Easter 2012

Happy Easter!

What a beautiful morning it is! The sun is shinning bright and the sky is crystal blue.

During breakfast this morning, we were discussing the meaning of Easter and why it is an important day for us. We reflected that Jesus died for us, making the ultimate sacrifice. We celebrate His Resurrection and eternal life. This day symbolizes new life, the beginning of something new. And given that we've been sick for many days, I'm looking forward to starting over this week, to some healthy bodies, to feeling new again.

Even with stuffy noses, deep hard coughs, and sore throats, we managed to get some smiles while coloring eggs.

A colorful collection of masterpieces

Matching smiles and PJ's while waiting for Santa to come

Every Christmas Eve, we give the girls three gifts to open: a Christmas-themed book, an ornament, and new PJ's. This has become a fun tradition for all of us and one that I hope to continue for years to come. Someday when they have a home of their own, I'll be able to send them with a box of their own ornaments, some fancy, some simple and some to remember a favorite pasttime with. The books perhaps they'll keep for their own children, just as we have several of Bill's Christmas books from his childhood. And the jammies, well they are just something fun.

Note to self...next time, JC Penney's Portrait Studios

For the last several years, we've made the trip into the mountains for our annual Christmas tree hunt. We love to cut down our own tree - it is just so fresh and the pine scent lasts for what seems forever. We have one tree farm that we've been very pleased with, so we seem to always end up there. We make this a fun day, complete with a picnic lunch, hot cocoa, and lot and lots of searching for the "perfect" tree (but of course there is no such thing as perfect, but something close). I always have my camera with us and this year I thought it would be great to capture the moment for our annual family picture - perhaps getting a fabulous picture to use in our holiday cards. I'm not really sure exactly what I was thinking, perhaps I had had a good night's sleep or maybe just a crazy "mom" moments. We had the camera, the tri-pod, the coordinated outfits, the girls organized and the dog. Oh, and the sun shinning so bright no matter where we were, along with the CRAZIEST wind blowing straight at us. We took at least a dozen pictures and couldn't get a single one where we all looked "normal". So what started out as getting a fabulous photo actually turned into a comic event (of course we didn't laugh at the time) of capturing the moment...

Giving Thanks

Even though the year has had it's share of dark days, the sun still continues to shine in our lives. We have so much to be thankful for this year - most importantly, our family and our health. Here is Katelyn, aka "Twinkling Star", at her school's feast and our over-flowing Thanksgiving dinner table.

Halloween 2009

Happy Easter

It was so difficult to get a "normal" looking picture of the girls today. During the time while we were outside taking pictures, they kept tickling each other or making silly faces. In fact, you can see Vanessa's hand just under Katelyn's chin and the next several pictures are of Katelyn laughing hysterically. And what is truly amazing in this picture is that Vanessa has a smile on her face. She has been battling ear infections for almost a month now and this morning woke up screaming in pain. So we'll be headed back to the doctor's tomorrow because this second round of meds obviously isn't working. Between Vanessa and myself, we seem to be at the doctor's weekly lately...at least we're making sure they stay in business.

December was busy…so here’s a summary

This last month was a complete blur. I just realized that I have posted only two other times this month and this third time on the last day of the month, with just about an hour left. Perhaps I should make a New Year’s Resolution of posting more regularly. It’s not that I don’t want too, rather I am always thinking of all the stories that I need to share. It’s just that some months, life gets the best of you and December was one of those months for me. From the time Thanksgiving hit, the next several weeks were frantic with decorating for Christmas, parties, shopping, baking, and holiday outings to see a play (Peter Pan), Christmas in the Park and Fantasy of Lights. And the many, many, many evening drives around the neighborhood to look at the festive holiday lights. And let’s not forget our usual schedule of school, dance, therapy sessions and an extremely busy husband whose bum got pretty tired of sitting on a plane. In a matter of two weeks, he was in four different time-zones and I don’t mean the four in the United States. I am not sure how he does it or how he keeps it together, as from the moment he walks in the door, he is attacked by two little girls who don’t leave his side, not even for a nap. And of course, I take full advantage of it and try to sleep a little more. I truly admire and respect my husband, for not once have I ever heard a complaint about not getting that much-needed nap.

Our annual tradition of cutting down our Christmas Tree

All dressed up for the theater

Despite the craziness, December was good overall and we were truly blessed at Christmas. The girls each performed in their school’s Christmas performance. Both were one of the loudest in their class, singing their hearts out. I was extremely proud of Vanessa for sitting up on the stage with her class and singing her heart out. She remembered most of the words and sang them mostly at the appropriate times. Santa visited after each performance, which meant that they were lucky to have two visits with him this year. During the first visit, rather than ask for her favorite toys, Katelyn decided to have a conversation with Santa about his reindeers and where they were when he was inside visiting with the children. Santa did a great job of playing along with a very inquisitive four-year-old. Vanessa was just stunned that she was sitting on his lap, so didn’t say a word. By the time the second visit came, Katelyn realized that this was her opportunity to ask for those special things on her list.

We were able to see a lot of family this year and the girls were loved on by many. It was interesting to watch the differences between the girls in how they act during this time of year. And granted, some of it is age differences, but some of it is just personality differences. For example, Vanessa would take her time opening a present, ripping at little paper as possible. Katelyn would be handed the gift and within 15 seconds, had the entire gift unwrapped and was working on opening the box too. And Vanessa would have been satisfied with just one or two gifts, but Katelyn loved the (what seemed like an endless supply of) gifts. However what was special this year was realizing how much Katelyn is really starting to understand why we have Christmas, what we are truly celebrating and the true meaning of this holiday.
All smiles for Santa

December was a big month for Bill and me, as we took the plunge and bought some new furniture. Except for a crib and a dresser five years ago when Katelyn was born, we have not bought much new furniture. It was always something we wanted to do, yet never was high on our priority list. But the day finally came when, after sitting on our old couch, we both decided that we needed to take the next step. You know when you sit on the couch and you end up just a foot off of the ground…it’s time to invest in something new. Most of the furniture we have in our home was given to us, and many years old at that time. Our couch, for instance, was at least 15 years old (according to Bill 10, according to me 20…so 15 is a compromise) and we have had it almost 10 years ourselves. It was old and falling apart. We are very excited with our new purchases and are enjoying rearranging that room and feeling good about the way it is all coming together.
Christmas Morning

The days since Christmas have been spent at home…which is rather odd since it is not often that all four of us are home for more than a day together. Bill has spent the mornings playing with the girls while I sleep in a bit. We made our to-do list of projects we wanted to accomplish around here and have been working furiously to cross out as many of them as possible before we head back to our “normal” lives next week. And even though the baby is not due for a few more months, we are starting to clean out the bedroom, which leads us to do several other projects first. Sometimes, I feel like a dog chasing his own tail, because in order to finish one project, you have to do something else, and do something else and do something else. Slowly, but surly, we are making progress however.

As for baby news…I am 20 weeks and sporting a bump. The nausea has subsided for the most part, but the headaches are still there. About two weeks before Christmas, I was able to start feeling the baby move inside. And just in the last few days, the movements have become much stronger to the point where I think I have begun to feel them on the outside. But because the kicks/movements are so strong on the inside, sometimes I think my mind is playing games with me and I am not really feeling them on the outside, but sense that I do only because I can feel them strongly inside. Make sense? Regardless, the baby is healthy and growing.

And so here I sit on the eve of a new year, not at some fancy party, not dressed up, not sipping a tasty beverage. But rather, at home with my husband listening to the peace and quiet of two sleeping princesses, wearing pj and drinking ice-cold water. No, we are not relaxing on the new couch, but reorganizing the desk and rewiring the computer. We live an exciting life, don’t we?

Happy Halloween...only a week and a half late!

We carved pumpkins for Halloween, just as we do every year. This was the first year, however, that Katelyn wanted to transform her pumpkin by herself.
She drew the pumpkin’s face and then carved it all by herself. She was hesitant using her hands to scoop out the insides, often insisting that it was gross and didn’t want to get her hands dirty. So she found a spoon to use and continued on her way. Her completed pumpkin was very impressive and she was so proud of her artwork, as were we. I loved watching her use her imagination and capturing some of the best facial expressions I’ve seen.

Katelyn’s pumpkin is on the top row, second from the right. Notice the small triangles above the eyes? Hair. Yes, this pumpkin had all the features of a regular human’s head.
Vanessa's desire to carve her pumpkin lasted just a few minutes, espeically after she stuck her hand insided the pumpkin...then, she wanted nothing else to do with it.

And on the actual day of Halloween, the girls had so much fun dressing up and helping me pass out candy. Katelyn was a ghost and Vanessa was a dog.