Its been a year

Our little Adrianna is now one. A year goes by so fast and slow all at the same time. On her actual birthday (sat. November 27th) I was knee deep in paint doing a room makeover for Bella and Olivia. It took literally all day (pictures to come of the makeover), and I was feeling bad that I hadn't spent hardly any time with Anna. It made me remember her time in the NICU when she spent ten days there. I would go about four times a day and spend a couple of hours just holding her there, and singing to her. It was close to Christmas and the NICU was all decorated and I think I sang every Christmas carol I knew. It was an uncertain time the highs and lows of hearing the doctors say she is improving and then the next time them telling us there has been a setback and we are concerned about.... Her time there was short, but I think everyday that you leave your child in the hospital it feels like a week, but I look back with fondness that all I had to do was hold her. I didn't have to be a mother to anyone else, I didn't have to do the dishes, answer the phones, pay the bills or think about what I was going to cook for dinner. I arrived at the hospital knowing the most important thing was for me to hold her so she could hear my heartbeat and hear my voice.

So by the end of her birthday when I realized I hadn't done anything with Anna, we headed to the park so she could swing on the swings her favorite thing. After that we picked up pizza and cupcakes. We bought her one present a doll that giggles, that we forgot to give to her until the next day. This age is so easy to please.

I love you Adrianna, my pretty little Adrianna. We were waiting for you to come and when you arrived we loved you from the start. You complete our family, my sweet angels XXX000

Water Mountain

I got my Christmas gift early this year and I am so excited! Benjamin installed a water fountain in our play room / preschool room. He bought the fountain at a salvage yard for $20.00 and it cost about $30.00 dollars to buy the pipe equipment to make it all work. I love saving money and I love that my husband has the knowledge to put it all together. Parkin calls it a drinking mountain. I can't wait for my little preschool class to start using it and more than that is for my own children to start using it.

Halloween 2010

"Cowgirls"


























Parkin age 3"Cars" pitcrew























Olivia age 7 "witch"
























Holman age 5 "Ang the Avatar"























Isabella age 9 "50's girl"

Cone Head

Luke has been wearing a cone to protect his eyes from him scratching them . This picture of him was actually taken when he got neutered so lucky for you it does not show what his eyes look like, although they are looking a lot better. We haven't been able to see any improvement on his vision, it seems he may be blind after all. He navigates quite well with his cone, bumping into the walls and furniture, but definitely making his way around. It is hard for him to drink and eat with it on. I imagine it would feel quite claustrophobic to drink from a bowl with a cone around the neck. But he manages even wagging his tail.




















I think humans need to go through phases of wearing cones. I need to wear a cone around my neck, then it wouldn't irritate me as much that my shower has lame pressure, that my kids like to sprinkle crap all around the house, that no matter how many times I do the dishes on any given day there will always be more waiting for me. None of these things would be as irritating as wearing that darn cone.

Early this week we took Luke's cone off. He was so excited I think he forgot he was blind. In fact on Monday night we decided to walk to Grandpa Ronnie's and Grandma Babs to give uncle Dan a card for passing his personal trainers test (yeah Dan). I asked Benjamin if we should take Luke with us, he thought he "wouldn't be up to it." We took of on our walk and two blocks later guess who caught up to us in the dark, Luke. Since Luke is blind I guess it is always dark for him, I think it was his way of saying "hey man I don't have a cone on my head I am up to anything!"

In the past my "cone" was living on the land without electricity and running water, but that has past. I need a cone to appreciate debt, I need a cone to appreciate cleaning, I need a cone to appreciate motherhood in all its splendor, I need a cone to appreciate health. Then when we saw another human wearing a cone we would instantly know that they were experiencing a lesson and to try and help. "That poor guy is wearing a cone maybe he is trying to appreciate his wife more, let me buy some flowers for him so he can give them to her"......



This is a picture of a "littlest pet shop" it is part of a veterinary series, even toys get cones to help them appreciate that they are not lunch boxes.