Life?!?!?!?!!

I just needed to leave a post so everyone knows that I am not totally stuck in time since our blog dates back over a month ago. I have been reminded of my post about being much better at keeping everyone updated on the who's and what's of our family, but honestly our life has been pretty crazy and has been turned upside down in the past few months and even weeks.

I promise to get things updated as soon as I can but for now I just have many started entries that do not have enough power behind them to get posted.

I will be back!

Here is a look at our 215#!!

Just a couple of photos of our favorite 215# wrestler,

and a couple of his biggest fans.

These photos were taken at the Rumble on the Red Tournament that was held on Wednesday and Thursday over Christmas break at the Fargo Dome.

There were 56 teams represented at this tournament from the Dakotas and Minnesota.

Over the two days you see a lot of great matches and some talented young wrestlers.

Win #1 - Frazee

There is always time for some coaching and it is nice to see that our wrestler is not fighting it (this time).

Win #2 - Fargo South

This time he was not so lucky and ended up getting hurt.

John ended the tournament 2-2

No matter what happens buddy we are always proud of you!!! Keep up the good work.

2010 Pinewood Derby

It is that time again.... Derby time!

Jerrin is in his fourth year in Cub Scouts and still likes it just the same.Tonight was the Annual Pinewood Derby something the boys wait for all year.Jerrin and his dad waited until the very last minute once again to get things started, so they ended up using the same car as last year, but they had a plan and a secret weapon.

Registration and weigh-in

Last minute ideas.

Jerrin and his friend Joe

Patiently waiting,

Still waiting!

Finally!!! Jerrin's car is the black and red one in the far left lane.

He is racing against his buddy Taylor.

Jerrin Wins!!!!!

Jerrin against Kaylyn

Jerrin against Zach

Jerrin's car is still in the far left lane.

This year's Webelos Pinewood Derby participants.

Way to go buddy, we are very proud of you!

Way to go Johnny B!

Wrestling season is now in full swing and our house has become very busy. Our family loves wrestling and we love our wrestler.

This is how we usually see him (despite the bad photo) December through February.

This year I decided to have shirts made for the kids to wear for each of John's duals and tournaments. We do not miss very many so the shirts will be worn a lot.

Thanks to this girl the shirts are complete and look GREAT!!!

Thank you Kendra for taking the time out of your equally busy schedule to do this for the kids, we all appreciate it very much.

As you can see they are very proud of their Johnny B and you can catch these kids at

a wrestling mat near you.

A weekend with Grandma Karen

Grandma Karen came to visit this weekend and decided to stay at a motel in Fargo. Since she was staying there all by herself she invited us to come in to swim and stay with her.

We were joined by Uncle Barry, Jenny, Gaven and Gabi, for an afternoon of fun.

Our day was filled with hugs,

fun,

and lots of smiles!!!!!

We all had so much fun with grandma in the pool. We definitely tired her out.

Dear Grandma Karen,

Thank you for inviting us to spend some time with you at the motel. We had so much fun swimming and staying overnight with you. We can not wait for the next time you come to visit. We love you SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!

Love you lots, Jerrin, Gracie, and Jay

Jerrin David is growing up!

If anyone knows Jerrin, you can understand how much trouble we have getting him to do just about anything lately. He has definitely developed a mind of his own, along with his own unique style and explanation for just about anything.

He is now in waist deep of the awkwardness of fourth grade right now and I have to be honest, I am a bit hesitant in saying that I am looking forward to what is to come with this one. If I know one thing he will keep our life interesting.

Over Christmas break I talked with Jerrin about personal hygiene and what he must do to keep himself clean and healthy now that he is getting older and maturing. I shared with him that his body is taking on a whole bunch of changes and that if he doesn't want to be known as the stinky boy and have girls run away from him instead of asking for his phone number, he should change his habits. Well, little did I know that this talk would come just in time......

After being back in school for a couple of days after Christmas break, Jerrin walks into my room with a different look on his face, one of excitement. I have not seen this look for a long time, so I needed to know what was going on right away. I asked him how his day was and if he had something to tell me and this is how the rest of the story goes.

Jerrin: Mom, I got a gift today.

Me: Really? from who?

Jerrin: Well, I am not sure.

Me: What do you mean you are not sure, was there not a name on it?

Jerrin: Maybe?

(He has now gotten my complete attention and I of course I asked the BIG question.))

Me: Was it from a girl?

Jerrin: (He got completely quiet, something he is NOT very often.) I think it is from Grace, mom. Why would she give me something?

Me: What is it?

Jerrin: This. (As he showed me what he had gotten he was truly 5 different shades of reds.)

Me: Wow that is awesome. She must really pay attention to what you like buddy.

Jerrin: Yeah it was even wrapped all nice and stuff.

You could now tell that Jerrin was not only a bit excited about his new gift, he was nervous. Nervous of what was to come and how he was suppose to be feeling. I assured him that this was a normal feeling and that I loved the painting. I am just not so sure it will be as easy to ell his dad about his one.

My True Blessings

It was my goal at Christmas, when we had our entire Baumgarten family together, to have someone come and take our family photos. My sister Jen loves taking photos, but obviously if she is the one taking the majority of them, she is not often in one herself. I wanted the whole family and especially one of the six of us. This fall really opened my eyes to the fact that our lives really can change in a matter of moments. Time is flying by so fast that I wanted to make sure we took advantage of our time together.

So this is a post about a few of the true blessings in my life. If any one knows me at all, I live for my family and my children. Sometimes it is not always a good thing, because I tend to lose touch with myself at times, but I truly would not change it for the world. I love my family, my husband, and my children more than life itself. These photos will speak for themselves, but you will not be able to miss the smiles, laughter, and love that truly shined while we took them. (I did not edit these at all, so they are directly from the photographer. I will leave it up to my sista to pull them in a little closer for us.)

Two peas in a pod

This photo brought tears to my eyes. I love it!!!!

The Baumgarten Girls

The Baumgarten Boys

The Baumgarten Family

Papa, Granny and the kids

Dad and his kids

Mom and the kids

This is how our morning went start to finish, in exactly this order. The morning was perfect; only a few grumbles, cooperative children, smiles, laughter, love, and good memories made.

Amy you truly did an amazing job despite the frigid weather and blowing wind, you made it work and I thank you. I/We will always cherish these photos of Christmas 2010.

Here is a link to my sister in law Jen's blog. She is an amazing writer, who shared more photos of the adults. If you try to keep up with our family blog you may want to bookmark hers too as it many times surrounds our family too.

http://jenbaum-laughoftenlovemuch.blogspot.com/