Abigail's B-day

Yesterday, was Abigail's 3rd birthday. I am so saddened at the thought of my BABY being 3 years old already. It's a bitter-sweet thing. Time has flown by so fast. I do feel so blessed to be her mommy. She is truly the sweetest little 3 year old I know. She has such a big heart. Always loving, hugging, kissing and reminding me that she loves me. She is so gentle and so kind, but yet she can stand her ground when she knows she is right. For example, the other day her 3 year old cousin Noah(he spent 4 days with us), and herself were sitting at the table eating their breakfast. I heard Abbi cough and Noah say "cover your mouth Abbi!" This immediately attracted my attention and I observed their conversation that went like this....

Abbi: [coughed]

Noah: cover your mouth Abbi!

Abbi: I DID cover my mouth!

Noah: no you didn't!

Abbi: yes I did!

Noah: no you didn't!
Abbi: yes I did!

Noah: no you didn't!
Abbi: yes I did!

Noah: no you didn't!
Abbi: yes I did!

...... a few moments of silence and Noah coughs AND covers his mouth

Abbi: cover your mouth Noah!

Noah: I did!

Abbi: no you didn't!

Noah: yes I did!

Abbi: no you didn't!
Noah: yes I did!

Abbi: no you didn't!
Noah: yes I did!

Abbi: no you didn't!

mommy: both of you... cut it out and eat your breakfast

Abbi: Well, I covered my mouth too, Noah!

LOL - she accused him of not covering his mouth, even though she seen him do it just so she can prove her point. Kinda like - what goes around comes around! Pretty smart thinking if you ask me!

She has brought us so much joy these past 3 years. I thank God for both my girls EVERYDAY! Abigail requested a "Princess Birthday Party", which we had down in Alabama, a few days after Thanksgiving while visiting my folks. She LOVED her party! She still talks about it. :) The pictures are in my Photo Album under Thanksgiving Photo's 2007. One of these days I will file them into their own folder. :)

Tonight, I am trying something I have never tried before. I have always wanted to make Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast, but never wanted to get up at 4:00 in the morning to get them started, so they will be done in time for breakfast. So they were always served as an afternoon treat. So tonight, I decided to knead up a batch. I went through the whole process until I got to the "let them rise an hour and bake". I rolled them out, cut them, set them in a pan and then put them in the refrigerator to slow down the rising process. I will get up tomorrow, let them finish rising at room temperature and then bake, all the while PRAYING this works. If it does - this will be a bad thing as I will be making them TOO OFTEN! But anyways, it will be awesome as my kiddies and hubby love them. :)

I have been thanking God daily for all the ice storms that have missed us. I do however, feel sorry for the people who didn't get missed. Jonathan and I went thru an ice storm just a little under 3 years ago. The ice came down one night and accumulated quickly. Right around 3:00 A.M. the power went out, which I was unaware of until Jonathan told me about it the next morning. However, I did realize the house was freezing cold. Abigail was just 3 weeks old so I immediately got up and started packing all of our bags. It was getting cold fast and there was no time to waste. The roads were bad and they were asking people to stay off the roads unless it was an absolute emergency. We had an emergency. A 3 week old and a 20 month old. We headed over to Columbus at my sis-in-laws, who thankfully still had power and wasn't affected near as bad as we were, and graciously shared their home with us for a week. Poor Jonathan was driving back and forth trying to take care of our house. The day after the storm, the ice started to melt. To make a long story short, (something I am not good at but I will try) since the electricity was out our sun pump underneath the house wasn't working. Water started to accumulate at an alarming rate. For some odd reason, our furnace is under the house and IT was standing in water. Jonathan was bringing water out with buckets (my poor sweetheart - it was 30 degrees outside and he was standing in ice cold water with NO rubber boots), then the neighbor offered to bring over his generator for a while. (we couldn't keep it too long as it was keeping the elderly couple warm) He brought it over a few times over the course of the next few days. (Oh yeah.. supposed to be a short story) Anyways - we thought we lost our furnace (was told that it's no good FOR SURE) .. and then we prayed. *smile - Afterward we called someone out to take a look at it and all they had to do was relight the pilot light. PRAISE GOD FOR THAT! It would have cost several thousand dollars we did NOT have to replace it. All-in-all, it turn out good, but it was a very stressful week. Something Jonathan and I never want to go thru again.

On another "cold weather note", we are under a storm watch this weekend. For the last couple of days they have been talking about a possible 4 to 6 inches of snow. Now they are talking around 12 inches of snow! Please pray with us that our electricity does not go out. The girls are both excited and looking forward to the snow again. It is supposed to start about 7 A.M. tomorrow morning but I am hoping it will hold off as I have a few errands to run first thing in the morning.

Soo.. anyways.. it's time to start up my best friend in the kitchen aka the Crockpot! I have tomorrow's supper, Chili, waiting to simmer all night. Nothing better than waking up to the smell of food, especially when you know it's that days supper, which means you can spend that time getting something else done. I love the crockpot!

Winter Wonder Land

Today was, what I like to call "A Winter Wonder Land". I knew we were supposed to get several inches of snow throughout the night and 1 to 2 more inches throughout today. After waking up this morning and peaking though the blinds of the window that hangs just above our bed I called the girls and pulled up the blinds. "look out the window girls"! They were both in awe... Abbi said... "it's snowing"!!! and when Emma found her voice she said "I can't believe it"!!! ... and I was thinking right along the same line. It was absolutely beautiful. So after feeding daddy breakfast and seeing him off to work, the girls and I bundled up (it was their idea for me to bundle up) and went outside. I was planning on only sending the girls. It just looked so cold and it was so early, but yet they wanted to go. Soooo... our conversation went like this....

Emma: mommy, I want to get dressed and go outside
Abbi: me too!
mommy: well.. what about breakfast?
Emma and Abbi: I want to go play in the snow
mommy: o.k... y'all can play in the snow for a while and then we will have breakfast
Emma and Abbi: YYYAAYY
mommy: o.k.....let's get you dressed! Now... mommy isn't going out with you.. o.k.?
emma: why not?
mommy: because it is sooooo cold. I want to stay inside where it is warm
abbi: it's ok mommy... I will hold your hand *smile - TOO sweet!
emma: but I want you to be cold with us!! *lol

So they talked me into going out with them and I am SO glad I did. They had a BLAST and it was soooo beautiful! Yes - it is nice to watch it snow from the inside but it is also awesome to be out in it.. for a short time anyways .. until you start to loose the feelings in your nose and hands and depending on how many pairs of socks you have on.. sometimes toes too. The bad thing is it happens so fast! One second you think.. wow - it's not too bad out here and then before you know it.. WHAM - owe, owe, owe, OWE .. you can't make it in fast enough.

All-in-all, it was fun, beautiful, gorgeous and MOST importantly - my girls had a blast!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Right now it is 10.9 degrees with the windchill of 1 degree. Yes - it is time for bed and my warm blankets. Oh yes - you can see pictures of today's snow in our photo album!

We're back!

We have made it back from Alabama. Four days ago actually. It's been a busy 4 days trying to get back into routine. It's finally coming around. We all had a GRAND time down in Mobile, as usual. I don't have much time to blog, so this is going to be quick. Last night was a very long night since I am in the process of training Abbi to stay in her own bed, rather than come climbing in bed with mommy and daddy every night at 3:00 - like clock work. It was a tough night because I was determined to stick to my guns. Abbi literally used every trick in her book, trying to get me to let her come in our bed. First her ear hurt and when that didn't work, her biscuits (bums) hurt, than she tried to tell me she was scared and Lord knows what other tactics she tried; it was all a haze for me. She gets to sleep in our room tonight, but on a nice cushioned pallet on the floor. I can't let her have her way after last night. I am watching my 2 nephews for the weekend so one of them has taken up residents in her bed for the next couple of nights. Once Abbi realized she can't sleep in our bed she settled for the floor.

So off I bed I go, cause I am sure I will be up early with the baby. For those of your who are interested ... Thanksgiving photo's are up in our Photo Album!

A Quick Update

Things have been rather busy around here - thus finding it hard to take time out to blog. Ever since the time change, when the kids go down for the night I go down for the night. No more late nighters - like it was before. Perhaps it's the shorter days, more hands on interaction with the kids since they don't venture out as much OR .... perhaps I am just getting old and need more rest. :) I know one thing for sure - I feel so much better the next day and I can function more clearly.

We have had an absolute gorgeous Fall this year. There is still allot of color out there. The girls have had so much fun playing in the leaves. We have not yet had a chance to actually rake and pick up piles. The leaves seem to be coming down slower than other years.

A few weeks ago my brother William and his wife Gabbi came to visit. We had a WONDERFUL time! If you visit Our Photo Album you will see some pictures there. Of course, I have regrets of not taking more pictures. Of course, that is how it usually goes. We took a day and drove out to Amish Country. It was so beautiful! We look forward to going again sometime.

Update on Princess Emma: Emma is still going to school and loving every day of it! She has learned so much! She is now constantly asking us how to write different words and as we tell her letter by letter she writes it all down. We also have flash cards with pictures on them and a word underneath. She recognizes the picture so she knows the word and she will sit down and copy the word and say "look mama, I spelled Cat"! Or - "look mama, I spelled Apple"! She is so proud of herself and so is mommy and daddy! The bigger she gets the bigger of a helper she is becoming. She helps me set the table, wash the dishes. She is pretty good at keeping her room clean (when she is in the mood) and picking up the living areas when asked. She is such a delight! She LOVES to make us laugh with her silly "knock knock" jokes - they are VERY silly - but yet - TOO cute. :)

Update on Princess Abigail: Abbi talks about school, her friends and teachers even though it is all imaginary. She always tends to try and keep up with her big sister Emma. :) She is starting to recognize some of her letters by sight and can write her "A", "H", and "O" - even though her "A" is upside down most of the time. :) When we walk in a store or down a sidewalk - she spots squares and triangles - and excitedly points them out to us. She LOVES books, coloring, painting and playing with play dough. Since the days have been cooler we tend to do allot more along those lines. Her and Emma recently made a Kitty and Puppy puppet out of brown paper bags. They are so proud of their little project. Anything that involves cutting, gluing, writing - things like that - the girls are right there doing it. They love it. She too has become a very big helper. Her favorite and most accomplished task it setting the table. However, cleaning her room is at the bottom of her list. Her idea of clean is hilarious. I end up finding things stuffed under beds, couches, in drawers - I guess she figures "out of sight .. out of mind".

Lord willing, tomorrow morning we will all be heading down South to spend the Thanksgiving Holiday with my family! We are all very excited and looking forward to it. I have been busy cleaning house, mopping floors, dusting.. and all the good stuff! I like to leave knowing everything is clean and in it's place. I packed most of everything we needed last night - now it's just a matter of bathing the kids, packing a few last minutes things .. loading the van .. running the dishwasher and we are all set! Please keep us in prayer as we travel - we can't wait to see everyone!

Baby Kittens

NOTICE: no kittens were harmed in the taking

of the above photo! :-P

Sweet Abigail

This morning, shortly after we all awoke, Abbi asked me to play the memory game with her. Since I was busy making breakfast and then knew I had to get Emma ready for school I said "Mommy can't play with you right now, but after we take Emma to school and we get home, I will play the memory game with you".

So this morning right after dropping Emma off, Abbi having the great memory that she does, we had a conversation in the van that went like this:

Abbi: Now we go home and play the memory game!

Mommy: yes ... we sure do

Abbi: I go first!

Mommy: O.K., that is fine, you may go first.

Abbi: [after thinking it over a while] mommy... you can go first.

Mommy: really? I can go first?

Abbi: Yes.. you can go first!! (excitement in her voice because she thinks she just made my day by letting me go first *smile)

Mommy: awww.. you are so sweet! Thank you for letting me go first. That is so nice of you!!

Abbi: [smiling] yyeaahhh. [moment of silence] mommy...

mommy: yes?

Abbi: when I get big... I'm going to hold you.. o.k.?

mommy: awww... [couldn't keep from laughing]

Abbi: I'm going to tell daddy that I'm getting big!

TOO sweet! :)

We did get home and we did play the memory game. It's pretty sad when your two year old gives you matches she has already found, because she feels sorry for you as you have no matches in your pile yet. :)

They really do listen

Kids are always listening... even when you think they are not. Emma is getting especially good at this. A couple nights ago Jonathan and I were sitting at the kitchen table and I ran my plans for the next day by him. I was telling him that I was going to get up, get around.. go into town, shop at "Nanna's Place", a children's consignment shop, and hope to hit a few garage sales on the way. By 1:00 I planned on being at Jonathan's work to pick him up and spend lunchtime with him. The girls were no where in site.. but I soon found out that does not keep Emma from hearing every word we are saying. The next morning as we were eating breakfast she starts to tell daddy:

Emma: Daddy.... after breakfast we are going to get dressed, go garage saleing and then come pick you up and then we will eat lunch together!

That same morning, after buckling the girls up in their seat belts, I hopped in the van. Before putting the van in drive and pulling off I whispered a quick prayer ... "Lord Jesus, please watch over us and keep us safe.." and I started to pull out... I hear Emma whisper "Amen". I couldn't help but smile and once again think... "they really do listen"!

I have had a "weather alert" on my desktop (compliments of the weather bug) for quite some time today. It's been screeching for several hours. I finally decided to check and see what could possibly be coming our way? After all we had a cool but GORGEOUS day today. We are under a FROST advisory! Is this crazy?!?! Or is this CRAZY?!?!?! YES - this is CRAZY!!! I am not ready for this. My only prayer is that we do not have an early Winter.

Today, down at the Civic Center they had this "Kids Fest" going on. Jonathan and I thought it was a beautiful day to get out and about. I mentioned it to the girls and they were both excited and wanted to go. After all, it was only 1.00 per person to enter. WHAT A JOKE. Everybody and thier brother, and half sister and aunts and uncles and cousins.. you name it.. and they were there. They had those big infaltable jumpy things that kids just love in jump in and after standing in line for 45 solid minutes, Emma decides she doesn't want to go in. Afterall it was a huge fish with huge lips. It really did look like the kiddies were being swallowed. So we went back inside, grabbed them a free balloon and came home. Since all the kids were at the "Kid's Fest", we should have taken to girls to the park. They would of had a blast having the whole park to themselves and all.

What color Crayon Am I?

I seen this "what color crayon are you", on Sharon's Blog - since my girls are napping and I had a few moments on my hands I thought I would venture out to see what color crayon am I? I find it quite interesting as it DOES fit me! :)

You Are a Green Crayon

Your world is colored in harmonious, peaceful, natural colors. While some may associate green with money, you are one of the least materialistic people around. Comfort is important to you. You like to feel as relaxed as possible - and you try to make others feel at ease. You're very happy with who you are, and it certainly shows! Your color wheel opposite is red. Every time you feel grounded, a red person does their best to shake you.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Mommy - I want Snow!

The girls really have the itch for snow lately. They talk about it on a daily basis. As for me? I have mixed feelings about it. Winter is nice, until after the Holidays. Than I am ready for the cold to go away and Spring to arrive.

The other day, I was sitting in a chair reading the latest "No Greater Joy" newsletter as the girls were bustling about in their bedrooms. After a while they came out and said "mommy - we are playing in the snow" as they were leaping and jumping about. I looked up to see them dressed with their sweaters, jackets and since they couldn't seem to find a hat, they decided their panties were just as good! I couldn't help but LAUGH and I just had to run and get my camera. This truly is a Kodak moment. :)

The girls are such a blessing. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for my beautiful, healthy, well behaved sweet princess's. Friday morning as I was reading my bible, I paused for a moment as thoughts of my girls started to run through my head. I was being so thankful for how good they are and for the wisdom God has given me to "train" my children. My own thoughts were confirmed later that morning when I was grocery shopping. I was in the checkout lane, paying for all my groceries and apparently this young lady was observing us. Just as I was leaving she came to me and said "You take such good care of your girls.. I can tell. And they are so cute too!" - that just made my day.. a complete stranger could see this. It made me even MORE thankful. :)

Back to School

1.) This Monday was Emma's first day of school! She LOVES it. Her friend Sara is back too. Emma said she played with her ALL day! :) She is very happy to be back at school. Abbi of course gets bored and misses her. This was Emma's 2nd day of school .. all happy and oh so cute! Since she loves "going" to school so much, I am not sure how she will take to homeschooling next year once she starts kindergarten. She does love to learn, so that is a big plus.


2.) Emma and Abbi love to paint. They both had the bright idea of painting their hands and here they are showing it off.


3.) Both girls are such a big help in the kitchen. This past Sunday morning, as Emma was out in the sun room setting the table, Abbi was stirring in the "sausage and gravy".

Bear Hunt!

This morning I was in the laundry room folding cloths. Princess Abbi comes in and starts an adorable coversation. This is how it went:

Abbi: Mommy, look what I found! (pointing towards the contraption on her head)

Mommy: Oh wow! Where did you find that?

Abbi: in your room.

Mommy: Oh, yes - that's right. What are going to do with it?

Abbi: hunt for bears

Mommy: hunt for bears?

Abbi: yes! (makes a loud growling sound)

Mommy: Well, where are the bears?

Abbi: over there (pointing down the hallway)

Emma: Come here Abbi - let me show you the map where the bears are hiding.

Mommy thinking: I just love having a camera handy. You never know what you will capture.


.. and then a couple hours later.

Emma and Abbi at the same time, each on thier own potty: MOMMY!!!!!! WILL YOU COME WIPE ME?!?!?!?!


..... ahhhh ... the joys of being a mommy. Just doesn't compare to nothing in the world!

Bird Nest

One of Emma's favorite things to do is explore our backyard. One recent morning the girls and I were walking down towards the creek to see if we can spot any new birds. As we were walking, Emma spotted this beautiful bird nest in our path. It fell from the large tree hovering above us. She was very happy and excited about her find. We went on and on about what kind of bird could have nested in this very well built bird nest and finally came to the conclusion that perhaps it was a Robin.

Our Latest Additon

Once again I am amazed at how fast time seems to go by. Summer is almost over. Wow - unbelieveable! Each day I have made a mental note that "I need to blog". The days came and went and I never had the chance to do so. With so much light during the Summer months it is hard to get the girls down at a decent time.

Five weeks ago this coming weekend, we have added alittle addition to our family. :) Emma now has a pet Bunny named Molly, that she absolutely loves! Everyday Emma tells me "Mommy, I love my bunny, she is soo sweet"! The girls have had so much fun with her. During Molly's "imaginary play" she jumps and runs as if something is chasing her and the girls think it's the funniest thing in the world. I believe Molly loves being the center of thier attention. Her favorite foods are Romaine lettuce and apples. We picked some broccoli leaves out of our garden for her but it was quickly proven that wasn't her favortie food. Nonetheless, she ate it anyways.

On another note... Abbi, Emma and I just got over a 24 hour stomach virus. In that order.

On Tues, I was babysitting as usual. The oldest of the 3 came to me and complained of a tummy ache. Thinking it was a bowel problem I sent her to the restroom and dismissed the thought. She complained a few more times and I assured her it would feel better soon. That night or 3:00 in the morning rather, Abbi awoke crying. I went in her room to check on her only to find out she puked all over the place. I quickly undressed her and put her in a warm bath then re-dressed her and put her in bed with daddy as I went to her room to clean up the rest of the mess. Right as I was coming back about 10 minutes later, she was throwing up again. Thankfully, I gave her a towel on my way out, telling her to throw up on that should she feel the need again. Thankfully she did. She kept throwing up about every 30 minutes to an hour until about 10:30 or 11:00 the next morning. That morning, when I phoned the mother of the children I babysit to tell her I can't watch her kids that day because Abbi was sick, she proceeded to tell me that Bri got sick the night before... that is when I realized it was she who brought the bug along. *sigh About 12:30 that afternoon Emma started to complain about a tummy ache. At about 2:30 she too started throwing up and about 7:30 or 8:00 that evening.. well.. it was my turn.... uuugggghhhh. It seemed to be a 24 hour *bug. However, it only lasted 12 to 15 hours for the girls. First of all I give the credit to God, and secondly to God again, for the wonderful herbs he left on this earth for us!

Once we awoke I started giving Abbi the Children's Composition Tincture I made about a month ago. I also made Emma start taking it "just in case". I believe this to be the reason of their short lived stomach virus, vs. my 24 hour ordeal. My only regret is that I didn't start taking it when I started giving it to Emma. By the time I was feeling sick to my tummy I dared not put anything in my mouth -- uugghh. But anyways, thankfully we are all 3 back on our feet. The Lord was good. We were all bound to get sick, but he was good to let us be sick one at a time. First Abbi.. and by the time the worst was over for her, than Emma. Once the worst was over for her... I came down sick. I am thankful I didn't get sick until my babies felt better. This way I was able to take good care of them. :)

Today we were back on our feet cleaning house, which the girls are getting so good at. They have become quite the lil' helpers. I am so blessed. For some reason, Abbi seems attracted to cleaning toilets .. something I am not ready to have her take over just yet?!?!?!

I have more to blog.. but my girls want to play the "memory game" .. so perhaps I will blog later. :)

Pictures Part 3

1.) That's MY girl! A bird watcher/admirer in the making. We were watching the Indigo Buntings.
2.) Emma taking the Firefly out of my hand
3.) Abbi showing Emma another Firefly
4.) A Firefly gets away

Pictures Part 2

Pictures:

1.) Emma in daddy's work boots
2.) Abbi helping Mama water the flowers around the mailbox
3.) Emma and Abbi attempting to put training wheels on Abbi's new bike ( a .50 garage sale find) (notice how Emma is holding the wheel *smile)
4.) Abbi doing what she loves most... swinging

Pictures

Some pics I decided to add:

1.) Emma so proud of her new helmet from Daddy
2.) Emma painting a Rainbow and Abbi patiently waiting her turn
3.) Abbi happy to have her turn!
4.) Emma painting in her "My Little pony" book from Aunt Lisa.

Mama's Big Helper

Abbi LOVES helping me in the kitchen. Since daddy had to work late this evening, I decided that the girls and I would have "breakfast" for Supper. In the pictures above Abigail is cracking and pouring the egg into our skillet. As I was doing the dishes, she stood guard and let me know when they were "all done"! They were done to perfection. :)

It's official! Or rather, has been for a few days now! Jonathan, the girls and I are going on vacation! Lord willing, we are headed down South this coming Saturday to spend the 4th of July week with my folks. Emma is especially excited and looking forward to the trip to Grandma and Grandpa's. Plus she knows she will get to see many of her cousins! We are all excited and can't wait! :)

I asked Abbi if we should take her portable potty with us on the trip. She said "no.. we leave it home". Afterward I said "Well... yes, I think we should take it with us". I left it at that and forgot all about it. About 10 mins. later she comes and tells me .. "Puppy said we need to leave the potty home!" - haha... too cute! I can't quite figure out why she does not want to take it. She still uses it at home, as she is still too short to use the big potty all by herself. For the last several weeks she has entered this "I do it" stage. She has to do EVERYTHING on her own. She was asking me to help her on the big potty for a while, until she started the "I do it" stage. Now she would rather use the small potty vs. the big potty, because using the small potty she can "do it ALL by herself". I dare not help or she gets very upset. I am very anxious for her to outgrow this! :)

I have many more pictures to share, but they will have to wait. It's 11:30 and I have a big day of packing and cleaning tomorrow. I better jet!

American Gold Finch

Emma telling the bird it has a "sweet little tail"!

Emma talking silly to the birdie :)

This morning, I awoke about 7:30 and Princess Emma soon followed. I was on the computer checking up on a few things and Emma came and laid down on the couch. Soon afterward we heard a loud thud and Emma said "Mommy! That was a bird"! - which of course I was very familiar with the sound as this was not the first time this has happened. A Female American Gold Finch ran in to our window. I quickly got up and looked out the window and there it sat ... I was hoping stunned and not dead. I quickly went outside to inspect and Emma rushed to the window and asked "mommy .. is it dead"? I was happy to report that is wasn't! I picked it up and told Emma to hurry and get dressed so she can come outside and hold the little birdie before it comes back to it's senses. :) So she did.. and had a blast doing so. It was so sweet as she was petting and talking to the bird telling it that she will be alright. She was also telling the birdie " you have a sweet little tail"! :)


Abbi awoke about 10 minutes later and I told her to come outside if she wants to hold a bird. She quickly made her way out and as I took the bird from Emma and started to hand it over to Abbi it flew away. Abbi was very disappointed and I felt so bad as she was very excited about holding the bird. I told her.. maybe next time. She seemed content with the possibility of holding one "next time".

Enjoying Summer

Today was another absolute GORGEOUS day! The girls and I have spent most of the day outdoors. They have had so much fun riding their bikes, running through the sprinkler, chasing butterflies, birds and in the evening - Emma loves to catch the "Lightening Bugs". Abigail is still not too sure about holding the bugs. :) She shivers at the sight of one! Especially the Spiders. Yet - she LOVES the song "itsy bitsy spider". About 5 nights ago she slept in bed with Jonathan and I. They had already snuggled in bed and started conversation before I made it to bed. I am not sure how it all got started but when I tuned into their conversation they were talking about Spiders. Daddy was telling her that Spiders have 8 eyes and she said daddy has eye's like a "pider". She says... 1, 2, 3! Counting the eyes on daddy's face. Daddy said "WHAT?!?! No way! I have only 2 eyes!" Which of course Abbi had to argue all the while giggling so cutely. Needless to say, Daddy got tired and started to snore away while Mommy had to hear ALL about the Spiders. The more she talked about them, the bigger her eyes got and the more scared she was getting. I finally had to sush her up and make her go to sleep.

This evening as the girls were busy playing on the swing set, Jonathan and I were standing near the creek chatting about the days events and enjoying the cool breeze along with the beautiful song of the many birds. As we were talking, all of a sudden Jonathan says "Look! A Duck"! I look over, notice the duck and then we both notice about 5 little ducklings swimming close behind. It was the sweetest little moment and I was happy to have my camera with me! Of course, it is a new camera we had purchased today! I love it and have been snapping pictures like crazy - so I will be posting many pictures in the near future. :) The beautiful blue bird you see in the following 2 pictures is the "Indigo Bunting". Those are for my sis Monica! :) I must say - the MOST beautiful bird I have seen yet. I have many of them and I never get tired of seeing them. :)

Strawberry pickin'

This past Saturday, Jonathan, the girls and I went out to Suter's Farm and picked us some nice juicy SWEET Strawberries. (3 buckets full) Melt in yur mouth Strawberries. UMmmUUmmmm GOOD Strawberries. The only thing I kept thinking, was why haven't we done this before? Jonathan and I have been married for 5 years and this is a first for Strawberry pickin'. But surely will not be the last. Emma and Abbi both had a grand time. They had just as much fun picking them as they had eating them. I still have 2 buckets full in the refrigerator waiting for me to clean and freeze them. We hope to get out there once more before the season is over with.

After picking strawberries, we headed over to Columbus where we watched our Nephew play baseball. The game went til about 10:15 in the evening and it was FREEZING outside. Yes... freezing. Just when I got excited about the warm weather, it chilled again. *sigh The girls enjoyed watching their cousin play baseball. We had them wrapped up in their little blankets so they stayed cozy and warm. They enjoyed the overall trip. They had so much fun, they didn't want to come home. Abbi told me to take my shoes off.. cause "we not going bye bye!" (sassy lil' thing she is!)

Emma and Jared set up camp in the living room and built a "fire" while Abbi was running around the house playing with Samson. (Auntie Lisa's Pug) At least there she has a real dog to play with. For about the past 4 weeks or so, she has had "imaginary kitty's". I have been petting them, feeding them, carrying them around in my pockets and on my shoulder's and head. A couple of times I thought she was handing me "food" so I would start to eat it, and she would get upset!

Abbi: NOOO - don't eat Kitty!!

Mama: Ohh... sorry - I thought it was food.....

Abbi: Noo... Kitty Cat ---pointing to my lap, she says "1, 2, 3" ... (letting me know I know have 3 kitty's on my lap)...

Which isn't much at all. She has counted 4 in my pocket, and 7 on my shoulder about 4 on my head....some days they seem to be countless. As long as they are not real.. I can definitely deal with this. :) I love to see her use her imagination. Today, as she was playing in the sand box, she was gathering sticks and said it was for a fire. I am not sure where she gets this idea from, as we do not build fires.

Well - I would have more to blog, but we just got home from Columbus and am very tired. Just thought I better take a min. to blog something or I would never get to it tomorrow. :)

Baby Bunnies

About 3 weeks ago the girls and I were out in the front yard. Emma and Abbi were riding their bikes and I was painting a picket fence sectional. The next door neighbor was out mowing his lawn. All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I see something that looked like a dark flash run past me and across the drive way. Seconds later the neighbor is running across my drive- way too. I was like.. ooooo. k. Then he turns around and proceeds to tell me that he was chasing a baby bunny as he wanted to catch it so the girls could pet it. When I heard "baby" bunny, I decided to jump in on the chase. Unfortunately, our catch was unsuccessful so we all went back about our business. About an hour later the girls went down for their afternoon naps and I went out to hang some cloths on the line. On my way back inside I happened to look down; right there in front of me the cutest lil' baby bunny! He was sitting so still I was afraid he may be dead. Upon closer inspection I noticed he was breathing. SHEW - he was alive and SOO SWEET! I picked him up and carried him around for a while... awwwwww ... all the while wishing the girls were awake so they could pet him. I held him for about 15 minutes and knowing it would be a while before the girls awoke I sadly let him go.

That evening, Jonathan came home from work and he got to hear all about the "CUTEST little Bunny EVER". :) After supper he went out to mow. Knowing the lil' bunnies were now out and about he was on the look out fearing he may run them over with the mower. Before long, he came and told me he seen 1 of the bunnies. I found it, picked it up and brought it in so the girls could enjoy it. THEY LOVED IT! (as seen in the pics above :) ) Later we went back out and found another... Than another.... we were able to catch 3 out of 4. I chased the 4th one down all the way to the neighbors yard. He finally ran behind the stacked tires. I felt better with him being way over there rather than close to where Jonathan was mowing. So we kept the 3 in the box and enjoyed them while daddy was mowing. After he was all finished up, the girls and I went and put the bunnies back in the hole.. and one by one.. they disappeared. Abbi was so sad to see them go... (Abbi get's way too attached to things - that will be a whole 'nother blog within it self)

Mama: Ok girls.. it's time to say G'bye to the Bunnies

Abbi: No Mama ... Noo... I don't want bunnies to go.. noo..

Mama: yess... we have to put them back

Abbi: Nooo ppeaassee!

Mama: sweetheart.. if we don't put them back, they will be very sad. They will miss their mommy and their mommy will miss them.

Emma: Yea Abbi, their mommy will miss them! She will be very sad!

Abbi: aaaawww.... awight Mama ... bye bunnies!!

..... we are now seeing the bunnies each day! One lives underneath our deck, another underneath the fur tree next to the house. Each of the other 2 chose a fir tree further out into the yard. They are now medium sized and I am amazed at the rate they are growing. One of them will let us get within 5 feet of him, before he slowly hops off. I believe it was the first one I caught earlier in the day as it was so tame. It was also the same one Emma and Abbi was holding in the pictures above. :)

2 days later I caught a female Cardinal which was trapped in our sun room. They were able to pet her and loved every bit of it! They have been trying to catch the Robin's and butterflies, so far with no success. That doesn't keep them from trying again and again and again. :)

Summer is finally here. Today was rather cool - but not cold. Since it was rainy - (finally we get some rain!) - the cool weather was not bothersome. The girls have already been playing in water like little Duckies. Where there is water? There is Emma and Abbi - from morning to night. Buckets in hand - either dumping water on each other or drowning my flowers. Either way, no doubt they are having oodles of fun.

Emma has now completed her first year of pre-school. She misses going to school already. I am still not sure she realizes she is out for the Summer. She misses her teacher and her friend "Fisher". She has also been having fun being home each morning and riding her bike. She wakes up in the mornings and the first thing she usually says is "It's a beautiful day today Mama"! I say.. yes.. Praise God.. it's another beautiful day! :)

4 years of blessings!

Today, Princess Emma turned 4! We made a trip to Sears this morning and captured the princesses' beauty in photo! :) Since this year they were both 1 year older I thought it would be a breeze. Not a chance! We had a HARD time getting Abbi to smile. She didn't think the lady was "charming" at all. We finally managed to get a few smiles. :)

I can't believe my little Emma is 4 years old already! I feel so honored to be called "her Mother." She has brought so much joy in our lives. I can't imagine life without her and thank God daily for such a sweet little girl! She has become quite the little helper with the house work and also keeping Abbi in check. Today, she told me she needed the "spanky spoon" because Abbi keeps whinning. She figured she needed to set her sissy straight. :)

We are going to celebrate her Birthday Sunday afternoon. She is VERY excited and chatters about her birthday non-stop. It's o.k. as long as IT stops after the party! :)

Lint and Toes

We have been enjoying some very nice weather up here in the North. The key word is "*have been". Today was 75 degrees and tomorrow it will be high of ONLY 38 :( - the same goes for the next 3 or 4 days. Needless to say we have been a bit spoiled with the warm weather and am now dreading the cooler weather. We will have to once again put the sandals away and drag out the socks, shoes and coats.

Abbi has been so used to wearing socks and picking lint out from in between her little toes. Today, she was sitting on the potty and so intently checking in between the toes.. one by one.. At first I thought she was picking at her toenails, (as she often does) until she spread two of her toes, put her foot up as high as she could so I can clearly see and said "OH NO!! Mommy! There's nothing there!!!" Showing me there was no lint. She was worried. I think that maybe she thought it was a part of her .... something that grew between her toes, for "picking" pleasure. :)

Fun in the Sun

Since I have last blogged our seedlings have sprouted wonderfully! If I wasn't so lazy right now I would get up, take a picture and add it to this blog. But since I am indeed too lazy, you will have to take my word for it. :) Maybe another blog.

The weather has been SO NICE all week - we have been spending so much time outside. The grass has turned green and the trees are starting to sprout. Our ornamental Japanese Plum Tree is about to bloom. The buds are on and we expect them to open any day now. The girls and I have been cleaning beds; getting ready for Spring! Well, hoping to. It is supposed to be in the lower 40's next weekend. eeekk. I am praying that will change! We are so happy to have warm, SUNNY weather! ahhh... I just love the great outdoors.

Emma and Abbi continue to grow like weeds. Looking back at pictures from just a few short months ago, proves me right. Abbi is now bored with the "small" potty and she wants to go to the "BIG potty", which means I am taking her as she is still too small to get on herself. She is still doing so well with the whole potty thing. I am still amazed at how easy it was to train her. Or did I? I don't even feel like I did any potty training.

I have been thinking about getting Abbi out of the crib and into a toddler bed. That is until today. Now I am thinking I should just upgrade her to a queen size bed. She has now "adopted" 4 stuffed animals, one baby and 2 blankets that she must sleep with. She is starting to run out of room! Especially since her lastest is a BIG Winnie the Pooh.

Emma is so excited about her birthday party coming up in 2 weeks. She wrote her name on her invitations, all by herself and was very proud of that. :) We are doing a "Princess" theme this year. I can't wait. I love to see her so excited about something so special!

For the first time, since we have moved into this house, we have fertilized the lawn. Jonathan is very excited to start seeing improvements. The weeds were indeed starting to take over! Our neighbor across the street is in the landscaping business - he was able to get us some bags "at cost". Saved us alot of money - hopefully we will start seeing the weeds die off and the grass once again take over. :)