Christmas Cookie Day!

Jason doing what he does best these days

Before I get into Christmas Cookie Day, I'll give a quick update on Jason. He went to the doctor yesturday for a post-op checkup. The doctor said Jason was doing very well and that everything looked great. Jason will still not be able to bear weight on his right foot for 2-3 weeks and won't be able to drive with that foot till March. He got a new cast (this one is now bright lime green) and copies of his x-rays so he can share his break with one and all. He's doing well since cutting down on the narcotics and adding Ibuprofen to the routine. Jason's plan is to return to work in early January (driving with his left foot, not a good idea from my point of view). That's it on the Green Gimp!



Now for Christmas Cookie Day! Mimi, Boppy, Jennifer, Finn, Carolyn, Max, Gus, Jason, myself, Emily, Ella, and David were all in attendance to make cookies at the condo. Many cookies were made, eaten and I believe a good time was had by all. It was snowing for the majority of the time and made the spirit of it all seem more festive (the Christmas music didn't hurt either)! Provided below are pictures from the day! Enjoy!!

Emily on childcare duty!

David and his "TOWER OF SPRINKLES!"

The cookie assembly line

Chocolate? What chocolate?!

The end of Jason's soccer career (?)

As many of you have heard by now Jason broke his leg last Wednesday December 5th while playing indoor soccer. He says he can't exactly recall what happened but knows that he and the goalie of the other team were both going for the ball and collided and his leg snapped, apparentnly very loudly because everyone else heard it too. He had fractured both his tibia and fibula of his right leg (midshaft break). I got a call from his friend Micah at about 10:10pm to let me know what had happened. Thankfully my father was able to come over and stay at my house while I went to Mercy Fairfield to be with Jason in the ER.

We were in the ER till about 4am and while there they reduced his tibia and put him in a splint. I was able to get him in to see one of the doctors I work with at 11am that Thursday morning. It was decided that he needed surgery (something I could tell just looking at his broken leg in the ER) and a metal rod was going to be placed in his tibia. While there they also replaced his ER splint with another more comfortable splint.


Jason had surgery Saturday morning at 7:30am at Jewish Hospital. The surgery took 2.5 hours and he recovered in the PACU for about another 4 hours. Thankfully he was the only one there and I was able to sit with him for a while during recovery. I am also grateful for my family who sat with me during and after the surgery to keep me company and occupied. The surgeon said everything went well and that he should be able to put weight on that leg in three to four weeks. He will definitely be on crutches for two months and in some type of cast/splint/boot for 4 to 6 months.


Now that he is home our challenge is keeping him comfortable and sane. As those who know him well already know, he's not used to being kept down and is a stubborn guy. He's finding out that he has to slow down and take it easy. I told him that I've been after him for a year to slow down in all aspects of his life but he wouldn't listen. God decided to break his leg to get him to listen, never underestimate the power of a praying wife! (Just kidding, God knows what He's doing and why, I'm sure it's not because of me!)


Thanks for taking the time to read the blog and I'll try to post more updates soon. Also provided below is the address of an image that is similar to what Jason's tibia rod looks like. I couldn't transfer the image successfully, so you can go to this address and see it!

http://z.about.com/d/orthopedics/1/8/p/1/tibialrodap.jpg

Ella's Christmas Wish

Ella had perfect timing loosing some teeth recently, as much as you can! She now no longer has to wonder what she'll ask for Christmas (not like it's a real problem anyway!) All she wants for this Chirstmas is "Her two front teeth"! I came home from work this past Friday to find Ella with her remaining front tooth blowing in and out of her mouth with each breath she took. Jason said she would not let him touch her mouth but as I was Mommy, maybe I could convince her. Needless to say I did finally persuade her to let me get the obviously very, very loose tooth out of her mouth. I had barely touched the tooth and it fell out in the tissue I was holding. You can see Ella's proud results below!

Posing for Mom right after the big event!

Showing off her new look to Boppy the next day!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Our Thanksgiving weekend was quiet and yet very productive at our house. Thanksgiving dinner was shared and enjoyed by all who attended! On the Friday, Alison and Emily got up with the crazy shoppers and got some good deals at Best Buy, Target and Meijer. Later on that day I was able to convince Jason that it was time to redo our upstairs hallway bathroom. The project was originally just going to include some painting but Jason's mentality was that if we were going to do it we were doing it all the way! So provided below are the before and after video I took (taken with the new digital camcorder I got at Best Buy)!

Bathroom Before Remodel

Bathroom After Remodel

November News

Not much news from us this week. School is going well for all, the chill is in the air and the leaves are almost all off the trees. Emily had to deal with getting Strep throat this week, she has since recovered and still taking her antibiotics. Jason spent this past Saturday with three other guy friends riding around at an ATV park in nearby Indiana. While Jason was busy doing this the rest of us went to see "Bee Movie" along with Jennifer, Joe, and Finn. Overall the movie was enjoyable, Jerry Seinfeld's humor was enjoyable, but there were a few questionable points.

Ella had her first King's Kids Choir (kids church choir) performance at church this morning. She did very well by focusing on what she had to do and accomplishing it. I'll include the video I took so you can get a taste of it too! She was very proud of herself (as are Jason and I) also, those at church who know her well commented on what a good job she did. I will say that in the video her shirt is untucked but that is NOT the way I sent her to the choir, but kids will be kids and shirts get untucked (or tucked out as my sister's and I like to say!). Enjoy the video, maybe we'll have some more news soon!

Happy Halloween!

I beleive a good time was had by all last night. We trick or treated over at Mamaw and Papaw's house and only did their street. We were joined by Jess, T-pat, and Nataliya. It was a beautiful night and we couldn't have asked for better weather. I had a good time passing out candy and the kids seemed to have a good time collecting it (Mom and Dad are happy with the haul!) Here are some photos of last night for your enjoyment!

Here's our pumpkin we carved the other night!

All the kids dressed up!

Two purple dragons and a princess!

Having fun going door to door!

Enjoying the fall!

This is my favorite time of year!! I love the crispness in the air, wearing sweatshirts again, and smelling wood fires being burned! We've been busy enjoying the season and looking forward to Halloween, especially Ella and David. We went camping this past weekend (except Emily who spent the weekend with her good friend Emma). Ella and I worked on a craft project from Family Fun magazine, and had a great time doing it! Last night I went over to the Mast's and took 6 week photos of Finn, I'll include a few here for your enjoyment. I'm sure we'll have another new post soon with Halloween pictures so check back later on this week!

At the land! (Trying a video on the blog for the first time, hope it works). This is Jason, Ella, and David riding a quad through what is left of the pond!

Ella and her haunted house!

Finn being the cute baby boy he is so good at being!!!!

Fall farming!

This weekend we felt a little like farmers ourselves. Jason and I spent 8 hours tilling a large patch of ground in our backyard. It's a spot that the previous owners had used as a garden and had turned into our weedpatch! We ended up renting a tiller and even with that powerful thing it took forever because the ground was so hard from the drought. Sunday we got the grass seed down and the two bales of hay that I had purchased, unfortunately we need about five more bales to finish the job! Thank goodness we had enough seed but we need to get it covered soon before the birds eat it! Now comes the fun part of watering it well, which will require a few hours of the sprinkler a day.

As well as doing "farming" ourselves, we visited Iron's Fruit Farm today and went to get pumpkins. The crowd was large but we thought that the half hour wait in line for the free hayride to the pumpkin patch was worth it. Jason and Emily had a good time hunting for the perfect pumpkin while Ella, David and I had more fun hunting the craziest looking gourd! It took a while but we were all happy with our finds and went home to finish our seeding and haying.

Jason on the hunt for the perfect pumpkin

Ella in the pumpkin patch with her choice gourds

Ella and David on the hay ride

Emily with the perfect pumpkin!

Is it fall yet?

The calander it's October, but here in Cincinnati it still feels like July. Fall is my favorite time of year and I feel like I'm getting shorted this year. Knowing the weather around here it'll be in the 80's this week and then in the 40's the next and we'll have no wonderful weather inbetween! Enough of my ranting, and onto why you've come to read this post.


The past couple of weeks I have felt like a hamster on a wheel that is running and going nowhere. Emily's cross country season did come to a close this last Saturday. She did excellent and we are all very proud of her. The coach is trying to convince her to run track in the spring time but Emily is not so sure about that. Our goal is to keep her in good running shape so that next year she's even better!

Emily's Sideline Cheerleaders at her League Final Meet

Emily with her teammates just before the race.

Emily coming down the finish line!

We spent a weekend at The Land with Mamaw, Papaw and Nataliya. We relaxed, played, and thanks to Jason's ipod hooked up in the minivan we did the Hokey Pokey and Chicken Dance around the firepit! It's so much fun to go for a time without the tv and just enjoy one another's company in God's creation.

Doing the Hokey Pokey!

Doing the Chicken Dance!

David and Ella are gearing up for Halloween and can't wait to dress up. Ella was so excited to decorate the house you would have thought it was Christmas! The only part that they, and I, don't like about Halloween are all of the scary figures in the stores. You've seen them, the mummies, witches, and bald serving guys that make noises and move at just the right time to make you jump! We're hoping to get to a pumpkin farm this weekend and if we do I'll post those pictures as soon as I can. That's it for now, thanks for visiting!

Our weekend

This weekend was quiet yet busy enough that we weren't board. On Saturday we picked up five 3 year old red maple trees that we had ordered in June from the Hamilton County Park District. It took us two and a half hours but we got them all planted, mulched and with treegators (tree watering system) in place! Here's hoping they'll grow big and strong!

On Sunday Jason was at the annual Cincinnati VW show. The rest of us joined him after church, picnicked and played on the playground equipment. Jason had to cut his time with us short because he was asked to help judge the rest of the contest!


After the show all of us, except Jason, went to go see and for most, meet Finn at his home. Emily and Ella were in awe of their new little cousin. David was interested for a short while but then just wanted to know if he could go play with toys. We were able to help Jennifer out with Finn's first bath and then just enjoy the newness that is a newborn.

Ella showing off one of our new trees!

Emily and Finn

Emily, Ella and Finn

David and Finn

Finn getting his hair washed

Our new family member!

On Monday September 17th at 6:54am, Stephen Phillip Mast was born! Proud parents Joe and Jennifer couldn't have been happier with their 8#3oz little boy. He has blond/red hair and is "as cute as a button"! Mom and baby should be coming home from the hospital today, as Jennifer had a C-section. Now I'll just let the pictures do the talking!

Sparky the Squirrel

This past weekend we had an unexpected visitor in our home. It all started at Jennifer and Joe's house. We were over there for dinner with them and Mimi and Boppie and as we sat around talking Joe heard something on their front porch. He quickly let us know that there was a baby squirrel on the porch. We all took a look and when someone opened the front door, the squirrel decided he'd like to come in!

We didn't allow him to come in the house but I, against my better judgement, picked him up in my arms. He seemed quite content there and enjoyed being stroked by all. We decided to make him a little house out of a shoe box because he was obviously too young to take care of himself. We offered cat food, water and old washcloths for him in the box. He seemed content at first but then kept coming out of the box toward us as if to say, "I'd rather be with you!"

We were getting ready to leave and Jason and I decided to take him with us to see what we might be able to do for him, Jennifer and Joe couldn't do anymore for him with Finn scheduled to be born soon and 2 cats in the house.

We took the newly named "Sparky" home and set him up in our bathroom in the cat carrier. I looked up on the Internet what was needed to take care of him and found out he was probably about 8-10 weeks old and a lot of other info on how to care for him. We tried all that was suggested from a heating pad on low to keep him warm to Gatorade to help rehydrated him.

It was apparent the next morning that, well, Sparky wasn't going to last. He had been very tired from the time we got him but him status had only gone downhill from getting him. Sparky ended up passing away on Sunday about 3:30pm while I held him in my hands. It just goes to prove that God has created each creature special and what a large amount of specialized care each one takes.

Back in the swing of things

I think that since we've been back in school for almost 3 weeks now that we've almost gotten into the swing of how our weeks will go this school year. I hesitate to say we have figured it out because there always seems to be something that will throw us a curve ball and we have to adjust, life is like that isn't it?

Our family life seems to be revolving around Emily's cross country season (which isn't too long so I'm not complaining). We had 2 meets this past week, Lebanon and Mason (close so that was very nice). Ella and David are not that thrilled at having being made to attend these events but thankfully we're not there very long and we can leave with Emily in tow.

Emily's Lebanon Meet

Emily's Mason Meet

Ella's first grade teacher, Mrs.Creech, called us this week and let us know that Ella is transitioning well to first grade from kindergarten. Ella doesn't care for her homework (one whole sheet a night) but we do it and go on.

Ella showing her contempt at having to be at Emily's meet.

David enjoys his time at home with Mommy and I seem to be getting a lot more done with just him to deal with. I will start attending MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) this week at our church. This is my first time to do this and I'm diving right in and agreed to do the financing! I'm assured that it is not that involved and I stressed that I have never done anything of this type before but if they were willing to give me a chance I was willing to try.

Jason is busy with the demands of work and is now looking at a big side job for himself (and maybe a helper) to do later on this fall. He is going to be installing the HVAC system for one of our pastors in a house they're building. Jason was just over this afternoon discussing strategy before ground has even been broken. That's all for now, check back for further updates from our neck of the woods!

Labor Day at "The Land"

We had a relaxing holiday weekend down at "The Land". For those of you who are not familiar, "the land" is a plot of land that we along with Jason's parents and one couple of friends own in Kentucky. It's location is about halfway between Maysville and Lexington and is the better part of a two hour drive.

We started out the weekend, Saturday morning, in Hillsboro for Emily's second cross country meet. She improved on her time from last week by almost 3 MINUTES!!! Her time for the 2.1 miles was 15:03. Next we (along with 2 of Emily's best friends, Jordan and Rachel) drove our Suburban a.k.a. "the black school bus", along with all the toys down to the land. It was a beautiful day on Saturday and we thoroughly enjoyed it. That evening we roasted smores and enjoyed the atmosphere.

Sunday proved to be quite toasty. We went critter hunting and caught the better part of 20 salamanders, 4 frogs, and a slew of crawdads. I think our haul was so great due to the drought and the fact that the creek was down to a couple of puddles. Because it was so warm, the kids resorted to playing in a kiddy pool and splashing one another to cool off. Even that night was warm. We were able to enjoy the WEBN fireworks courtesy of the Wulfekotter's t.v. and reception from their trailer, they're never as impressive on the tv though.

Hoping your weekend was relaxing as well. Enjoy some of the photos from the weekend!

Emily and her fan club after the race in Hillsboro

Tea time at the land!

David showing off his hillbilly bath!

The Critter Catchers

Just admit it, it looks fun, doesn't it?!

Emily's first meet!

Emily participated in her first cross country meet today. Although it was run in the morning, the day started to heat up quickly, even for us not running. Emily made us proud by finishing strong and not giving up. Her time for the course was around 17:50. One of the other partents commented that she had done a great job for her first race and that their daughter, who is an eighth grader, ran the same course last year in 23 minutes. We stayed around to cheer on the junior high boys as they ran and then we left to come home.

David and Ella said they had to get in their running exercise too and were also busy doing all types of tricks for Jason and I while we were waiting around. Enjoy the photos!

First Day of School!!

Today was the first day of school for Emily and Ella. Both have reported successful and HOT days. The temps did not interfere and both seem eager for a good year. Emily was on her bus early, as usual, while it was still dark out. Ella didn't get up until after Emily was gone and seemed very excited to start her elementary school career. Mimi and Boppi came over to see both the girls off to school, which was much appreciated.

Emily was supposed to have her first cross country meet today but it was cancelled due to the heat. I planned on puttind up those pictures too but they'll have to wait until I can take them!

This year each of the buses besides being numbered have also been assigned an animal. Emily's "rides" on the cow bus and Ella "rides" the dog bus. We had one funny thing happen. After Ella got on her bus it continued on to our neighbor's house to pick up their little boy, Zack. He was accompanied by his parents, little brother and the family dog. When Zack got on the bus his dog followed him onto it. We laughed saying that since it was the dog bus it was only appropriate that he got onboard (he did eventually get off)! Here are some pictures of the girls before getting on the bus for the first day. Enjoy!!

Emily and all her gear!

Ella with her big smile, ready to start the day!!