Happy Halloween-day 2

Last night we had a few friends over for some fun and trick or treat. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and had more chips and drinks to choose from than you could imagine. The kids enjoyed sitting at their table and the adults enjoyed chatting. We got the kids dressed and ready around 6:30 and headed out. They did great!! Caroline, my not afraid of anything, got a little 'spooked' once. A kid with a mask came walking down the steps toward her and she dropped her basket and said "he scare me" and froze. But other than that, she was fine and had a wonderful time. She said "candy please" and thank you instead of trick or treat. Her costume had a few malfunctions but she knew that she had to keep it on in order to get candy... Finally after about 45 minutes she said, "no more candy, take off, daddy hold me." It was precious. Side note... I only bought a couple bags of candy this year. I am trying really hard to cut out junk food and snacks. So I counted exactly 1oo peices of candy and put it in my closet. (out of site, out of mind) My friend Jill hung out at the house to give out candy and called and said she was turning the lights out. Dang, we had already gone through all the candy. (Wrong) They never found the stash in my closet. Andy came home quickly, got the candy and the fun continued. :0) Oopps!

so sweet

enjoying some yummy food, thanks Andy for grilling

the kids table

do you see all the chips... amazing enough we had about 10 bags and none were the same!

the kids... I couldn't believe they actually sat there until we got a "good picture!"

trying to get a picture of our "jack n a box!"

heading out

1st stop, Neil and Megan's

I really wish I would have gotten a picture of them, they were awesome!

so excited, ready for the next house

precious! Tyler, held Caroline's hand as they went house to house

next

mommy and Caroline (my eyes look like I am half asleep...)

the family!

finishing the night with a story

we had a great time and look forward to next year!

surprise!!!!

Several weeks ago, maybe even several months ago, Mema told us to put October 30th on the calendar. She was planning a surprise party for Delores. After working very hard to keep it a secret, the day came and we had a wonderful time! I think Delores was truly surprised!!! We had a great time celebrating and enjoyed some yummy food as well. Happy Birthday Doe, we love you!

surprise!

the birthday hat

the gang, minus Delores' best friend Melaine

blowing out the candles on the birthday cake

Happy early birthday Delores, I hope you had a wonderful day.

Happy Halloween-Day 1

looks like it is going to be a busy weekend with halloween activities... we started tonight at my brother and sister in laws party. it was awesome. claire is an amazing decorator/party planner and thought of some many little details. unfortunately i didn't get a lot of pictures of the kids because it was dark and i am still learning how to use the M (manual button) on my camera. caroline had a ball! thanks daniel and claire for having us!

claim chowder or chili

sandwiches, pigs n a blanket, chips, dips, cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, aunt mary's cupcakes, pound cakes, etc.

(notice the banner claire made!!)

cute centerpieces
precious

Welcome to the world Emma Ann

last Friday i got a text from my best friend since 4k (we have been friends for 25 years-wow) that emma ann had arrived! heather had an amazing delivery and thankfully arrived at the hospital "just in time!" (she always has the BEST stories!!!!) Christmas can't get here fast enough, can't wait to get my hands on this precious little angel!

here's the link to them leaving the hospital with ethan jay...so happy for you guys!

**letter from Caroline's teacher**

Hi, Rita -
Wanted to share a few pictures of Caroline over the past few weeks. She's been doing so good, I love having her in my class! We've been working on sharing and she was so funny on Monday. She was playing with a doll (that she did not want to part with) and saw another child wanted it too, so she quickly grabbed a different doll and gave it to him loudly stating, "I share! I share!" It made me laugh!

See you tomorrow!
Vanessa

Caroline's teacher also included pictures...have I said how much we LOVE being at Calvary!!!

Caroline and Daddy at Open House

painting her pumpkin

playing with friends at school

looking at the fire truck outside

The State Fair

Today we took Caroline to the State Fair for the first time. We had a great time. Caroline LOVED the rides, she just didn't like getting off the rides... We also met B at the fair. This is the first time we have been together since last Christmas. Caroline is a lot bigger and can talk a lot more. She said hello, sang a few songs and even rode on the dizzy dragon with mommy and B. We got some great photo's of the two of them together. B admits that the tantrums come from her so there you have it... nothing on our part right? just kidding.

We are thankful for the relationship that we have with B. I pray that as Caroline gets older and begins to ask questions that she will know how much she is loved by her mommy and daddy as well as B. I will say that it scares me just a little... we are a lot closer to the questions than we once were. I pray that God will prepare both of our hearts as we begin to tell Caroline the truth about her amazing journey to us.

waiting in line for the carousel

having fun with daddy

her first ride by herself... i couldn't believe they told me I couldn't ride with her. i was amazed that she rode all by herself and didn't cry once for me

she loved feeding the animals

Mommy, Caroline and B (beside Caroline) riding the dizzy dragons

Daddy and Caroline on the chair lift. Andy got really nervous when Caroline thought she should get off... thankfully everyone made it through the ride safely. Daddy said that it will be a long time before they try that again... :0)

another view

and yes, we had a funnel cake and some vinegar fries... YUMMY!

Look what I got!!!!!!

i was so excited to come home and discover my books have finally arrived!!!! the two books above are the first 2 years of my blog-2008 and 2009. i am in love!!!! i have enjoyed reading them and looking at the pictures. fun to see what life was like pre caroline and in the first few months of her arrival....and how life is very different now. She too is enjoying them and pointing to everyone she knows.

Silly girl

Latest and greatest:

1. see you next time
2. no way Hosea(sp)
3. need daddy's lem laid (lemonade)
4. gotta hurry mommy, fast!
5. later gator
6. i need a special snack mommy
7. not today mommy
8. that our neighbor (pointing to Mr. Bob)
   

we never made it out of our jammies-notice the baby legs

adding a little dress up to our jammies

and away she goes

needing a "special" snack

lucy follows along in hopes of a special snack

thankful

after about an hour on the phone with dell, they told us that for the third time in 3 years that our hard drive had crashed!!! thankfully it has about 6 months left on the warranty so they are sending us a new one for free. (we just have to pay someone to put the new one in) i was bummed because all my school stuff was lost... but this morning by the grace of God, we were able to "start" the computer. my wonderful husband saved our budget and other important documents!!!! Praise the Lord!

Lord, thank you for caring about even the smallest things in our life!

Choosing to SEE

This morning I woke up with a great plan for our day. We didn't have a lot that needed to be done-the house was fairly clean, the clothes were washed and we didn't have anywhere we needed to go. So I turned on the laptop to start working on my lesson plans. I wanted to be ahead of the game this week!!! YEAH! It wouldn't start...ugh! I tried again, same thing. So I decided to go back to sleep and attack it once Caroline got up. Shortly after getting back in bed I heard "MOMMMYYY, come HEEELLLLPPP MEEEE!" I could tell from the monitor that she was fine but I knew she was awake for the morning. I walked in and she said "good morning mommy!" (melted my heart!) Then we went back to my room and watched cartoons with Lucy. After a few minutes she wrapped her arm around my neck and said 'love you.' At that very moment all was well in the world. I was so thankful for the angel laying beside me watching Mickey Mouse and could have cared less what needed to be accomplished for the day.

It wasn't too long before she was ready for breakfast. After breakfast we got settled and ready for the day. I got my stuff out to start working on lesson plans while waiting on the computer to come up. Guess what... it never did! I became very upset, very angry actually! One more thing that needed fixing... as if my wisdom teeth, Andy's car repair and our kitchen floor wasn't enough! I immediately begin to worry how I would be able to complete my school work without a computer... where were we going to get the $$$ to get it fixed or buy a new one in the next few days... daggum why can't things just be smooth sailing for once???

Once again my wonderful, calm, rational thinking husband, came to the rescue. He told me to calm down, he would fix it. (Now those of you who know my husband, you know he is pretty good when it comes to fixing technical stuff.) However, I knew how much time he has already spent fixing the laptop and I wasn't really sure what his plan of action would be. He came home and spent about 30 minutes on our old computer, getting it updated and back in order for me to type and print lesson plans. It doesn't have all my stuff saved on it but at least we are back in business as far as my school work goes.

During my lunch break, (aka Caroline's nap time) I have been reading Mary Beth Chapman's book "Choosing to SEE." (wife of Steven Curtis Chapman) Today I came to the part of the book where her sweet daughter Maria was hit and killed by her son Will. TALK ABOUT A REALITY CHECK!!! As I read the pages of her book, I was quickly reminded that each day of our life is a gift. We will have hurdles (some of which are life changing tragedies) to jump but it's nothing that we can't handle. Do I really want to waste a day worring about things that I can't change, especially a silly old laptop???

I thought about the sweet words from my friend Sage who once asked "is it an inconvenience or a crisis?" The problems that we have faced over the last few weeks are really more of an inconvenience than a crisis. We are all healthy and blessed in more ways that one could ever imagine. So what things don't exactly look the way I would like for them to look... plans are meant to be broken right?

If you made it to the end, thanks for letting me vent!

road trip

we left early friday morning (6:30 am) for a road trip to spend time with family. caroline did really well...longest trip that she has been awake for! we only made two stops-one for gas and one for her. my aunt and uncle are amazing hosts and great cooks...we had an amazing trip!

there is an awesome outdoor mall that we love to visit when we are there. this year caroline was finally able to ride the train. at first she wasn't too sure but by the end she was really having a good time!

our first view of the orchard this year, so pretty

in the pumpkin patch

so precious

the view from the top of the hill

brings back memories from my childhood

waiting for the hayride to begin

aunt lill and julie

i love this picture!!! they both look sooo happy

i don't know who is more excited... uncle ed or the girls?

the girls having fun

they were instant friends. it's the first time they have been together in over a year

picking her first apple of the season

i got it!!!!

the best seat in the house

so thankful aunt lill was able to help us this year. last year she was recovering from a broken ankle!

love this!

enjoying a yummy apple in the orchard

such a trooper

the stroller in the orchard wasn't a good idea, at least not with caroline in it. uncle ed pushed it while we piled it up with apples.

another view of the orchard

cutest little worm

julie celebrated her 29th birthday and we got to enjoy a delicious chocolate cheesecake that uncle ed made!!

i was amazed that caroline actually knew how to climb the rock wall... she loved it!

walking on the balance beam uncle ed made

weighing the apples... we only bought 46 pounds between the 3 families. we actually had one apple the weighed over a pound!!!

thanks Aunt Lill and Uncle Ed for a wonderful weekend!!

here's last years trip...