My Full House

Some days I'm overwhelmed with the activities and chaos associated with having 5 children. Some days I'm overwhelmed with the pure joy and love associated with having 5 children. I never knew my heart could hold so much.

Above is a picture taken in Steve's Grandma's pasture behind their house in Peterson, Utah. It is a beautiful place. Kids are welcome to explore and play here. There are hiding places, swings, campfires, and all the good stuff that comes with an old farm. Of course, the kids loved it! It reminds me of a place several hundred miles away. My Grandma & Grandpa's house in California. The scenery is a little different, but the feeling is the same. Freedom to be a kid, to get lost for hours in make believe, to be loved. I hope one day my grandchildren can come to my house wherever it ends up being and enjoy these same feelings.

Happy Valentine's

What a sweet Valentine's Day!

I received the best present ever, a homemade gift from my Valentine. The night before I set the table and decorated for the kids. When I woke up in the night with the baby I saw a beautiful tulip planted as a centerpiece. Then when I woke up in the morning (yes, there's a lot of "waking up" around here), I saw the note attached to the tulips. It told me to go to a website to get my card. I followed the instructions to: www.texasbohmans.com. Steve had spent months collecting old photos, scanning them, and putting them in place. What a sweetie! Best Valentine's gift ever! Thanks honey!

Arianna's Book Group

We had a fun time reviewing Gooseberry Park this weekend with Arianna's friends from school. Since the book is about a chocolate lab, Kona and his friends, we decided to make "chocolate" our theme. The girls loved the chocolate fountain and made quite a mess!

Green Workshop

Ashley's Girl Scout troop held a "Green" workshop for younger girls on Saturday. They worked so hard to put on this event! Each attendee was able to do a variety of activities including making draft stoppers, eco-friendly household cleaners, terrariums, recycled soda tab bracelets, and more. It was awesome! Ashley and her friends were also able to teach things about saving electricity, planting trees, and recycling on all kinds of cool levels. They showed the girls a PowerPoint sharing ways they have tried as a troop to make a difference in their world (litter pick ups, trips to Goodwill, projects using recycled items, and more.) They even put on a little skit and song for the younger girls. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle people!!

2009--A Year to Remember

2009 is a year filled with memories. We started the year innocently enough. In January things were going relatively good for everyone in the family. We all enjoyed good health as we kept ourselves busy with our various activities. We were hoping to have another child in our family, but not overly concerned about it. Ammah and Ampah came for a fun-filled visit.

By the end of February we were expecting, Ashley became an official teenager, and we had survived our 7th consecutive year of selling Girl Scout cookies.

March was a fun month. We FINALLY got to visit Dale & Jae in Florida. We had a great time visiting with them. The Nerf guns and the large Lego pit were very popular with our family. We also got to visit the Creers in Alabama and sneek in a trip to Disney World.

April was bitter and sweet. We found out about Dad Bohman's cancer, but were also able to start sharing the news of our pregnancy. DJ played soccer. Arianna participated in Super Squad, a dance/cheer/tumbling type of group. Alyssa started to really be able to play her viola. Ashley participated in a few school district art contests and began to receive blue ribbons.

May was also bitter and sweet. The first week we celebrated Grandma and Grandpa North's 65th wedding anniversary with family in Santa Barbara. The next week the fire swept through. It was a miracle their house wasn't burned, but Great Aunt Marian's on the adjacent property was completely destroyed. DJ graduated from preschool. Heather finished a year's worth of volunteering at the school.

June was all about swimming! The girls participated in swim team each morning and in the afternoons swam with DJ & Savannah. Cousin Savannah spent most of the month with us. We all enjoyed our foster pets. Ashley and Heather took a Girl Scout trip to Dallas.

Pregnancy fatigue started kicking in during July. We tried to do as much as possible. Heather took the kids back to school shopping in Dallas. Steve flew in to meet us and we had a great time doing touristy type things there, too. Ashley loved her week at Girl's Camp (a church camp for girls 12-17).

August was all about doing as much as humanly possible for Heather being 7+ months pregnant. We went on a week long Texas parks motor home trip with boating, swimming, diving, hiking, and caving. The idea was to do as many activities as possible before the limitations of strollers, diapers, bottles, etc. We had SO much Fun! Soon school would start. DJ began kinder, Arianna-3rd, Alyssa-6th, and Ashley-8th. Heather enjoyed working more with the Backpack Connection (a local family magazine.) Stephen continued to keep a good job (no small feat in this economy--yeah Steve!)

September was more of the same.

October was mostly about Benjamin. Dad Bohman had his last radiation treatment the same week Benjamin was born. We are so glad he has had such good medical care. Mom Bohman also took such good care of him during everything (on top of the cancer, he also had shoulder replacement). Ammah (Heather's mom) stayed two full weeks when Benjamin was born. We have been so blessed to have her help each time we have had a new baby. Talk about priceless!!!

We celebrated 15 years of marriage in November. Yippee for us! Stephen was planning a cruise, but we got a baby instead. He says "a cruise would've been cheaper, but...you get what you pay for." Honestly, November was challenging. Heather and Benjamin kept having problems and went to way too many doctor's appointments.

December got a little worse and a whole lot better. More doctors. Some pretty challenging illnesses. A trip to the hospital. Good medicine. Then there was DJ's birthday party. We are learning six year old boy groups are very energetic! Arianna skipped the big birthday bash and settled for a sleepover/movie night with a few friends. Christmas was wonderful, as usual. This year we got our very own live nativity. That was very special.

All in all, it was a very good year. Through the challenges there were always little miracles reminding us that we have a Heavenly Father that is mindful of each one of us. A quote keeps coming to mind by Spencer W. Kimball:

"God does notice us, and He watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.”

As the New Year begins, may we continue to love one another, serve each other, and strive to be the type of people God needs us to be. We are so thankful for our wonderful friends and family that set such good examples of this for us!!

Happy New Year!

Life goes on...and on...and on!

(This is Benjamin's first outfit. Thanks to my friends and their creative talents, he looked extra adorable coming home from the hospital!)

October was an eventful month. The funny thing about bringing home our 5th child is that life is still going on at super warp speed. In the past it seemed like my life would sort of freeze for a few weeks when I'd bring a baby home from the hospital. Not this time!

The week before Benjamin was born the whole family (minus Mom) came down with a stomach virus that caused intense vomiting. We were sanitizing everything in the house like crazy, because we heard this bug could stay around for a week or two.

The day Benjamin was born, DJ was honored at the Kendall Elementary Knighting Ceremony for his good behavior. He was so excited, but unfortunately his parents couldn't be there! I was being induced at the exact same hour. Thankfully two grandmas were in town and attended. The pictures show how thrilled he was. Later in the day DJ lost his first tooth! What a day for a kindergartner.

(DJ earned a free ticket to the Wild West Day when he was honored at the Knighting Ceremony. He enjoyed this outing with daddy on Oct. 24th.)

The day after Benjamin was born, DJ came down with a very high fever. He was taken to Urgent Care and put on antibiotics, but we had to keep him away from Benjamin, which was heartbreaking!

Here is how we spent our first two weeks with Benjamin, which explains how "life goes on..."

• We had plenty of concerns over Benjamin. He broke his clavicle during childbirth, so we had to be a little careful with his right arm. He was also jaundiced with a borderline biliruben level and we prayed he wouldn't have to go back to the hospital for lights. He was born with a heart murmer, so we had to get an EKG. After the cardiologist received and reviewed the test, his heart appears normal. He started losing weight and spitting up a lot on his second week. On his two week birthday he threw up some old blood which was scary! He had gone down in weight to 8lbs. 10oz. (about 1.5 lbs less than birth weight.) The Dr. is concerned that he could have pyloric stenosis, but we are hoping it is a case of acid reflux. He is taking medication and seems to be doing much, much better!

• Things started breaking all around the house. First the washing machine stopped agitating and we hired a repairman to fix it. Then the toilet was overflowing and needed to be completely replaced. Steve wanted to do it himself on his "free time." So, he started working on it, but was missing a part so he left a big open hole in the bathroom and promised to get to it after work. Of course, that was the day we were doing catch up laundry (remember the washer was broken) and the drain water from the laundry started shooting up through the open hole in the bathroom. Something about water flow and lowest points...don't ask me--I'm not a plumber. Several friends had suggested we contact Roto-rooter when this happened as my shower and toilet started "burping" gunk. Well, when Roto-rooter came, there was no blockage. He said our septic tank was full. Thankfully, the next morning we were able to get our septic tank pumped out, but we were given bad news. Our septic system is on its last leg and will probably need to be replaced ($10 thousand smackers!)
  

• As if this news wasn't depressing enough, our T.V. broke! Now, I'm not a big television watcher, but I couldn't handle one more thing being broken, so I just about cried! We had enjoyed our t.v. for 15 years, so I guess it was time. I just don't know why it happened at the same time as everything else. Early in October all four of my tires had to be replaced, then there's the baby bills, and now all of these household expenses. Yikes! When it rains it pours. I really do have to laugh about the T.V. breaking. Nobody needs to worry about that though, because I think Steve was thrilled to replace it. He's wanted a new T.V. for years. :)

• Halloween Costumes also kept me busy. Since my old sewing machine broke in September, I got a new one and have enjoyed using it. Steve brought home fabrics and patterns early in October. I plugged away at sewing the costumes over the course of the month: a little here, a little there. Of course, there were a few things that were reserved for the last minute, just to make sure we had a sufficient level of stress around the house.

With all of that stated...

Life Goes On
&
Life is Good!

October 16, 2009

Benjamin Stephen was born Friday, October 16, 2009 at 11:59am.

We arrived at Methodist Hospital at 6am. They were waiting for us and remembered we were the ones that were sent away on Wednesday when the scheduled induction got postponed. Since our paperwork was all done, we pretty much just strolled into labor and delivery. The nurse looked up my history and was pretty nervous that should would have to deliver our baby and she did not want that to happen. They said things like, "once she goes into labor, she goes fast," etc. I wasn't really feeling much by way of contractions, but I decided this time to go ahead and get an epidural early. Every other time my babies were born before the epidural had gone into full effect. (Having an early epidural is the way to go--I now know!!!)



I read my book, Stephen "tweeted" and we had a pretty enjoyable morning. When they'd come to check on me, they'd say "still smiling?" Yep!

The nurse came back from her break and said, "shall we sit you up and get things started?" And I said I didn't think that would be necessary, because the baby was ready to be born. She checked, confirmed, and started to slow things down the best she could as she tried to find the doctor. They were prepped for me, but no doc. So, they pulled a random Dr. in from another area and told me not to move, as this baby was crowning. (No kidding! It was kind of embarrassing to be told NOT to move or thinking of rolling over--I was on my side.) Just in the nick of time my doctor arrived and delivered the baby. The nurse was so relieved!

The BIG news was that he weighed 10 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21 inches long. I guess he just wanted to outdo his siblings. I kept telling everyone how huge I was feeling!! I was ridiculously large. I knew it. Steve knew it. Now baby Benjamin proved it!

I felt so much relief to have him out, safe and healthy. Bringing Benjamin into this world will be a mission of faith. The pregnancy wasn't easy, but it was better than I expected. My doctors were able to regulate my medications and keep the pregnancy as uneventful as possible. I have been humbled by this particular pregnancy experience and I am very thankful for the support of our friends and family, particularly Stephen. Most of all, I thank our Heavenly Father for blessing us with this sweet baby. Early in this pregnancy I knew I couldn't do it alone. I simply can't. I will pray every day to be a good mother for him and for our other children.

If my life were an ice cream sundae, Benjamin would be my cherry on top. How sweet it is!

Back to School

Day 1
D.J. - Kindergarten!!!!!
Arianna - 3rd
Alyssa - 6th
Ashley - 8th



Day 2
D.J. is adjusting wonderfully.
He loves school, has made lots of friends,
and seems to be loving every bit of kindergarten.

Birthday Bash

Let's get this party started! We decked out the backyard with surfer gear, lanterns, and twinkle lights for the night.
There were A LOT of girls in the pool, but they seemed to be having a GREAT time!


It's official--the birthday girl is eleven!

At the end of the party, everyone settled in for a big screen movie outdoors. We watched Race to Witch Mountain. This turned out to be a great party. Alyssa was so happy!

Summer Projects

We've managed to sneak in a few Summer Projects. The pictures show some of our projects. We've also tie dyed a bit, for which my nails are still stained! I can't believe I forgot to put on gloves!

Eighteen years ago when I graduated from high school (yikes--has it been that long?), my mom bought me a simple little sewing machine. Who knew it would be so fun and reliable. It's not fancy, but it gets the job done. Ashley enjoys sewing and I think Alyssa has now got the bug, too. Since she sleeps on the top bunk we designed this bed side bag to hold her "stuff."

Now, I'm just wondering when I'm going to get around to sewing a cute bag or quilt for myself??? A friend of mind suggested a fabric store in Kerrville that is sooooo inspiring (Creations). It took a lot of will power not to spend a fortune there when Crystal and I visited in June!

Beat the Texas Heat--Camp Indoors!

The kids really wanted to camp, but it is scorching hot right now, so what's a mom to do? Camp indoors of course! Yes, the tent stretched from wall to wall. It is a very big tent! The kids had a blast and the adults survived without a family room for three days. They loved setting up camp, playing board games, and using their imaginations.

Foster Pets

Lately we've started working with Tejas Rescued Pet Adoptions. We foster pets that are waiting to be adopted. It's been a good experience. The dogs that we've had have been awesome! The kittens were cute. It can be a little hard saying good-bye especially after caring for them for weeks, but it's a good feeling to know we've helped in some small way. As an added bonus, our dog Meka has enjoyed the company.

Everyone has had their favorite. Jake was my favorite. I really wanted to adopt him!

Happy 4th of July from the Bohmans!

Our friends, the McClellands, invited us out to the Comfort parade for the 4th of July this year. We had a great time! For years I've been told about this parade, but somehow never got around to it. Feels good to say, we finally went!

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

June 2009

June was mostly about Swim Team and visiting with cousin Savannah, but we managed to sneak in trips to Six Flags (3 or 4 times), the Witte museum, movies, the skating rink, Guadalupe State Park (highly recommend for day use), Blanco State Park (don't recommend during the drought), downtown touristy stuff, a ton of backyard swimming and even a trip to Great Wolfe Lodge with Ashley's Girl Scout Troop.

Swim Team started for Arianna at 7:45am, then Alyssa's group would start, and Ashley's would finally end around 10:30-10:45am. Needless to say, we did not sleep in during the month of June. This was Arianna's first year and she swam freestyle and backstroke. Alyssa is our backstroke queen, but does a beautiful butterfly. Ashley still loves to do breaststroke.

My Talented Family

I'm constantly amazed at how each person shines in their own unique way and our children are no different. Whether it be academic, music, art, athletics, whatever it is, I'm so pleased to see my children try new things and develop their own talents.

There is one talent our whole family shares; we are really good at rolling/sliding down hills! The story goes, when I was dating Steve another guy was trying to win me over. He asked me, "What does this guy Steve have that I don't have?" I didn't know what to say exactly and I replied, "He rolls down hills!" So this other guys says, "I can roll down hills..." Sorry, it has to be spontaneous. As you can see, our kids are all good at going down hills. It's a family thing.

DJ Bids Farewell to Preschool!

DJ had a great time in preschool this year! He made friends, learned a lot, and enjoyed two days a week away from Mom--or was it Mom that enjoyed that?!?!

DJ took some awesome field trips this year: the San Antonio Zoo, Enchanted Springs, HEB, parks, fire department, Sea World, and more! What a lucky young man. He really enjoyed centers and playing on the playground. Singing was also one of DJ's favorite things about preschool. He felt it was "exercises for my throat, because I talk a lot." Needless to say, his graduation was full of singing and we had no idea he could sing that LOUD!

DJ is excited to start kindergarten and be a Kendall Knight. We are so happy for him.

Jesusita Fire

As one relative said "the Bohman family just escaped a total disaster." We left Santa Barbara on Sunday. By Tuesday, May 5, the horrible Jesusita Fire had begun in Santa Barbara. I received a call on Wednesday at 9pm that someone said Grandma and Grandpa's house had burned down. A half hour later, I was told we didn't know for sure, but it looked like the stables in the canyon had been burned. It was a long night.

That night (Wednesday)five fire trucks with crews fought off the fire from the driveway. They made my cousin Jason leave, but he had started the sprinklers and done everything in his power to help. He plead with the firefighters to save the house. They told him they were going to do everything in their power to save the house; Grandma and Grandpa (with Jason's help) did everything right as far as fire prevention on the property.

We were relieved to find out on Thursday that the house was still standing, despite the fire in the adjacent canyon. They let Grandpa on the property (to pick up his medicine) and he confirmed that the house was good, but the fire came within 15-20 feet from the house. We were all rejoicing in the wonderful news! The house we (the grandchildren) grew up in was saved!!

Friday morning brought horrible news. The fire had picked up and started coming from the other direction. Great Aunt Marian's house didn't make it. Their house is on the adjacent piece of property from Grandma and Grandpa's. The family in Santa Barbara watched the house burn down on TV. It was gone. Nobody was sure about Grandma and Grandpa's house. Our hearts went out to the Koonces. We waited nearly 48 hours to confirm the status of Grandma and Grandpa's house. Again we rejoiced that the house survived, but it was bitter-sweet, knowing Aunt Marian's did not.

My cousin reported, "the house was like an island with smoke on every side." Once the smoke had settled and family could see things, my aunt said, "it's like a volcano went off, but Grandma and Grandpa's house is like a little green oasis in the middle." The fire came from both directions. It truly is a miracle that the house only received some smoke and soot damage. Once again, we are counting our blessings!

Happy 65th Anniversary Grandma & Grandpa!

We had a GREAT spring trip to Sunny Santa Barbara to visit Grandma & Grandpa North. The kids and I stayed a whole week. Thanks to Stephen for driving us half way across country, just to hop on the first flight back home, so he could work all week while we played. What a man! We were happy to have him back with us Friday night to enjoy the family gatherings over the weekend.

Most of the week was spent visiting family, picking fruit in the orchard, swimming, and visiting the Natural History Museum. We are always so spoiled when we visit. Grandpa kept the pool heated, homemade lemonade was plentiful, and we never ran out of juicy oranges to snack on. When indoors, the kids watched Animal Planet, played on the computer, and put together a puzzle (for old time's sake) on Grandma's dining room table.

On Friday night a bunch of the family gathered at Jane's house for an enchilada making marathon. Someone suggested to skip the catering this time and have a sort of homemade enchildad buffet. I have to admit the food on Saturday was good! We had a variety of enchiladas, beans, rice, and tri-tip. YUM! All of Grandma & Grandpa's children and grandchildren were there. Almost all of their great-grandchildren were there. The weather was perfect and everyone had a wonderful time. We even managed to pull off a little lip-sync rendition of "We Are Family" from the younger kids.

We were sad to pack up and head back to Texas, but the kids still had four more weeks of school to finish up--life! We feel so blessed to have been able to spend this special time together, celebrating an accomplishment very few reach. Way to go Grandma & Grandpa! You're the best!

Blessings

What a day. Dad had his surgery today and it looks like it was a total success! We were so happy to hear they felt all of the cancer was removed.

Steve and I started the day at a "high risk" ultrasound appointment in the Med. Center area. We got to see "Five" and he/she looked great! We were curious to find out if our new baby would be a son or a daughter, but were quickly told, "this is not an anatomical check." We had to schedule that ultra sound appointment for June 1. We headed out the door with a few cute photos and went straight to the hospital to check on Dad. He had just barely gotten out of surgery and the report was great. We enjoyed a quick lunch in the cafeteria with Linda. We shared baby photos and sighs of relief.

I can't help but feel the blessings today. It seems like the cancer diagnosis and news of our pregnancy carried such opposite emotions. Life is like that I suppose. Today began with a lot of fear and worries. The day ends with joy and thanksgiving.

He Loves Me!

Tonight DJ said, "Mom, do you know why I passed out when you picked me up at preschool?" I said, "no." He said, "because you are so beautiful. Dad sure is a lucky guy." How cute is that?!