The Adventures of the Hoskins' Household

Christmas 2011

2011-12-17T20:07:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas 2011

Hello friends and family. Merry Christmas! As always where does the time go? It looks like I updated the blog last spring and things are going great!

Tom is still working at Coors as well as working as a contractor part time. He is working on a fix and flip right now and he really enjoys the project. He graduated last spring from Red Rocks with an associates in Science and Math. He also tries to find time to work on his scroll saw. He is working on a cathedral clock that is absolutely amazing. He went hunting for the first time this fall and although he didn't come home with any meat, he is already talking about next year.

Amanda is back at home. After Tom graduated, working nights waiting tables didn't have as strong of an appeal anymore. Almost immediately a need arose from a friend looking for childcare for her two sons and I started watching a couple of boys. I continue to watch her 19 month old son three days/week. He and Sarah have a great time playing together (as long as he lets her boss him around. ) I am also doing the half day kindergarten school runs every week. I have a couple of car pools, but some days I make three 40 minute round trips to school. Since Tom is working evenings, I am also the official cub scout, church club, and anything else that comes up in the evenings mom. It can get kinda crazy, but I LOVE being mom.

Alex is in second grade this year. He continues to excell and loves the science projects and writing. He is very active in cub scouts and church club. His favorite pass time (besides the Wii) is creating things out boxes and other "junk." He has a very active imagination and can create pretty awesome things out of "nothing."

Callum is in Kindergarten this year and is doing amazing. His writing is also progressing very well. His favorite part of school is recess, and being as active as possible. He has done a soccer class and wants to do a gymnastics class next. He has great ball handling skills and it is fun to play with and watch him play any ball sport.

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!!! Oh my, world watch out!!! Sarah is the girl that is in control! There isn't anything that she won't try to do herself, and most of the time she can do it! She is completely potty trained and extremely independent!!! She loves going to Bible Study Class and singing Jesus Loves me with the guitar and will get out her little ukulele and sing her own rendition of Jesus Loves Me. Whenever I am cooking in the kitchen, she has to sit on the counter and watch everything that I am doing. She loves playing with her dollies and I think that she is going to love her little play kitchen that she is getting for Christmas.

Our biggest adventure this year was a camping trip to Hot Sulphur Springs. We camped at the Springs and swam in the pools. It was absolutely wonderful water. After a couple of nights there, we headed into the National Forest and set up camp near a beautiful stream. Tom had brought the 22 rifle, and a 308, and a 30 ought 6. We had a lot of fun shooting the 22 and bb gun. But, we had a little oops.....Tom was helping Alex shoot the 30 ought 6 and the scope kicked back and hit Alex right in the middle of the forehead. We wrapped his head up and headed out the hospital in Kremmling. After five stitches, we decided to take down camp and head back home. He was fine, but he has a nice scar and story for the rest of his life.

Amanda and Tom celebrated their 10th anniversary this summer with a backpack trip to Shelf Lake! It was an amazing time. The lake is beautiful and in spite of some rain, we both really enjoyed spending time with each other in our beautiful Rocky Mountains.

I pray that God will pour out his blessing upon you in 2011. I am so thankful that although we may go through some really tough stuff here on earth, we can go to God for our love, joy, peace, strength, and comfort. He is a God longing to poor abundance into our lives and I thank Him everyday for being a God of hope. We can look forward to one day living in heaven with Him where there is no pain, no sorrow, no scars. Thank you Jesus for coming down to earth. To show us what it means to love and to pray. Happy Birthday Jesus, may our year with you be joy.

Many Blessings this Christmas,

Amanda Hoskins

for more pictures, you can go to our face book page.

Hoskins Update

2011-03-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring, The birds are chirping, the bugs are coming out (hurray, declares the boys), the trees are sprouting, the allergies are sneezing, Yup, it's spring. But wait, last week, Snow, says Sarah. Gotta love a Colorado Spring. 75 degree during the day and it snowed that same night. 40 degrees the next day. Things are going amazing here in the Hoskins Household. Alex is growing so quickly. I just registered him for summer camp. The same camp that he was born at. I remember bringing him home from the hospital thinking, someday, Alex can go to camp here. That someday has come very quickly. :-) He is busy doing school, cubscouts, chess club, and Awana's. We are looking forward to Spring Break. We have quite a week planned. Aquarium (he is totally into sharks right now. I never knew so much about them. :-) ), Sleepover at grandma's with cousins, mom, and Aunt Mel, swimming, a play about Flat Stanley, and the Zoo. He is doing extremely well in school, and he loves doing stuff with the cubscouts. He recently has his pinewood derby in scouts. He (and Tom) made a hammerhead shark car, and although he wasn't the fastest, he took home the trophy for best design. Callum is also keeping very busy. He has decided that preschool isn't so bad and is looking forward to going to kindergarten at Alex's school. He has done several sessions of swimming lessons and loves to be in the water. He also keeps busy scootering, playing the Wii, and annoying is sister. He continues to crack me up, and his big blue eyes can melt anything!!!! Sarah is almost two....temper tantrums, new words everyday, wanting the world to revolve around her..... But, she is soooo amazing as well. Call it keeping up with her brothers, or whatever....she is one smart cookie. Her newfound love is the dirt. But, she wants to do anything anyone else is doing. Her theme song right now is, "I can do anything you can do better, I can do anything better than you." (Callum often respond no you can't, Sarah, "Yes I can," Callum, "No you can't." Sarah, Yes I can, Yes I can) Yes I have that song stuck in my head daily. She helps with the laundry, she can practically unload the dishwasher on her own (i'm not exaggerating!!!) She can jump on the trampoline (or get two feet off the floor) and she loves to follow her brothers all over the tubes at McDonalds and down the slide. No fear. She loves puzzles (and I'm not talking about the wooden ones with the pegs, i'm talking about 25 piece puzzles) You have to help her, but she does them. She still has to be rocked to sleep (with a stuffed animal under both arms) but I'll hang onto that as long as I can. :-) Because I work evenings, I don't get every bedtime with her, so that time becomes precious. She will read books for hours, and she really likes reading on the potty. Yup, she has gone several times. So we are on our way. If she is done training before three we have set a record. ;-) Hopefully sooner. Tom keeps busy with his new job at Coors and I continue waiting tables at Village Inn. God has blessed us abundantly and we are looking forward to seeing what plans he has for us in the future. I pray that this spring you find new hope, new life, and renewal in your life. Seek God and you will find. Trust God, and he will be faithful. Love, and you will be loved. Blessings

Spiritual Thoughts from Alex

2011-03-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

In the middle of getting ready for bed tonight..... Alex, "Mom, God has a really really really really big job." Mom (somewhat absentmindedly), "Um hum, he really does." Alex, "I think that I would pay him one thousand dollars." Mom, smiling...."That's alot." I love it!!!!!! May God bless your socks off!!!!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas friends and family!!! Here is our Santa photo of 2010. We have had an amazing year of fun, family, and friends.

Sarah turned 1 in June and continues to amaze us with her achievements. She is trying to keep up with the boys and does a pretty good job!! She started walking at 11 months and she is now running and jumping. She loves shoes, "pretties" (anything jewelry or hairties, although she doesn't quite have enough hair to wear bows yet. :0) ) , kitties, and of course all of the Christmas lights. She loves to dance and sing songs.

Callum turned 4 in July and started preschool this year. He is doing well. He loved the firefighter unit and he loves to play on the playground. Thankfully, his preschool teachers are very patient and love his humor. Most days when I pick him up, he does his own version of the robot coming to the door. He continues to make me laugh everyday. He loves to play any sport with a ball and he got to see a Rapids (professional soccer) and an Avalanche game this year. He is also loving swimming. He can swim with his face in the water and wants to take more lessons in January.

Alex turned 7 in November. He is loving first grade. His reading and writing are amazing. Writing is his favorite subject and he has written about his family, the tooth fairy, and his rat. Yes, he got a rat for his birthday and we are all enjoying playing with Darwin. He has also started Cub Scouts (his daddy is very proud) this year and they have visited a radio station, a fire station and are planning on going to a Mammoth (professional lacrosse) in January. It is a group of boys from his school and so they enjoy playing and doing activities together. He just got his block of wood and wheels for his pinewood derby car and both Tom and Alex are itching to get it built.

Amanda started the year doing childcare for little Izzy, however, that came to an end in July and I was faced with the decision to try and do more childcare or something else. After much consideration, I decided to try and get a job waiting tables at Village Inn. I could work evenings when Tom was home and I would be free to help out in Alex and Callum's classrooms and do car shuttle to and from school. God was so good and I was able to walk in and ask for a job and get in. (My sister Melanie worked there and she put a good word in for me. :-) ) It has worked out really well!! I have also stayed busy with church and the kids activities.

Tom began his second year at Freelance Enterprises working on the edgebander. As the year went on he was given more responsibility in purchasing and ordering, some drafting, fork lift operator and materials handler. It has been a tough year for Freelance and when the opportunity came to apply at Coors, Tom decided to try and get a job at Coors. He started at Coors in December and is really liking it. (other than having to shave his beard because he can't stand wearing a beardnet. :-( ) He has also been very busy with school and will graduate from Red Rocks Community College with a degree in applied science in May. He will transfer to Metropolitan State in the fall and start working on a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology.

Some fun stuff......

We took a very fun camping trip in July. We went rock climbing (the boys were amazing), four wheeling (Amanda had to close her eyes several times), and we introduced the boys to BBguns. They had a great time shooting at pop cans.

In November we took an incredible trip to Hawaii to celebrate my grandparents (John and Peggy) 60th anniversary. The whole family (about 20 of us) all flew to Maui for 8 days right before Thanksgiving. It was amazing. We took the boys kayaking on the ocean and swimming with the sea turtles. They weren't very excited about snorkling, but our guide brought up a sea urchin, an octopus, and a sea sponge for them to see. They also saw the turtles swimming on the surface from the kayaks. We spent ALOT of time at the beech and swimming in the hotel pool. It was a very special time with my grandparents and we are so fortunate to have an amazing family.

I pray that as we celebrate the birth of our Lord, we really take the time to celebrate and be thankful for the blessings in our lives. The Lord is good, all the time and he can help us through anything. It is the hope of one day being in eternity with our Creator that gives me the love, perserverance, and joy to keep going everyday. Have a wonderful, blessed Christmas and an amazing 2011.

Love,

the Hoskins

Sarah

2010-08-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

More pictures on Facebook.

Summer 2010

2010-08-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends, It has been a wonderful summer and now we are getting ready for back to school next week. We started the summer with a trip to Missouri for my sister, Deanna's, graduation. We piled my mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, sister, her husband, and 5 kids under 7 years old into two vans and drove 14 hours to Columbia, MO on Friday, saw my sister graduate on Saturday and drove 14 hours home on Sunday. Yup, insane. The biggest story was a tick in Callum's ear. We pulled over somewhere in KS to let the kids out to run for a few minutes and a tick managed to crawl into Callum's upper ear. We were sitting down for dinner at a restaurant and I looked over a saw it. So, Melanie grabbed a cigarette lighter and I grabbed his head....we tried to make it hot enough to make the tick come out, but not burn Callum, be we were unsuccessful. Finally Mel just started aggravating the tick with a toothpick and it finally pulled it's head out. My grandma grabbed it in a napkin and by the time we were done we had the whole restaurant looking at us. Callum was amazingly calm and had a great time boasting that a tick was in his ear "sucking my blood." Other than a few missed exits, the trip went very smooth. It was exciting to see Deanna graduate. In June we had Sarah's first birthday. It was a beautiful day at the park and she ate a lot of chocolate cake. She has enough shoes to open up a shoe store and she loves wearing every one of them. She opens her shoe drawer finds a matching pair and brings them to me to put on her feet. She loves shoes. We spent the 4th of July up in Breakenridge at my grandparent's condo. We got to see fireworks on Friday night and Sunday night. We went to a wonderful concert in Dillon and then saw fireworks. On Saturday the boys went fishing and I think that over the course of the weekend, they caught over 30 fish. The boys (including Tom, my dad, and grandpa) were thrilled!! For my dad's birthday, he took us all to Lakeside Amusement Park. We started the evening in kiddie land and the kids loved the rides. After dinner, the bigger rides opened up. We rode a couple of bigger rides, and Ashlynn kept saying bigger....faster.....bigger....faster. I was the only one who would go on this ride that swings you upside down. All of the kids wanted to go on it and they had to have an adult go with them, but it is only a two seater ride. After three rides, I couldn't do it any longer. :-) We then moved onto the roller coaster. It is a big old wooden roller coaster that shakes you till you are crazy. Well, even Callum was "tall" enough, standing very tall, to go on the roller coaster and each adult took one of the kids. We got off and the kids were ecstatic!!!! Alex has been begging me to go again every day. We spent a weekend in mid-July on a camping trip to the Ironclads. It was an awesome weekend of four wheeling and rock climbing. We got the boys a climbing harness and they were amazing, expecially Alex. The last couple of weeks have been spent in swimming lessons and visiting with my friend, Marta. Callum loves the water, and poor Alex froze everyday, but he was so brave and improved everyday. With Marta, we went to the mountains and hiked Chicago Creek, went to visit some old friends, and I tried Indian food for the first time. She is headed to The Congo to be a medical missionary and I will miss her very much. Other news....Tom is working toward a drafting job at Freelance. He is trying to get a new edgebander trained, but the machine keeps running off any potentials. I am no longer doing child care and have decided to go back to waiting tables at Village Inn. Thankfully, I was able to get the job pretty easily and I'll have my days to shuddle kids back and forth to school and keep up with Sarah. Alex is starting 1st grade and Callum will be in afternoon preschool four days/week. Tom is also taking three classes this semester and is hoping to transfer possibly to Metro State next year. I hope and pray that this update finds all of you well. I pray God's grace and blessing on each of you.

Pictures

2010-05-28T10:09:00.001-07:00

Sarah's turning one

2010-05-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone, how about an update from the Hoskins!!! Wow, where to start??? I'll start with Sarah since she is sitting (no wait, standing) in front of me. She is growing so quickly. She is speaking in full sentences, okay you can't understand them, but she is an amazing talker. She loves patty cake and can do the whole rhyme with her hands. She is almost walking. She will take about four or five steps at a time. And she loves the applause. She is absolutely in love with Alex. He can make her smile on even the "worst" days. :-) She is extremely adventurous. She is very smart. She knows where the food closet is and how to ask for a snack, she knows how to brush her hair. I think that she is quite a smart 11 month old, but I'm biased. Callum........wow, what a kid!!!! He just grew enough to reach the faucet on the bathroom sink and it was an AWESOME discovery. He is playing soccer although he mostly goes out and dribbles the ball around regardless of what the coach or other kids are doing. He is a nonconformist to the max!!! He makes me laugh and cry everyday. He loves to ride his bike. He loves to jump on his trampoline, play with rollypollies ( I have found them in the car, in the house, in his shorts, in the laundry, in his hands, (as far as I know he hasn't eaten any. :-) ) He loves his cat, Figaro. I just asked him what he wants to tell the world and he said, "God is great, God is good, let the tiger go and he will go to his family, Amen." I just asked Alex what he wants to tell the world, "Hello everybody, I would like to tell you that God would bless you. He will also bless your sins. Sins are the bad things you do. And God blesses you, and tell the other world about God. And this is a note for you. And please don't shoot animals. And I pray for you that you are awesome." Alex is my analytical, thoughtful, wonderful almost first grader. He has LOVED school this year and is reading and writing like a pro. He loves to write and illustrate books. My favorite was his book about PeeWee. It was called, "Bad Dog, PeeWee." He says the best thing about kindergarten was doing my alphabet book. He is doing gymnastics right and has mastered the monkey bars. I loves bugs and has set up his own "bug pavilion" in his clubhouse complete with "activities." He loves the space and dinosaur and gem exhibit at the museum. Someday he and Tom are going to Mars. They are planning the trip even now. He is also helping Tom build a go cart out on the driveway. Lots of fun. He is looking forward to swimming lessons this summer and going to Hawaii in November. Tom is crazy busy. He is continuing to work two jobs and going to school. Exciting news....he just got a drafting position at Freelance. As soon as they find a replacement for him on the edgebander he will move into the office. He is very excited, but also very nervous. It is a great step in the direction of engineering which is what he wants to do after school. He has one more semester at Red Rocks and right now he is looking at an engineering program at Metro State in Denver. I'm just trying to keep up with everything. I'm still watching Izzy everyday and I'll also be watching Amber and Athena on and off this summer. I'm looking forward to taking the kids to the zoo, museum, and railroad museum. VBS starts in a couple of weeks and it is always a highlight in my year. We have about 300 kids come through our doors and the opportunity to share Christ with them is amazing. God puts together over 100 volunteers and it is awesome to see everyone working together with these kids. I pray that God continues to reveal himself in new and amazing ways in your lives. Have a beautiful summer. Amanda

It's Spring!!

2010-04-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family, wow time once again has flown. We are so excited about spring. Our tulips are blooming, the apple tree is about to bloom and there are BUGS!!!!!! The boys are in heaven with all of the bugs. Alex has set up his club house out back as a bug pavilion. He has containers with different kinds of bugs in them, on shelves, and even a little chair that you can sit in a hold the bugs. He loves to invite kids over to see it. He also has a worm farm in one of my flower pots. :-) Very cute. Callum just likes catching them. We have had a couple of big rain showers and they have found some giant earthworms. The boys als0 love riding bikes. Alex has learned to ride without training wheels. I had to run up and down the street with him about five times and he was off. ;-) My mom just moved back down to Arvada from Estes Park and we can take the bike path to her house. Both of them are looking forward to that. I have a little bike trailer that I can put Izzy and Sarah and we can go just about anywhere

Holy Cow

2010-02-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting on the couch checking my email and I see Callum run into the bathroom. I hear the lid flip up and I hear the plop!!! Victory!!! And then I hear, "Holy Cow!!!!" I bust out laughing and ask Callum why he said Holy Cow. "Because it is such a big poop." he says. Gotta love potty training. Dum Dum Suckers, thank you for another victory with poop in the potty.

Little Children

2010-01-20T20:09:00.000-08:00

So, Callum marches to the beat of his own drum. At Cubbies tonight, the teacher was reading the verse about Jesus saying "let the little children come to me." She asked the class who the little children were and everyone except Callum raised thier hands. The teacher turned to Callum and asked if he was a little child, and he promptly answered, "NO, I'm a BIG BOY!!" The teacher told me about it after class. He brings a smile to everyone he meets. :-)

Merry Christmas

2009-12-30T14:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone,

How wonderful is our God , who was, who is, and who is to come!!!! He has blessed us with so much this year. We are so grateful for our many friends and relatives who continue to love and support us as we face this adventure called life.

Tom started with Freelance Enterprises at the end of 2008 and has continued to have steady work there. He runs the edge-banding machine ad can also help out with pretty much any other job they throw at him. He has also continued to work for Uncle Brad doing odd jobs on the weekends. To add to his plate, he has continued his education at Red Rocks Community College. We are all very thankful that finals are over for this semester and we can have our daddy back for a little while. He is working toward a mechanical engineering degree and hopes to transfer to University of Colorado Denver within the next year.

Amanda started the year substitute teaching for Jeffco Public schools. She loves being in the classroom and someday hopes to go back to substitute teaching and possibly having a class of her own. But right now, being mommy is the fullest part of her life. She also started watching a little girl at home and is very thankful that she can stay home with Sarah.

Sarah joined us on June 10 and is a very healthy 6 month old. She has started to sit up and loves to watch the boys play and run around. she loves bananas and cereal and is growing up way too quickly. Her smile lights up any room and she is starting to giggle when you tickle her chin or play peek-a-boo.

Alex finished up preschool last May and is having a wonderful time in Kindergarten his year. He is excelling and loves to read and write. He received many different building sets for his 6th birthday and loves to put different creations together. He got very interested in the Solar System this year and his ceiling is all decked out in planets a stars. He still loves trains and is beginning to set up his permanent layout in his room.

Callum is so full of life. He makes me laugh everyday. He gives the best hugs and still crawls up in mommy's lap when he drinks his mild at night. His most recent fun time is putting on one of Tom's favorite 80's/90's music CD's and dancing. He can pull out dance moves with he best of them. He loves going to Cubbies and Bible study where he gets to go to his own class. His favorite time is singing the songs and he did a great job singing up on stage a couple of weeks ago.

Other fun things we did this year: got a couple of the cutest kittens for Alex and Callum, Sunshine and Figaro are their names; Went camping and had a great hike, but got so cold the first night that we went home at 7:00 the next night; Went camping for four days with grandma Becky, Papa Wayne, Jared, Melanie, Romin, and Ashlynn. Got rained on, but toughed it out and had a fabulous time. Alex took swimming lessons for the first time. Callum looked at his buttocks (see our blog for more details.) We are also on Facebook primarily for sharing photos. It has been fun to reconnect with some old friends as well.

I pray that 2009 was a blessed year and that in 2010 God will show himself to you in new and amazing ways. We serve an awesome God and I am so thankful that despite the hardships and trials of life here on earth that we can look forward to being in heaven one day with our Creator and Savior. A place of no pain and suffering where there is eternal joy and fullness. Happy Birthday baby Jesus. May we remember that is why we celebrate Christmas!! Many Blessings,

The Hoskins

PS: lots more pics on Facebook

Sarah's three months

2009-09-17T20:13:00.001-07:00

Hello friends, Time is once again flying in the Hoskins' household. I hope everyone had a wonderful summer. It sure went by fast for us. We had a busy summer of friends, family, and a couple of camping trips. The first trip we took was up Golden Gate Canyon. Well, I've lived in CO my whole life and didn't do my research. I thought that we would only be at 7500 ft. At the time, we only had two sleeping bags meant for the cold, so I let the boys use them, and I took blankets for Tom and I. Well, we froze to death!!!!! Oh my gosh, I was shivering I was so cold. I also forgot how cold I get camping and didn't pack my hat or wear a hoodie like I usually do. The boys slept great, but Tom and I didn't get much sleep at all. We were able to go for a beautiful hike the next day. The wild flowers are just gorgeous this year with all the rain that we have had. The boys had fun catching grasshoppers and chasing butterflies. After dinner that night, Sarah was very fussy and I was at the end of my rope and the thought of another freezing, sleepless night was just too much. I felt like our neighbors were tired of hearing a screeming baby, so I went into the car to just sit for a bit. As I was sitting in there, I thought, I'm going to tell Tom that I'm going home, and I'll pick him and the boys up tomorrow. I got out of the car and we were enjoying the campfire when I told Tom what I was thinking about in the car. He said, I can have this site broke down in 20 minutes. Obviously he wasn't looking forward to another cold night, either. So, we broke down camp...Alex was already asleep in the tent and we went home. We didn't get to bed until almost 11pm, but we were clean and warm. :-)

Our second trip went ALOT better. I was much better prepared. I took lots of warm clothes and we had warm sleeping bags this time. We went together with Mel's family and mom and dad and had a wonderful time. I almost didn't want to come home. We camped at a charming tent only campsite by a stream. There was a path that led straight from our campsite to some fun rocks for the kids to climb on. The dogs were able to chase squirrels to their hearts' content and except for a little rain, we couldn't complain about anything. Okay, maybe the smell. Because we have had so much rain this summer and we were by a stream, the whole campground smelled like a compost pile. Kinda rotting wood/vegetation. At first it was really bad, but you kinda got used to it. We saw some deer and had a wonderful time.

So, Alex has started Kindergarten and is loving it!!!! He is doing so well!! Right now they are studying fairy tales. They read them, act them out, draw about them, write about them, etc. On our camping trip, Alex told a very amusing version of Billy Goat's Gruff. Too fun!!!

Callum is still soooooo much fun!!! He got a couple of trampolines for his birthday and he jumps almost non-stop. He loves to dance and has a wonderful outlook on life. He is a free spirit. Just an example, he recently got a new kitty, all black, and named her, White. Alex is going nuts and refuses to call her White. Alex thinks the cat should be called Midnight. So now we will have a cat with a complex. :-) Alex got a kitty, too. A tigerstriped named Sunshine. Very cute. You can see pics at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144855&id=689655497&l=feab050bc3 You don't have to be a part of facebook to see the pics. But if you want to see more pics, I have several more albums on Facebook.

Sarah is now three months and smiling and "talking" like crazy. She is soooooooooo adorable. She did great camping. There are a couple of pics on the website above.

Tom is crazy busy with school and work right now. We are VERY thankful for the work. He is taking three classes this semester, so we don't get to see him a whole lot. :-)

I'm still doing childcare for an adorable 2 year old girl named Izzy. We have a lot of fun playing. My house is always full of toys, but also full of fun. I'm so thankful that I can stay at home with the baby this year.

That's pretty much it for now.

Blessings

Amanda

Callum's Buttocks

2009-07-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

So, Callum never ceases to "crack" me up on a daily basis..... The other morning, it was CRAZY, to say the least. I'm doing some childcare and everyone was just really cranky...anyway I'm TRYING to get Callum potty trained and I had sent him into the bathroom after an accident to change his clothes. I got distracted with the baby and I realized I hadn't seen Callum for a few minutes, so I went down the hallway and turned into the bathroom....I'm going to try to explain this as well as possible. There Callum was, completely naked, butt up in the air, head and feet down. (Hopefully you can visualize this.....) He had one hand on the floor and in the other hand he had my hand mirror between his legs pointed at his butt. I already knew the answer to my question, but I had to ask, "Callum, what are you doing?"....very seriously, he answered, "Looking at my buttocks." I don't how many of you have looked at your buttocks, but Callum was fascinated!! I just about exploded with laughter...After a very stressful morning, I'm so thankful or Callum's comic relief!!!!!

pictures of sarah

2009-07-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from the hospital for those of you not on Facebook. :-) She has already grown so much. Last week, she was already 8 pds/ 2 oz. She is eating, pooping, and sleeping!!! Trying to get her to sleep more at night. :-) The boys are doing great!! Alex is absolutely in love with her. He loves to hold her and sing to her. Callum has held her once, but mostly ignors her. He is just trying to figure everything out. It will be so much fun to see Sarah's personality come out. Alex and Callum are such opposites, we will see what Sarah has to say. I'll try to keep updates going.

Blessings

Amanda

Baby Sarah Update

2009-05-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hello friends, just wanted to let you know that we are looking forward to Baby Sarah's arrival!!!! It looks like mid-June unless I go into labor before then. Just wanted to post an update. Alex is finishing up his year at preschool. He has loved learning the sounds of the English language and he loves to write books and sound out words. Right now, he is loving learning about the planets and anything outer space. He still loves trains, too. He is so curious and asks great questions on a daily basis. He is sooooo excited about a new baby sister and he is ready to be a great big brother. He is going to do some swimming lessons this summer, and play on scooters with his new friend across the street. Callum is still lovin life. He is so full of fun and games. We are trying to get him potty trained, and as long as it is a game, he will try....but I run out of "game time" real quick. I know, I know, no kid ever went to college in diapers. :-) He is amazing with any sort of ball and right now has his heart set on baseball. His timing is amazing and he loves to go out and hit balls. Tom is still working for Freelance and is going to take trig this summer. He is trying to put up with a 8 month pregnant wife. But he gets to fishing on Saturday, so he is pretty excited about that. We have a camping trip planned for the first part of August, but other than that is should be a fairly relaxing summer. I am doing childcare for the cutest little girl and I'll be starting back with that mid-July. It is working out soo well, and we are very thankful!!!! Have a wonderful spring, we will update when the baby is born. Amanda

Baby Sarah Update

2009-04-22T07:31:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends! Just wanted to say a huge Thank You to all that have been praying for baby Sarah. We went for another ultrasound yesterday and it looks like the placenta has completely moved away from the cervix so the doctor said that I can try for a normal delivary!! Praise God!!! He said that she is already weighing about 4 pounds and she is very healthy!! So, we are now getting all of the baby things out and getting ready for our new arrival. Alex is so excited to see her. Callum is not sure what to expect, but hopefully he will adjust. :-) There is still some risk factors with doing normal delivary after my Cesarean with Callum, but we will take one thing at a time. Again, thank you to all that have been praying. Blessings Amanda

2009-04-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a beautiful Easter... just wanted to share about our day...

Our day was really "crazy" as usuall. Alex and Callum were up at 4:45AM telling us the Easter bunny had come......WAYYYYYYYY TOOOOO EARLLY.....but I was the same way growing up, so I just had to laugh. Tom was about to shoot them. I told them it was too early, but they wouldn't go back to bed, so they crawled in bed with us. So technically, there were 5 people in a queen size bed. Needless to say...Tom and I didn't get any more sleep. The boys drifted off for about 1/2 hour, but I had a boy in each arm, laying on my back...and I'm not suppose to be on my back,,,, so I had to get up after about 1/2 hour. Well, both of the boys woke up again and there wasn't any convincing them of going back to sleep....so we got up and did Easter baskets and eggs. They were soooo cute. We went over to my Aunt's house for Easter dinner. I was suppose to bring rolls, so I bought the easiest fresh rolls I could find. Basically, they are ready, you just have to put them in the oven for 7 minutes. I warmed the oven up, put them in and sat down to wait. The timer went off, I went around the corner and smoke was pouring out of my oven...when I opened it, smoke filled my kitchen and the smoke alarm went off. Well I had told the boys that if the smoke alarm every goes off to go outside....so they opened the back door....but it was raining outside, and I told them to close the door, that there wasn't a fire. So they came back in. I told them they did the right thing. Well, in all of the chaos, I didn't realize that PeeWee had also gone out the back door and when we got into the car to leave, we realized that PeeWee was gone. He had jumped the fence. Like I said, it was rainy and cold yesterday....so I called my Aunt, told her that we were going to be late and we went driving around our neighborhood looking for the dog. We found him after about 20 minutes and showed up at my Aunt's late with burnt rolls and a wet dog....:-) But it was really good to visit with everyone. So life continues to be "crazy" here at the Hoskins household. But when you look back, it makes you laugh, so I wouldn't have it any other way. Okay, so now that I've written a book, I'd better get back to cleaning my house.

2009-04-10T08:12:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends, time for another update. :-)

I hope that this Easter season finds us all reflecting on the wonderful Hope that we have in our Lord and Saviour. I know that many of us are hurting right now in this fallen world, not knowing why or what the future is going to look like. Well, I'm in that boat as well. I don't know what our future looks like, but I have a God who does. He loves me and ultimately when I stand in that love, the world becomes a little dimmer and the worries become more manageable. I have soooooooooo many things to be thankful for. Tom is working steadily!! The boys are very healthy and growing and make my heart so full everyday. Baby Sarah is very healthy and we are all waiting (for me very impatiently, :-) ) for her to be born. There is still some question about the placenta and if I will have to have another Cesarean and your prayers are greatly appreciated!!

So I do have to say that I am the worst mom when it comes to potty training! I think that it is the worse job as a mom!! I can handle when they throw up in your lap, I can handle when I have to send them to time out 10 times/day for hitting, I can handle green nose gunk. But, having the patience to "train" a child to go in the potty, not me. So Callum is working on going in the potty.....But I haven't pushed too hard. :-) Anyway, the other day, he took off his diaper and started singing "boom chicka wow wow, chicka wow wow..." and swinging his hips around. Absolutely hilarious!!!

Alex continues to amaze us. He loves to play chess and is starting to read. He recently befriended a boy across the street about his same age, and they love to ride scooters together. He is so excited for a new baby sister and loves to feel my tummy when she is moving around.

I'll try to post again after our next ultrasound. Here are some recent pics and you can see more on Facebook.

Have a beautiful Easter!

Amanda

IT's a GIRL!!!!

2009-02-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends, Well, we had our ultrasound and we are going to have a baby girl. We will probably name it Sarah, but not sure on a middle name yet. I am ecstatic!!!! Alex is also extremely excited. Tom says, "what am I going to do with a girl????" And if you ask Callum if he is going to have a baby sister, he loudly says, "NOOOO baby bruder." So far the pregnancy has been going great. We did find out that I probably have placenta previa again (I had it with Callum, it means that the placenta is partially covering the cervix.....it is why I had a cesarean with him) Anyway, I go to the doctor today to see what the plan is. If it is like Callum, they will go ahead and do the Cesarean about three weeks before my due date which has been pushed up to June 13. So we might have an end of May baby. The baby is doing very well!! Moving like crazy. Alex loves to talk to her and give her lots of kisses. Callum is just a tease. I wanted to get a couple of new photos posted. I hope that everyone is having a beautiful winter. I know that times are tough for a lot of people right now, but Thank You Lord, we have something bigger and better to look forward to in heaven!!!

Blessings

Amanda

2008-12-20T12:44:00.000-08:00

We rode on the Santa Express last week at the railroad museum

Christmas update

2008-12-13T06:49:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends, I pray that this Christmas season finds you very blessed. I know that I am counting my blessings everyday and we have many things to be thankful for. First and foremost, I thank the Lord for sending his Son, Jesus, to be the Savior of the world. I know that Callum and Alex are looking forward to singing happy birthday to Jesus in 2008. As life tends to do, we have had another year of ups and downs. Tom has had to go through a couple of job changes again, but we are very thankful to God for his faithfulness in providing jobs when needed. Another exciting thing is that Tom has started back to Red Rocks Community College to work on his associates degree with hopes of completing his engineering degree sometime in the future. Working at FracTech and learning the chemistry and engineering part of drilling oil sparked an interest for Tom that he is pursuing. Amanda loves being a mom and substitute teaching when needed. It is so much fun to be a part of my boys growing up. They are amazing and I am so privileged to be a part of their lives. It is also so much fun teaching for a change of pace. I have taught nearly all grade levels (K-12) and pretty much all subjects. I love the variety of substitute teaching. It keeps me on my toes (as if my boys don’t do that enough.) Alex turned 5 this year. He started preschool this fall and loves it. His teachers say that he is a friend to everyone, and it is so much fun to watch him work on his beginning sounds and learning how to read. He continues his interest in trains and he got his first HO scale train set for his birthday this year. Tom built a platform in Alex’s room and Alex loves to go in there, put on his engineering hat, and play with his train. He also continues to love gymnastics, riding his big wheels, and trying to keep Callum in line. Callum is 2 years old and FULL of life. He is such an entertainer and loves any attention he can get. Life is a game, and if you are willing to play, everyone has a great time. He makes me laugh every day. (Literally!!!!!) He also loves trains, Elmo, playing with Alex, riding bikes, soccer, and music. The greatest excitement around here is we found out we are going to have another baby!!!!! The boys are so excited and Alex is already picking out names. They both want a girl (so do I…..) But Tom is convinced it is another boy. I don’t have an exact due date yet, but it will be sometime in June. I am so blessed, I am sitting writing this letter and both of the boys are sitting on the back of the couch looking out the big window at the new snow with all of their stuffed animals. It is the first “big” snow of the season and they can’t get enough of it. They are soooooo adorable. I know that things are tough for many families this year, but my prayer for each of you is that you can find the greatest comfort and hope in our Lord and Savior, because without him, this life doesn’t mean much! I know that if I didn’t have the hope of one day being with my Savior, life would look pretty bleak right now. If you have questions or wonder what God is all about, I pray that you will seek the answers to those questions. God loves each and every one of you and he welcomes all with open, loving arms. Have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Update

2008-10-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone, here is a little fall update on the Hoskins' Household.

Callum turned two in July and continues to be a total clown. He has recently mastered riding a two wheel bike with training wheels and thinks that he is quite big stuff. "I go fast!." he says.

He also continues to cause as much mischief as possible and if he wasn't sooooo cute, he would be in much more trouble. The other day we were at my in laws house and we were eating lunch, which he decide he wasn't going to eat that day, so he went upstairs to play in the playroom. Well, it was way too quiet way too long and so I went upstairs and found him with a spray bottle of Shout stain prewash. He was "cleaning" grandma's dresser. "I cleaning" he told me quite seriously. Well, I took the bottle away from him and both his arms and part of his shirt was soaked. The only part not soaked was the stain right under his chin. It is always one thing after another. But there is usually a smile in the end. He keeps me on my toes.

Alex is becoming quite a boy! He will be turning five next week and feels very grown up. He started preschool this year and loves it. He is doing really well with beginning sounds and his favorite part is craft time. He tries to help me keep Callum in line, but I don't think there is anything that can do that. (And that's okay!!!) He still loves trains and the zoo! The picture above is Alex eating some corn that he grew in our garden this year.

Tom is going crazy trying to keep up with work and school. He can't wait until the semester is over. Slowly but surly he is working on an engineering degree. He is about 12 credit hours away from his associates and then we will see where he wants to finish.

I'm still substitute teaching and loving it. I have taught anything from kindergarten through 12th grade. All subjects and even quite a bit of special ed. (which I think is my favorite.) I love the small groups and each kid is so unique and wonderful. I am also going to start tutoring on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. I'm looking forward to that. They are kids that are recommended by the schools for a special program funded by No Child Left Behind. Also, we just found out last week that we are expecting number three!! He/She will be here sometime mid June. We are very excited!!!! So as always, the Hoskins contiue to keep life hoppin'. It is great and I thank God everyday for the family and friends that he has put into our lives. Some prayer requests: For Tom that he won't burn out. For Amanda's energy (and naseau). That the boys will continue to grow and love life.

We love you all and would love to hear from you. You can email hoskins2005@hotmail.com.

Have a blessed fall and wonderful Thanksgiving.

Amanda

Fall's almost here

2008-09-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends, The month of August has flown by and now September coolness is a welcome relief from the heat! The Hoskins continue to attempt to keep up with life. Tom is hopefully settled into a new job. We are hoping this one lasts a while. In July his office with FracTech suddenly closed and we were scampering to find another job. Tom was able to find a job with Badger Daylighting which is an industrial clean up/ trench digging company. It was very "icky" work and most of the time Tom came home smelling and looking like he had taken a mud bath everyday. So he continued to look for other options and a position at a cabinet shop became available and he started running their edge bander about two weeks ago. It is a middle size company that makes cabinets for offices and other commercial buildings. It is only 10 minutes away from our house and it is so wonderful to have him home for dinner every night. Tom is also doing a couple of online classes this fall so that keeps him out of trouble in the evenings. He is working toward his engineering degree. Alex started preschool this fall and is loving it. His favorite thing to do is art and playing with the toys and singing new silly songs. He always has a new adventure and he is loving life. One funny story...We were at McDonald's (yes, I hate to admit that we actually eat there every once in a great while......) anyway, there was a payphone by one of the doors and Alex asked me what it was. So, now I know that I'm getting old. I told him that it was what people used before they had cellphones, or if someone doesn't have a cellphone they can put money into it and call someone. He gave me a weird look and climbed into the car. You don't realize how time flies until this moments. Alex also did another round of gymnastics over the summer and can't wait to have another class in the spring. He still loves his Thomas trains the most and can now set up quite a track system in his room. The trick is keeping Callum out since Callum can now open doors. Which bring me to Callum. He just celebrated his two year old birthday and he is absolutely hilarious. If there is a crowd, Callum will be entertaining. He can put on the cutest expressions and I laugh everyday with him. He is always coming up with something new. It's hard to come up with one specific story, because every moment of life is "fun" for him. I am substitute teaching again this fall. I love being in the classroom, but it is really hard getting up at 5:30 to get the kids to either my grandparents or sister's house. I'm so thankful for their help. Here are a few pics, but if you want to see more, you can go to Facebook. I pray that fall can be a time of coolness and joy for each of you! Blessings, Amanda

Tom Found a JOB!!

2008-07-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

God is so amazing!!!! Tom found a job on Saturday and he starts tomorrow. It is driving a truck for an industrial cleaning company. The have a giant vacuum and giant pressure washer on their trucks and they clean up or clean out big spills. He is headed to Cheyenne tomorrow. We don't know exactly what his schedule will look like, but it is going to be way better than FracTech!! Thank you so much for your prayers. PRAISE GOD!!!!

Hello World!!!

2008-07-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone, wow, time can really fly. Just wanted to update news and a few pics. As our title says life continues to be an adventure. I am loving being mommy and wife. It is so much fun watching two amazing boys grow up. Alex will be starting preschool this fall and is really excited about it. He loves doing gymnastics, playing with his Thomas trains, and trying to keep his younger brother in line. Callum is into balls, anything musical, and trying to be the most annoying little brother possible. He is looking forward to his two year birthday at the end of July. They do have their precious moments though. Our backyard isn't completely landscaped yet and there is still quite a bit of dirt, which turns into mud (the boys love!!) and once it dries it cracks and becomes dirt clods. Well, the other day the boys spent an hour at "work" with their hard hats on pulling up the dirt. Very Cute.

I'm staying busy watching a couple of neighbor girls this summer and doing the household stuff. I loved substitute teaching last year and hope to start doing that again in the fall. My family has been so wonderful helping out watching the boys here and there while I teach. I think that it does us all a bit of good.

One of the highlights so far this year was a mini-vacation to Florida. Callum flew for the first time and added airport and airplane to his vocabulary. Also bridge, beach, sand, and waves. We went to visit Sarah and JJ in Clearwater and everywhere you go, you go over bridges. The boys loved seeing the boats and playing on the beach. We even got a sand castle together before Callum came and knocked it down. Tom tried some deep water fishing but was a little disappointed with his two twelve inch fish. There were a couple of other people that caught bigger fish...but it just wasn't the right time for the "big one." It was so wonderful to relax for a few days on the beautiful beach and it was really good to visit with Sarah and JJ again.

I hope this post finds you all well. Our biggest issue right now is Tom finding a job again. He has really liked working for FracTech, but corporate decided that the Greeley office wasn't making enough money, so they are shutting it down. They offered to transfer him to Pennsylvania, but the offer wasn't very good. Thankfully, he has been able to stick around and help close the office, but we are trusting God for a job opening up soon.

Hopefully it won't take seven months for me to repost. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

More Doggie pics

2007-11-18T15:06:00.000-08:00

New Doggie

2007-11-18T14:56:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of our new doggie. His name is PeeWee (already named and Alex didn't want to change it and he responds really well to it...the dog that is, not Alex) Anyway, he is about 4 years old and they think a basset hound/lab/(possibly) corgie mix. He is a great dog. Very timid, but a lot of fun with a ball. The boys love him (Tom does too). Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and God bless!!

Tables by Tom

2007-11-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone, here are a couple of pics of tables that Tom made for his company. He is doing really well and just got another promotion to facilites manager and director of new development. He is currently working on a building project to expand their buildings. I have started substitute teaching and absolutely love it. I love the variety and flexibility. Alex just had his fourth birthday and is loving playing with his new toys. I'll post pics of the birthdays as soon as I get them. God bless you today!!! Amanda

Not Moving

2007-09-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

so as i'm reviewing my post i realize that i need to update. we are not moving anymore. God has closed some doors to us getting up to Greeley right now. So we are waiting to see what He has in store for us. In the meantime, I've got some great books on tape for Tom! Thank you all for your prayers!! We continue to seek God's direction for us.

Picking up cones

2007-09-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

So Alex taught me another lesson today. They are putting in new sidewalks along our block right now and they have cones lining each side of the road to keep cars out of the ditch. We were walking home from the park tonight and Alex noticed that several of the cones were tipped over. He said mom, can I put the cones back up? "Sure," I said, thinking that he would just put up the two in front of us. But no, when he was done with those, he wanted to cross the street and do the next street, and then the next. Even when I told him that we weren't going on, he insisted, so on we walked. When he got all done, he said, "Mom, the workers are going to be so happy tomorrow cause all of the cones are back up." Here I thought that his motivation was just to "put them right." He told me, "Mom, I'm a hard worker, huh." But he wanted to help and work hard and make someone happy. I have a lot to learn. How do you change the world. Pick up one fallen cone at a time.

Anyone need a rental

2007-09-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends, due to the crazy housing market right now, we have decided to rent our house. If you know of anyone who needs a wonderful house, please let us know. Here are some pics. Tom still loves his job and we are trying to get up to Greeley asap. I'm going crazy trying to get us up there, but overall God knows what is best and we are looking for direction from him. The boys are getting bigger everyday too. Here are some recent pics.

Love ya all and God bless

Amanda

Are the Hoskins still alive???

2007-05-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

So I think that the last time I posted something was March....So once again, craziness reigns in the Hoskins' Household. Tom started his new job mid-April for FracTech and loves it. He is learning how to drive big trucks as well as doing maintenance. He just completed a conference table for them that he has totally enjoyed making. Woodworking is a passion of his and now he is getting paid for it. Rumor has it that they want to build several other buildings on site and he will probably be in charge of the construction. The only down side is that he has to drive to Greeley everyday. (A little over an hour one way). But that brings us to the other new thing brewing. We are going to try and move (AGAIN!!!) up to Greeley to be closer to work and to try and cut some living costs. Tom and I are both ready to get out of the city. We really feel it is where God is leading us. Please pray that if God wants us there, things will go well. The covenant chruch is planting a church up there that we would love to be a part of. So the moving boxes are coming out once again. And of course, life continues on...Alex is now 31/2 and loving life. He loves to play with worms, and rolly pollies. He just did another round of gymnastics and he will do some swimming lessons this summer. We are having a great time planting a garden and just doing lots of stuff outside. Callum is growing like a weed. I just took him for his 9 month doc's visit and he is now 19pds, 3 oz. He is loving solid foods...Cheerios, peas, pretty much anything I put in front of him. (Very different than Alex) Here are a couple of more recent photos.

Oh my gosh, where has the time gone!

2007-03-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone. I can't believe that it has been three almost four months since I have updated this blog. Wow, a lot has happened. God has blessed us immensely lately through some hard stuff. If you want the whole story, just email me and I'll give you the details. Basically we were in some financial trouble and God orchestrated an amazing story to help us move forward. We are so thankful to be surrounded by incredible family and friends!!! Also, to add to the craziness, the company Tom started working for in October declared bankruptcy, so things have kinda been on the edge the last month or so. But thankfully Tom has found a new job with FracTech. He is changing industries completely. He is kinda glad to get out of the construction industry. He will be operating heavy machinery for this company. Basically they go into existing oil wells and create a controlled earthquake to break up the earth and get the oil flowing better. Right now he is looking at a weeks worth of training either in Parachute, CO or in Texas. It is kinda crazy trying to plan anything cause we don't know what his schedule is going to be. So other than that things are pushing along. The boys continue to grow and change weekly. Callum is rolling all over the place now. Alex is loving that Callum can interact with him. He is pretty good at making Callum laugh. Well, who wouldn't laugh at a monkey. He is going to be doing gymnastics again starting next week and is really looking forward to it. I'm still plugging away at childcare and hope to start substitute teaching in the fall after Callum get a little older. Speaking of which, he is screaming for a bottle right now (his favorite thing to do is eat. :-) ) So I'll get this published. We would love to hear from you

God bless you this Easter Season. We have so much to be thankful for!

Callum's Five Months!

2007-01-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, we had some portraits taken. Callum's growing like a weed.

November, December

2006-12-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! What an amazing year. New house, new baby, new jobs, craziness. I kinda hope that 2007 isn't quite as exciting. :-)

Here's a summary:

December 2005: Found out we were pregnant!

January 2006: Bought our first house

February: Moved into our new house

March: Tom started new job with Basement's Direct

April: Deep Breath

May: Amanda Graduated from Metro State

June: Deep Breath

July: Had our new baby, Callum Thomas Hoskins

August: Deep Breath!

September: Amanda started doing childcare for several MOPS groups

October: Tom started new job with Higgins Design and Build

November: Alex had his 3rd birthday

December: Christmas!!!!

That's a summary! We would love to hear from all of you!

Just in case you didn't get it

New address: 6213 Gray Street, Arvada, CO 80003

Telephone: 303 424 0132

Love you all,

Tom Amanda Alex and Callum

Halloween, Callum's Three months

2006-11-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

Lots has happened this last month. We had a great time trick or treating this year. Alex was, yes you guessed it, Thomas the Tank Engine. We carved pumpkins about a week ago and Alex wasn't too keen on the pumpkin guts. I opened it up and he looked inside and said "pew!!!!" He wouldn't even stick his hand inside. He has this aversion to stringy things. Anyway, I dug out all the gunk, and then I carved out the first eye. I pulled it out a little ways and then had Alex pull it out. When he touched it I screamed, "Oh, my eye!!!!" I didn't mean to scare him that bad, but he almost fell off the chair he jumped back. Poor guy. :-) He like lighting them up once we were finished. (FYI: if you carve a pumpkin over a week before Halloween and you have warm weather, nice green mold starts growing very quickly) Our pumpkins were pretty spooky on Halloween night.

Callum is changing rapidly, growing like crazy. Here are some recent pics. Have a wonderful Fall and God bless!

Lightening McQueen

2006-10-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun seeing Lightening McQueen at the Children's Museum yesterday!

Callum's two months old!

2006-10-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

Callum just had his two month checkup. Here are some pics. He weighs 11pds 15 oz. He is a very healthy baby. :-)

Choo Choo!

2006-10-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we rode the Georgetown Loop train up in the mountains. It was a gorgeous day. The aspen were brilliantly yellow and the weather was a perfect 65 degrees. We rode with my parents, my sister's family, and my grandparents. What a thrill! Here are some pics.

Prayers Please

2006-09-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, we have some tragic news. A really good friend of Tom's and his dad died this weekend in a freak accident. Please pray for the Torrey family. Thank you!

Dead bird anyone?

2006-09-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

So, today Alex was playing outside by himself in our backyard. He was wearing bib overall shorts.... Petty soon he comes running to the door yelling, "mommy, mommy, a sea gull, a sea gull." I'm thinking to myself, "what in the world." He comes inside and is pulling out the front pocket of his overalls and pointing at something in there saying, "a sea gull, a sea gull." I"m still totally baffled and I look into the pocket an see something gray that looks like a rock. "okay, maybe it is a rock that looks like a bird," i think to myself. I reach into the pocket to pull out the rock and I grab something that is soft and feathery. AHHHHHH, I realized that it is a dead bird. After totally freaking out and almost throwing up, I grab Alex's hands and then I rip off his overalls and drag him to the bathroom and disinfect both of us. I had to shake his overalls hard cause the bird was stuck in the pocket. ( He must have really had to stuff it in.) So, I'm still freaking out inside, but outside I calmly explain that we never touch dead birds cause they are icky and can make us sick. So, you gotta love it. :-)

A fast month!

2006-08-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, Wow, it has been a fast month. Callum celebrated his one month birthday yesterday. I know that I've promised to post some pictures so here they are. Alex absolutely loves his new brother. He can't wait for him to walk so that "I can take him places." says Alex. We are so thankful for all of your prayers and encouragement! Thank you. Both Callum and Amanda are healthy and doing very well. Here are some pictures....

Callum's almost here!

2006-07-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hello, just wanted to update this cause the next few weeks are going to be crazy, not in the sense of crazy busy, but I know that my mind is not going to be where it usually is. Okay, my mind is already gone :-) , so I'll make this quick. Just to give you an update... Because of our complications with this pregnancy, the doc's have decided to do a cesarean the first week of August. So, everything has been pushed up a little. We are so excited to see baby Callum early. (Especially Amanda, I don't have to go through three more weeks of being pregnant in August!) Alex is very excited. We have gotten out the baby things and he loves looking at the little diapers and going through all of the baby toys we had in storage for a couple of years. We do ask for your prayers that week. I don't have an exact date, but we will let everyone know when it happens. And of course put up a few pictures. :-)

Alex's latest booboo

2006-05-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Here's is Alex's latest booboo (although Ethan definately has him beat) He was swinging at the park on a big kid swing and let go with one hand to itch his nose or something. Next instant, he's done a faceplant off the swing. He cried for a little bit, but was back on the swing within a couple of minutes. He's a tough kid. Things have kinda slowed down for Amanda right now. I graduated on Mother's Day. Kinda weird that I'm officially a college graduate. The baby is growing well. I go in for another ultrasound on June 2 to get everything checked out. It's going to be a long hot summer, but I can't wait for our new little boy. Tom is extremely busy with work. Most days he is liking being a project manager. Even though it comes with all of the complaints from the homeowners and subs, it's nice that he isn't killing himself physically everyday. He still gets his hands dirty enough to keep him out of trouble. I'll try and post a little more often, now that I have a little extra time. Ha Ha

It's a boy!!!

2006-04-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Alex and his cousin Ashlynn Easter Alex and his snowman up at Grandma's house Hello Friends We had our ultrasound today and found out that we have a very healthy active baby boy. Everything checked out great with the baby and he should be here sometime around the 23rd of August. So that is the big news around here. Other than that, Amanda is looking forward to graduating in three weeks, Tom is super busy but super happy with his new job, and Alex is loving the warm weather and playing outside. We love you all!

Quick little update on Baby and Job

2006-03-09T08:16:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone, Just wanted to give you a quick update on the Hoskins' Household. Baby Hoskins is doing well. Went to the doctor yesterday and everything looks great. We are looking forward to the 22 week ultrasound!!! We will probably find out what it is if we can cause I'm not the most patient person. Things are settling down around here. Tom loves his new job. Thanks to all of you who have been praying over that situation. He is working for Basements Direct managing projects and also doing some trim work. No more drywall!!!! He works long days, but is very happy right now. Alex is as busy as ever. Talking every minute of the day. He loves trains (he is a little obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine), playing outside, and watching Bob the Builder. He has just finished up his gymnastics class and I think we will try swimming next. I can't believe I'm almost half way through the semester. Wow, I can't believe that I'm actually graduating. It has been a little tougher getting homework done this semester, but so far so good. The boxes are dwindling around the house and with the warmer weather, I'm looking foward to working in the yard a little bit.

I hope that you all have a wonderful spring. My mom has instilled how spring is such wonderful time of renewal and awakening. I pray that God will renew or awaken something new in each and every one of your lives.

God Bless!!!!

Are we settled yet?

2006-02-12T12:32:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, the big move was last weekend! Thank you to the 20 or so people that helped us get our stuff from the west side of Arvada to the east side!!!! We are adjusting to our new house. It is in a great neighborhood. It is a little three bedroom with no basement or garage, so storage is a little tight, but once Tom get's a garage built, it will be awesome. We have started to experience first hand what it means to own a home...that means when the furnace goes out, it is your problem....when the sink is leaking, it's your problem.... Oh the joys of owning your own home. But Tom does like to able to fix his own house. Alex is doing great. He loves his new room and is settling in probably the best out of the three of us. :-) He is an amazing kid. I emailed everyone our new address and phone numbers. Let me know if you didnt' get it. Now, we are looking forward to Tom finding a more permanent job and for me to graduate in May!!!! Wow, it's actually happening. Alex is keeping busy with gymnastics and his friends at small group on Monday nights. Right now he is up at grandma and grandpa's in the mountains. He loves it. Well, as as far as settling in....does that every really happen? I guess I'll give it a try. :-) Love you all and God bless!!!!

Packing, Packing!

2006-01-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

We are packing packing. It looks like we will be moving on the 3rd and 4th of January to our new place. I think that Alex is excited. I don't think he really knows what is going on. Last week, we had a horrible week at night with him. He would wake up multiple times and just scream. In the past, we have just let him cry a little and then he would go back to sleep, but not this time. We were kinda hoping to switch from the crib to the big boy bed when we moved, but I think that Alex was telling us that it is time! We switched him last Friday night and things have been better. He still wakes up at night, but he doesn't cry anymore and it is really nice that he can just come in in the morning. I am usually pretty tired. You gatta love pregnancy fatigue. By 8:00 at night, I'm done. :-) I finally made my first doc's appointment for February 7. Happy Birthday to me. :-) Our next big step is Tom trying to find a job. His got about 40 resumes out there. We pray that God will provide the right one. Wow, this is a really boring post, but I just wanted to update everyone. We love you! Amanda

Crazy, Crazy

2006-01-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! I'm not sure where to start? :-) Well, I guess from the beginning... About couple of days before Christmas, I found out I was pregnant again. We should have a new little Hoskins sometime late August. We are very excited. Alex wants a little sister. (Mom does too) About a week before we found out that I was pregnant, we found out that we could qualify to buy a house. We had just contacted a random thing online, and then we started to seriously talk about buying a house and the next thing we know we start looking. We where very limited on our price, so we were looking at fixer-uppers, but just didn't find any that would fit our needs and budget. We switched realtors and and our new one, Lori is a spit-fire-get-it-done-now type of person. So we were looking all over the place right before Christmas and we put a contract on a house in Wheat Ridge right before Christmas. It was a major fixer-upper, but had huge potential and Tom loved it. Well during the inspection the next week (in between Christmas and New years) we found out that it actually had major problems, and I just wasn't willing to put that much effort into a house. Sorry Tom. :-( He was really diappointed and wanted to call the whole thing off and Lori called the next day and asked Tom to look at another house. He looked at it and showed me the pamphlet over New Years (we were up at my grandparent's condo in Breakenridge) and I looked at it Monday and we signed another contract. Needless to say the last few weeks have been a blur. Lots of ups and downs. :-) We have the inpection on the house today, but I don't foresee any problems. So, if all goes well, we will close Feb 1 and move sometime in February. It is an adorable little house in Arvada (yea!) but it doesn't have a garage (boo). But we know a really great guy who knows how to build things..... Yes, Tom's pretty excited about being able to build a garage to his specifications. :-) So that's our project for now. Alex is going to do gymnastics again. He loved kicking on the balance beam last fall. I'll try to update a little more often now. Love ya all

It beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

2005-12-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends and Family, I just wanted to take a minute and give everyone a little update. Amanda has one more week this semester!!!! And I found out that I can graduate this Spring!!! We just put up our Christmas tree last night. Alex is loving it. He just stands there transfixed and then starts naming all of the decorations. He is so cute! Here a pic. Sorry it is so fuzzy. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas season. Thank you God for Jesus!

Alex's Birthday!

2005-11-01T08:34:00.000-08:00

Alex had his birthday parties last weekend. He had a huge grin on his face when we sang happy birthday to him and blowing out candles was a highlight. He wants to do it everyday!

"I like holes!!!!"

2005-10-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, Alex was playing outside with the girls that babysit him across the street. Anna has a frisbee that has a dent in the middle so that you can put it on your finger and spin it around. Alex was holding the frisbee and putting it on his finger and all of the sudden he shouted, "I like holes!" It was the funniest most random comment. Now because he got such a great reaction out of the comment, he goes around saying it at least 30 times a day. :-)

Leaves!!!

2005-10-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Well, with our Indian Summer, the leaves have taken longer this year to change, but finally I think that fall is here. Alex is having a great time playing in the leaves. He loves to jump in them and bury Tom. :-) I hope that everyone has a wonderful fall!

Tom's Birthday!

2005-10-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, yes Tom is getting older. :-) He just turned 27!!!! We had a little get together with Tom's family last Sunday. It was great to see everyone again. Tom's grandma had surgery Tuesday on her back, so it will be awhile till she is ready to party again. Please pray for the family to be a great support! Happy Birthday Tom!!!!

Alex's

2005-10-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Here is Alex in his element. He is so much fun. If he can get by without his clothes, he does.

Hello from the Hoskins!

2005-10-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hello, I've decided to enter the world of blogging. Yes, it is even more unpersonal than the mass email, but as I have seen other blogs, it is a great way to stay up to date with your friends' lives. Stay tuned.....