Our New England Vacation
We had a great time. I couldn’t say anything about it before we left as it was a surprise for Doug’s sister’s birthday. She was turning 30 and thought we would not be able to attend but Doug’s parents paid for our train tickets to come up (and she was very surprised!) We took Amtrak from Raleigh to Washington D.C. and then from D.C. to Rhode Island. The train was an adventure – if the trip had just been during the day I would say we really enjoyed it, but the overnight portion was another story altogether - the kids just didn’t sleep and neither did we. Here are a couple of pictures from the train:
We had a wonderful time visiting with family. The kids got to spend lots of time with their cousin Luke and Nana and Grandpa as well as Uncle Brian and Auntie Heather. We went to Maine for the day one day and had so much fun. We saw a lighthouse, went to a store that makes salt water taffy, to the beach, and then to a clam shack for dinner. All in all a glorious day!
my little surfer girl!
Cousins
Daniel enjoying the sun
Jake catching some waves
Ellie's Baywatch moment!
So now we’re back and adjusting to the start of school and my impending transition to full time employment. It should be interesting…
What’s up in my world?
So I thought it was a good time for an update on our lives. It has been a wonderful summer – I have loved my time with the kids and we have got to do some nice things. Movies, swimming, spending time with family etc. We have been sleeping late, hanging out, staying in our jammies – all the things I love about summer! My kids have loved spending a lot of time with their cousins this summer as I have been watching my niece and nephew 3 days a week and working the other 2 days (5 kids running around my house, it’s loud I tell you!). We got to have a fantastic visit with my brother’s family earlier in the summer were so sad to see them go home.
I have also been looking for a full time job for when school starts in September. This will be a huge adjustment for our family but it’s something that needs to happen. I have been so blessed to be able to be home with my kids as long as I have – but with gas and food prices rising the way they have our budget just isn’t stretching the way it used to. Ellie has 1 year left at home before Kindergarten and while I had hoped to avoid the whole daycare scene – it’s not to be avoided. Really I think she’ll do great and will love the interaction with other kids her age, I think it will be harder for me than it will be for her. So anyway, last week I was offered a job and I will be working at a large pediatric office doing administrative work. I think it will be a great fit for me and it isn’t too far away from home. Now my task has turned to finding daycare that I can trust – no small feat I assure you! It’s hard to think of trusting someone else to be with your child when you can’t. I have several interview lined up with people so hopefully we will get that all settled soon. So – that’s it for now – I have some more to tell you about but it will have to wait a bit (but I should have some great stories and pictures to share soon!).
Here’s a few pictures to enjoy in the mean time!
A four year old’s grocery list
Today my daughter asked me to help her write a grocery list in her Hello Kitty notebook. Here is her list:
1. Bananas
2. Apples
4. Spinach
5. Pop Rocks
6. Sparklers
Oh to be 4! Not sure what grocery store she is planning on shopping at – they don’t usually sell teenage pop stars at the stores I frequent. The spinach has me puzzled as well since she would never actually eat it. In fact she was served it at the babysitter’s house one day and told me that she had to eat seaweed for lunch. All in all, a well rounded list to be sure – she has fruit, veggies, dessert and entertainment! What made you laugh today?
Happy Father’s Day to the Love of My Life!
Really I can’t say enough wonderful things about this man that I married. God gave me an amazing gift in him. He is a wonderful husband and a fabulous father to our 3 children. I love to see how the relationship with each of the kids has developed and changed over the years. Recently he took a day off from work for each of the boys and took them for a special 1 on 1 day wherever they chose. The kids felt so special and obviously glowed with their dad’s undivided attention. Ellie hasn’t had her day yet but will soon. Thank you Honey for all you do for our family every day. We are so incredibly blessed. I Love You!
It takes all kinds
Found this article today about a car dealership in Kansas that is giving people the choice of either $250 in free gas or a semi automatic handgun with a car purchase. I’m sorry, but really? Why does that even need to be an option? I just can’t seem to make the connection between the 2 things. The gas makes sense – buy a car, get free gas – it’s logical. But what does buying a new car have to do with getting a gun? The scary thing is that the handgun is picked 80% of the time. I’m totally befuddled. What do you think?
I wish…
Today my 7 year old came home from school with a broken heart. It seems he had a crush on a girl and the feeling was not mutual. My heart broke a little too. I realized today that I can’t protect them from everything. They are venturing out into the world without me. People will be mean to them sometimes, their hearts will be broken, they will see injustice – and I can’t do anything to change it for them. It’s a helpless feeling, one I’m sure every mother goes through at some point. The simple fact is that I’m sure his sensitive, beautiful heart will be broken several times before he finds that one special girl to spend his life with – and it will be my job to help him get back up on the horse and trust again, ultimately to ride off into the sunset with the love of his life. I guess I just never realized, all those years ago when I held him in the hospital that I would not always be able to protect him. I wish I could… My comfort lies in the knowledge that there is someone so much bigger than me that ultimately holds Jake’s heart in his hands – even if I can’t.
Strawberry picking
There are few things that say “summer has arrived” to me more than strawberries. I adore them in any form (as do my children – especially Ellie) so we went strawberry picking last Saturday. There is a farm near us so we put on our oldest clothes and grabbed some buckets. In about an hour we had picked 20lbs of berries (not counting the ones the kids ate)! Since then we have been gorging ourselves on strawberries. We’ve already made jam, gave some away and ate ourselves silly and still have quite a few in the fridge. I think I’ll make a pie tonight. Here are a few pictures of our trip.
Jacob 
Daniel
Ellie (eating of course)
Mother’s Day
We had a wonderful, lazy, relaxing mother’s day yesterday at our house. We stayed home from church as Jake was having an asthma issue anyway and just hung out. Can I just say that my husband rocks? He spent the entire day cooking my favorites and pampering me. I spent the afternoon at “the spa” complete with a waiter to bring me snacks and cold drinks (Daniel) a makeover curtesy of Ellie (and let me tell you if you’ve never had your makeup done my a 4 year old you are missing out!) and a bubble bath drawn by Jacob. Daniel even painted my toenails! I got to read and take a nap to boot. Doug made homemade waffles with strawberries on top along with my favorite apple chicken sausage and thick cut bacon for breakfast and a to die for dinner which included a slow roasted pork loin with whole garlic cloves and herbs stuffed inside and served with a creamy wine sauce, mushroom and asperagus risotto, and spring veggie saute. I felt very loved indeed! I love my family beyond words and am so thankful for the gifts that each of them are to my life.
Happy Birthday Ellie Bean!
Today my Ellie bean is 4! How is that possible? My baby is turning into a little girl with her own tastes and opinions. Time is flying much too quickly in my house – they are growing too fast! When I was pregnant with Ellie, we had prayed so hard for a little girl to complete our family as we already had two beautiful sons. We decided that should God choose to bless us with a daughter, we would name her Elianna as it means “My God has Answered”. I can truly say that God indeed answered my prayers. My daughter is a joy and a pleasure and she brightens all of our lives and I am so thankful for the gift that God has given me. I came accross a song a few months ago written by a group called Watermark. It’s called Elliana’s Song and the words descibe my feelings perfectly.
"Baby woman tiny in stature now, but you heart is a treasure Little princess come follow behind, now I am reaching for you Elliana (Chorus) God has answered my prayers Elliana God will concur my fears To mother a daughter To look you in the eye To know that I did everything to walk with you in life To give you to Jesus that he will in part The wisdom that I long for to mother your heart Elliana God has answered my prayers There will be others to lead and to guide, girl But only one you'll call mother The honor is all mine to show what a woman's like I'm so glad your mine Elliana (Chorus) God has answered my prayers Elliana God will concur my fears To mother a daughter To look you in the eye To know that I did everything to walk with you in life To give you to Jesus that he will in part The wisdom that I long for to mother your heart Elliana God has answered my prayers Oh, the tenderness of God is twirling around in our living room tonight Oh, lighten up your daddy's eyes And know that he just wants to freeze you in time Elliana God will concur our fears To care for a daughter To look in the eye To know that we did everything to walk with you in life To give you to Jesus, that he will in part The wisdom that we long for to love your little heart Elliana"
We have had a nice time celebrating her birthday. We had a girly tea party at a local tea house for Elianna and her cousing Abbie (their birthdays are only 10 days apart) and the girls were so cute! They got to dress up in hats and gloves and then had pink lemonade and cupcakes. We also had a family celebration complete with a Hello Kitty cake. Here are a couple of pictures of the birthday girl!
Ice Cream!
Tonight was 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins to benefit firefighters. Doug was doing some yard work so I took the kids after dinner. The place was packed. Try getting 3 kids to quickly choose 2 flavors each of ice cream with about 30 people in line behind you – can’t be done! We finished as quickly as we could, you know – choice anxiety and all and then tried to find a table to eat our ice cream. When we finished, I decided that instead of getting back in line to get some ice cream for daddy – it would be easier to just put everyone in the car and go through the drive through, only to find out after waiting in the drive through that you could only get the special inside – darn it! So – we got a strawberry milkshake for daddy instead because there was no way I was getting everyone out of the car and getting back in that line. I got some yummy strawberry and chocolate for my treat. Speaking of ice cream, I came across this site about a guy who’s job is an ice cream taster. Can you imagine a more awesome job than that? How does one get a job like that? I’m pretty sure I have never seen anything like that in the employment section of craigslist! So, what’s your favorite ice cream?
