Family Pictures, bet you can't wait...

I told you that as soon as we got these, I would show them off, we here they are. There were SO many great ones, that this is just a glimpse...

By the way, that water was like 2 degrees!! BRRRR

There were like 200 plus pictures to choose from, so sorry so many on here, but it is so hard choosing, I still have many more GREAT ones!!

something new

Well, after receiving some grief from my family members, (you know who you are...) I am updating that we got some family pictures and some pictures of the girls taken yesterday. It was such a nice day, absolutely beautiful!! I thought that giving the girls a nap would make them much happier before pictures, and all Anna wanted to do was "up mama"! That figures! She finally did "lighten up" (literally too) and we got some great pictures! I haven't actually seen them, but I can't imagine some of them not being great! And Abbi just wanted her pictures taken with our friends the Norton's. And their daughter Abi wanted her picture taken with us!! We should have switched them to see if anyone noticed....just kidding! I'll post the pictures when I get them, I'm so excited to see them!! By the way, we did get some of Abbi and Abi together, they are a cute pair of friends!!

It's a jungle out there!

Here is a close up of our Elephant adn Monkey we had hanging around Saturday night!!

Sorry it is sideways, but here they are in "full length"

Abbi and Anna loved trick or treating! Anna kept saying "next house" and Abbi didn't understand why we couldn't go to every house!! She insists that she saw lights on in every house! Brent and I decided to cherish the fact that this may be the last year of innocence for Abbi, as next year she will be in Kindergarten and will probably want to be what is "in" for the year!

Happy Halloween!!

This one Kelly (a friend of mine) and I did, I know it is sideways, but it is supposed to be an "OH NO" pumpkin!!

This one is Anna's spider pumpkin, again it is sideways, sorry!

This is Abbi's scarecrow pumpkin. She had a cool green pumpkin!

Anna LOVED digging out the insides of the pumpkin!!

Abbi preferred to use the "tool" for that. She did use her hands some, but she didn't like it as much as Anna!

Applesauce

This is only about one third of the applesauce I made this year! I made 5 bushel into applesauce! YUMMY!!!

Jun visits in September!!

Well, some of you may know that Brent went to Japan on a Missions trip in 2000. While there, he became very close friends with Jun. Well, they haven't seen each other in 9 years, and Jun had the oportunity to visit Lafayette, IN in Sept! Abbi loved to hear him speak English and Jun tried teaching her some Japanese. One thing I learned was that Jun loved American food, especially apple crisp!!

Been a long time

WOW, I cannot believe that I haven't updated since the beginning of July! Well, ALOT has happened around here since! Brent still has a brace on his arm, but has more movement! Due to him only being able to use one arm completely, I have been a little extra busy, so that is one reason why it has been so long! Another reason is we didn't have internet for over a month! So...Anna had a root canal done last month and now has a "fake" tooth. We call it our "$300 accident". Abbi pushed Anna down about a year ago (broke her front tooth) and we finally had a second opinion and had her tooth fixed recently. We just got back from vacation a few days ago, if I have time I'll post some pictures. A funny thing...Abbi got a leech on the bottom of her foot in the lake, ask her about it! We also spent a week at Brent's parents in July, just hanging out and spending some time on the lake. Abbi starts school Sept 1 and she is super excited about that! Overall, we've had a busy summer since Brent ruptured the tendon in his arm and I'll try to be better at keeping up, I know I said that last time!

When it rains, it pours, right??

Well, the saying goes that way, but I decided after this past week, that I am going to look at that saying differently! My new saying,"When it rains, it rains a little harder, and then turns to a sprinkle". Now, I'm just waiting for the sprinkle! So, Brent is finally recovering a little nicer and isn't in as much pain, but it has been VERY hard for him to sit down and keep his arm elevated! It seems every 10 mins he is up again, and then swelling, pain, etc! Anyway, we found out on Thursday that Anna is having a root canal (yep) on Tuesday to save her chipped tooth. Right now it is infected and is saveable. We went to Indianapolis for a second opinion and they felt very strongly that the best option would be to save the tooth for spacing and "fix" it so it looked "normal". Won't that be fun?!?! So, since I feel that it just "rained harder", we are hoping for some light sprinkles in the future forcast! On a positive note, I finally got some sleep last night after 4 days!! Now, if we can just pray for that to continue! Thank goodness for Pizza Hut and neighbors for some good food, I can't keep up with things fast enough and then...time to eat again! I am so very thankful that I am not a single parent and that this will end in a few weeks to a few months!! I'm ready for my "partner in crime" to be my helper again!! LOL!

Brent update

Some of you may know that Brent hurt his arm at work last Thursday and had surgery today. If you didn't know, well, now you do! Anyway, his surgery went well and the ruptured tendon in his arm was fully repaired. He has a long recovery to get his full strength back, but the doctor feels that he will regain full strength again. He is staying the night in the hospital for observation and is on a morphien drip for pain right now. I plan to bring him home tomorrow to rest and relax! (If that is possible with two young children!) So, he is on the road to recovery! I think he may be off work for 6-8 weeks, so a visit might just cheer him up! I am afraid he will become bored quickly at home!!

Anna's Two!!

This is ONE of Anna's favorite presents, she even wanted to eat breakfast in it!!

My first cupcake cake!

Here we are "making" Anna's butterfly cupcake cake. Say "CHEESE" I got this idea from my neighbor (Thanks Michelle) when she made one for her daughters birthday. It was really easy an gave me inspiration for making more of them! The only downside....I have TONS of cupcakes left! It took 2 cake mixes to get enough cupcakes to make a butterfly! And I cheated and used icing from the tubs (which took 3 1/2 tubs!!) Talk about LOADS of sugar!! But it was fun and the girls were really into it also!

Abbi's last day of school

Abbi with Mrs. Comella

Abbi with Mrs. Synesael

Abbi with her friend Cara

Abbi with her teachers when they were talking about her

I know, this is REALLY late in comming, since her last day of school was May 15!  She had a graduation day where the teachers gave the kids scrapbooks from the year and talked about each one of the kids individually, which I thought was very nice!  The kids sang a few songs and then "cookie time"!  Abbi is very excited to be going to Pre-K next year, which will be 4 mornings a week!  She does miss going to school though!!

Happy Mother's Day

I just wanted to send a Happy Mother's Day wish out to all my girl "friends" and "family"!  Hope it's a great one.  I look forward to spending the day with my girls, my how they've grown!  I sure have enjoyed being a mommy!!

Anna 6/07

Anna 5/09

Abbi 5/09

Abbi 1/05

Playing Catch UP!

Well, it has been forever since I have added a new post!  We've had lots of exciting things happening!  First, Brent went to NY with his dad to visit his grandparents, and Grammie came to stay with us!  That was fun, as we went to teh Bug Bowl at Purdue and Anna attmepted to eat a chocolate covered bug (seriously, I bought it for her!).  She mainly ate the chocloate and gave me the bug saying "ucky".  We then had an adveterous Sunday morning with the gas man here (everything turned out to be okay, but that alarm wouldn't stop going off!)  

The next week, Abbi stayed the night at a friends house for the first time!  She and Abi (her friend) had a really fun time and when I went to pick her up, she didn't want to come home and asked to stay another night!  Abi has 4 older siblings, I wonder if Abbi liked all the commotion...

Last week, we had my 2 nieces (Hannah, 3 & Leah, 1) from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday night.  BOY that was interesting and I now know why God doesn't allow you to have a 1, 2, 3, & 4 year old at the same time!  Overall it went fine and I'd do it again!  I even took the 3 youngest grocery shopping by myself while Abbi was at preschool!  There was alot of bickering between the 4 of them, but with a little separation, no problems!

Last night abbi had her Spring Program at school, we took the video camera but didn't think about taking the regular camera, so no pictures.  It was a lot of fun and Abbi just can't wait to get to Pre-K now.  I don't think she realizes that she has to wait until Sept.  She has only 3 more days of preschool, it is sad to realize that she is growing up so fast!

So, that is our latest updates, I'll try to do better from now on!

another funny out of Abbi's mouth!

Today was a fun filled day!  I worked at a Book Fair Abbi's school is putting on to help raise money for new furniture, then went to pick up the girls to get to Abbi's gymnastics class.  We then dropped off some books to return to the library only to notice a very LOW tire.  I called Brent to see if it would jsut be okay to drive to a gas station to fill up and then go home for the day.  Well, Brent's work wasn't far away and he wanted to see it (I guess) and fill it up at teh shop where he works.  So off we go back to that end of town to get the tire pumped up.  Brent noticed a nail in the tire, filled it up with air, and told me to go straight home that it was leaking pretty fast, and he'd fix it when he got home.  SO, the WHOLE way home (about 15 mins) Abbi was very nervous about this tire, saying "I don't want a leak in the van" (like she even knew what that meant!).  So we pulled into the garage and Abbi REFUSED to walk past the tire because she was "scared of the leak".  I had to carry her and show her the nail and show her that it was okay and it wasn't going to hurt anyone or anything and that Daddy would fix it and it would be like new again!!  I never imagined that a low (almost flat) tire would cause such distress!!

Spring Break Pictures, FINALLY

So, I know you thought I must have forgotten to post the pictures from Spring Break, but actually, I just got them yesterday in the mail, so this time "It's not my fault"

Anna slept for the first part of the hike (and boy was she heavy to carry!).  After she woke up Abbi wanted to walk with her and Daddy, holding hands.  That worked for awhile, but the path just wasn't wide enough in most places!

Well, this would've been better, but Abbi was afraid I'd drop her off the railing, so she wasn't very happy with me! (Like I'd do that!!)

My mom got a FANTASTIC shot of Brent almost falling into the river while trying to "help" Abbi get across the rocks!  Maybe Abbi will try it by herself next time!!

Happy Easter

While waiting to get everyone to smile at the same time, we decided it just wouldn't happen, so this is the best we got for a family picture for Easter 2009!

Papa and Abbi smiling for a picture while waiting for the rest of us to join!

Brent, Abbi and Papa smiling for a picture!

Anna and Grammie walking through the flower garden.

We really had a great time at Brent's parents in St. Louis this year.  We had a full house with Christi (Brent's sister) and her husband and 2 kids (24 months & 4 months) and our family of 4 and Brent's brother Bryan and wife as well as Brent's parents!!  We tried really hard to get some great pictures, and we got a few good ones, and a few funny ones!!  The kids did Easter egg hunts, and Abbi enjoyed finding the easy ones (that were intended for the little kids) and Anna found the ones up high that were intended for Abbi!!  We even got to go on a boat ride (the first for the year!!)

I have new countertops!!!!

I just wanted to show the improvements we have recently made to our kitchen.  They are finally finished and usable (after 3 days of not being able to use my kitchen)!!  So I am still new to this Blog thing and don't know how to put text where I want it, so the blue countertops are the before, and the tan countertops with the black sink are the new ones (in case you wondered)

Funny things kids say

Abbi told me today that her "IV" didn't hurt that much like she thought it would when having her tonsil surgery.  I said good and thought that was the end of it.  Then she said, "you know mom like the ivy outside that hurts daddy"!  I thought that was s funny thing, she must have thought she was going to get poison ivy!!

Abbi is doing great!!

This is Abbi at home about 7 1/2 hours after gettting her tonsils removed!  The nurses said that she was their best patient today and that she was very inquizitive (no suprises to me!).  She is really doing great!  This morning when she was putting on her gown, she told me that she didn't want to do this anymore and wanted to go home.  I told her there was no going back now and that it would be over and she woudl be home in no time.  We are very thankful that she did and is doing as great as she is.  She has a hearty appetite and wants more than just jello, ice cream, sprite, yogurt, etc!  She did have some chicken noodle soup, but keeps asking when she can have a snack!!  I guess that is all very good considering!  We'll keep you posted, but so far she is doing great!  Thanks for your prayers!

Spring Break

Well, we had a great trip to my mom's house in TN over our long weekend trip.  We visited some Falls that were very pretty.  I'll add pictures whn I get them (we forgot our camera, oops, so my mom is giong to send me the pictures from her camera!)  We did some shopping at the outlet malls and visited my grandparents.  

So the next big adventure for our spring break is tomorrow when Abbi gets her tonsils and adnoids out.  We have to be there at 6:30 AM and her surgery is scheduled for 7:30 AM.  So we are praying that everything goes well and we'll be back home by lunch time!  I'll try to update tomorrow and let you know how things went.  Thanks for your prayers for Abbi (and mom & dad as I think we are more nervous than she is!)

My "mom night away"

I just have to say that taking a night and day away to go to the "Hearts at Home" conference was the best thing I could have done for not only myself but for my family!!  I went with some "girls" from church and didn't really know any of them very well at all.  But let me tell you, by 1 am Saturday morning, I knew them much better!!  I hadn't laughed that hard in quite awhile!  I went to a lot of good workshops that really lifted me up and gave me a new perspective on things.  Let's hope I keep remembering them as the days pass...  Anyway, Brent and the girls "camped out" in the living room (but in the tent, I might add) and had a great time with daddy "in charge"!!  Anna is still wanting Daddy mostly ( I secretly hope she goes back to being a mommy's girl!)  Abbi is very excited that her mommy came back!  She really didn't want me to go and the morning I left told me that she'd really miss me and if I left she might cry!  I thought she'd be okay with me going because she had been away from me several times, but then I realized that she was always the one that left to go somewhere else, while I stayed home.   But everyone survived and I had a suprise of a new countertop on my island when I arrived home!!  It is so wonderful to have a real countertop on my island that doesn't have to be covered with a table cloth!!  When the whole kitchen is finished, I will take "before" and "after" shots and post them!!

Life at the Childs'

Well, we finally have a date set for Abbi's tonsil & adnoid removal.  It is set for Thursday March 26 at 7:30 AM.   It is an out patient procedure, so we will be back home that day.  They say it is a 45 min procedure.  I think that she is a little hesitant about the whole thing, just not really knowing what exactly is happening.

I am leaving on Friday morning for a Hearts At Home conference in Bloomington, IL and will be arriving home Saturday night.  This will be the FIRST time ever leaving Anna more than 6 hours!!  And the first time Daddy has had both girls overnight.  I am very confident they will have a blast and not really miss me much.  It will be harder on me than them!  But, I am very excited to be going and hope to come home being a refreshed and better mommy & wife!  

Otherwise, all is the same here.  We are all getting over our sicknesses.  Anna has a cold and is somewhat hoarse...pretty funny to hear a hoarse little one!  But I think we will all survive this one, no fevers yet!!  

A little update on Abbi

Well, as Anna is feeling better, I thought I'd update an Abbi.  We had a visit with an ENT doctor last week, and Abbi will be getting her tonsils & adnoids out.  I am hoping to schedule this at the end of March (during Spring Break).  I know what a way to start out her first Spring Break, huh?!?!  Anyway, when we get a date, we'll let you know.   Otherwise, she is just happy that Anna is better.  Last Friday, she said, "Mommy, I am ready for Anna to be better, you aren't paying any attention to me!"  Aren't 4 year olds wonderful?  Her other new famous saying is, "I don't know about you but..."  

She's finally on the up hill!

Well, after a trip to the pedi-clinic yesterday morning, Anna is finally getting back to her old self!  She had an ear infection yesterday, which they say is totally unrelated to the high fever she was having.  All of her tests came back negative, so they said it was just a virus (must have been a very bad one!!).  They said it was just bad luck that she picked up another bug already that caused the ear infection/cold like symptoms!  But on a good note, she does NOT have a fever anymore and hasn't since Saturday afternoon!  So, we're on the track back to some normal in our household!  However, I woke up with a bad cold this morning, I guess the lack of sleep just asked for it!!

a small update

Anna had a fever of 104.2 at 12:30 AM, and when the "ibuprofen alarm" rang at 6:30, she had a NORMAL temp!! That normal temp lasted until she woke at 10:45 am and now without any medication it was 100.3. So we'll keep checking on her and waiting to hear from the doctor's office about any results. She has now started coughing more than I like her to, so we'll keep an eye on that also!! Thank you to everyone who has been praying, we cannot decide if we are hoping that will just go away on its own (like a VERY LONG virus), or are hoping that it is something they find that we can just treat....

Anna, day 8

As of 8 o'clock tonight, still no update on Anna. I called the doctor's office to see if there were any results this afternoon, and the answer I got was the doctor hadn't looked at them yet, and they couldn't tell me anything until the Dr. looked at them first, but was reassured that someone would call me with them. Well, I have now given up on being called today and figure that we'll have to wait until Monday now. She is still having a fever that is being somewhat controlled by ibuprofen every 6 hours around the clock. I guess if it's still happening tomorrow, we're off to the pedi-clinic, since the Dr wanted her seen every 2 days while the fever was still hanging out!! We'll update as we can, but for now, we're still waiting!!

Our sick little Anna

Well, we went round 2 to the doctor today for Anna. Her fever started last Thursday sporadically in the evenings at around 102 degrees, by Monday evening she had reached 103. Each day it seems to go higher, today reaching a high of 105.6 degrees!! Since Monday, it only goes away with ibuprofen or Tylenol, but today, it now will only go away with ibuprofen! So, after a 3HOUR trip to see Dr Miller, we still don't know what it is from!! We have ruled out Influenza A & B, strep, and an UTI. We did an X-ray that seemed "hazy" to Dr Miller, so we are waiting to see what the raidiologist thinks. We go back tomorrow for more blood work since they took all the blood they coudl from her today for her weight, and they still have more tests to run, so we had to wait 24 hours to get more blood from her!! Poor thing, that took FOREVER today, her blood must run VERY SLOWLY! So an update will be given when available!!

update on my dad

Thank you for all who joined us in prayer for my dad. He was released from the hospital this morning and is home resting. Not sure how long that will last or is supposed to last, but we are thankful he is home now. Please continue to pray for continued healing.

Here we go again!

Well, for those of you that know, my dad was hospitalized last winter for a blood clot in his leg. I just received a phone call today, he is back in the hospital with a blood clot in his foot. Please pray for healing for him. They think that it is being caused because he drives a dump truck or grader all day with little time on his feet. He said today, that he guesses he needs to get out and walk around more when he is driving around!! Thanks for your prayers!!

Our weekend!

No new pictures this time, but we've had a fun weekend with Grammie & Papa visiting! The girls really enjoy grandparents! We've done a little shopping but Abbi & Anna's favorites have been reading valentines books with Grammie and playing with the new "pink" playdough Grammie made for them! We had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast and heart shaped brownies for dessert! The best part...mommy & daddy get a date night tonight!! And the girls love it because mommy & daddy are leaving them home alone with Grammie & Papa!

Just a day at the Childs' house!

Well, for those of you that don't know, we have royalty at our house! We thought just one princess, but I found Anna the other day and now realize that we have 2 princesses!!

A Spring Day

Anna had a great time at the park! She absolutely LOVES to climb! She is so different than Abbi was at that age, it's fun to see her be so adventerous! The one sticking out her tongue is how we have been seeing her lately, she loves to go around with her tongue out saying "lalalala" over and over agin! We are very excited for Spring to really get here so we can get out of the house more!