We're Still Here!

We are still here, I just haven't made the effort to post on the blog in quite a long time!

Eloise finished up first grade (second grade, here we come!)...

and Dinah finished up pre-K.  Not sure if we'll move on to Kindergarten

or not yet.  We may just focus on learning to read this year as we adjust 

to having a new baby!

Speaking of new baby... he/she is due any day.  

We are impatiently waiting!

Today we are headed to a 4th of July parade!

Hope you have a wonderful, safe holiday with your friends

and family!

Happy Easter! - and - A Project for Me!

I hope you all had a nice Easter!

Eloise is enjoying playing with her new Noah's Ark.


The old Sunday School song "Arky Arky" has become one of her favorites,
so it was only natural for us to want to feed into that by getting her an ark and some animals of her own!

Saturday we went to my sisters for a brief visit...
and Eloise enjoyed a little egg hunt!


She was proud of herself for putting eggs in the basket!


And oh-so-excited to see my sister's goats!


Love this one.


Unfortunately, Eloise has caught a bit of a cold (or something)...
so she didn't make it to church.
I know that some people would take their kids regardless...
but the way we see it, if we take Eloise... we knowingly spread her
germs to others. I get annoyed with parents who bring
their sick, snotting kids to church to share the germs...
so we just decide to keep Eloise home.
(Is that horrible of me? I just want a healthy kid!)

So, before I left for the service... we got a couple of bunny pics!


Eloise in her PJ's... me in my church clothes...
and Eloise in total control of her bunny ears!



Somehow we mixed up our Easter meal plans with
Cory's folks. We thought they were coming to our house
for dinner and they thought we were coming to their
house for lunch!

So, once we figured that all out, we scrambled into
the car and headed over to their house for a mid afternoon meal.
It was a nice, relaxed time!



And after opening a few presents from Grammie and Pappy,
we attempted a family photo...


HAHA!

I was a little bummed that I didn't get many good pictures...
but I had to remind myself that after all, Easter to us is about our Risen Lord!
We celebrate family and it's nice to have the pictures as a reminder...
but most of all, we celebrate HIM!
No pictures needed!


On a last little note...
Someone so graciously gave me a big bag of
odds and ends fabric awhile ago.

I picked up a pattern the other day to whip up a little something for myself.


You didn't think I was going to tell you what it's going to be, did you?
You'll just have to wait and see!

My First Mother's Day...

I have been waiting for this day for years. Mother's Day. A day that I can look at my beautiful baby... and say... "I am going to be the best mama I can for you!".



For years I silently grieved on this day. Even before I was married, I longed for a child. I felt like my day would never come... and though I would celebrate my own mother... I still always felt like something was missing. I would sit in the pew at church, swallowing the lump in my throat, as I listened to the messages about the blessings of our Mothers and looking around at the young people with babies and toddlers. I even grieved in my heart for those women I knew that had not been able to conceive for years, knowing that I was there and still had a chance, while they had tried and tried unsuccessfully.


Today is a day not only for the mothers who have snuggled and cared for their children over the years... but it's also a day for those mommies who have known a child in the womb, but did not have the opportunity to hold those sweet babies in their arms. (Luckily, those babes are in the arms of Jesus!)

I have been so blessed!

Happy Mother's Day!

A Thanksgiving Feast!

This was the first year that Cory and I hosted a holiday get-together at our home. It was also the first time we attempted to cook a turkey! (Cory did all of the work on that!) I'd say it turned out pretty good!!

And it tasted delicious with all of the other food that my family brought along to share!

I think I ate a little too much! :)

*********

Today, it's just me and the cat!
Cory and some friends went to the Bills/Steelers
game today in Buffalo.
It's rare that those 2 teams play together,
so it was definitely an opportunity
they didn't want to miss!
(Since Cory is a Bills fan and his friends are Steeler fanatics!)

(...and the dog is having a sleepover at my in-laws)

I think I'll do quite a bit of relaxing today!

Come back tomorrow to check out the post about my baby shower!!

Pumpkin Carving!!

Cory and I don't get all big into Halloween... but we decided to carve a couple of pumpkins this year! It was the first time Cory had carved a pumpkin in YEARS.

Like, he can't even remember the last time!
(but he's sure he did it when he was younger)

Last year we didn't keep our porch light on for Trick-or-Treaters... but our neighbor said that they didn't get any. We may try this year... but we aren't in a typical neighborhood, so we'll see how it goes! If we do, we definitely won't keep the pumpkins on the porch!

This Little Piggy...

The past couple of days I have been trying my hand at sewing stuffed animals. Cory's friend and his wife just had a baby and I wanted to send something handmade instead of something store bought. I first tried to make little baby blocks (you know, the square fabric blocks for babies?). Well, that went OK... but I just wasn't thrilled with the way it turned out. I mean, it was fine... but I didn't have any desire to make any more. So I turned my attention to a pattern I had gotten for my birthday last year. Cute little stuffed animal elephant, pig, cat and giraffe. I liked the pig... so I decided to go for it!

After a few tries, I think I decided which one I'd like to send.

I hope they like it. It's definitely not perfect... but I still think it's cute!

Cory and I decided to color Easter eggs last week to take to his parents house for Easter. We decided to make one for ourselves, but didn't want to give his parents a carton with one egg missing! So we decided to try coloring a brown egg from our chickens...

Not too shabby!!

I hope you all had a great Easter!
HE IS RISEN!

HAPPY EASTER!

I'm Sick.

After going all season without hardly a sniffle... I am now hacking and coughing, sniffling and sneezing. Miserable. I am hoping some over-the-counter meds will work because I really don't want to have to go to the doctor!!!

Here is a pic of a 5-leaf clover I found last year....

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Trick or Treat!!

Happy Halloween!
Love, Boo

This is what you do when you don't have any kids! Unfortunately, we couldn't get her to hold the bucket in her mouth, so we pinned it on. She was quite the little cow girl and surprised Grandma and Grandpa last night (Cory's parents) for Trick or Treating.

I Can See It!!

I can FINALLY see the grass! I have never been more excited in my life to see grass in my front yard! Granted, it's wet and mucky... and there are still huge splotches of snow surrounding it... but it reminds me that there is HOPE for a brighter season... SPRING shall soon be arriving!!! Even if Punxsy Phil said we had to wait 6 more weeks. Phooey on him!! I am holding out hope that spring will come sooner rather than later!! I am SO ready for it!

Yesterday was a good day. Boo and I went out to Cory's parents place to hang out. Cory was off helping some friends with their taxes, so Boo hung out with Cory's dad... and I went with his mom to the basement... to look at... BABY PICTURES!!! It's been 3 years and yesterday was the first day I saw Cory's baby pictures. Oh my goodness. They are SO cute! It's so weird to see pictures like that and then look at the person NOW and see the similarities and differences. (He had quite the head of blond hair!) I thought it was hilarious to see all of the toys he had in Christmas pictures. I kid you not... a big Mr. T doll! Complete with bling! A smurf tricycle! A ton of GI Joe, WWF, Transformers, etc. And a HILARIOUS Alf shirt! We enjoyed going through the pictures and talking. Boo enjoyed all of the attention she was getting also. It was a really nice day away. I am glad I was able to take Boo. I always feel guilty leaving her home alone for any extended amount of time (even when I go to work!).

I came home to find a book in my mailbox! If you haven't checked out That Chick Over There's Blog... I highly recommend it! She is just REAL. Recently she wrote a book called "Meeting Mr. Wrong. The Misadventures of a Southern Belle" . I pre-ordered it awhile ago and was so excited to see it in the mail! I immediately started reading it and was totally laughing out loud only a few pages into the first chapter. I'm looking forward to reading the rest over the next couple of evenings!

Is everyone gearing up for Valentine's Day? I can't believe its almost here already! Time sure flies! Cory and I have decided to just hang out at my house ALL DAY... and he even agreed to watch the ANNE OF GREEN GABLES movies with me! Woot! He doesn't know what a T R E A T he is in for! :) I will probably make some different foods to nibble on for our movie day and just enjoy the nice, quiet time at home. There is a show at the teen center that we probably should have said we'd volunteer for--however the guy who does the booking doesn't really seem to CARE that some of us may have VALENTINES DAY PLANS and just books whatever he wants without asking if it's a good day for everyone else (while he, of course, never bothers to come to ANY shows). So, Cory and I opted out of this one. We didn't really feel like spending our Valentine's with a bunch of people we don't know and hey, we'll be there the day BEFORE volunteering anyway. So oh well!

I am off to eat some breakfast and get ready for church!! Have a GREAT Sunday! (I hope you can see some grass too!!!)