Storm Damage at the West Home

Thought we might share with you the results of the a severe rain storm that hit our house in Northwest Indiana this past week. We are lucky since others didn't fair as well as we did. The water extended well into the middle of our yard. Just to give you an idea how much water we had in our backyard-Look at the end of that piece of wood and that is how far the water went. The trees in our back yard were saturated and the roots didn't have anything to hold on to. We lost several more trees but luckily that didn't hit our fence. The sump pump that never turns on in our crawl space turned on and still continues to run. Thank God our crawl space didn't flood. Nicki's sister's crawl space did unfortunately flood. Nicki's parents were close to being evacuated by boat but fortunately they didn't have to leave their home of over 30 years. They didn't sustain any damage to their home except a very soaked yard. James's mom and step-dad Ed didn't have any damage/flooding either. The kids didn't have school for two days since their school flooded in downtown Hobart. The children are going back to school tomorrow without a lunchroom, music, art, or science lab. Those areas are in the basement where it flooded and they have to blocked off until the areas are properly sanitized. As far as IUN is concerned (Nicki's work place as well as her sister and mothers work place too) the campus is closed and underwater for week. We don't know when the campus will open. We keep you posted. We will continue to pray for those less fortunate as us

We have an official TV star in the Family-ANDREW

We our proud to announce that Andrew has landed a role on the television show on the CW network called "Privileged". He plays Max the ex-boyfriend of one of the main characters-Rose. Here are two pictures from upcoming scenes. In case you missed the show last Tuesday it will be on again this Sunday on WGN/CW network at 7pm central. He will be in the next two episodes after that on Tuesday 9/23 and 9/30 at 8pm central time. We are very proud of him and his siblings think it is so cool to see their big bro on TV. Andrew will also be on another show that is currently in production on the Lifetime network called "Rita Rocks". We will let you know when it premieres. He has only been pursuing acting for only about 2 yrs and look how far he has come. Must be those good "West" genes. Who knows maybe Andrew is the next Brad Pitt.

Joshua's Tractor Bed-It's Finally Done!

James finally finished Joshua's tractor bed that his Papa Mustache built for him (Only took James 8 months). It is painted with John Deere green paint too. James still needs to paint and attach the cab and wheels. He went right to sleep in it and has slept every night in his bed. What a relief ! Before he was in a toddler bed and every night he woke up and ended up in our bed. He has John Deere sheets and a comforter to go with his bed. When James finishes the rest of the bed I will post the pictures. Joshua looks so cute when he is sleeping don't you think? I wonder if he is dreaming about driving a John Deere tractor.

Joshua'a First Day of School Sept 2nd

Here is a picture of Josh on his first day of Pre-K 4yr old class. Mrs. Silich is his teacher along with Mrs. Barker (not pictured) He looks so grown up. He turned his back pack around so you could see his Diego back pack. He picked it out himself. Joshua goes everyday M-F for 1/2 a day. He has already worked on writing the letters A and B as well as the number 1. Joshua knows how to spell his name and we are working on writing his name. He has got the handwriting of a doctor if you know what I mean.

First Day of School for the Girls

Yesterday was the first day of school for the girls. The girls needed to bring three bags to carry all of their school supplies! I took a picture of the girls before we left for school in front of the house and then when they got to school and we're waiting in the school gym. Finally, here is a picture of Jamee with her new 2nd Grade teacher Mrs. Lococo. Josh was upset because he didn't start school yet. He starts on Sept. 2nd so check back to see pics of his first day next week.

A Visit with Josh's OT-Kelly

Joshua's former occupational therapist, Kelly, was back in town from the US Virgin Islands and we got the chance to visit with her during breakfast today. She moved there to help other children who are in need of Occupational Therapy in the Virgin Islands. It was so nice of her to take time out of her limited time to visit with us. She kind of became part of the family since we saw her every week for a year and she helped Joshua so much. We are very grateful to her for the wonderful job she did with him. Those kids in the Virgin Islands have the best OT and are very lucky children! We don't know what we would have done without her. Josh was sooooo happy to see her and he remembers her very fondly as so do all of us in the West family. Hopefully when she comes back to the US in December we can meet with her again.

School Pictures

Here are the latest new pictures of the West Kids. They were taken at Walmart. Walmart did a wonderful job as usual and for a great price! This is Jamee first toothless picture. Isn't she adorable? She lost another tooth the other day. That makes a total of three! Josh surprisingly did well taking the pictures. Anne Mari looks so grown up. The girls were sporting new hairdos. We visited the beauty shop earlier in the day. They got their hair cut for school. School starts Aug. 25th! Yeah! We will post the first day of school pictures when the big day arrives.