Thursday, March 27, 2008

Kodak Moment

Way back in the day of 35mm film-cameras, I would have called this a "Kodak Moment."Will is starting to take a few tentative steps, and just as I released his hands so he could walk to the ottoman where Syd was sitting, she opened up her arms to reach for him, he reached for her and they shared one of those tender moments! (I was not fortunate enough to have my camera on hand at that exact time, but we re-enacted the whole thing to capture the moment, and it actually worked!)

Monday, March 24, 2008

The Easter Bunny came to our house...REALLY!

Three true Easter stories. Please use your imagination because for once, I did not take pictures to chronicle these imaginative tales (BUMMER!) Katie has a very vivid imagination. I did too at that age, perhaps, as an only child, I would venture to say it was my best friend. So keeping this in mind, here goes...
On Saturday night, as I was "preparing" for the Easter Bunny to visit, the thought occured to me that what I was doing was temporary. That in just a "few" years, our kids would outgrow many of these fun holiday traditions (tears.) Anyway, I divert. Lance was at the basketball games so I had no one with which to mull over these heavy thoughts, and therefore went to bed tired and with a few things on my mind. Fast forward to Sunday morning.
Our girls know that at 8 a.m., they are welcome to come wake us up, if we are not already up. Now that we have had a few kids, I am definitely NOT the heavy sleeper I once was; and at precisely 08:00:03 a.m., the fun began. I heard Katie's door creak open, then Syd's door, then a few moments of silence (Katie was presumably waking up Syd,) then the thumping of their feet as they headed towards our room, then sunlight floods my oh-so-dark-I-love-it bedroom accompanied by shreiks of glee of "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! The Easter Bunny was here last night and she left her footprints in the snow in our yard and I looked over the railing and our baskets are full and there are eggs hiding for us and there is some of her fur laying in the hallway COME ON, GET UP!" Seriously.
Let me interject a shout-out to all of the little bunnies that call Highlands Ranch their home, no matter that my proud husband delights in masterfully "offing" them with his bb gun in hopes of reducing the grass-and-flower-eating little colony that resides on our street.
Sure enough, one big one left his perfectly formed little footprints in the snow, (another Colorado Easter tradition--it snows every year on Easter, no matter if it is 80 degrees the day before.) A perect trail of bunny feet through the front yard, up to our porch, and back to the driveway. I so wish I had taken a picture of this before the snow melted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, in case you were wondering about the bunny "fur," it is not as exciting but far more imaginative. My little runny-nosed children have a bad habit of stuffing tissues in their pants pockets and Lord help me, it is impossible to get every single one of them out before laundering. Therefore, in our upstairs hallway next to the laundry room, there is at almost any point in time, a few scattered pieces of freshly washed and dried tissue remnants laying about (please excuse me for not vacuuming often enough...) They fall to the wayside during the journey from washer to dryer, to bedrooms for folding and putting away, which I had dutifully done the night before after my Easter preparations. No matter that Katie has seen it before and somewhere deep inside of her she truly knows what it is, for today it is called "Easter bunny fur."
Now you'll have to track with me on this last story. Let me preface this with a sidenote. Katie loves her Webkins. Uncle Ted introduced us to the world of Webkins just before Christmas when he took Katie to the Hallmark store and let her pick out whichever one her little heart desired. She took great pride in her decision, and came home with a lovely pink poodle, complete with curly hair and therefore dubbed, "Curly." We recently found out that Webkins has come out with a smaller version of the same animals called, "Lilkins." When Katie discovered that "Curly" had a little "baby" somewhere out there, it has been a daily request that could she please have one. We have put her off with the usual excuses while in the meantime, I searched high and low for a "baby Curly." So, whilst I was picking up the night before, I had gone into Katie's room to put some things away (while she was sleeping, of course,) and to tidy up. An almost-nightly ritual as mom. Katie's love for stuffed animals cannot be faulted except when they are strewn about, each tucked into their own little beds (swaddled in old bandanas and homemade blankies,) all over her room. Its all part of her nightly routine, as is brushing her teeth and prayers. So when I had gone in Saturday night, I put a few back in their basket and then tucked a few in next to her. To her GREAT delight on Sunday morning, she said, "I think the Easter Bunny is bringing me a baby Curly because she was in my room last night looking for Curly to see what she looked like. Then she cleaned up my room and tucked her in next to me while I was sleeping." And sure enough, before we even hit the bottom of the stairs, Katie saw her basket with baby Curly peeping over the top. Sheer joy.
Clock reads 08:03:27 a.m. I knew we were destined for a great day. And thanks to my daughter's incredible imagination, we are good to go for a few more years of fun holiday traditions...

Sunday, March 23, 2008

He is risen!

Easter morning...
Our church has a tradition of having the kids place flowers at the foot of the cross.
(I so wish I had taken a photo at the end of the service, it was covered with flowers and quite beautiful!)

Go Spartans!


I can't believe I actually wrote that, (since I am a Boilermaker!)
However, in honor of our MSU friends & family...

Easter weekend festivities...



Pancakes & Eggs at our church Saturday morning!






Still too small to have any idea what is going on!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Thank you, McDonalds


And now he looks like a real pirate with his new bandana-toy. After all, we did come up with his name last summer when I was pregnant, while watching "Pirates of the Caribbean" in the movie theater, a.k.a. "William Turner." (Please excuse the french fry remnants on his chin.) Moments after this picture was taken, Katie dubbed him "Captain Stinky Pants," bet you can guess why.

Monday, March 17, 2008

"He looks like a real boy!"

Will's first hair cut...one last look at those "curls!"Miss Sue goes in with the clippers...
Katie exclaims, "He looks like a real boy!" Seriously, I have it on video, too!
Miss Sue actually took care of the four of us today, the girls love going to see Miss Sue!
(Will was only a little uncertain after the experience with the clippers.)
Check out Syd running her fingers through her hair. Just now as she was helping me upload these photos, she said, "Mom, Miss Sue makes my hair feel beautiful." Miss Sue, we love you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A little Irish Blessing to celebrate the day...

Bless us oh Lord, You who are
the peace of all things calm
the place to hide from harm
the light that shines in dark
the heart's eternal spark
the door that's open wide
welcoming all to come inside.
We ask this blessing
God be willing.

On a side note, we are now a 1-car seat, (2 booster seat) family. Syd has graduated to her VIP ("Very Important Princess,") booster seat. Katie now buckles in her sister, too, which is a huge help!!! Also note the sparkley chapstick to accompany the pink booster seats!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Spring Break is Here!





We began our first day of Spring Break with a visit to everyone's favorite pink castle in Denver--Casa Bonita! My friend Christina and two of her kids joined us in the Baller Bus, and we met up with the Wagner Family, including Tim, (you are a brave man, my friend!) The kids had a ball and somehow the adults managed to leave with our sanity in tact.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Men In Trees, Anyone?

Have you fallen into the same rut as me when it comes to reality television? It seems that reality t.v. is dominating most of my "prime time" viewing slots. I don't mind a couple of the shows, but I need something a little more "retro" to keep my mind sharp, (ha ha.) Last year I got attached to the television show on ABC called, "Men In Trees." Would never have claimed to be a fan of Anne Heche (after all, she is nuts!), however, this show has hooked me in. Its kind of like an "Into the Wild" meets "Sex in the City," although I must admit to never seeing that movie or show, respectively. ANYWAY, the show is funny and does not give me nightmares (i.e. "Law & Order," "CSI," etc. which just a few short years ago I was addicted to these shows, but they were disturbing my healthy frame of mind--totally serious about the nightmares!) The big bonus, this show is filmed on location in British Columbia and takes me back to one of the bestest times in my life when I lived in the rugged wilderness of B.C. for a summer. It is simply breathtaking. And with that said, the show is kind of like a breath of fresh air--as good as one can get from watching t.v.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Good news and bad news

Please continue to pray for our family's health. Last night Syd became very ill during the night with croup symptoms. After trying all of the home remedies, she still had 102.7 fever and difficulty breathing. Based on her fever-related seizure issues, we decided it was best to take her to the ER rather than wait until the morning. She was treated for croup (with steroids) and sent home. Our pediatrician called this morning to follow up and was kind enough to go ahead and write a prescription for Will, just in case he develops the symptoms tonight. We are all getting ready to take a nap. Whew! The good news? Because Lance and I are still recovering from our lovely stomach issues, he is not in London right now. He postponed his trip by a week. I know it can always be worse so we'll glance at the negative and focus on the positive. Thanks for your prayers!

Monday, March 3, 2008

The future's so bright...


Our poor kids have cabin fever! We have all been hit by the wacky illness bandwagon, lastly, Mom & Dad. This is yet another attempt at trying to keep the kids occupied while we try to recuperate!