Non-productive Production

Why do I always make things more difficult than they have to be? I've worked on this new background and header for a large portion of the day (and really I started this a couple days ago).....and it was just for practice. I have to be done for now because the kids are going to start getting quite angry with me and I will have a hefty portion of guilt on my shoulders when my hard-working husband gets home and sees the mess that I've allowed the kids to make while I've been sucked into computer land. At least I remembered to feed them!

From Kristi and For Kristi

I've been wanting to mention my friend, Kristi here for a while now. Now I have an excuse to do just that.
Kristi is a girl I went to high school with. We didn't really run with the same crowd (sadly) but we had several classes together and played tennis and I so enjoyed talking with her when I did. She is a smiley, cheery kinda girl and I always really liked her.
Somehow we got reconnected (It's only been since 1995). I'm pretty sure MySpace started it. She experienced a significant loss in her life just less than a year after I did. She started a blog about it and although I am sorry for the circumstances, it has been a blessing to me to walk along side her through her grief...and she with me. It's been my experience that grief is a very powerful experience that can either bond you or break you from the people in your life.
Kristi has 2 beautiful children the same ages as my kids, but unlike me, she has several angel babies that never made it to her arms. While ALL of her angel babies are significant and precious, 2 especially have left huge holes in her heart. Eli went to heaven last Feb. at the age of 16 weeks (fetal age) and just recently Collin at the age of 11 weeks (fetal age). For no known reason, her baby's hearts just stopped beating. I've been praying hard for Kristi, that she would soon experience the joy of her "rainbow baby" like her heart desires so much. I hope you will pray for her, too.
My reason for mentioning her today is because she mentioned me. In a cute, tag/award kind of way, Kristi passed on an "award" to me (and some others in her life) for being a friend to her. And now I get to pass it on to others in my life.

Here's the deal:

The award states: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

So here's 8 (if it's even possible to choose)

............................................................................................................................................................

Okay, starting over...
I'm really having trouble "choosing" 8. I can honestly say that I love everyone on my blogroll. And all have been a good friend to me in one way or another. Some are more involved in my "blogging" life than others, but some who don't have blogs are my very best friends, too. If you are on my blogroll---consider yourself "tagged" (?), "awarded" (?).....whatever you want to call it.
I'll mention some names...just to get you started.

Rachel
Jessie
Krisy
Kelly
Traci
Amy (as in Mama Amy) :)
Jaynee (you really need to blog more) :)
Carolanne (you're not linked on my sidebar, but I'm going to add you...and thank you for ALL your comments)

Okay, so I chose 8. But like I said, I could have chosen everyone..... And if some people in my life HAD blogs, then you would be on this list, too! I hope you know who you are.....(Jojee, Cody, Ashley, Amy C., Erin R., Marieelena, Kim K., etc, etc,)
Kim, don't you have a blog??? I'm going to search for it because I'm pretty sure you do, but I don't know it. Shoot, well, you're tagged too. I'm going to go figure out where your blog is. :)

Kung Fu::Vol. 3

If you haven't seen the movie this will make no sense, but here is Brendan's latest Kung Fu drawing.
Pictured is the Jade Palace, Tigress, Crane, Viper, Mantis, Monkey and Panda....Training to be Master Kung Fu fighters, of course.

Brendan Update

Yesterday Rand and I took Brendan back to duPont Children's Hospital for another follow up with the Orthopedic doc. They took X-rays first thing and got us back to a room to look at them with the doctor. Doctor B says the X-rays look great! He showed us Brendan's MRI from November and then the new pictures from yesterday. You can see where all the dead bone is (basically the whole head of the femur) and now we can see some new bone growth. That is good news!!! We still have a long road of healing and protecting what is there, but what we are seeing is good progress and signs of a good recovery to come. We still do his stretches everyday and will continue probably through this whole process. Keeping range of motion is key to keep that femur head in a ball shape as it grows and the dead bone gets eaten away. Brendan was so nervous for about 2 days because we can never promise that he won't have to get a "poke", but yesterday was fast and easy and it was nice to get a non-painful hospital appointment under our belts. Should make the next appointment less stressful for him. We're good to go for another 8 weeks before they want to see him again. They will be tracking his range of motion, bone re-growth, and his growth plate over the next year. We're still praying that there is enough undamaged growth plate there that he does not have an issue with leg length in the long term.
Things look good!
Here's a couple pics of a very nervous Brendan. :(

Love you, Brennie!

Real Snow

Finally! It really snowed! All the weather reports I kept seeing only said snow showers....which usually means nothing. But yesterday it snowed steady all day. We got a good 4 inches of dry, powdery snow. Sad we couldn't make a snowman, but the kids stayed dry and warm even after hours of sledding.
We're still having lots of fun in it!

Brendan measuring throughout the afternoon


My dad's snowman. (This is soooo my dad) Like I said, the snow is really dry and hard to make a snowball out of. I'm impressed he did this well. He raided my kitchen for all the accessories. Mini-chocolate chips, a cheerio, some toothpics, and a little leaf for a hat. He's so proud of it. We might keep it forever in the freezer.


After dinner snow fun....all the way until bedtime!

Philly Snow

I'm starting to wonder if it does anything else here. We have gotten another DUSTING of snow. Taking full advantage and looking like true snow deprived Arizon-ians(?), we hit the slopes with our sleds. Frozen grass goes faster than you think! :)

First and foremost (let's get this out of the way) here is a picture of me. This is for you, Jess! And this is also what you get when there are others in the house taking pictures!
(photo by Rachel)
Also.....I will have you know that I am wearing my Arizona Cardinals fleece under that jacket. (Sorry Eagles fans. Go Cards!!)
Just kidding.....I'm not really a fan of any particular sports team. Except Seattle teams and only because I don't live there and really miss it and they just feel like my home team.....but all that is embarrassing to admit considering the teams represented. Again, sorry Mariner and Seahawk fans.
Moving on...

Nephew Jayden


Sliding in snow pants is really fast too!



Notice the grass...







Everyone just look long and hard at this picture. Rand got a time-out for this one. :)

Just kidding. Sammy likes chasing snow balls. Rand kicked snow, NOT the dog!!!!

Zippin' down backwards


Looks like it's snowing again. Maybe we can actually get the grass covered today.

Meeting Baby Willow....oh, and the others are here

Well, they finally made it. After 2 full days of driving, my dad, mom, sister and her 2 little ones arrived safely to our door. We were so excited. The boys stayed up late waiting. There was no way they were going to settle down.
Though they are all very welcomed guests, the guest of honor was baby Willow. This was our first time meeting her (aside from the webcam) and we all just love her! I feel so lucky to get to spend a little time with her before she grows and her baby days are gone.

Here is a picture of Nana, talking with a very excited, bouncy Brendan!


Wyatt showing Jayden all the cool toys, and Jayden showing Wyatt as well.


Rand melting over his first baby niece


Brendan melting....


I think they like each other


Okay, you all know you're thinking it.... Looks like these three are ready for another one of their own.


Papa taking a nap with baby Willow on the couch


And there's me...with the sleeping princess

Kung Fu::Vol. 2

For your viewing pleasure....Brendan.

Or should I say, Master Monkey.

A Couple More Curtains

Nothing like looming house guests to motivate you to finish a couple projects. (I can't promise clean toilets, but at least the windows are covered.) Seriously, I should have been cleaning today, but instead I spent most of the afternoon sewing these. It was way more fun.
These windows are in our dining room/sitting area. The room is a weird rectangular shape and it is sort of chopped up in the middle by the walking path you have to take to get to the kitchen or back door. So one side has our dining room table and the other side has a little sitting area.
Just another perk to old houses.....little choppy rooms. If I owned this house I'd be taking a sledge hammer to the big ol' wall between this room and our tiny little living room.
Anyway, don't know where I'm going with this post, but I finally got some curtains done for some main windows. Ahhhhhhh.



Tomorrow night I should have a house full of great people. Kind of last minute, my parents decided to drive over here from Kansas (where they were visiting my sister). Even more last minute, my sister Rachel and her 2 little ones, Jayden and Willow, decided to come along. Oh, and did I mention my parents 2 dogs are along for the trip, too?? They've been driving all day today....trying to get as far as they can before the children completely melt down and hopefully tomorrow won't be so bad. 1300 miles from there to here! I should know...seems like I just made that drive myself!
I don't think Brendan and Wyatt will sleep tonight they are so excited.

Kung Fu::Vol. 1

Here is proof that kids are heavily influenced by television. I admit it. They have Kung Fu Panda and it is probably their favorite movie ever. And, no, I will not admit how many times they have seen it.

As a result their favorite thing to do is "Kung Fu". And now, get video taped and watch it over and over. This is one of their favorite videos that they request multiple times a day. Don't worry. I will be posting more of these, as the kids already have more plans for their next Kung Fu video session.

Formula For Fun::Vol. 2

Picking up + Rearranging the playroom = FUN!

The boys have been bored lately. I blame the weather mostly. We just can't get outside as much. So the other day I went in the playroom to see if we could start a project of some kind. I was thinking arts and crafts but quickly realised that the mess was the problem. So the kids were content to play while I cleaned up and rearranged the whole room. Now it seems like the can happily play for hours in there.....on their own! Easy!

Story Time with Dad

Pathetic

I think we were all just a little too excited for some real winter weather after moving from Phoenix.
Having grown up in the PNW I know all about being disappointed by a wet, snowless winter. It is to be expected. Still every year we would hope for a big snow storm that rarely came. It's like a cruel joke the amount of snow my hometown has gotten this winter so far. (I know they have all had enough and then the flooding....I think they are ready for spring...and a dry spring at that!) Still, I wish I would have been there for such an epic winter storm!
Well, I would think living in Pennsylvania now, we could expect a little snow.
So far....nothing.
This Saturday, we had a chance. Not for a lot, but for enough to play in. 1 -3 inches. That's good. We were prepared......and excited. Sadly, the day came and left with just a dusting of snow. It was such a sad sight to see my kids (still excited to go out in it) laying on the pavement making snow angels and scraping together small piles of snow to attempt a pathetic snow ball. It was kind of sad.

Still hoping for a big snow storm, (Sorry snow haters)

Happy Birthday, Jordan James!

(from Brendan)

I hope you have a fantastic day. Love you and miss you so much!

(come to Pennsylvania)