Friday, July 31, 2009
And I Quote...
"I've been hiding this secret for years...I don't like peas"...Grace, while eating lunch today.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Happy Birthday, Tanner!
Today was Tanner's birthday party and it was a blast!!! Very little is cuter than a bunch of 4, 5 and 6 yr olds playing miniature golf. We could all take a lesson from watching them...just relax and do what it takes to get the job done. Some of the most creative golfing I've ever seen. :)
Happy Birthday to one of our favorite guys! :)
Happy Birthday to one of our favorite guys! :)
Happy Birthday, Braydon!!
He's one!! Yay! He's one!!!
Our adorable nephew/cousin turns one today!!!
Couldn't love you more, little guy!!! :)
And I Quote...
"I just gotta sing a song about love...
When I'm trapped in the dark
You'll always be there
When I'm scared of monsters
You'll always be there
Then I'll say boo to the monsters and you'll still be there"...Grace, in her fantastic 'opera voice',this morning.:)
When I'm trapped in the dark
You'll always be there
When I'm scared of monsters
You'll always be there
Then I'll say boo to the monsters and you'll still be there"...Grace, in her fantastic 'opera voice',this morning.:)
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Soap Box
So, earlier today, while in the little gazebo that sits in the park right behind my house, I noticed a bird(an adorable little finch), working diligently on her nest. She chose a corner on the inside of the roof of the gazebo. Sweet. :)
Went out this evening to find her nest in shambles on the ground and the little mamma just sitting across from what used to be her nest, staring at it. Lying on the ground underneath was a large stick that had been pulled from a tree and nearby, two very loud mouthed boys hanging out in the wooded part of the park.
Now, it is very apparent what took place. Was it those boys, I have no idea...well, I have an idea, but will never know for sure.
I just have to vent because it is such a vile act, in my mind, to intentionally destroy the home of such a peaceful soul. Yes, I am a big softie. I think every life on this planet was put here by God, therefore they should all be treated w/ compassion and kindness. Do I try not to kill things, yes...does it always work, no...I am guilty, too. Very, very, very rarely have I ever killed something or destroyed something when it is in it's own territory, though.
I am truly disgusted by this act. Believe me, I would have loved nothing more than to confront those boys because I have just enough edge/temper in me to do just that, but I left it alone because what would be the point? It's just truly disappointing. Some will say it's just the nature of young boys...whatever. It's the nature of their parents passed on to them.
We must extend the circle of compassion to include all creatures otherwise we will never truly know peace.
I'll step down now...
Went out this evening to find her nest in shambles on the ground and the little mamma just sitting across from what used to be her nest, staring at it. Lying on the ground underneath was a large stick that had been pulled from a tree and nearby, two very loud mouthed boys hanging out in the wooded part of the park.
Now, it is very apparent what took place. Was it those boys, I have no idea...well, I have an idea, but will never know for sure.
I just have to vent because it is such a vile act, in my mind, to intentionally destroy the home of such a peaceful soul. Yes, I am a big softie. I think every life on this planet was put here by God, therefore they should all be treated w/ compassion and kindness. Do I try not to kill things, yes...does it always work, no...I am guilty, too. Very, very, very rarely have I ever killed something or destroyed something when it is in it's own territory, though.
I am truly disgusted by this act. Believe me, I would have loved nothing more than to confront those boys because I have just enough edge/temper in me to do just that, but I left it alone because what would be the point? It's just truly disappointing. Some will say it's just the nature of young boys...whatever. It's the nature of their parents passed on to them.
We must extend the circle of compassion to include all creatures otherwise we will never truly know peace.
I'll step down now...
And I Quote...
"Well, mosquitoes and lightening bugs come out in the summer, Dad, so I'm not sure what to tell ya"...Grace, tonight while walking w/ Daddy after he commented that he was getting bit by a lot of mosquitoes.
Hangin' w/ the Tanner Man
Playing w/ Tanner. :)
Lunch, playtime at 'our' park and a trip to Grace's new school to visit the library.
Grace did a great job of showing Tanner and his mom & sister around her school. Trying to get her up there as much as possible to show it off...the more she goes, the more comfortable she will be on the first day....oh, who am I kidding...the more comfortable I will be dropping her off at the door that first day! :( :)
Sometimes peer pressure can be a really great thing. Grace has never been all that excited about riding her tricycle/big wheel and she really did not want to get a bike(too nervous of falling, I think), but after trying to keep up on her tricycle while the other two rode their bikes she decided she wants to head out this weekend and get a bike!! Yay! :)
She's growing up...in the past week she has mastered swinging on the big kid swings and she has declared herself ready for a bike. :) So proud!
Princess Eme kept herself cool in the shade w/ a baby doll...
Awww....
Lunch, playtime at 'our' park and a trip to Grace's new school to visit the library.
Grace did a great job of showing Tanner and his mom & sister around her school. Trying to get her up there as much as possible to show it off...the more she goes, the more comfortable she will be on the first day....oh, who am I kidding...the more comfortable I will be dropping her off at the door that first day! :( :)
Sometimes peer pressure can be a really great thing. Grace has never been all that excited about riding her tricycle/big wheel and she really did not want to get a bike(too nervous of falling, I think), but after trying to keep up on her tricycle while the other two rode their bikes she decided she wants to head out this weekend and get a bike!! Yay! :)
She's growing up...in the past week she has mastered swinging on the big kid swings and she has declared herself ready for a bike. :) So proud!
Princess Eme kept herself cool in the shade w/ a baby doll...
Awww....
Do You Ever...
...not believe spell check? Sometimes, I think to myself, there is no way I got through that whole thing w/out one spelling error...NO WAY.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Really...I'm Just Tired
These last two days have kicked my behind. Truly. The girls have just been...hmmm...ummm...challenging. I've decided there are days when we should just stay home because sometimes staying at home going crazy is better than going crazy in front of the general public. :)
Yesterday...Children's Museum. This was not too gruelling...it was primarily other people's kids that annoyed me.
Emerson enjoyed a puppet show put on by her sister...just don't get the puppets too close...Good Lord...the audience will SCREAM...a really high-pitched, nails on the chalkboard kind of scream...so, just don't do that...
...seriously, Grace, don't do that anymore...
As you can see, we painted faces...even mine...some man came up to me and told me I looked as if I'd been punched in the nose and the blood had streamed across my cheeks...Grace was going for a cat, actually...
E got the greatest kick out of squirting water at the targets...well, not so much at the targets, just kind of squirting the water...
Today...the zoo. Much, much more challenging. Emerson was simply not pleased, no matter what I did. Grace was moody and then crazy...her two most annoying phases. Neither was happy for very long...they just weren't.
One example(of many, trust me)... I have a very sore ankle. My eldest pushed the stroller wheel under my foot, right as I was lifting my leg to scratch my calf. How does this happen? Truly, I had my foot off the ground for about 2 seconds..somehow Grace managed to steer that little umbrella stroller right under my leg so that when I stepped down I stepped on the wheel, which turned, which made my ankle turn at an inappropriate angle. Not pretty...nor was the little lecture Grace got after the fact because, quite frankly, I was just done. You know? Just done. I was very tempted to just drop my children off at the gorilla house(which we happened to be standing in front of at the time)...wasn't there a video somewhere about how the kid fell in and the gorilla took care of it or something...well, there you go...my girls were on their way to being front page news.
SO, because I was, let's be real here, rather annoyed by my girls...these are the only 2 pictures I took...
...because elephants are just my favorite thing at the zoo and they didn't scream or cry or throw stuff at me once.
Okay...not really...I took one other pic because they had a rare moment(for this day at least)...how can a mom resist, even one who didn't earn 'Mommy of the Year' today...
Yesterday...Children's Museum. This was not too gruelling...it was primarily other people's kids that annoyed me.
Emerson enjoyed a puppet show put on by her sister...just don't get the puppets too close...Good Lord...the audience will SCREAM...a really high-pitched, nails on the chalkboard kind of scream...so, just don't do that...
...seriously, Grace, don't do that anymore...
As you can see, we painted faces...even mine...some man came up to me and told me I looked as if I'd been punched in the nose and the blood had streamed across my cheeks...Grace was going for a cat, actually...
E got the greatest kick out of squirting water at the targets...well, not so much at the targets, just kind of squirting the water...
Today...the zoo. Much, much more challenging. Emerson was simply not pleased, no matter what I did. Grace was moody and then crazy...her two most annoying phases. Neither was happy for very long...they just weren't.
One example(of many, trust me)... I have a very sore ankle. My eldest pushed the stroller wheel under my foot, right as I was lifting my leg to scratch my calf. How does this happen? Truly, I had my foot off the ground for about 2 seconds..somehow Grace managed to steer that little umbrella stroller right under my leg so that when I stepped down I stepped on the wheel, which turned, which made my ankle turn at an inappropriate angle. Not pretty...nor was the little lecture Grace got after the fact because, quite frankly, I was just done. You know? Just done. I was very tempted to just drop my children off at the gorilla house(which we happened to be standing in front of at the time)...wasn't there a video somewhere about how the kid fell in and the gorilla took care of it or something...well, there you go...my girls were on their way to being front page news.
SO, because I was, let's be real here, rather annoyed by my girls...these are the only 2 pictures I took...
...because elephants are just my favorite thing at the zoo and they didn't scream or cry or throw stuff at me once.
Okay...not really...I took one other pic because they had a rare moment(for this day at least)...how can a mom resist, even one who didn't earn 'Mommy of the Year' today...
Monday, July 20, 2009
Friends and Family
We had a very full weekend...lots of friends and family. It was busy, but fun and a great change of pace. :)
Our good friends from Germany came to stay w/ us Thursday night. We haven't seen them in about 4 yrs, so it was a fun reunion. Grace LOVED spending time w/ Miriam(10yrs) and Daniel(7yrs). She asked if they could come back and spend 100 days w/ us...well...it was fun, but our house is a little small for that length of stay. :)
Downtime at home...the only time I saw the kids sitting still(awake) the whole time they were together..."Mulan" stopped them for awhile...
New best friends...Grace and Mimi...even their hair was styled the same way...
These two hit it off big time...Emerson and Daniel...those expressions say it all...
Friday night was Mike's 20th high school reunion. It was a small group of people, but he went to a small school. It was...fun? Kind of. :) :) I will just say that you will never find me at my high school reunion, so I was impressed he went. :)
So, the drama of the evening...Grace fell at the playground and skinned her knee. Did Mommy have a band-aid for the screaming, bleeding girl? Well, no, BUT, as luck would have it...Daddy's other long time friend, Dave, is a fireman. He was at the reunion, but was on the clock, so he had to bring his whole team of firemen friends and firetruck w/ him...so...we utilized his expertise to administer first aid(it really wasn't bad, but you would never guess it by Grace's reaction). Grace cried all the way through and Mimi held her the whole time. What a fun memory! :)
So...on to the family part. Celebrated Emerson and Braydon's first birthdays w/ Aunt Lynn, Great Aunt Sherry and Grandma and Grandpa Oberle. These two were born 2 wks apart...couldn't look more different, act more different, but it's fun to watch these two cousins grow together.
Has it really been a year already?
We all decided that Braydon needs to work on his 'relating to girls' skills...
Chatting w/ Sherry...
Our good friends from Germany came to stay w/ us Thursday night. We haven't seen them in about 4 yrs, so it was a fun reunion. Grace LOVED spending time w/ Miriam(10yrs) and Daniel(7yrs). She asked if they could come back and spend 100 days w/ us...well...it was fun, but our house is a little small for that length of stay. :)
Downtime at home...the only time I saw the kids sitting still(awake) the whole time they were together..."Mulan" stopped them for awhile...
New best friends...Grace and Mimi...even their hair was styled the same way...
These two hit it off big time...Emerson and Daniel...those expressions say it all...
Friday night was Mike's 20th high school reunion. It was a small group of people, but he went to a small school. It was...fun? Kind of. :) :) I will just say that you will never find me at my high school reunion, so I was impressed he went. :)
So, the drama of the evening...Grace fell at the playground and skinned her knee. Did Mommy have a band-aid for the screaming, bleeding girl? Well, no, BUT, as luck would have it...Daddy's other long time friend, Dave, is a fireman. He was at the reunion, but was on the clock, so he had to bring his whole team of firemen friends and firetruck w/ him...so...we utilized his expertise to administer first aid(it really wasn't bad, but you would never guess it by Grace's reaction). Grace cried all the way through and Mimi held her the whole time. What a fun memory! :)
So...on to the family part. Celebrated Emerson and Braydon's first birthdays w/ Aunt Lynn, Great Aunt Sherry and Grandma and Grandpa Oberle. These two were born 2 wks apart...couldn't look more different, act more different, but it's fun to watch these two cousins grow together.
Has it really been a year already?
We all decided that Braydon needs to work on his 'relating to girls' skills...
Chatting w/ Sherry...
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Fun In the Sun
The fam got together today out at the park to celebrate Emerson's first birthday. Wasn't sure if we were gonna be able to do it...the dark clouds looked heavy w/ rain and the chilly winds made us feel as if we'd be heading to Oz at any moment, but as my wise 'ol dad predicted...it was a front that passed quickly. Turned into a perfect July day for grilling out burgers and watching a one year old stuff her face w/ cake. :)
This is gonna be good...
The surprisingly chilly wind kept people in their cars at first...
...and huddled close together...
Then it warmed up...still windy, but Jay, Kate and Gram headed off on a walk...
...and the boys tried to be helpful at the grill...
Grandma O. feeding the tiny her lunch...
A little 'Monkey In the Middle' w/ Uncle Jay and Josie...
The Winnie-the-Pooh cake, along w/ Emerson's personal cake...
'What a lovely song'...
(She clapped and smiled while we sang...we used the same '1' candle that was on my first birthday cake and was then used on Grace's cake and now E's)...
She liked the cake...a lot...
So did the other girls...
Smooches from Uncle Jeff...
One more present at home...a new swing...thanks Mawk and PaPa!!
'Hey...let's do this again next year!'
Thanks to everyone for making it such a special day for E!!!
This is gonna be good...
The surprisingly chilly wind kept people in their cars at first...
...and huddled close together...
Then it warmed up...still windy, but Jay, Kate and Gram headed off on a walk...
...and the boys tried to be helpful at the grill...
Grandma O. feeding the tiny her lunch...
A little 'Monkey In the Middle' w/ Uncle Jay and Josie...
The Winnie-the-Pooh cake, along w/ Emerson's personal cake...
'What a lovely song'...
(She clapped and smiled while we sang...we used the same '1' candle that was on my first birthday cake and was then used on Grace's cake and now E's)...
She liked the cake...a lot...
So did the other girls...
Smooches from Uncle Jeff...
One more present at home...a new swing...thanks Mawk and PaPa!!
'Hey...let's do this again next year!'
Thanks to everyone for making it such a special day for E!!!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
!ONE!
How can it be?
Was it already a year ago that the second half of my heart was given away to yet another miracle?
Emerson Savannah(aka, Tiny Boo) is 1 year old today!!!
Happy Birthday to my sweetheart/spite fire! :) I am in awe of your spunk and love every single minute I spend w/ you. What a blessing you are to me!!
I Love You more than you will ever know!
Was it already a year ago that the second half of my heart was given away to yet another miracle?
Emerson Savannah(aka, Tiny Boo) is 1 year old today!!!
Happy Birthday to my sweetheart/spite fire! :) I am in awe of your spunk and love every single minute I spend w/ you. What a blessing you are to me!!
I Love You more than you will ever know!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Update
Michael Update!
Still plugging along w/ the daily antibiotics. Poor guy. He had a CAT scan last week and the abscesses are slowly(very slowly) reducing, but not enough that they feel comfortable taking him off the IV antibiotics...so, he continues to trudge in every morning before work to hook up to the liquid gold. Another CAT scan next week.
Otherwise, he's doing really well. Energy level is better all the time, appetite is normal...all other counts are normal.
Yay!
Still plugging along w/ the daily antibiotics. Poor guy. He had a CAT scan last week and the abscesses are slowly(very slowly) reducing, but not enough that they feel comfortable taking him off the IV antibiotics...so, he continues to trudge in every morning before work to hook up to the liquid gold. Another CAT scan next week.
Otherwise, he's doing really well. Energy level is better all the time, appetite is normal...all other counts are normal.
Yay!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Happy Birthday, Little Squirt!!
Alright...you aren't so little anymore, but you are still my Squirt. :)
Happy 18th to my kid brother....er....nephew. :) Can't believe how fast it has gone!! :)
Love You, Squirt!!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Double the Fun
What a fun summer day!!
Headed to the sprinkler park w/ Tanner...played, played, ate lunch, played and played.
Tanner had to go home...we stayed for a while...minutes later, here comes Madison(another kid from Grace's preschool class)...off go Madison and Grace, hand in hand to play, rest, play, play, play.
What a perfect day.
Free entertainment!
Buddies!
Emerson wasn't so sure about this...
Somebody is about to get a bath!
The 'luxury' stroller was in Daddy's car...umbrella stroller not recommended for sleeping...
Surprise....Madison's here!
Dry, dressed and hanging under a tree...
Headed to the sprinkler park w/ Tanner...played, played, ate lunch, played and played.
Tanner had to go home...we stayed for a while...minutes later, here comes Madison(another kid from Grace's preschool class)...off go Madison and Grace, hand in hand to play, rest, play, play, play.
What a perfect day.
Free entertainment!
Buddies!
Emerson wasn't so sure about this...
Somebody is about to get a bath!
The 'luxury' stroller was in Daddy's car...umbrella stroller not recommended for sleeping...
Surprise....Madison's here!
Dry, dressed and hanging under a tree...
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