Easter Weekend & Jim's 30th Birthday

We haven't posted anything new for a long time.  We have had a very busy weekend and actually a very busy past few weeks.  Friday night was Jim's surprise 30th birthday party (his actual birthday was Monday).  His parents came into town on Friday and at night Jim thought we were going to a family night fish n chips at my mom's condo club house.  We actually were going to his birthday party which has been an event that I have been planning for the last couple of months.  It turned out to be a fun time honoring Jim with family, friends, food and games.  Unfortunately we don't have any pictures to show for it (as of now) since I forgot to grab our camera on the way out the door.  It was a very stressful couple weeks with the "lies" to get everything done and even getting him there that evening.  We will hopefully get some copies of pictures from the evening to share sometime soon.  I put together a picture slide show of the last 30 years of Jim's life, that we watched the night of the party.  You can watch it by clicking on this link.

We had a nice Easter weekend.  Jim's parents stayed through the weekend and left on Monday.  We enjoyed our time with them.  The weekend went really fast though and we felt like they just got here and had to turn around and go home.  The kids weren't feeling well all weekend though and Saturday night they really seemed to get worse.  By Sunday morning they both were really sick (Jacob was worse than Abbey) so we decided to keep them home Sunday morning with Jim.  I went because I was teaching Sunday School that morning and Jim's parents came to church too.  It was disappointing that we couldn't all go to church as a family on Easter, but that's how it goes sometimes with little kids and sickness.  Easter evening we enjoyed a delicious meal at my mom's and Johns house and played some Bible Trivia.  We had a nice time.

Jacob and Abbey are still pretty sick.  They both have pink eye (we went to the doc Monday and got eye drops) and pretty bad colds.  So far Micah, Jim & I are fine.  We are really praying most of all that Micah doesn't get what they have.  He is so little still and it's hard enough seeing Jake & Abbey so sick.  Well, Happy late Easter to you all.  Hope you had a wonderful time celebrating our risen Savior :)  And.... Happy late 30th Birthday Jim!  You are very loved by many :)  Here are a couple pictures from our weekend.  

The Switch

Well, we made the big switch.  On Saturday we bought a Mac for the first time.  I've been wanting to switch to a Mac from a PC for a long time now and we finally did it.  I've heard so many great things about Macs, and I've had nothing but problems with PCs.  We bought a Mac Book (pictured above).  I'm still getting used to the differences from a PC.  I had a little trouble signing into the wireless, but I was able to eventually figure it out.  Hopefully this was a good investment and the computer will last us a long time!    

Snow, Snow, Snow!!!

We are having our biggest storm of the season. It started yesterday afternoon and is still coming down strong. They are saying that in total we will get about 20 inches. Jim got an accident call out this morning (today is his day off) so had to shovel/snow blow his way out of the driveway at 8am. He is out there now for a second time today... trying to keep up with what's coming down. The kids and I are staying warm in the house, watching from the window. Jacob went out for about 10 minutes, but was ready to come in since the snow was coming down hard and hitting him in the face. We are a little jealous of the Larson's (Jim's sister and family) who live in Florida and friends of ours, the Gammons who are vacationing there now. I also have to mention our friends the Matheny's who live in North Carolina. They have been enjoying 75 degree weather lately. We are anxiously awaiting the news of the arrival of their first baby (any minute now :) You guys all enjoy while we are snowed in here :) We have to keep reminding ourselves that spring will be here soon (hopefully)... it's Cleveland so you never know!!

Micah is 2 Months Old

Micah turned 2 months old on the 4th. He had his doctors appointment yesterday and weighs 12lbs 1oz and is 23 inches long. He is in the 50th percentile for weight and length. We haven't posted much lately, but have had a few rough weeks with our little guy. He was having a lot of inconsolable crying and we started to get really concerned that something was wrong. It was more than the normal fussy period at night and he would often seem like he was in pain. I took him last week to see the doctor and the doctor prescribed zantac because he felt like Micah may have acid reflux from the way that I described what was going on. We have seen a 100% improvement in him. He is so much happier and more comfortable and eating better. We are so thankful that it seems like we figured out what is going on with him. It's sad for us to think that for the last four weeks he's been struggling with heartburn. He has been waking up this week cooing and smiling as opposed to screaming so it is a huge relief for all of us :)

True American Patriot

This is a video for those of you who don't know. Just press the small triangle to play it.

Campaign 2008

Even though I'm interested in politics, I've been trying to stay away from posting something about the Presidential race. But I just read a good article from World Magazine. Check it out if you have the time. I can't understand why anyone would ever vote for a man who actually voted AGAINST the ban on partial birth abortions.

Valentines Day

We had a nice Valentines Day. Jacob had school and took his valentines that he worked hard on this week. He cut hearts out of construction paper (pink and red for the girls & blue and green for the boys), taped on a candy and put stickers on them. I wrote who they were to and he wrote his name on each one. He enjoyed making them and when he got home he told us that his friends loved them.
We then decided to try to go out to dinner with the five of us. Our first attempt at a dinner out as a family of 5. We went to Red Robin and it was pretty successful. We were mostly worried about Micah being in his "fussy time", but he did good and was pretty distracted by all that was going on there. They had someone in a costume dressed up as a Robin. You'd think that would've been fun for the kids, but Abbey is terrified of anyone in costume, so she buried her head into Jim the whole dinner and wouldn't take a bite of food. She would occasionally peek out and if she saw the robin she would pull Jim's face down so she could be completely protected. We felt bad for her (we wouldn't have gone there if we knew they' d have that). Anyways, it was nice to get out of the house and be waited on and overall a pretty relaxing night for us :)

Hockeytown!

When I was in elementary school I loved recess. I loved going outside and playing, but I also loved it when it was raining and we couldn't go outside. I used to play hockey in the hallway with one of my friends, Jim Rebsamen. We each had a mini-stick and we would play one on one. It was a lot of fun. I've kept those sticks to this day and I've passed them on to Jacob. He recently saw me watching Philly Flyer highlights on the computer and he had a great idea that he and I should play hockey. So, we broke out the sticks, cleared out the kitchen, and faced-off! It was a lot of fun, but we didn't have any goals. So, I found some on the internet and they arrived today. I think I enjoy them more than Jacob does!

Micah - One Month Old

Micah has already been here a month. That time went really fast, but then again we can't imagine him not being here and we can hardly remember what life was like without him. He is doing well, but is having a very fussy period (understatement) starting at about 9:30 pm and lasting for about two hours. There is nothing that we can do to calm him down so we pretty much just walk around with him praying that he will settle down. We take turns and then eventually he poops himself out and falls asleep. At his last doctors appointment the doctor said it is really normal for babies to go through this and the rest of the day he is fairly content so we aren't too concerned about it. He is growing fast. He is already up to 9lbs. 15oz. Cooing some and even a few smiles the last couple of days. He's a joy to have around :)

New Pictures

A friend of ours from church is starting up a photography business and came over last week to take pictures for us. We thought she did a great job (thanks Keri) and wanted to share a few with you.
We are doing well. Micah will be 4 weeks on Friday and he is growing and changing already. We have had a couple rough nights, but other than that we can't complain. Jacob and Abbey have adjusted well and I don't think any of us can imagine life without him.

Bed Head

These are pictures of Abbey first thing this morning. We always get a kick out of her hair when she gets out of bed. Every night after bath we brush her hair and it looks nice and neat. Somehow by morning this is how it gets (today was one of the funniest it's been), but it always looks pretty hilarious. We're not sure what she is doing in her bed while she sleeps, but it looks like she sleeps in a head stand position. We love our little bed head :)

Cabin Fever

So far our adjustment from 2 to 3 kids has been fairly easy. Jake and Abbey are really enjoying Micah. Jake asks where Micah is every time he comes home from preschool, and Abbey loves to gently touch him on the head.
I've been off work for the past week and a half and it's been great. I've loved the time off. And I've loved spending the time with my family. I've taken Jake and Abbey outside in the snow over the last two days. It's been a lot of fun. Jake loves riding on the sled and throwing snowballs. Abbey loved the sled rides, but she only lasts for about 20 minutes and then she wants to go inside.
Shelley hasn't been out of the house for almost a week and a half, and she says that she doesn't mind. I don't know how she does it.

Thank You

It's been a busy, but great week at the Colberts! We have all enjoyed getting to know our new little guy. He is a very sweet, content baby and a wonderful addition to our family. We were so thankful to have Grandmom and Grandpop here for the week. They arrived on Tuesday and headed back home today and they were a huge help with things. Jacob and Abbey enjoyed every minute they spent with them. Grandmom read countless books to Abbey and they spent a lot of time playing with Abbey's little animals. Grandpop and Jacob enjoyed wrestling and rough housing. Jim and his dad also got some jobs done around our house like replacing our hot water tank and fixing some plumbing under the sink. Grandmom did cleaning, cooking and lots of laundry and helped maintain normalcy in our home. We were blessed by having them here and helping with things. We have also been blessed by several great meals from women in our Church. Thank you Grandmom and Grandpop for all your hard work and to all our friends and family who have prepared meals for us and just been wonderful to us as we've welcomed Micah into our lives :)

Home Sweet Home

We left the hospital yesterday and are finally home. Although we had a good hospital experience, there's just no place like home. It is such a great feeling to have Micah here and to all be together again. Jacob kept asking us at the hospital if we were going to be able to bring Micah home with us. So far Jacob and Abbey are doing really good with him and seem to be adjusting well. It's amazing how kids adjust so easy to new things. Sometimes I wish we handled change as easy as them. Here's a few new pics of him.
Tomorrow we anticipate the arrival of grandmom and grandpop (Jim's parents). They will be here for the week and we are all looking forward to our time together. We are going to try to talk them into moving here while they're here :) The kids (and us) would love to have them closer...

Micah Daniel

Micah Daniel Colbert was born today (Jan. 4th) at 3:45am, weighing in at 8lbs. 4oz., and stretching out to 20 inches long. He's already such a blessing to our family and we praise God for His powerful touch in creating such a wonderful little boy! God's faithfulness continues once again and we praise Him for that! Check out our family photo album for more photos.

A Quick Update

Well, we are already at the hospital! Shelley's water "broke" around 5pm and she's doing great! Micah will be here soon! We'll let you know!

Almost There

Shelley just had her doctor's appointment today and she is 3-4 cm, which is great. The doctor wants her to come back in on Saturday for another check-up, and he will then admit her into the hospital... even if she's still 3-4 cm. He feels that Shelley could deliver at any time. So, we are very excited to welcome Micah into the world. I think Shelley is on cloud 9 now that she knows she's going to deliver very soon. She's got a glow about her this morning that I've only seen before when she found out she was pregnant! It's pretty neat!
So, we'll let you all know when Micah is born. Most likely it's going to be Saturday January 5th... a day before his cousin Will's birthday.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2008! We celebrated our new year with our family tradition of dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We stuffed our faces with pork, sauerkraut, dumplings, pierogis, and various other yummy food. It was a lot of fun. Still no baby yet for us. Shelley is 38 weeks pregnant and she is getting more uncomfortable with each new day. But she is a trooper though! I thank the Lord that I'm not a woman! Hopefully Thursday's doctor's appointment will bring some news that we are closer to the arrival of Micah! We'll keep you all posted!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone! We had lots of fun opening presents, creating memories, and celebrating Jesus. Jake and Abbey were very excited with the gifts they got. Jake's favorite started out being his GI Joe's and then ended up being a gun that Uncle Joey and Aunt Stacey got him. Abbey's favorite was hard to say. She loves her Diego backpack and all the animals that go with it. But she also liked the "bobble head puppies" as she calls them.
Also, a quick update on Shelley, she is doing well. She is 37, almost 38, weeks pregnant and is 2 cm dilated already. We're taking bets on if this will be a 2007 or 2008 "tax deduction". My bet is 2008, but we'll see.

Clark Griswold Jr.

We put lights up on our house for the second year in a row. Last year was much easier than this year. I picked a great day weatherwise to put them up this year, but everything didn't go as planned. Last year I made sure the lights were all working and put away properly and neatly for this year. Well, I got them out last week and tested all of the lights to make sure they were working. They worked when I tested them, but just like Chevy Chase on Christmas Vacation, I got all of the lights up and half of them didn't work. So, all my hard work was wasted. I took the broken lights down and retested them... they still didn't work. So, I went to Lowe's and bought some more lights. Fortunately these lights worked when I put them up the second time. Anyway, here's a picture of our house at night with the lights on. It's not the best picture, but it will have to do. And yes, our house is still up for sale!