Life with the Pierce boys

Catching up..

2008-12-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

Here we are, all pretty and posed for our Christmas card pictures. Life here is going good, a little hectic as is the season, but we are enjoying it. Andrea has moved to Labor and Delivery full time, and loves learning all there is to know about birthin' babies (and there is A LOT!). Markel graduated from nursing school the 12th of December, and we are all breathing a sigh of relief that this part of the journey is over. He will continue in the fall toward his bachelor's degree in nursing. He is employed by our local hospital and will be working in the ICU after his internship is over in March. Both the boys are doing good in school and are glad to have some time off for Christmas break. We will be heading to Bella Vista on Christmas day to celebrate with family.

Life in General

2008-11-02T05:35:00.000-08:00

Well, Halloween is behind us, which leads us to my favorite time of all. Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love this time of year and all the fun and family that go with it.

We had a great Halloween weekend. Sam dressed up as a clone trooper from Star Wars because he loves all things Star Wars, and Jack was a boxer. They were very cute, and you will have to take my word on that because I did not take any pictures! We trick-or-treated with some good friends on Halloween night, then had a party at our house on the 1st. The boys had a blast with all the kids that showed up. We had lots of friends and family. We also celebrated Markel's aunt Sue's birthday. What fun!

The weeks ahead promise to be busy ones, but hopefully we will be able to post some new pics soon!

General Update

2008-09-28T16:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been awhile since I have updated this blog, so I thought I better get to it before I forget what's going on!

Sam is doing really good in school, in fact he got all A's on his quarterly report card. He has tests every week in Math, Spelling, Language, and Reading. He loves checking books out in the library and so far his favorites are the Magic Treehouse series. He also loves to pick up biographies of some of his favorite athletes. He absorbs all the info that he reads and loves to share all the facts he has learned with anyone who will listen! His baseball team is headed into the final week of play. They have only won one game, but they have played their hearts out. Last week they played a double header and held the best team in their league to 10-9. We thought they might win, but it was a victory none the less!

Jack is still liking Kindergarten, though not as much in love with it as he was earlier. His school had some modular buildings on campus that they were using for classrooms and they burned in a fire a few weeks ago during the middle of the night. Classes were cancelled for 2 days and that really threw Jack off his rhythm. We are slowly regaining it however. From what he tells me, his favorite activity at school is recess where the boys and girls take turns chasing one another. Heaven help me when we get to the teenage years!

My job is going really well and I am getting ready to transfer to a new position in the coming months. I will be working in labor and delivery and I could not be more excited! The reason I became a nurse is to help women during such an amazing time in their lives! I will start training very soon, so pray that I can keep all this new info straight! There seems like so much to remember.

Markel is still plugging along in school. He graduates December 12, and we are all looking forward to that. He only has a few weeks left in clinicals. He is already hunting jobs at our hospital, and has some promising prospects. Pray that everything works out like we need it.

Cardinals Game

2008-09-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to see the St. Louis Cardinals play one of their last games of the season. We had lots of fun, ate too much junk, and enjoyed the win! We had really great seats, but didn't catch a foul ball much to Sam's dismay. We were lucky enough to see several homeruns, including a big one by Pujols. Jack didn't really like the fireworks they shoot, but overall we had a lot of fun.

2008-09-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

Well, Sam finally lost BOTH of his front teeth! Too bad it isn't closer to Christmas! He pulled the first one out, and just a few days later the second one fell out on his pillow when he woke up. Needless to say the toothfairy has had quite a workout flying to our house in the last week!

Oh, no!

2008-08-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had one of those little miss-haps that only a house with children could experience. You see, I have a neck wrap that is (or shall I say was) full of rice. It's one that you can microwave or freeze, depending on the type of stress relief you desire. Anywho, Jack was swinging it like a baseball bat and all of a sudden I hear him say "I am so sorry, I am so sorry, I am so sorry" at the same time I hear what sounds like a waterfall in the kitchen. The neck wrap had busted open and there was little, teeny tiny, brown rice EVERYWHERE! It was all over the kitchen, the living room, and even in the bedrooms! Poor Jack thought he was gonna get it, but it was all too funny to punish him for! I tried to take pictures, but you can't tell what it is, it just looks like a bunch of little brown bugs. Yuck!

Gosh, I sure could use that stress relief wrap right now!

First Day Pictures

2008-08-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

First day pics that didn't come through with the original entry.

First day for everyone!

2008-08-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time of year again, time for the first day of school! It seems that summer was in too big a hurry to leave us. The boys were ready to go back, even if they didn't say so, but sad to see the carefree days of summer go.

Sam starte the 2nd grade this year at a new school. He was very nervous about the change, but after 3 days I think it is safe to say that the new school is a much better fit for him and he seems to really enjoy it. He comes home happy everyday, which is not how he came home last year. We hope that everyday is that much better. He has a cousin in his class and we are sure that they will be in for some big times this year. We are so glad we moved!

Jack started Kindergarten this year. That just doesn't seem right. Wasn't it just yesterday that he was toddling around behind me, going everywhere I went?! Where did the time go? The good news is that he absolutely LOVES his school. It sure makes it easier to take him everyday knowing that he is having fun and feeling safe. After Jack's first day we were quizzing him about what he did all day, and according to him, all they did was eat coleslaw. They had it for lunch, snack, during PE class, and on the playground at recess. I have no idea where all that came from!

Markel is now in his last semester of nursing school, and ready to graduate this December. Of course this is just the beginning for him, but he is ready to have this leg of the journey finished.

I guess that I am the only one not in school, which is fine with me! I am glad to be done and have a break to just work! I may go back sometime, just not right now. I am going to enjoy playing with the boys on the weekends and not having to study.

Summer Trip to Arkansas

2008-07-31T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well, we were able to get away for awhile this summer, and boy did we need it. After I took my NCLEX exam (which I passed!!!!), we went to Bella Vista for a few days to visit with Grandma, Boompa, Laura, Zack, and Noah. The boys had a blast at the hotel pool in Springfield the night before my test. Once we got to Arkansas, we had fun just visiting and hanging out. Of course we went swimming, the boys think that a summer day is wasted without a little bit of pool time. We also went to see the Arkansas Naturals baseball game. That was a lot of fun! We sat out behind right field in hopes of catching a homerun ball, but none came our way. Maybe next time!

We are all having a hard time believing that summer is about to come to an end. The boys start back to school on August 13, and Markel will start back around that time as well. It feels weird to me that I won't be starting school, but definitely a good kind of weird!

I will be off orientation soon, and that means that I will be a real nurse, all on my own! AGH! I am nervous and excited all at the same time!

Getting ready for my NCLEX!

2008-07-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

Well, the week I have been simultaneously looking forward to and dreading is finally here! I take my NCLEX test on Thursday. This is probably the most important test of my career. Once I pass I will be a registered nurse, hallelujah! I have been studying and taking lots of practice questions, so I don't feel too nervous about it. Remind me of that at 7:30 Thursday morning! Anyway, if you read this, please say a quick prayer for me! I know that my family will be glad for me to be finished with all the studying and stress of preparing. After my test we are taking a mini-vacation to visit my parents and my sister and her family. We are all looking forward to that.

Thanks for all your support and good thoughts!

2008-07-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from one of our recent swim days. Ethan, the boys cousin was visiting and boy did they all have fun! Jack just got up enough nerve to jump in on this day! As you can see, it didn't take much encouragement! Sam has been jumping in for a couple of years now, and likes to remind us that he is an old pro!

My first blog!

2008-07-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I have finally caught up with the techno-savvy world! Not only do I now have a place on My Space, but I have also created a blog! I hope that our far-away family and friends won't feel so far away by being able to "check in" on what we are up to down here in SE Missouri.

I have graduated nursing school and now I am anxiously awaiting my turn to take my board exam to become a registered nurse. I take the exam on July 24, so keep me in your thoughts and prayers! I will be ready to have it behind me and just be able to focus on my family once again. It has been an exhausting 2 years in school, but so worth it. I am loving my job, and look forward to all the different avenues I have yet to explore!

The boys are growing like weeds and loving every minute of their summer vacation. So far we have kept it pretty low key, but they are fine with that. We finished up baseball, and now we have a short break from any organized activity. They have become little pool rats, hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's and swimming for hours on end! We have to beg them to get out of the pool! We went to see the Memphis Redbirds play ball, and Sam was glued to the game. He has become a very knowledgeable baseball fan, and loves to share his love of the game (imagine that!). Jack liked all the snacks at the game, at least until they all came back up on the way back to our hotel! There is not much worse than cotton candy puke!

We just got done with our big Pierce family campout last weekend, and we were exhausted enough to prove it! In fact, I don't think any of us have caught up on rest yet! The boys were super excited that their cousin, Ethan, stayed a few extra days to go to VBS with them. They all have so much fun together, and are sad that they can't see each other more often.

Mark is working some this summer and playing Mr. Mom a lot. The kids love having this time with him and he loves it, too. They go fishing, to the water-park, and just piddle around enjoying the summer.

We hope that this blog will be a way for you all to see a slice of our life, and to feel included in our mundane day-to-day life. Keep checking back for up-dates!