Mormor's Visit

Tell it like it is gurl.

This is the face I got when I chuckled at the first picture.

Flouncy skirts.

#7 of the things she gets from her mom.

See-saw.

Aves and Mormor

Ava just adored her time at the park. Thanks to Mormor she got to be much more interactive than normal. Usually Ava and I spend our time chasing Julianna. : )

Base camp.

The climb.

The determination.

The summit.

Enjoy the journey.

Sweet days of youth.

These photos are a couple weeks old and are from when my mom came to visit us. We had such a great time with her. She amazes me to this day. For one thing, I can barely keep up with her. She has this endless flow of energy. For another thing, she is just wildly creative. Seriously. She creates yummy meals out of thin air. With no recipe whatsoever. And it's always good. : ) I could go on and on. In fact, that would be a great post for another evening.

Thanks for the trip mom. You always leave us with so much more than there was before you came. I can only hope to be the kind of mom and mormor you are. We miss you.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Us enjoying the season.

Happy First Birthday Sweetheart

The sick little birthday girl managed to appease mom and hold up one finger in honor of her birthday. How sweet is she? I tell ya.

Sweets. Noodle. Aves. It's hard to believe you've been with us a whole year. And yet, it's harder to imagine life without you. You are a joy in every sense of the word. A cuddly little bear cub. So tender. So gentle. You are easy-going. You love your daddy, your mommy, your big sis', your thumb, and your silky blankie. You're happy every time you wake up. You stretch and yawn and smile even before you open your eyes. You are a climber. You are an observer. How very good to us you have been. You can say mama, banana, and num-num which all come out sounding alike. You can say "da da." You've said "cut cut cut" for cat. You've said "booo. bool." for ball. And, you are very interested in trying to make conversation with us these days. Facial expressions of surprise, confusion, humor, sadness, and pouting are all in your repertoire. My favorite is your laugh. You have the greatest giggle. You sister is the best at getting you to give a big belly laugh. I cherish you and your sweet little demeanor. My little baby girl. You've been that way from the very, very beginning. I love you with all my heart.

Ava went way out of her character today and decided to catch some sort of bug. This is the first time she's been sick since she was born. So, I know I have no right to complain. She started yesterday with a 103.6 fever. It dropped by night and has wavered under and above 100 today. The thing about Ava is she is so, so easy going that you barely know something is wrong because she just doesn't complain. However, she does want you to hold her and snuggle her and rock her. Other than the fever...no symptoms. The nurse said this is fairly typical of first fevers. So, hopefully her little body will kick it and we'll continue on our merry way. Until then, fluids, thermometers, and night-time alarms are in our very near future.

Dedicated to all the sisters

We got framed...

They poured the slab on Monday and started framing shortly there after.

Future family room with view to back yard. Like the sun roof?

View from the back porch and patio.

We've also gotten very efficient at finding a place in the woods to use the potty. ; )

Mom and Dad's Gift

This (youtube on the right) was the slide show I made mom and dad for their 60th Birthday. (Mike provided much needed technical support and Jackie helped me brainstorm the music and collect the photos, a team effort for sure.) Due to the size of the slide show, Mike had to shrink it and cut it in half in order upload it. The basic outline is mom and dad growing up, dating, with family, grand kids, me growing up, Mike growing up, Jackie growing up, and couple shots of the two of them. It was so fun to create for them. Now when I look at photos, I see a slide show waiting to happen. Hope you enjoy it, too!

**MAKE SURE YOU CLICK ON BOTH PHOTOS TO SEE PART 1 AND PART 2.

**Part 1 is the family photo of the 5 of us. Part 2 is the large family photo. (Sometimes they flip flop out of order over there)

Ouch. Bee sting.

Hmmf. I was really, really hoping that I could post all about an amazing win here tonight. Alas, it was not meant to be. It's hard to get so close to something and yet hours later be so far away. All in all though, I am completely proud of my Tigers. They've had a great season. Though, it was unfortunate they couldn't for the life of them score touchdowns tonight. Darn that OU defense. (Which I might add is the only good thing that has ever come out of Oklahoma. I can say this because we were stationed there.) OU definitely out played them. There is no confusing that. Kuddos to them for their strength and many abilities. Hmmf for us.