the boy

I was playing around with my camera this afternoon when Caeden woke up from his nap, and snapped this one as he walked into my room. He is so cute and squishy when he wakes up from his nap.

playing around with colors and Photoshop a little -- Doesn't he look so sweet and innocent? Ha!

It doesn't take him longer than about 30 seconds to get revved up and totally awake!

enjoying reading

Annah has really been getting into reading lately, and loving reading on her own. She will go off in her room or mine and read for an hour by herself! She's been reading Junie B. Jones books, and other chapter books. She also brings a book home from her classroom every night to read for homework. This week she is enjoying some Frog & Toad books. It's so cool to see her just love reading for the joy of it!

piano lessons

I gave both Annah and Sylvia a piano lesson last night. Annah, I recently discovered is not really learning a lot of note names or counting in her violin lessons, so I wanted to make sure she was getting that...hence starting her on piano lessons. Sylvia, just needs something regular besides school to be involved in, and she is excited about piano. She practiced twice today, and is happy about it so far. I'm hoping I can stay consistent with them on it!

tent

In keeping with trying to have the kids do other things besides watch movies all the time... I decided that Jeremy and I were going to make a "tent" between the 2 living room couches for the kids to play in tonight. They did like it. Wasn't too good for the static-hair though... ;)

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Now, this kid is definitely mine. My parents have photos of me dressed up in all kinds of crazy outfits when I was a kid, so I had to grin when Annah came downstairs in this getup! She is so like me, in more than just this way. But, how cute is this? ;)
The wings, by the way, are from one of Sylvie's Fairytopia outfits from when she was 3, held on by a hairclip.
Now this one scares me a bit, because she came up with this pose and face all on her own...!?!

monkey girl

Sylvie thought that since she was wearing jammies with monkeys on them and eating a banana, she should act like a monkey for a picture too! Hoohoohoohoohoohooheeheeheeheehoohoohoo!

Caed's First Theater Movie

Tonight Jeremy and I took Caeden to see The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything:A Veggie Tales Movie in the theater. It was his first time seeing a movie in the theater, so it was a fun adventure. Before we got there, we tried to explain a bit to him about what it would be like and how he should act.

He was funny...He had trouble sitting on the flip-down seats, because he's so small. But he thought they were cool, and he didn't want me holding it down for him! He stood through parts of the movie, when he got excited about what was going on. He really was pretty quiet, although Jeremy was very frustrated by him making any noise at all...until he heard another daddy say, "Alright, we're going home then. Let's go!" I mean, really, it's a kids' movie; there's going to be talking!
The movie was cute, and Caeden really liked it. It was fun to have time with just him and Mommy and Daddy! (Annah & Sylvia were at a birthday party sleepover.)
He ate a LOT of popcorn, and probably drank most of the huge Cherry Pepsi the 3 of us shared!

In the car on the way home, Caeden said, "Can we start over? I want to start this day over."
Me: Why?
C: Because I like it!

Made me so happy that he had enough fun to want to repeat the same day all over again!

Puzzling...

Our kids love to watch TV. Well, really they love to watch movies. All. The. Time. And, I admit, I allow them to watch them much more frequently than I probably should. We would usually let them watch a movie on a Friday evening, but tonight I told them there would be NO TV/movie watching, and they were going to play with their toys! (How pathetic is this, that I actually have to force them to play with their toys?!?! I am definitely not in the running for mother-of-the-year!)

So, they played upstairs in their rooms for a while, and after supper they decided they were going to do puzzles. They all got some puzzles for Christmas. They brought a few downstairs and all sat on the kitchen floor, each putting a puzzle together. And they were so excited when they were finished!

Locks of Love

I did it! I've always thought Locks of Love was such a wonderful organization. And, I decided a few months ago that I definitely wanted to make a donation. I was thinking I would grow it out super, super long and then give, but I started to get so excited about giving and couldn't wait! So, I went this morning!

BEFORE: I love my long hair. I am such the long-hair-girl!!


AFTER: I guess I can be a short hair girl too!


My stylist totally rocks!!


What do you think?
I love it, and am so glad I did this! I can't wait to send in my ponytail so someone in need can feel good about their hair!!


I had 12 1/2" to donate. (The minimum is 10".)

A Lamp Unto My Feet & A Light Unto My Path

I finally got around to doing this little project, and I'm so pleased! I wanted something I could carry with me that would contain scriptures that I want to memorize. I chose the scriptures and supplies last summer, and kept thinking I would need a good chunk of time to sit down and put it all together. It turned out, it didn't take long...The hardest part was formatting the text for all the tiny little cards.

I really love these papers (from the Blush line by Basic Grey), and using the new Glimmer Mist (in Gingerbread, by Tattered Angels) to make the whole project have a nice glimmer. I know I will love looking at this while I hide God's Word in my heart!!

(as usual, click on the photos, for larger view and other details)

watercolor painting

The kids all got new watercolor paints in their Christmas stockings, and decided to paint a little tonight. We LOVE using the newspaper endrolls that Gram & Krampa pick up for us for FREE from their local newspaper office! The kids can all paint side-by-side on one big sheet of paper and have TONS of room! Big fun!!

Dressed for the day

Caeden was sooooooo pumped about getting these Cars jammies for Christmas, and he couldn't wait to wear them! Of course, they were one of the few things that got nasty in the flooded basement, and he had to wait even LONGER before he got to wear them--oh no!!!

So, today, when I told him to go pick out clothes for the day, this is what he chose to wear. As clothes. All day. We weren't going anywhere outside the house today, so I let him. He enjoyed every second of being cool with Lightning McQueen, Chick, The King, and little Piston Cups all over him all day!

Been Scrappin' Again

It seemed like I hadn't scrapbooked anything in ages! I had a Circle Journal sitting here for waaaaaay too long, so I had to get at it!

The CJ I had was all about unique vacation spots. This was a difficult subject for me to do, since we haven't had any typical vacations really, other than Hawaii, since we've been married. And 3 or 4 other people had already done their layouts about Hawaii. So, I scrapped about our family vacations back to Indiana...

These photos aren't the greatest, but you can click on each page to see it larger and with journaling.

Drying Out!

I am thanking God this morning! Most all the water is gone (except for a few little puddles here and there), and all the appliances are working! My wonderful husband and our great friend [Pastor] Todd worked until about 9:00 last night to get all the water out with pumps, shop-vacs, and squeegees. They were able to get the furnace and hot water heater lit (THANK YOU, LORD!!!!!), so we have heat and hot water and I am washing laundry and doing dishes now.

The kids and I stayed in at the Kellers last night, because we didn't know if the furnace would be running to keep us warm. We are so grateful to all our friends in our LifeGroup for offering help and shelter; we feel so loved!

There is still a lot of standing water in Illinois and Indiana, and we know several who have been affected. We are so thankful we were able to remove the water quickly, and salvage the appliances, and especially glad our basement isn't a finished one!

We've Had Better Days

As Jeremy was leaving for the gym at 5:00 AM this morning, he discovered our basement full of water. It's not the first time, but it's been a few years, so we weren't really anticipating it. Thank the Lord, it is not a finished basment!!!

There is over a foot and half of standing water throughout the basement. Jeremy ran a hose out the window and down to the street, and started pumping water out immediately. Then he went to Lowe's and bought 2 more pumps. After 4 1/2 hours, the water no longer rising.

We are not the only ones in the community in this predicament. Annah's school cancelled for the day because there are some rural roads (on bus routes) that are flooded, and also the local sewage system wouldn't be able to handle all the students/staff being there today. Also, Jeremy talked to some neighbors, and we know that at least 3 of our neighbors are also pumping water out of their basements. Seems there may be a drainage problem in our area of town, eh?

I stood on the basement steps this morning and tried to get a few photos without falling in...

In this room, you can see underwater is the antique wood trim from two of the upstairs rooms that Jeremy is renovating. We've been storing a lot of it in the basement.
Our furnace and water heater are both underwater and unable to run. Also, both sets of our washers and dryers (one is in use, and one new-ish and was waiting to be hooked up for use) are sitting in water. Right now it is warm outside (the cause of all this!!!), so we aren't freezing, but Jeremy heard it is supposed to get very cold and windy later today.

The one thing we do use our basement for is laundry. I had done several loads yesterday, and hung a lot of it on drying racks. Also, I had some sorted in piles on the floor and in the canvas bins. So, now some of our clothes are floating around in the mud. The kids are pretty distraught about some of them being their new Christmas clothes, but I keep trying to remind them that they have plenty of clothes.

Hopefully we will be able to get all the water pumped out today while there's still some time left to start cleaning up the mud and mess of it all.

If you would, please pray that none of those big appliances would be ruined!


"For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth...The waters rose greatly on the earth, and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet...Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out....Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark...The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days." --excerpted from Genesis 7

Lost Tooth #3!

Annah was excited and lost for words when she got home from school today. I couldn't figure out if she was upset or happy until she took off her coat and I saw the little tooth-shaped necklace! She said her tooth fell out during snack time this afternoon. She always talks about what happens if you lose a tooth at school, and how kids get the little necklaces to keep their tooth in, so I knew it was a big deal for her to lose it at school!
There was at least half an hour of drama this past Saturday night upon trying to pull this very same tooth. She said she was afraid to pull it because she didn't like the blood. So, thankfully it just fell out today! I am not good with handling tooth drama. Ask my mom. ;)

So, now Annah has lost 3 of her bottom center teeth. Doesn't this one make a cute little space? She says the top 2 are loose now too!

New Blocks

Caeden got cool bristle blocks from Grandma & Grandpa Lopshire for Christmas!! The kids have all been having fun making things with them. Every once in a while Caeden gets frustrated with them, tears them apart, and says, "I'm fwustawayted!"

XTi

Having fun playing with my new camera!! I don't have a clue what I'm doing, but it sure is fun to play around! I'm seriously thinking I'm going to need some kind of training on this thing!

I had thought I was going to start a second blog and do a Project 365, but seeing how I'm already behind (and overwhelmed by the thought of being that daily intentional,) I chucked that idea. I mentioned the idea to Jeremy, and he chuckled and said, "What about Project 730 and Project 1460??" and on and on...I guess he thinks I already take a lot of pictures...


I was taking pics of the girls and their room a couple days ago, and decided to try the doorknob. I love the old, ornate doorknobs in our house. And, yes, I obviously Photoshopped this!

The Girls & Their Room

Picked up the girls room today, and took some photos to document what it looks like these days. I hadn't taken any since we painted it last April!

(I'm waiting to get new [white eyelet] curtains until after their windows are replaced...possibly later) this year.

Right now their beds are perpendicular to each other, so as not to block the vent for the heat to come through.

I wanted to do their room with Holly Hobbie for years, and just love that they have a few now. The one on the left is just like the one I had when I was little.

Sylvie resting with a book at naptime.

Things on the girls' dresser:
Birdcage from Gram, with family photos tied on it
Antique book: The Little Wooden Doll
Holly Hobbie lunchbox Gram found at an antique store
lamp mommy had in her room as a child
CD file

High School Musical fans


main door to the room
The oval over the lightswitch is a Holly Hobby ceramic decoupage plaque my mom made when I was little. And the little rocking chair is also from my childhood. If I remember correctly, my Grandma McEowen gave it to me.

Virtual Play

The kids have recently been introduced to [safe] virtual play on the Internet. We gave Annah a Webkinz stuffed pet for her birthday, she received another for Christmas, and Sylvia got a BellaSara puzzle for Christmas. They all included access to a special website where they can care for and play with their pets and do a gajillion other virtual things like games, trivia, chat, etcetera.

I actually really like them for the kids! For one, they are not real, stinky pets that are living in our home that I end up taking care of! Ha! But, the kids can "care" for their pets...Annah loves to take her pets (IceCake the white persian cat, and ChocolateCake the brown philly horse) to the vet, feed them, give them baths, and tuck them in bed online. Sylvia can feed and water her horses (Peter and Bella), change their hay, pick their hooves clean, etcetera. So, they can sort of see a bit of what those animals would require to care for in real life, and be glad they don't have the responsibility of actually doing it multiple times each day if they don't feel like it!

And, the sites have taken great care to set up their websites with fantastic safety precautions.

Also, our kids have to earn their online time with their pets. Annah does a minute-for-minute trade of violin practice time for Webkinz time. Works well!

www.webkinz.com
www.bellasara.com

Sylvie and her Dorothy

This is Sylvie and her favorite little cuddly friend, Dorothy. Just a pink and white stuffed doggy, but so special to her. Our friends, the Kellers, brought her to the hospital for Sylvia the day she was born, and now she has Dorothy with her MUCH of the time.

Happy New Year!

Did you stay awake until midnight to see the new year in???

We had a great time ringing in 2008 with our friends the Davis family! They invited us to their lovely home, and we had a relaxing, fun evening.

Caeden was thrilled to play trains with Ryan, who was so kind and patient to build tracks for him, and play the whole time we were there. And, the girls adore Stephanie, and were in awe of her room. She was incredibly sweet to let them play with her American Girl doll and Webkinz, and they will surely be talking about it for weeks. Chris and Jeremy played some Wii, and Lisa showed me around the house, since I hadn't been there before.

We all made it to midnight--even the kids!!! That was a first; we've never let them stay up late before. They loved it! And, they are only a little cranky today. ;)

Wishing you all a wonderful 2008, and more blessings than you ever imagined!