Fall Fun

Another week has zipped right by. Weds. morning I went with Maisie's preschool class on their first field trip. They went to a local screen printing place to watch their class shirts printed. I left from there and took Sadie to Kindermusik. That afternoon during snack time, Sadie started a slight fever and was sluggish. When she slows down, I know something is wrong. Of course it was church night. Brandon opted to stay home with Sadie so I could do Awana games. It was hard for me to leave Sadie knowing she wasn't feeling well. It doesn't help when she gives me her puppy dog face. She did fine all evening and spent most of the time snuggling with Brandon. It was probably good for both of them to rest. Game time went well. My favorite part was when a sweet 1st grade girls said to me, "Hey, I thought the tall guy was going to be here this week!" With that she had her hand raised as high as possible. Nice to know Brandon was missed. :)

There was no school Thursday and Friday. It felt great to sleep in until 7:40. However, it was one of those mornings where it seemed that there was always one daughter who was grumpy. I made them pancakes...complaints; I let them take a bath...arguing...not fun for this mama!

I finally loaded them up in the van, and we went to the library and a grocery store. They were much better after that. Thursday after dinner I took Analise to the high school volleyball game. I hadn't been to one in a couple of years, and I wanted Analise to experience this, too. It was a fun night! I sat with church people and enjoyed visiting while watching. Analise had fun too, and I hate to admit, but she liked watching the cheerleaders better. Yikes!

Friday morning our college gal came over so Sadie could have a follow up doc appt. about her cheek. We were in and out; it looks great! We were gone 20 minutes at the most. If only all doc appts. could go so fast! T stayed for a bit and chatted. She is such a sweet gal! I can't believe it's been 10 years since I was in college. After T left, I told the girls I was taking them somewhere, and it was a surprise. They were excited, and Analise tried to guess anything possible. I took them to the apple orchard. The day was perfect!

We were allowed to pick the gala apples. I let them pick about 25 since we really didn't need the apples; it was all about the experience and time together. It was enjoyable! The lady working didn't even charge us for the apples! We went home for a short bit, and I called Brandon and asked him if he wanted to have a picnic at the park for lunch. He was more than willing to join us. He even told me he was going to surprise me and take the afternoon off so we could go to the apple orchard together. Ooops. He ended up coming home at 2:30 anyway.

Friday afternoon Brandon washed both vehicles, and the girls and I helped some. I also made a fall tradition meal....pizza dip in a pumpkin. Yeah! Brandon's dad, and bro and fam joined us. We had lots of fun! The kids played outside and also played Wii Dance. It's a riot watching them!

Saturday morning we headed to the lake. Before boating, however, we took a family hike. I know my cousin does this a lot with her family, and I always think it sounds fun. We are at the early ages to start this, but overall it went well. We walked almost two miles in one hour. Maisie probably complained the most; she kept telling me she wanted to go back to the truck. One time she said, "Mommy, I want to go back. My button (bottom) needs to sit down." Cracked me up. Sadie was a trooper. She walked quite a bit but would take breaks and rode on our shoulders. She was my "stop and smell the roses" daughter.

After the hike we ate lunch at the cabin, and then Brandon, Analise and his dad left to go boating. Shortly after they left, rest of the family showed up. It turned out to be a bummer of a boating day. On the way to the dock, Analise's new life jacket flew out and is still lost. So sad. And then when they put it inthe boat, it acted funny so they didn't even feel comfortable taking it out. So the boating day turned into a fish from the rocks day. I stayed back at the cabin with Maisie and Sadie. I was glad S and B were there too!

Analise

Last night Brandon and I went to Analise's P/T conference. I'll admit - this is something I look forward to. It was nice to visit with her teacher and her student teacher. The teacher told us about Analise winning an award, but I can't go into details yet. I'll just say we're proud of her. (and that's a good proud). We saw some work she has done, and it just melted my heart. She had to draw a picture of something we do as a family. Here it is: we are at the fishing club. And she got amazing detail that I love. Daddy is wearing his fishing vest; Sadie is in the stroller; there are the "pokey things" (sand burrs); Analise is sitting in her blue chair; and guess which pole has the fish? :)

We were told that Analise is doing an awesome job of reading, which didn't surprise us but was still fun to hear. She is only one level below where kids are expected to be at the end of the year. Analise filled out a cute book called, "All About Me." Here is what we learned...
I like to...swim at my cousin's pool.
The things I like to eat...watermelon, pork chops and strawberries.
This makes me happy...when I get to swim.
If I had one magic wish it would be...to sleep all day. (lol)
The person I admire most is....God. (This melts my heart!)
I want to grow up and be....an engineer. (Most of the kids then thought her daddy drove a train. :) Seriously, can we not help but notice what a daddy's girl Analise is?
What Analise is looking forward to this year: losing her second tooth, having rest time, reading harder books, getting more compliments, (they like to earn class compliments) learning how to tell time and count money.
Three favorite colors: gold, blue and pink.
Analise, we are so proud of you and you shining your light for Jesus!

So after school I picked up Analise, and I noticed her loose top, front tooth was literally sticking straight out. Poor thing, I couldn't look at her without getting the giggles. Pictures didn't do it justice. We came home, and I told her the tooth needed to come out. Lord willing, one of these times we'll pull a tooth without all the drama! This is the first tooth I have pulled; daddy has pulled the others. After a couple of tugs and lots of tears, it came out! Here is a note she left on her door before going to bed:

Here's that tooth sticking out between her lips!

There's a hole in there, there's a hole in there, there's an H.O.L.E...hole in there! (That was one of her softball chants)

After school on Monday, Grandma came over and picked up the girls for their annual "go get a pumpkin" outing. Analise was the most excited. For some reason she just loves pumpkins, esp. the tiny ones. Maisie and Sadie were excited to go, too. And me, well, I was excited to have 30 minutes at home by myself. That's a RARE treat! Thanks, Grandma!

I'll end with a funny. There is a family that lives a street over, and we have seen them run their two dogs - a white pug and black pug. They usally run one up the street and then run the other down the street. Last night Analise says, "That's a weird dog! It's black when it goes up the street and white when is goes down!"

Sadie's Spot

Sweet Sadie keeps me on my toes. A couple of months ago we noticed a little, red spot on her cheek, and we didn't think much of it. Until a few weeks ago I came home from a meeting and checked on the girls before I went to bed. I discovered Sadie, sound asleep, but covered in blood. Not a pretty sight. Brandon and I cleaned her up, but the spot would not stop bleeding. Super glue finally worked after 4-5 attempts. The next afternoon it bled again, so I took her in to the clinic. After 45 minutes of bleeding and consulting a couple of other doctors, we were told it was probably a pyrogenic granuloma...basically a bunch of blood vessels at skin level. We went and saw a plastic surgeon about it, and he recommended he cauterize it. Since it's on her face, he thought it would be best if she was sedated.

We scheduled for last Weds. I'll be honest...I was a little nervous. Since we had to be at the hospital at 6 am, Brandon stayed home to get the girls ready and get them to school. Deep down I was wishing he could be with me. I was afraid I would cry and would need his strength. On the outside, I pretended to be strong. I had my Bible study women and friends praying. The Lord gently reminded me that He wanted to be my rock whom I lean on - not Brandon. So 5:00 the alarm goes off and at 5:50 I swoop Sadie out of bed so we can be on time. I knew people were praying, and that provided a peace and calm for me. I'd also asked the Lord that I would see someone I knew at the hospital. Silly, huh? Wouldn't you know it, I finish with admissions and turn around for someone to walk us to our room, and the volunteer that morning is our neighbor! I could feel the Lord smiling.
Sadie was a trooper. We waited a short bit, she let the nurse weigh her and take her vitals...all while happy. One of my concerns was when the nurse would take Sadie to the OR. Sadie can have separation anxiety sometimes. And I knew if Sadie cried, I would be, too. This gal who helped with the anesthesia, came in and met Sadie and clicked with her. When she came back later to get Sadie, Sadie let her pick her up, gave me a wave and left the room. PTL! The procedure was only 10-15 minutes. I was also warned that most kids cry when they come out of the sedation. Not Sadie. Not even a peep. The gal who took Sadie back told me that Sadie was amazing - no tears and she breathed in the gas just like she needed to. My response was, "We had lots of people praying."
We left the hospital by 8:25, so I went up to the church to see Maisie before preschool started. She was so excited to see me. :) We then came home, and I could have easily gone back to bed, but Sadie didn't seem interested. She was her normal self all day long. Praise the Lord!

Bits and Pieces

Here is Analise's latest family portrait. If you remember last year's picture, this is a major improvement! She gave us all blond (even me. :)) hair, blue eyes, and we are the appropriate size. Good job babe!

So why did I take a picture of the girls' salads? Because I wanted to remember and reflect on their differences. Analise has been a good salad eater for a couple of years. She likes lettuce, cheese, grape tomatoes, bacon bits and croutons. Dressing of choice right now is "T"...Thousand Island. Sadie will eat a little lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, craisins and croutons. I gave her a little Catalina dressing the other night. And Maisie's salad consists of cheese, craisins and croutons. Hah! She also likes the Catalina dressing.

We've been busy beavers around here. Last Monday morning the girls and I ran several errands. After school was CMA, and then I ran Analise home quick and took off for a meeting at church. I then left that a little early to go to another meeting, this one for Sonrise. I finally got home at 9:45...minutes before it downpoured.

Weds. morning I was up early for Sadie's appt. More of that to come in a separate post. Weds. evening was our first night of AWANA. Brandon wasn't able to help; he took off on a road trip. I took Sadie to Grandma's. Maisie is going to Cubbies this year, and she was so excited. Game time went awesome! The kids were SO good. What are the chances this will last all year? :) I love seeing the kids and visiting with them. It's also a bonus seeing Analise and a nephew.

Thursday morning we went for a walk with friends. I then went to the mall with Sadie. Just Sadie...so nice. I found Analise a couple of things, and I used her birthday money. Thursday after school the girls and I hung out and after dinner went to the library. Since Brandon was still gone and going to get home late, I called my MIL and SIL to see if they wanted to come over for a movie night. At 9:00 we watched "Father of the Bride." It fit the mood with the wedding planning, and it provided some comic relief. Even after all these years, I love that movie!

Friday morning we ran Brandon and the truck down to a dealer to have something looked at. (Side note...they told us something needed fixed for over $200. Yesterday Brandon fixed it. PTL!) After school I called my neighbor friend, and we walked to the park. The girls played and had fun. We got home, went and picked up Brandon from work, got the truck, came home and changed and left for a family dinner with friends in a town 45 minutes away. Whirlwind. Phew!

Saturday morning everyone slept in. I even slept until 8:00! Woo-hoo! It was a cold, dreary morning so I decided we weren't going to go the band parade like we wanted. I was disappointed, but I knew it was the best decision. Instead we took time getting showers, making brownies with Analise, and I was planning for a meeting. My friend, L, picked me up at 11:00 and off we went. We had an all day Children's Commission retreat. It was a blessing of a day! We spent time in prayer and vision planning for children's ministries at church. After the retreat part, spouses came out for dinner. Brandon came, and it was nice to have him there. Thanks G and G for taking care of the girls! We ended up staying later than everyone else and visited with a couple we both really enjoy.

Sunday morning was church, and then Analise and I stayed later so she could practice for the kid's Christmas musical. I stayed and helped.

As the girls and Brandon rested, I ran up to the mall. I've been wanting a new pair of "trendier" jeans for quite some time. Store one let me down, so I braved The Buckle. I'll admit; that store intimidates me. I am so not trendy enough to feel comfortable there. So I just stepped inside the store to look around. A salesgirl saw my clueless look on my face and came to help. She was so helpful! She brought me 10-15 pairs of jeans to try on. She recommended skinny jeans, but I just laughed and declined. Pam and skinny jeans are like oil and water. All this to say...I got myself an early birthday gift - new jeans!

Sunday afternoon we did things outside and around the house. Brandon grilled; we ate a good meal and then played games as a family. It was really fun! I learned Maisie can play more games than I thought. The girls were in bed by 8:00. Yippee! Brandon and I crashed and watched the Colts win. Thanks for joining me, Brandon!

A Decade of Love

On August 26, Brandon and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. I still can't believe we've been married a decade already. Being the romantic I am, I dreamt of a big celebration. However, my dreams and reality aren't the same. We've talked about going away on a trip. Oh, how I long for that! But it seems we keep coming up short on both time and money. And we can't forget about someone taking care of the kids. One of these days will have all three....I hope. :) So instead we celebrated by going for lunch - with Maisie and Sadie. At least we went out! That night we went to Maisie's preschool open house. Throughout the day I sent Brandon 10 emails, with each email giving him a reason why I love him. He left me 10 sticky notes around the house that said, "Happy Anniversary." We got some nice cards in the mail and my mom and dad sent a gift card for us to use on a dinner date. Lord willing we'll be able to use that soon. I wanted to watch our wedding video, but it's on VHS and our VCR seems to be eating tapes. So instead I looked back through photo albums of our pre-kid years. It was fun. Earlier in the day I shared my wedding pictures with some dear friends since we all met after our wedding. That, too, was fun to look back and reflect, and thank God for the blessings. Here we are 10 years ago.

I wanted to post this of me with my bridesmaid, Rachel. Rachel was happily married for 10 years before the Lord called her home. I don't talk about Rachel much, and people don't ask me...but I think about her often. I still haven't deleted her phone number from my cell phonebook. Rachel is now with her eternal groom. Miss ya girl!
I had the honor of wearing my grandmother's dress. I believe it was 57 years old. Mom, you may correct me on that. :) Here is my paternal grandmother.

And here we are, 10 years later...a few pounds heavier, a few less hairs, three beautiful daughters, and a marriage that is stronger today. Brandon, you will forever be my best friend, and I will never stop loving you. One in Christ; One in Love.

Life Takes Over

And we are getting in the groove. Analise is loving school and seems to be doing well. For as much as she chatters, she doesn't give me the play by play of her day. I ask questions, and she will fill me in. Last week at the library, I checked out a book to surprise her, and I got something a little more challenging for her - a Junie B. Jones book. She was thrilled! At dinner time, I saw this: and my heart just melted and I thought, "That's me!" I always read at the dinner table! (not during dinner...) And she read in the van on the way to music class. This is the first time she has read a book to herself. I was as excited as she was. And she finished the book in about two days, and she comprehended most of it. Not too shabby for a girl who just started first grade. From a mother who loves to read a good book, I'm proud of you, Analise!



The girls love to play outside, and we are glad to have some patio in the backyard. The latest thing is for Maisie to ride here bike and Analise to follow on her plasma car. They are connected with a jump rope, and Analise pretends she is on a jet ski. This particular day they decided to wear their goggles while they played. I found it quite humorous.

Corn on the cob...love, love, love it! This year Sadie ate hers on the cob, and I had to cut it off for Analise. Sadie would make it a meal if I let her. I took two nights and froze several bags of corn, so I am hoping it will last us until next corn season. My girls helped shuck, and I appreciated it!

After looking and talking about vehicles for six months, we finally made a purchase this past weekend. Here are the girls playing in the bed. They thought it was so cool.

Maisie started preschool this week. I dropped her off, and there were no tears or emotions from either of us. At lunch I told Brandon I wasn't emotional and wondered why. He said that only a woman could get emotional over not being emotional and trying to figure it all out. True. I was excited for Maisie, and since it's at our church, I think that made it easier. However, two years from now when she starts Kdg, I know for sure I'll be emotional.

I finally took Maisie for her 4 year well child check. I told her from the moment we left there would be no shots. She told everyone at the clinic she was not getting a shot. She weighed in at 30.5 lbs (15%) and was 40 inches tall. (50%) She is right on track for everything, and she looked good. However, there is now a new booster vaccine that she needed. Poor girl! I apologized to her over and over. This vaccine really effected her; she ran a temp later in the day, and if I didn't keep meds in her, she would limp along and barely walk. 24 hours later she was fine.

Brandon has been working MANY hours. He's been busy since last November, but these next few months are even busier. He's been working about 12 hour days and some Saturdays. Last week he was out of town for four days. Again, the week went better thanks to family and friends! My dear husband does not complain, even though he doesn't like it any more than I do. The girls are getting used to starting dinner without him. (Sad :( ) And I am learning a new role in our marriage. Most times I do okay, but two weeks ago I had a meltdown. Just ask my sis in law. :) A couple of weeks ago on a Saturday morning the girls and I took donuts to him at work. We sat at the table outside his office and enjoyed breakfast together. We all enjoyed it. Then before I left, I vacuumed the upstairs, since I knew it was bothering him. The girls like to play with the whiteboard and with his little John Deere tractors.

My lady's Bible study started this past week. We had about 50 moms! I love these two hours of my week. I learn from my study in God's Word, but I also learn from these women. Sadie did well in her Bible Club class.

Brandon's sister is getting married this fall. Yeah! So over Labor Day weekend, my sis in law, S, and I put together a shower for S. We put lots of time into it by planning and shopping. One day we got to shop without the girls, and one time they came with us. It was a lot of fun, and the shower went well. It was a family shower, and we had over 20 people there. I took Analise with me, and it was special for me to have her there. I know she will remember this shower and wedding.

I will end with a couple of funnies:

After I was finished disciplining Sadie, she looked at me and said, "You grumpy, mommy."

Analise was eating a Pop tart at breakfast and asked me, "Does this have any soil in it?"

Me: "Soil?"

Analise, "Yeah, my friend from school can't have foods with milk or soil (soy) in it. :)

Grandma used her handy sewing skills to sew the huge hole in Maisie's favorite blanket. Grandma asked Maisie how the hole got there, and Maisie replied, "God made it that way."

Last night as dinner Maisie saw we were having noodles. She said, "We had noodles at little dinner, too!" (lunch)

Maisie was on the toilet when she realized she had no toilet paper, so she yells, "Mommy, I need more newspaper!"