tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10758453606417961032024-03-14T04:28:00.501-05:00It Feels Like TodayPsalm 118:24 - This is the day which the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.comBlogger333125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-18179552465836445202010-02-13T09:56:00.006-06:002010-02-13T10:12:12.114-06:00Yet again I am behind!So let me attempt to get caught up once more! This time of year is usually not particularly interesting. We're just back in the groove of daily life after the holidays.<br /><ul><li>Baseball has kicked off! It's Jamie's first year as a head coach, so he's really busy making sure everything goes smoothly, attempting to make some improvements to the field, etc. He had a fundraiser scheduled for this weekend which unfortunately had to be cancelled due to weather. Hopefully he can reschedule for next Saturday. I'm ready to see the team play soon! </li><li>We visited Wes and Darlene last weekend, because they bought Elise some new earrings. They are so good to us! Not only did they have earrings for her, but also a new jewelry box, a fun hat, and a few scarves. My pictures turned out poorly but here are a few anyway:<br /><br /></li></li><ul></li><ul></ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUp9mEJBMqoxhCHfGglxHzrjOQ317QQa-VN2j4xyiSLXFdA-fmZVy430XxhiHJV2zRCoX-HQwu5uPwy68mph6wTSL38L-KfOiq4V9Sf104S5mgxEX2AG9ShwSl1J6-ELb9HzptsRt3s0rZ/s1600-h/DSC04193.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437758849704421410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUp9mEJBMqoxhCHfGglxHzrjOQ317QQa-VN2j4xyiSLXFdA-fmZVy430XxhiHJV2zRCoX-HQwu5uPwy68mph6wTSL38L-KfOiq4V9Sf104S5mgxEX2AG9ShwSl1J6-ELb9HzptsRt3s0rZ/s400/DSC04193.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9t1lPHyAmDERKGNKGiWuJeINWPlFRBj-9mf5ZYr8jFzxrX3N4fH-92x8WthPYGEUy8wA_SN14fbSWuT9Pig0bvW2Psz3cBb9wW4wptTENQK9LGccXlK85LSvveHDgVpkYKBadgm0y3Eg1/s1600-h/DSC04199.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437759106907918162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9t1lPHyAmDERKGNKGiWuJeINWPlFRBj-9mf5ZYr8jFzxrX3N4fH-92x8WthPYGEUy8wA_SN14fbSWuT9Pig0bvW2Psz3cBb9wW4wptTENQK9LGccXlK85LSvveHDgVpkYKBadgm0y3Eg1/s400/DSC04199.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437759319313821282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnvn21RuT7rmDvtVCq0IwmrdfLSV9s74WeZtmQSM49eLk6v9fmxWBBwUldqUxP2tkpUZYAqQ3drfPfcS-1JqIts-a0JOH6eJjeWxcI1kkBYxKJNlvJYDWlAWaLbtKMdzVsKqUiZa4cdX2/s400/DSC04201.JPG" border="0" /><br /></ul><li>Elise had her Valentine's Day party at school yesterday. I'm so glad to have been able to attend all her class parties this year, but equally glad this was the last one! 23 Kindergartners pumped full of sugar and all crammed into a small classroom with their parents is not always the adults' idea of fun. But the kids had a great time.</li><ul><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKI-KeqpGsS3vo7pcgAOhP06a5XVBQu24Yy0L6ttY_xzT6ZmL6AsmVfAq0yTo9nQ57Sr0WLX03LKI9I1TL9HTs-vrjEH_6z_IZIut3IQxQWvjMa67C__i82Ltynfiysru-N2Wj_wPtBYHK/s1600-h/DSC04202.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437761140828775330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKI-KeqpGsS3vo7pcgAOhP06a5XVBQu24Yy0L6ttY_xzT6ZmL6AsmVfAq0yTo9nQ57Sr0WLX03LKI9I1TL9HTs-vrjEH_6z_IZIut3IQxQWvjMa67C__i82Ltynfiysru-N2Wj_wPtBYHK/s400/DSC04202.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></ul></ul>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-52377809596610492032010-01-09T18:37:00.004-06:002010-01-09T18:56:29.241-06:00Back to normalEvery year around this time, I look around my house after all the Christmas decorations have been stowed away in the attic, and I let out a huge sigh of relief. The holiday season (which, in my opinion, begins with Halloween and carries through all the way until the New Year) is fun and busy - but it's always nice to just be back to <em>normal</em>!<br /><br />This year I'm even more satisfied, because Jamie and I did a massive decluttering project over the first weekend of 2010. We hauled something like 30 large trash bags of donations out of our house. We did a full cleaning/reorganization of our storage closets, bedroom closet, playroom, Elise's room, spare bedroom, and master bathroom! It did not make for a fun weekend, but it feels great to have it done. I feel like we are starting 2010 on the right track!<br /><br />In other exciting news, Elise got her ears pierced last weekend! She started begging a while ago, but I had serious doubts as to whether or not she would actually go through with it. I explained the process to her and warned her it might hurt for a few minutes, and she still persisted that she wanted earrings. I agreed to let her give it a try, but I suspected strongly that we would leave without pierced ears. I thought as soon as they sat her in the chair, she would start crying and change her mind. She proved me wrong - <em>very</em> wrong! Not only did she march right up to the chair and sit right down, but she did not shed a single tear! I was really proud of her. She is thrilled with her new look, and now instead of bugging me to get her ears pierced, she is bugging me to get her some new earrings. I told her she cannot change them until Valentine's Day, so I'm planning to surprise her with some heart studs as her Valentine's Day gift from Jamie and I.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOAGqEfGI6Ypdw9GU6frgOScNrbzEskzhvrR4wsWi9KpftFpdzHnINrLjFtNMYVy3v8M8yEpvQvp-mZNcwPvC922PeDcAB0w5vRryBQtnMvaqAuk3gqw5vovSHadxp7QaEmZSALvqHucR/s1600-h/DSC04125.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOAGqEfGI6Ypdw9GU6frgOScNrbzEskzhvrR4wsWi9KpftFpdzHnINrLjFtNMYVy3v8M8yEpvQvp-mZNcwPvC922PeDcAB0w5vRryBQtnMvaqAuk3gqw5vovSHadxp7QaEmZSALvqHucR/s400/DSC04125.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424908136709757218" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZx0asWi94OLmKHH08MVJWi3MRkZkGtorij6WME_BXBLfCTLL8WjpIH-teTOBbsqY8pSGNrTWGPa7htZAbTA_xba-1vNVeQGwdeGbBwsU2Lms-0Q9s-R347F38EPxwfATKDDDqXs7l22M/s1600-h/pierced+ears.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZx0asWi94OLmKHH08MVJWi3MRkZkGtorij6WME_BXBLfCTLL8WjpIH-teTOBbsqY8pSGNrTWGPa7htZAbTA_xba-1vNVeQGwdeGbBwsU2Lms-0Q9s-R347F38EPxwfATKDDDqXs7l22M/s400/pierced+ears.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424908537722852866" /></a><br /><br />Christmas was really nice, and I took tons of pictures, of course. I just haven't managed to get them posted. With so many to choose from, it just feels like a task that is too daunting at the moment.<br /><br />Grandmother is leaving to go back home next weekend. We will all miss her - I wish she would stay longer. But I know she is anxious to get back home, see her dogs, and be in her own space again. We just got so used to her being here...it is going to be strange when she's gone. Elise is going to really miss seeing her everyday after school. :( Now that she will be back home, I suspect I'll be blogging a bit more regularly so she can keep up with us from afar.Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-25614870880681655592009-12-20T09:51:00.009-06:002009-12-20T10:05:22.608-06:00Another week of elf mischief!Okay, here's the rundown from last week!<br /><br /><strong>Sunday</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ncmf2N8hEezSM5mAKOen7NEV6AnVKOx4AexwbKC_1BHm5V_OjRTkLW5E-UE-P4Klr6VvF7DtOIadSWURzfyek-kvCaIqgi6t68j0bjpxnN3Ndqup55knw7-FPzuNHnxtYX-h-OZsuc1m/s1600-h/DSC03838.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417347039091539602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ncmf2N8hEezSM5mAKOen7NEV6AnVKOx4AexwbKC_1BHm5V_OjRTkLW5E-UE-P4Klr6VvF7DtOIadSWURzfyek-kvCaIqgi6t68j0bjpxnN3Ndqup55knw7-FPzuNHnxtYX-h-OZsuc1m/s400/DSC03838.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Monday</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYYgeIhJg3fFUCk0HhctodpM1qfKL0HwsJ6loFpN73B5E7nCCIOUV-QwQYiiQ0Lzpmf2MpljAlry5P9KgSzvDP4Bv-2vSqOSpyKdmHnTkHk63BpilOrLBJ_zsecKGrwIa988BJwxw8XBc/s1600-h/DSC03845.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417347412100248210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYYgeIhJg3fFUCk0HhctodpM1qfKL0HwsJ6loFpN73B5E7nCCIOUV-QwQYiiQ0Lzpmf2MpljAlry5P9KgSzvDP4Bv-2vSqOSpyKdmHnTkHk63BpilOrLBJ_zsecKGrwIa988BJwxw8XBc/s400/DSC03845.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Tuesday</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXaD0ZLO4ejiy9_lgTmy08FmUuI5Wt9vqX5oTwASH_8mxSz00frMVuuAkiLGeAwF38oByu7wmpRDLNR4BeEXD4A1iThcL4ZgUFbD6Hi6EV5gNk6PPNq3dia3B8dbjvRzUUpgT0ejvy8Zfd/s1600-h/DSC03848.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417347847033924146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXaD0ZLO4ejiy9_lgTmy08FmUuI5Wt9vqX5oTwASH_8mxSz00frMVuuAkiLGeAwF38oByu7wmpRDLNR4BeEXD4A1iThcL4ZgUFbD6Hi6EV5gNk6PPNq3dia3B8dbjvRzUUpgT0ejvy8Zfd/s400/DSC03848.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Wednesday</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSK1JDuU3tvpkmlBJBDc6ikWfLsR0pzZ_5ojdIJRPvgHvRorwajjAQ-q5C4w2yt7FwOvToGxjBmVP2EsXexOoakhP7wvaXyF_vDLJ_idK0VA4dyE33WcT6A2zvRU9hRMrOCfLhgRaoM0W/s1600-h/DSC03855.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417348247634410306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSK1JDuU3tvpkmlBJBDc6ikWfLsR0pzZ_5ojdIJRPvgHvRorwajjAQ-q5C4w2yt7FwOvToGxjBmVP2EsXexOoakhP7wvaXyF_vDLJ_idK0VA4dyE33WcT6A2zvRU9hRMrOCfLhgRaoM0W/s400/DSC03855.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Thursday</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0_kxyySLyqv7MyGGFYMeDgGKmff8i0YkMDGSDYK_KjF_ztAcmQWWdjKLiQ7O9SVBexFYK5S-Ibfsf1XHKHAa4MMcfwWE9sxGTqLVTsrtgg071ZgOZbmcEXKi0AilDZ0gpiK2KxhdW6wS/s1600-h/DSC03857.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417348535803756226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0_kxyySLyqv7MyGGFYMeDgGKmff8i0YkMDGSDYK_KjF_ztAcmQWWdjKLiQ7O9SVBexFYK5S-Ibfsf1XHKHAa4MMcfwWE9sxGTqLVTsrtgg071ZgOZbmcEXKi0AilDZ0gpiK2KxhdW6wS/s400/DSC03857.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Friday</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0DONnpXEumcDZ1uC3NCrL7pXaJjF2ne6r0O0q3EwxGDtOw_7MJ22WctS4315azuVG7eCupJZimSqFhIpv8IcZJ7C8twwOKeBfYc0RhzXon834ygkl8Sqxz-bS_AFMjXzzjM3VTAyvdEXn/s1600-h/DSC03876.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417348837135986402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0DONnpXEumcDZ1uC3NCrL7pXaJjF2ne6r0O0q3EwxGDtOw_7MJ22WctS4315azuVG7eCupJZimSqFhIpv8IcZJ7C8twwOKeBfYc0RhzXon834ygkl8Sqxz-bS_AFMjXzzjM3VTAyvdEXn/s400/DSC03876.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrxSFJ4axYU9pZa6r9XqS7kJuYeoB0Ro_9T2-x6b9Kd91WfOILlaw5dBBfeczmLdanXVlIibMiQjovCo1-YtMRJYT97ZjFE6K7pEfPxfnCEzz2phpN5aAxGNe0W-gU9VYZggz8okSdgjR/s1600-h/DSC03875.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417349099119136514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrxSFJ4axYU9pZa6r9XqS7kJuYeoB0Ro_9T2-x6b9Kd91WfOILlaw5dBBfeczmLdanXVlIibMiQjovCo1-YtMRJYT97ZjFE6K7pEfPxfnCEzz2phpN5aAxGNe0W-gU9VYZggz8okSdgjR/s400/DSC03875.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Saturday</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdo1O2kypX8U1c8eAXvg-g5if7Mexfvp6C_NU-iI6zrWBJvWIQx0DbT0ccZiqk_pklTAHmAdKoFThVCjgj8THqhkjOQUxqNM6z3mGbADPsFKcFE6pkZm5Qhgyfz6fCWqCnI1oHH0gcswAr/s1600-h/DSC03883.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdo1O2kypX8U1c8eAXvg-g5if7Mexfvp6C_NU-iI6zrWBJvWIQx0DbT0ccZiqk_pklTAHmAdKoFThVCjgj8THqhkjOQUxqNM6z3mGbADPsFKcFE6pkZm5Qhgyfz6fCWqCnI1oHH0gcswAr/s400/DSC03883.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417349553895536210" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-48457740079898767902009-12-20T09:37:00.009-06:002009-12-20T09:51:09.998-06:00The Festival of LightsWe finally made it to Moody Gardens for the annual Festival of Lights display. We've been trying to get down there for 3 weeks now! It was great fun - better than I expected. :) The weather was perfect - cold, but not miserable and no rain! I loved all the music, and of course Elise was impressed by all the lights.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZ6o3-9T9YzZtB-RKw630CmOD7d3G_T0mnBlN3cRS1_iZI533rGq9jdZBQ3hcG4LW2IAXwGVpbSfGhOgDGYaiSbunnnas6Xd5rYjB5dB11EFmieoCy0C9vFeNMw0rTthxL8GVJz9_mSBY/s1600-h/DSC03892.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417343469087179698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZ6o3-9T9YzZtB-RKw630CmOD7d3G_T0mnBlN3cRS1_iZI533rGq9jdZBQ3hcG4LW2IAXwGVpbSfGhOgDGYaiSbunnnas6Xd5rYjB5dB11EFmieoCy0C9vFeNMw0rTthxL8GVJz9_mSBY/s400/DSC03892.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCOgdRQ-K2xlTNFeIGNixOZMrAgJAWo-u4bbmTgOc8VQR1Ok6satCM_RbWgnz72cTNqNlUSGljDczh81ZGjf9TbguM6JjyYDvu2jmkyM7rsjlTMqcWc8CdXCjhAi97bQ6mEdAtDR7K4ZN/s1600-h/DSC03894.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417343920671244194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCOgdRQ-K2xlTNFeIGNixOZMrAgJAWo-u4bbmTgOc8VQR1Ok6satCM_RbWgnz72cTNqNlUSGljDczh81ZGjf9TbguM6JjyYDvu2jmkyM7rsjlTMqcWc8CdXCjhAi97bQ6mEdAtDR7K4ZN/s400/DSC03894.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGizfOnMWFuFcRmkrA98wLhS7aZS6BMeIEJUm9OCfAZTyCcMq6hbWrqbFX7QMknIHvsf2pFTaYjS2DwzsjfDu_Jtrtwls_JpDCkhClyX7QX6whRH6xzNYKL-fbpdT-roNPPbpOGvK9hCxx/s1600-h/DSC03897.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417344157923945650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 290px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGizfOnMWFuFcRmkrA98wLhS7aZS6BMeIEJUm9OCfAZTyCcMq6hbWrqbFX7QMknIHvsf2pFTaYjS2DwzsjfDu_Jtrtwls_JpDCkhClyX7QX6whRH6xzNYKL-fbpdT-roNPPbpOGvK9hCxx/s400/DSC03897.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOU3JMuQApfwwkIrtjEqlRPCYWchxrIsDxJ79nYq4kVYmQp4bG44dtMwmQgp1Tr4Fyb4iSxes9H3jrYhZmTS48msdeUN15ioIig6-jvTvBIIEkglTp6zTu1Rk0GfPaeOFpDQprTue7oSN/s1600-h/DSC03902.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417344417342914818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOU3JMuQApfwwkIrtjEqlRPCYWchxrIsDxJ79nYq4kVYmQp4bG44dtMwmQgp1Tr4Fyb4iSxes9H3jrYhZmTS48msdeUN15ioIig6-jvTvBIIEkglTp6zTu1Rk0GfPaeOFpDQprTue7oSN/s400/DSC03902.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzNtbajrBn8OgqpMUFG9QZEztuWbywYXDXMFOdAg6JuHHSWIOyqrcjALDh2eK63CiNsdpJ-Wzkp0yY2_kUsArpqZ8cWz-uywoljwxy0R4kCZ8VR02YbAefsEmob_5P2YmuoDepdoIk6eE/s1600-h/DSC03904.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417344662807616626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzNtbajrBn8OgqpMUFG9QZEztuWbywYXDXMFOdAg6JuHHSWIOyqrcjALDh2eK63CiNsdpJ-Wzkp0yY2_kUsArpqZ8cWz-uywoljwxy0R4kCZ8VR02YbAefsEmob_5P2YmuoDepdoIk6eE/s400/DSC03904.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhj-3Ml3PSAT3jyh9XrfUk-VxvHYUuZrvX8G3hEzUdvbza5k6V2zjw7As73rwQCGWrFdv432mS5DyGiaIDzlMZm8ByoMKMulGy0a8vxnmxdxp74dZpcCl4R1oBzCBLMngJom6AIfdim8-/s1600-h/DSC03908.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417344980683662914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhj-3Ml3PSAT3jyh9XrfUk-VxvHYUuZrvX8G3hEzUdvbza5k6V2zjw7As73rwQCGWrFdv432mS5DyGiaIDzlMZm8ByoMKMulGy0a8vxnmxdxp74dZpcCl4R1oBzCBLMngJom6AIfdim8-/s400/DSC03908.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIbdCp_vV2o5CG_g5h_JKxEhzycHbQMGVChWCem-35cnvM34WRaWwmxGFSND4i4RGJaAVWkhqlpCpgLVByd5oy1ZlZ0Ecw-vO58sQepCFfMM6ntIrDo88uYeEgpp0OWNYxlbrYpe5HpHB/s1600-h/DSC03913.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417345247229812754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIbdCp_vV2o5CG_g5h_JKxEhzycHbQMGVChWCem-35cnvM34WRaWwmxGFSND4i4RGJaAVWkhqlpCpgLVByd5oy1ZlZ0Ecw-vO58sQepCFfMM6ntIrDo88uYeEgpp0OWNYxlbrYpe5HpHB/s400/DSC03913.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMsyGDHeqls_qLnGYja3YrzodhTtR0HzgHkVCtAMKhMNck8lOb8o8Cspt939EadZrikAcdhljqV0zmriaswnzUvhjB7WOetaWd5zVE8C-gZxxzKUBwUgSa0L2OUNi99WEjLxNUc8lBHJw/s1600-h/DSC03923.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417345493716925106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMsyGDHeqls_qLnGYja3YrzodhTtR0HzgHkVCtAMKhMNck8lOb8o8Cspt939EadZrikAcdhljqV0zmriaswnzUvhjB7WOetaWd5zVE8C-gZxxzKUBwUgSa0L2OUNi99WEjLxNUc8lBHJw/s400/DSC03923.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbePhisl0h3mdwtctT5rjjOtXn8EI9xUWYeNTrZ66HjXFgOkopWsc1UDobdciB9BXTirv4_fiIjstI9dXrCuzGwgzhNeF73PsQEHEu5uqdeVdW_DfPp5L0sFDgKI_A1dxr9M1ypGy3WW8/s1600-h/DSC03920.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417345740572841106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbePhisl0h3mdwtctT5rjjOtXn8EI9xUWYeNTrZ66HjXFgOkopWsc1UDobdciB9BXTirv4_fiIjstI9dXrCuzGwgzhNeF73PsQEHEu5uqdeVdW_DfPp5L0sFDgKI_A1dxr9M1ypGy3WW8/s400/DSC03920.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Elise took this one - not bad, just a bit blurry. :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdZmheuRYsxvlQt6kDtn50gfDNEvCN6IUJcnRDmL9RP8uP2a_scoZ9DBazsqYIx58GPhoYpjDk49h_gNxxNHI4aCzrdshUb8ApiNk5BHGRSpo8SbK45niGsDsci6UVoKcwgBaU3sPyhFB/s1600-h/DSC03922.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417345947954525378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 344px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdZmheuRYsxvlQt6kDtn50gfDNEvCN6IUJcnRDmL9RP8uP2a_scoZ9DBazsqYIx58GPhoYpjDk49h_gNxxNHI4aCzrdshUb8ApiNk5BHGRSpo8SbK45niGsDsci6UVoKcwgBaU3sPyhFB/s400/DSC03922.JPG" border="0" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-55897833154464258552009-12-20T09:31:00.005-06:002009-12-20T09:37:53.209-06:00Elise's Class PartyElise's class party was last Thursday, and she and Jamie are now officially on a 2 week break from school. I am so jealous. I was in charge of decorations for the party, and we had a fun time. After the party Elise and I went to see Princess and the Frog, which was super cute. It was nice to sneak in a special one-on-one afternoon with my girl. :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeNwfhNpV7AK-y-s7TsUJFFOxXUwThMJEEuHDV_ueqRfeflXwqOMTAMIjfU5bJ4VvnHxKw3Ig2YHhCevKAYqzA5KhXmrFqrLVDK8u2qHNNdrxjFjgo4ZBwpzkP2h3DlNERYaj8q2hU2vT/s1600-h/DSC03860.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeNwfhNpV7AK-y-s7TsUJFFOxXUwThMJEEuHDV_ueqRfeflXwqOMTAMIjfU5bJ4VvnHxKw3Ig2YHhCevKAYqzA5KhXmrFqrLVDK8u2qHNNdrxjFjgo4ZBwpzkP2h3DlNERYaj8q2hU2vT/s400/DSC03860.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417342041321817522" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9LXgePzqr2tOLMkcf0mWIlnxfltA1DZV700iTvS270-_yyebHLmv1A0ob1XMUtcXdpoOBwcvq6T9iAB3VHeXsYphLs4wPM_HdK_3q_vleHGBgKy-4I7EuBb2Gh4cUC9IEi1NzOjRw1Bd/s1600-h/DSC03861.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9LXgePzqr2tOLMkcf0mWIlnxfltA1DZV700iTvS270-_yyebHLmv1A0ob1XMUtcXdpoOBwcvq6T9iAB3VHeXsYphLs4wPM_HdK_3q_vleHGBgKy-4I7EuBb2Gh4cUC9IEi1NzOjRw1Bd/s400/DSC03861.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417342508547026610" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFRNjR_ppEtw8GTe_XR-2o3HyKtGmWbWHcY2ZAnHGCkvd43PImVxGLTwrf0a1M_PK1UCnhJw3zbQPNAUMnaRPgJ7GPvO3-LqUecrqTiEizn2HNW6S-M9662zJWFm44I-nH53Q88I2Sd1Y/s1600-h/DSC03869.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFRNjR_ppEtw8GTe_XR-2o3HyKtGmWbWHcY2ZAnHGCkvd43PImVxGLTwrf0a1M_PK1UCnhJw3zbQPNAUMnaRPgJ7GPvO3-LqUecrqTiEizn2HNW6S-M9662zJWFm44I-nH53Q88I2Sd1Y/s400/DSC03869.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417342799615924962" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-53313444405598531022009-12-20T09:24:00.004-06:002009-12-20T09:31:01.622-06:00Santa on the firetruckEvery year in our town on the Saturday before Christmas, Santa comes down every single street in the firetruck and throws candy to all the kids...sirens blazing and all! As a kid, I looked forward to it so much, and now it's fun to watch Elise wave to Santa too. We started hearing the sirens close by around 9:30am, but it wasn't until around 2:30 that he came down our street. Talk about a long day of anticipation! Elise waited and waited, refusing to come inside. Jamie and I made the best of it and trimmed some bushes while we waited. Ha!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAGgbvj4_DmXyBk7JciosAghTvCOEVidC0pN_ScWg7VO1j0f9M058a0ut6bFFXPEXS1job5yNNLUdF-PlgiUdlnpI7RYnLMQveulB_SVDDJueJYDhIKH-KnA6qwxeoF65ryujuED4nAA1/s1600-h/DSC03890.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAGgbvj4_DmXyBk7JciosAghTvCOEVidC0pN_ScWg7VO1j0f9M058a0ut6bFFXPEXS1job5yNNLUdF-PlgiUdlnpI7RYnLMQveulB_SVDDJueJYDhIKH-KnA6qwxeoF65ryujuED4nAA1/s400/DSC03890.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417340799288249794" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUOdtB4N9XZFJDXBrbJmGUs1mLsk2HvMqlLAKnupwqNsASODgNZyQaAIXNPcVCExuC2scToCLsv7MSN2ZdC4JyKE2wr5-G6QxfQMP_vof1jnVPPYVgt0kE_lGo9XR4LUiKdayeQW5tICx7/s1600-h/DSC03891.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUOdtB4N9XZFJDXBrbJmGUs1mLsk2HvMqlLAKnupwqNsASODgNZyQaAIXNPcVCExuC2scToCLsv7MSN2ZdC4JyKE2wr5-G6QxfQMP_vof1jnVPPYVgt0kE_lGo9XR4LUiKdayeQW5tICx7/s400/DSC03891.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417341015516848354" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-66865786171379230052009-12-09T21:29:00.003-06:002009-12-09T21:32:56.106-06:00Santa, baby!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHBQuvqAwCHUZUdZc8oSB5113uw9nsrCtCUaHdmAhbco58l7XHfTu9q8Hgt7Nq71TI8bsHRrwwnQEo-utTzF5Gd3SSVneIr2SmLMqyPjPB3g8-jTbpKF8m8aZehlIn4cYyWV6CQqlSYtJ/s1600-h/MyPhoto.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 286px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHBQuvqAwCHUZUdZc8oSB5113uw9nsrCtCUaHdmAhbco58l7XHfTu9q8Hgt7Nq71TI8bsHRrwwnQEo-utTzF5Gd3SSVneIr2SmLMqyPjPB3g8-jTbpKF8m8aZehlIn4cYyWV6CQqlSYtJ/s400/MyPhoto.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413444681014648690" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivV9yxJRL0ZK_xyPgB6iju5dH5TGvPU_6Heia8mwSYh8ooxn4NWdVEo-yYDMBC0M8tWChdQEbud7c2x8HhAKihw4q6c1V2GStPDXtbgyOUHCT-VXV0gOhy8HZmLTGWBnO2UojunA7nadwr/s1600-h/DSC03826.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivV9yxJRL0ZK_xyPgB6iju5dH5TGvPU_6Heia8mwSYh8ooxn4NWdVEo-yYDMBC0M8tWChdQEbud7c2x8HhAKihw4q6c1V2GStPDXtbgyOUHCT-VXV0gOhy8HZmLTGWBnO2UojunA7nadwr/s400/DSC03826.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413444932261834562" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJtmLTQiTEID48uKgYnNJ3RQHGr0ZDn7LwdW0bjKIGaly0E6D79515IVkwBv0BBPoatkGM-u2UYYWYFmDn5VgsHqy3MezTPE1JhcDvAZ2IbzKMfOql2y__Lh0EprDBJhQEL2n_OXTOgMa/s1600-h/DSC03828.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJtmLTQiTEID48uKgYnNJ3RQHGr0ZDn7LwdW0bjKIGaly0E6D79515IVkwBv0BBPoatkGM-u2UYYWYFmDn5VgsHqy3MezTPE1JhcDvAZ2IbzKMfOql2y__Lh0EprDBJhQEL2n_OXTOgMa/s400/DSC03828.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413445215357031250" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-64549143583516666042009-12-09T21:17:00.009-06:002009-12-09T21:28:50.585-06:00Another wacky week with the elves!<strong>Monday</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEIox7g95XAmko45foL5H2lajvDuMq-B1xIrUhd11BRZZRG7J7T1DlnJ7c-hMZuvv1VzctqZ0cijNd-o9LZv2MjaQWgwmQvWOMjbMtChFrvbme141dvlEHxpOaDqwgBEeMZZg-sFZgYEF/s1600-h/DSC03813.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEIox7g95XAmko45foL5H2lajvDuMq-B1xIrUhd11BRZZRG7J7T1DlnJ7c-hMZuvv1VzctqZ0cijNd-o9LZv2MjaQWgwmQvWOMjbMtChFrvbme141dvlEHxpOaDqwgBEeMZZg-sFZgYEF/s400/DSC03813.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413441781967084626" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fzKa21J-132wPYmUmA90XKg_INk4qZD1PYaok307ig7htG6EktDeUmPwTMSSQrxfRpSeZvhH5B3Uk4am35AhdampgI6FojyKNLbuVGFmu1c0HNuDs0RE_xLmhaH_9yoTfie3FhRyxtGI/s1600-h/DSC03815.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fzKa21J-132wPYmUmA90XKg_INk4qZD1PYaok307ig7htG6EktDeUmPwTMSSQrxfRpSeZvhH5B3Uk4am35AhdampgI6FojyKNLbuVGFmu1c0HNuDs0RE_xLmhaH_9yoTfie3FhRyxtGI/s400/DSC03815.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413441975691014146" /></a><br /><br /><br /><strong>Tuesday</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2TX5qoGf-fsuRQa01IJkhQuGy92Ue0SS7w3HPg4iW453JblT4AdI2KH_lNxUi4I5NqAnI17XAjt9s6z_90IrFrizgvjyeAgx655JPU-eotIxBFCURwazDNtapsTvfSsEglStmbAAftSg/s1600-h/DSC03819.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2TX5qoGf-fsuRQa01IJkhQuGy92Ue0SS7w3HPg4iW453JblT4AdI2KH_lNxUi4I5NqAnI17XAjt9s6z_90IrFrizgvjyeAgx655JPU-eotIxBFCURwazDNtapsTvfSsEglStmbAAftSg/s400/DSC03819.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413442243316827458" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmRIDvoGCDbTn0AalZxTvHtin-pPw7XGXLXY-j6MrKUzz1OFE5gUhAqonhWHWUbI9iZuY27c_1s9nfT5zZsnhOkubQtVeURnWxhare4wErOLOqLE6648T8rLMR2IlhxQcselrieXabKAz0/s1600-h/DSC03817.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmRIDvoGCDbTn0AalZxTvHtin-pPw7XGXLXY-j6MrKUzz1OFE5gUhAqonhWHWUbI9iZuY27c_1s9nfT5zZsnhOkubQtVeURnWxhare4wErOLOqLE6648T8rLMR2IlhxQcselrieXabKAz0/s400/DSC03817.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413442461169108402" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dRUkm4GUWj4MfcHH3zc_qRSip1_kMs_EMu_RLGAOe2NQm7sTt4JfLVbFBdiQuXpEShDLKHHYDJNM4YunsquJclrHpsCNF6pgutvzxMEy2v-yeaXP1KiIB8WBWhcTzmsOP-0D-97lsfI8/s1600-h/DSC03818.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dRUkm4GUWj4MfcHH3zc_qRSip1_kMs_EMu_RLGAOe2NQm7sTt4JfLVbFBdiQuXpEShDLKHHYDJNM4YunsquJclrHpsCNF6pgutvzxMEy2v-yeaXP1KiIB8WBWhcTzmsOP-0D-97lsfI8/s400/DSC03818.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413442673576570962" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVq_S9lHwBGu9Kk1v3YMFR4Yj8Uq-ynhq6i80LXwipgCUNPhRMHmqPBD0I6rptGW8118D6pLHoxZi4YMFKX4VCm5MSMmhs5HyoJiw0S9pb_LLUoHY5QSguzQcOL3HQuDrB7LW7K3sMowV1/s1600-h/DSC03822.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVq_S9lHwBGu9Kk1v3YMFR4Yj8Uq-ynhq6i80LXwipgCUNPhRMHmqPBD0I6rptGW8118D6pLHoxZi4YMFKX4VCm5MSMmhs5HyoJiw0S9pb_LLUoHY5QSguzQcOL3HQuDrB7LW7K3sMowV1/s400/DSC03822.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413442906411648418" /></a><br /><br /><br /><strong>Wednesday</strong><br /><br />This is Elise's money jar (she earns money doing chores and has to spend her own money if she wants anything in the store when we shop).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UyYfzmQN8_NWwsSrdGXKoq3NBpk5wB9cDDdMq-R_we0CWV4IZlNa0shfrXe2L5F18gMasoXxY7O1eqQm7WXEeDAKTzPV0egIhU_Jlf8E8ypRxxkGsfs3G8bJxjs27euWXHxeaH2eTONo/s1600-h/DSC03823.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UyYfzmQN8_NWwsSrdGXKoq3NBpk5wB9cDDdMq-R_we0CWV4IZlNa0shfrXe2L5F18gMasoXxY7O1eqQm7WXEeDAKTzPV0egIhU_Jlf8E8ypRxxkGsfs3G8bJxjs27euWXHxeaH2eTONo/s400/DSC03823.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413443179056814850" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQV3HJckhbhxpKpKPKqefr9zocOV7ltIUR0PNiVh4QLuIRIIA1sAl7kbWEEAKjNMN5F3hyV9ftG4CNRv3WNZipWs0eAAVdZdhFN1Ve0hHYxT75a3pR_CA6H6pXsz9EGjIWhukPUnZMhyphenhyphenmy/s1600-h/DSC03825.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQV3HJckhbhxpKpKPKqefr9zocOV7ltIUR0PNiVh4QLuIRIIA1sAl7kbWEEAKjNMN5F3hyV9ftG4CNRv3WNZipWs0eAAVdZdhFN1Ve0hHYxT75a3pR_CA6H6pXsz9EGjIWhukPUnZMhyphenhyphenmy/s400/DSC03825.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413443656643459618" /></a><br /><br /><br /><strong>Thursday</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0YHJ2WDtZ4z9jmIEOS3OpRMgkWMiXxIXTcA-qnn5KT4lmfc8OHshpEnH-gf08vqlYQdGjH2kcaO2vUMQ6QISmj-W-SX_3ghbSVcsiTxnw-0CwvH6PvqZ3hP2nWfaJGW4flJuIiCkVAVq/s1600-h/DSC03834.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0YHJ2WDtZ4z9jmIEOS3OpRMgkWMiXxIXTcA-qnn5KT4lmfc8OHshpEnH-gf08vqlYQdGjH2kcaO2vUMQ6QISmj-W-SX_3ghbSVcsiTxnw-0CwvH6PvqZ3hP2nWfaJGW4flJuIiCkVAVq/s400/DSC03834.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413443927182169410" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-81454293370738170852009-12-05T20:23:00.008-06:002009-12-05T20:32:59.624-06:00Naughty Elves!!!I simply could not believe Holly & Herman would do this.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2R5r7sYclUk5yvt3jz0rsMFtaz1RYpHm1VX_LCAqePCk8J2bqOT3NMOtF4f6pDzB_IgsAEvveuSimx_5WQpluSvBBJEE4ukLXn2aeGx72c3t4BMzzDnPH1-MzDkeonch7H8dAPswsH0P/s1600-h/DSC03798.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411943652957263042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2R5r7sYclUk5yvt3jz0rsMFtaz1RYpHm1VX_LCAqePCk8J2bqOT3NMOtF4f6pDzB_IgsAEvveuSimx_5WQpluSvBBJEE4ukLXn2aeGx72c3t4BMzzDnPH1-MzDkeonch7H8dAPswsH0P/s400/DSC03798.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />However, Elise was pleased, because it meant she got to have an early Christmas present. ;)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggc4TJ_83Kw5Fb_QEraBrAmyhl8dongATtgte2vKQ0mho30bLb-roOt9yJ9Rd-YO7Tk6ib8yo02Te4Hi8iJp2m6ROYcQuTdTMelFFrMY3wy1stely6qLBNhfqwg4vhQHVVihftq68md2Gy/s1600-h/DSC03799.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411943956963399346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggc4TJ_83Kw5Fb_QEraBrAmyhl8dongATtgte2vKQ0mho30bLb-roOt9yJ9Rd-YO7Tk6ib8yo02Te4Hi8iJp2m6ROYcQuTdTMelFFrMY3wy1stely6qLBNhfqwg4vhQHVVihftq68md2Gy/s400/DSC03799.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Yesterday she noticed the Elves in her backpack just as we were leaving for school.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7BzaoSiSgCHZrMZu79OAaIYuH5iVNmky8yS0DtEofXrXh_2HllPFHs_qlmsEfdsCYdwGXBSGzL5i2iJpF8rtirgJIsbQt9zYxkk5JXJrErJtJ9OX1dNKrzxMC5nlgVVMURoVPhzsCZjN/s1600-h/DSC03795.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411944263696374178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7BzaoSiSgCHZrMZu79OAaIYuH5iVNmky8yS0DtEofXrXh_2HllPFHs_qlmsEfdsCYdwGXBSGzL5i2iJpF8rtirgJIsbQt9zYxkk5JXJrErJtJ9OX1dNKrzxMC5nlgVVMURoVPhzsCZjN/s400/DSC03795.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Unrelated to the Elves, we had snow yesterday! We did not get much accumulation at all, so that was disappointing to Elise, but the house looked pretty and frosty early this morning.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5eB_2UvUJFkGMIhsrLvboIV5vj8iPqZYZvsEToEgBr_Rr8ERGst4__5lhJKZwf3Si7fiviIPWf2w9cWfPmSJVNp-py1uth7fEYmC_NLnR_1psvBLP6CRZP6rMqpzbSIH06VCICRsYNnRI/s1600-h/DSC03800.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411944650347800066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5eB_2UvUJFkGMIhsrLvboIV5vj8iPqZYZvsEToEgBr_Rr8ERGst4__5lhJKZwf3Si7fiviIPWf2w9cWfPmSJVNp-py1uth7fEYmC_NLnR_1psvBLP6CRZP6rMqpzbSIH06VCICRsYNnRI/s400/DSC03800.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaA9XXx5_kuFl2t9yp0yvUqvIji8gAlajBeQbp1S6DpebQ5gV2Bhv23ao8LErTVW1xpwEDrwLKvrBpPnYrksLk64klEYhE9UGJi5ItKVCnVdKtU2YKH3rz2mOGbapyW1Z9mmUspUcomyK/s1600-h/DSC03802.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411944893852148418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaA9XXx5_kuFl2t9yp0yvUqvIji8gAlajBeQbp1S6DpebQ5gV2Bhv23ao8LErTVW1xpwEDrwLKvrBpPnYrksLk64klEYhE9UGJi5ItKVCnVdKtU2YKH3rz2mOGbapyW1Z9mmUspUcomyK/s400/DSC03802.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And Bailey has found a new friend. :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFZVk9_vqKZuO1MCx9NOU0k5EZ2e7_ipfdPoP7ygWbMQ26oQ4yqbuRi9v2V8k4KRQ2cfQmzYn4Ov8i_CjjA8Lb9meVX8C3Ufim7cQ8uLBOKJ33T6zfS6RiJFd2TCmx0oIjJeJ19UmRAYv/s1600-h/DSC03807.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411945202569001186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFZVk9_vqKZuO1MCx9NOU0k5EZ2e7_ipfdPoP7ygWbMQ26oQ4yqbuRi9v2V8k4KRQ2cfQmzYn4Ov8i_CjjA8Lb9meVX8C3Ufim7cQ8uLBOKJ33T6zfS6RiJFd2TCmx0oIjJeJ19UmRAYv/s400/DSC03807.JPG" border="0" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-89066111616791264052009-12-03T21:06:00.004-06:002009-12-03T21:09:12.923-06:00Stowaways<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXiuW1tBS5Xzrhi5G6aG09RM2_pKHo7dYJAgD5Xsv4WXuKUPikgR5CRE7dFzEC_xZIhxLkXiDEfstsjY-gDcICkBWfesrYz59MDMofFSRuHU2rbM0ZjDplw0w8BRwYLcY72f71ca4BfNA8/s1600-h/DSC03793.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXiuW1tBS5Xzrhi5G6aG09RM2_pKHo7dYJAgD5Xsv4WXuKUPikgR5CRE7dFzEC_xZIhxLkXiDEfstsjY-gDcICkBWfesrYz59MDMofFSRuHU2rbM0ZjDplw0w8BRwYLcY72f71ca4BfNA8/s400/DSC03793.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411212390058388770" /></a><br /><br />And a pic from this morning :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTujp-dVlZ6n587m-ISCZdYI57V6sV_-1XYBiR60bJRhFvVWs39YdnZbCGPaLU7yx7KxlVjg7MoJRZMdIFIlEzmOHwb_dj_Jz8K9cS1KinG7g05mkJy_kJdsVtVM2C6KmGoPbR2pZDEi4-/s1600-h/DSC03792.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTujp-dVlZ6n587m-ISCZdYI57V6sV_-1XYBiR60bJRhFvVWs39YdnZbCGPaLU7yx7KxlVjg7MoJRZMdIFIlEzmOHwb_dj_Jz8K9cS1KinG7g05mkJy_kJdsVtVM2C6KmGoPbR2pZDEi4-/s400/DSC03792.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411212585499297442" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-47417340204660891722009-12-02T22:18:00.002-06:002009-12-02T22:20:39.588-06:00Shoes!This one is for tomorrow. Elise LOVES to walk around in our shoes, so I think she's going to love seeing Holly & Herman wearing them! :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBaNEki2TfVk-xtqWZtoPuPsXkMEmz9sXg10-1tWJZrPcMHY61c0DfZxmdgZE-4fsaTmgkiXRgLckOd01L0zPwuAJ5uqBwgh9N-9rhl_ttS60xC0LAZS4mcR9PuMGPaoXDsi08wtcl5zV/s1600-h/DSC03791.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBaNEki2TfVk-xtqWZtoPuPsXkMEmz9sXg10-1tWJZrPcMHY61c0DfZxmdgZE-4fsaTmgkiXRgLckOd01L0zPwuAJ5uqBwgh9N-9rhl_ttS60xC0LAZS4mcR9PuMGPaoXDsi08wtcl5zV/s400/DSC03791.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410859928708663522" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-12872552857173431602009-12-02T21:27:00.001-06:002009-12-02T21:28:47.981-06:00Decorating the tree<embed style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 320px" name="flashticker" align="middle" src="http://widget-ab.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=10285483&site=widget-ab.slide.com"></embed>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-77274296242327122562009-12-02T21:16:00.007-06:002009-12-02T21:27:09.788-06:00Cards, anyone?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSuwMEhn4kOMtWylRE9COQQauNU4oHqjJmoyasfbUGFjsKAxvkP-EP5YHxaMfIUDQ3cwTDksoCnuu6ujUZcpYGm-ZCmExYtc0-EIpyB8a7VGkS28U49ZzWB1p2NL11WGaPQzuOYkCQoef/s1600-h/DSC03719.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSuwMEhn4kOMtWylRE9COQQauNU4oHqjJmoyasfbUGFjsKAxvkP-EP5YHxaMfIUDQ3cwTDksoCnuu6ujUZcpYGm-ZCmExYtc0-EIpyB8a7VGkS28U49ZzWB1p2NL11WGaPQzuOYkCQoef/s400/DSC03719.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410843854050122338" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVTSgxqMB6T69bGtBelWIncIfSAdJjuOEJuO4U7BmXGyo9U6NA5rSyKigyT_SYw74vRshFQXg8j9duQyfYpwoe5Yoe0mLZjNcwfMDlFEW0GryIBgi-w2xqrPf8LfIMDS0_hzTh0f2t-Ry/s1600-h/DSC03726.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVTSgxqMB6T69bGtBelWIncIfSAdJjuOEJuO4U7BmXGyo9U6NA5rSyKigyT_SYw74vRshFQXg8j9duQyfYpwoe5Yoe0mLZjNcwfMDlFEW0GryIBgi-w2xqrPf8LfIMDS0_hzTh0f2t-Ry/s400/DSC03726.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410844237311275346" /></a><br /><br />Or perhaps you might prefer to play dollhouse?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRtw4QG-E2RyghVlEkdDTUG991WIp-YrAxb5wb5bZXq2gAHDfpfsOpcobiNNuvVfDWffku_F0pYNvjmrG_aVEugjoFiZnNCwCW74gfdocyWs4lF8DbmgGbO9beH87xYTv4ITsBw3GCDCsk/s1600-h/DSC03727.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRtw4QG-E2RyghVlEkdDTUG991WIp-YrAxb5wb5bZXq2gAHDfpfsOpcobiNNuvVfDWffku_F0pYNvjmrG_aVEugjoFiZnNCwCW74gfdocyWs4lF8DbmgGbO9beH87xYTv4ITsBw3GCDCsk/s400/DSC03727.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410844566061032482" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrm6qJpkNreCDBb0pKMMqcQuzWpc-CQ_5bQDnxpBJxY-wKhaMOAVRvEhCqMskVyhT4cNmU0k_q4ygA2T3c8gGQu5ElmIMWtobQK1lhdP35vTg1OwcB-wL9ulGVB055MDsjIFxaEsmYtrA/s1600-h/DSC03728.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrm6qJpkNreCDBb0pKMMqcQuzWpc-CQ_5bQDnxpBJxY-wKhaMOAVRvEhCqMskVyhT4cNmU0k_q4ygA2T3c8gGQu5ElmIMWtobQK1lhdP35vTg1OwcB-wL9ulGVB055MDsjIFxaEsmYtrA/s400/DSC03728.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410844815563158034" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlFZIBRdS2Pqk07EU2RkiVV4WjmYfnQ49XrZjiq-bajNPoFEJ1DJG51Qz7hAZ1MTqfzvSZZZlWCry_HHQ8Vq8dto7y6xFpuwb26WWv10lflWCmY7_Y5Ix37R94dw5RLHW6JWFbv2LxLU9/s1600-h/DSC03730.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlFZIBRdS2Pqk07EU2RkiVV4WjmYfnQ49XrZjiq-bajNPoFEJ1DJG51Qz7hAZ1MTqfzvSZZZlWCry_HHQ8Vq8dto7y6xFpuwb26WWv10lflWCmY7_Y5Ix37R94dw5RLHW6JWFbv2LxLU9/s400/DSC03730.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410845023704516722" /></a><br /><br />Holly & Herman are climbers again this year!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXroNua6mgDn2MzcxTIP46q51blrySflDmX7qwcTw25Ptb14wj16vl88VaToTu4oX5glGxrIT6ROzfaMdL9kAoYwh2kaB2lMQP8MSDkeLNqBGjqVcTY34aMFCknvi0aAuAxH9uo7Gvgj-/s1600-h/DSC03734.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXroNua6mgDn2MzcxTIP46q51blrySflDmX7qwcTw25Ptb14wj16vl88VaToTu4oX5glGxrIT6ROzfaMdL9kAoYwh2kaB2lMQP8MSDkeLNqBGjqVcTY34aMFCknvi0aAuAxH9uo7Gvgj-/s400/DSC03734.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410845299827170946" /></a><br /><br />I think that has me all caught up for this week so far! Stay tuned for more Christmas Elf shenanigans!Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-67196309201769608852009-11-27T08:50:00.005-06:002009-11-27T08:56:49.534-06:00The reaction!Jamie and I were greeted bright and early this morning by a very excited Elise.<br /><br />"Mommy! Holly and Herman are here, and one of them climbed up in our tree!"<br /><br />We are so grateful that Holly & Herman set up the tree for us this year - it sure did save mommy and coach a lot of work. ;)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2MsQ-Tgqor2QjXfqv09mnrl5G59LiihIEbtK8n3aNkG6iac_zhfc21JKDYRn_ojkOu23SO7BchpgYvyUWZx-_wv-TIUQJxm_VQKxB4lrrSnG0UcnVmyT1y1UAwWDykvwivyI2ieKScOB/s1600/DSC03707.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408796870991336722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2MsQ-Tgqor2QjXfqv09mnrl5G59LiihIEbtK8n3aNkG6iac_zhfc21JKDYRn_ojkOu23SO7BchpgYvyUWZx-_wv-TIUQJxm_VQKxB4lrrSnG0UcnVmyT1y1UAwWDykvwivyI2ieKScOB/s400/DSC03707.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvH1O-Y8bZbaDi_MRWqM_oMDxfxHaA00smK1fX5bbeHcfvxl8CUZbIQza5RurZZKejGuwaZpMI8UGAZ1_SMYHiDe-7LoHhWk2oYmPoN3zjzycH2kr0z477GSQSj-H6Q-noRJU2GghZ8y9v/s1600/DSC03711.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408796553159454194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvH1O-Y8bZbaDi_MRWqM_oMDxfxHaA00smK1fX5bbeHcfvxl8CUZbIQza5RurZZKejGuwaZpMI8UGAZ1_SMYHiDe-7LoHhWk2oYmPoN3zjzycH2kr0z477GSQSj-H6Q-noRJU2GghZ8y9v/s400/DSC03711.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />They have officially assumed their place on top of the TV for the remainder of the Christmas season. There's just no telling what they might get into next.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8eGWYP3RhFkWllm836XYdG4NiiNm14pvsfeX-Jz1aeNW2HNAv4x04V0sYb4Vwcynhyphenhyphenbg-zN3MM71gCo6m5LdD2s2ESOgDPm1BUjWtTix_6_6JNo0kUEZYeGxJG5Zx5eHWwrcTGmlTsHc/s1600/DSC03715.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408797108840921762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8eGWYP3RhFkWllm836XYdG4NiiNm14pvsfeX-Jz1aeNW2HNAv4x04V0sYb4Vwcynhyphenhyphenbg-zN3MM71gCo6m5LdD2s2ESOgDPm1BUjWtTix_6_6JNo0kUEZYeGxJG5Zx5eHWwrcTGmlTsHc/s400/DSC03715.JPG" border="0" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-58543257633634864732009-11-26T23:55:00.007-06:002009-11-27T00:04:07.551-06:00They're baaaack!!!Holly and Herman, that is!<br /><br />I wanted to do something grand and dramatic for their return, so we lugged out the Christmas tree tonight after Elise went to sleep. When she wakes up in the morning, she will see that Holly and Herman have arrived and set up our tree while we slept! <br /><br />Holly attempted to get into the ornaments, but I think she is going to need some help to decorate the tree. ;)<br /><br />Let the fun begin!!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQeym_q4h8NuLFq-BISWmtHCxkJXIUxs7Q-fHQo1qkg8ApPbXsHsHkntu-ESD576rAaN8TZ1ycNv84YupIU5zNvYXaDw2Pejm5wYVrpDXalzDLHynfbIwALYcz7oDarO66sdydDIVNAQN/s1600/DSC03701.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQeym_q4h8NuLFq-BISWmtHCxkJXIUxs7Q-fHQo1qkg8ApPbXsHsHkntu-ESD576rAaN8TZ1ycNv84YupIU5zNvYXaDw2Pejm5wYVrpDXalzDLHynfbIwALYcz7oDarO66sdydDIVNAQN/s400/DSC03701.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408659463660838834" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIa0PYiacprXEyXGRSedGgCBQhDxEzHfunEd3-ZvvkgsIK4eog2YOvxVJEkD7ohbDMTrEXljwcj0DCRvtHYABkddN2-F5OUqetdBPd0YppZNCF6ESfP3QNeOffFBUwnaGzQVIiAIr9AgC/s1600/DSC03702.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIa0PYiacprXEyXGRSedGgCBQhDxEzHfunEd3-ZvvkgsIK4eog2YOvxVJEkD7ohbDMTrEXljwcj0DCRvtHYABkddN2-F5OUqetdBPd0YppZNCF6ESfP3QNeOffFBUwnaGzQVIiAIr9AgC/s400/DSC03702.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408659681312013666" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihiHMafJJcxElJAq4MvFNOg5iAcJ94P8iPN34a1wc90dv_usMa7JYLuRLzKewRpLpVE-qQsLQIpiW4eeF7pf-GvADMxHhxE4B8PpA0XnDLGdra5fEm-0DielKkkqNlzVakaEDpVPruFh9m/s1600/DSC03703.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihiHMafJJcxElJAq4MvFNOg5iAcJ94P8iPN34a1wc90dv_usMa7JYLuRLzKewRpLpVE-qQsLQIpiW4eeF7pf-GvADMxHhxE4B8PpA0XnDLGdra5fEm-0DielKkkqNlzVakaEDpVPruFh9m/s400/DSC03703.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408659912772652018" /></a><br /><br />Stay tuned tomorrow for Elise's reaction!Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-21115145005535166912009-11-26T23:04:00.012-06:002009-11-26T23:22:27.664-06:00Thanksgiving picturesYesterday I had a brief moment where I thought perhaps I had been in a coma for about a month and it was actually Christmas rather than Thanksgiving. I came home from work to discover that Jamie bought Elise a new bicycle. He says it is a reward for her doing well in school for the past few weeks. I say he's just a sucker for a cute little blonde. The next time he complains that she is too spoiled, I am going to remind him of his participation in the spoiling endeavors!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDaPe2d290GIt8xH3vveX9vgzNxpbbvWqIgtKMwG_aY-QWsvIWstZq-o3gLAIumSUDs8FSagl98991eZ3oPRwkYDH7IhP-F8-naQigiCTUXqgrA_CPNetL8x8mnbXoFYwsUjpLiPotOBhD/s1600/DSC03674.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408645555473516866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDaPe2d290GIt8xH3vveX9vgzNxpbbvWqIgtKMwG_aY-QWsvIWstZq-o3gLAIumSUDs8FSagl98991eZ3oPRwkYDH7IhP-F8-naQigiCTUXqgrA_CPNetL8x8mnbXoFYwsUjpLiPotOBhD/s400/DSC03674.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuS-S91pX8j1EuZQ4BtvairRxwhXwvqB6Mzoosjy9gv7cxSHDadutRW7_IyQoGU1Op96BQi16H-DwQoG5YRPOLqu1R3A7riJvGMMjkaFYJYJrSp6qUKkHvyVOHj_ZchbK8tgTypsYxyB_a/s1600/DSC03676.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408645941947807570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuS-S91pX8j1EuZQ4BtvairRxwhXwvqB6Mzoosjy9gv7cxSHDadutRW7_IyQoGU1Op96BQi16H-DwQoG5YRPOLqu1R3A7riJvGMMjkaFYJYJrSp6qUKkHvyVOHj_ZchbK8tgTypsYxyB_a/s400/DSC03676.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We had a beautiful fall day!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSngoQHJkV6oa2qf6QhCxTa0k0LQLEoXLOTkFJ2GVpCskVaJanCw-wQXxDu5NQbLVtK-rfHNy8OeJa00xPWE2D0M2T9Lsl3WzUTMhZry-R4fSDZbi31fTn_pVdJnCgCt9Lcv1JkcL-CGBF/s1600/DSC03686.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408646375454814002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSngoQHJkV6oa2qf6QhCxTa0k0LQLEoXLOTkFJ2GVpCskVaJanCw-wQXxDu5NQbLVtK-rfHNy8OeJa00xPWE2D0M2T9Lsl3WzUTMhZry-R4fSDZbi31fTn_pVdJnCgCt9Lcv1JkcL-CGBF/s400/DSC03686.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And wonderful food!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QvqfdLBIvQ9guWEZ07Sb_U5sTyIPbEaLoezffDrZRFoAKbNezBXmxZBpCvKbT0lKta3O4hD_l-nllnF5i4rijpdaC6fSLjD5cZ_pQXR-Jn0cDBV3wGFRBKxfC7zYtiet1Xsl59BNewIV/s1600/DSC03688.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408646742711197778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QvqfdLBIvQ9guWEZ07Sb_U5sTyIPbEaLoezffDrZRFoAKbNezBXmxZBpCvKbT0lKta3O4hD_l-nllnF5i4rijpdaC6fSLjD5cZ_pQXR-Jn0cDBV3wGFRBKxfC7zYtiet1Xsl59BNewIV/s400/DSC03688.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLacUFlnfSPK1rmCy5RXQDRhuxVTKBJr1qeyLuNeO9znPWNgKvDXGH6FM0iJ5AmcBA4NFa67CrgHYeCjP65b8Rmjy7mfY-DffblZ4JcCEhiuplu5PsmVaD5Y5RBTaPd6TfVpBuqbiXTmW/s1600/DSC03692.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408646979206788082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLacUFlnfSPK1rmCy5RXQDRhuxVTKBJr1qeyLuNeO9znPWNgKvDXGH6FM0iJ5AmcBA4NFa67CrgHYeCjP65b8Rmjy7mfY-DffblZ4JcCEhiuplu5PsmVaD5Y5RBTaPd6TfVpBuqbiXTmW/s400/DSC03692.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuToOpikxka7BrNpY3gh1E66Y2hEjjv9NAGIHXSrYPxB8bYIaatANhw2Lxu-5qR0MaVe7As_cXcXAFbfw-GJOpg-VI5LE_Aqdrvuo5E_P9ZdFWK65RYKf9BNrdeDDXC7zCBXFDTcSiUhc/s1600/DSC03689.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408647546067994098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuToOpikxka7BrNpY3gh1E66Y2hEjjv9NAGIHXSrYPxB8bYIaatANhw2Lxu-5qR0MaVe7As_cXcXAFbfw-GJOpg-VI5LE_Aqdrvuo5E_P9ZdFWK65RYKf9BNrdeDDXC7zCBXFDTcSiUhc/s400/DSC03689.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAy-O8qgXoiN4ePy8cAlRNT5kcpi65R1WvDJ9RN3PUrwcLdseIYZZu_if5pwtSYXzrwl4gLgV_eMQvCE34oFNzpWqfks_-7Y0f7swpz1cowbuw1938-shuX8nX94jaq2zPDQqyQ9cU3OXx/s1600/DSC03694.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408647818665177842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAy-O8qgXoiN4ePy8cAlRNT5kcpi65R1WvDJ9RN3PUrwcLdseIYZZu_if5pwtSYXzrwl4gLgV_eMQvCE34oFNzpWqfks_-7Y0f7swpz1cowbuw1938-shuX8nX94jaq2zPDQqyQ9cU3OXx/s400/DSC03694.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Full bellies!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kYdhfMM2aLVMHqtrilKUVDRynSmCVArQ00k4pwo_ChjjoQGFOc0qceiNlZ-ntpITphlfJBVcihMfKP-I4M2-hDQK4ntDRMbbkBOHyzcvNVxIy2si2LlHyJB-M5p3-RQqwuOe33bJRoIE/s1600/DSC03698.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408648081391486898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kYdhfMM2aLVMHqtrilKUVDRynSmCVArQ00k4pwo_ChjjoQGFOc0qceiNlZ-ntpITphlfJBVcihMfKP-I4M2-hDQK4ntDRMbbkBOHyzcvNVxIy2si2LlHyJB-M5p3-RQqwuOe33bJRoIE/s400/DSC03698.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And the perfect after-dinner activity for the girls while the guys watched football - a game of BINGO!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUE716WkFJDSFF4VCRBlwETHiAfr56_JIcaT7JwwNjEzmAVdgZe3IHHlLubrdgb13nhueeVIUPtnQfWtFOHqlF4aRhS6ZUzxjA1Z6KE-7FSwcncZocQyOCN-QDV7PHqvzOYIoWS-W934PQ/s1600/DSC03699.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408648437721824514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUE716WkFJDSFF4VCRBlwETHiAfr56_JIcaT7JwwNjEzmAVdgZe3IHHlLubrdgb13nhueeVIUPtnQfWtFOHqlF4aRhS6ZUzxjA1Z6KE-7FSwcncZocQyOCN-QDV7PHqvzOYIoWS-W934PQ/s400/DSC03699.JPG" border="0" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-51707467806804208302009-11-26T09:23:00.002-06:002009-11-26T10:16:57.955-06:00How a broken hip and car wreck can be a blessingWe've had a hectic few months around here, and I haven't been blogging much. It all started back in October when my mom got a phone call on a random Tuesday morning that my grandmother had fallen down her back steps and was being rushed by ambulance to the hospital. I can't imagine the panic and helpless feeling she must have endured as she received the news over the phone, sitting in Texas and totally unable to do anything about the situation transpiring all the way in Georgia. She was on a plane and arrived in Georgia by that evening - and I'm certain at the time she did NOT consider any of it a blessing.<br /><br />Grandmother had surgery the following day to repair the broken hip, and it was a long week spent in the hospital...followed by another long week or 2 doing inpatient rehabilitation. Once grandmother was strong enough to make the flight home, she was discharged from the rehab facility and mom brought her back to Texas to stay with us as she continues physical and occupational therapy out of my parents' home each day.<br /><br />We were finally all getting settled here - mom and dad made a few modifications to their home (no floor rugs, extra handles in the shower and bathroom, etc). We got hooked up with the right therapists and got them on a schedule of coming to the house to see grandmother. Things seemed to be settling down nicely, and mom was set to return to work after a month-long absence.<br /><br />Then there was the car wreck.<br /><br />If you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans.<br /><br />The accident took place on Halloween around 7:30pm. Elise was spending the night with her dad, and Jamie and I were all set to drive to a Halloween party about 2 hours from home and spend the night out of town. As we started to get on the highway to head to the party, Jamie and I just looked at each other, and almost as if we were sharing our thoughts without speaking, we both knew that we didn't want to go to the party. It was right around 7:30 when we turned around and headed back home. We changed out of our costumes and had just finished eating dinner when we got the call about the wreck. It was one of those instances where God was looking out for us - at the time, I didn't really know why I shouldn't go to the party. I just knew I had a gut feeling that it wasn't a good idea, and I listened to it. A lot of times I feel guided by gut feelings, but I don't always get confirmation that I did the right thing in such a timely manner!<br /><br />When we first arrived at the hospital, both mom and grandmother were taped down to body boards in separate rooms. They were both shaking and scared. Grandmother was very coherent and experiencing pain where the seat belt had bruised her body upon impact. Mom was not doing as well. I was quite alarmed initially, but tried to remain calm. I was so glad Jamie was with me, because he is very collected in an emergency. She was having a lot of pain in her shoulder and hip, but what concerned me most was her memory loss. The doctor was asking her a lot of questions, and she was struggling to answer many of them. She couldn't remember where she works. She thought she was still in Georgia. She didn't know what day it was. She kept asking the same questions over and over, as if she had forgotten that we just answered her a few minutes earlier. My mom is the nurse in the family and the one who always takes charge when any of us are sick or hospitalized, so for her to become the patient was a role reversal that I was not fully prepared to handle at the time.<br /><br />Long story short (or maybe not so short at this point!), no bones were broken, grandmother's hip replacement was not damaged, and they were both released to go home. We got them home, but they were both having severe difficulty walking. Mom's pain persisted so much that she went back for another set of x-rays, feeling insistent that her pain level had to be indicative of a broken bone somewhere. The result of the second set of x-rays was the same as the first, and the conclusion was that she had deep, severe bruising. Here we are nearly a month later, and she is still limping around - although she has improved quite a bit.<br /><br />And so the caregiver became the patient for a while. And this didn't feel like a blessing either.<br /><br />But it was.<br /><br />It sounds crazy to say a broken hip or car accident could be a blessing. These are bad things, after all. There have been so many times that I've wondered why bad things happen - especially to good people. It's something I've thought about a ton over the last two or three years, since we've dealt with our infertility struggle. What I've decided after prayerful consideration is that God doesn't make bad things happen to us. Bad things happen as a result of the fact that we live in a fallen world. Elise and I have been reading the <a href="http://www.jesusstorybookbible.com/">Jesus Storybook Bible</a> , and I love the simplicity of the Bible put into words that children can understand. I had never thought of the first sin committed by Adam and Eve in such terms, but when you break it down into simple language, it's easy to see that God never wanted anything bad for us.<br /><br /><em>"Did you eat the fruit I told you not to eat?" God asked them.</em><br /><em>Adam said, "Eve made me do it!" </em><br /><em>"What have you done?" God asked.</em><br /><em>Eve said, "The serpent made me do it!"</em><br /><em>And terrible pain came into God's heart. His children hadn't just broken the one rule; they had broken God's heart. They had broken their wonderful relationship with him. And now he knew everything else would break. God's creation would start to unravel, and come undone, and go wrong. From now on everything would die - even though it was all supposed to last forever. You see, sin had come into God's perfect world. And it would never leave.</em><br /><br />Our world is no longer perfect, but God doesn't leave us here alone to struggle. He shows up on the scene and brings good from the bad things that happen to us.<br /><br /><em>But before they left the garden, God made clothes for his children, to cover them. He gently clothed them and then he sent them away on a long, long journey - out of the garden, out of their home. Well, in another story, it would all be over and that would have been the end. But not in this story. God loved his children too much to let the story end there. Even though he knew he would suffer, God had a plan - a magnificent dream. One day, he would get his children back. One day, he would make the world their perfect home again. And one day, he would wipe away every tear from their eyes. You see, no matter what, in spite of everything, God would love his children - with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.</em><br /><br />Our family has been blessed out of circumstances that otherwise could have been terrible. Because of the fall, Grandmother is spending her first ever Thanksgiving with us. She is home every afternoon when Elise comes home from school. The memories Elise is making with her great grandmother are priceless. I do not have any memories of any of my great grandparents - they had all passed away by the time I was two years old. It's an opportunity that I never had - and Elise would not have this opportunity either if none of this had happened.<br /><br />Due to the fact that both Grandmother and mom were incapacitated for a period of time, Dad has really stepped up and come through to help both of them, all while still picking up Elise from school everyday. I've been cooking every weekend for the whole family and delivering meals. We've come together as a family.<br /><br />So, on this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for our circumstances. I'm thankful for our struggles, because out of the hardest times I find my faith being strengthened.<br /><br />May all of your families be blessed this holiday, and may you all feel the <em>Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love</em> that God has for you!Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-76004499544449098812009-11-06T23:07:00.012-06:002009-11-06T23:26:09.718-06:00Halloween!I am behind and lacking motivation to keep things current. One of the main reasons I have this blog is for my grandmother's benefit, and since she is here with us now, seeing all our memories firsthand, I haven't gotten around to posting them here. Nevertheless, I do want to keep up as best I can, so here are our Halloween pictures!<br /><br /><em>Elise's class party</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8W5JvZSDj5tYWOP7qD-TLJHS_hixftYaUoGWdtmlr0s4qKrcucNXjj-HE2fQPVJcG8aTRVKUVr-b7OySxubAXOp3O5Q-MfkmUvzZ_L7DNQ2XZv999uujTFFROTgDiTzdtoqGqhrOuIlK9/s1600-h/DSC03612.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401224679353656370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8W5JvZSDj5tYWOP7qD-TLJHS_hixftYaUoGWdtmlr0s4qKrcucNXjj-HE2fQPVJcG8aTRVKUVr-b7OySxubAXOp3O5Q-MfkmUvzZ_L7DNQ2XZv999uujTFFROTgDiTzdtoqGqhrOuIlK9/s400/DSC03612.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvfP-9oIIqKZC14WjVj996eMe1HUOKdKBqbMcXWqWcREcF5Tk3PNMpIHYqUgY5YhyPhN-m_KRmFk5LnlAzpdIHHHCosqVxfCZEzFslwcbwwMNIS0dC46ygfDzImM9TSLcxMaikza204Eq/s1600-h/DSC03616.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401224954315314626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvfP-9oIIqKZC14WjVj996eMe1HUOKdKBqbMcXWqWcREcF5Tk3PNMpIHYqUgY5YhyPhN-m_KRmFk5LnlAzpdIHHHCosqVxfCZEzFslwcbwwMNIS0dC46ygfDzImM9TSLcxMaikza204Eq/s400/DSC03616.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguf3b_m-fgHUMb8_E15cX1FcOOZRmWKnongTlXqi_A4qX9nmOQ2GmuZXgGwST_X4G1FC2BpTI5zllSzkn_Vvwvkl8In6dg8TOPdg-VloQ_gwwBAfLK9STrHOnZKkpI8Rh_eeSrZ4ERaAb5/s1600-h/DSC03617.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401225510740783938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguf3b_m-fgHUMb8_E15cX1FcOOZRmWKnongTlXqi_A4qX9nmOQ2GmuZXgGwST_X4G1FC2BpTI5zllSzkn_Vvwvkl8In6dg8TOPdg-VloQ_gwwBAfLK9STrHOnZKkpI8Rh_eeSrZ4ERaAb5/s400/DSC03617.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><em>Pumpkin carving</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSbr3VlHYODPNPUwiJgEO5eGV8IJ5aItM24K98DN4xcgHaZQ9mje96GVdtWgnh16-kRZgD3JpKxwadoMj8TMaBa5y9Gtuov3-xppm-lSUYC7FS9tUGajTwOqSQflSuCnIabwefLtIot_Z/s1600-h/DSC03640.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401225954103683954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSbr3VlHYODPNPUwiJgEO5eGV8IJ5aItM24K98DN4xcgHaZQ9mje96GVdtWgnh16-kRZgD3JpKxwadoMj8TMaBa5y9Gtuov3-xppm-lSUYC7FS9tUGajTwOqSQflSuCnIabwefLtIot_Z/s400/DSC03640.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzsB2MYuYFuuRykFg_vTi0WLdzEOKzMLn3BeycL3kh0b1-lt2olUMIBFyvvOymU8e1vQ9gVxBHyFimVm0_sRnAQ0H-X8w2wmIfkMc1A2VWwp4m2Z2f-By01c3o4uYzhYVVNZPKZgKMy3UD/s1600-h/DSC03641.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401226275713430466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzsB2MYuYFuuRykFg_vTi0WLdzEOKzMLn3BeycL3kh0b1-lt2olUMIBFyvvOymU8e1vQ9gVxBHyFimVm0_sRnAQ0H-X8w2wmIfkMc1A2VWwp4m2Z2f-By01c3o4uYzhYVVNZPKZgKMy3UD/s400/DSC03641.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCSdQDb4I1r-POVxVXE_WOWMbTtrU7s0uqu1E-_fnIDYTOoCeqGQJ1pWa_Fif5LEVFelu90JAH9ma35rRx2_f3LWGIQdYsqdImZrEUHknLdHDzntHNvmOUB9xbgr7MIqIXDWqVQO8hz_u/s1600-h/DSC03644.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401226543526993346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCSdQDb4I1r-POVxVXE_WOWMbTtrU7s0uqu1E-_fnIDYTOoCeqGQJ1pWa_Fif5LEVFelu90JAH9ma35rRx2_f3LWGIQdYsqdImZrEUHknLdHDzntHNvmOUB9xbgr7MIqIXDWqVQO8hz_u/s400/DSC03644.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_lnBl1vtWWTVv6MEZrSbemobl3QcHakDoQJ47Oe1L9ABSqem-R1R8Yk_XSAUNVbPzRvFljZGAfQ-fW9LESVwMkm_DnsxehDMwQvXWvRyrBJMZrXe7UKZtjiy0LznwoCmER1W2Z_GnVAY/s1600-h/DSC03646.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401226778044680018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_lnBl1vtWWTVv6MEZrSbemobl3QcHakDoQJ47Oe1L9ABSqem-R1R8Yk_XSAUNVbPzRvFljZGAfQ-fW9LESVwMkm_DnsxehDMwQvXWvRyrBJMZrXe7UKZtjiy0LznwoCmER1W2Z_GnVAY/s400/DSC03646.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><em>Trick-or-Treat!</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3B8icpOjTc6x9qrtcuW9D9_DbrQsM2OjeVG0n4tAU-ZMpzxva8BLZy0M6TY_FND6HDqFqTIWm9kAPcgV1CvxrvFEfw0rLVkXc8ksguZl9leoXtvq2NlnqO46RwPP3rvJINtrWAA6QIWmn/s1600-h/DSC03658.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401227069523398882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3B8icpOjTc6x9qrtcuW9D9_DbrQsM2OjeVG0n4tAU-ZMpzxva8BLZy0M6TY_FND6HDqFqTIWm9kAPcgV1CvxrvFEfw0rLVkXc8ksguZl9leoXtvq2NlnqO46RwPP3rvJINtrWAA6QIWmn/s400/DSC03658.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUt0dTlvAWMFLA88CffPYnc2ttQa91ngyd2PiC7EBCK-cqdkz7DUKw_lei8BhXBUKedD2XYvAeJpdSHSIhlWoxJrrp3YJMS8u6NmbW7FGDnyI0zCmRd8r4mqszuPC6NQuLO6I2CQZUaF0l/s1600-h/DSC03655.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401227322811033186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUt0dTlvAWMFLA88CffPYnc2ttQa91ngyd2PiC7EBCK-cqdkz7DUKw_lei8BhXBUKedD2XYvAeJpdSHSIhlWoxJrrp3YJMS8u6NmbW7FGDnyI0zCmRd8r4mqszuPC6NQuLO6I2CQZUaF0l/s400/DSC03655.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4lamhXlhmqets9p1qa9V1L1gyrAplzM3K2KvTXCOKGWKoSL9P56uR8uQyWE1DfygFdGURJmy-FNEons1th6p4JiQJqNb8Z9bO6_H3ldQZUiQ1jTJ7Ync2plWsRHg9dcpqlB_Gz6qVU3V_/s1600-h/DSC03665.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401227589618925154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4lamhXlhmqets9p1qa9V1L1gyrAplzM3K2KvTXCOKGWKoSL9P56uR8uQyWE1DfygFdGURJmy-FNEons1th6p4JiQJqNb8Z9bO6_H3ldQZUiQ1jTJ7Ync2plWsRHg9dcpqlB_Gz6qVU3V_/s400/DSC03665.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibdFvV8rjqezGmxtW_dN1FWYJ8XC_eEjomGVcL8L_z12-W00x9-F81T5fCCr28jH9UaHeBWuJAbM5xlRbsdwYqqc2ulWf1aV05x_hCP0Jw1JP4VoGkON6CaXd06lEGOgn0jWNe16kjdxqe/s1600-h/DSC03672.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401227883112375650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibdFvV8rjqezGmxtW_dN1FWYJ8XC_eEjomGVcL8L_z12-W00x9-F81T5fCCr28jH9UaHeBWuJAbM5xlRbsdwYqqc2ulWf1aV05x_hCP0Jw1JP4VoGkON6CaXd06lEGOgn0jWNe16kjdxqe/s400/DSC03672.JPG" border="0" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-91308505232678069302009-10-25T22:29:00.012-05:002009-10-25T22:47:15.000-05:00Our first WIN!!!!!!!It was an exciting Friday night!!! We finally got our first win - what a good feeling. :) Look at that smile!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85FgH9EeN9L-BW_BHQstYR33sz8JYyC-8hppS9OqQbUbq5qExu_x2LpvzqZJEeQuhyphenhyphenmotPBRDfNjiMjLT1lBYQhO_NQdd9HihdV-Czh2HUYJAmkD4uj8ytIJ4j8K3ZUiv5-BLuXi61fvA/s1600-h/DSC03591.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85FgH9EeN9L-BW_BHQstYR33sz8JYyC-8hppS9OqQbUbq5qExu_x2LpvzqZJEeQuhyphenhyphenmotPBRDfNjiMjLT1lBYQhO_NQdd9HihdV-Czh2HUYJAmkD4uj8ytIJ4j8K3ZUiv5-BLuXi61fvA/s400/DSC03591.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396748568458019362" /></a><br /><br />I was so glad my father-in-law was there to witness the win too. He hasn't missed a single game all season - even when it was pouring down rain! I stayed home that night, and it was the only game in Jamie's career I've ever missed, with the exception of one other game that took place the day after I had surgery back in November 2007. He's been a real trooper!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwUjNKNHVYucmjoPW2Tq-H77ghFYKu_j9LlcmdtnUrOekkJmsOSjtHs769aSZRTpynrplBN0ZEPKdM3d01x203Kjk82141gSScSf8VS2yFnVYUcoFC4YYTW3r41CZY2Xi1zA_kn0om7QQ/s1600-h/DSC03594.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwUjNKNHVYucmjoPW2Tq-H77ghFYKu_j9LlcmdtnUrOekkJmsOSjtHs769aSZRTpynrplBN0ZEPKdM3d01x203Kjk82141gSScSf8VS2yFnVYUcoFC4YYTW3r41CZY2Xi1zA_kn0om7QQ/s400/DSC03594.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396748764642090930" /></a><br /><br />I LOVE this one. If you knew Wes, you'd know that it's so unlike him to pose for a photo. I had to take this one twice, because the flash malfunctioned. He's so good to humor me. :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_V1DLAGfrTTl7U0pHE2-Y25fHF7QyyZlNeQskmSBPanf_X2046n8EiH4RXYdys2fXo2EFhqdyRg1Wu3liizrrKuhElZzEy5HRLzWv9OHVUeMnPo8uY0S50-7lctShXmzty_2yljA99iT/s1600-h/DSC03590.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_V1DLAGfrTTl7U0pHE2-Y25fHF7QyyZlNeQskmSBPanf_X2046n8EiH4RXYdys2fXo2EFhqdyRg1Wu3liizrrKuhElZzEy5HRLzWv9OHVUeMnPo8uY0S50-7lctShXmzty_2yljA99iT/s400/DSC03590.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396748984586993922" /></a><br /><br />The winning score!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJOmu3WaBBR-z3znJycOR0uwlKLZVjM7PTEbFQkXATTb9u9W5Ak84NL324k5aa3ZDXj0xywwS4t1HxKkLZkBmcbAqqTHCk7yAbYgGPa95OQa9-K12Y4AimR6F_vc9APL2zxRmel_4gkhM/s1600-h/DSC03592.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJOmu3WaBBR-z3znJycOR0uwlKLZVjM7PTEbFQkXATTb9u9W5Ak84NL324k5aa3ZDXj0xywwS4t1HxKkLZkBmcbAqqTHCk7yAbYgGPa95OQa9-K12Y4AimR6F_vc9APL2zxRmel_4gkhM/s400/DSC03592.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396749277428741538" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsG2P44TPR_Zu10QA0hg-8AL0JOPaxkZNnyC3P9bmJxczePB25KHW5_JUrJ1zC1ONzQxyGcT4fjskyRF_bVUByzDeljuNZK5LdexewJn6ntPXKYjR3D6F_CnQuZ0nUmPqwZ3UOrXKBzd9A/s1600-h/DSC03593.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsG2P44TPR_Zu10QA0hg-8AL0JOPaxkZNnyC3P9bmJxczePB25KHW5_JUrJ1zC1ONzQxyGcT4fjskyRF_bVUByzDeljuNZK5LdexewJn6ntPXKYjR3D6F_CnQuZ0nUmPqwZ3UOrXKBzd9A/s400/DSC03593.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396749505986377570" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ufwPpa3TG7EYF3RZTOZuv3sLoMX64mXtqJVEvsMytdgKDaLAOpHiij7_RXJ5VzZOsUjNt5oWqH0IkWAkqaEdgrR8OLLe2Y7BtbvOFqZxD2eKurXlUu6tie4niO8T-UxxwyiAjwmEuMaY/s1600-h/DSC03595.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ufwPpa3TG7EYF3RZTOZuv3sLoMX64mXtqJVEvsMytdgKDaLAOpHiij7_RXJ5VzZOsUjNt5oWqH0IkWAkqaEdgrR8OLLe2Y7BtbvOFqZxD2eKurXlUu6tie4niO8T-UxxwyiAjwmEuMaY/s400/DSC03595.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396749727540481394" /></a><br /><br />My grandmother said she thinks this is the beginning of a winning streak...I sure hope she's right!Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-22452589888864181532009-10-18T20:22:00.004-05:002009-10-18T20:57:27.277-05:00Overdue updateI haven't written a decent post in a long time. Things have been busy, but it's mostly been life as usual and I just haven't been in the mood to write. Our football season continues to be an experience in personal growth - we are still looking for our first win. Jamie and I had a really good talk about it recently. I told him that rarely do people grow during the good, easy times. It is the tough times that cause us to examine our lives, count our blessings, and learn things about ourselves that we may not have otherwise learned. I know this has been the case for me over the past few years as we've dealt with infertility. I truly believe Jamie is going to be a better person for having this experience...but it doesn't make it any easier as we are in the midst of things.<br /><br />Elise had strep throat a few weeks ago and missed a few days of school. The good news is that no one else caught it. The bad news is that she will not get a perfect attendance award for this grading period. On the same day she got strep throat, I came down with pink eye. Weird coincidence.<br /><br />My maternal grandmother fell and broke her hip a week and a half ago, so mom has been in Georgia since then. She had surgery the day following her fall and is thankfully recovering well. She is having a lot of pain, but seems to be healing on target with the doctor's expectations. Mom is going to bring her home to be with us as soon as she is cleared to travel. I suspect she will be at mom's through the rest of this year, and I am looking forward to helping as much as I can. At times like these I long to be a lottery winner, because I wish I could be available for my family on a more consistent basis. Alas, I will have to keep working until I pick the lucky numbers. I'm anxious for them to be here. I don't think I've gone this long without seeing my mom since college!<br /><br />Halloween is less than 2 weeks away, and we all have costumes this year! Jamie and I were invited by Candace & Jeremy to a Halloween party. It's been years since I've dressed up, so I am looking forward to it. We will be able to take Elise trick-or-treating, then head out to our party a bit later. I hope the weather cooperates with us - I'm putting in my order for a cool, clear evening. :)<br /><br />As the close of football season nears, I am beginning to think about baseball. This will be my first season as a head coach's wife, so it will be a new experience for me as well as Jamie. I wonder what adventures lie ahead...hopefully it will be a positive thing for us.<br /><br />I know it's only October, but I've started the Christmas shopping. I have fallen victim to the Zhu Zhu Pet craze. It's quite silly, because I don't think Elise even knows what they are! But they are already sold out everywhere and going for two to three times retail price on eBay, and supposedly they are the "must have" toy for this Christmas. I fail to see the huge appeal, but nonetheless I stalked Wal Mart and Toys R Us until I had a full set with accessories. I've also been able to pick up some extras to help out friends who couldn't find them in their towns. I still can't figure out why I just HAD to have them. I also have the dress-up trunk underway (this will be Elise's Santa gift this year). I've got it about 1/3 - 1/2 way full, and will hopefully complete it when costumes go on sale after Halloween. I have an idea for Jamie's gift, which I am keeping under wraps for now...I know he reads this! ;)<br /><br />So, in summary - sickness, adversity, holiday madness, surgery...did I say earlier that it was just life as usual?? Okay, maybe not! But really - isn't that what life is all about?Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-15747418225122982162009-10-11T21:36:00.000-05:002009-10-11T21:37:18.410-05:00Ah, I do love this song"I'm not who I was..."Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-565461784906040432009-10-11T21:04:00.003-05:002009-10-11T21:07:44.612-05:00Our Fairy<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4juhGLNjvrHmn8oAk8GHRYTFEiYQHQRKPfhYSmRQ5Vq8rGLSPMyBycxEdBHXyhWuiicYM3Dczs6D4ZKfv40PYvcij4al3lBHRQ1PgwOJcuOdDYBRipkZxxg_SL4vEaqtX3MuWRaYzeLrx/s1600-h/DSC03560.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391529263863099090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4juhGLNjvrHmn8oAk8GHRYTFEiYQHQRKPfhYSmRQ5Vq8rGLSPMyBycxEdBHXyhWuiicYM3Dczs6D4ZKfv40PYvcij4al3lBHRQ1PgwOJcuOdDYBRipkZxxg_SL4vEaqtX3MuWRaYzeLrx/s400/DSC03560.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCi6zeOd_QYvIBi-MGeUd2l9szpmKNtyVzszs87bEz4ID2_eqhvopEYXyx5ksFEuHeexI0zfP41yPV6guzyv-2UiAlN8e8EqCL1zcoVV6vbW6Mzwf2AWEjC1hM6NC8TzCB1avLKok5GG-/s1600-h/DSC03555.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391529083187814258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCi6zeOd_QYvIBi-MGeUd2l9szpmKNtyVzszs87bEz4ID2_eqhvopEYXyx5ksFEuHeexI0zfP41yPV6guzyv-2UiAlN8e8EqCL1zcoVV6vbW6Mzwf2AWEjC1hM6NC8TzCB1avLKok5GG-/s400/DSC03555.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauWcC5Zd9PYNS4eLeH2E_TMME5j3JyeTO02T3B7PjxrbGDxYVIClMDqGEm4jhIclQGNKV6_ybeGvdNvlKXWk-0vVbuig9j77Rxrt2XA0u587PohQ2BzcjOXxLr21GqZSvooFRf7xMq513/s1600-h/DSC03554.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391528898610185714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauWcC5Zd9PYNS4eLeH2E_TMME5j3JyeTO02T3B7PjxrbGDxYVIClMDqGEm4jhIclQGNKV6_ybeGvdNvlKXWk-0vVbuig9j77Rxrt2XA0u587PohQ2BzcjOXxLr21GqZSvooFRf7xMq513/s400/DSC03554.JPG" border="0" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-6331330050801738062009-10-11T20:59:00.003-05:002009-10-11T21:04:52.862-05:00He should have been a hunting dog!We've bought a multitude of toys for the dogs over the past couple of years. Dexter is strictly a rawhide bone dog - he could care less about anything else. Bailey loves stuffed animals - but not just any animal. He loves stuffed ducks. He can actually tell the difference between a duck and other animals. It's hysterical, and we've been through more stuffed ducks with him than I can even begin to count. Sometimes it's funny to imagine him in a duck blind. I think he would have been really good at it. :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FhamB1XmeELmvXwnu__01YiSV4ZjTsXmOWMC8_L7ZHFan_r1hTUjdXx5dbkg_ubka1u_28Ano9i_hGFC_XPLTRg1i7ufufSjCbCKcXcxa1ifllyDNuZqgld10Soxs700qWz6T7Gl6RtA/s1600-h/DSC03565.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FhamB1XmeELmvXwnu__01YiSV4ZjTsXmOWMC8_L7ZHFan_r1hTUjdXx5dbkg_ubka1u_28Ano9i_hGFC_XPLTRg1i7ufufSjCbCKcXcxa1ifllyDNuZqgld10Soxs700qWz6T7Gl6RtA/s400/DSC03565.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391528367232066706" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-65791519923940044422009-10-10T20:59:00.007-05:002009-10-10T21:11:53.484-05:00Pumpkin PatchPictures from our annual trip to the pumpkin patch!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIiKQFuga8CPGNMzqmZ8JcNgXLZXvzG1y2eGKZVJBkkO-RvXXghfnPLY3PtzebzF1Z4Gml_OEjtTRKrDpg8wa0ly0oCCrFbdbvSB8obTv8I3NT2ExVzocvVjOGZxOJ4qk2s-lN2GsmAFBo/s1600-h/DSC03511-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 323px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIiKQFuga8CPGNMzqmZ8JcNgXLZXvzG1y2eGKZVJBkkO-RvXXghfnPLY3PtzebzF1Z4Gml_OEjtTRKrDpg8wa0ly0oCCrFbdbvSB8obTv8I3NT2ExVzocvVjOGZxOJ4qk2s-lN2GsmAFBo/s400/DSC03511-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391156371523821474" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmNx-FsyzrF5bRPlMOynhh9IjFurFQ6laY0LThtVmHMuDYGTn0Qimey_qQHUfiJubTea0QNFR1-IWbSyZ9goW4PlzEv5z000WL62lFw15NmxGiw2rN9JOp6DoAtvUaTt5BE3KRHOtAbCm/s1600-h/DSC03515.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmNx-FsyzrF5bRPlMOynhh9IjFurFQ6laY0LThtVmHMuDYGTn0Qimey_qQHUfiJubTea0QNFR1-IWbSyZ9goW4PlzEv5z000WL62lFw15NmxGiw2rN9JOp6DoAtvUaTt5BE3KRHOtAbCm/s400/DSC03515.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391156584738561234" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoWf2z-4YWrq77f4G3RcM_SCIqcry-uLZLQ433Pg7WcBqFze5yAhGY1zeduCOYA2BrRHieXLSL4rwn7OKxryhIYqYjf9WFWIhSB6PQlQEND1BTeWjPsnMn1wxIUp5C-3uRlHZDc-wTfSt/s1600-h/DSC03523-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 337px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoWf2z-4YWrq77f4G3RcM_SCIqcry-uLZLQ433Pg7WcBqFze5yAhGY1zeduCOYA2BrRHieXLSL4rwn7OKxryhIYqYjf9WFWIhSB6PQlQEND1BTeWjPsnMn1wxIUp5C-3uRlHZDc-wTfSt/s400/DSC03523-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391156789497036578" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ZKcz5CqJ-pFdpqqBsoAfVO08_UYTzMQj2RzjFUclgyJmkODns4jXzddheLB8_HVflV42Cd-JbKzb5e2D4oAunFCF9Fif0W05AEOBtz_EGTDNIkKgxVN1aJXxelZ2gwMOeyRH-Rezab0i/s1600-h/DSC03541.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ZKcz5CqJ-pFdpqqBsoAfVO08_UYTzMQj2RzjFUclgyJmkODns4jXzddheLB8_HVflV42Cd-JbKzb5e2D4oAunFCF9Fif0W05AEOBtz_EGTDNIkKgxVN1aJXxelZ2gwMOeyRH-Rezab0i/s400/DSC03541.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391157123821768946" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsXtGIBCrQTKAYr5YHwPCfcBW1A-Yz4ZizCBWvoZ6s7i8rqy7mgUrUTQ_892KdK50SIlh9dlgLFMGy32Jq_hBYgrDgFu2BgAY6324krUR48VSSFMcbY4VXZHtOSa60BSp5D9H-zd6CbSO/s1600-h/DSC03546-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsXtGIBCrQTKAYr5YHwPCfcBW1A-Yz4ZizCBWvoZ6s7i8rqy7mgUrUTQ_892KdK50SIlh9dlgLFMGy32Jq_hBYgrDgFu2BgAY6324krUR48VSSFMcbY4VXZHtOSa60BSp5D9H-zd6CbSO/s400/DSC03546-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391157354578318546" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWz5Yz5fKMiCczSadiCAVXRx1d_a95L8Pwah3OjfYD81cizaaSHok3vlcj5Kf_1VyOmqUdqpAOCMTZ4CPtHNfHmtqBATMsS_QasuTT1K_9cG-5Sn_UiG0MO-FloKQa0aUyXa3rtGCBAnF/s1600-h/DSC03547-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 356px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWz5Yz5fKMiCczSadiCAVXRx1d_a95L8Pwah3OjfYD81cizaaSHok3vlcj5Kf_1VyOmqUdqpAOCMTZ4CPtHNfHmtqBATMsS_QasuTT1K_9cG-5Sn_UiG0MO-FloKQa0aUyXa3rtGCBAnF/s400/DSC03547-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391157823775667506" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmVdC71NPnbUG2yCVzmOnf3YCCv3N8lGVbQtegdOyYSG1-OYoszbhx2BQM8xomVqCuAn1qrJin2A-nyx3cOmVNzHKmsH9DUWGL1B5buBrqALquKkp-vWg2rWtjDaEVizIKpmaOYAQXcrp/s1600-h/DSC03545-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 376px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmVdC71NPnbUG2yCVzmOnf3YCCv3N8lGVbQtegdOyYSG1-OYoszbhx2BQM8xomVqCuAn1qrJin2A-nyx3cOmVNzHKmsH9DUWGL1B5buBrqALquKkp-vWg2rWtjDaEVizIKpmaOYAQXcrp/s400/DSC03545-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391158707318831042" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCMPLeeLk16uQYnpzpAkvs9x7uLy_wKkJnmpVz4pP2AtV52gaDPDPeAKsSPcVUfRTvd3BtXS61KSuCGyDd_iJzEbgTv-_9h38DA_eIUHbSgHTGgh3wLyVUf2TAKK3L705GjAgCNuVrVF9M/s1600-h/DSC03550.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCMPLeeLk16uQYnpzpAkvs9x7uLy_wKkJnmpVz4pP2AtV52gaDPDPeAKsSPcVUfRTvd3BtXS61KSuCGyDd_iJzEbgTv-_9h38DA_eIUHbSgHTGgh3wLyVUf2TAKK3L705GjAgCNuVrVF9M/s400/DSC03550.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391158949763833234" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1075845360641796103.post-24338729551323760002009-10-10T20:56:00.003-05:002009-10-10T20:59:09.486-05:00A reader in the making!Elise got her first book order back recently. She was so excited to have a bunch of new books to read. I thought it was pretty cute when I went to tuck her in and found her sleeping with all her books. I emailed the picture to her teacher and told her that she is creating quite the avid reader. :) She got a kick out of it as well. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTOYRNGml_t_EXZvd9ydR-XTWhVtXZQxqkTua5oqI6b0vWpfTJcCQV5BwKiry98ZSH_NcYVr9rKi59kZ2qfxXJzMGxmOu2Vis1C4pOIZzPDcPZs1wDJkx0ntN-5fuPehUHcxvwx4OMQhY/s1600-h/DSC03509.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTOYRNGml_t_EXZvd9ydR-XTWhVtXZQxqkTua5oqI6b0vWpfTJcCQV5BwKiry98ZSH_NcYVr9rKi59kZ2qfxXJzMGxmOu2Vis1C4pOIZzPDcPZs1wDJkx0ntN-5fuPehUHcxvwx4OMQhY/s400/DSC03509.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391155880545043874" /></a>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476868076368969797noreply@blogger.com0