Christmas With Our Families

Well it's almost here. I can't believe Christmas is here, and soon we will celebrating a new year. Time just gets away too quickly. We leave tomorrow for Southwest Iowa to spend the holiday with our families. It will be nice to all be together again. I took tomorrow off. Jason has to work. He said he hopes to be gone by 12:00pm-12:30pm. I hope so!!!! I wish we could have went today. We are supposed to have bad weather up here tomorrow, and travel isn't going to be good from what the weatherman says. We are usually always back all day on Christmas Eve day, but for some reason this year, we are traveling on Christmas Eve day. If we can just get out of here and through Des Moines, I think we will be okay. I just wish we were already there. It makes me a little nervous. We are taking the truck though since it has 4 wheel drive. I hope everyone has a wonderful time spending the holidays with their families.

Have a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

In Christ,
The Robberts

9 More Days...

I can't believe in 9 mores days Christmas will be here! My how the time flies! We must stop though and remember the true meaning of Christmas. If it weren't for the birth of Jesus, there wouldn't be a cause to celebrate. Jesus is the reason for the season! It snowed here again today. Imagine that! It seems like it snows everyday here. We are supposed to get hit hard again on Thursday with sleet, freezing rain, and snow.

Merry Christmas!

Janese

Batching It...

Hello all! Yes, I am batching it for the next five days. Jason and Jaron left today with a couple of other friends to southwest Iowa to go deer hunting. Jaron, of course, won't be going deer hunting, but he says he is. He is going to stay with Grandma Robberts and do all kinds of fun stuff. I know they have baking Christmas cookies in mind. Today when he left, he did take his bow and arrow with him and told me that he was going to get a real deer with it. He is so funny! It will be nice for them to get away, but it will also be nice when they get back. Janessa keeps asking where her daddy is. My parents are here with Janessa and I. They are here all through next week. Mom and I are going Christmas shopping tomorrow, and dad said he would watch Janessa. It will be nice for my mom and I to have a girls day out. Have a great weekend.

Happy Holidays!
Janese

Happy Thanksgiving

I am so very thankful that I have my family and friends. What is everyone else thankful this holiday season. Everyone have safe travels this week, if you have to travel. We do. We are leaving Wednesday afternoon. The kids are excited to see their families.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Don't eat too much turkey! HA HA!

Blessings To All,
Janese

One Day Down...

One day down. 4 more to go. The weekends always go by so fast. We had a very busy weekend. Saturday I spent most of the day in bed. I didn't feel well. I started not feeling well at work on Friday. By Friday night, I felt rotten. I went to the doctor late Saturday afternoon, and found out that I had a sinus infection. I am now on an antibiotic. I feel better, but still feel really run down. I can't seem to get enough rest. Sunday afternoon, we took the kids to see Winnie the Pooh. They actually got to meet Pooh and Tigger back stage before the show. We all got our picture taken with them. That's all Janessa has talked about that she got to see Pooh. As long as I was holding her, she wasn't scared, but if I put her down, she would freak out. They both enjoyed the show very much. Jason still is working on the shed. He took the day off today from work. He had a couple guys come over and they put the shingles on. He still has to put on a front door and the siding. It is really shaping up and definitely looks like a shed. Actually, it looks more like a small house. It's huge!

Have a great week!

Janese

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr--It's Cold!

Where did the weekend go? They just go way too fast. Is everyone enjoying this cold weather we are having? I hate it!!!! I know it's that time of year though. People are saying this winter is supposed to be another BAD winter. I am just thrilled about that one. I don't want to have another summer of flooding. It can't happen two years in a row.

I am having a Party Lite party on Friday, December 12. I am going to send some invites to those that live away from year. Obviously, I know that you won't be able to come, but if you would like to order something, just let me know, and I can order it for you. The invites will also have the website on them that you can go to to see all that's available to order currently. Unfortunately, you can't order online yet, but you can sure let me know.

Jason's parents came up and spent the weekend with us. We had a very nice visit with them. Jason and his dad went to the Farmall toy show in Dyersville yesterday. This is a twice a year tradition in our family. Marlene and I and the kids went out and braved the cold, and guess what we did? Yes, we went shopping. Marlene was able to get a little Christmas shopping done. Of course, I haven't even started. I am wanting to get my Christmas cards ordered soon because I like to have them sent out sometime around the first two weeks in December.

Blessings to Everyone!
Janese

Jaron's 5th Birthday Party

New pictures of my sweeties!

October 17, 2008

Thank you Lord that it is finally Friday!!!! It has been one of those weeks. This election crap is really annoying. I will be soooo glad when it's all over. Jaron had his last soccer game last night. They won. He played very very well. I think he was finally getting a handle on things. Of course, now that the season is over. I just about froze to death. I was cold 5 minutes after we got there. It took me quite a while to thaw out. I filled up our van today with gas, and it actually cost about $20.00 less than normal since gas has been going down. That was a good feeling. It sure has turned off cold. I guess it's that time of year though. It was cloudy and rainy all day here today. Tomorrow sounds like it's supposed to be pretty nice. High in the low 60's. I hope it's nice because we have a wedding to go to in the afternoon. We will miss out on the last of the Hawkeyes vs Badgers game. I have a feeling that the Hawkeyes may get beat again. I guess that I need to stay positive. Right, Kevin?

Have a good weekend!
Janese

Almost Hump Day...

Wow! It has been a long time since I have updated on my blog. I have spent the last hour and a half on my Facebook page updating it. I added several new friends to it. Tomorrow is Wednesday, so we will be half way through the week. I will be so GLAD when this political season is over!! I am so sick of all the ads. I am so busy at work right now. It is totally nuts during the political season. The ads bring in lots of dollars though. So I guess that's job security. But it will be nice to see it all over with. Jaron's last soccer game is this Thursday night, then we move on to wrestling. I hope to get some pictures taken this weekend of the kids so that I can use them for our Christmas cards this year. I want to have them taken outside somewhere where the trees are in full color. The trees are beautiful up here right now. I noticed that gas went down to $2.79 today. Woo Hoo! It will never be where I would like for it to be again.

Well I need to get to bed. I can barely hold my eyes open.

Have a great week!

Friends in Christ,
Janese

What a Beautiful Day....

I can't believe all the nice weather we have been having. This morning was very chilly. Jaron had a soccer game. I just about froze to death. I was dressed very warm too. This afternoon, it got a little warmer, and turned out to be a beautiful day. The kids played out this afternoon after they both had naps. There is a chance of rain tomorrow. It probably will rain since we washed the van tonight. It never fails. Fall is definitely here. I love it though. The fall is my favorite time of the year. I love all the fall colors!! The trees are so beautiful when they turn to their autumn colors. They are turning some up here now. They say they will be at their peek the week of October 13th. We are going to take family pictures somewhere outside when the trees get in full color so that I can use them for our Christmas cards this year.

I am going to get some shut eye now. Good night everyone.

Blessings,
Janese

What Happened to the Weekend?...

The weekends just go by way to fast! Most of our weekend, we were constantly on the go. My parents were up for the weekend, so they watched the kids Friday night so that Jason and I could spend come quality time together. We had a good time. We ate at Olive Garden and went to see a movie. After the movie, we went to a Mexican restaurant and had chips & salsa, and a few drinks.

Saturday was just NUTS! We had to have Toby to the groomer by 8:00am, Jaron had a soccer game at 9:00am. We went to the wrong field, so we had to drive to the correct field so that he could play. We got there in good time, he just missed the 1st quarter. They won their game again this past Saturday. After the game, I had to go get balloons for Jaron's birthday party at the Playstation. His party was from 12:45pm-2:45pm. He had 6 of his friends that attended. They had a blast! We ate pizza, opened presents, drank lots of pop, and the kids got to play. They had so much fun. Jaron has enough Transformers and Power Rangers to fill a room now. Then Saturday night, we all went to Disney on Ice. My parents went with us too. It was a GREAT show! Rachel, guess who we got to see? Both kids loved it, and sat through the whole 2 hours.

My mom was not feeling well late Saturday, so I took her to urgent care yesterday. She has a sinus infection and ear infection. We just tried to keep our distance as much as possible. I hope we all escape it!

My parents went home early this morning, and it was back to work to start another week.

I don't know what's wrong with my Hawkeyes right now, but they can't seem to do anything right. I think we need to pray for some better football playing.

Everyone have a great week.

Friends in Christ,
Janese

It's Been a While...

Hello everyone. It has been quite a while since I last updated. How was everyone's weekend? Mine was fine. Jason got me a massage for my birthday in June, so I went and got a massage on Saturday. It was WONDERFUL!!!! I could have layed there all day. I must say that I could get very used to them. They are very relaxing. Jaron had another soccer game on Saturday morning. They won their first game. They are so fun to watch!! I have been a little bummed since my Hawks lost their game on Saturday. They need to get it together!

I just finished watching Dancing With the Stars. Tonight was the first night of the season. It's on 3 nights this week, so I know what I will be doing. I really like watching it and don't miss it.

Not much else to report. Would love to hear from anyone!

Friends in Christ,
Janese

Way to go Hawkeyes!

You gotta love them HAWKS!!!! What a game!!!! It has been raining since yesterday!! It is so soggy outside and very muggy. Of course the kids want to go out and play, but they can't. We are taking Jaron tonight to see the famous Lippizaner Stallions at the US Cellular Center. Janessa is going to stay with Mary and Jim. Tomorrow around 5:30pm, our church is having a balloon glow. The hot air balloons will take off from our church and return after their balloon rides, and glow their balloons. We are taking the kids to this. They will go nuts!! They LOVE hot air balloons. They fly over our house all the time, so they get to see them quite often.

Hawkeyes are #1!!!

Have a great weekend!

Blessings to everyone,
Janese

Weekend Recap

The weekend just flew by. They always seem to do that though. Jaron had his first soccer game on Saturday morning. His team lost, but they did very well. It is so cute to watch them play. They are so little, but yet do very well considering how young they all are. I got some good pictures of Jaron that I will try and get posted on my blog sometime soon. He had soccer pictures of the team and himself taken tonight. I can't wait to see them. I am sure they will be very good! Is everyone experiencing a little cooler weather these past few days? Saturday and Sunday were cool all day long and today, it rained most of the day and was very cool out. Tonight it's supposed to get down to 38 degress. I put on my winter pajamas. Tomorrow is only supposed to be a high of 65 degrees. It is definitely starting to feel like Fall. I love it!! I set up a Facebook page if anyone would like to join in and we can stay connected one way or another.

Everyone stay warm and have a good week.

Friends In Christ,
Janese

The Weekend Buzz

We got home around 6:15 tonight from Southwest Iowa. We stayed with my parents and Jason's parents. Scott and Rachel were able to come up as well. We were able to see all of the wedding pictures Rachel and Scott decided on. They are absolutely beautiful. You can definitely tell the guy knows what he was doing. It was really nice to have everyone together for lunch and birthday parties on Saturday. I know that Jaron is very happy with what he got. He got a lot of Transformers, which is right down his alley. And once again, we had a delicious meal at the Robberts' and ate until we were stuffed. The weekend seems like a blur. From the time we get down, I am constantly on the go seeing people that need to be seen before we have to leave again. It is total chaos. I love the time that we can spend with my family and Jason's family. It means a great deal to me. Our next trip back probably won't be until Thanksgiving. I just finished unpacking a few minutes ago and after getting the kids to bed, I wanted to do a short update. Hope everyone's weekends went good. It was nice to have a long weekend and the weather was beautiful all weekend long.

Comment to me (all of you) when you can. I love hearing from everyone.

Janese

It's Finally Friday!

Well it has been a few days since I have updated. Hope everyone's week went well. Mine wasn't the greatest. There was some big changes made in our office this week that noone was expecting. Jason and I both haven't been feeling well. We both woke up Tuesday morning with colds. Neither one of us is feeling quite up to par yet. So I am definitely glad that it's the weekend. I have been very tired, and this cold thing isn't helping matters any. It will be nice to have a long weekend next weekend. We are going back to southwest Iowa. Jason's birthday is Saturday. I think we are to celebrate birthdays while we are back. Jason's birthday, Jeremy's is Sunday, Jaron's is September 25, Rachel's is September 12, and Jenna's was August 20. We have several birthdays all right together, so it's nice to celebrate them all at once. I don't think Rachel and Scott are going to make it back though because I think they have other plans for that weekend.

Jason is putting down rock for the flooring for our shed tomorrow. Then he has just one more pour to do, and all the concrete will be done. It has been a long process, and he still isn't done. He is gaining though.

I don't have any other news.

Everyone have a great weekend.
Janese

TGIF...

Well it's almost weekend time!! Yipee!! Jason's parents will be here tonight to spend the weekend with us. Jason has been working on building the shed quite a bit lately. We have been having such nice weather that he's been able to work on it. He has the forms almost put up, and is laying more concrete in the morning at 9:00am. It's supposed to get down to 52 degrees tonight. That will make it seem more like fall weather. The summer has went so fast! I can't believe it's the middle of August.

Well I don't have any news, I just wanted to check in and tell everyone hello!

Have a good weekend.

Blessings,
Janese

It's Monday Already...

I cannot believe it's Monday already!!!! The weekends go by so fast! It seems like I just get home for the weekend and it's time to go back to work to start another work week. The daycare sees my kids more than we do. That's very sad. They are growing so fast! They all seem to do that so quickly. I cannot believe Jaron is going to be 5 next month. He changes his mind daily on what theme he wants for his party. Janessa is quite a talker. I think she says a new word everyday--just out of the blue. I did a little rearranging on my blog and added a few new pictures. Check them out!

Have a good day!
Janese

Kids

Well we picked the kids up in Des Moines yesterday. Jason's parents met us there for lunch. They had a ball while they were gone. They had all kinds of stories to tell us. They missed us though because they asked us if we were going to go home to our house. It was good to get them home, but Jason and I also enjoyed our time we had together without them.

I put some of my favorite Christian songs on my blog today if anyone would like to listen to some.

Have a good night!

Blessings,
Janese

Thank You....

Hello all! I just would like to take the time to let everyone know who has been praying for me how much I appreciate it! It means so much that so many people care. I thank God everyday for all that I have to be thankful for. I have almost been back to work for a full week. Things have went pretty good. I am slowly improving everyday and getting stronger, but I still have a ways to go. Jason and I have been taking advantage of our kidless week. It has been nice. I do miss our kids though. I haven't even talked to them since last Saturday. It will be nice to see them again on Sunday.

Jason is building us a huge storage shed in our back yard. He was finally able to get the footings poured this week. Next is the walls. We have compiled so much junk over the years.

Have a great day!
Janese

Back in the Saddle....

Well it sure has been a long time since I have updated on my blog. As most of you already know, I was very ill for two weeks with sinus infection and strep throat. My ears were full of fluid, and after 3 antibiotics, I am finally feeling a little better. I was in the ER two different times. The second time, the doctor finally decided that I probably needed to be in the hospital. I was in the hospital for 2 days. I was having extreme anxiety attacks. Which I am still having, but I now have medication to help with them. I am also now on a different medication for the depression also. I have been off work for 2 weeks. My first day back was today. My doctor didn't want me to return until August 15, but I decided that I needed to keep myself busy. I will now see a therapist on an out patient basis. The last few weeks have been tough on all of us. Jason has had the full responsibility of the kids because I just couldn't take care of them. My parents came back up again to help. My mom has stayed another extra week. We take her to Des Moines tomorrow to meet my dad, and they are going to take the kids back with them for a week. Jason's parents are going to have them all next week. Then Jason's parents will get them back to us. It will be nice for a week to not have them because it will be my first full week back to work. So if I come home and am tired, I can just go to bed if need be. Jason and I will also be able to spend some real quality time together. We need this!!!! I hate to say this, but I am looking forward to a week to ourselves. It will be nice!

Everyone have a good weekend and blog me if you can. I love to get blogs from others.

Keep us in your prayers that I am able to get back on my feet and start feeling like I should again!

God's Blessings,
Janese

Hello everyone! I had a GREAT birthday. My parents watched the kids so that Jason and I could go out and enjoy an evening to ourselves. We went to a movie and then to Carlos O Kelleys for drinks, chips and salsa, and the famous fried ice cream. Jason got me an all over body massage for my birthday. So that will be great when I decide to use it. It was the perfect gift. I got sick very early Sunday morning and have been sick since. I missed Monday and Tuesday from work. Today is my first day back. I am still pretty weak though. I had strep throat along with sinus infection. It really threw me for a loop. I am taking tomorrow off from work to make it a longer weekend. I had already planned on it before I became sick. It will give me one more day to also recuperate from being ill. We had a chance to take my parents downtown the other night so they could see the destruction from the flooding. They were totally speechless. They just couldn't believe it. They were astonished at how the water could have been that high and create such a tragedy.

Does anyone have big plans for the 4th of July weekend? I am not sure what we are going to do. Because of all the flooding this year, they moved the fireworks for another location with very limited seating. I doubt that we go. We usually don't. It's just too crowded and the kids are still scared of them anyway. We will probably just make it a quiet day with family and possibly grill out. We hope to let the kids play outside most of the day. It is supposed to be nice weather.

In closing, I want to leave everyone with a quote:

May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country! Daniel Webster

Please have a safe and Happy 4th of July weekend.

Blessings to all of you,

Janese

Well I will be turning the BIG 34 this Saturday, June 28. I am beginning to really feel old. Wonder what I will feel like when I turn the BIG 40? I will really feel old then. Jason keeps reminding me that I will always be older than him. He just called me at work and asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I couldn't give him any ideas. Does anyone have any good ideas that I could give him? My parents will be here this weekend. I know that we will go out somewhere of my choice to eat. Probably either Texas Roadhouse, Olive Garden, or Red Robin.

My parents are staying with us through July 7. It will be nice to have them. I think my mom is planning on getting my house cleaned, which will be really great!

They will get to see all the flood damage while they are here. It is horrendous!!!!

Well I don't know much else. I just wanted to do a quick update.

Have a great day!
God's Blessings,
Janese

A Quote for Today...

Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible - the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.

The Flooding

It has been way too long since I last updated on what's going on with us. It has been rather busy around our house the last month. First, Memorial Day weekend was Rachel and Scott's wedding. We were all in the wedding. Jaron and Janessa looked so cute all dressed up. It was so nice to get to see some of our family that we hadn't seen in a very long time. It was a beautiful wedding. Scott is a great guy, and I know that he will make Rachel very happy! Welcome to the family Scott!!

2 weeks after the wedding, Jason's parents came up to see us for the weekend. It was sure nice to have them up. They hadn't been up since November. Jason and his dad went to the Ertl Farm and Toy show in Dyersville, Iowa. This is a yearly event in the Robberts household.

Then as everyone is probably already aware, we have had record breaking flooding the past week. It has been a very hard week. Our whole downtown was flooded. There were so many historical buildings downtown that were just beautiful. The whole downtown was absolutely beautiful. Now you should see it. It is completely devastating!!!! I cannot believe what I witnessed in the past week. So many people have lost completely all that they owned. There were over 25,000 people evacuated from their homes, plus 205 from Mercy Hospital. There were over 1,300 blocks of flooded streets in downtown and it covered a 9.2 mile radius. There have been 6,000 to 7,000 jobs lost since the flooding.

I was in the right down in the heart of the city last week, and I couldn't believe my eyes. I just stood there and cryed. There has been so much lost in our community, and it will take years to get it all back the way it used to be. Many people I doubt will even rebuild. It is very very sad!

I will post a couple of websites under my links over to the right of my blog that shows in detail all the devastation in Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas. We were hit the hardest, I think, right here. There are lots of pictures to view.

This tragedy has affected us all in one way or another. Please pray for all of those that have been deeply affected by this or know someone that has been.

I will leave everyone with a quote: "While there's life, there's hope."

Have a good day!

Adventureland

We had a really good time at Adventureland on Sunday. The weather was perfect! There was a nice breeze and it was very nice in the shade. Jaron was ready to go by mid-afternoon. He didn't want to ride quite as much as he did last year, which surprised me. He didn't ride any of the roller coasters and he rode all of them last year. Anyway, that's all right. He had a good time. I will try and get some pictures posted of Jaron in a few days.

Janessa loved spending the day with Mary and Jim. I think she was a little stinker for them part of the time, but that's part of her age. She is a little fire cracker. I guess she undressed herself at church. She is going through undressing herself now. She strips down completely naked at home all of the time.

We have been getting so much rain, as is everyone else now days. I am sick of it. There's flooding and it rains everyday.

I would like it if people would comment to my blog and tell me what you think of it. I love to hear from people.

Have a good day!

Some Alone Time...

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Somehow I managed to get some alone time to spend a few minutes on the computer this evening. For those of you that weren't at Rachel and Scott's wedding over the Memorial Day weekend, you can view the wedding pictures if you would like. The website is rachelandscott.weddingherald.com. They turned out really good. The kids did very well . I was very proud of my babies. We enrolled Jaron in soccer, swim lessons and T-ball today. He is soooo excited. I am going to see about gymnastics for Janessa and possibly swim lessons for her also.

We are taking Jaron to Adventureland this Sunday, June 1. It is OnMedia's company picnic. It is there every year. So everything is free for us. It is always fun. Jaron is right at the age now that he really enjoys it. He had so much fun last year. We decided that Janessa is still a little too young to take. She would just be worn out, as well as we would. She is staying with some good friends of ours that she just adores. Maybe next year for her.

If we get some pictures, I will try and get some posted of Jaron. It should be a great time.

I will post later.

Goodnight Everyone!

I set up a blog for our family today. Just wanted everyone to know.