Memorial Day

I hope on this special day you are doing something to teach your kids about the importance of Memorial Day.  We are going to a parade and then a ceremony where all the local veterans are being honored with a plaque.  In the meantime, I found this poem.  Have a great and safe Memorial Day!

Freedom Is Not Free

- Kelly Strong

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

 

 

Luau and the Beach

The Hippie being buried in the sand.  She was loving it!

The girls were showing off the sand city they spent the morning building.  They were quite proud of it!

Sharing a drink with Nana and my sister!

Nana and the Hippie.

Nana and the Genius.

The Genius just hanging around!  She loves climbing and hanging and swinging!

The Unsinkable ME!

On vacation I have discovered something amazingly wonderful!  Swimming at almost 35 weeks pregnant is AWESOME!  I get in the pool and I feel light and graceful! I can hop! I can dance!  I can JUMP!  But most amazingly....it seems to give me unlimited bouyancy!  Seriously, I timed it and I was able to gently tread water in the 8 foot section for 45 minutes.  I only stopped because I was worried I would be tired later.  It was amazing!  My husband was teasing me and cracking jokes and he said I was UNSINKABLE!  You know, I kinda like it! 

The Beach

It was a long journey but we finally made it to the beach!!!  After the past few weeks, we all needed this time to repax and regroup.  The girls are having a complete BLAST!  The Hippie was 2 the last time we were at the beach and she did not remember the ocean.  It was so fun watching her rediscover it yesterday.  She was in Heaven with unlimited sand for digging =).  Both girls got braver and braver and by the end of the day were going way out in the waves!  They also loved the pool!  They swam and swam.  By 6 p.m. last night they were exhausted.  They ended up going to bed at 7:15 and were asleep by 7:16.  Here are a few pics to enjoy.  In the third picture you will see an Ohio State Ball Cap with a small blip to the right....that is the Genius =).

Saying Good-Bye

Our trip to the beach started a little earlier than expected.  We got the call that my grandma was not doing well and was not expected to make it.  We raced against the clock to be able to see her one last time.  We made it here and we were able to say our good-byes.  She was under the care of Hospice and it was a blessing to see how that wonderful program works!  I never fully understood what they were before.  Yesterday evening I went in and told my grandma we were going to the hotel for the evening and about 1 hour later she slipped peacefully away.  Now she is Heaven and having a blast!  The girls were able to see her and they understand she is dead but they natrually had a lot of questions.  The Genius was worried about her Nana and how Nana would feel.  She also thought that Heaven had a phone and Nana could call her Mommy.  The Hippie was pretty sure that Her great-grandma has no more wrinkles and is enjoying her Heavenly party.  All the family seems to be holding up really well.  Everyone is understandably exhausted.  Tomorrow my husband gets the honor of being a pall-bearer for her.  I am praying it will be a special day with good weather.  Please keep my mom and her brothers in your prayers.

33 Weeks and Counting

33 weeks and 1 day.  I cannot believe that our baby boy is coming so soon!  The Hippie came 2 weeks early, so he could be here in as little as 5 weeks!  I am super excited because I was able to get in with the doctor I wanted and this doctor delivers in the hospital I wanted!   I am very anxious for my first appointment. 
My parents are taking us on vacation to the beach next week.  We are all very excited!  It is so nice to have something to look forward to after all the packing and moving and loading and unloading.  I cannot wait to get some pics of the girls and enjoy one last big thing with them before their brother arrives.  It has been 3 years since we had a true vacation and 3 years since we last saw an ocean!  I am praying for beautiful weather.
As far as today, it is gloomy and rainy.  We were really hoping for some outdoor playtime but looks like we might have to settle for the church gym. 

Settling In

Finally we are here.  The moving truck has been returned and the boxes are all unpacked and neatly organized the boxes are all in the house.  We have beds to sleep on and groceries in the fridge.  It is starting to feel like home.  Today was the icing on the cake though because we got our library cards!  The girls were excited because they got their own library cards.  They were also allowed to go to a smaller desk and check out their OWN books!  The Genius just loved this!  She picked a book about rainforests.  She came home and read THREE chapters in it and was telling us what she learned!   It was so exciting!  I have been waiting for her to want to pick up a book and just dig into it.  She even wanted to sleep with her new book tonight and she was so proud to have new information to share at dinner. 
I am still really tired from the move (and my poor husband is tired too).  I am feeling like I am 33 weeks pregnant....oh wait...I AM 33 weeks pregnant!  Hoping for an appointment later this week with my new doctor!
Have a great evening...I am off to bed.

Heading up and Moving Out

Tonight is the last night in this house.  It is kinda sad.  I am tired of being surrounded by boxes but still sad to leave this place and the friends we have made here.  The girls have such a nice group of friends...friends that are cute, fun, well-mannered and a joy to be around.  It is hard to leave that behind. 
Sadness aside, we try to make this an adventure and try and focus on the positive things in life!  Like the fact that in a week my parents are taking us to the beach!!!  We also try and help the girls get excited about new Sunday school classes and new libraries and new friends. 
Please keep us in your prayers over the next few days!
I will be MIA for a few days so have a wonderful weekend!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

We took the Genius in for one of her last visits with the plastic surgeon!  He is very pleased with the progress she has made over the past 11 months.  Since we are moving, he wants us to email him a photo of her nose after summer is over.  If it gets darker or more red he will do another laser surgery on her this fall.  Otherwise she is done until 2011 or 2012!! At that point she will have scar revision surgery.  Basically, he will go in and cut out the rigid scar tissue and sew it back up in layers.  He believes she will have this done several times.  The goal is to get her nose back to normal...or as close as possible.  All in all, it was good news.  We are all ready from a break from the laser surgeries etc....  I cannot say enough great things about our doctor either.  He obviously has her best interest at heart and has since the beginning of this.  We are so thankful God led us to him and that we were able to get into his office.  The Genius likes him too and even colored a picture for him.  That speaks volumes!!!! 

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

I love these girls SOOOOO much!!!!  In 8 weeks or less we get to meet our precious baby boy too!
Hope Mother's day was as wonderful for everyone else as it has been to me!!!!
Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

A few of my favorite things

What brings me the most happiness!  My favorites, and all I need to have the BEST Mother's Day ever!

Someone moved in

Last year the girls made their daddy a birdhouse and a bird feeder!  When we moved into this house we hung them up.  No birds ever came to visit...til now!  Now we are faced with a dilemma since we move in a week.  They have the prettiest and loudest song!  Also, they are adorable!  We think it is the female who is sitting there holding the twig.  She typically stays in the house.  Meanwhile the male will go and get a twig and deposit it at the bottom of the ladder.  He then flies a few feet away and sings to her.  She climbs out, hops down the letter, picks up the twig and then takes it inside to keep building their nest.  It has been fun and amazing to watch!  But the poor Hippie is very conflicted.  She is not sure she wants to uproot the birds, but she doesn't want to leave the birdhouse she made Daddy either.  Poor kid!

Party Prep.

Since we are moving prior to the Genius' 7th birthday, we are giving her a party about a month early.  She LOVES a good party with anyone who will come a few close friends.  This afternoon both girls were playing out in the yard.  All afternoon.  For around 4 hours.  What did they do?  They filled in holes in the dirt, raked pine needles and dirt, decorated with clovers and other flowers and made dirt rocks for their friends.  It was absolutely adorable!  Oh, they also picked up ALL the pine cones in the yard and piled them up for us.  Even though they were having fun, they saved us at least 1-2 hours of yard work!  As a treat, I made waffles for dinner.  They each ate 2 1/2!  I guess they worked up a big appetite!  Enjoy the pics!

Conversation

I love getting our girls alone and just talking with them. They are so different when you have just one at a time. Yesterday and part of today the Genius was sick. However, we had a playdate scheduled for today. My husband stayed home with her and watched movies and I took the Hippie by myself. We talked about animals and horses. We sang. As we were listening the Christian station, an ad came on for Mother's Day and what your mom does special for meals. I asked her what she thought. She said, "Well, I like that thing you do when you order us pizza and we watch "Little House" ". Hmmmm, I think I was touched by that! Then I asked what she was most excited about for having her brother come live with us. She said, "To play with him and help you take care of him." I asked her if she was worried about anything and she said, "Well I worry if you are not around that we might not be able to find a bottle for him in time and he might get upset". LOL! What a little cutie!

Role Play

Our girls see my husband and I as each having our own place in the family. Their perceptions can be quite entertaining! For example....
While we were eating dinner a few nights ago they were talking about their favorite foods that I make them. I asked what Daddy was good at making? At first they were a little stumped. Then they came up with a list: milk, cereal and juice! LOL!
But on that same line, they think all Mommy really wants to do is bake and clean. When my husband mentions doing something fun like taking a walk around the neighborhood, they will get all excited and say, "Yeah! And Mommy can stay and bake!"

And...

She decided on Cupcakes!!! Dog ones! She said that since turning 7 is pretty big she wanted Dog Cupcakes =) I think I have my work cut out for me. I am not that good at cake decorations etc... But I love her and will see what I can do! At she gave me plenty of prep time!

Decision Time

For those of you who may not know....the Genius is a typical first-born child and VERY type A personality. I think it will serve her well in life. A few days ago she was talking about her upcoming birthday. She was going through a cookbook and had found some cupcakes she liked. But she was feeling conflicted because she also LOVES a good cake. She really, really loves cake. Once I had made a cake and we came in and found her singing to it. The kid loves cake! So choosing her birthday cake is a really big deal to her and she must get it just right! Last year we had a cupcake bar. I made chocolate cupcakes and then we set out icing and tons of sugary toppings and everyone got to build their own! But this year she wants something differnt. So, a few days ago she says, "My birthday is coming right up (it's really in June! Ha!) and I need to make a decision about my cake. I will decide on may 1st." I had forgotten this and this morning I went to get a cup of coffee. As I passed the calendar I said, "Wow! It is May 1st already!" The Genius sits up and says, "Oh my word! I have got to decide about my birthday cake today!" LOL! You have just got to love her!