Alice's Air

HAPPY 4TH

2009-07-04T15:58:00.002-04:00

We spent the day as a family yesterday and it was amazing. Brian has not had a lot of time off work recently so the girls (including this girl) were excited to get some quality time with him. Yesterday morning we did some science (you know Brian's 2nd love....I better be his first). Brian got the girls some of those growing crystals. He is all about exposing them to as much science as possible during their early years. We played with that yesterday morning and then we ate an early lunch and were off to the movies.

Ice Age : Dawn of the Dinosaurs was excellent.....even better in 3D. The glasses were so big that I couldn't stop laughing at how Mili and Sadie looked in them. I SO wished I had brought my camera for that event. The girls LOVED it so much they are already asking to go again. It was expensive so we will not be doing that outing often (especially after Sadie turns 2 at the end of August because then we have to pay for her too....YIKES).

Our day ended with grocery shopping for Mommy and then a nice walk around the pond close to our house and up to a huge hill to see the sunset. WOW!!! What a nice end to a GREAT day!!! We love us some Daddy time!!!!

Now I have to run and get ready to go to a party. We are going to join some friends and family at a friends house for a fun and relaxing evening.

Love to ALL. Hug a solider today!!!!

2009-07-01T14:08:00.001-04:00

If you want to see the pictures closer you can just click on it.

Just thought I would let you all see my monkeys in the bathtub. They are so much fun at this age. Mili just turned 4 and Sadie will be 2 in August.

We have been a sick family recently and are hoping that we are all getting better. Mili is the only one still on antibiotics for an ear infection (only the second one in her whole 4 years, but it was a big one). Mommy is feeling much better. Thanks for all the prayers for our family. It is always nice to know that people are praying for us. We hope to be able to enjoy some of our summer now.

We have plans to check out some IMAX movies, swim in Nanny and Poppy's pool (pictures to come on that one), play in the park (when the heat index is less than 110), go to the library (our girls favorite place in the whole world), go to The Children's Museum, and go visit our friends in Maryland.

Somewhere in there we are going to have Mili's 4th birthday party. Her friends have been sick too and with all the activities we had going on at the church there was no time for us to have it. Maybe next weekend.

We love you all!!!

Sadie At Her Best!

2009-04-25T10:43:00.006-04:00

I have not posted in a while and it has been a long time since I have just posted about one of the girls. It is usually a duel post on both of them.

Here are some recent photos of my sweet Sadie Beth at her best. She is my rounder, never stops, into everything, keeps me on my toes kind of girl. These are photos of when our house is a little less noisy and actually down right pleasant.

Sadie is so sweet when she sleeps (yes, quiet.....but more than that). She's starting to loose the baby fat and I am going to miss it so much. I am having a hard time with "loosing" my baby since we are not planning to have any more in our future. She is growing up WAY too fast for me.

I have very few pictures of Sadie sleeping because, unlike Mili, she would wake up every time I took her picture. At some point, VERY early on in her life, I decided it was not worth the Kodak moment to wake her up. Enjoy the pics!!!

Sadie is a LOVER of books (both girls are)!!! She even wants to sleep with her books. We have a fit every night because she wants a huge book in the crib with her when she goes to sleep. I bought her some tiny books to sleep with. She ask for the tiny book every night (crazy I know). There are worse things she could be attached to. I love that she is using a box as her chair.

I hope to have more pictures up later. I am not doing a good job at keeping this thing updated. If I would ever get all of my SD cards clear then I would probably take more pictures. My children live in facebook land and blog world. I almost never get them developed any more......pitiful, just pitiful!!!

Love to ALL!!!!

Where is my MD......

2009-04-07T14:15:00.002-04:00

and I don't mean Maryland this time!

I think I deserve a MD for all the nursing back to health in my household this last week. I am happy to say that I "think" we are getting back to some kind of normalcy around here but I am scared to say that out loud so I chose to type it.

Recap of our sick little family......

We returned home from vacation last Sunday night. Brian was nursing an inflamed, very painful lower leg but everyone else seemed to be fine. We went about our normal weekly routines during the first of the week but Brian's leg continued to get worse and more swollen. We tried to get an appointment for him on Tuesday but had to wait until Wednesday afternoon. It turned out to be what we "think" is a blood clot. So his instructions were to have it propped up as much as possible (in Brian's terms....he is a Doctor but NOT that kind). He should have had it up from that moment on. Anyway, he has battled with it all week and it is still giving him some trouble.

Wednesday morning Sadie woke up with a fever. I thought it was another fever virus but soon found out it was MUCH more. We soon had vomiting and many, many, many dirty (soaking through clothes) diapers. I was feeding ice chips to her to keep some kind of fluid in her. Dehydration scares me so I will do whatever it takes to stay out of the ER. This went on for days and the first day she ate regular food was Saturday. She is back to 100% full force now (I am happy but also very busy with her while trying to take care of yet another sick child).

Mili woke up Saturday morning vomiting (on her big egg hunt day). She broke me and Brian's hearts with this statement shortly after a vomiting episode....."I hope I don't throw up on the egg hunt...." I had to break the terrible news to her that she would not be able to attend. However, Mommy was the one in charge of the egg hunt so Mommy had to go and leave my sick baby at home with a recovering sister (who was still not well enough to go) and a propped up leg Daddy. Mili's fever soon spiked and by Sunday night it was over 104 and I was sponge bathing her in the bath tub. Every time we tried to give her medicine for the fever she would throw it up again. She was hard to keep hydrated because she is my "milk only" kid. She does not drink anything but milk and we all know that that is not a good idea for an upset tummy. We fought her many times a day to get her to drink something and it was normally water. Today has been the first almost fever free and vomit free day (so far). Mili has eaten some solid food today.

Brian's leg seems to be doing better after having it up all weekend. I hope it will be well soon.

I am not sick, just tired!!! I have done my share of poopie and vomit soaked laundry. Don't you think I at least earned an honorary MD for administering all the meds at the right time to the right person. Mommy needs some Alice time (time to be Alice and not mommy or wife).

The good news is.....we had two incredibly sick children and we did not have to take them to the ER. I feel like that is a blessing straight from God above.

We are hoping that by Thursday we will be back to normal and on a schedule again.
Love to ALL!!!!

Vacation Moments

2009-03-30T12:50:00.048-04:00

We went on vacation to Branson, MO. We had originally planned to take the girls to Silver Dollar City but it was rainy (and snowy) so we just did inside activities most of the time we were away.

We arrived on Thursday and decided to take advantage of the slightly warmer weather and go to the Branson Landing Mall. They had a playground there. My children can sniff out a playground miles away.

Mili and Sadie both enjoyed the playground. It was for small children (although there are always the ones that break the rules) but they had a great time.

Mili is slow to warm up with many things. She likes to scope everything out before she tries anything.

Sadie on the sidelines for the first little bit. It did not last for long.

Mili warmed up fast and was soon zooming down the slide (with her arms high in the air). So carefree!!!

Mili is still Maryland at heart. She picked the crab to play on first. I LOVE it!!! She also picked out a crab decoration for her Crocs.

Sadie finally made it on site and I am not so sure Mili is happy about it.

Mili was blinded by the glare off the clouds.

At the Bass Pro Shop store. There are fish behind her.

Mili in the same spot.

At Branson Landing we did Build-A-Bear Workshop. Mili has been asking me to do this since we moved back to AR since there is one in the mall here.

This is Mili 's bear pre-suffing.

Mili pushing the pedal to fill her bear with stuffing.

Making sure it has enough stuffing.

Picking out the heart for her bear.

Sadie's bear getting it's stuffing.

Sadie putting in her bear's heart.

I think this is my FAVORITE picture of the whole vacation. Mili is too cute letting her true emotions out in this photo. She is giving her and Sadie's bears a "bath" (blowing all the excess fur off).

Sadie with her bear "Fluffy".

Mili with her bear "Cinderella" wearing a ballerina outfit.

We brought the tent for the girls to sleep in BUT that did not work. So Sadie slept with me and Mili with Brian. They did enjoy it while it was up.

We went to the new NOAH Musical and it was worth every penny. It was a great play with ginormous sets and lots of live animals. The cast and animals go up and down the aisles. It was a terrific show for the girls. They stayed engaged the whole 2 1/2 hours. It has a great message comparing the story of the flood to accepting Jesus as your Savior. It was GREAT and the set was HUGE (did I already say that?). We could not take pictures during the production so I hope you enjoy the pictures I got of the lobby and outside.

This is the screen it covers the whole stage and is used to describe some of the story prior to Noah.

This was above the box office.

Inside the lobby.

This is a small replica of the stage. We were in the left section, aisle seats on the 12th row.

Outside the Noah Musical (Sight and Sound Theater)

We went to a dinosaur museum. I did not think it was worth the money but we got our time in at the fossil dig. Both girls would have stayed there for hours if we let them.

Our little DINO!

At the IMAX theater we saw an under the sea movie. The girls really LOVED this. Mili and Sadie both enjoyed the other activties offered in the lobby of the IMAX. We did this going into the theater and coming out.

Sadie is ready for the AR mosseyers. I have been so frustrated with AR drivers since returning from MD.

Mili wanted to sit in this LOVE seat. We didn't turn it on but the outcome is very predictable.

The outcome was defiantly true some of the time. They had their moments but if we consider they had no nap or very little nap most days they were very good little girls.

Mili and Mommy enjoyed some fingernail pampering at the hotel. I bought these before we left AR and surprised Mili with them. We had fun doing this.

Hope you enjoyed the recap of our vacation. We made memories for a lifetime. Memories are my favorite part of vacations as a family.

Hope this helps you Aunt Norma. Hope it makes you miss us enough to come back and visit soon.

Lots of EGG stuffing going on......

2009-03-30T11:54:00.005-04:00

About 1,400 eggs to be exact (or close anyway). We are doing a community egg hunt at our church on April 4th. We now have all the eggs stuffed and ready for the children to devour. Thank you to everyone that helped get the eggs prepared.

I still have lots to do to get ready for the big day but at least the stuffing part is behind us.
Here are a few pictures of the stuffing......

The boxes on the tables had 250 eggs in each one. Mili is in the blue. She loves this activity ever since we were able to participate in it at our church in MD.

Here is an almost full bin. Aren't they beautiful. I love the different colors against the green color.

My youngest sister acting crazy (like always). She was in Vanna mode here.

This is Jacob. He thought there were SO many eggs that no one would notice is one disappeared. He was actually just playing in them. I think he liked the way they felt on his hands.

We can't wait to see what God will do with our community egg hunt. He is faithful to deliver. I am trusting Him greatly right now. I have had several obstacles but it will be all worth it in the end. Please pray for good weather on the 4th. We want lots of HAPPY kids and some HAPPY parents winning door prizes.

LOTS of LOVE to ALL!!!

SPRING is on it's way...

2009-03-23T13:36:00.002-04:00

SPRING is probably my favorite time of year. The look of the sun is so different and it feels different too. Nothing better than some Spring sunshine on my face. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Not to mention my toes get come out to say hello. I am a flip flop queen so when the toes get to come out for longer than one or two days, I am a happy camper (right now, still wearing my crocs with fur).

We are on spring break this week and have planned a trip to Branson, MO (one of the places Brian and I like to visit for mini vacations). The hotels are cheap and there are so many things to do for families there. This will officially be our first family vacation (not counting the Ocean City beach trip before Sadie came along). We are getting excited at the thought of seeing the girls in a new place with lots to do and Mommy can't wait to SHOP!

In other news, Our church is having a Community Egg Hunt with over 1,200 eggs to stuff. We are stuffing those Wednesday night at our monthly meal. This was always so fun for us at the church we were (still are) members of in Maryland. So I thought we should do it to, on a much smaller scale. Our church has about 50 regular members but is one of the most giving churches you will EVER see.

In the next few weeks I will be covered up with getting everything prepared for the Egg Hunt. It is going to be a GREAT day (please pray for good weather April 4th). I can't wait to see who God brings to the hunt and who's hearts will be touched by His Spirit. It has been so fun preparing for this day so far. I am trusting that it will bring BIG things to our church.

After the Egg Hunt we will be getting geared up for Vacation Bible School (one of my FAVORITE times of the summer). We hope to be having a block party to kick it off on the Saturday before VBS starts. I am in the planning process for that as well. Lots of things going on at our church right now.

Aunt Norma, Sorry there are no pictures on this post but you can bet there will be vacation pictures, egg hunt pictures, and Easter pictures on here soon. We love you and miss you a lot!! HUGS from AR to NC!!!

I hope things are going GREAT for all my blog buddies out there and all my GBC family. We miss you and LOVE you guys dearly. More details to come on when we will be visiting in August.

Love to ALL!!!

My Pants are SO on Fire......

2009-03-09T15:29:00.002-04:00

I am such a LIAR! I apologize for my delay in updating everyone about our endeavors. We are doing well here in our house (FINALLY). Well......I guess we are well. Speaking of fire in my title, Sadie has a cough that sounds like a smoker's cough. She has had this chronic cough since October. We have tried almost everything under the sun to try to get the cough to stop. It wakes her in the night, it wakes us in the night and NOTHING wakes Mili in the night. We are now on asthma medication to see if that will help. She has had x-rays and blood tests done to rule out anything serious (so we hope anyway). It is very tiring for the family and for poor Sadie Beth. I just want her to feel normal again. Please pray for her.

Sadie Beth is learning SO much. She is trying to talk some now but signs almost everything she needs. She has taught her teachers at Mother's Day Out what she wants through her signs. They ask me about new signs all the time. She is picking up so much and understands EVERYTHING these days. It is so cool to see her grow but sad at the same time. She is my baby and yet she is quickly approaching two years old. I don't think I can stand it. She is still a little spitfire. If you are around her there is never a concern of what her feelings might be at the present time, they will be written ALL over her face! (I think she might end up being an interpreter for the Deaf....heehee).

Mili is growing like a weed and learning so much. She has mastered all of her preschool skills for her age group (very early on in the school year.....September to be exact). A little brag from a HAPPY Mommy of a very SMART girl. She still surprises me (not in a good way) with some of her motor skills (not sure if she is just plain clumsy like her mother) and keeping her emotions in check (could be inherited from Mommy as well....do all the bad things come from me????). Anyway we are VERY proud of her accomplishments and her behavior at school (she only goes two days a week.....and tends to save the majority of behavioral issues for Mommy.....smile).

Brian is totally enjoying his job. He LOVES to be a work (not sure what that says about me?) He also LOVES being with his family and spending time with us on the weekends. Our weekends are filled with family fun at home or out and about. We SO LOVE being a family. It is much better than we had ever hoped it would be. (Listening to poor Sadie cough as we speak....please pray for her).

I am doing GREAT. Working part time has helped us pay off some debt and hopefully will help us get into a house soon. We are, however, happy with the apartment we live in. It is close to everything and it is great to hop in the car and be where we need to be in no longer than fifteen minutes (most places are five minutes or shorter away.....that is "the life" for a shopper like myself).

I hope all of you are doing great too (if anyone still reads my blog since I have not updated in so long). I would tell you that pictures will follow soon but you all know that is probably a lie so I will say......pictures will follow.......

Love to ALL!!!

LOOK at ME now

2009-02-25T12:56:00.002-05:00

How do you like my new look???? I am trying some different things with the blog. Hoping to post an update today (later). Just wanted everyone to see the new "ME"!!!

Love to ALL......especially our sweet GBC family!!!

Another Someone Growing Horns

2009-01-14T11:50:00.006-05:00

Let me first say that I posted Mili with her first ponytails here. It is a big deal in our household when you have enough hair for piggy tails. If you look back in the archives of Mili on this blog you will see that she was much more compliant to having her picture taken. She usually listened to me and did what I asked of her for photo shoots.

Sadie on the other hand is a totally different story. She is all over the place (which is why I don't have as many pictures of her....and she IS the second child....I know how that feels.....more photos of the first child syndrome). I don't seem to have the energy to chase her around more than a half hour in order to get a good or decent picture of her. The kind that is not blurred from her taking off in a mad sprint toward me or away from me.

With all this being said, I love her feisty spirit and her "all or nothing" attitude (don't know where she got either one of those traits).

Hope you enjoy the first pigtails AKA HORNS!

This is always my cue to stop taking pictures. There is no way I will get a good picture after this happens.

Hope you all have a day filled with FUN!!!

Back on Track

2009-01-12T12:35:00.003-05:00

Well the New Year is here in full swing. I have been a tad bit lazy with my blog updates lately. I apologize to my avid blog readers. I will try to do better with this during the new year.

We had a GREAT Christmas and New Years in our home. We spent lots of quality time with Daddy and LOVED having him home more (I say "more" because he still went to work during the break it was just less time and a few full days off). We enjoyed our family time during the holidays. Most of all we enjoyed not being in an airport during Christmas/ New Year's. For the last three years we have spent enough time in airports for a lifetime.

This Christmas season we felt less hurried and more peace. We also were able to come back home to our own beds after the festivities, which is way better than living out of bags for two weeks.

I always hate to see the Christmas season come to an end but I am very happy to be back on a schedule with the girls. They and I are much happier that way, in turn giving us a happy home!

I will post some pictures soon. Hope all of your holidays were filled with JOY!!!
Love to ALL....missed our Greenridge family during the holidays!!!

It's all about Him......

2008-12-23T13:31:00.006-05:00

The girls have been so intrigued by the baby Jesus for the play at church. For several weeks he has been lying in the manger so they can practice with him (during the play we had him laying on hay but we waited until the last minute for that, until then he lay on this blanket to keep his swaddling clothes clean from the manger).

I took these pictures before church yesterday. Take a look at the first picture. All of us should FEEL the way Sadie LOOKS as she looks at baby Jesus.

Mili just has to pick him up every time she sees him.

Although there is nothing special about this baby doll that represents Jesus in the church play, there IS something special about the real baby Jesus that came to the earth many years ago to save ALL people from their sins. He was born to die, for YOU and ME!!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to ALL......Love to ALL!!!

Pizza and Gingerbread Fun!!

2008-12-17T11:36:00.008-05:00

I ordered a Little Caesars pizza kit from a fundraiser. It has been a fun thing to do in the kitchen with Mili. She absolutely loved "cooking" in the big kitchen, standing on a chair. She kept saying that I am cooking like a big girl! These are memories that last a lifetime. I hope I will always demand that our family takes time out of our business to make memories.

Enjoy the pictures....it was as fun as it looks.

We decorated our annual Gingerbread House last week. We had such fun family time doing this and making pizzas for dinner just prior to decorating the house. Mili loved putting the different candy decorations on and eating a few while decorating.....don't we all!!

Excuse the Mommy with no make-up in this picture but I thought Mili was cute testing out the decorations.

Very precise with lining up those hearts.

Sadie, enjoying the decorations...in hair and all!!!

Proud of her finished product!!!

Love to ALL!!!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

2008-12-12T11:39:00.007-05:00

Again, I am so far behind on posting the story of our lives here in our household. It seems to be a reoccurring problem. I learned a long time ago that I am only one person and I CAN'T be supermom, superwife, or superwoman in general ALL the time (just part time).

Here are the pictures of our tree decorating adventure (the Saturday after Thanksgiving). Keeping the ornaments out of Sadie's mouth and getting a hook on everything fast enough for Mili were my main issues. The girls had an amazing time decorating and making it their own (we have since moved all the breakable ones to the higher branches due to Sadie's snatching and running with the ornaments). The tree actually looks opposite of these pictures now. Not very many decorations on the bottom half of the tree.

Mili has been singing every Christmas song there is. It is too sweet to hear her singing the different songs (some she knows all the words to because she is a caroler in the church play). She is soaking up everything about Christmas this year. I am thankful that she is starting to understand that there are others who don't have what she does or even the necessities of life. She has such a compassionate heart. I hope it grows and grows.

Sadie, on the other hand, is in a love/hate relationship with baby Jesus. The baby Jesus from our nativity scene is breakable so when I let her play with it I have to be very careful. She tends to hug him tight and then throw him. He is still in one piece because we have carpet but not sure how long that will last. Poor baby Jesus. Sadie calls him "Sheesus". I am just glad she is trying to say something at this point (and that name is always a great place to start). That is all for now....enjoy the pictures.

Not sure if she is taking off or putting on...reoccurring problem through out the decorating process.

Proud of her decorating skills.

Right before a snatch and run episode. Doesn't she look innocent?

In AWWWW!!!!

Save a Life for Christmas

2008-11-30T22:34:00.002-05:00

This video helped me keep things in perspective this Christmas season. I hope it will do the same for you.

Mili's choice of Pajamas

2008-11-19T10:51:00.004-05:00

Mili had pajama day at school so we were off to find the "perfect" set for that special day (all of her current pajamas have stains on them). While shopping, I pointed out some princess pajamas and of course everyone's favorite---DORA, but she was not impressed. She saw them from across the aisle (you know the kind that are glowing from a ray of sunlight from above and maybe even a hallelujah chorus). She said, "Mommy, I want the ones with cars on them!" Here I am looking for some cute little pink jammies with beadle bug cars and groove flowers but OH NO.....she meant Cars as in Lightning McQueen.

When she walked into class on pajama day she and a little boy in her class had matching pajamas. I am trying as a parent to let her have her say in things that "don't matter". It ultimately doesn't matter if she wears girls pajamas or boys pajamas. It is who Mili is right now and I too went through this stage when I was a child.

Happy to be wearing her new pajamas to school....ALL DAY!!!

Tired of pictures and letting me know about it with that "sweet" facial expression.

Has had enough of Mommy's addiction. Can take NO more. Photo shoot OVER!!!

Love to ALL!!! Hope you are all staying warm.

Please Help an Orphan

2008-11-15T18:02:00.002-05:00

As many of us are watching our TVs, with our warm blankets, our wireless Internet and a laptop on our lap, please think of those who don't have all of these luxuries. They don't even have a blanket much less a full stomach (they probably don't know what that would feel like anyway). I know the economy is not that great but God is, so please sacrifice what you can to help these wonderful kids eat, stay warm, and learn (especially about Jesus).

You may notice a new video to the right. Please donate to this wonderful organization. They believe in caring for ALL of the orphans needs.

If you would like to know more please read about it on Tom Davis' blog. You just might win a FREE trip to Africa.

Thanks in advance for your sacrifice.

Just for FUN!!!

2008-11-14T15:03:00.004-05:00

Here is some video of the girls and Daddy having some FUN one night before bed.

I love listening to their cute laughs. ENJOY!!!

Finally Pumpkins With Faces

2008-11-08T22:59:00.011-05:00

We gave our pumpkins, that have sat on the bar for weeks, a face this past Tuesday. Yes, AFTER Halloween but we are a "better late than never" type of family. Brian has had deadlines at work that have caused him to work late most nights for the last week so we took the time we could get to give our pumpkins a personality!!!

The girls "picked" these pretty pumpkins at their schools pumpkin patch. Because the patch was at the school, Sadie also brought one home. I was surprised when I had to carry two pumpkins and a one year old (and keep up with a three year old) while leaving the building that day.

Here is some of our family time captured on "film". This chick is determined to make memories for our family.....busy or not busy, late or early!!!

Mili was having the time of her life...mess and all!

Digging out the goo....as she calls it. Sadie watching on.

Helping Daddy cut the face....she chose a mean face or a grrrrr face.

She gets so excited when she sees a plan coming together...just like her Mommy.

Mili is suppose to have a grrrrr face with Daddy...instead she just looks CUTE!!!

Sadie was not about to sit back and watch....she wanted in on the action.

Taking a look to see what is left in there.

Big sis decides to help.

The proud owners of two pumpkins with different personalities. Mil is showing some attitude in this one.

Sadie's "are we done yet?" face....we see this often.

We had GREAT family time doing this project. We are now trying to schedule what we will do as a family project for Thanksgiving....any ideas????

Please do something with your family that makes memories for a lifetime. Childhood memories are FOREVER....make them GREAT ones!!!

Love to ALL!!!

Halloween Happiness.....

2008-11-01T14:50:00.022-04:00

I have been hearing about Halloween for weeks from Mili (that's what I get for buying her costume early....I guess there are some advantages to procrastination). Mili has been dying to put on her costume and prance around in it. I have never been so glad that Halloween was here. We went to a local church fall festival and there was plenty of food, candy, games, and fun!!!

Mili was a princess and a beautiful pink one from head to toe. Sit back and enjoy the show!

Our Sadie Bug (as Bella calls her).

I just want to eat up her fat legs!!!!

Aren't they cute!

Mili is such a good big sis trying to help Sadie out with her costume.

Conversing about all the candy they will get.

Sadie on the run....it was tough getting the pictures I got of her. She is everywhere these days.

Mili LOVED the fishing game. She even acted like she was reeling one in.

Mili liked this game too.

Mili and Bella get their first glimpse of each other. They had no idea they would be twinkies and the parents didn't know until we talked to each other on the phone trying to find a way to keep those darn tiara's on their heads. Aimee came up with a great solution and they stayed on ALL night with no problems. Notice Mili's treat bucket.....explains Mili to a tee.....princess, who likes anything Spiderman!!!

Kinda posing but ready to play some games.

You can bet Mili will find Uncle Jon's lap wherever we are. We were outside watching Poppy get hit with water balloons.

All the princesses!!! Emily, Mili, Bella (Emily's dress lite up....too cute)

Nater the Superman

Our little ladybug dragging Daddy around the place.

Princesses in the bouncy house.....what fun!!!

This is how Mili looked on Thursday when she went to school (the day of her Halloween party).

This is how she came home from school!!!! Isn't that the best spider party hat you have ever seen.

Mili's words with these motions, "No more pictures, PLEASE!!!!" What can I say. Here whole life is blogged, poor baby!!

Hope all of you had a great and safe Halloween!!! LOVE TO ALL!!!!

Cousins in Pajamas

2008-10-29T10:31:00.004-04:00

Monday morning, my sister Aimee came over and watched my children so I could go to work for a short time. While she was here with three of her children (five altogether), this is what I saw. Aren't they sweet together. Sadie and Nate are almost five months apart. I hope they grow up loving each other like they do now (or is this a tackle gone bad...not sure). Sadie could care less as long as she can text her friends in MD. Shooting a text to ya Andrew, Malachi, Noa, and Kierney.

Love you All....Hope your day is GREAT!!!

Morning at the Park

2008-10-29T10:04:00.007-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we had a morning at the park. Here are a few shots from that fun day. This was the day we also planned to take the girls to the Pumpkin Patch but didn't know that it was closed.....oops.

Mili LOVES anything that has a steering wheel. We are very nervous for 16 years old with her. We are hoping that the age for getting a driver's license will go up before that date.
Sadie enjoyed the playground and all it had to offer. She explored from one end to the other and Mommy was tired after chasing her over every square inch of it.

Mili loved these pipes. They made for great fun with a great amount of noise.....or music!

Mili played on one side and Sadie on the other. "Music" to our ears!!!

This day just happened to be a perfect day to be outside. As you can tell I am still behind on getting things posted but hope to do better.

Love to ALL......Miss our MD friends!!!

BALANCE????

2008-10-20T10:07:00.006-04:00

I just put down the book "Red Letters- Living a faith that bleeds", by Tom Davis. It has taken me a very long time to read this book but considering all of the interruptions of moving across country, starting a part time job and taking care of a 3 and 1 year old the other days of the week. The important thing here is that I FINISHED it and it has CHANGED my life forever (and hopefully the future of many orphaned children as well).

For those of you who have yet to read the book. You MUST!!! (you can purchase Red Letters at Tom Davis' blog). It is an easy read on the eyes but very tough on the heart. As I was engrossed in this great book all I could see were the children roaming the streets in Honduras. Most of the children I saw there HAD families and at least ONE meal during that day but I now realize there are many more all over this world that don't even have THAT. I am trying to wrap my mind around it (I think my heart is already there.....for most of you that know me that is not surprising). My heart usually does "arrive" in every situation first. I am working now on what my mind needs to help my heart do with the information I now have from this book (and the Bible....this is a Bible based book with many scriptures). I am currently working on a "project" that could change how much money we could give to Children's HopeChest and to other organizations such as clean water, heifer project and many many more.

Blogger Friends PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray for this "project". That EVERYTHING will fall into place the way it needs to so I can get started on it! More to come on that after more things are in play!!!!

I want to BLEED..... with my finances, with my family, with my time, and with everything I do. Sacrifice is the key word here, my friends. I have started thinking about each purchase I make and thinking "how many people could have clean water if I don't buy this and donate the money instead". Another question that crosses my mind often is "how many people could have medication that would keep them alive if I don't buy this and donate the money instead". I realize that we can go too far thinking this way and I tend to be an ALL or NOTHING kind of girl so the balance will be hard for me but it is worth a shot to help those that don't have all the luxuries we have EVERYDAY. What am I talking about....LUXURIES???....NO, lets just say FOOD, WATER, MEDICATION.....you get the picture!!!

Please join with me in this fight with myself....because really it comes down to selfish, human nature and we give in most of the time because we have the money and it is easy, but we could save a life if we just think about what we are doing and change our spending habits a bit.

I LOVE all of my blogger friends out there. Please don't forget to shoot up a prayer for me this week as I struggle with the balance of everything I have taken in and the "project" that could change many lives.

Love to ALL!!! More to come on this......

I Smell FOOTBALL in the Air!!!!

2008-10-17T23:24:00.011-04:00

Oh how I forgot how GOOD it feels to be sitting on hard, cold bleachers with the smell of the crisp, fall air at a football game. I absolutely LOVE it. For those of you who don't know me or don't know about my past, I spent every Thursday night during Junior High school and every Friday night during High School in the football stands in many different towns through the five years Brian played football. It was like a second home for me.

Tonight was Mili and Sadie's first Friday night football game. My niece, Victoria, is on the dance team at her school (I will not mention her school name for safety reasons.....I believe in keeping our children safe from predators online). Anyway, she was so beautiful and did a FABULOUS, FANTASTIC, FANTABULOUS job tonight. We were SO happy to finally see her show off her dance moves (by the way the other girls did GREAT too but we are a LITTLE partial to our Victoria).

Here are some pictures from tonight!

Isn't she just BEE-A-UTIFUL!!!! Mili getting her hugs I promised she would get from Victoria. Thanks for coming into the stands to see us Victoria.....Mili would have been heart broken if we had to leave without a hug.

Looking at me because I kept yelling at her like an idiot!!! I am known to have a loud mouth....no microphone needed here.

In ACTION during the game. She is the one on the very end to the far right.

Halftime show.....It was WONDERFUL!!! Great Job, Victoria!!!

Sadie spent most of her time fighting over Uncle Jon or Aunt Aimee's laps with Nater!

You see she won out in most cases or at least got to share the lap.

Our little cheerleaders in the stands. Isabella and Mili were copying the cheerleaders moves.

As the night went on it got colder and colder and Mili was COLD by the time we left. Her and Isabella decided to hog the blanket.

We had a GREAT night!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE you Victoria. You did a GREAT job tonight!!!!!

Round-Up Day at School

2008-10-16T16:57:00.006-04:00

Today was Round-Up Day at Mili's school. She enjoyed dressing up in her cowgirl clothes and just HAD to wear the hat (and the pink bow as well). She made a horse out of a wrapping paper tube and "tried" some beans and bread. Mili doesn't try anything new to eat...she has to be forced to do it at home.

Take a look at this cute little cowgirl. During her photo shoot she said....."cheese, cheeseburger, and celery (never heard of this one but it worked....maybe you should try that one Chelle). She must have gotten that from when she had her school pictures taken by Jeremy (she came home and said "at picture day, Jeremy took my picture...yea, his name was Jeremy). Such detail!

Love to ALL!!!