The Voices Within Me

those are the sounds I heard out side my house about 12:15 am this morning. First, I saw this huge white flash... thought it was lightening since it was raining, windy and such but then as I heard more explosions and our power went off, I realized it was much more than that. I called Tim downstairs (he was actually already on his way) as I peered out the front door to my neighbors house where I could see the eerie glow of a large tree laying on the power lines in their front year. As I stood and watched, I noticed it wasn't just a normal glow, but the tree was actually catching fire b/c of the electric flowing through. I called 911 and reported and though I live literally houses down from the fire station, it still seemed to take forever for them to come. Not long after the police came (they arrived first) there was another HUGE blast, with sparks and zapping sounds and then an eerie silence as more of our street plunged into darkness.
Needless to say, we had little sleep last nite. Between the howling wind, driving rain, flashing lights from the fire trucks that were outside our house, and a child that was woken up and scared beyond belief... it was a long long long nite. Our power was off until this morning and the tree still lays blocking a bit of the road and entangled in some of the lines from last nite.

In other news, I received a nerve-wracking phone call this afternoon from my OBGYN office. I guess during my last routine exam, they found rare cell changes and want me to come back for a retest in March. They said that they weren't precancerous, cancerous or HPV but didn't give me any other information. I, of course, am panicking but there isnt much I can do. Of course I have been doing tons of research, but without knowing or understanding it all... it still freaks me out. I guess the worst part for me right now is... we had been hoping to conceive our third and most likely final child in or around March and I am now wondering if this finding will have to quell those plans. We had actually talked about trying earlier (like as in last year) but things never seemed right, so we waited. I don't know what to think... I am always healthy, never have had any issues and now this :( I am scared, frustrated, and just want to fast forward to March to have questions answered.

One of my goals this year is to rejuvenate my faith. Unfortunately, this past year, my faith has grown sort of stagnant. There are numerous reasons but really, nothing can really "take the burden" and I know that there is a lot that I need to be doing to get back in touch.
Anyway...
I am "speaking" at our youth service on Sunday and while doing research to somehow tie all of my jumbled thoughts together (actually it is very fitting... on lukewarm Christians) I read this little story that I am going to summarize.
It was this story of a family whom had just had their second child and were first bringing their newest addition home. Once they arrived, their older daughter (I think she was about 4 or so) really wanted to spend some time with the baby. The parents encouraged her to interact but the little girl insisted that she have some "one on one" time with the baby. Not being too sure of what she had in mind, the parents were very cautious and not sure it was such a good idea. After numerous requests, they finally relented and remembered that if the two siblings were to "talk" in the bedroom, they would be able to listen through the baby monitor. After some prep talk with the older child, the parents cautiously left the room and went into their room to see what would unfold. It was only then that they realized what it was their daughter so anxiously wanted to discuss as they heard these words.
"I have been wanting to talk to you for some time now. I was wondering if you could tell me about Jesus because I seem to have forgotten"

How often is it that we too forget what He looks like, what His voice sounds like, how His arms feel around us? How often do our busy lives blind us from the reality of His works?
I know for me, this happens more often than I care to admit. I love that little girl's innocence and willingness to seek. I want this to be a year for me, where I choose to search and once again remember what Jesus is all about because it has been all too long and I don't want it to all become just a faint memory.

I can't deny it anymore... the holiday season is over. Yes, I am sentimental... yes, our tree is turned on for one last hurrah but no matter how much I try to hold on, the season is officially past.
We had a nice end to last week, Tim's family all left on Saturday but we made sure to spend as much time together as possible... including a trip to Dairy Queen on Friday nite. Gotta love a family that loves ice cream! :) I participated in the yearly "Girl's Overnighter" at our church right after the Dairy Queen trip and had a nice time with the 14 or so girls that came. It is always fun to spend quality time (if you can call it that- ha! ) with them. We always figure out how to have fun.

We weren't sure what we were going to do New Years but decided to go out to Kurt and Carla's house as we have in years past, and we all had a nice time. The kids enjoyed playing with Walker, Ellie, Jeremiah and Isaac... so much that the first thing Micah asked when he woke up the next day was, "Can we go back to Walker's house today?" The kids actually stayed up until midnight (they had a nap until 6 or so beforehand to prep them) and actually did really well. I thought they would fall asleep on the way home but they were both wide awake, which ended up being perfect b/c they were on the verge of sleep as soon as we got them in and ready for bed. We all enjoyed sleeping in Tuesday and are now trying to get back into a normal routine.

Micah is still off of school until Monday so we have a few days to fill with things though we will be heading to my parent's house on Friday for our Christmas there. My Dad is getting out of rehab (if you missed this before, it was for knee replacement surgery... not drugs or alcohol ;) ) sometime today. He is definitely ready to come home and we are excited to go see him and my Mom. I love giving people their Christmas gifts and I think we chose some fun things this year for everyone so I am anxious for everyone to open everything.

I actually scrapbooked last nite... two pages in fact. I did have a sort of deadline which helps explain why I actually did two in one nite but I will share that later. I haven't gotten to sit and scrap in quite sometime so it was nice to be able to do that and have the sense of accomplishment when i finished. I hope to do a lot more of it this coming year.

New years always bring about a sense of desiring change (at least to me) and though I don't make resolutions, I do always try to have a few things to work on in each area of my life.
Here are a few of my ideas... hopefully they are basic things I can easily weave in without much ado.

*Make weekly menus so I don't have those "what should I have for dinner" moments
*Do something creative at least once a week
*Read a book to the kids at least 5x a week
*Do devotions with the kids every evening (we got the cutest devotional book for preschoolers from Berean for Christmas)
*Grow the business even further than last year

Those are just a few of tons of ideas swirling in my head right now. I think they are all good and attainable so I can't be let down ;) I wish you luck in any changes you are implementing this year as well... here is to a new and better 2008!


(I must share two more Christmasy photos just because I can't let go...)

so I won't even start with the most recent of happenings. Instead, I will go back to last week and slowly work my way forward. Deal? Capiche.

As some of you know, my Dad had a knee replacement last Monday. Things went well, though they discovered he is/ was diabetic. So... now they have to learn to deal with a total lifestyle change... hopefully it won't be too tough. Thankfully they found it now though... who knows how long it could have went undiscovered if he hadn't had surgery. Anyway... back to the knee.
He was supposed to getting out of the hospital on Thursday and then we were going to have Christmas Friday nite/ Saturday morning. Well... that didn't happen. He instead was recommended to go to a rehab hospital for 2 weeks to ensure a smoother recovery. While that completely stunk, I do understand and hope it enables a faster and more complete healing.
So... our Christmas celebration is now moved to January.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Lets see... after that, Tim got sick and didn't go to the Dr. until Christmas Eve. Needless to say, by that time it was a raging sinus infection that is requiring 2 antibiotics. I will spare you other details but lets just say Christmas Eve nite was probably the worst nite of the year... we got about 2 hours of sleep and thought about going to the ER numerous times...

Before all of that though, we went to my SIL's house for their Christmas Eve dinner ( and Italian feast) and then Christmas Eve service at our church. Following that we went to my inlaws for the annual "Nite Before Christmas". It was different this year as Tim moved into the seat of the reader since his Dad passed away this year, but it was still nice to get together.
We didn't get home until really really late (Tim's one sister drove up Christmas Eve so we waited for her...) so it was hard to settle the kids down once we finally did get home.
Thankfully one went to sleep relatively quickly and while Addie held out for quite some time, Tim was able to start assembly on a few things as I kept guard.

CHRISTMAS
Christmas Day. As noted before, we got no sleep. I had finally fallen asleep around 7 am or so and ignored the alarm/ s when they went off. Micah got up, went downstairs (to where Tim was) and was just in total awe. He ran up to my room, practically pulling me out of bed in his excitement and just kept exclaiming how Santa came and there were presents and a kitchen and yadda yadda yadda. I went down with him and then he remembered he didn't get Addie so he ran up to her with the same enthusiasm. She actually got up right away and kept saying, "Oh boy oh boy oh boy" It was classic... I mean seriously... sounds cheesy BUT... moments like that are what makes parenting all worth it. The joy on their faces and just the wonder and excitement they both had made me even feel like a kid again. It was great.

Micah, knowing how to read some basic things now, knew whose gifts were whose so he sorta passed things out and Addie just attempted to open anything within her reach. They were both spoiled rotten... from a Kitchen for both of them to an art desk, an art center for Micah's V-smile, to videos, cars, video games, educational games and more for Micah and Princess stuff, more princess stuff, doll stuff, strawberry shortcake and little pony stuff for Addie... they are definitely blessed with new numerous new items to occupy their time. Tim received a number of new clothes, books and Dvds so he too will be set. His fun gift... I found an replica old fashined popcorn cart so he and the kids can have fun popping their popcorn :)

I received some new sweaters, lots of books (which I think you will be hearing about in the coming year as many of them have to do with creative projects :) ), a waffle maker, a Senseo machine (specialized coffee/ cappuchino thing), a few Dvds, and a Peppermint Mocha set from Starbucks (this might be my favorite!!) I love everything and can't wait to use it all. I honestly could care less about the things I get... I love giving gifts more (as evidenced by the number of gifts!) but it is fun to receive as well.

We almost had a meltdown by Micah... as some of you know, the number one item on his list was the "Iphone" yes, the Apple, $500 IPhone. LOL. As he opened box upon box, he kept saying, "maybe this is the Iphone, maybe this one is... Thankfully, Santa left him a note and explained how you have to be 18 and they wouldn't let Santa get him one since he is only 4. Santa told him how he picked out other fun toys for him instead. It seemed to work...
Another meltdown did ensure however as Tim didn't tape the Noggin show Christmas Eve that Micah had requested and Micah's little heart broke upon realization. We both felt bad but explained that it was hard to record (they just showed all the Noggin characters sleeping) b/c it wasn't a set show but instead lasted all nite. We did have tears over that one but thankfully the new toys seemed to remedy it.

After our home celebration, we went to my inlaws house and had our celebration over there. It was crazy as usual... but with 8 kids 7 and under that is to be expected. Micah and Addie were pooped as they didn't get a nap Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and went to bed late so they were on the crabby end a few times. They lasted until about 7 pm though and then both crashed, Micah in the middle of the floor and Addie in Tim's arms. It was a nice time... different this year with my FIL being gone, but nice nonetheless.

Day After

Now we are upon the Day After. It is all sort depressing, knowing all the prep and such is over. I always start to get depressed b/c I just love Christmas time and now it is over and people are ready to move on :( I guess it is hitting me even more this year b/c I always things of all the things we will go through until the next year and I guess it has hit me how we just never know what each day will bring. Last year I would have never thought we would have lost a family member. It just goes to show...

Addie is actually still sleeping... yes, at near 11 am, but I am letting her go b/c I figure she will miss out on another nap today b/c of family members coming to the inlaws so she might as well sleep now. I guess I should go get ready since people will be arriving there in an hour ;) and we should probably be there as well.


I hope you all had a wonderful, merry Christmas and were able to sit back, relax, and enjoy.
I will share the notes from Micah and Santa with you at a later time... right now I am down to about 1 hour to get me, and both kids (b/c you know how much help a dad is ;) hee hee... esp. one that is playing video games right now!) ready for lunch at my inlaws. Yikes!!

If you have a blogger blog, you know there are two buttons, either save or publish. Well... if you hit save, it does not publish... which is exactly what I did the other nite. I was going to ask for prayers for my dad as he went in and had a knee replacement yesterday but since that is over it is sorta futile. He could still use prayers for a quick and full recovery though :)

This past week was kinda crazy weather wise. If you didn't hear, a monster snow storm went through and dumped lots 'o snow on us... though we fared much better than areas up north (namely right where my parents live) Being that bad weather was forecast, we decided not to venture out to PA for our family Christmas gathering and it was a good thing we did. Being that we had told the kids they were going to see Santa and we really did want them to have that experience, we ventured out thinking we would beat the storm. Boy were we wrong! In a matter of about 20 minutes there was an inch of snow and every person in NE Ohio forgot how to drive. Traffic was at a standstill and a stretch of road that would normally take maybe 3-5 minutes took us over an hour to travel. (note... this is more b/c of traffic and NOT bad road conditions) Argghh!! BUT... we did see Santa, ate at Fridays as a treat and eventually made it home again.

After all the snow Saturday, we had freezing rain then rain the rest of the nite/ morning so it was a nice slushy mess for church. By Sunday evening however, we were getting quite a bit more snow and we weren't sure whether to have the youth Christmas party or not... we went with it and had a great time.

Yesterday was my Dad's surgery, and I drove up to be with my Mom after taking Micah to school. It was snowing a bit here when I left but got really sunny half way there until I hit the invisible snow-belt line and suddenly I was in the midst of a snowstorm. Thankfully the roads were mostly clear and I made it in relatively good time. I got there spent time with my Mom, brother and Aunt and after a TON of delays, finally got to see my dad. He looked good... had been in quite a bit of pain at first, they actually installed something in his leg to do a nerve block but all in all he was doing great. The Dr. said surgery went well and we are now just hoping he heals well so he can be home Friday for our family Christmas.
I actually had a great drive up there... I love traveling when it is nice and throw on some good tunes and I am set. I listened to "Behold the Lamb" both there and home and specifically, "Labor of Love" numerous times and it really got me in the right mindset for Christmas.

Today I am babysitting (only one thus far until the other two are dropped off... and she is sleeping :) ) and have to make cookies for Micah's party at school tomorrow. I can't believe Christmas is a week away... guess I should mail out those cards- eh? LOL.

although the ultimate title didn't come home with the team, the pride of Louisville is still strong and we hold our heads high and support our team. Great game guys... State in '08!!

town sendoff...



game time... a whopping 25 degrees and strong winds

Are you happy Mommy? Mommy are you happy? Mommmy... are you happy? Moooooommmmmy.


to be continued... (right now she needs dealt with- yes, at almost midnight...)

Tonite is the nite that I lead our girl's Bible study at church. Earlier today while I was getting ready, Ms. Addie came up to me and asked what I was reading. She thought that she was going to get to join in for story time... I closed the book for a second and told her that I was reading about Hannah. As I said this I thought she might relate it to the Hannah that lives next door to my MIL (you know... trying to think ahead here). She got this puzzled look on her face and then a big smile as she said, "You mean Hannah Montana" (If you don't know who Hannah Montana is, she is Billy Ray Cyrus' daughter who has her own tv show and is currently on tour with her tickets selling for thousands of dollars) I had to explain that no, I wasn't reading about Hannah Montana but instead about a Hannah in the Bible. She just looked at me and said, "oh" and decided that story time might not be such a good idea after all.

you are my favorite"
Guess which child just said this to me?
Ms. Addie decided that since she slept 14 hours last nite she doesn't need to sleep tonite. I was sitting here editing/ watching Marie Antoinette and she had been coloring in the dining room with Tim. She came into the room and stood at my feet and said, "Mommy, I'm mad at you." I of course asked her why to which she said..."Because you made me run out of energy and I am really really mad now" She then asked to sit with me to which I told her no since she was "SO" mad at me... she then got her puppy dog eyes on and said, "But mommy I'm not mad at you now. You are my favorite and I'm not out of energy yet. You are my beerrry favorite Mommy"
Oh my goodness- where oh where does this child get these things? Between this and her new phrase of, "Thats just awful" she is keeping me laughing all day long.

about when I was a baby." This is what I heard from Micah as he stalled on his way to bed. I knew this was a chance that might not come again anytime soon so I pulled him onto my lap and we talked, laughed, cried (ok- maybe only me b/c I had tears in my eyes from laughing and I realized how big he has become...) and I cherished every moment that we spent talking together. He wanted to know what he used to do, how he acted, what he ate, what he played with... It was so fun to hear him giggle about himself and for him to interject things he remembered.
While I love the four year old he has grown into, I do miss those days of incessant snuggling and the little boy who needed his mommy for everything. (here I go again with the tears... darn it!)
I am so proud of all he has done and become and though I miss the past, I can't wait to see what the future holds.

(and btw... Tim just informed me that Micah said he was going to ask God about what he was like as a baby since I said we had to end tonite)

Some of the top memories
*Chubby boy with pinchable cheeks
*Bright blue eyes
*How he always, and I mean ALWAYS fell asleep in his high chair
*him toddling around pushing his walk/ ride on toy in circles through the kitchen to dining room to living room and foyer
*non-stop Thomas playing
*singing him to sleep
*reading books
*him always having to listen to Rich Mullins to go to sleep
*having him fall asleep on my chest
*the curls in the back of his hair
*constant diaper blowouts (ok- not the best one BUT it was funny to talk about b/c I mentioned it and he said yeah... like Daddy says, "Pee You a skunk stinks" LOL. It is just a silly thing those two say...)
*playing trains with Grandpa
*him getting stuck under the bed in our room when he insisted on sleeping on the floor nite after nite
*playing Grandma's piano wrong (he remembered this- lol!)
*going to church (and he said liking it- but we sure did go through some battles with that child!)

and one of the most endearing things... he can't really remember life without Addie. I love how close those two are...

Give us something good to eat...

another week or craziness. Four more senior sessions done and I think we are finally nearing the end of senior craziness. While I enjoyed it beyond belief... I will be glad to be back to normal again. I hope to schedule at least one if not two more Christmas sessions and then allow things to quiet down to enjoy the holiday season.
I had a beautiful drive down to Cambrige today... I absolutely LOVE fall and even love a beautiful drive through the colorful splendor even more. (and PB and G, I thought of you as I drove by New Philly and Dover on 77)

I made it home in time to be there for the majority of babysitting at our church tonite for the "Couples Nite Out" that our Sunday School Class sponsored. There weren't many in attendance and only two children besides our own since other people have other options... so it was a quiet nite of rolling balls around the gym and "trick or treating" for animal crackers. I guess those that went out to eat had fun... It is too bad things didn't work out how we envisioned them (being an outreach, more than just our class, etc...) but I guess I should just know by now that it probably won't ever happen.

Anyways... after arriving home I am SO ready to crash. We have trick-or-treating tomorrow and a very anxious Tinkerbell and Superman ready to go. I can't wait to get pictures of them...even if they don't "match" one another- they are who they are- right? It is supposed to be pretty cold tomorrow so I don't forsee us being out long- not that they need much candy anyways... and I know that I definitely don't need the candy temptation.

I should probably be editing as usual... but I figured I should update at least once this week to apease the few readers I have left. I promise another update tomorrow but don't get used to those happening all that often ;)

Until then...

It has been a week already? Opps...
I don't exactly know where the time has gone but here we are a week later. Life sure does go quickly once fall hits doesn't it? Soon it will be January again.

Tonite we took the kids to "Playhouse Disney Live" which was cute... but Sesame Street Live was put together better in my opinion. No matter, the kids had a blast and it was great to see them join in singing and mesmerized by the show. When it was all over, Addie said, "time of the next show" Silly girl!! I have some pictures to share, but first had some cute things from the kids this week :)


Kidisms...
While I was babysitting on Tuesday, Micah was being his usual loud self and the little girl (who is Addie's age) looked at him and told him to be quiet b/c he was being too loud. He looked at her and said, "I can't help it. That is how God made my voice." What a goof!! But oh so true ;)

While shopping with Addie yesterday she made up a song to the tune of a song sung by her ride on pony. Of course it won't be the same just reading it but she said... "Addie's not a ba---by, clippity clop clippity clop. Addie is a big girl, Clippity clop clippity clop" It was really funny. She was singing this b/c we are officially potty trained- public and privately :) She has had a great week- even staying dry four nites!!

Another one from Addie... when she has pigtails or a ponytail in these days... she calls them "curly tails" and tells me how pretty curly tails are. If I wear my hair up I have "curly tails" as well and those are the days I look the best in her eyes :)

Gosh... there were at least two others but I have now forgotten them since it happened a few days ago. Guess that is what happens when you don't blog regularly.

On that note... I will share some pictures from tonite :)

and not much to show for it... Did the usual Y routines, Micah had school (and went on his first field trip but I had to miss out this time), babysat, girl's Bible study, and then today had another senior session and then tomorrow I have a family session as well. I really should be proofing right now, but I just watched the Indians win game 2 :) and since Tim is on the phone and has Friday Night Lights on pause, I am taking a break as well.

It is so unbelievably HOT here right now... it was 90 today... yes, it is October- insane isn't it? I really hope we will still get a fall but I fear we will jump right into winter instead. I really want the leaves to change and feel crisp cool air... please!! Right now I am about ready to pull out the kiddie pool again for the kids- seriously! It really is THAT hot out!

I guess I should quit procrastinating and get to editing but I will share a fun picture from our afternoon at Quail Hollow earlier this week. It would have been gorgeous if the trees had already turned, but I still enjoyed the stroll through the woods until the bugs attacked and we had to run for cover.

sorry they are sideways- I forgot that you can't turn video like you can a photo BUT the video image isn't why I put it on... I just wanted you to hear the audio :) The first one explains the title and then the second, it a little concert before bedtime ;)






I got it!! :)

Seriously...
I have NO weekends free until December due to photo shoots, I am filling up some weeknites already, I already do Wed. nite Bible study with the girl's in the youth group and now we are starting a 6wk. discipleship/ dinner program at our house on Mondays... aye aye aye!! LOL. I guess it is a good crazy though- right? :)
Oh... I have also been asked to lead a small group at the Mom's group I am attending...
Add all of those things to normal daily things like school and working out- I am beat by the end of the nite!!

Ok ok... I have probably said all of that before, but after scheduling yet another session today, I realized how soon Christmas will be upon us and how crazy my life will be until then. It never ends does it? :)

I had all of these "kid funnies" earlier and now, I can't think of even one. Hmm...
Oh- this isn't a big one but... if the kids are hungry these days they tell me they are going to run out of energy if they aren't fed. It is really funny to hear Addie say it b/c she really doesn't understand it in it's entirety... so she uses it in strange ways- like last nite when she got out of bed and told me she couldn't sleep b/c she ran out of energy. Umm... doesn't sleep restore your energy? LOL

Micah is still doing well with school- hard to believe but I think he likes it even more than last year! LOL. He is quite excited to go every day and then has TONS of stories to tell us each nite. I know he adores his teachers which makes me even more comfortable taking him there. He is such a big boy now...

Addie is really into "using her manners" these days. She thanks you for everything... giving her a toy or food, doing her hair, getting her dressed, or even if I just tell her that I love her. She responds with, "tanks you mommy" It is quite precious if I say so myself! :)

I guess I should go get the kids down for a nap... it is about that time and I have some work things to catch up on. I can't wait to receive back my most recent order, I love getting to see the pictures printed almost as much as the clients do... but these are special b/c they are of my best friend from high school and her family. If I do say so myself, they came out amazing!! :) Maybe I will share some of them on here someday... her family is gorgeous!!

almost complete... seriously- where does the time go?

This weekend was a bit more mellow than normal... we had some friends over last nite (we are finally home enough to do this!!) and then today the kids started swimming lessons again at the Y. After lessons, we went to the apple orchard and got some apples :) (the kids each had to have one in the car and Addie had another later- she sure does love her apples!) and then Tim and Micah stayed home to watch the Buckeyes and Addie and I ran out to pick Tim up a book and run a few other errands. Oh and Addie had her first ever Starbucks!! LOL. You can get vanilla cremes there which is essentially a really good milkshake with whipped cream on top... and since it was her and I out... we shared in my indulgence :) She was nice and brought some home to Micah as well. (and thanks to those that have given me giftcards for random things recently... love you lots!!)

Tomorrow is another day at church and then not much going on in the afternoon/ evening 'cept for Tim's normal routine. I hope to run again... I took today off (well I guess not off since I did do a 1.05 miles on the eliptical today but no running). I know I won't run Monday either b/c of Jump and Pump at the Y so...
Oh and for those of you that have emailed me asking about how I have lost my whopping 1 lb. (which I hope that it has multiplied into at least 2 total by tomorrow!!) here is my routine right now...
First, I am really watching what I eat (and no, not watching me devour stuff!) Trying to make healthier choices and just smaller portion size. Seriously, I have been eating portions for like 3 people at times!! I am making sure to eat a good breakfast to kickstart my metabolism and then a healthy lunch choice, either fruit or a 100 calorie snack pack for an afternoon pick me up, a small (normal!) portion of dinner which I am trying to make healthier and then if needed, another small snack in the evening. I am also trying to drink at least 2 bottles of water a day...
I am finding that I am not as hungry as I was week 1 and not always needing the snack. I am definitely fueling my body enough- but with healthier choices and normal portions.

On top of that... I am doing a Y workout 3 times a week (Monday- jump and pump (jumproping and handweights...NOT at the same time ;), Wednesday- cardio kickboxing and then Friday- Strength Training (hand weights and abs) ) and in between those days... running around 1.5 miles or so. I would really like to run in either the 2 miles race or 5k race coming up in a month, but we will see. My more important goal is to loose around 15 total pounds before the beginning of the year. (and to those of you who don't think I need too... trust me on this- it isn't just me saying so... it is according to charts and such and I really should be 15lbs under what I currently am... which would bring me back down to pre-Micah weight) So... wish me luck!! :)

With that, I am off to do some ab work before bed and make sure everything is set out for church so there is the least amount of craziness possible in the morning.

Since the last post I...
-went to my first Mom's group (which went really well)
-took Micah to his first "friday" of school
-went to the football game (they lost again by 1)
-went to the band competition (they didn't qualify)
-went to the constitution parade
-went to the firestation openhouse
-took a loooong nap (Saturday)
-finished a senior clients photos
-got another potential senior client
-watched Steelers and Buckeyes win

so... it has been good. my dad also had his surgery and it all went well- hopefully this will take care of the issue once and for all.

here are a few pictures that I have taken off the card thus far... i will be sure to upload more as I get to them

Yes, Micah still says, "Micah diamond in the sky" in twinkle twinkle... Addie does call herself, "Addie Beth Elisabeth Beck" and you can't tell her she is combining a nickname with her whole name, Micah really can be that hyper, and yes, I sing that bad!

8/21/ 07

Addie:
Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite Food: Tomatoes
Favorite TV Show: Little Einsteins
Favorite Snack: Curious George Fruit Snacks
Favorite Movie: Veggie Tales (um... I have no idea when she last watched one of these)
Favorite Toy: My Little Tony, Elmo Toy
Favorite Football Team: Steelers
Favorite Song: Twinkle Twinkle
Favorite Outside Toy: Sandbox, ride bikes and her car
Favorite shoes: Pink Sparkle ones (jelly shoes)
Favorite Place to Nap: Tiger and Pooh Crib
Favorite Drink: Milkshake
Ice cream, cookie or chips?: Chips
Favorite Place to eat: Wendys
Favorite Ice Cream: Cookie Dough

Micah:
Favorite Color: Green and Red
Favorite Food: all kind of food (peanut butter, butter bread, noodles, pierogies, grilled cheese)
Favorite TV Show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Favorite Snack: Ice Cream
Favorite Movie: Curious George
Favorite Toy: Viewmaster
Favorite Football Team: Buckeyes
Favorite Song: Feraliscious
Favorite Outside Toy: Soccer ball, Bike
Favorite Drink: Milkshake
Ice cream, cookie or chips?: Ice Cream (Cookie Dough Flavor)
Favorite Place to go: Church
Favorite Restaurant: Golden Corral (Next to Bennigans as he says ;) )