Thankful

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, Day 1,- today we will celebrate Thanksgiving, Day 2, (as Chloe likes to call it) with my family at my mom & dad's house for lunch. This is the first year that we didn't have 2 Thanksgiving meals in the same day. I think this could work well for us! Now I can fill up to the point of sickness (and then get to feel guilty for my gluttonous behavior) two days in a row! I will try to control myself. But really, if you've ever had my moms coconut cake, you know it's not my fault. That stuff is serious! So, I guess that coconut cake makes it on the list of things I'm thankful for :)
I'm thankful that Micky and I have families that we truly enjoy spending time with. I'm thankful for a husband who loves me (and makes sure I know it) and that he is such an amazing father to our girls. I'm thankful that Chloe and Emma are healthy and brilliant and have the kindest hearts I've ever witnessed. I love how they comfort each other when one is sad, or if one has gotten in trouble they will come to each others defense. -- Just last week, Chloe had gotten sent to her room (I can't really recall why, I'm sure it had something to do with typical 6 year-old sass!) and we caught Emma sneaking upstairs to go check on her. Now, mind you, Emma sneaking is quite like a bull trying to sneak through a china cabinet. She lacks a bit of subtlety. But nonetheless, it was really cute and we let her do it. She just went in and patted Chloe's shoulder and stood beside her as she "thought about what she had done." I hope they love each other like this forever.
I'm thankful for friends who truly get me-- and still love me anyway! I'm thankful that God has given us everything we need. And that he has given us seasons-- so that even our youngest can see how he makes our world beautiful. Driving down the road- or just looking out our window- we get to see God's beautiful canvas and how he has chosen to paint it for Fall. It is breathtaking, and I try to remind myself to just STOP and appreciate it.
I'm thankful for sounds-- like the sound of my girls giggling with each other, the way Emma still says "I wuv you too!" -(I'm gonna hate when she figures that "l" sound out!). I'm thankful for the sound of little feet running across the hardwood floor to wake me & Micky up on the weekend- even when I wish they'd sleep a little bit longer- I still love it! I'm thankful for the laughter I hear at bath time when their dad is bathing them and telling a silly story! And even though Micky is trying to give me a few minutes break- I can't help but go back in there to be a part of the fun! I love that sound! As silly as this may sound, I think one of my favorite sounds of all is when I hear the garage door open. It means Micky is home! There's always a feeling of peace with that sound. I'm thankful he's home safe and that even as crazy as things can get around here -he still comes home :) And at the end of the day, we're here together. And that peace and security is probably what I'm most thankful for!
Happy Thanksgiving!

11 years!

Happy Anniversary to my best friend!
If it hadn't been for that magical day 11 years ago, we wouldn't have days like this one now!


















I don't see how I can love you more than I already do, but I look forward to trying :)

Happy Beach Birthday to Nano!

A couple of weekends ago we packed up and headed to the beach for a long weekend to celebrate Nano's birthday. He keeps telling us he's just 40, but with Micky being 31 I'm not too sure that's accurate! We had a great time playing on the beach, at the pool, and doing some shopping. The girls both did great, and Emma and Nano were afternoon "nap buddies"-- which worked out great for me and Micky. We actually got to be on the beach at the same time instead of taking shifts. Here's a few pics from the weekend, and I hope we get to do it again soon!


Nonnie and Emma chillin on the beach








Who knew a whale toy could help with teething so much?!?



















Football heroes!








Nano and Chloe personally fed the huge fish at Broadway at least 10lbs of fish food!








Amazed by Tyler's rockwall climbing abilities!

MIRACLES!!

It is with great joy that I introduce you to

Bradlynn Kate











Born to Scott and Rebekah June 26, 2008 at 1:35 pm, weighing 6pounds 13 ounces. Mom, Dad, and baby are doing great!
Emma saw this pic and actually chuckled-- like she was thinking, "Mom, you won't believe the kinds of trouble she and I are going to get into. Better hold on tight, it'll be a fun ride!"
Oh how I hope so!

Excuse me-- Did you say cornhole?!?

I had no idea that the game I've watched people play while tailgating and hanging out before concerts was called cornhole. And apparently, what I thought were "bean" bags are actually "corn" bags. I'm so glad my cousin Jenn could clear that up for me. Jenn and Jess brought this fun game, as well as ladder golf, to the beach this year. Our backyard was large enough to accommodate these games, and we had almost as much fun playing those as we did surfing at the beach!


Jenn utilizes the side-arm approach










Whereas Micky uses a more traditional follow through







We usually don't go out too much while on vacation. We enjoy just hanging out by the pool at the house, playing cards with the fam, or just sitting around reading books or doing NOTHING. But every year we do go play Putt-Putt-- all 16 of us! When we descend on a Putt-Putt venue, people better watch out. There's usually some sort of wager on the game, but this year we kept it clean. This was Chloe's first year playing, and wouldn't you know, she got a hole in one on every hole. It was quite impressive! Uncle Scott picked the Putt-Putt place this year, and he couldn't have picked a better place for Chloe. The main attraction was a huge pink castle that you actually played a couple of holes in. She was loving it! And she couldn't wait to tell Scott what a "great place" he picked.








Our only other night out, Micky and I took the girls to Broadway for a little ice cream and shopping. Mom and Dad went with us, and we found the David & Goliath store. I fell in love with all the silly shirts, and picked this one up for the girls.














You may have noticed the awesome Snugli I'm carrying Emma in.















My friend, Carla, let me borrow this about a month ago, and Emma has just recently started enjoying riding in it. I love it and it really does provide good back support. Which is important when toting 19 pounds of sweet baby for an hour or so. I've always seen dads using them, but Micky got the job of toting Chloe most of the time-- so I happily took the lighter one for me! Carla hasn't asked for it back so I'm hanging on to it as long as I can, and when Emma outgrows it I'll casually slip it back to her :-) Thanks Carla!

Birthday Month

On June 18,2007, Chloe started asking when it would be her birthday again. We always replied next June. She's asked that same question at least 1,357 times, and we always gave the same answer: June. Well, when it turned June while we were at the beach she fully expected her birthday! So, we've had to change our tactics and remind her that it's actually June 17th. Well, Grammy got wind of this at the beach and decided to appease (by appease I mean spoil!) Chloe by having a Dora party! Just so happened that we of course took Chloe's Dora Mermaid dress and Grammy had brought Dora plates, napkins, and cups. I'm pretty sure she had planned this some time ago! Well, here are some pics from Dora's day-- mainly mom and Chloe making the chocolate pound cake (which as you can tell by Chloe's changes in wardrobe was an all day process)! Everyone played along nicely-- mainly so they could get a piece of that yummy cake!!












Look at the windows and notice that it's dark outside when she finally gets to eat some yummy cake!

Up all night... sleep all day...

Yeah... if only we could sleep all day too! Over the past two weeks, the oldest person in our house and the youngest person in our house have been averaging about 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep for a total of possibly 6 hours all night. This is worse than newborn sleep-- and my body is beginning to shut down. We're trying some new things, and we'll see how it goes. I know I'm not the first parent to lose tons of sleep-- it's just this is a lot harder the second time around. With the first one it didn't matter so much if we had a few rough nights in a row, I could always try to nap when she did. Not true with the second baby. You have to not only be awake all day with the older kid, you have to be able to not bite their head off for just asking for simple things like a cup of juice or say, breakfast 2 hours late! So right now I'm doing the best I can and I have no doubt we will all get through this just fine and eventually look back on it and laugh at how dramatic I am/was about it.
But anyway~~ On a lighter note, we did just get back from a great vacation with my side of the family! The girls loved the beach, especially our surfer girl Chloe! And it was great to have lots of eager hands to help out with Emma during the day-- and mom was usually so sweet in the morning and would let me and Mick go back to sleep for an hour while she watched Emma! I've got lots of pictures to share from our trip and I'll do my best to get those posted here over the next few days.
Emma's sleeping now, so I better hit the bed myself. She's such a cute baby-- and trust me, when you see that sweet smile in the middle of the night you know there's nothing better than this-- not even sleep! Gotta love her!

Here's a sneak peek at our Beach Bums!

Happy Mother's Day!

[click on pics if you'd like to see larger, remember to hit the back button-not the X or it will close the blog :-)]



This beautiful jewelry box was "handmade" by Chloe. I went with her to school Wednesday for Muffins for Mom, and this was the great surprise she had for me. On the inside is a cute picture of Chloe along with "A Mother's Beatitudes"-- here's how it reads:

Blessed is the mother who understands her child,
for she shall inherit a kingdom of memories.

Blessed is the mother who knows how to comfort,
for she shall possess a child's devotion.

Blessed is the mother who guides by the path of righteousness,
for she shall be proud of her offspring.

Blessed is the mother who is never shocked,
for she shall receive confidences.

Blessed is the mother who teaches respect,
for she shall be respected.

Blessed is the mother who emphasizes the good and minimizes the bad,
for in like manner shall the child make evaluations.

Blessed is the mother who treats her child as she would be treated,
for her home will be filled with happiness.

Blessed is the mother who answers simply the startling questions,
for she shall always be trusted.

Blessed is the mother who has character strong enough to withstand the thoughtless remarks and resentments of the growing child,
for again, in due time, she shall be honored.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

A Fungus Among Us

Last night Chloe and I (along with her Nonnie, cousin Reagan, bestest friend Nina, and her mom Carla) went to see the Disney Princess on Ice show. Trust me, you've never seen so many princess dresses in your life! The girls loved it-- even the fire breathing dragon... on ICE! didn't bother them. They had a blast, and were completely juiced up on snacks and the $50 cotton candy! (obviously I'm exaggerating, but I bet it'll reach that price soon!) I've got some pics to share, and if you're trying to figure out what that is on the ice-- Chloe picked it up in no time. Her first words upon seeing the ice setup (which was a sea setting) were, "Oh no, there's some fungus here!" I told her her Dad would be so proud! I love my nerds :-)

Hi, I'm Grace. Nice to meet you...

Those of you who know me well, know that I am about as coordinated as a 3 legged dog on skis! As a matter of fact, some of my close friends don't even bat an eye when I fall face first walking in the mall-- tripping over nothing but my own feet and hopping back up faster than any bunny can hop-- they're just used to it. And they know that unless I mention it, then it didn't hurt a bit and we can just keep talking about whatever and not even break stride in the conversation. :-) One of my most memorable falls was from about a year and a half ago. Micky and I went with Carla and Ross to a concert at the Newberry Opera House. As we were leaving and walking to the car (completely sober mind you) I fell full body, face first on the pavement. My hands actually got caught up in my jacket so I wasn't even able to use them to break the fall. Again, I hopped up in record time, but that fall actually left a few marks and drew a little blood. I do have to give those guys credit-- they were actually nice enough to make sure I was ok before they busted out laughing. Not sure if I could have done that-- I've imagined what it must have looked like and I think it's HILARIOUS! My most recent fall happened tonight at aerobics. Yes, I said aerobics. Don't be so shocked! I've been going to work-out for a few weeks now, and I'm really terrible at it! But I like it-- I feel good when I leave knowing that I've done something good for myself-- and it helps me feel better when I dive in to a hot fudge sundae for dessert! They do a lot of step aerobics, and for someone with my great coordination that can be a challenge at times. Tonight as we were going over the box (from one side to the other) I caught my left foot on my right heel and just about hit the floor. Luckily, I was able to catch myself before I went down too far, but unfortunately, Jane still saw me and I could tell she was dying laughing on the inside-- not that I blame her, it was pretty funny and I got a chuckle out of it! I'm just impressed I didn't end up eating the floor! Oh, Jane is a lady that has been in every class I've taken. I only get to go a couple of times a week, usually late in the day after Micky gets home, and she's been their every time I go. She loves to tell me how she's been doing it for years and to just stick with it and I'll love it. I have no idea what her real name is, so I refer to her as Jane, short for Jane Fonda. After our hour long workout, she still looks like she just came from the salon-- fresh makeup and all-- and I'm standing over there dripping sweat like I've been working on the chain gang all afternoon by the railroad tracks! Oh well, I do think she means well and I do admire the way that woman can work out-- it's impressive.
So, I've been thinking about this falling addiction of mine lately, and hoping that it doesn't pass on to my daughters. So far, so good with Chloe. The jury's still out on Emma. We've been having "Dance Parties" just about every night for awhile now, and lucky for Chloe she seems to have inherited her Dad's smoothness. Again, if you've seen me dance, you may have wondered if I was hurt-- don't worry-- that's just how I roll. I'm well aware that I'm no Paula Abdul in the dance department, but I guarantee you that I have more fun dancing than her. I have several theories on people who just stand around and watch other people dance: #1 they're just taking notes on some dance moves to use for the next video they're choreographing #2 they are such good dancers they don't want to make the rest of us feel bad and #3 (this is the one I believe in the most) they just have a huge stick up their a** and think they're too good to look silly and have fun with the rest of us! I realize that some people aren't as willing to embarrass themselves as I am, but sometimes you just got to let go and see what happens when you swing your arms this way or that! Life's too short, and besides, Chloe thinks I'm an AWESOME dancer and Micky loves me enough to tell me I look great! That's all that really matters to me!

6 Powerful Words

Have you ever had someone say something to you that made you stop dead in your tracks?-- like mouth gaping open in shock and you can actually hear your heart beating kind of reaction? If so, you know that type of reaction doesn't happen often and that it can be brought on by something that makes you feel wonderful or, like in this instance, by something that makes you feel like a little piece of your heart just broke. Well, as anyone who has spoken with me in the past two weeks knows, we had been having some trouble with Chloe acting up a bit and having more than her fair share of potty accidents. And for awhile, Micky and I took the completely wrong approach at dealing with this-- fussing at her harshly and/or taking away fun stuff she likes to do. Normally, these types of punishment would be fine-- she typically responds well to a good talking to or us turning off Little Bear as means of getting her to listen and do better. Notice the use of the words TYPICALLY and NORMALLY. It took us a week or so of her not being herself to realize that her TYPICAL and NORMAL have been changed forever. Emma is now 11 weeks old, and Chloe didn't start acting this way until about 2 weeks ago. And to be honest with you, I figured she'd already done all the adjusting she needed to do. Needless to say, I was WRONG. Not once has she shown any negative feelings towards Emma. If anything we have to keep her from loving on her too much. But she was showing us in those other ways (ways that we took awhile to see) that she's still trying to figure all this out. If you know me, you know I usually hate "psychobabble" advice and anything that "experts" have to say. Well, I may have to change my opinion on some of that. Tuesday I was pretty much at my wits end and decided to search for some advice on the Internet-- using my favorite search engine Google, I looked up some articles on potty training regression. And what do you know, they all said the same thing-- the #1 cause of regression is stress-- and the #1 cause of that stress is a new sibling. I don't think I can put into words how big of an idiot I felt like, but it was GINORMOUS! This really wasn't something I didn't already know, I was just trying to fool myself into thinking that this couldn't be happening to my child. ARROGANT!-- another word I think that described my approach. So anyway, that night Micky and I had a long talk and decided we needed to change our tactics and try to pay attention to what she was trying to tell us. And basically, she just wants to be held and hugged on and told stories and tickled and told how much we love her and played with and treated like the princess she is. You know what, that's all pretty easy to do once you take the time to realize what's really important. The house getting cleaned and laundry getting done sometimes just have to wait, and that Seinfeld rerun we've seen 10 times just needs to be turned off. As long as there's clean underwear in the house, we'll be ok! :-)
Ever since Micky and I have wised up and made some changes, we've gotten our old Chloe back! I missed her greatly!-- and the potty problem has resolved very quickly! Chloe summed it up best with 6 very powerful words. The other night after I told her a goodnight story and was tucking her into bed she reached up and put her hand on my cheek and said, "Mama, I'm glad we're friends again." My heart skipped a beat. All I could do was hug her and tell her I love her-- and then run downstairs to bawl my eyes out :-) It's amazing how perceptive children can be, and it makes me hurt inside to know that she thought I wasn't her friend for awhile. But trust me, I'll make sure she knows everyday that she is my truest friend and always will be.
Micky and I are well aware that we can learn a lot from our 3 year old, and she does indeed teach us new things everyday,we just have to stop whatever silly thing we're doing and pay attention!

The POWER of a Dollar

On Sunday we had a family lunch at Micky's parents house. While there, Chloe's great grandmother, Nana, slipped her a dollar. Chloe quickly slipped it into her pocket and has guarded it all week. She's been thinking very hard about what she would like to do with this dollar, and this morning she came to me with her master plan.

Chloe: "Mom, I need you to take me to the store."

me: "What for?"

Chloe: "I NEED to spend my monies--see (she held up an extremely wrinkled 1 dollar bill that she's apparently been sleeping with under her pillow-- I guess she doesn't trust us not to take it!).

me: "What are you going to buy?"

Chloe: "Well, I'd like a new computer, a choo-choo train, a fire truck, some pizza, some ice cream..... and a duck."

me: "Is that all?"

Chloe: "I guess I'll use the change and get me and Emma a popsicle."

The CHANGE!!!

Well, because she added Emma to her last item and was ok with sharing, I didn't have the heart to tell her that the $1 she had wouldn't even put a third of a gallon of gas in one of her parents gas guzzling SUV's. That's probably info I'll wait to tell her once we've completely ruined the environment for her generation.
But, I have decided that since she is so optimistic with her spending and has great ideas on how to spend it (there wasn't a thing on her list that I wouldn't want myself!), that I'm going to start letting her pick my stock trades and update my portfolio for me. I figure I'll give her the paper with NASDAQ listings and a marker and which ever one she colors the prettiest--that's where the money goes. I'm pretty sure this is the same system our current broker uses, so I've decided to keep it in-house from now on. Who knows, if she does well, I just might give Emma a marker and let her give it a try. Although, she'd have to hold it with her toes. Her toes are without a doubt the one feature she inherited from me--they're ginormously long! She can reach across the room and tickle your ear and completely fool you into thinking there's no way a baby can move that fast. But all she has to do is point that toe that went to the market, and she never had to leave her swing! In a few years I'll show her how to pick socks up off the floor without having to use her hands or bend over-- it truly is a good skill to have when you're rushing to straighten up for unexpected visitors!
So, wish us luck on our new stock endeavors, and if you know of someone looking to sell a duck, firetruck, or choo-choo train real cheap give them our number!

Prince Suit

We just finished a very busy week and weekend here! Last Thursday was our 9th wedding anniversary! And since we couldn't figure out what the gift theme was "supposed" to be for 9 years (like paper, silver, or gold) we decided to go with chocolate! Which, to be honest, has worked quite well for us for 9 years running! So, we headed to Mr. Friendly's for dinner and in keeping with tradition, we ordered the most chocolaty (not sure if that's a word!) dessert they had-- chocolate cheesecake. But to just call this chocolate cheesecake doesn't quite do it justice, so I will henceforth refer to it as AMAZING! So amazing, that if you were to ask me what 3 things I would want with me if I were stranded on a deserted island, this AMAZING! now takes the place of the emergency flare I used to include in that list! It has a fudge brownie crust, chocolate cheesecake, and a layer of chocolate ganache on top! YUMMY! I definitely recommend stopping whatever you're doing and going to try this now!
So, now that you're back from trying the AMAZING!, I'll tell you about the weekend!
Micky's birthday was Sunday. To celebrate, we had a few friends over Friday night to break in our new Margaritaville machine and play some Guitar Hero and American Idol on the Wii. I know, it sounds like he was turning 12, not 31-- but we had a blast!! Here's a little arithmetic for you:

Margaritas + Guitar Hero + Margaritas + American Idol + 3 Margaritas=












Yes, that is indeed Micky SINGING Barry Manilow's Copacabana. For those of you who weren't here, let me just say, you missed one heck of a performance-- the boy's got skills! And the other picture is one of my hand involuntarily going into rocker sign "I love you" mode. Apparently anytime I get a little Jose Cuervo in me and start hearing some rock music-- like the Poison song my dear friend Carla was performing, my hand goes straight into this position and stays that way for the duration of the song-- you couldn't pry it open if you tried!! Anyway, we had a great time singing, playing guitar, and just acting silly with our friends!
Micky got to go play golf Saturday, so we gave him one of his presents early-- a new golf bag. The other present we gave him yesterday morning-- a new suit. Which is also kind of a present for me, because let's face it, what lady doesn't love to see her man looking great in a nice suit?!? Well, Chloe was with me when we picked this up and she refers to it as his Prince suit. She thinks we need to get a crown to go with it! When we gave it to him yesterday morning she wanted to put on one of her princess dresses and for him to put on the Prince suit so they could dance around the house! We were able to talk her down from her Princess high and convince her to wait until Dad wears it to church one day, and then they could dance as much as she wanted!! Anyway, I hope Micky had a nice birthday weekend. I know he got plenty of birthday hugs & kisses from his 2 little princesses!











(look closely to see Emma's cute smirk!)

Rollin' with the Homies

If you've ever seen the movie Clueless, you'll know that the above line should be sang while moving your hand like it's going up and down hills. I'm not too proud to say that Micky and I can both quote several scenes from this movie-- just don't tell him I told you! The title and that line kind of sum up how our last 3 and a half weeks have been-- somewhat clueless, and we're definitely just rolling with it! Our pastor, who recently welcomed his third child, told me that going from 2 kids to 3 wasn't near as shocking to the system as going from 1 to 2. I guess I'll have to take his word for it-- but it has been a little jarring. To keep things in perspective-- we're all healthy and happy so things are actually great! We've been tired, but we would have been crazy not to expect that! Emma is such a blessing-- sweet, beautiful, and very laid back (I think she gets that from her Daddy!). We're still trying to figure out what all of her sounds mean, but she does a good job of letting us know if we're not on the right track!
Here's a little recap. On her one week birthday, Emma woke up with the sniffles and congestion in her chest. If you know me, then you know panic immediately set in. See, one of the downsides of being a nurse is that you know of all these crazy diseases that affect like 1 in a million babies and that's where your head goes as soon as you think your child may be sick. Luckily, she didn't have a fever and was still eating and sleeping great. So, the doctor said to keep a humidifier beside her (to loosen the congestion) and if we needed to, use saline drops to loosen the "snots". By week 2 birthday, the cold was gone-- and amazingly enough her cord came off on her 2 week birthday! If you were around when Chloe was a baby, you'll remember that hers stayed on for a crazy 14 weeks. Yes, 14! She still has her pediatricians record. Week 3 has been busy-- she had a checkup and now weighs 9 lbs and is 20 1/2 inches long, and we took her to church Sunday. I think she digs the organ! Thanks to our recent heat wave (it was 78 here yesterday!) I took the girls to the zoo yesterday. We met Chloe's bestest friend Nina and her mom and brother there. It was so nice to be outside-- and it was great for Chloe to get a chance to run around and be out of this house for awhile! Emma slept the entire time we were there, so I couldn't ask her who her favorite animal was! But something tells me we'll be making a few more trips to the zoo before long!
So, there's a little of what we've been up to. Hopefully, it won't be so long before I can post again. Emma seems to have a sensor attached to her vocal cords, that anytime I get on the computer it causes her to cry! I think that's due to all the time I spent on here while pregnant-- she developed an attachment to the internet and is going through serious withdrawals! Hopefully all the Enfamil can help ease her pain! She's not shy when it comes to feeding time-- and she's a bit of a slurper at times-- I think she gets that from me! Oh, I almost forgot, last night she only woke up once!--and it was at 3am! I got so excited that it took me almost an hour to calm down and go back to sleep myself... go figure! If it happens again I'll try to act more cool about it. I think Emma was embarassed for me when I was going on and on to her about how proud I was of her for sleeping 5 hours straight. (won't be the last time I embarass her!) But hey, when you haven't slept more than 3 hours in a row for 25 days, you'll understand!
And there she is-- better go! Have I mentioned how much I love baby neck sugar? Best part is, it's still great from the 3 year old too!

A Miracle in the Making

Tomorrow is the big day! For the past few weeks I've been in the pregnancy mode of "anytime now... let's get this done!" But as the day is actually in sight (less than 20 hours) I'm starting to think, maybe we should wait a few more months! Not that I'm not excited about welcoming our new baby girl, I just hope that we're ready for it. We've gotten things "physically" ready as much as we can-- bassinet ready, pack 'n' play set up downstairs so we don't have to go up to her room every time we need to change, clothes washed and layed out, bottles sterilized, and pump ready! I just hope we've done enough to get "emotionally" ready. And when I say we, I mainly mean me. Micky is and, I have no doubt, will remain the best father Chloe and her baby sister could ever wish for. I believe Chloe is going to be an awesome big sister. She's so nurturing and caring that I think this is going to come very natural to her. That is, once she realizes that baby sister won't quite be able to play dress-up just yet, and she probably won't be able to jump in the jump castle with her for quite some time! But overall, Chloe has taken to the idea of being a big sister with great pride and enthusiasm. She gets excited to talk about teaching her things--like how to swing a golf club, how to wipe--front first then back (she will tell complete strangers that one! I've had to explain it'll be awhile before baby is potty trained), and that daddy is the prince and now he gets to have 2 princesses! She has really taken to the idea, and hopefully it'll stay that way :-)
Before I took her to school this morning, I told her that tonight she gets to spend the night with Uncle Scott and Aunt Bekah and that baby sister would be here tomorrow. Her response to that was, "Do I get to sleep with them?". So, she doesn't seem too concerned about the pending arrival, she's excited to get to spend the night with "Daddy Bear and Mommy Bear" as she has taken to calling them--who, by the way, will be expecting their own "Baby Bear" this July! They shared the news with us Christmas Eve, and I've been waiting to blog about it to make sure they've had a chance to tell everyone! We are so excited for them, and we have no doubt that they are going to be wonderful parents! They are so good with Chloe and Rebekah's other niece and nephew, they're the type that are meant to have kids and are truly great with them! And if theirs happens to be a boy, Micky better watch out! Most of you know how I feel about boy baby clothes, and seeing as how I have 2 nieces and now (soon) 2 daughters, I've never really gotten to buy a lot of boy baby clothes--so I'm afraid I might go a bit crazy!!! But, knowing me, I'll do that if it's a girl too!
Well, wish me luck! I have no doubt that I'll be able to love these girls with all my heart, I just hope the energy comes with it! When I was younger and only had my 2 nieces--I used to wonder how I would ever be able to love my child that much or more--and then I had Chloe. Having her makes me want to love more and share that feeling with everyone that I can. It's hard to explain, but I know that's how God meant for it to be. There truly is no greater gift he could give me.
We've gone to great lengths to try to prepare Chloe for the pending arrival, and I know that there may still be times that she wishes we could send the baby back for awhile, but hopefully we'll remember to let her help--because she truly wants to-- and take the time to show her that we've got more than enough love in our hearts to go around!
I found this poem last night and I plan to share it with Chloe. She may be a little young to understand all of it, but as she gets older I hope she'll see how cool being a big sister is.

Big Sister/Little Sister

I brought her home today
you're now a big sister, waiting to play
but soon, she'll grow, and you will see
just how much fun, being a sister can be.
Soon she'll follow you everyday
and she'll repeat whatever you say,
she will always be your friend
her love for you will never end.
There's no greater bond of friendship here
than that of sisters who's love is dear.
So please be patient, very soon she'll grow
there's so much she needs to know.
How you came first, to lead the way
and at her side, you'll always stay.
All about the right things to do
you know she will be watching you.
This is the best way for you to see
how much you really mean to me.
When you can see that love can grow,
it's only then, that you could know.
---Christine Michaels

I love you Chloe Elizabeth.

"An official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and 'this thing' which tells time"

Every year, usually on Thanksgiving, my Mom & Dad give us all a new ornament. They always get one that means something special to the person receiving it. It's always fun to see what they've found each year, and this year Micky's was even better than usual. Check it out!













Who doesn't love Ralphie?!? If you've never seen A Christmas Story, don't worry, you'll get your chance! Every year they show it on TBS starting around 8:00 Christmas Eve and it plays on a loop all through Christmas Day. Now, that may annoy some of you, but not us. We're that crazy family who leaves it on that channel all day and night. Occasionally we'll mute it and turn on some Christmas music but that doesn't happen too often.
My favorite character is the mom. I love the way she protects Ralphie when she sugar coats the "fight" story to his dad, the "blue ball" (bowling ball) she gave "the Old Man" for Christmas, and I absolutely crack up every time I think about her breaking that tacky leg lamp!
Anyway~ we had our own personal "Randy" here on Wednesday night.












She's been wanting to wear her pink puffy jacket all season, but it just hasn't been cold enough! Wednesday morning I told her we were going to see the lights at the zoo that night and that she could wear her puffy jacket. Her response was, "It'll be snowing?" (Starting in September she would ask to wear that coat everyday, so I finally told her that it was only for snowy days!) So~ we got her ready to go the zoo--complete with scarf, mittens, tights under her pants-- and as I was putting her shoes on, she actually fell over (just like Randy!) and had to be helped up. I thought I would go into labor right then from all the laughter!
Lucky for us, they had "snow" at the entrance to the zoo and she had a blast getting to see all of the "bewdiful wights" at the zoo with her Daddy, Grammy, Nonnie, Nano, and Uncle Tyler. Merry Christmas!
Oh--and don't shoot your eye out! :-)