Lazy Spring days

Things have been abnormally relaxing around here lately!! We've been hanging around the house a lot, going to the parks with friends, etc. Mark has been crazy as ever, but that it to be expected with the weather we've been having. There hasn't been a night since it got warm that he's been home before 9:00!! Hopefully another few weeks and he should be able to come home a little earlier!! The kids have been loving the weather, but Claire does really mind the heat!! She sweats a lot, but keeps her happy self in tact!! :) We got a swing set from my cousin that he built himself, and it is amazing at keeping the kids busy! Ben wanted a pulley, so Mark put one up for him and he has such a blast with it!

Welcome to the World Caitlin

My niece has made her entrance into the world!! She was born last night around 10:30. She weighed in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces and was 21 inches long! She is a big girl, but beautiful and perfect!! Michelle had to have a c-section due to the fact that the baby's heart rate kept dropping. She is currently in the NICU, but should come home with Michelle on Friday. They are just giving her some antibiotics as a precautionary measure. We are so excited to finally have her here!! It has been a rough pregnancy for Michelle, but I would definitely say well worth all the trouble! :)

Kids new Swing Set

My cousin is moving, and we were lucky enough to inherit the gym set that he had build for his daughter. It was HUGE so Mark actually had to cut the legs off of it to bring it home. It has a slide, swing and a double swing. It also has a great big house on it with a deck!! Ben keeps calling it "his house". He's really enjoyed it already, and he's only played in the house. He is driving me a little crazy though because he wants to know when daddy is going to finish his house. We also got a little plastic castle that we were going to take to my mom's, but Claire just fell in love with it, so we kept that here too!!

Enjoying the beach!!!

Here is Ben with his pile of sand! He was very proud of himself!





We have been enjoying our time at the beach with everyone this week!! As you can see, we will be buying Ben a bike when we get home!! He mastered Owen's bike with training wheels in about 2 minutes.





We have a playground that is very close to us. We've taken the kids down there twice, and they absolutely love it! As long as Claire is in motion in the swing, she is happy.

Claire watching TV

Apparently, this is how Claire watches TV now. I was doing some stuff in the kitchen and when I looked out, she was laying like this in the living room!!! Of course, she's been flopping herself on the floor all day long today!!!

Chuck E. Cheese's

We had our first trip to Chuck E. Cheese's today! We had Hutch, so we thought it would be great for Ben to have someone to play with there!! They had so much fun. Ben didn't want to leave. And Claire was happy as long as she had a piece of Pizza in her hand. She is our little piggy!!!! :)

She's Walking!!!!

Claire has been working very hard on those first steps... and here they are on video!!! Sorry its sideways!! Just turn your head! :)

Here's the most recent pic of the kids together.... seriously, not an easy task!!!

Well, things are still moving slowly around here. Claire had her first birthday on February 15th. It's so hard to believe that its been a year since we had her!! She isn't walking yet, but is cruising around everywhere!! She will hold on and walk, but just isn't quite confident enough to let go and walk (which we are NOT rushing!).

Ben is Ben. He is mean to his sister! :( He gets so frustrated with her when she wrecks things and gets into his stuff. We've really been working with him about talking to her in a kind voice, but its hard to break through to a 3 year old who sees his world being ruined because his sister wrecked his line of trains!!

We are getting ready for a family vacation soon! We're going away with Mark's sisters and cousins and everyone that goes with those people. We got a house down in Rehoboth Beach for the week. It's been a long time since we've all gone on vacation!!! We are so looking forward to it!!

New and Exciting

Well, not a whole lot is new and exciting... like the fact that I still have NO camera... but should be getting one soon! That is going to be my Valentine's Day present! However, there are a few new things going on!

First of, Ben is OFFICIALLY potty trained! He still wears a pull up at night, but other than that he's in big boy pants! He is doing great with it! We are so proud of him.

Also, I had finally sent in all my information to Thomas Jefferson! So now it is just the waiting game to hear from them one way or another! Please just pray for guidance for Mark and I as we start this new journey! I am very nervous, but I think its a good nervous. And apprehensive... I hate doing school work!

I just started volunteering in the NICU at Geisinger. It is the most amazing experience! Some of the situations behind these little ones just break your heart, and makes you wonder how someone can be so irresponsible during their pregnancy! Two of the babies are drug withdraw. They are so tiny, and so cute, but going through so much right now! I would strongly recommend this to anyone who had the time to do it! It really makes you appreciate the things that you have in your life!

Other than that, things are the same old, same old. Mark is currently out cleaning up the roads from the mess we had yesterday. We are both doing the "Biggest Loser" competition at Bloom Health and Fitness. He lost 10.4 pounds in the first week! He seriously makes me sick!! We are actually against his aunt and uncle, and a couple LOTS of you know (Dr. and Mrs. Hamilton), and it has definitely kicked up the competition!!

We hope you all are doing well so far this new year! Hopefully, there will be LOTS of pictures soon!

I'm so sorry I'm not regular with this!!

Here are two of the most recent pics of the kids... pre-camera breaking!! (any suggestions on a kind of camera are GREATLY appreciated!!)



Well, it has been quite a while!!! And as much as I'd love to post some pictures, my wonderful children broke our new digital camera that we got in June in the beginning of December. So, we are officially looking for a new camera!!! So you are all getting a text only update (so sorry!).

We are all very glad that the year 2008 has come to an end. It was not the best year for the Boyer/Rohrbach Family. Since my last post, we have endured some incredible heartache, and some awesome love and support from our friends, family and a wonderful and gracious God. I know they say that God only hands you what you can handle, but I really think He may have pushed us almost to our limit! We started the year with my mother-in-law, having surgery to remove a cancerous fibroid. She got through that with flying colors, and then we welcomed Claire into our lives (where she has forever left her mark.... this is one infancy I will not forget soon!!).

Then in April, my sister was 6 months pregnant, and her beautiful baby girl, Morgan, died in the womb before she even got a chance to be born. She was born April 16, 2008. My family has had a pretty easy time, so this was one of the most devistating, and awful things our family has ever gone though.

Once again, things seemed to be going along well, and my mother in law had a heart attack in July. Thank the Lord, it was a mild one, and affected the "best part of the heart" if you are going to have a heart attack. She then underwent surgery and had a stent put in. She underwent a long recovery of rehab, but she is thankfully doing wonderfully now!!!

That brings us to October, when Mark and I found out that we were expecting our third child! It was very unexpected, and we were very apprehensive about having another so soon after having Claire. We had finally gotten to the point of excitement, and we found out that God had other plans for our little one, and took it into heaven with Him. It was the most horrible thing that we have experienced in our marriage. We lost the baby at 8 weeks, and found out at 11 weeks. It has been a very trying and difficult experience for me especially. I have been trying to rely soley on God to get me through this, but it is so hard to do at times. Thankfully, I have two wonderful, beautiful children who help me to see how miraculous life really is. It really helps me to be thankful for the things that I do have. We have been having a lot more good days than bad lately, and are planning on moving on from here. I am hoping to be accepted into the nursing program at Thomas Jefferson at Geisinger. I would be starting in August of this year, and it would be a two year program. Please pray for us as we take this step, and just for a balance with the children, the house and of course our relationship.

So this is why 2009 is welcomed with open arms in this family! :) We hope that everyone else had a wonderful year, and that 2009 is full of life, health and happiness.

Oh, also, we just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.... CRAZY to think!! It has been an amazing 5 years, and I am so thankful that Mark is my husband, and the father of my children. I couldn't find anyone to do the job better!!!