Day 1 of Construction

Today we started on the construction of finishing our basement and adding a bathroom.  We only have one bathroom in our house and it has become a problem with 4 out of the 5 Colberts being potty trained.  So, we hired a plumber and today he started on the bathroom rough-in.  I was able to help him out a little bit.  And Jake was right by my side the whole way.  He even brought his shovel down to help out with the digging.  Jake especially liked when the plumber used the jackhammer... that's why we had ear protection.  We are hoping to complete the basement sooner then later.  Once the plumbing is roughed in, I am going to handle most of the rest of the work.  We'll keep taking pictures of the progress. 

Abigail Rae

Abbey doodle, Abbey Rae Rae... our little girl is going to be three in about a week.  We were looking at some old pictures of her and just can't believe how fast she is growing. Anyone that knows Abbey, knows that she is 100% girl.  When she was learning her colors, she would only acknowledge pink and purple for the longest time.  She had selective color learning.  She is very into clothes and shoes and loves anything girly.  She loves animals and being read to.  She is a good eater and loves to be held by Shelley.  You will often hear her say "look mommy and daddy" while she's holding up a foot in some way or doing a silly pose.  She is very loved and we are so thankful for our little girl.  Here are some old and recent pictures of her.  

Idlewild Vacation

We made it back from our vacation to Idlewild Park.  We had a blast and the kids really enjoyed it.  The nice thing about the park was that it was perfect for Jake and Abbey.  They were able to go on almost all of the rides, either by themselves or with Shelley or me.  The second day, we did the waterpark, but after a couple hours it started raining.  We were all pretty disappointed that we didn't get more time there (Shelley and I were probably more bummed than the kids), because it was really amazing.  Overall we were glad that we went and we'll definitely make it back to Idlewild another time soon.  Click on the link below if you'd like to see more pictures of our trip.

Idlewild Pictures 

  

Idlewild, Here We Come

Tomorrow morning we are heading out for our mini family vacation to Idlewild Amusement Park and Water Park which is in Ligonier, PA.  We got a package deal through a hotel near the park, which includes two nights stay, tickets to the park, breakfast both mornings and a free pizza delivered to the hotel pool (which we will use our last day after checkout).  We were a little nervous today if this trip was going to happen because last night Abbey came down with a fever and seemed pretty sick all day, but she seemed to perk up tonight before bed so we think it was just a little bug that will pass by tomorrow.  Jim is off the whole week so we are super excited to spend this time together as a family.  Several families at our church have taken their kids to this park year after year when they were Jacob & Abbey's ages and they have all told us that this will be a great trip for our family.  We'll let you know :)

I also wanted to give a little update about my tests.  My cat scan showed that I have several small kidney stones and one pretty large kidney stone.  I am scheduled to have a procedure done in two weeks where the doctor goes in and breaks them up with some laser thing to make them smaller so they are easier to pass.  They then will put a stint in the tube where they go through (ureter) to keep the tube open because it often swells after this procedure and the doctor said that the stint can be pretty painful.  It will be in for at least a week, until the swelling goes down.  The doctor said that if I start having extreme pain (if they start passing before the procedure) to go to the emergency room.  I am thankful that we found these by cat scan before I just had to pass them by myself because I have heard from several people that it can be more painful than childbirth.  So, I will be glad when it's over and am praying that this isn't going to be a reoccurring thing that I will have to live with.  After the procedure, the doctor said that I will go through some testing to see what is causing me to get these.  It may be something in my diet or I possibly could be put on some medication.  Anyways, just wanted to let you know if you were wondering...  

We haven't posted in a while so I thought I'd post about a few things going on here.  On Sunday, early morning a Twinsburg Police Officer was shot and killed on a traffic stop (Twinsburg is a very nice community right near here where many of our friends live).  It is such a sad story... the man had been a Police Officer for 11 years and him and his wife just had their first baby 3 months ago.  This whole area is pretty shaken up by it and it hits very close to home for our family.  Jim and some other officers from his department will be going to the funeral on Friday. When I start to worry about Jim doing what he does, I need to go back to God's promises and remind myself that God is control of all things and His plan is perfect for our lives.  We are so thankful for many people that have just said "thank you" to Jim in light of this situation or who have told our family that they are praying for us as we process this horrible tragedy.

On a lighter note, but still kind of stinky... I am going in for some testing tomorrow to see if I have kidney stones.  Something is going on with me lately (I will spare you the details), so I am having two tests done to see what's wrong.  The doctor that I am seeing told me that I probably shouldn't nurse Micah for 24 hours after the one test (due to a dye that they will put in my body) so I am nervous to see how this is going to work out since Micah really has never had a bottle.  If you remember, could you please pray for the tests and also that we would make it through the day and night with this sudden change.  

And on a much happier note... Here's a couple pictures that I took yesterday of the kids.  Micah turned 6 months on the 4th and is really a sweetheart.  He is laughing so much at Jacob and Abbey lately.... it's so fun to hear that baby giggle :)

Happy 5th Birthday Jacob

Yesterday we had Jacob's birthday party at our house and tomorrow we will be celebrating his actual birthday.  We had a wonderful weekend celebrating our first born.  Jim's parents came into town on Friday.  We had a great weekend and as always enjoyed our time with them.  We were busy preparing for the party, but also had some great talks and good laughs.  Jim's dad was able to ride with Jim for a whole shift and they really enjoyed their time together.  Jacob's party was a blast.  We all had a great time and enjoyed watching him interact with everyone and just celebrating him.  He has been very into army stuff so he wanted a camo party.  Here are a few pics from his party (to see all the pictures, watch the slideshow to the left).  Tomorrow we will spend the day as a family.  Jim is off so we will be able to hang out all day.  Jacob's only request for tomorrow was that we have his favorite dinner... chinese - chicken with broccoli and white rice (extra sauce to put on his rice) and a fortune cookie for dessert.  So, that we will definitely do :)        

8 Years

Today we are celebrating 8 years of marriage.  It's amazing how fast that time has gone and we are so thankful for the life that God has given us.  We have grown together in so many ways and I'm so glad that we have each other as we continue on in this journey and see all that God has in store for us and our family.  We make a great team Jim!  Happy Anniversary :)