happy birthday precious angel!!!

i can't believe that our first baby is four...it seems like just yesterday she was placed in my arms, all 6 lbs 4 oz of her. i had always dreamed of what it would be like to be a mommy but there will never be any words to sum up what my heart felt the moment i met her. i cried for days every time i looked at her...i cry even now sometimes when i watch them sleep...i just feel so incredibly blessed that they are "my children". i LOVE being called their "mommy".

i know that we have been granted the responsibility to love and nurture these two precious souls...and i do not take that lightly. i hope that we can instill in them humility, integrity, love for others, kindness...the list is endless really.

i hope that they know how much they were and are loved...even before i met them. they are so blessed to have a daddy that loves them beyond measure...talk about daddy's little girls!!!!!

we had such a FUN time at the 4th birthday celebration! the kiddos jumped like frogs and laughed, laughed, laughed! we appreciate all of our family & friends partying with us - there is nothing like sharing special times with all those that are so important to us! we truly feel richly blessed!!!!!

we can't wait to see our sweet girls grow this year...their bond is so amazing - i could not be more happy that they have each other. there is nothing in the world like family!!!!!!!!

happy birthday sweet ella. you are my dream come true...

a day in birdland...

what a fun day we had!!!! we made our way to baltimore, maryland for a day trip. we took the train to camden yards...got off and walked around the harbor. the girls had a blast playing on the open field...daddy had a blast playing in the ESPN zone...mommy had a blast watching my loved ones have fun!

we walked to "little italy" and had some pizza at a little cafe called isabella's. we ate at a table outside and it was perfect! while we were there, madeline pulled a "code brown" & ella had to announce to several passer by's that we were "changing poop"!!!!! she always keeps things comical!!!!! thank goodness they were parents and understood our situation!

we then made our way to the big stadium to watch the orioles play the yankees! that was a GREAT time! the girls got to take their picture with the mascot...ella loved it up close, maddie loved it from a far! i think my children have ingested more junk food in the last 24 hours than they may have been allowed to eat in their entire lives! ella's main objective was to score some cotton candy...the orioles won & ella did too!

it was such a great day getting to explore a place where we had never been...together! it feels good to take advantage of all the fun things we have to do around here...makes the time go by a little faster!!!!!!

ella is so excited about turning four...she wanted me to tell her the story of her birth and madeline's birth last night as we were driving home. i will NEVER grow tired of reliving those precious moments. i smile right now as i think of what that experience was like...how blessed i am to have such an amazing family.

i can't wait for our next day trip...wherever that may be!!

trip down memory lane...right into TODAY!!!

just thought i would share some pics from our home in little rock...a really special dwelling place for my family...built with way more than wood & nails...LOTS OF LOVE...never to be forgotten.

and here is where we dwell now...as you can see, i am trying REALLY hard to duplicate what we had!!!!!! it is worth noting...i have included the before and after pics!!!!!!

if you're wonderin'...

here are 5 things i bet you didn't know about me...


1. i drink a ROUTE 44 non diet, sugary, absolutely delicious, packed with pellet ice, vital to life COCA COLA CLASSIC every day of my life. ok, so i am being a little dramatic about the "vital to life" part...sort of...but i do LOVE it!


2. I HATE VOMIT...I WILL NOT EXPOUND


3. i don't like fine dining establishments...i much prefer dives with a fabulous cheeseburger!


4. i would like to abolish mayonnaise from the face of the earth...it brings me too close to #2...seriously, the sound of it has got to be one of the MOST disgusting things there is.


5. my hair is now curly. after giving birth to madeline...the hair which formerly was board straight is curly. the pic is what patrick did with it at my last hair appt...MY attempts have not been so stylish. it is hard to break 30 years of habits in one measly attempt...freaky, huh?!!!!!

little sickie...

well, madeline made it 15 months without much more than the sniffles...but my little baby is really having a rough go with a virus. yesterday afternoon, she woke up from her nap with around 106 degree fever! i started bawling my eyes out while trying to strip her down and cover her with tepid wet towels. the doctor's office told me to take her to the ER...but jeffrey (via the telephone until i could pick him up at the metro) and i weren't sure our hearts could handle seeing our second baby girl poked and prodded on (we had the SAME thing happen when ella was the EXACT same age)...so my precious, level headed husband suggested that we wait for the tylenol to kick in and retake her temp before making a dash to the hospital! thank goodness we did, because her fever responded well to the medicine & we were able to go in for a regular office visit.

just a virus...great...that gives us lots to work with. i can't do one thing for her except love on her and hold her (& give her a little bit of ice cream for breakfast...he,he,he)! i do love the extra hugs i get from her but i wish she felt better. it breaks my heart when either one of my babies are hurting...no matter what the cause.

here's to hoping for a better tomorrow. and here's to hoping that ella avoids the plague...it would be a shame for the birthday girl to be stricken!!!!!

happy birthday...

my dad would have been 58 years old today. it is so strange to think that so many years have passed (almost 10 to be exact)...and he has missed so much. i know he would have loved the girls more than words can say and he would have LOVED jeffrey (how can you not?!)

there are not many days that go by that he doesn't cross my mind at some point...during a pretty sunset, when i hear someone whistle, when i think of someone that is suffering from a loss...yet it is not usually sadness that accompanies those thoughts. i know he and nina are in a better place. together.

i do wish that he were still here so that we could sing happy birthday to him in person. he would have loved that...but for some reason today, i just have a need to thank my mom. she created such a safe place for two little people to love their daddy despite it all. she deserves so much thanks for the way she carried herself all those years...with dignity and grace. she is the reason that i have a "dad" in 2008 to fill in those empty corners of my heart.

it is because of her that i can say "happy birthday, dad"...we love & miss you more than our hearts could ever tell you.

pics of the sweet peas...

we experienced a few fleeting moments of spring...turned on the AC for 24 hours...then turned the heater back on today!!!!! i did manage to capture a few "photogs" of my little girls. maddie is really turning out to have a FUNNY personality...i got a few pictures of her doing the sign for "hear it", her signature "oh brother" pose, & a few others that document what she has been up to lately...playing with her baby, brushing her teeth, climbing the stairs - you know, just typical stuff that 15 month olds do!!!!!

she & ella are starting to play together more and more each day...they LOVE each other so much. jeffrey and i comment all the time that we are so happy that we had two daughters...ella needed a sister to dote on! FYI - ella is the "princess" in our family, daddy is the "king", i am the "queen", maddie is the "baby dragon", & baby alive is the "royal baby"...ella has an extensive imagination! tonight she conducted her own version of "the waltons" by calling out to all of us from her bedroom...she makes jeffrey & i laugh so hard!

we are really looking forward to ella's birthday celebration...it will be so fun to be back in the good ole south!

this is the day that the Lord has made...

yesterday was just one of those days...that leaves you feeling exhausted but completely thankful to be a mom. there is no one in this world that can push my buttons like my little ella...i know maddie is coming up in the ranks...but there is also no one that i would rather have as my first born!!!!! she is one of a kind & i love her to the moon and back!!!!!

she got in major trouble yesterday for being disrespectful so she was "grounded" from television & snacks. well, she managed to get my mother on the phone & cry that i was grounding her from food...she made it sound like i was running some kind of prison camp!!!!!!! i assured my mom that i was only withholding the "good" (in ella's opinion) kind of snacks like JUNK...she was not going to be sent to bed without supper!!!!! oh ella...

before all of this happened though, we went to the park for a little outing...it was either that or start a regimen of vitamin D - the weather has not been great - and my little maddie (remember moving up in the ranks) pulled some stunts of her own!!!!! as you can see by the pic...she has decided to become quite the climber. she can scoot up our stairs, on the rare occasion that the gate is not up, like nobody's business!!!! she thinks she is really something...laughing the whole way!



let me start by explaining what my park experiences are like now that madeline is on the move. it goes a little something like this..."mom, i want to swing"..."ok, ella, wait just a minute and let madeline get comfortable"..."maddie, don't go up those stairs" - run to help madeline climb the stairs, walk across the wobbly suspension bridge, go down the slide, take madeline as far away from the stairs as i can - "mom, why did you leave me here in this swing...i want to go high" - go swing ella so high that my stomach drops and i can barely reach her without my bra showing - "maddie, don't go up those stairs" - run to help madeline climb the stairs, walk across the wobbly suspension bridge, go down the slide, take madeline as far away from the stairs as i can - "mom, i am not going high any more...i want to go HIGH"...YOU GET THE PICTURE!!!!!!!

so, from this pic you would think that i might have just left my children to go have a pedicure or something. madeline managed to find the ONE puddle of thick, sticky, stain and ruin this precious outfit MUD!!!! thanks to my friend megsy and another wonderful mom at the park, we were able to clean her off. but thanks to yours truly - i did not have another change of clothes for madeline and it was 49 degrees outside! once again, i am sorry that no one was handing out "mother of the year" awards...because i certainly deserved one!!!! ella also had to use the bathroom while we were there (not a "code yellow) so the whole experience just turned out to be hilarious!!!!! all you can do is laugh...otherwise, you might cry so hard you will never stop!



i was so grateful when bedtime came around last night...but as usual, when i went to kiss their sweet little faces before i retired for the night...i couldn't have been more proud & my heart could not have been more full. i won't trade these times for anything because i know they won't last forever!!!!!

another family to remember...

ethan powell, the little boy from shreveport, died today in his parents arms. another family that i do not know personally...but it doesn't matter. ethan was madeline's age and i look at her and can't imagine not seeing her bright eyes and precious smile every day. he fought a valiant fight for the majority of his life to beat cancer...he was apparently so special that God just needed him back.

give your kids a huge hug & kiss because the truth is...they are only ours to borrow.

www.ethanpowell.com

"amish smamish"...

our day in the amish country was really fun...& really eye opening. we started our adventure at an amish family restaurant. jeffrey & i both thought this was going to be some unique experience with some authentic food - it turned out to be an amish version of the "golden corral"! it was hilarious...and not something we will likely forget!

next we headed even deeper into the "country" and took a horse and buggy ride through an amish farm! menno, our amish "horse" driver, was a bit questionable...i think he enjoys all of the nosy people out there that are amazed by this lifestyle!!! madeline, being the animal lover that she is, was mesmorized by the fact that we were being pulled by horses! ella, on the other hand, just wanted to know if we had any snacks!

i think she would last for about 2 seconds as an amish girl...

it was neat to see all the black clothes hung out on these enormous clothes lines...there are horse and buggy hitches at the stores there...it sort of feels a bit surreal! if jeffrey had it his way, he would start growing his beard today! needless to say, it was a fun day...we can now all say that we have been to pennsylvania! we were so thankful to share the experience with granny!

please lift up in prayer...

the lawrenson family seeing as tricia just had a double lung transplant! i don't know this family personally, but have been following their story. the link to their blog is on the right (& below) & you should check it out. it is truly amazing...and basically, if you are alive - it should inspire you!!!! they have a precious brand new baby girl...so you know, my heart goes out to them! i am praying that these new lungs will give them much more time together as a family of three!!!!! what a miracle!

www.cfhusband.blogspot.com

poetically beautiful...

we made our way downtown today to see the cherry blossoms. they really are beautiful...i hope to take the girls back this weekend when it is not so cold & maybe get THEIR pic! we never know how that is going to go! these pictures today will serve as my little girls' memories...one day they will appreciate these experiences!!!!!