Introducing...

An Update...

For now I will just let you know that we are settling into a routine in Indiana. John has a job that has good earning potential but is currently a fraction of what we were making previously. We are living with my sister until we can get back on our feet. We've been here since late July but I have not had the required mindset to post anything. (A million points to Shannon and Brian for taking in 10 people a cat, a dog, and a bird with out hesitation!)
It's fall and it is beautiful here! I'm setting aside my absolute disdain for Indiana winters and pretending we won't have one this year. So all is well in the Leschorn life.
I have recently discovered Dave Ramsey and I am using our situation to take advantage of the advice he offers in his program. We'll see how that goes.
Much love to all the friends and family that have been praying for us. Please keep it up!
-Erica-

Well...

John called me this morning. He only said a few words but I knew exactly what they meant...
John: "I need you to sit down"
Me: "Oh my Gosh, you lost your job!"
No warning. The only reason is that the company needs to down size. His boss "plans to help him transition" what ever that means.
We haven't quite decided what to do yet but I will keep you updated.
Prayer would be nice... Thanks.

happy 4th!

Rose and Sarah sing "Bubbly"

Hannah's Birthday!

Maggie Strikes Again!

Sometimes I try to take a nap when the babies do...

Sometimes they wake up before I do!

Hannah Leschorn's 4th birthday

Hannah woke up yesterday with a stomach flu but by mid afternoon she was ready to party!!! She was so excited! I love that she couldn't help but eat the icing as she was trying to "help" I'm glad I thought to give her her own plate of icing... there was a LOT of double dipping going on there!!!!

Shhhhhhhh....

We're not going to tell her it's her 4th birthday today!

We're hoping she won't remember. She's been counting down the days! She woke up at 3 this morning with the stomach flu. She can't even hold down water or pedialite... so birthday cake is out of the question! Poor Baby!!!
I can't believe how big she is. When we first moved out here she wasn't even walking yet! Now she is the girliest girl you will ever meet! Every thing she wears is pink and every thing she likes has to do with princesses, dress up, or being a big girl!
Happy Birthday Hannah Banana! We love you!

Dear Daddy,

I'm glad you liked the picture I drew of you!
Love,
Malachi

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSE AND SARAH!!!!!

I can't believe it!Rose and Sarah truned 11 on the 18th! We would have had these pictures up sooner but we were having a little trouble with the computer. Nanna went all out and bought party favors including little horns that I hapliy sent home with her! Yes, the kids loved them... they will love blowing on them just as much at Nana's house!


Abbie took Sarahs horn and wouldn't give it back! Sarah was very nice about the whole thing! I don't know why, but some how it's become a family tradition of ours for the birthday child to try to fight daddy for a bigger pice with the first cut. So that's what the laughing in the picture below is about.
Since the first cut /piece goes to the birthday boy/girl you can understand how motivated the kids get!!!! Their birthday party will be in July at Shanni's house but this gave all of us the oppurtunity to celibrate their special day with them!

I'm home...

All is well!

So here's the thing...

I'm having surgery tomorrow...
I've known for a while that it was going to happen...
I've only told like 5 people...
It's just out-patient...
I'm still scared out of my mind!
I'll let you know when I'm home.

A day at the Zoo!

Entrance with membership... 0 dollars

gas to get there... 10 dollars

stoller rental... 9 dollars

lunch for 12... 65 dollars

extra bottles of water... 13 dollars

Getting to spend the day with 10 of the best kids on the planet...

Priceless!

My little Snaggle tooth!

Here's a pic of My Gabie! He accidentally knocked his first tooth loose when he got kicked off a bed (resulting in 5 stitches to the back of his ear) by his oldest sister (who felt really bad about the whole thing) Then a week later he was on his bunk bed and Ammon made him hit his mouth on the rail, causing yet another trip from the toothfairy! His Top left front tooth is loose now because he hit it on Malachi's head when he flipped over the front of his scooter! Oh ya, and the Mark above his eye is because he was climbing on my counters and fell - hitting his face on the corner of our microwave on the way down!

Why Laundry is such a problem for me!!!!!

This is what happens when I leave clothing in baskets for ANY length of time! But I have to admit that this is their largest structure yet! Hannah played in it for HOURS!!!!

My Abbie

These are just two pictures of my Abbie (who officially turned 18 mos old yesterday) just being her cute sweet self! A couple of days before this first picture was taken she fell off the couch and caught herself with her face...can we say CARPET BURN! Ouch! This was almost a 6 weeks ago and you can still see the mark on her nose!

And this would be the reason that I keep all our Art supplies on the top shelf of my school cabinets... shouldn't I have known better than to expect the kids to put the paint away on the right shelf?

Don't let this bottom picture fool you. Abbie is not nearly as busy as my Maggie was at this age! This is the only picture of her trouble making...because it's the only trouble she's ever gotten into! Well, unless you count the fact that both she and Maggie took their diapers off and put them in the toilet this morning... and then one (or both) flushed it!

Joe Jonas Dances to Single Ladies

Here's a little smile for all of you!!!!! My girls and I have not laughed this hard in WEEKS!!!!!!

I'm Taking a Break...

Not feeling much like blogging... or talking really... it's only temporary... Thanks for the kind words...

Good-Bye Mini Nana...

(1910-2009)

Good Friends!

Okay so all my worries about whether or not these two would get along have been completely laid to rest. As Abbie has grown into a toddler these last few weeks, she has discovered that she wants to do EVERYTHING that her big sister does! Maggie in turn has discovered that she likes to teach Abbie everything she knows!!!

It is so sweet to watch her help Abbie onto their little tricycle! Then Maggie will push Abbie around on it!

When Maggie gets tired of the game and walks away, Abbie just gives this little whimper and Maggie comes running back to her aid!!!

Grandma's surprise

This is a little out of order but while my mother was here she bought a little ball at Target for Maggie. If she had known how popular it would be she would have bought 2 of them because Maggie and Abbie chase that thing for ever in our side yard!

It's a really neat ball because it has little beads that float around inside it.

I love this picture because the ball is mid-air right after Abbie threw it!

How Leschorns sleep!

Ummmm.... SERIOUSLY?

So...WHY do we have a bed for each child?

(The sheet that was on the bed at bed time is wrapped up around Hannah's legs!!! Pillows are on the floor... along with the blanket. But who needs blankets when you've got a dog to keep you warm!)

My New Hero...

I don't know how many of you know who this woman is. Her name is Irena Sendler. I learned about her last night as I watched the new Hallmark movie about her life story. Then I did further research today via the internet. In the course of 2 1/2 years she rescued 2500 children from the ghetto in Warsaw Poland durring the German occupation in WWII. One at a time, she and several colleagues smuggled Jewish babies and children through under ground sewers, in coffins, in wheel barrows, in ambulances and even a tool box!

She not only saved these children from certain death but re-homed them and kept record of where the children were being sent so that they could one day be reunited with their Jewish families!

The truly amazing thing to me is that when she was finally captured. She endured three months of torture where her legs and feet were broken and her teeth pulled. Yet, she NEVER reveled any information about the people who helped her or the where abouts of the children. She lived to be 98 years old and was never happy with how "few" children she was able to save.

I'd like to think that I would be as courageous as this woman if I were in the same situation but I guess you never know how you'd react to a given situation until you're in it.

(PS. In 2007 she was nominated for the nobel peace prize but it was granted to Al Gore for his work in the documentory about Global Warming! - I am ashamed to know that the human race has come to this!)

WHAT NOT TO WEAR!

Would SOMEBODY turn me in already! I mean I watch Stacy and Clinton all the time. I TRY to follow their rules...really, I do. But come on. Every time I think I have an outfit that looks good I see myself in a picture and want to cringe.
I don't just want the clothes! I want the hair... the makeup... the jewelry! The whole thing darn it!
Or maybe I could do that extreme makeover thing and get my teeth done too!
Okay I'm done with my little pity party...mostly. It's just that I'm really tired of looking so frumpy, and never allowing pictures to be taken on me with my kids because I don't want to be the scummy mom with t-shirts and jeans all the time.
Okay deep breath ... (sigh)

Disposable Pets!!!!

Okay when I was young there was this tv show. I think it was Family Ties but I'm not sure. Anyway, I specifically remember this episode where Alex (Michele J Fox) takes the little brother to preschool and teaches the whole class about running a business. As a class they decide to "run" a pet store. So Alex starts helping them plan the kinds of animals they're gonna have. Some little kid says "Lets sell frogs!"
That's when Alex says "...okay now we have to separate the frogs...tree frogs, slimy frogs, disposable frogs..."
At that point the teacher interrupts, "DISPOSABLE frogs?"
Alex's reply? "Yeah you know, the kind that die as soon as you bring them home."

Well, there we go! Because Alex P. Keaton said it was so, we know they exist! All of this story has a point. Little Max is dying! Honestly it TICKS ME OFF! I mean really Is it that hard to check and make sure that the hamster your selling is healthy!?! I mean I paid 16 bucks for the silly little thing! Since we brought him home he's had diarrhea and now he's cold and only moves if you poke him!!!! All any moron would have had to do is check his cage before they sold him to us. THAT'S HOW WE FOUND OUT!!! UUUUUGGGGG! (I DID look but it was spotless...as in just-been-cleaned-so-someone-should have-noticed-the green slime spotless) Can you FEEL my frustration? Poor Ammon! The worst part about it is that we are afraid that what ever Max has... Zorro will get it to!
So, now I can take them in for an even exchange! We can't get our money back and go to a different store AND we can't have little Max back so that Ammon can bury him. What does that teach my 8-yr-old!?!

PET SMART STINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Oh yeah, and they're way over priced to!)

Welcome Max and Zoro!

As you all know Ammon lost his Olivia about 3 weeks ago. Knowing that Olivia was going to pass, we have been talking about the option of getting a new pet. Neither John or I pushed and we let Ammon decide when he was ready. Ammon was clear about his feelings that there would never be another lizard like Olivia, but he was interested in getting different pet. His Choice? Russian Dwarf Hamsters. NOT MY FIRST CHOICE... FOR SURE! He loves them though!

This is the tashmahaul (I know I didn't spell that right but I even googled it and could not find the correct spelling!) of all hamster cages. John and I bought the cage and Ammon bought the extra tubes (17.00 can you believe it!?!) Ammon has a grand plan of having tubing and cages running all over our school room!

Ummm...We'll see.Here's Ammon as I tried to take a picture of his squirmy self holding his new little guys. (see bottom right corner) One of them is climbing down his back at this point so the picture was a wash!

First Timer!

Announcing the loss of Gabie John's first tooth! He had a little help knocking it loose from his older sister - who gave him a good blow (accidentally of course) resulting in 5 stitches behind his ear - ironically it fell out the day he was having his stitches removed!
Funny story: The Tooth Fairy mistakenly grabbed 2 FIVE dollar bills instead of 2 one dollar bills and put them in Gabie's froggy pillow. She was not aware of this until Gabie informed his mother!!!!

Blue and Gold!

Ammon's first Blue and Gold Banquet was in March and with all of the chaos lately I haven't had the chance to blog about it yet. He was so tickled to have an evening all about him! I was so excited for him and he now has a new found desire to earn his Wolf! I'm so excited! We've been working on a couple of his badges and he's just about ready to sign off on them! Malachi and Gabie can't wait until they get to be in scouts to and neither can John!!!! He loves doing all of those activities with his boys!

Look what I got!

Two bones fractured clean through and a third has stress fractures! No cool story... I don't know how I did it!