3 strikes... Mom's Way Outnumberd and Loving Thoughts of Father-Son Campouts

And the ultrasound says... time to buy another fishing pole. The spook due October 31st looks a whole lot like his two older brothers... all BOY!

I am by far the best wife in the entire world. Hands down.

Does anyone else cringe at the idea of their hubby 2000+ feet up... solo. Or is it just me? Jonathan's graduation gift to himself is private pilot lessons. He has always dreamed of flying and thinks now is his chance. What wife actually lets their husband do this? I've lost it! What's worse is Jonathan is getting me to consider getting my license when I'm not so pregnant. Ummm... that's a great big we'll see. Until then, wonder wife is letting Mr. Crazy Wings learn to fly. Just 10 more lessons til he's solo.

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I HATE BASEBALL! AT LEAST I THINK I DO.

We put Adam on a little t-ball team to get him into the swing of things here in Bloomfield. He hated it. 1. He didn't know any of the kids. 2. What in the world is baseball and who cares how to play? Getting him to the first few games was more than a struggle, but talk about most improved... by the end of the season he was loving things. Pitcher was his favorite because in t-ball that is about the only person that gets action on the field. He is excited to be able to play next year.

Daddy's Tractor

With 2 acres to mow the riding lawn mower was a must. We would have been tarred and feathered had we not gotten something green so we came home with a new John Deere tractor mower. John Deere is one of the 2 largest employers here so if you drive anything but a Deere you get the evil eye. Jonathan loves his new green machine and the boys love it probably even a little more. Matthew sits for 5 hours straight on Jonathan's lap mowing. Both he and Adam have fallen asleep mowing with their Dad. They love the wagon Dad attaches on behind and are either riding along behind or on Dad's lap. Mom loves the quality time with Dad... for hours on end. The boys have both watched their dad start the tractor so many times, they can start it on their own if only their legs were long enough. Adam always tells me, let's go drive the tractor Mom, I'll show you how it works. And he can. The boys won't mow unless they have their tractor hats on just like Dad's. I love this picture. I don't know if it is a better one of Matthew or Jonathan. There are Jonathan's new protective glasses that he got with his chain saw... another man tool we have had to invest in with several of our trees blowing down in the storms.

A Work in Progress

We love our home here in Bloomfield. Adam regularly asks me, "Mom, didn't I pick the perfect house? Can we stay at this house forever?" Yes it is a bit of heaven, but it is a bit far from family, so we'll give it a couple of years and time shall tell. We have been gradually feeling like we are moved in, but still have a lot of work to do... here are a few pics of what we have been up against...

Can we say cosmetically challenged and a tad bit on the icky side? Making a house a home takes time, but we are getting there bit by bit. When things look a little more finished I'll post my after shots.

All three of my boys love it here - Dad, Adam and Matthew. On our second day here we had a stray cat show up. What a little blessing from heaven. This cat is the nicest thing I have ever seen. The boys LOVE her and spend 2-3 hours a day playing with the cat. Talk about cheap entertainment. I think of all the boys Jonathan loves the cat the most. Personally I rarely touch it. I'm not an animal lover, but I love to see my boys love it. We don't have a name for it, but the kitty works just fine.

When the boys aren't loving the cat they are loving sticks. Any size, any shape, it magically transforms into ANYTHING. We have 4 acres of woods, so sticks are cheap abundant in these parts. Adam and Matthew haul sticks everywhere and create everything. No wonder they never want to leave.

Third to the cat and sticks are frogs. NEVER ending frogs. Toads, tree frogs, old and new we have them. They hang out in the bathtub, are hauled around outside, and are kept in jars. Lately there has been hundreds on baby frogs. They are about the size of the end of your pinky. The are cute, quick, and fragile. There have been a couple they don't make it out of Matthew's grasp alive.

Oh, the birds! How could I forget the birds! We have several bird feeders and flocks of birds. We sit and watch the birds every day. Today at lunch Adam yells out, there's a red-winged blackbird, cardinal, and sparrow eating. He is learning to identify lots of birds and really likes to watch them. We love the goldfinches, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, cardinals, and orioles. There are a lot of birds that we don't see out west, so it is fun to see new species.

We are enjoying life here. It seems to be heaven for little boys.

Still Alive

I know, most have given up on us Iowans... yet we live on. OBVIOUSLY life has been crazy! Just to throw you into the loop a little... we're having #3 due to debut on Halloween. That says plenty in and of itself. I am at 16 weeks so we are back in the saddle again. Over the past 3 years I have developed horrific allergies. Not just the sneezy kind, but the unbearable eye pain, wake at least once in the night the wash eyes because they have crusted shut, eye swollen shut by morning, can't function til noon, nose so raw I could weep even more, sneeze til I wet my pants, haven't taken a breath through my nose in 3 weeks, lips and mouth so dry I could cry, pregnant safe meds aren't cutting it allergies. Ahh, I feel better all ready. We also own two homes now. We have decided to move 2 hours away... Hooray! However, we are still trying to finish the basement in the home we are somewhat living in now, and fix up the home we are moving into. The drywall in the basement here took a whole month longer than planned and Jonathan starts work tomorrow in Bloomfield, IA. He is going to be working for the Bloomfield Anesthesia group. Our home in Bloomfield is 6.5 acres, which we love... but hello... have you ever tried to mow 2 acres of grassy hills with a push mower? Ya, who has time to blog. The house in Bloomfield isn't horrific, but I have never seen so much dog hair in a freezer in my life. Last week we spent stripping wall paper like our lives depended on it. Jonathan is leaving tonight so he can be at work in the morning and is going to paint in Bloomfield while I pack the North Liberty house and pawn off my kids each day. Throw in being in charge of a Pinewood derby, Stake Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment and a few other odds and ends and ta-dah... blogging death. Truly we are doing wonderful. I really mean that. Our lives are far more blessed than we will ever deserve. I promise pictures before the end of the summer... how do you like that! Ahh loves and tootles - The Jenson's

Happy Birthday Adam!

A whoppin' four years old. I can hardly believe he's four and yet I am relishing every new adventure he wants to take and thing that he is learning. I just listed Adam's top ten favorites from food to books, but since our blog isn't secure, I decided that probably isn't the wisest thing to post about a 4 year old child... so a few tidbits about him from mom -

Adam has started to read. I have been really surprised how quickly he has picked up on reading. It seems as if one day he woke up being able to sound out letters and make them into words. I don't think it was anything I taught him... just something he kind of "got" on his own.

Adam loves Matthew's companionship. They are the dearest of buds. They drive each other crazy at times, but always want to be together. I guess so they can always have someone to pick on.

Adam loves to pray but please don't ask him to do it in Primary. He hollers to be the one to get to pray at home, but put him in front of people and you might as well pull his arms off.

Adam has a very inquisitive mind. I think at times he got the mind of his Dad and the more mellow childhood personality of his Mom.

Adam HATES talking on the phone to anyone besides he Dad. Please don't ask to talk to Adam and if you do, plan to keep it short and sweet.

Adam is a BOY. He likes it loud and he likes it rough.

Adam loves to sit by his Dad at the piano and sing Primary songs. He swings his legs back and forth and when the chorus to "Follow the Prophet" comes along he belts it long and loud.

Adam is buddy. I think each of us in the family feel like he is our own special buddy. He is always a great companion.

For Adam's birthday we had a couple friends come to help us celebrate. He started out wanting a yellow triangle cake but at the last minute changed his mind and decided he wanted a giraffe cake. I am no artist and it was little unidentifiable, but after a couple star-tippin' hours we made the requested giraffe eating leaves. We sent the kids on a treasure hunt to find Adam's birthday party (in 32 degree weather) and then had cake and ice cream and presents. Adam's favorite present this year was a box of Mike and Ike candy although the grand gift was a bike. Please let spring come soon!