A little of this....a little of that......

With all of the "goings on" around this place lately, I have admittedly been ignoring my blog. I have spent the past two weeks trying to get over a nasty cold and finally broke down yesterday and headed to the doctor. Diagnosis.....sinus infection and bronchitis. I took all four of the kids w/me to the appt., and they were awesome. I was very proud of them! I'm happy to report that after only a day on antibiotics I am feeling much better! :)

Since it's been a bit since my last post, I thought I'd bring you up to speed on what's new at the VK ranch.

1. The pregnancy is going well. I'm feeling little squirt move around quite a bit now.

2. Last weekend, my sister, brother-in-law, nephew and niece came for a visit from Idaho to visit their daughter (Bri) that lives with us. It was fun to spend time with them and have them around for a bit. Miss M. and Cousin Syd are b/f/f's, and they both LOVE it when they see each other. We were able to all attend one of Bri's college soccer games together. Since it was Halloween weekend, we decided to head off for our annual tradition of trick-o-treating at the local shopping mall. Miss M. was a hippie, Mr. J., jr. dressed in his traditional Chinese suit, D' was a skunk (thanks, Kathi for the costume! :), A' was a jolly little dinosaur, and Cousin Syd was a rocker-chick. We met up with my other sister(Auntie A') and nephew,Dunk for a fun night w/family. We polished off the night by going out to pizza for din-din. Fun times!

The week stayed fairly busy w/basketball, meetings, kid-running, etc. I'm afraid I have been bit by the dreadful commercialism bug of Christmas. Yes, folks....I gave into all of the beautiful displays and advertisements and shopped before Thanksgiving....gasp! The deals were great, and I couldn't resist! I am hoping to be completely done in the next few weeks, but we'll see how far I get.

Yesterday, we attended my nieces last soccer game of the year. She did awesome her first year playing at the college level and ended up being the 2nd highest scorer on their team. Yay, Bri! I can't believe how brutal girls of her age play. She came home with some nasty bruises, scratches, and cuts, but I suppose it is all in a days work. She's a tough little cookie.

Last night my sister-in-law (Auntie C), M' and I went out to dinner at Red Robin. We then went to the see the Sound of Music. The performers were SO talented! I wish that I could sing like them. I spent the greater part of the day pathetically trying to belt out Edelweiss, but I am no Julie Andrews, nor am I the lovely vocalist who performed last night. :) We enjoyed it so much that we are hoping to see The Nutcracker in early December.

A few prayer requests for those reading.......

Please keep my brother-in-law, Ben in your prayers. He is leaving tomorrow for Ft. Carson, Colorado to continue his service to our country in the United States Army. He will most likely be deployed to Afghanistan, or Iraq within the next month. May God bless him and all those who selflessly serve our country and protect our freedom.

Please keep my other brother-in-law, Dan in your prayers also. He will be leaving for basic training in about 23 days to serve in the United States Marine Corp. The whole family is so proud of these boys. Way to go Ben and Dan!

Please keep my dear friend, Kathi's cousin Isaac in your prayers. He is a young boy who is suffering greatly from complications related to swine flu. He has been hospitalized for a few weeks, and obviously it has been a very difficult time for his family and for him.