Feeling Better & Messy Faces

Brenna is feeling much better! Thank you for your prayers. She is over the worst and just has the occasional cough. She still gets tired easily but is sleeping through the night in her crib (Yippee!!). Mom is still fighting this virus and now has a sinus infection, so both Brenna and myself are taking antibiotics. Aidan is fighting a serious cough however and could use some prayer. So far Matt and Chloe have stayed cold-free.

Just so I could prove how well the kids are doing I thought I would share some cute pictures...


No, that is not chocolate all over his face--it is dirt. MMMMMM--Mudpies!

What childhood is complete without pictures of a spaghetti dinner all over the face?




What a cute little girl!

Busy, Colds, and Life!

We have been very busy the past week or so...

Matt is busy gearing up for his retirement. He is still working on his resumes and realizing that condensing 20 years of work into a couple of sentences is not easy. He is enjoying more time spent at home with the kids. Once he is done checking out we will begin working on the house in earnest.

Chloe has been doing school and dance since we got back. She is slowly gaining more confidence as a dancer and is enjoying it so much. One of these weeks I will remember the camera =). She is enjoying her new math curriculum and can't wait to start her new reading program.

Aidan is quickly become quite the gymnast. He as mastered forward somersaults and loves to show them off to anyone willing to watch him. He has now decided he wants to do cartwheels like big sister. He is also fighting a lingering cold this week but seems to finally be on the mend.

Brenna is fighting the same cold but it seems to be hitting her harder than her brother. She is just miserable and could use some prayer. On a brighter note, last night she slept through the night in her crib!! Yippee!! She slept from about 8:30PM until 7:20AM. So hopefully that can continue.

I have been busy trying to keep up with the kids and their colds. This morning I woke up miserable, so I know they have learned to share. =) I spent the weekend working at our local street fair and festival working my Stampin' Up! business. It was a great event and I will be busy this week following up on leads.

So that is the latest recap on the Websters. I will try to get some pictures this week, since I know you don't want to read what I have to say, you just want to see the pictures! =)

Holidays & the Websters

I don't know what the deal is this year but we have gotten sick on every major holiday this school year. Thanksgiving--Brenna was on the verge of pnemonia and the rest of us had hideous colds. Christmas--We all had a nasty week of the stomach flu. And Easter--once again we are fighting the stomach flu. AAAGH! We just need to start planning to hold our holiday events a week late.

So that is why there are no adorable pictures of the kids in their Easter finery. I will post some pictures next week! Please pray that we are finally starting to feel better.

Our Great Train Adventure - Part 5

Our final day on the train started out on a high note. Unfortunately due to a serious medical emergency on the train the night before and the serious flooding in North Dakota and Minnesota due to the Red River, we were four hours behind schedule. The kids were doing great on the trip but you can imagine what the additional hours meant to Matt and my sanity. =)

We spent the day much like the day before, playing and enjoying family time. Chloe and I went to breakfast, just the two of us, and enjoyed some much needed Mother-Daughter time. After that Chloe and I headed to the Lounge Car to do her homework. We got her all caught up for the week. Than we joined Matt, Aidan and Brenna who spent the morning sleeping in.











There are some pictures of the smaller rooms on the train and the dining car.

We were supposed to get off the train at 4:00PM but due to all the delays we didn't get off until 7:20PM. This completely screwed up our plans. We had a rental car set up for us to pick up at the station but the rental car place at the station closed at 7:00PM--No exceptions. There was a nearby rental place where we could get a car but it was a few blocks from the station but it closed at 8:00PM. We were left with a serious problem. How could we get off the train, get our luggage, catch a cab (with all the kids and our luggage) and make it to the rental place on time? So after some discussion (and a lot of prayer) Matt got off the train immediately with everything he could carry and ran to a taxi to head to the rental place. I had no choice but try to navigate through Union Station Chicago, on my own with three kids and way too much luggage.

God's hand was definitely on us. The kids and I were able to get a red cap to take us to the station and we quickly managed to find baggage claim. All the kids were incredibly cooperative, especially Aidan, which was a miracle because we didn't take a stroller with us, so he could of run all over the place but didn't. With the help of some very nice women who saw me trying to manage three kids and our luggage, we managed to get everything loaded onto two carts and situated in a safe (if there is such a place) place in the station. He continued to keep us safe while we waited for Matt.

Matt was busy getting a taxi and trying to get to the rental place in time. He got the car and than unfortunately got lost in the maze of one-way streets and construction in downtown Chicago next to the train station. It took him almost an hour and a half to find a place to park near the station. Yet, even though he was worried about us being alone in at the station, he had complete peace-totally God's hand on this situation. He found us and we got loaded into the car, which was an adventure since it was dark and he was parked on the street but we managed to do it and get on our way.

Once on the tollway we were making good time despite it being so late at night. Suddenly about 30 minutes from our destination both sides of the tollway came to a complete stop. Nothing was moving in either direction, we could see a lot of lights in the distance but had no idea what was going on. After sitting for a good twenty minutes, Matt climbed out of the car to see what was going on and someone told him to turn on a radio station for news. Than we found out what was going on. An ambulance, driving East, had a patient fall out of the back of the ambulance onto the highway. As you can imagine this caused a huge accident as people swerved to avoid this person. Cars were all over the median and a semi truck jack knifed. Crazy accident. So please pray for this person, we don't know if they survived or not. Once the medivac helicopter took off we were able to keep going. What a night!

Please Pray for this Sweet Baby Boy!

Please Pray for little Stellan. He is in a children's hospital fighting for his life. His heart is beating at over 200+ beats and the doctors cannot get his heart to relax and resume a normal pace. This little miracle had the same heart problems while in the womb. Please pray for this family and especially for his mom. You can view his whole story here.

Merry Christmas!!

Well, the kids got a late start opening gifts since Aidan had another rough night but they quickly worked their way through the pile.

The kids loved their presents and got quite a bit. Chloe got lots of Hannah Montana stuff--a calendar and dress-up clothes from Aunt Nicci and Uncle Chris and a Hannah Montana game for her new Nintendo DS. She got a My Little Pony which she loved. Aidan got a GeoTrax train set (the old west version) and a bag full of markers, crayons and paper from Aunt Nicci and Uncle Chris. Brenna got a soft doll and a Pink Horse with wheels that she can ride around on in another month or so. She also got a Baby Leaps TV game and Elephant toys from Aunt Nicci and Uncle Chris.

Nana and Poppa bought us a family gift this year--a Wii. Chloe was so excited when she opened it up. We even got the sports pack so the kids can play tennis and all the sports games it comes with. We should have lots of fun with that. Here are some great pictures of the kids playing.

Thank You so much for all your love, prayers and support this Christmas! We are all feeling much better except for Aidan who is still very sick so please keep him in your prayers!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Please Pray

Please Pray for our family! Aidan is still incredibly sick and just can't seem to get this bug out of his system. He threw up again last night. He is also trying desperately to stay hydrated, which is not easy when his body seems to be fighting against him. This morning Brenna woke up and threw up. The poor baby is absolutely miserable and can't understand why she feels so terrible. I am praying that she will have enough immunities from Mom that she can fight this thing. My dad is also now sick with this nasty thing. Pray for a special healing touch for our family, we are doing everything we can but just can't seem to get ahead of this thing.

So please pray for God's healing hand on our kids. I don't know what is going on with the holidays this year but the kids get sick each time and miss out on our family traditions. It is so frustrating and exhausting. Thanks!