Five year olds drink coffee?

This morning I was holding Abbi and after a while I set her on the couch next to Emma. After setting Abbi down she says..

Abbi: where are you going mommy?
mommy: to make me some coffee baby
Emma: make me some!!!
mommy: [laughing] yeah right.... I don't think so you silly goose
Emma: [in a matter-of-a-fact tone] but mommy... don't you know that when everybody turns 5 years old they drink coffee!?!?!

She sounded very convincing .... but of course not convincing enough. :)

Spring is here!

O.K... so I am horrible at keeping my blog updated. Oh well. :)

Spring is finally here! OR at least I thought. It is a chilly 35 degrees right now and we are under a freeze warning tonight. But before this horrific (yes, it is horrific; I am sick on cold weather) cold spell we had gorgeous weather!! The girls have been outside playing all day long. This year, since they are older I allow them to go down and play at the creek. One evening, I decided to take my camera and snap some pictures. You can see them here. These pictures were taken just 10 days ago and I am amazed at how fast things have grown. The grass is taller and the trees are much greener! They have so much fun playing by the water. They love feeding the small fish, and keep hoping to spot a big fish. They also enjoying finding the golf balls. There are MANY that get pushed down the creek, as the same creek runs through the golf course on the other side of the road.


We had Emma's 5th birthday party a week ago Saturday. It turned out really nice. I made her cake and she LOVED it! She kept telling me "mommy, this was the best party every"! :) She is such a sweetheart! She also tells me, "Mommy, I can't believe I am five years old already"! haha -too cute. She is getting so big. I can't believe it. Before I know it she will be as tall and then taller than me! She still enjoys going to "school". She has only about 4 weeks left. I am looking forward to the end of school. :) You can see pictures of her birthday party here.

About a week ago, my greatest fear happened. Emma's bedroom door still has an old glass knob on it. There is no key hole on the outside. Just a few weeks earlier I thought to myself, "I sure hope Abbi never locks herself in there.. cause I have no idea how I would get her out". (it is a weird lock) If I were smarter, I would have taken her back there and taught her how to lock and unlock the door. Should she ever lock it, viola - she would know how to unlock it! But I didn't. So one evening, Jonathan had left over a friends house and the girls and I stayed home. I was fixin' them supper and called them to come eat, only Emma showed up. I kept saying .. "Abbi... time to eaaatt", and after a few minutes I noticed.. still no Abbi! Than I heard a faint cry. I quickly made my way down the hall way only to discover she had locked herself in Emma's room and couldn't figure how to get out! Ohh booyyy... from what I recall it all went like this..

mommy: Abbi... unlock the door baby.
Abbi: [crying]
mommy: Abbi.. you know that latch on the door knob? Push it the other way. The lock honey.. push it the other way!
Abbi: [still crying and trying to open the door]
mommy: Abbi .. stand back, mommy is going to try and push the door open [trying to twist the knob and push the door with all my might] The door wouldn't budge. Both windows were closed and locked so I knew getting her out through the windows wasn't an option.
After a few minutes of trying to explain to her where the "lock" was.... I decided to call Jonathan on his cell and see if he has any pointers.. so I told Abbi I would be right back and went to the kitchen to call daddy.
[in the meantime... Emma leaves the table and goes to Abbi and I hear her say...]

Emma: Abbi...it's o.k.! Don't worry Abbi.. I'm going to get you out! Abbi... listen to me! You know that little thing that moves?? push it! ABBI WAS FREE!!! SHE WAS OUT!! Within 20 seconds! wow!

The "little thing that moves"???? I would have never thought to say that! I mean... how many "little things that move" do they have in their room??? IT WAS WAYYY PRECIOUS and Abbi was soo happy to be out and Emma was sooo proud of herself, and so was I!

It is so nice to see the girls playing together. The older they get, the more they interact and "giggle". It is so sweet. Everyday I thank God for my sweet little girls. They are such good listeners. It is so nice to know that they "obey" me even when they don't realize I am watching them. For example, the other day the neighbor boy from across the street came over to play with them. (Luke; age 7) He was riding on Emma's bike, as both Emma and Abbi were chasing him with their butterfly nets in hand trying to "catch" him. I was inside doing my dishes, watching them out the kitchen window. Luke started riding the bike down the drive way and both girls chasing right behind him. He did exactly what I "just knew" he was going to do. He went flying across the road on the bike, not looking to the left or to the right. I was so proud of my girls when they stopped within 3 feet of being in the road and did NOT follow him. They stopped and waited for him to come back. Even though they had no idea I was watching them, they still stopped because they knew mommy does not allow them to go within 3 feet of the road unless mommy is with them. That was a good feeling. :)

Come Spring

I love the fact that it is now daylight longer. Spring is just around the corner and I will say "Welcome bright warm and sunny days" and "Goodbye you ole' dreary gray days!" Boy, I can't wait! Even though it seems so far away I know it is just around the corner. It is 12:16 in the afternoon and the sun is just starting to shine through the blanket of gray up in the sky. It is supposed to be a high of 42 today. We were hit with a snow storm this past weekend. It lasted 2 days. Depressing yes. If it were not for the snow piled in the driveway, the girls could be out enjoying the warm fresh air, as they ride their bikes.

With the warmer weather around the corner I have a lot of things to accomplish. A long list of things actually. A list that I have been adding to for the last 2 years. I finally stopped babysitting, after 2 years. Ahhh.. it is so nice not to be babysitting anymore. So now, the list I have been making and only dreaming about accomplishing, will soon become a reality. I hope. This list includes a lot of painting. I hope to finally finish my sunroom this year. Babysitting on a daily basis kept me from getting any project done. Ahhhh, yes - it is so good not to be babysitting anymore. Do I miss the money? Yes! I know I will especially miss it when garage sales start. But oh well, I have done without before, I am doing without now, and I will do without then. The girls will just have to start using their own money if they want something bad enough. After all, most of what I bought was for them. It's not like they are lacking anything.

So anyway, back to my list. I also need to paint my laundry room closet, need to repaint my kitchen, my bathroom, and both living rooms. (never ever, ever, ever, ever, use flat paint in your kitchen or bathroom.. or any room in your house for that matter, especially if you have kids. It stains very well, and will not clean well at all) So, not only do I have all the walls to paint (or rather re-paint) but I also have a 4.00 sofa table (garage sale find of course) that I would like to sand down and redo. Amongst all that, I have tons of other "small stuff" to do. So yes, I have a lot of work ahead of me. I have been sick for the last 2 weeks. First it was the flu and while I was suffering with that I got a stomach virus on top of that. I was well enough to go to Columbus for 1 weekend to help my sis and bro-in-law to move from their apartment (you would never guess the amount of stuff they had stuffed in that apartment. When I seen the amount of "piled up to the ceiling row after row" of boxes I almost fainted! *gasp*) into a beautiful home. Anyways, I was well enough to go help only to come home and get sick a day later. So I have been sick all week again with a horrid sinus and upper respitory infection and had plenty of time to dream about things that need done. On top of that Emma and Abbi got sick and now Jonathan is feeling it too. My poor sweetheart! *sigh

Anyways, off I go to get these demanding kids something to eat. :)

Daddy, do you want Strawberries on your eggs?

Abigail loves spicing her food up. She loves dipping her food in one sauce or another. The other day, as she was sipping on her Strawberry Banana Milkshake, she was chattering about when all of a sudden she stops in mid sentence, her eyes getting big and her brows on the rise, ... ( by the look on her face I knew she had concocted some great idea or another)

Abigail: hey mommy... I know what! How about we put Strawberries on our eggs!

mommy: ummm... I don't think so. That would be gross, don't you think?

Abigail: nooo.... [in a "as a matter-of-fact" tone] it's like putting candy on it!!

mommy: HAHA (too cute!)

When daddy comes home from work in the evenings, most day's Abbi tells him what's on her menu and off she goes to her Dora Kitchen to "cook" a meal for daddy. So when he came home that evening and barely made it through the door Abbi informed him she was going to cook him eggs. As she takes off down the hallway, about half way she spins around and asks, "daddy... do you want Strawberries on your eggs?"

A Few Pics ....

..... for your enjoyment. Taken yesterday afternoon ....

Abigail and Mommy.....

Daddy with his precious lil' girls ....

Emma Grace and Abigail Hope ....

the two little Princess's ... we are so blessed ..... :)

Bitter Cold Days

Wow - I can't believe it has been almost 2 months since I have last posted. I really don't have an excuse for that, unless going to bed early counts. I have made up my mind that going to bed at 12:00 or 1:30 in the morning is just not going to happen anymore. As much as I can help it anyways. So, usually when my girls go down for the night, shortly afterwards I go down for the night. And amazingly enough I can get out of bed at 6:30 in the morning AND I feel SO MUCH better! :)

On another "feel good note" I completely cut out my sugars for the last 3 weeks and something amazing and quite interesting happened. My dust allergies are gone! This past Saturday I started some "Spring Cleaning" (early, I know) in my kitchen, which included taking down 4 sets of curtains to wash, pulling clutter off shelves,dusting and organizing and guest what?!?! I didn't sneeze once!! Usually I would get the works! Sneezing, running nose, watery eyes and just plain SICK feeling. And if I didn't know when to stop I would get BED SICK for several days. I always dreaded the "deep" cleaning.

Our two little Princess's are growing like weeds. Even Emma is noticing how she is growing. Each day she stands next to my kitchen counter's and says "Look Mommy! I'm growing bigger!" Seems like yesterday she was standing on her tippy toes to see what's on the counter. Now she is almost a full head above my counter tops! Quite amazing. Abigail has been going through quite a growth spurt of her own. The pants I started putting on her in late fall and early Winter, are all of a sudden above her ankles?!? When did this happen? My oh my, they grow too fast.

Abigail has seemed to pull this new phrase "I'm mad" out of her hat. It must be a stage she is going through. However, I do not remeber Emma doing this. If something isn't going her way, she puckers her lips, puffs out her cheeks, crosses her arms across her chest and says "I'm Mad"!! What in the world?? How does she even know what that means? Mommy and daddy surely doesn't use the word? And not until Abbi started to say it, Emma started using the word as well. Kids.. haha... quite amazing.

The weather has turned bitter, yet again. Right now, it is 6 degrees outside and the windchill is -4. Yesterday was even worse. The girls talk about "Summertime" every day. About swimming, riding thier bikes.. and all the fun stuff they rememeber doing last Summer. Yes - we are VERY anxious for warm weather. Emma is very excited about helping me plant our garden. I too, can't wait!!

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