Playing and practicing....

Elisabeth is starting soccer next week with Todd as her coach. They were outside practicing tonight with Isabella's help, of course :) She is determine to 'kick some ass' this season. I would normally scold her for swearing but this new competitive side of her is kind of cute!

PLEASE PRAY!!!!

I follow a blog about a young woman who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis. Her only dream was to have a baby....she found out she was pregnant the day she was supposed to start physical therapy for a double lung transplant. Knowing how dangerous this would be for her health, she carried this baby for as long as her body would allow. At 4 months pregnant, she was anesthetized, intubated, and ventilated. A team of 30 doctors preformed the section and baby Gwyneth was born at 1 pound :) That was in January 2008 and since then, Tricia has been waiting for a new set of lungs while staying at Duke (she is on one floor and the baby is on another). I just read their blog and the doctors have told them that they may have a match. Please go to Tricia's husband's blog, read their story, and pray....
http://cfhusband.blogspot.com

Thank you...

Can you say, "HELP ME!!!!"

Todd and I disagree on many things-usually not the important ones that matter in life, though. One of those non-important things is that I believe in dumping (as in 'in the garbage) and he believes in savings ( as in 'everything and anything that touches his fingers'). When we got married and moved into an apartment with no basement, we had to rent a storage space. It was one of the worst days of my life emptying that thing (with the help of my parents) and then transferring it to basement of our house. Boxes and boxes and boxes of things ranging from COLLEGE papers to previous jobs he has had. I won't even mention the golf magazines, articles, and balls!! UGH! One of my goals for this year is to clean out our basement so that only the necessary items are down there. I went through 6 humongous boxes of Elisabeth's old clothes and got rid of all of them. I also organized the Christmas, Easter, and Halloween boxes-nice and neat. He is still down there-because I feared if I didn't leave, I would file for divorce. The man will not let go of ANYTHING!!! Every drawer, box, cooler, bag, box-big and small-has something of his in it. And he can't just take a peek and pitch...he has to go through each and every item. If I could get away with taking a picture, I would. He is not too happy with me right now and I fear for my life when he reads this post-memorize it, my friends, because it probably won't be on here long :)

By the way-as we were sorting things-we found the date we started dating. March 30, 1988. Happy 20th Anniversary, My Sweet Little Pack Rat :)

Conversations with Isabella

Me: Did you go to Bonnie's today?
Bella: Bonnie's?

Me: Did you see Tanner?
Bella: Tanner?

Me: Did you eat some eggs?
Bella: Eggs?

Me: Where did you take a nap?
Bella: Nap?

Me: Did you go for a walk?
Bella: Walk?

Me: Do you want apple drink or ice cream?
Bella: Ice cream?

Me: Do you want ice cream or apple drink?
Bella: Apple drink?

Exciting, huh??

Pictures!!!

STARRING...................Little Lucy as the EASTER BUNNY!!!!

Our newly painted room.

Liam and Lucy coloring Easter eggs :)

Isabella posing with the dreaded Easter Bunny.
Todd and Elisabeth painting the computer/play room.

Isabella and Elisabeth sharing hot chocolate and brownies after playing outside.
Thanks Liam and Lucy for our new BEE Movie!!!

Easter Weekend Happenings

Our weekend at home was nice...although I missed being with family on Easter. It was too cold here to wear dresses so the kids went to church in comfy clothes. Afterwards, we went to a local restaurant to have lunch....I like to refer to it as a 'barf-et'. It was so yucky and so EXPENSIVE but Elisabeth loved it. If you know anything about Elisabeth, she HATES to eat out. I think it is because that is all we have done her whole life...eat out. She ate at TGI Fridays when she was 2 days old-well, she sat and I ate. Anyway, she was thrilled with this buffet-turkey, dressing, potatoes, dessert. YUCK! I swear my cooking would have tasted better. And we found out Isabella's new kick for praying extends to restaurants also. As we were sitting there eating, out go her hands and down goes her head. TWICE!!! What a good girl.

We accomplished one major house-related goal...I whined enough that I got the computer/playroom painted (and the downstairs bathroom!!). I like to call it 'the color of Isabella's diarrhea when she had that 2 week virus from eating bad meat'. Very pretty once it is up on the walls-minus the horrible smell. :) Seriously, it is very nice and looks so much better than the blah white that was up there. Now we just need to tackle the family room and the whole house will be done!! I'll post pictures once the photos are up on the walls.

My Little Christian

Isabella, bound for missionary work I am sure, has taken up praying. As soon as we sit down for dinner, her hands go out (to hold ours) and she bows her head. At the end, she yells "AMEN"!! Then as soon as she is done eating, which is usually 5 minutes after we sit down, she puts her hands out and wants to pray AGAIN! At night time, the only way we can get her up to her room without crying, is to promise her she can say her prayers. Down on her knees she goes, her little hands folded, and her head down. I personally think she is thanking God for helping her find her forever family :)

Rebekah in Alaska

Rebekah, my younger sister, lives in Alaska where she works as a nurse in a hospital and on one of Anchorage's flight teams. She has done some pretty remarkable things in her life - none of which I would ever attempt to do. These pictures were taken a few days ago...she and her new 'like' in her life (Beau) drove to some unknown place, take a snowmobile 20 miles (yes, I said 20 FRICKIN' miles) to another unknown place, and stayed in a cabin (WITH NO ELECTRICITY) for 3 days. I really don't believe we came from the same parents. NO TV.....NO INTERNET....NO RESTAURANTS.....and she calls it a VACATION!!! I will admit the scenery is beautiful and so is the new boyfriend :)

Dancing to the tunes...

While Isabella was with my mom for a few days, she discovered the incredible Christian Toddler Tunes VCR tape. It must have been made in the 70's. And the delightful tunes are so catchy that you end up humming them all day long. How nice for everyone around you.

Early Easter Celebration

Easter 2007
Easter 2008
Easter 2007

Easter 2008


Because we just spent a week in Syracuse, we've decided (tear, tear) to stay home for Easter this year so we celebrated it a week early with her. I know my mom is dying to have all us back, including our 3 dogs, but I am sure she will find something to pass the time-like drive to Canada on her birthday to pick up my grandmother and my cousin's 3 Collie's.

2, 6, 8

On the way back home from Syracuse, I handed a very grumpy Isabella 3 M & M's to shut her up. For the fun of it, I asked her how many there were and she counted "2, 6, 8" and then looked up at me and smiled. Maybe she wished there were 8 in her hand. Who says watching Dora 24/7 is bad for the brain???

Please keep my cousin and her husband in your prayers. They will be leaving for Hanoi, Vietnam a week from tomorrow to get their 1 year old daughter from Hoa Binh orphanage. Isabella cannot wait to get her BFF home :) Elisabeth is beyond excited to share the limelight with one more pretty princess from Vietnam (just kidding....) :) I will post pictures as soon as I get them!

4 WORD SENTENCE!!!!

"No drin da wa-er!"

Isabella said this tonight in the hot tub after drinking a gallon of 100 degree water after being repeatedly told not to. Last night, I stood her on the snowy deck for 10 seconds as punishment. Tonight I thought I could get it through her head to NOT drink the water so I said this to her over and over...NO DRINKING THE WATER!! After her last gulp, she turned to me and repeated it :) I guess we will have a wet diaper tonight!

Nothing to report....

This has been a very relaxing spring break...sleeping, eating, watching tv, and shopping. If it were 90 degrees out, it would be almost perfect :) OH, and you would have to throw in a pool if it were that hot and THEN it would be perfect. The kids have been angels except for right now-Bella is back in bed because she is a nasty ass. I can't decide whether to go in and pick her up or just let her cry. She didn't sleep very well last night (which means I didn't either) so I know she is overtired. I feel myself getting weak.....but my mother is weaker-she just went in and got her :)

New Pictures

Intruders at Nanny Camp

We arrived in Syracuse on Friday night. I think mom was about to shut down Nanny Camp. The director and owner was tired out and quite happy to see the family arrive for their child :) Todd has returned home to PA but we are here for the week....it has been snowing on and off for the past 24 hours. We hope to make it to the outlets in Waterloo and maybe to Canada to see my cousin and her husband before they leave to get their new baby daughter.

Day 3 at Nanny Camp

Check out my new shoes and coat!
Stretch, baby, stretch!

Dear Mommymommymommy, Hidaddy and Biss,
What a day this has been? I got Nanny up a little early today. We had big plans so I knew I needed to get her motor running early. We went to McDonald's with a new friend. Her name is Gabby and Nanny used to babysit her and her big brother, Cameron. Their Nanny lives across the street from Nanny Camp. We had lots of fun playing. It took Gabby a while to figure out how to boost me up on the high parts so I could follow her. She was very sweet to me. When we got home from there, it didn't take Nanny long to pop me into bed. She was snoring downstairs before I even got my eyes shut. I let her rest for a while and then we went to the mall. Nanny had a weak moment in the Gap and I got new pink shoes and a pink coat. She pretends she doesn't care if I match but my purple coat was driving her nuts with all my pink clothes. The shoes are all grown up and cute but they fall off when I run. The price of beauty!!

Tonight I showed Nanny how to multiply. Put one spoonful of yogurt in me and I chew it and spit two spoonfuls out. I also showed her how to paint on her sliding glass door with yogurt. She was impressed. I got the boys in trouble again. I move too fast and the little devils bark at me. Off to the slammer. They spend most of the day down in the back room. I go and visit them just to get them going again. Putter is my friend. He hangs around until I am finished with my dinner and then he gets the leftovers. I did Nanny a favor tonight. I was going to dump my soup on the floor for Putter but I left it in the bowl for him. I tried to help Nanny clean tonight. She wasn't too impressed with my vacuuming. She did let me clean the floor with her duster. I think she was trying to get rid of me so she could finish. Mommy, I don't think she cleaned your bathroom. She muttered something about letting Catherine do that. Mommy, don't tell Nanny but I think it would be a good idea if you cleaned for her while you are here. That would make her very happy.

Tomorrow is haircut day. I need to go to bed and get a good rest. I will need all my strength when Nanny puts the death grip on me. Why can't I wiggle when Carol cuts my hair. I wiggled for the last haircut and look how cute that is. I love one side longer than the other and my bangs have that cute uneven look. Nanny will probably tie me down. She is a stubborn one. Tonight she actually said, "Isabella, Nanny will slap if you touch that one more time." I'm no dummy, Mommy, I knew she meant business. I can't wait to see you all tomorrow night. I miss all your hugs and kisses. This has been fun but I don't get away with a lot here at camp. I did wear her down on the TV thing. When she gets tired, on goes the TV. I will see you soon. Drive safely.

Love, Isabella

News from Day 2 at Nanny Camp

Dear Mommymommymommy, Hidaddy and Biss,
Another day at Nanny's! We had a busy day. Dog class was cancelled so we went shopping at Target. I got the nicest pair of new shoes. I know Mommy is going to want to wear them to school. They are shiny, silver Mommy-shoes. They are so beautiful. Nanny also bought me two bottles for "Baby". That's all that thing needs. She is happy drinking bath water and peeing out her feet. Now she gets juice and milk? Tonight we went out with Nanny's friend, Mary Anne. I couldn't say her name so I just called her Nanny too. I am almost as tall as her so we held hands and walked into the restaurant. She liked me a lot. She liked to talk to me better than Nanny. Everything I said was so precious(her words not mine). I think she is a little hard of hearing. She kept asking me to sign everything. I kept the two Nannies pretty busy. I asked. They jumped. When we got home, I played for a while and then Nanny and I went in the hot tub. I love that big bath tub. It was so warm. She wanted me to bring Baby in but I had enough trouble taking care of Nanny. She needs me to hold her hand so she won't slip and fall. The best part of the hot tub is that I get to skip bath time. I know Nanny hates washing my hair so we decided to skip that one more night. I did get me teeth cleaned though. With only 8 teeth it is quick. I squeezed a little "American Idol" in before bed. Nanny was feeding me Dora yogurt and I took my sweet time. Anything to put off bed. A minor miracle did take place her tonight. I gave her the test. Who could last longer? Me crying or Nanny listening to me cry? I won. Nanny must be tired. Not only did I get a cup of milk but she WARMED it!!!! You all know how Nanny feels about milk in bed. It was so good. Wonder if it will work tomorrow night too! Time to shut this off and go to sleep before Nanny finds out I am still up. I really just needed a beverage while I typed. It was nice to sip my warm milk while I wrote to you. I love you all. I miss you too but Nanny camp is fun.
Love, Isabella

Bye Bye, Baby....

Isabella actually holding a baby (luckily she isn't real)....she detests all baby dolls and usually pitches them across the room.

Guess who just went on vacation with Nanny?? Can you guess?? Do you hear the silence in our house?? The markers still in their container?? The scissors still in the drawer?? The milk still in the cups??? The computer keyboard sitting on the desk instead of flung on the floor?? The crumbs still in the bag of cookies??? ISABELLA HAS LEFT THE HOUSE!!! She has officially started her first week, or 3 days, of Nanny Camp. Elisabeth left me for her first week when she was around 15 months old-Isabella has some catching up to do. She is now in Syracuse, safe and sound, with my mother and her 4 dogs. We are going up to see her on Friday (the start of our Spring Break). Here is a letter she wrote to us before she went to bed....Nanny did the typing, she did the talking:)
(She calls me 'mommy mommy mommy' and Todd "hi daddy")

Dear Mommymommymommy, Hidaddy and Biss,

What a trip that was! No TV. What's up with that? Nanny played some tunes but really!! I finally took a nap to make the trip go faster. When I woke up Nanny played my songs and SANG. Please. I love her and she tries but let's just play the music.

I took a quick nap and then we were off to a computer class. Who ever heard of a class in the food court with the Carousel in plain sight? How much will power does a girl have? I tried the old Nanny Nanny Nanny with some beautiful signing of "Please". Nothing worked. Was she going for student of the week? I heard her say she wouldn't do that to me again. Hurray.

We went to knitting next. That was fun. They were very nice to me. I even got 4 new books. We didn't stay long. I knew Nanny had an agenda. Bedtime by 8. Poor Nanny. She is tired. She cooked me a nummy dinner. I had scrambled egg, toast, milk, and peaches and I fed myself. I ate lots but I still had some to sneak to the boys. One for me and one for the floor.

Bath time was fun. I bathed a rubber thing Nanny calls Baby. Whatever. Nanny says she pees like me. Do I pee down my legs and out both feet? I don't think so.

I miss you all but I am having fun. I love those puppies. Putter keeps my face clean. Zuni plays a game with me. I reach for him and he pretends to bite me. Abu likes to kiss too but his beard smells. Shamus is another story. I just look at him and he warns me to back off. Whatever. Keep it up Shamus and Nanny will put you in the back room. Ha Ha Ha.

I will try to write again tomorrow but I have to sneak on Nanny's computer. You know how she feels about sharing that!!!

Love,
Isabella

Happy Birthday, Elisabeth!!!

At dinner last night....

Her cookie cake with her class this morning.....

My firstborn is 11 today :) I can't believe I have kept her alive for 11 years. There were times I wondered....but she has been an absolute joy to raise so far. She has the best sense of humor, loves her family more than anything, and is the best sister to Isabella. She hates reading and writing but loves going to school to see her friends, and her favorite sport is laying in her bed watching her new TV. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree :) Happy Birthday, Elisabeth!!

Weekend in Maryland

Playing with Nannie's iPhone in the hotel room.
Bella cuddling with her furry Uncle Putter :)
Elisabeth and her new photography business :)
Bella eating peanut butter in the closet. I guess that would make her a 'closet peanut butter eater'.
Uncle Blake giving Bella a lift.
The happy couple with their 2 favorite 11 year old and 1 year old nieces - who they spoil rotten :)

Mom took the girls and I to Maryland this weekend to celebrate Elisabeth's 11th birthday with my brother Blake and his new wife Alison. We had an awesome time swimming at the hotel, shopping, and eating!! I was extremely proud of myself-I only bought 1 dress and 1 pair of shoes for Isabella (total of 24 dollars) and 1 shirt for Elisabeth (12 dollars) and a cup holder/carrying bag for my MacLaren stroller (20 dollars). How was that for saving the bucks????