "mini-fridges", the ones that were used at collage, so they let us borrow one. We found a "deal" to get the fridge, stove, microwave and dishwasher, but do we really want to do that? It would be nice for re-sale value, but what about cost.. the more we've looked at it, yes, we can get quite the deal, for the cost of the fridge + change, we can get it all! It's almost like buy 2 get 2 free! Who can turn down a sale? I cannot! My Children's Place addiction is proof of that, but when a $35.00 coat is on sale for $2.99 + 30% off.. who can? :)

He's Home!!!

2007-10-08T22:06:00.000-05:00

This morning was a rather interesting morning! Jason's been in Fargo and that left it up to just me to get 4 kids ready because 2 had school. The rain made it hard to get up and I was just plain tired! I took the 2 older girls to school, Nate to Grandma's and Samantha and I head off to her 2 month appt (love those shots). Discovered that Sam's our little porker and is 14 + pounds! She's in the 99% for weight and the 94% for height (yes, so far a tall Joppa).

After her appt, I went back to my mom's house to pick her and Nate up to go visit my dad. What do we find out when we get there.. He gets to come home a day early! How exciting is that! I load up the kids and go down 7 levels in the parking lot (I only emphasize this because I'm now dizzy from going in tight circles (spirals) to depart the parking lot to meet my mom and dad at the front door! Nate was so cute too, he helped get a blanket for Grandpa, (my mom has those pictures) and tuck him in his chair! He was excited to get his Grandpa home!

Thank you again for all your prayers these past few days! He has a few more bumps to go over and I believe with prayer and time he's be back to speed in no time!

Update on my Dad

2007-10-07T00:03:00.000-05:00

Thank you for your prayers regarding my dad's heart attack. We went up to the hospital this afternoon with the kids, not knowing what to expect on how they would behave. Kids in hospitals, especially in the ICU, don't always mix. We sat the older two down and told them what we expect out of them regarding "rules" to see Grandpa. Our kids are good kids, praise the Lord, but they are still kids... :) They did really well and we put them in the waiting room and surprise, Grandpa came to visit them! His machines are able to "travel" so to speak and he spent a couple hours in the waiting room with us so the kids could spend time with him. Nate was a little nervous at first and wasn't quite ready to see Grandpa hooked up to an I.V., but after a few minutes, he warmed right back up and played and played right next to him with his cars :)

Thank you again for your prayers, I'm told he should be able to come home now on Tuesday. They are watching his heart and should be able to be moved from ICU on Sunday sometime, putting him in a regular room.

Please Pray for my Dad!

2007-10-05T23:21:00.000-05:00

Today, October 5th, my Dad was at work on his lunch break and felt funny and knew something wasn't right. Threw some discussions with my mom, one of his co-workers (THANK YOU DEE!!) brought him to St. Joseph hospital in St. Paul where they ran some test on him and he had an heart attack there in the hospital! (Praise the Lord he was all ready in the hospital) and they put in 2 stints (I'm sure I spelled that wrong). He looked very pale when I first saw him, but when I was able to see him a few hours earlier (because of the group of family that came to see him, I waited) he looked so much better with his color back! There is talk of him moving out of ICU on Saturday afternoon and possibly coming home on Sunday/Monday. I thank you for your prayers for our GREAT GOD that watches over us and puts his arm around him and I ask that you continue to prayer for him and healing and for our family as we are ever so thankful for each other and how truly precious life is!

Teacher home visit

2007-10-04T09:48:00.000-05:00

Last night, we had Mrs. Walters and Mrs. Towberman over for our school home visit. It was a great time of fellowship and getting to know them a bit more! Caitlin was so cute too, she went and got per backpack to show Mrs. Towberman.. 'cause she doesn't see that 3 days a week :)

Hannah and Mrs. Walters

Caitlin and Mrs. Towberman

Samantha's 1st trip/Happy Birthday Madi!

2007-09-29T16:25:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was Samantha's first road trip! We went to Grandparent Joppa's house for cousin Madi's 3rd birthday party weekend! She did great in the 4 hour car ride (which can take longer than 4 hours if we have to stop) Madison, WI was where we headed. We had a blast! On Saturday, Madi (my niece) had her 3rd birthday party. My sister in law rented a blow up toy from a family friend and the kids had a blast running and jumping in it! It was fun watching Madi open her presents and enjoy the toys! The girls and Nate had fun playing after the party and spending time with our family!

The Birthday Girl!!

Happy Birthday Honey!

2007-09-16T23:25:00.000-05:00

Today, my wonderful husband aged another year! He's, what was lovingly called today, the old man in our house now :) We spent the day going to church this morning and picking up KFC for lunch so we could "hurry home" so he could watch his Green Bay Packers (which he claims they won just for him). I took the kids to get cake and some odds/ends for him and enjoyed some great family time today. I love you Honey and I hope the Lord blesses you many many more years to come!

Our fancy wrapping job (Thank you Hannah for the label)

One of Jason's Xbox360 gifts

While Mom's away... Dad has no clue...

2007-09-15T22:24:00.000-05:00

My mom has gone on vacation! She left on Thursday morning with my sister, Angela and my Grandma Ten Eyck (Mom's mom) to visit the Pixomatis family in Orlando. My brother, who mind you, is past the diaper ages, and yet continues to need Mommy, inquires how they will eat. So Thursday night, they order pizza from Pizza Hut. My dad has a coupon for 2 free personal pan pizza's, so he calls and orders 2 Medium pizza's because they lady on the other end, told him about a special. He inquired if he could put the 2 free personal pan pizza's as credit towards his medium pizzas.. hmmm... Then on Friday night, I took my dad and brother to Perkins for supper. We ordered breakfast and he inquires if the hash browns are the stringy kind. One of my dad's favorite restaurants is Perkins and one would think he knows what the hash browns look like.. He needs my mom back :) I know they are enjoying their trip, but for the sake of what they may have done today.. HURRY HOME!!! :)

Flashback to 2001 on this date in history

2007-09-11T22:49:00.000-05:00

6 years ago, I recall being on the phone at work with one of Kraft's carriers (contracted trucking companies) and we were discussing something when the lady on the other end of the phone (Pam) told me she could see smoke and that she thought an airplane had crashed, and since the she could see the smoke, must not have been that far away. A few minutes later, as we were one the phone, she told me, that was no small plane, a plane hit one of the World Trade towers. She was in NJ (believe the northern part of New Jersey)and could see smoke from the tower. Hannah was 6 months old and I remember holding her, watching President Bush on TV and being so proud to be from this great country! I don't think I'll ever forget the look on his face. He was about to take care of things! I know some people have their view points about current events in Iraq and other countries, and ya know, they have their rights to, thanks to men and women who have given their lives for us to have these freedoms-This is what some of those protesters forget! How often do we thank a service man/woman for what they are doing! I heard someone today say around the phrase of "let's not only remember that day, but what are doing now. Our country was "asleep" so to speak and attacked. Now, awake, taking precautions to never let this happen again.

Sept 11th 2007.. I sit in my living room on my laptop, watching my TV, holding my kids and thinking.. I've got it good.. There are men/women protecting my safety to be able to do what I want. My belief is that our Great and Marvelous God is watching over us and putting these people in the position to make sure I remember how Great and Awesome HE is!

Where were you on Sept 11th.. More importantly, if you were to die today, where will you be going? Noone knows their last final breath, but the one thing we can know is God's love. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him, shall not parish, but have ever lasting life". All we need is to believe in Jesus and receive His free gift of eternal salvation. If another Sept 11th.. or I-35W.. or..... where will you go?

Our Day Going with Daddy to work!

2007-09-05T21:19:00.001-05:00

Today was a fun day for some of us in the Joppa household! Jason went to Rochester for work and brought Nate, Samantha and myself with him! We had so much fun! Not only did the youngest children have a "field" trip, but it was nice change of pace. After he was done at his store, we went to Owatonna to see one of Jason's managers that recently quite to work at a video game store. So Jason took several games in to "trade". It has been many years since I myself had been back to Owatonna and was nice to see all the changes that have taken place. We went past our first house we lived in after we were married, only to see it is now some kind of a garden! Go figure.. We were trying to figure out where to have lunch when we remembered the Chinese restaurant we would walk to for lunch, so we went back there. It was a day I'll remember for a long time!! Thank you honey for taking me with you today!!!

Sammy's 1st park trip!

2007-09-04T12:36:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, we were going to take Nate's 2nd year pictures and Samantha's 1 month pictures. We ended up running late and moved to take pictures on Sunday after church (Thank you Angela for your flexibility). So now that we're all in the car and moving how do we turn around and go home? You don't.. time to go to the park :) This was Samantha's 1st time to the park to "play" or swing as all she did. She didn't like being in the swing, due to being squished in the swing!

The 1st day of school!

2007-08-30T16:16:00.001-05:00

School is finally underway! Hannah started on Tuesday and Caitlin started on Wednesday. Woodcrest's K-4 program is Monday-Wednesday-Friday. So for 3 days of the week, will only have 2 kids! Hannah was so excited to learn cursive! Cursive in 1st grade! She learned the letter "e" and "i". We're in trouble know! She just had a blast for her 1st day! I hope she'll keep it up and enjoy it!

Caitlin started on Wednesday and just had so many questions! Who was in her class, what about this.. what about that! She looked nervous walking into her line, but when she came home with an "award" that said, I did my very best today.. You know she just had fun!

Enjoy the pictures! P.S. Had to throw a few pictures in of the other 2 even though they weren't going to school, they just had a few cute pictures.. :)

The End of Summer is Here!

2007-08-27T16:26:00.000-05:00

Summer is officially over in our house! Tuesday starts the first day of school for Hannah and Caitlin will start on Wednesday! Today, the 5 of us (Jason being at work) went to the Dr. for Samantha's 2 week check up, even though she's 3 weeks. She's a growing girl for sure! She now weighs 10 # 5 ounces. She's almost gained 2 pounds since she was born. I even ventured out to Mc Donald's for lunch with the 4 of them.. I think I was nuts at the idea, and thankfully, all of them were excellent! I told them too, how proud I was of them for obeying and behaving like they should! Samantha goes back to the Dr. in October for her 2 month apt.. oh, I hate those shots, but we all know they are needed too! So it's not the end of the world, just seems that way for about 20 seconds!

I, of course, will post 1st day of school pictures for both girls. I can't believe we'll have 2 in school now.

Joppa Journals

Finally.. An update!!!

A new toy.

Happy 8th Birthday Hannah

Gymnastics

Finally.. Updating!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Mall of America

Forty O'clock

Trick or Treat

Pillsbury Baptist Bible College- Our Alma Mater

Our House is FINISHED

Samantha's Dedication

Happy 6th Birthday Caitlin

My Wonderful Husband!

Prayer request!!!

House Repairs

A Blessed Day!

Teacher Visit

Happy 34th Birthday!!

Labor Day 2008

Curlers in her hair.. curlers every where....

First Day of School

Newest place to fall asleep

Trip to Wisconsin

Happy 36th Anniversary Dad & Mom!

Happy 1st Birthday Samantha Faith!

Happy 3rd Birthday Nate!

Update on my Dad!

Prayer request!!!

First steps.. nope.. tears...

Best Parents?!?!

Day at the Library!

Samantha Blowing Kisses :)

Happy 4th of July

First Steps...

Nate's 1st Dentist Trip

Father's Day Weekend

Happy Birthday to My Mom

Pictures from our past...

A Shelter In A Time of Storm

Girls Day!

Weekend at the Hilton in Mpls

End of the school year!

Mother's Day

Chapel time

Saturday and Tuesday-a fun day off!

Caitlin's first lost tooth!

Weekend in Wisconsin

Cute kids sayings..

Congratulations to Dover Air Force Base!

Field Trip Day!

Girls Night Out!

Hannah's Birthday Party/Sleep over

Hannah's 7th Birthday & Easter weekend

Has spring finally arrived?

Samantha's 6 month pictures (A month late)

I finally found this video

Girls playing in the snow

New Furniture

Samantha laughing

Spirit week at Woodcrest

Wyatt Alan

Catching up...

Happy 60th Birthday to my Dad!

Cereal time!

Punishment (and way to cute)

Merry Christmas 2007

Happy 10th Anniversary to us!!!

Our family pictures

A rollover...

Ear infections in our house

New beds... new roommate :)

Samantha's 4 months!

Joppa's in the snow

Thanksgiving 2007

My time at the hospital

Potty Training....Mission Impossible or Mission Achomplished?!

The Joppa's **Fall 2007**

Our past week!!

The Joppa's Fall 2007