Beaver Family News

Under Construction

2010-02-01T17:10:00.000-06:00

Sharon and I finally started working on the rest of the flooring down that Grandpa Laster so generously purchased for us. Everything seems to be going very well as you probably can tell from the pictures. I was very anxious about this project thinking every measurement had to be exactly perfect. Thank God for toe molding and air vent covers that cover up your mistakes. We had the flooring stacked in our hallway for awhile after it was moved from the guest room and our room when it was the master bedroom. Now Sharon and I share the guest room and Luke and Elaina share the master bedroom since they have much more stuff that we do. Admittedly I am not a handy man but now I think Sharon and I have the confidence to take on some other projects that we have put on hold. Thanks again to the Lasaters for their knowledge, generousity, and assistance in this matter.

Family Update

2010-01-28T12:42:00.009-06:00

Andy is learning division in 3rd Grade. He is doing pretty well. Struggling a little bit since he is still learning to memorize higher numbers in multiplication. Sharon is looking into starting home schooling in a few weeks. Various reasons but the main one is Ethan's schedule of 3p - 12a Monday - Friday. Andy is really enjoying Mario Kart and the New Super Mario Bros Wii. He has completed the New Super Mario Bros Wii game after three weeks of having it.
Sammy enjoys playing New Super Mario Bros Wii with Andy. The game is actually four player but we only have 2 Wii Motes at this time so they like to play together. Sometimes Daddy joins in the action. We take turns playing together. Sammy is doing really well in school. He enjoys his friends and his teacher really enjoys having him.
Elaina enjoys playing New Super Mario Bros Wii as well. She kept telling Andy and Sammy that they have to save the princess. Of course when we first got it we had to tell her it would take awhile but now she is happy that Andy has. She likes playing the princess in Mario Kart as well. She is still our little princess dressing up every day in the Cinderella dress that Missawissa (Melissa) got her. Elaina also likes making Mii's on the Wii. She has made one named Barbie and another one named Cinderella.
Luke sat on the potty and went the other day. I played with him for awhile while he sat there. I have put him on the potty a few times this month. Our last child to get out of diapers! Luke also plays Wii Bowling. I have to help him hold down the B button but he swings pretty well by himself. He has gotten a few spares and one strike!

Kid Update

2009-11-01T23:53:00.004-06:00

Andy is doing well in school. He was struggling a bit with multiplication but I think he is getting the hang of it. Timez Attack is a game that is helping as well as flash cards. He played soccer this fall season and his team did very well. Andy was mostly on defense and kept the ball away from their goal. His coach was impressed with how he improved over the season. Last week she said he was really aggressive and to keep eating toaster strudels (that was his breakfast that morning). Andy dressed up as a ninja for Halloween. Sharon took everyone to the trunk or treat at Grandmas church. I took them to Publix and then out into the neighborhood for some great candy grabs.
Sammy is really enjoying school and his teacher states that he is one of her best students. She stated that he would probably be the first one to start reading. Sammy was a pirate for Halloween. Sammy really enjoys playing Toontown and is doing really well as leveling up his character and doing toontasks. Sammy likes playing board games and card games as well. Sammy is enjoying playing soccer to.
Elaina is our little princess. She loves pink and loves to dress up. Like Mommy she also likes shoes. Elaina dressed up as a princess for Halloween. She also likes playing Toontown. She likes making new characters so she can dress them up. She likes playing the trolley games and fighting cogs to.
Luke is walking more and more with Mommy and Daddy. He is standing up by himself and walks with a toy that Grandma Beaver got him. He is not confident yet to go it on his own but I believe it will be any day now. Luke cheered for Sammy at this game but unfortunately when it came to Andy's game he was getting tired. Luke likes to put on different members of the families shoes. Right now he is working on some more teeth as well. Luke was Steve from blues clues for Halloween. He wasn't feeling well when we went trick or treating because of his teeth.
Sharon and I went on a five day cruise for our anniversary. We mostly rested and watched movies with Rifftrax while cruising. We visited Cozumel and Progresso Mexico. We just walked around for little bit at each port to see some sites.

Kids Update

2009-08-17T11:37:00.001-05:00

Andy started 3rd grade last week. A few of his friends from 2nd grade are in his class. His best friend at school right now is named Alex but he is not in his class right now. They have played lazer tag together and we took them to bounce u a few weeks ago. Andy spent the night at this house as well.

Sammys first day of school. He went on a scavenger hunt to look for hands with hearts on them. He met the principal of the school and had a chicken sandwich for lunch. He made a friend but does not remember his name. The teacher had blocks and books. The teach read the kissing hand. Sammy got to sit on the carpet. It had green, red, blue, and yellow lines. Sammy is on the blue team. Sammy followed all the rules. Sammy stood in line real still. Sammy brought home some smarties because he didnt run off. Sammy sang music as well. Sammy sang the alphabet and another song that he does not remember. We got a 14 day pass for Toontown that I applied to Sammys account. He is very excited to have a "paid" account for a few weeks.

Elaina is playing on the computer for the most part by herself. She likes to watch Thomas and play Thomas games on the HIT Entertainment web site. She also likes building a birthday cake with Barney. She really likes pink, wearing dresses, and getting her nails painted.

Luke is walking on his knees. He is a little parrot and tries to repeat words that you say.

Double Daddy Date

2009-02-22T21:27:00.003-06:00

I took Andy and Sammy out tonight for some fun. Andy got to go out because he is doing well and improving upon his scores on his report card. Sammy got to come because the last Daddy date was with Andy and he needed a turn.
We went to Go USA and played mini golf in the cold. Not too smart on my part but both boys stuck it out to finish the game. Sammy actually let Andy take his turn around the fourth hole because his hands were cold. Andy ended up taking Sammy's turn through the rest of the course because of the cold hands which Sammy kept in his coat. Sammy won the game through Andy's help of course. Sammy had 41, Andy has 54, and Daddy had 50. Sammy got a green ball, Andy a blue ball, and Daddy a red ball. There is a castle in the middle of the course where we lost Sammy's ball and I believe others have lost their ball so if you visit be forewarned.
Our next stop was Steak N Shake. Andy had a burger and cheese fries. Daddy had the Chili Mac Supreme. Sammy had chicken fingers and cheese fries. Andy and Sammy got Strawberry shakes. Daddy got a chocolate shake. I believe the meal was thoroughly enjoyed. They had cars for the kids that Daddy folded for Andy and Sammy. We also each got a Steak N Shake hat. We sat at the counter. Andy loves sitting at the counter.
Our last stop was Chuck E Cheese. We spent most of our time on skee ball where Daddy scored 480,000 points and won 250 tickets! That is my goal with each visit to Chuck E Cheese. We had a grand total of 724 tickets when we left. Andy and Sammy got a bunch of little toys. We got a heart bracelet for Elaina with a ring in it. Andy and Sammy got some cotton candy as well. Sammy got a little blue lizard, an airhead, and some plastic tic tac toe x's and o's. Andy got a goody bag, a Pirates of the Carribean notepad, and a few other misc items.

Andys Birthday Party

2009-02-07T11:11:00.002-06:00

Andy had three friends over for his birthday party last night. It was a pirate themed party since he has been watching Pirates of the Caribbean lately. He had a pirate ship cake and we also had a treasure hunt. They watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and thanks to Mary Kathryn played the Pirates version of Life. Daddy wrote out sevens clues and each clue led to another until finally the treasure box was retrieved. It had glow sticks, parachute men, chocolate coins, bouncy balloons, and a pirate puzzle with cd. Below are the clues given to each location and some of the amusing responses.

Pirate Clues

Silverware Drawer

Shiny things found here
Eat with them each day
When you find them you will see
That they will really pay

Dryer

Clothes lose their wet
Search high and low
And I will bet
The treasure may glow

Bath Tub

Here you get clean
With soap all over
The water around you
Will help you discover

Car

This will take you places
Many of them have traces
Toward treasure you seek
Four wheels are on me

Mail Box
Receive letters in me
A container you see
Holds more that paper
Leading you towards treasure

Coat Hanging Up (they responded with Stove)

This will keep warm
Your arms and chest
Another chest you seek
As this hangs in view

Bathroom Sink

Wash your hands
Brush your teeth
A place for you
A treasure to seek

Trampoline

Bounce very high
Reach toward the sky
But down below
A treasure to show

With each clue they found they received a part of their pirate costume. It started with a pirate hat. The other parts were an eye patch, a mustache (drawn on by Mommy), a sash, and a sword.

Andy and his friends stayed up until 2am or more because thats when Daddy went to bed. Cyle crashed around 12am. Andy woke us up at 7am.

Kids Update

2009-01-05T00:17:00.003-06:00

Andy has enjoyed two weeks of from school. He is doing well in school. There are some pictures on our web site from his Christmas party that Daddy got to attend. Andy got a bunch of Legos for Christmas that he really enjoys. Andy has found a new game on Cartoon Network's web site called Fusion Fall that he really enjoys to play. He also enjoys playing all the Lego games. Lego Star Wars, Lego Star Wars 2, Lego Indiana Jones, and Lego Batman.

Sammy also got a bunch of Legos for Christmas. He really enjoys playing Legos Mars Mission game on the Lego Web Site. Sammy has been talking about school a lot lately. He is very interested in learning. He loves to watch the microwave and oven as they count down the numbers. He knows all his letters. We work with him a bit on the sounds. He will count different items around the house some times. Sammy comes up to us at random and gives hugs and kisses that we really enjoy.

Elaina has completed potty training. She is doing very well with a few accidents here and there. She still asks "What are you doing?" a lot. She loves her Mommy and Daddy very much. She is a very pretty girl (in my humble opinion) and enjoys dressing up. She loves shoes like her Mommy. She likes to jump around the kitchen. She really enjoys the kitchen that she got for her birthday (her brothers do as well). She plays guns with us some times but is remorseful when someone gets shot.

Luke's skin is doing very well. He is crawling all over the house. His vocabulary consists of yummy, Mommy, and Daddy. He also says hi and bye sometimes. The rest of his speech sounds a bit like German. He feeds himself really well. He likes apple juice and milk. He got a huge bag of balls for Christmas that he loves.

Hope everyone has a great new year!

Halloween

2008-11-01T07:53:00.002-05:00

Sharon did a great job making the costumes for each of the kids. She spent the past week on them. She made paper mache helmets for Andy and Sammy's costumes. Andy was Captain Rex and Sammy was Boba Fett from Star Wars. Elaina was an engineer working on
Thomas the train's railroad. Luke was baby Luke this year. He will probably join the fun next year. Daddy unfortunately works second shift and was not able to join them. They went to Nadine and Melissa's church to go trick or treating. Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Beaver Kids are Growing Up

2008-10-25T11:16:00.003-05:00

Elaina is going in the potty regularly now. We are very thankful for that. Luke is crawling! When he wants a toy nothing can stop the Lukey man (my name for him). We did have some sickness this week and last. Andy started with a fever and passed it to Sammy. Elaina and Luke have had congestion and have had to have their noses constantly wiped. It looks as if everyone is coming out of it though.

Survey: 3 out of 4 Beaver Children Prefer Briefs to Diapers

2008-10-18T13:42:00.002-05:00

Elaina went potty again today. She has done both on the potty now and we are very excited for the transition. She was holding it for awhile and waiting for a diaper. The first time she sat down on the potty and went she freaked out because I think she thought she was having an accident. She went from that to holding it for a diaper but the past few days she has gone potty. Praise God!

Elaina Quote

2008-10-12T13:07:00.001-05:00

"I wanna go outside, Dad" - Elaina

"You are outside." - Me

"Oh." - Elaina

Sammys question

2008-10-05T16:11:00.002-05:00

"When I am 10 years old will I be a parent?"

Boys and Girls are different

2008-09-03T09:36:00.001-05:00

Elaina will cringe and just look at my fingers as they walk across the table. Sammy and Andy will smash them.

Elaina will shoot me and when i "die" she will say sorry. I get no such mercy from Andy and Sammy.

Elaina (Grey Parody)

2008-08-31T13:16:00.002-05:00

These are lyrics I made up. Its a parody of the song by Barlow Girl called Grey. If you click on the word Grey in the last sentence you can hear the original song. Enjoy!

Elaina

Elainas my favorite daughter
Other kids have never been my thing
I like her when shes quiet
No so much when shes screaming

Her attitude is hidden
She buries her condition

i can not be blind no more
because behind closed doors
there's a tantrum looming in disguise
so don't buy those lies
even when she bats her eyes

Elaina's my favorite daughter
When you meet her you will see
She the cutest ever
But see behind the meaning

Her attitude is hidden
She buries her condition

I love my daughter, yeah
I love my daughter
And need to serve her better

Andys love life

2008-08-30T12:49:00.005-05:00

Andy has met a girl named Cheyenne. They have walked out of school together and hugged. Sharon said she was pretty and Andy agreed. The only difficulty is that she has hugged another boy. Melissa told Andy that she is only supposed to have one boyfriend. Andy asked why. Melissa asked if his mommy had two husbands which made Andy think.
Andy says that Cheyenne likes it when he shows her his muscle. Andy has done this for her several times. Sharon had a conversation with Andy where he said he wanted to be famous. Sharon asked him what he wanted to be famous for. Andy had to think about it. Andy asked what can you be famous for. Sharon told him that you can be famous for singing, acting, or politics. Sharon had to explain what politics are. Andy didn't want to be famous for any of those. Sharon said you can also be famous for sports. Andy finally decided that he wanted to be famous for being strong. Sharon and Melissa have caught Andy lifting chairs. Andy was embarrassed. We may buy him some weights soon.

Sammys question

2008-08-30T12:49:00.002-05:00

Are butterflies made out of butter?

Family Update

2008-08-26T22:46:00.002-05:00

Andy started school a few weeks ago. Unfortunately he does not give us a lot of information about it but he seems to be doing ok. Andy just started soccer and is enjoying that. He was on defense his last game and did pretty well kicking the ball back down the field to his opponents side. He did lose a little bit of skin on his knee after a fall but he was ok.
Sammy is doing well. He and Andy are playing soccer and really enjoying it. Sammy follows the crowd around as they kick the ball. He had a game last Saturday and just kinda ran around with everyone. He was kind of in the middle because there were the aggressive four years olds who actually stayed with and kicked the ball. There was Sammys crowd that followed those kicking the ball. Then there were those who just kinda ran around the soccer field. The games were played in the YMCA gym.
Elaina is working on potty training a bit. She has gone in the potty a few times but is still getting it down. Her favorite phrase at this time is "What you doing?" and asks it about every 30 seconds give or take. She loves shoes and will try everyone's on periodically. She also likes hanging out with her Aunt Melissa who is living with us currently.
Luke is doing well. His skin is a whole lot better. He has a little bit of redness here and there but overall he is doing good. He celebrated two birthday parties this year. One party was with Grandma Beaver, Grandpa Beaver, Aunt Pam, Aunt Holly, and the Karecks. The other party was with Grandma Harris, Uncle John, and Brook. He has graduated to more and more big people food with a grand total of seven teeth.
Sharon had a really fun Mommy trip to Florida this past weekend where she hung out with Marian and Holly. She watched some movies and enjoyed the beach. She also enjoyed Barnes and Nobles. Sharon has found that her passion is traveling. She purchased two maps for our kitchen walls. One map is of the US and the other is of the world. We hope that one day God will bless us with the ability to do more traveling.

Bird in the Wall

2008-05-14T14:18:00.004-05:00

We had a bird stuck in our wall over the weekend. Tori, our cat, watched the wall attentively. Today we decided to save the bird from captivity. Sharon did some looking online and the only thing we could do was cut a hole in the wall to let him (i guess it was a guy bird :) out. He flew out of the hole and first went into the bathroom. He then flew into the kids room. I opened the window and he got caught between the window and the screen. I opened the screen but didn't have enough room to maneuver down. He kept flying up. Sharon and I removed the window to give him more room and then finally he flew down and out the window. The bird was granted his freedom. Sorry I didn't get a picture of the bird. He was black. I'm not sure what kind of bird he was. I imagine he was hungry being in there for a few days. We actually put some stuff down on the lawn to kill tics. There were a lot of grubs out for him to eat. Hopefully he got his full.

Kids Height and Weight

2008-05-10T09:47:00.009-05:00

Andy
Weight	Height	Date
57lbs	3ft 5in	9/1/2005
60lbs	3ft 8in	10/1/2005
73lbs	3ft 10in	10/1/2006
73.5lbs	4ft 1inch	1/7/2007
85lbs	4ft 1inch	3/11/2007
79lbs	4ft 1inch	4/22/2007
73.5	4ft	11/10/2007
61lbs	4ft 2inches	5/10/2008
Sammy
Weight	Height	Date
23lbs	2ft 8in	9/1/2005
26.5lbs	2ft 10in	10/1/2006
28lbs	3ft 1inch	1/7/2007
31lbs	3ft 1inch	3/11/2007
31lbs	3ft	4/22/2007
31.5lbs	3ft	11/10/2007
32.5	3ft 4inches	5/10/2008
Elaina
Weight	Height	Date
7lbs 12ou	1ft 7inches	11/28/2005
18lbs	2ft 6inches	10/1/2006
19lbs	2ft 5inches	1/7/2007
24lbs	2ft 5inches	3/11/2007
21.5lbs	2ft 7inches	4/22/2007
27lbs	2ft 7inches	11/10/2007
29lbs	2ft 10inches	5/10/2008

Sammys baby pictures

2008-05-07T20:09:00.007-05:00

We were watching one our many Blues Clues videos (The Babys Here) today about a new baby coming. I took Sammy to our web site and showed him how to look at his baby pictures. Once I got Sammy to his pictures he quickly learned how to navigate our pictures page and look at his baby pictures. I thought that was really neat. I can't wait to talk to them about all the pictures someday. They will probably lock me away and make me delete half of them :)

View Sammy's Baby Pictures

Gas tip

2008-05-01T21:24:00.003-05:00

Wisebread Article

Got to give credit to the above article for the idea. All of us are being slammed by gas prices so here is a tip that I actually am trying out. I usually go 70 on the interstate to work and back. Since reading this article I started trying to go 60 and keep track of my gas mileage. When I go 70mph on the interstate I get about 27 miles per gallon. When I go 60mph on the interstate I get 29 miles per gallon. So in actuality we are getting a whole extra gallon back when I go slower on the interstate. This does take discipline which I am trying to have more of in my life in many areas. Give it a try. If you have a trip odometer you can just reset it each time you fill up. Divide the miles on the trip odometer with the number of gallons of gas you purchased and you have the mpg you are getting.

Hope this helps. God bless.

Toontown

2008-04-29T21:19:00.010-05:00

A favorite past time of mine and Andy's is playing Disney's Toontown Online. Toontown is basically a game where you create your own Disney like character. You have your own house and you fight evil robots name Cogs with weapons called Gags. I sadly have to admit that as an adult I really enjoy playing this game on my own time even when Andy can't. There is a lot more to the game that the previous sentence which you can see on their web site. You can also check out the wikipedia entry on it.
The reason I am sharing this is because I did include some pictures on beavas.com that are screenshots of toontown. These screen shots show some of the Cog Buildings that Andy and I have taken over together as father and son. My characters name is Flip Jeeperfussen and Andy's character's name is Buster Dynofussen. I am the red monkey in the pictures and Andy is the blue cat. Thanks to Dan and Marian for turning us on to this addiction. :)

One of the pictures shows my character and Jared's character after we took over a Cog building as well. Jared's character is Professor Max Electroboom.
Sammy likes to play as well but he just runs around and looks at all the different scenery in the game. There are many places to explore.
If you have children (or even if you don't) and want to check it out they let you play the central area for free. Be warned once you get to a certain part of the game you will not be able to progress without paying a monthly or annually fee, whichever you prefer. The game is addicting. Let me know if you create a character and along with Andy, you and I can save Toontown from the Cogs together!

My Precious Daughter

2008-04-29T14:49:00.004-05:00

I was mowing the lawn today going back and forth across the grass. Elaina was trying to follow me. Sharon was watching from the house. I would go by with the lawn mower and Elaina would follow after me. I would start another row and she would be coming at me from the last row I had done. She eventually sat down and started to cry because she couldn't keep up. First I gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead. I kept on mowing and she kept trying to follow me. I got down to the last two rows and she reached out and said "hold hand". I grabbed her hand and we finished the last two rows of the front yard with me holding her hand with one hand while mowing with the other.

I absolutely love my daughter. Please pray with me that we will keep a close relationship as she grows older. Please pray I will always show her how a man should treat a woman.

Elaina loves Jonah

2008-04-13T21:20:00.002-05:00

Elaina is going through that time of life where she loves to watch videos over and over again. Her current pick is Jonah: A Veggietales Movie. She watches it almost every day sometimes twice a day. Andy went through this phase. I don't think Sammy went through this phase. I think its really interesting time in our childrens life. Pray for Sharon as she hold together her sanity :). God bless.

Luke's Eczema- some good news!

2008-02-29T16:48:00.003-06:00

Today was our first appointment with a pediatric dermatologist. She did seem quite surprised that his current condition wasn't the worst it has been. She confirmed all that we have been doing- the oatmeal, the cotton clothing, the humidifier, the baths, and the creams- have all been great for him. She could even tell that, underneath all that inflamed, red, "tomato- baby" skin, he didn't have dry skin. She said it looked like we have been keeping it well hydrated. It is simply a problem with his body's allergic responses. His allergic responses to any kind of allergen are just exaggerated in his little body. He is not necessarily allergic to thing that we can remove from his environment, but rather limit your average every day allergen (I guess that means more vacuuming...) The good news is that she alleviated all fears we had about using a medication that is extremely effective for him (despite being a little smelly). There was a lot of information online about Elidel causing cancer, but we discussed this in depth and we will actively use it to treat him from now on. She didn't think allergy testing of any kind was warranted until he was around 1. So, hopefully this means there will be less "tomato baby" pictures and more of the "smooth as a baby's butt" skin in the near future.

Andy swallows pills on his own

2008-02-27T20:52:00.002-06:00

Andy has medicine he takes each morning. We used to open the pill and put it on toast or his food. A few days ago I explained to Andy that Mommy and Daddy put the pill in their mouth and drink it down. I had him give it a try and he did it on his own. I explained that when Daddy was learning to do it the first time he actually found the pill at the bottom of the cup. I had thought I had swallowed the pill when actually it had just fallen back into the cup I was drinking out of. Andy thought this was funny so the second morning he tried it he put the pill in his cup intentionally. He thought it was great.

Milestones!

2008-02-07T13:34:00.001-06:00

Elaina came to the decision that yesterday, Wednesday, would be the day she literally started to walk. After her little episode going up and down the hall (blogged earlier), she has been walking everywhere ever since. Every now and then, she forgets she can do it. We just remind her, "Elaina, use your feet" and she will get up and start walking.

Also, yesterday was Luke's first day of baby oatmeal. He doesn't seem very interested in it so far. And Mommy felt the tip of a front bottom tooth today! Ya!He hasn't really had any uncontrollable "teething pain" fits. And last, but certainly not least, he has had dramatic improvement in his eczema over the last few days with no harsh prescriptions. He may be growing out of it. We'll see...

Elainas status and walking a lot

2008-02-06T10:56:00.000-06:00

Elaina is doing fine. We believe it was a crick in her neck and the pain is gone now. A moment in Beaver kid history today for her. She walked from our bedroom to the living room and then back to the our bedroom again. She is getting more and more brave to walk on her own. Praise God!

Elaina goes to the emergency room

2008-02-05T08:30:00.000-06:00

Elaina was standing behind the kids bedroom door when it was opened and she fell back. We think she hit her head or may have had a crick in her neck. She would not stop crying and holding the back of her head. We took her to the emergency room. They gave her some Motrin and a cat scan. Everything looked fine. Monday she seemed to be in some pain but not as much as Sunday. The entire day Sunday she was crying off and on. She could not be comforted. Today is Tuesday and she seems to be back to normal.

Andy knows where baby animals come from

2008-02-04T21:40:00.000-06:00

Andy and Mommy were sitting in the living room one day when Andy asked if our cat, Tory, was going to have any baby kittens. Mommy explained that Tory can't have kittens (she was fixed). Then Andy asked where baby animals came from. He, then, said that he knew where baby animals came from- with a mischievous look on his face. So, Mommy asked what exactly he knew. Then he said well I know where one baby animal comes from. I said, Oh really. He said one animal crawls up on the sand, puts an egg in a whole, and covers it up with sand- then there is a baby animal!

Kid Report

2008-01-31T07:02:00.001-06:00

Andy is doing very well in school. He is getting between 80 and 100 on all his papers. He does very well on his spelling test. Andy will be 7 years old on Saturday. Andy recently acquired a Toontown account and loves playing with his friends Jared and Nathan online.
Sammy is still potty training. He has done it all himself for a little while but lately has been having some accidents. Overall he is doing well. Sammy can type his name on the computer and Daddy has instructed him to type his password as well. Sammy counts to 10 and really enjoys singing his abcs.
Elaina also enjoys singing her abcs. She is still walking on her knees for the most part but she does like to hold my finger and walk to and from the van. She has walked across the living room and kitchen but still prefers her knees. She is talking up a storm and is really working on communicating.
Luke is doing a lot better with his skin condition. Oatmeal seems to be the cure in that department. He gets oatmeal baths and creams to help. He laughs and smiles. Luke loves life!

Elainas transition

2007-11-24T23:32:00.000-06:00

If you can follow this then feel free to pat yourself on the back. If you have been to our house we had Luke in our room, Elaina with her own room, and Andy and Sammy sharing a room. The transition as of tonight was Elaina joins the boys in their room and Luke moves into his own room which was Elaina's for the time being. Elaina slept in Sammy's toddler bed for the first time tonight while Andy sleeps on the top bunk and now Sammy's permanent bed is the bottom bunk. Luke will join them when Elaina gets older as the plan now states.
Anyway, Elaina slept in her toddler bed for the first time tonight. All the kids went to bed late because we were basically rearranging the entire house. The kids went to bed at 9:15 or 9:30. Elaina did not fall asleep until about 11pm. She was in the room talking and hitting the wall a bit. She also sipped on her juice. She was visiting several times by Mommy and Daddy encouraging her to sleep. It was pretty funny. We will see how tomorrow night works out.
We are looking to setup an office in our bedroom for our new business venture. The joys of having children can not be counted :) God bless.

Sammy goes to the hospital

2007-10-15T08:22:00.001-05:00

I am not really sure how it happened but I picked Sammy up real quick and squeezed him. He started crying. I set him down and he just kept holding his arm. Sharon picked him up to comfort him and he just kept nursing his arm. We decided that Sharon should take him to the hospital while I watched the others. It turns out one of Sammy's bones in his arm popped out of joint. The doctor had to try three times to get it back into place. Right now Sammy's arm is all bandaged up with a splint. He is going to visit an orthopedic doctor some time this week to have it removed. The doctor believes the third time he tried he got the bone back into place. The doctor stated that this is a common injury for children Sammy's age. I felt really bad but I think he is doing ok.

The Pop Tart Conspiracy

2007-10-03T12:42:00.001-05:00

Suspects: Anderson Ross Beaver and Samuel Vincent Beaver
When: A few weeks ago
What: We usually sleep in on Saturday mornings and allow the two older boys to play on the computers and watch cartoons. Andy asked Sharon if they could have Pop Tarts so Andy and Sammy had pop tarts for breakfast.
Evidence: A box that holds 16 pop tarts with 7 1/2 pop tarts missing.
Confession: Anderson Ross Beaver stated "Sammy helped me."
Conclusions: Andy probably ate 5 to 6 pop tarts that morning. Sammy only usually eats one or two.
Punishment: Needless to say we had a talk with Andy that he can have a max of 2 Pop Tarts for breakfast and no more.

It's all cheetos and pizza, baby

2007-10-03T12:39:00.000-05:00

Elaina calls all food at this point either pizza or cheetos. Its mostly pizza. When she shes that I am holding some food that she wants she says "pitha, pitha." and holds her hand out. She gets really excited.

Andy's second spelling test

2007-09-21T07:52:00.000-05:00

Andy got a 104 on his second spelling test! We are very excited that he is doing well with his spelling. Sharon has been concerned with his adhd that he would be having a hard time with school. Andy is a very intelligent boy and we are excited to see him using that in school!

To all who were ever impressed with me...

2007-09-15T14:33:00.000-05:00

God has funny ways of showing us humility. I was loading a dart gun and forgetting I had it cocked I pulled the trigger. I ending up shooting myself in the forehead. Just had to laugh at myself. Hope you got a good laugh out of it. I am just thankful I missed my eye.

Andys first spelling test

2007-09-13T13:43:00.000-05:00

Andy got 106 on his first spelling test! He missed one word but got the bonus word which was the word one. We went to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate that Saturday. The date of the test was September 6th. There are pictures of our trip to Chuck E Cheese to be posted soon.

Andy's loses another tooth

2007-09-06T15:25:00.000-05:00

Andy had a loose tooth Tuesday night and Daddy removed it for him. He walked around awhile wiggling it and was afraid to have it removed. He even wanted to brush his teeth to remove it that way but to no avail. Daddy reached in and lifted it right out. There will be pictures available the next time I update those. Andy said "You're right Dad it did not hurt." I had told him it may hurt a little but it came right out.

Sammy Story

2007-08-29T08:56:00.000-05:00

Sharon had taken the three little ones to WalMart as she is my super wife. Sammy told Sharon that he had to go to the bathroom. Sharon set Sammy sideways on the toilet and left for a minute to attend to Elaina and Luke. After she moved the toilet flushed because it had a sensor on it. Sammy waddled out of the stall crying with his underwear and shorts around his ankles. The toilet flush had scared him. Now we have to pray that Sammy will live through this and be able to use the toilet in public again. :)

Update on Elaina

2007-08-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

She was prescribed some antibiotics. She is doing well. She should be done with the medicine tomorrow. Her bite looks a lot better. The swelling has gone down and she is back to her happy self. Thank you so much for your prayers.

Elaina's ER Trip

2007-08-19T11:33:00.000-05:00

We took Elaina to the ER at Middle Tennessee Medical Center last night. She had a few bites on her body. There was one on her back. There was a really large one on her left arm. She was holding her neck and seemed to be in great pain. We rushed next door to our neighbors who generously offered to baby sit Sammy and Andy while we went to the hospital. Kim came over from next door to assist. We took her to the hospital around eight o clock and did not get back until 11:30. They gave her Tylenol, antibiotics, and benedryl. They also drew some blood. Her blood looked ok. She felt really good after they gave her the medicine. The doctor could not be 100 percent certain what the bite on her arms was but he stated it could have been a spider bite or an allergic reaction to any number of bites. They gave her a prescription for the antibiotics and told us to take her to her pediatrician on Monday. He stated that the one bite on her arm looked like it was getting infected. It looks a lot better this morning that it did last night. Please pray for Elaina.

Andys first day of 1st grade

2007-08-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

Andy is enjoying himself in the first grade. His first homework assignment was just to be able to recite the letters of the alphabet. He did it for me in the car on the way home. His teacher is very nice and we have heard from friends at River Oaks that they had a really good experience with her.

Luke is here!!!

2007-08-02T12:24:00.000-05:00

Baby Luke arrived at 8:30 am Central Time this morning!

Weight: 7.5lbs
Height: 21 inches

View Lukes Web Site!

A Conversation with Elaina

2007-07-31T15:24:00.000-05:00

Daddy attempted to "talk" to Elaina. Click on the link below to hear the results!

Conversation with Elaina

Elaina laughing - click this link to hear Elaina laugh.

Surgery Time

2007-07-31T13:03:00.000-05:00

Sharon's C section will be scheduled for 7:30am on Thursday August 2nd. She will have some blood work done on Wednesday and then we will be ready for Luke to enter the world! Thank you for all your prayers!

Hear Luke's heartbeat

Kids Quote

2007-07-30T20:12:00.000-05:00

"Sammy is trying to give me that kazooka."
Andy

Sammy wanted the gun that Andy had and was trying to trade with a kazoo. I laughed really hard. :)

C Section pushed up!

2007-07-27T15:45:00.001-05:00

The C section has now been pushed up. Luke will now be here Thursday, August 2nd! The doctors were planning to have the surgery take place in Smryna at StoneCrest because it is closer to us. We actually wanted her to deliver in Nashville at Southern Hills because they have an ICU area for infants. We wanted to have it there just in case anything happens. The C section will either take place at 7:30am or 12:30pm.

Please pray for Sharon's strength in the next few days.

Baby Update

2007-07-27T09:34:00.000-05:00

Sharon had some painful contractions on Wednesday night. They gave her some pain medication and we stayed in the hospital over night. The next day the contractions had died down and everything seemed to be back to normal. They ran further tests and decided that it was not time for Luke to come out. We do have a C section scheduled for next Friday August 3rd.

Sharon does have an appointment today at 2pm.

April News

2007-04-01T10:03:00.000-05:00

Elaina is 2 feet 7 inches and 21.5 pounds. Elaina is now crawling! Yeah!!! She is talking more as well. She says appi ju (apple juice). She also says hi. She is still waving her little hands and arms around when she is excited. I love my precious Waina (our affectionate name for her).
Sammy is 3 feet tall and 31 pounds. Sammy can count to 15! He sings his abcs and follows Andy around and mimics his big brother. He has learned the bed time stalling tactics. The list currently is water, story, bathroom, hugs and kisses, and Daddy tossing their blanket in the air counting to 5. Andy gets six because of his age. Sammy likes drawing. He has a magna doodle tha we keep in the car. He also shares that with Elaina.
Andy is 4 feet 1 inch tall and 79 pounds. Andy has soccer practice on Monday nights and games on Saturday mornings. Andy is really enjoying that and doing really well. He is doing pretty good in school. He does have some problems talking a lot but he is making friends. We are trying to do his God Time cards he gets from church. He learns memory verses from the Bible. He is doing well with that.
Mommy and Daddy are doing well. Mommy is still having a bit of a rough time with this pregnancy. Our weather has been up and down so that has been hard on the sinuses. Daddy is now 30! Daddy bought four dart tag guns for his birthday. We also went to see the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie with the family. The kids enjoyed that. Daddy has been promoted at Dell to Gold Tech Support! It also came with a nice raise in pay and we praise God for that!

March News

2007-03-01T10:17:00.000-06:00

Elaina is 2 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 24 pounds. She still has a huge appetite. She eats a lot. Tonight she had a piece of Little Caesar's pizza, some fruit loops, and two of her cups full of water and juice. She is on pretty much a normal sleep schedule now. She was sleeping in our closet for a few months but we moved her back into her room. She gets up in the morning around the same time the boys do. She takes a few naps during the day. She is moving around a little. She kinda scoots her bottom around. She reaches for things. She is not crawling as of yet.
Sammy is 3ft 1 inch tall and 31lbs. He still loves singing his abcs. We were working on potty training but with Mommy being sick a lot it was difficult to keep up with. Sammy was doing well with number one but we would have to constantly ask him. We believe he was only in it for the candy. He is a very intelligent little boy. Tonight he actually confessed to us that he drew on our living room window sill. He was not punished but we continue to encourage him to use the computer to paint or paper. We can understand most of what he says now. He loves playing with the big boys chasing daddy around the house with plastic guns. I hide from them and then the "kill" me when they find me. Daddy likes being the bad guy. I usually take their stuffed animals for ransom but they are quickly rescued.
Andy is 4ft 1 inch and weighs 85 pounds. He is starting soccer again soon. He will have his first uniform meeting this Thursday. He received some soccer goals for Christmas so we really enjoy using those. His top two front teeth are showing signs of removal. They are kinda pushed out to make him look like a true Beaver! Andy continues to pray that his Pappa would come back. Its really hard to hear. I am just so glad we hold the hope of Heaven! Andy is enjoying kindergarten and is doing quit well. He does talk a lot which is not always a good thing but overall he is doing good. Daddy got to visit him for lunch and he really enjoyed that. We played paper, rock, scissors, about 30 times. He loved it. He also showed his friends how he could beat Daddy up. They enjoyed that.
Mommy and Daddy doing well. Daddy is working a lot of overtime since Windows Vista came out. Mommy is doing a lot better with her sickness. She is able to do more around the house and is in a better mood. Praise God for that! Thanks for visiting.

January News

2007-01-01T10:17:00.000-06:00

Elaina is 2 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 19lbs. She is saying dada and mama. It almost sounds like she is saying her vowels. She has just started holding her cup by herself and drinking. Daddy put her on her tummy tonight (1/13/07) and she pushed herself back with her hands but has not quite started crawling yet. Her teeth in the front are pretty much in. She does have a few coming in the back so that is not too much fun.
Sammy is 3ft 1 inch tall and 28lbs. Sammy can count to ten and is learning to sing his ABC's thanks to Leapfrog. He also "reads" a Diego book. It has pictures in the sentences with words above them. Sammy can identify the pictures as I am reading and it almost sounds like he is! Mommy purchased some training underwear for Sammy. We will soon put those in to practice to have one less Beaver in diapers. Sammy prays now. He is starting to do it on his own. I used to lead him in what to say and now he does it on his own. It mainly involves thanking GOD for the many blessings he has. Its very cool to pass on faith to children!
Andy is 4ft 1 inch and weighs 73.5lbs. He is doing well in kindergarten. There have been a few behavioral issues but overall he is doing very well. He has a few more books he is reading. Andy got a Spiderman game for Christmas that he is playing on the computer. He has gotten through most of the game with little help from Daddy. He is very intelligent in working the computer. Andy also prays for us at dinner and bed time. He continues to pray for Papa to come back. Please pray for us as we continue to help him cope with Papa's passing.
Mommy and Daddy are doing well. We are just running to keep up with the kids. Please pray for us as we try to lead our children to JESUS and teach them to love HIM.

October News

2006-10-01T10:18:00.000-05:00

Elaina is 2 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 18lbs. She is sleeping through the nights most nights which is nice. She is not sucking her thumb to give indication of fatigue anymore. Now she just gets upset and its time to go down. She tried McDonalds fries and ice cream the other day and is now kiddy branded like the rest of our children to the golden arches. She has sampled many kinds of big people food. She will be one year old on November 28th. Too amazing!
Sammy is 2 feet 12 inches and weighs 26.5 pounds. He has now gone down the McDonalds slide all by himself and climbs up by himself as well. He does get a little help from Andy, Mommy, and Daddy. His vocabulary is growing. He loves Chocky Milk (translation: chocolate milk). He says love you a lot. He is very loving except around nap time. Of course who isn't. :) He has had several more trips with Daddy to the Discovery Center. On the last trip he could not get enough of the slide. He goes back and forth between using the steps or elevator to go upstairs. He loves decorating our walls with crayons and markers. He is quite the little artist. We have a leapfrog device on our refrigerator that sings to him the alphabet and numbers. He loves playing with that. He loves playing outside. His first phrase was outsi pay (translation: outside play). Its very fun to try to interpret his phrases.
Andy is 3 feet 10 inches and weighs 73 pounds. He just finished up his soccer season. He did score one goal during the games and really enjoyed playing with the other kids. He got his trophy as you can see in the pictures. Unfortunately he was running around with it in the parking lot and it broke in half. Mommy is going to be on surgery to hot glue it back together. I got a picture of him with his two coaches and his trophy. They were really good with the kids. Andy went to a pumpkin patch with Mommy, Sammy, and Elaina. This was a class field trip for him. He was a great big brother and lead Sammy through the corn maze.
Sharon has toned down the mystery shopping for awhile. She enjoyed her birthday very much as She and I volunteered at a Dave Ramsey live event. We spent the day manning tables to sell product for his ministry. We were also able to see a good portion of the live event which encouraged us very effectively to get out of debt and manage our finances well. Sharon still attends a Mommies small group that she really enjoys. She goes there on Wednesday mornings and bonds with other mommies.
Ethan is still in love with his beautiful bride and is very thankful for her. GOD has really given me a great family. GOD bless!

September News

2006-09-01T10:20:00.000-05:00

Elaina is rolling over and can sit up for a little bit. She loves her oatmeal and packs it away pretty well. She is drinking water from a sippy cup but not holding it just yet. She still has the three bottom teeth and of course the most beautiful smile!
Sammy is talking up a storm. He still has his own little language that I need a translation every now and then from Mommy. He has a enjoyed some time with Daddy alone at the Discovery Center. He loves to ride the elevator and push the buttons. He learned the number 2 for pushing the button to go to the second floor. He was a little scared to go down the slide but was finally convinced. He enjoyed that very much. On the second trip to the Discovery Center I put him between the two sinks in the bathroom and he turned on the water for both. He was very excited to turn them on and off. He also goes to the Allergy Doctor with Daddy so Daddy can get his alergy shots. He has his little two year old attitude some times but still loves on us. He loves the flash on the digital camera. As you can see in his photo shoots. He just hits the button on the camera a bunch of times to take pictures of his face.
Andy has a lot going on right now. He is of course a big soccer player. He practices once a week and plays a game once a week. He is in kindergarden and is doing very well there. They have many activities they do each day. You can see he is learning to color. He also is learning his letters and is learning to read as well. He has two books now that he can read. Andy is going to go on a field trip to a pumpkin patch next month. He is realizing that he has to go back to school every day. He doesn't like the idea in the morning but Mommy says when he comes home from school he is very excited. We have a hard time getting information out of him as to exactly what he did each day. We do catch him singing songs that he learned. One dance that he has learned is the Macarana.
Sharon got into mystery shopping in the past few months. Mystery shopping involves going into stores, restaurants, and other locations in order to get the customer's eye view for the employer. We have received some free meals and also a stay in a nice hotel. You will have to contact her for all the info. She really enjoys it. Sharon hopes to be trained some day to be a financial counselor using Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace strategy for helping family have healthy finances. Sharon is enjoying being with Sammy and Elaina throughout the day and bonding with them.
Ethan is doing well at work. He is currently the number three tech out of fifty eight on the floor. I hope to move up in the world of Dell in a month or two to train fellow techs. I am excited about helping my co-workers refine their troubleshooting skills to get to the heart of the matter quickly and help get our customers up and running. Our youth group has what they call fifth quarter and I have 300 Christian cds. I love to DJ for the youth events. God bless and thanks for visiting!

July News

2006-07-01T10:21:00.000-05:00

Elaina is growing another tooth coming in the bottom front. She is talking more and more. She is also really active. She has a really cute belly laugh as well. She is also growing more hair. She was going through major separation anxiety but seems to be more social now. She really enjoyed having Grandma and Grandpa Beaver here for a week. She was held a lot and got much attention.
Sammy is talking more. His vocabulary is growing. He said cheeseburger tonight (7/23/06). We purchased a Nerf basketball hoop and he really likes to play with that. We had to hang it off our our treadmill for him to reach it.
Andy is starting school on August 15th. We are really excited and scared so pray for us and him. He had great fun at Mega Sports Camp which is the vbs for our church. We also visited the Kosters on the fourth of July and had some fun with them celebrating our country's birthday.
Sharon has been running her routine with the kids. She got a hair cut that I believe is very beautiful! She volunteered at mega sports camp as a concessions team person. Sharon handed out gatorade and cheese crackers to the kids as needed.
Ethan volunteered with paintball and that was very enjoyable. The kids did engage in combat but were only shooting targets. They enjoyed it nonetheless. I am also involved as a chat tech at Dell during the week. I provide support for the technicians on the phone. They come to me when they can not figure something out. Right now it is just a pilot program. I hope it will become more in the future. I am still on the phone most of the week doing tech support for XPS gaming systems that Dell sells.

June News

2006-06-01T10:34:00.000-05:00

Elaina is growing a tooth in the bottom front of her mouth. She is having some teething pain that goes in and out. She sucks her thumb and that gives us a sign that she is tired. She is done with her pacifers. She has been waking up and eating at night. For awhile she was sleeping through the night but now she is waking some. She is now eating oatmeal and rice baby cereal. She is moving on from milk. She does watch us eat sometimes. I know she longs for her days of solid food.
Sammy is now two years old!!! His birthday was June 11th. On his birthday we went to McDonalds with the Kosters to celebrate. The next weekend we went to Karl and Lil Welch's house to have a combined party with Cyle. Cyle's birthday is also in early June. His vocabulary has expanded some. His newest phrase is handing you something and saying here, here, heeeeerrreee. Its very cute. I hope to get it recorded soon.
Andy helped me change a tire. Both Sharon and I needed tires replaced. Luckily Sharon's was plugged for free thanks to my good friend Dave Fleming. I replaced two front tires on the Geo. Andy was a big help. He helped me take off the lug nuts and he found the place I needed to use the lever to lower the tire. Grandma Nadine and Aunt LaDonna went to Chicago and brought Andy and Sammy some toys back. They also got some jelly beans as well. We visited the Greenway and Dan showed up with his bike. Andy got to ride the motorcycle around the parking lot with Dan. Andy loved it.
Sharon is still beautiful and a wonderful wife. We all got a piece of the sickness this month and Sharon was taken down for a little bit. I think it was due to allergies. Sharon got a really bad ear infection. She is doing better now after some ear drops and antibiotics.
Ethan has been doing some work for Dan. I am going down to Atlanta once a month to help Dan with some clients. I am also doing remote work for him as well. Sharon and I are really excited about our financial plan. We have been listening to Dave Ramsey for awhile and are working toward being debt free in a few years. I highly recommend his financial peace university plan. You can also download his podcast. Download itunes and click on podcasts on the left column. Click on podcast directory and then just search for Dave Ramsey. Click subscribe and it will download his show to your computer every day. One Place is a great web site to listen to sermons and you can also subscribe to podcasts from there.

May News

2006-05-01T10:35:00.000-05:00

Sammy is walking now!!! It is his primary mode of transporation. There was a time of transition where he was part walking and part crawling. Now he primarily walks to his intended destinations.
Andy has lost his front bottom teeth. The tooth fairy visited tonight and gave Andy three dollars. We hope to help him start off his finances right with Dave Ramsey principles. He has graduated from preschool and, as you can tell from the pictures, throughly enjoyed being a lion in the circus. Cyle was a clown.
Sharon is now enjoying Pampered Chef. She is starting to do shows and has gotten her kit. It has given her a renewed interest in cooking. She is making some great dishes for us!
Ethan has started a new blog. Rodent's Review is now up and running for Ethan's poetry and thoughts on the Christian life. Thanks for visting. I apologize for it being so long since the last update. GOD bless!!!

March News

2006-03-01T10:36:00.000-06:00

Sammy is still working on the whole walking thing. We may be having a physical therapist stop by our house soon to help him out. He doesn't seem interested in going from crawling to walking. Please pray for him to make the transition.
Andy is enjoying karate and not enjoying preschool too well. He is getting into the learning part of it we he does not seem to look forward to as he did before. He can write his name now and spell it verbally. He has mentioned his Papa (Johnny) a few times this month. It seems as if it has been awhile but he seems to be reflecting more recently.
Sharon is taking up sowing more now that we have room for her machine! She is very excited about that. She also is really into Fly Lady which is a site that keeps moms focused on the tasks they have to do. It also helps them to be more organized and get things done. I am very thankful for my beautiful wife! (Our Wedding)
Ethan will turn 29 on the 28th of this month. As I draw close to 30 it just feels weird. I am very thankful for my family and the many blessings GOD has given me in them. Not really fretting the age thing. It's just a weird feeling I guess. We are looking to go to Florida at the end of the month GOD willing. We hope to take Andy to Animal Kingdom and spend time with my family.

February News

2006-02-01T10:37:00.000-06:00

On February 24th in the year of our LORD 2006 the Beaver family closed on their first house!!! We are now moved in! We are still unpacking and sorting but we are settled for the most part. Thanks for all your prayers. GOD has truly blessed us!
Ethan, Sharon, and Andy have gone through the sickness. Today (2/19/05) Sharon is sick and everyone else is well for the time being. Please pray for our family because we keep passing it around. It was Ethan, Andy, Ethan, and now Sharon. Andy got a dart gun and Daddy got a cap gun so we have been having fun with that.
We have found a house and are moving in at the end of the month! We will be closing on the house on Monday February 27th and will be moving in that weekend. We had a home inspection done and everything looks good for the most part. There are a few adjustments that need to be made but the process should be going forward as planned. The location is really good for me to get to work in Nashville. Its also zoned for a really good elementary school where the principal is a Christian.
Sammy is talking more and is learning to climb down the stairs. He is still not walking but he does take a few steps toward Daddy when asked.
Andy is now the big five years old!!! Andy is starting preschool again. He had a birthday party with the Kosters at Boston Market. We had to do presents in the van as you can see in the pictures. The restaurant was closing so Andy opened his whoopee cushion and cars in his car seat. He also went to Monkey Joe's with them and had a great time. Monkey Joe's is an inflatable indoor playground and Andy loved it. Grandma took Andy and Cyle to see Dora live on his birthday. Andy is also starting karate at Hayes Marshal Arts. He had his first session yesterday (2/7/06) and enjoyed it very much. We are planning on taking him to Animal Kingdom at the end of March for a belated birthday present. Sharon is really excited about getting the house. She is excited about not having stairs anymore and having our own laundry room which is 6 x 11.
Ethan is working Tuesday - Saturday 7:30am to 4:30pm. I am still taking calls for systems that are primarily for gaming purposes. It has been pretty slow during the day but the calls pick up at night.

January News

2006-01-01T10:39:00.000-06:00

Sammy is 2 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 24 pounds. We are concerned about Sammy and his walking. The doctor has given him two more months and then possibly he will need physical therapy. Please pray that his intrest will grow in walking and for us to have wisdom on how to encourage him. Sammy was sitting on the dryer and grabbed a box of spaghetti. He proceeded to dump all the noodles on the ground as you can see in the Around the House pictures for 1/12/06. We had a good laugh. Sammy also decorated our kitchen floor with a bowl of salsa. It was sitting on the counter. I am not sure how he got it down but when I came in the kitchen I was all over the floor, the rug, and the stove. Nadine Harris was given great wisdom that I will pass on "Don't get mad, just take a picture." :) Daddy stayed home on Friday to help Mommy. Daddy, Andy, Cyle, and Sammy played outside. Sammy was crawling around and you can see in the pictures his pants were soaked. We also played with some crayola sidewalk paint. That is what is all over Daddy and Andy.
Andy is 3 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 65 pounds. Andy is out of school this month and he will return in February. Andy is enjoying having Cyle back from Christmas break. Sharon is eagerly waiting their return to school (but she does love them of course :) They had a big day today (1/9/06) They went to the mall and the Kids Castle Park. They also visited Grandma for a little bit at work. Andy did really well tonight with his ABC's. He is starting to recognize words and the letters they start with. They also had a trip to Chuck E Cheese the other night with Grandma. They had great fun there! Andy went bowling with Daddy today (1/14/06) and he absolutely loved it! He scored a 76 and Daddy scored a 109. He got 1 1/2 size for shoes and used a 7 pound ball. We only played one game but I think we have a good idea where his birthday party might be. His birthday is February 2nd!
Sharon's small group is starting back and she is very excited to go. We are also starting a Financial Peace class starting on Wednesday (1/11/06). Financial Peace is a strategy for organizing your finances and preparing for the future. We highly recommend it if you are in need of wisdom for your budget. We finally got our dryer fixed from Dr. Simpson's brother William. They came over and in fifteen minutes we were drying our wet clothes!!! The start knob had froze up on us earlier and our laundry was piling up. But Dr. Simpson and crew came in and saved the day on Saturday morning (1/7/06). Thanks again Dr. Simpson and crew!!!
Ethan is starting to work on gaming systems at work. I am going to be taking XPS calls. I will going over to gold tech support when the next team is trained but there is no eta on that as of yet.

December News

2005-12-01T10:40:00.000-06:00

The Beavers have a new van (under Around the House pictures 12/6/05)!!! God has provided us with a really nice minivan for Sharon and the kids to be transported with. In our new van we went to have hair cuts (everyone but Elaina of course). Andy did very well. Sammy had his first hair and he did much better than expected. From the pictures you can see he sat in Sharon's lap and was very good. The boys were treated to McDonalds for their excellent behavior. Andy ate a double chesseburger, a regular cheeseburger, some apples, and also spilt a large fry with Daddy. Sammy ate a few bites of his plain cheeseburger and most of his fries.
Today (12/18/05) we went and picked up Aunt Melissa at the airport. Grandma treated us to IHOP for lunch. Sammy through a crayon in Andy's milk and also bit down on a non dairy creamer and it splattered all over him and his seat. He also tried a pickle and gave a hilarious face (which I did not get a pictures of, sorry). It was a fun time and we are glad to have Missawissa (as Andy calls Aunt Melissa) home for a few weeks.
Andy had a great trip to Chuck E Cheese today (12/6/05). We went through 70 tokens in three hours and also played a lot in the crawl area they had. Andy went with his preschool and I had the priviledge of taking Andy and it was a great father son bonding time. Andy likes to try every game at least once on each trip. He likes the skee ball (as do Mommy and Daddy) and seemed to like the basketball game well to. Andy got to sleep downstairs with the Christmas tree tonight since he was good today (12/10/05).

November News

2005-11-01T10:40:00.000-06:00

Elaina has arrived! All the latest can be found at her site.
Sammy is doing well. He is still 23 pounds. He holds our index fingers and each hand and takes a step. He actually does the steps and leads himself. He does not fully walk just yet but we know it will come in time.
Andy is enjoying preschool and has mentioned an interest in learning his letters. Before he didn't take to it too well but I explained to him it will help with his games and movies on his computer more. He got to see Santa at the Co Op and enjoyed that very much. Andy came to us on Sunday, December 4th and showed us the many "tattoos" that he had given himself with a pen.
Tory the cat has moved in and removed four mice from our house. We hope that they are all gone but that remains to be seen. There is a picture of Sharon holding Tory with a gallon of milk. We rewarded Tory will some milk and/or tuna for each eviction she gave us.
Sharon is doing well after the surgery. The epidural was not as painful as before and she is recovering quite nicely. She is actually up and about sorting some stuff and trying to get rid of things.
Ethan is now A+ certified! I took my tests a few weeks ago and I now have that. A+ is a computer type certification that says I now know what I am doing (just in case before I just looked like it). I was not able to start in my gold tech support training due to Elaina arriving but it is likely I will start in January. I had a really bad allergic reaction to my allergy shots today (12/6/05). They had to sit me down and shoot me up with epinephrin, a breathing machine, and steriods. Once this was done my allergies calmed down and I returned to normal. I got some adrenaline shots to take if it happens again. For those of you who don't know, if you have allergies they put you through some tests to see what you are allergic to and then they prescribe the proper shots to build up your immune system againist those things (this is to the best of my understanding). It takes two to five years getting shot at least once a week to get it fully done but I figure if i live til i am seventy then forty years without allergies is worth it. Please pray for strength as you know I am juggling a lot right now. God bless you to all and if you read this far then I know you care :)

October News

2005-10-01T10:49:00.000-05:00

Johnny Harris was involved in a terrible car accident on October 6th that took his life. Please pray for our family in this time of grief. Johnny was Sharon's step-father. He was a great Papa to Andy and Sammy and will be missed deeply. I have put together a tribute site to him JohnnyPicksUT.com. We hope to collect many memories of Johnny and place them here. Thank you so much for how you have helped our family in this time.
Elaina is now three pounds and doing well. We hope to have her enter our world around the first of December.
Sammy has actually not grown this month. He is still 23 pounds. He is 2 feet 8 inches. He is eating pretty well so I am not sure where it all goes. He is teething a little so he gets bit upset with that. He is still crawling with little hints of standing on his feet.
Andy is 3 feet 8 inches and 60 pounds. He has grown three inches and gained a few pounds. He is very big for his age and we believe he may be involved in football in the future. Andy was very close with Johnny, his Papa. We have told Andy everything we can and he seems to understand very well that Papa is with Jesus. He actually wrote a song about Papa that you can hear on Johnny's web site. Please pray for him as he deals with this tragedy. I hope through this time I can share about Jesus love with Andy and how he can start a relationship with God. Andy has started preschool. He seems to enjoy it but its hard to really get out of him what he does all day.
Sharon is doing well with the pregnancy. She does still feel tired during the day. The doctor has recommended that she take it easy. During the past week, with our loss of Johnny, she was helping a lot. Both of us are feeling the emotional and physical drain. Pray for strength through this time.
Ethan made gold tech support! He will start in December. This position does require some certification so that will have to obtained soon. Its a blessing because this position may lead to other higher positions at Dell.

September News

2005-09-01T10:49:00.000-05:00

Elaina is doing well. We believe she is two pounds and she is kicking really hard! So we know she is alive and well.
Sammy is 2 feet 8 inches and 23 pounds. He has crawled all the way up the stairs several times. By God's grace he is still with us! He has started walking holding on to the couch. Sammy knows where the eyes are and he does wave bye sometimes. He has learned give fives as well. He is very intelligent.
Andy is 3 feet 5 inches and 57 pounds. Andy is going to start pre school in a few weeks at Riverdale, which is a local high school. He has had great improvements in hearing and behavior. He is healing well. He had a checkup for his ears and everything is progressing well.
Sharon is having trouble sleeping so please be in prayer for that. She has to test her blood sugar each day for gestational diabetes. She actaully has had to do this with each pregnancy but all our children have turned out fine so no worries there. She is "nesting" which means she is doing a spring cleaning in the fall for the baby to come. She has freecycled (Freecycle site) a lot of things we don't need and we picked up the kids toys and have them organized in drawers. We are getting the apartment decluttered and it nice to have more space to move around.
Ethan is doing fine. He is starting to work with the youth band at church and is really excited about that opportunity. We caught our mouse finally. For those of you who didn't know we had a mouse that was living with us for about a month. He finally started to get into our food. Our apartment complex put glue traps down and when he was caught Ethan freed him out by the Greenway. Unfortunately, we believe there is another mouse in our apartment.

August News

2005-08-01T10:49:00.000-05:00

Andy's Surgery went very well! He is feeling better and able to eat now. His throat is still bothering him but the pain medication is helping. He's kinda in a zoned out mood right now. We try to talk to him but he takes awhile to respond. You can see in the pictures how he had his foot hanging over the bed after the surgery. He asked the nurse to rub his foot when he came out and again he was out of it. He has had plenty of banana popsicles and ice cream. We are keeping them coming for him. Pray for his throat to get better. There is some pain. He was in the OR for about an hour and a half. The doctor said the actual surgery only took about fifteen minutes. Thank you for all your prayers so far.
Sammy is doing well. He is still in the crawling stage. He is pulling up on the couch and Andy's dinner table. He is holding his own sippy cup and becoming more independent every day. He says Ma Ma, Da Da, and now can say his own version of Andy. He was playing with Andy and Andy had to go upstairs for awhile. Sammy crawled over to the stairs and said Andy, longing to play with his big brother again. He loves playing with the big boys and can't wait to grow up!
It's a girl!!! Elana Nadine Beaver!!! She now weights 13oz and will be on her way at the beginning of December. No date for C-section has been set yet. Thank for all your prayers - keep them coming!!!
Sharon is doing a lot better with her pregnancy. She is tired now but the sickness has left her and she is able to do most of her normal activities.
Ethan is now on a normal schedule at work. He works from 7:30 - 4:30 Monday through Friday and is very gratful for that. He is still supporting business laptops and desktops. There is a chance of Gold Technical Support coming to Dell Nashville. Ethan would like to obtain a position there. It does require certification but they do offer to pay for those who do not yet have it. Please pray for that opportunity.

July News

2005-07-27T10:49:00.000-05:00

Sammy has been mobile for a few months now. He is crawling all over the place and really enjoying being chased by Andy. Sammy is getting more verbal and pulling up on things.
The baby is doing fine. We are having an ultrasound on July 29th. Sharon is 18 weeks this friday. She is still struggling with being sick so please Pray that that will go away soon.
Andy is going to have surgery on August 18th to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. Andy is also going to have tubes put in his ears. The tubes they place in his ears will help drain the fluid build up. Removing his tonsils and adenoids will help him sleep better. He may have some form of apnea like daddy. He is afraid of shots so pray that God will give him strength to deal with the IV. Any prayer will be greatly appreciated.
Aunt Pam and Uncle Mike are planning to visit on August 30th so we are very excited to have them.
The fourth was spent with the Kosters. Unfortunately we got rained out but we did enjoy some small fireworks and some steaks.
Ethan has changed positions once again. He is supporting hardware on business computer. He starts he new position new week.
Ethan has also started a cd ministry at church. He is making cds of the Bible that people can listen to. The Bible is a free download at AudioTreasure.com. Ethan is really excited about how this ministry will help disciple brothers and sisters at River Oaks.

June News

2005-06-01T10:50:00.000-05:00

Annoucement - We are having another Baby!(Pictures)
Prayer - A young father in our church passed away on May 25th. Please be in prayer for his family.
You can learn more about his life at MichaelMahaffey.com

Sammy turns 1!!! Unfortunately Sammy did not like his cake. We tried ice cream, cake and goldfish. Sammy did eat a few goldfish but he was tired since mommy had to wake him up from his nap to join the party.
We played pin the number 1 on Sammy. Sharon designed the poster using a picture of Sammy with ravoli sauce all over his face. Andy, Cyle, Tracy, Walker, and Marley participated. Andy got it right the first time!
We also played with spin art. You place a piece of paper in the little machine and put some color on it. Then you spin it to create a wonderful work of art. Andy, Cyle, and Marley participated.
We also had water balloons for the kids to throw and they really enjoyed that. Ethan setup Grandpa Beavers laptop to play music and old video clips of Sammy. Ethan, Grandpa Beaver, and Aunt LaDonna also switched off on camera responsibilities.
We only opened a few a Sammy's presents at the party since he was very tired. We have yet to open all his presents (as of 6/12/05 12:10am) but I am sure we will soon.
Our Around the House pictures have pictures of our little ninja turtle named Andy. He got those at church on Sunday morning and proceeded to wear them throughout the week. Cyle and Sammy also shared in the fun.
Andy really enjoys using the camera so I am giving him his own page each month dedicated to his shots. He got a few good ones of Sammy while we were driving to the Adventure Science Museum.
Ethan has started a new business that offers the families the same content that Beavas.com has for them and their loved ones. SharedShots.com is open for business and ready to receive customers. I am really excited about giving this gift to those around the world so their families can be blessed as I know mine has. Grandpa Beaver has a new web site. Jim.Beavas.com is a site dedicated to his essays on Christian philosophy. He has two posted already that inspire thinking about our faith. Check it out!!!

May News

2005-05-01T10:53:00.000-05:00

Sammy is working on crawling but has not yet picked it up. He scoots himself around on his bottom and reach his destinations. He eats big people food now and can consume quite a bit. Any donations for Sammy's diet will be appreciated :) He is learning to play cars and using the car tracks as seen in pictures and video.
Andy is getting big and spreading his vocabulary quite well. His current favorites are Kim Possible and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Sharon is still working the Avon and taking care of our two as well as Cyle Mosher. She is juggling a lot these days so pray for strength for her.
Ethan has had a major job change at Dell. He now supports business customers with software issues such as Microsoft Office, removing spyware and viruses, as well as networking issues. His surgery went quite well. There was some pain for a few weeks after the surgery. It was hard to swallow and his diet consisted mainly of jello pudding snacks. He has lost about 20lbs since the surgery but is sure he will gain it back soon enough.