The Tell's...est. November 10, 2001

she’s off!

2009-09-10T09:09:00.001-04:00

Aunt Conny just called…i decided it was probably better for Gabby and myself, if i just let her go with Conny and the girls to be dropped off, instead of mommy trailing behind…and i think it was. Conny said she did great…didn’t show any signs of anxiety and Aidyn and McKenna walked her to the playground and showed her where she lines up and said they would help her! Gabby took the girls hands and off they walked. Gabby and i had a nice morning of getting ready and talking. I so hope she participates and enjoys her first day, instead of sitting on the sidelines like she does in most instances. She does have one boy from her pre-school class that was there Tuesday…so at least she knows one kid. I was hoping to come in with my tears and get a half an hour to myself, but as soon as i came in, Ty was yelling that he wanted to get up and had to potty, Lex was getting mad and screaming, cuz Ty was getting out of bed and he was bossing her, so she started crying, and that lovely crying woke up Mr.. Ethan…poor baby…he’ll get used to her eventually…thankfully he had a decent nap before she woke him up…

Giving Wings…

2009-09-10T07:17:00.000-04:00

I never thought sending your first born to Kindergarten would be so emotional. i was on my way home from my class last night and heard the song "I loved her first"...cried the whole way home. But isn't this just the beginning of her long road of adding people that love her? We did (and do) love her first (well, second to God), but I'm so excited that she's going out to become who she is...can't wait to see her grow into who she’s meant to be…but wow, it’s scary.

Aunt Conny is picking Gabby up on Tues/Thurs to take the girls (her and Riley) to Kindergarten. So that’s awesome. She doesn’t have to be on the bus for 50 minutes in the am, and she get’s to go with her best friend. and she has McKenna and Aidyn to enter her school with her. But she’s riding the big yellow guy at the end of the day, and that makes me nervous. They get on one bus and then are transferred to the middle school where they get on their real bus…thankfully her teacher rides with them and makes sure that they get on the right bus…ah…more fear for mommy. Anyway – she’s got her first full day, her lunch is packed, her homework done, and I'm sending my first baby off to Kindergarten.

Giving wings…

I love you Gabby!

To my Grandpa…

2009-06-14T23:37:00.001-04:00

Robert I. Hopp

HOPP (Sparta) - Robert I. Hopp, age 77, formerly of Croton and Wyoming, passed away on Thursday, June 11, 2009 at his home. He loved walking in the woods with his dog and working in his yard. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Marian; children, Tom and Sue Hopp, Sue and Ken Crandle, Jan and Ron Cornelisse, Dave and Tammie Hopp, Rob and Barb Hopp; 14 grandchildren; 29 great grandchildren; several nieces and nephews. As Robert had wished cremation has taken place and a memorial service will be held on Tuesday, June 16, 11:00 a.m. at the Sparta United Methodist Church with Rev. Ray Townsend officiating. Friends may meet the family at the church one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions to Gilda's Club or Faith Hospice. Hessel-Cheslek Funeral Home, Sparta

My dear grandpa passed away last week. Around a month ago, he was diagnosed with Lung cancer, and then after some other tests, he was found to have some type of brain (i don’t know the ins and outs of it all) cancer that had spread throughout his body, but the majority of it was focused on the brain. There weren’t many treatment options, but he chose to go without treatment, as the cancer that he had was one that moves and grows quickly…The doctors told him it would be a month or so. so here we are…He’s gone. My grandpa, my mom’s dad, my children’s great grandpa…he loved the outdoors, animals (hmmmm…no wonder my mom would take in any stray animal she found…), kiddos, music (another one…my grandpa was an amazing musician – if he heard it, he could duplicate it on his organ that he had many years ago). He played saxophone in a big band – gotta love jazz! He cared and loved his family deeply, and became the hero to us all, as the main care taker of his beautiful bride…my grandma was diagnosed with lymphoma many years ago…she’s been through chemo, radiation, strokes, heart attacks, and through it all, he was by her side, loving her and doing what it took to care for her the best he knew how.

Many years ago at a celebration of life get together we had – celebrating the life that my grandma still had (thank you Lord!) My mom and her 4 siblings (and all of us grandchildren too) presented Grandpa with a plaque with this writing on it, it’s a column by Erma Bombeck:

"Heroes make caring a full time job"
by Erma Bombeck

In a recent column I lamented the shortage of heroes. I was wrong. There isn't a scarcity of heroes: I was just looking in the wrong places. I thought they hung out in sports arenas, great halls, battlefields or between the pages of adventure books.

I should have been looking for them in pharmacies where they are waiting to have prescriptions filled, in hospital corridors keeping vigil, or collapsing in wheelchairs and storing them in trunks of cars.

They are called nurturers - the well one in the family who takes care of the one with needs.

How many times have we passed by without seeing these nameless, faceless people who roll out of bed each day to serve? Most of them live in the shadows of those who are ill. They are not used to someone asking how they feel. If it should miraculously happen, they would probably feel guilty answering, "Fine".

Never underestimate what it takes to watch someone you love in pain. The nurturer faces each day without benefit of numbing pain killers or anesthetics.

They live in a world where personal feelings and duty clash. Those who have assumed the mantle of responsibility for another human being hate the word "hero". They are doing what they want to do, must do and wouldn't want anyone else to do.

I have observed women who pay the bills, have the oil changed in the car, change furnace filters, negotiate for a new roof, turn over CD's and go crazy trying to keep pace with Medicare and Medicaid forms when their husbands are unable to do so.

I have seen men who bake pies, do the marketing, address Christmas cards, keep track of birthdays, water plants, scrub floors and go crazy trying to keep pace with Medicare and Medicaid forms when their wives are unable to do so.

And daily I watch grown children who run errands, make a million phone calls, take parents to appointments, drop off food, make sure their license plates are current, their lawns cut and their walks cleared of snow and go crazy trying to keep pace with Medicare and Medicaid forms.

Today would be a good time to think about them. And when you see a nurturer, ask, "How you doin'?"

He was, and will remain the hero in our family…

Thank you grandpa for loving us all, and for being my hero. I won’t forget you. Out on the frozen creek sledding or ice skating in Newaygo, pictures (you’re favorite – ha!) on the picture spot in your old back yard, you “letting” us draw pictures on your back just so you could get your back scratched, getting on the floor and playing with us when we were little – and getting on the floor with my little ones to play! I’ll never forget the way you hugged, how you grunted “love you too”…your forever strong hands, and your skills/knowledge/desire to do/make/fix anything you wanted. I only pray that i can pass all of those great things on to my family.

You’re amazing, I love you…

Hopp Family Get together…to celebrate the lives of Grandma and Grandpa Hopp

2009-05-17T17:27:00.000-04:00

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Some may know, some may not. My grandfather was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and after much testing, and other stuff i don’t really know about – they found cancer in multiple places and multiple organs, but the majority and worst of the bunch, was a fast spreading brain cancer. I know that God can move mountains, God is a healer, He is the Almighty physician…and i trust that if it is God’s will, He will heal Grandpa of the cancer, but I also know that God might be ready to call to His servant to come home to Him. In amongst all the findings, there were plans to have a family get together to cover the spring time and the Christmas get together that the family never had last year. thankfully, we did get to enjoy my grandparents for Christmas and our Children enjoyed the time as well! But, my family decided to keep our spring get together on the calendar, and this was it. Quite a few family that we haven’t seen in a while were there, and even a niece of my Grandpa’s was there, that I've never even met! My grandma swore that i reminded her of Julie (my grandpa’s niece)…and i finally met her…It was a very nice get together, and it was nice to spend some more time with the family. Oh how i will continue to pray for more days with Grandma and Grandpa. Each day is a blessing.

Playtime with some great friends!

2009-05-15T16:30:00.000-04:00

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Mother’s day 05/10/2009

2009-05-10T17:14:00.000-04:00

A special Mother’s day for me…not because of anything in particular, except for those that i was able to spend it with. We started out with Daddy getting the kids fed and even preparing a plate for me of waffles (if you all know Jeremy, he doesn’t cook…but it was such a welcome thing that he prepared the plate, food and drink for me and had me sit with them to eat. We finished getting ready and headed to Church…wonderful service. And we were even blessed with the 3 & 4 year olds singing in big church (gabby’s still in the 4 year old class because of where her birthday falls.) so how awesome to have both of our older kiddos on stage. they were even by each other at first, and then Gabby disappeared behind Tyler, not to be seen again until they went off of the stage back to their classrooms! Neither one sang…go figure (they knew the songs very well, and loved to sing them…but they don’t do well on stage with the lights, people, etc…they both froze.) But, I'm a mom, and I'm proud of all efforts, even if the only effort at this age was walking on the stage…Then we headed off to Grandma’s house to deliver a flower hand picked by Gabs and Ty (lex doesn’t care yet). Tracked down Grandma and took some pics and talked for a bit. I then went to track down my mom, and she was on her way up to Saenz greenhouse and then to Grandma and Grandpa Hopp’s house. So, i got to see both my mom and my grandma (and some other family as well!) We had planned on stopping by my Grandparents briefly, but it was a little more extended than we planned…but it was a blessing to all involved.

Gabby’s friend party for Mother’s Day

2009-05-09T16:12:00.000-04:00

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May 9, 2009…We got our first invitation to a friends party for Miss Gabriella. Her friends Sydney and Mackenzie were hostessing a mother’s day party at their home. Who could pass that up. (we’ve been to birthday parties before, but this was a school friend invite…not just us mom’s inviting our own friends over for our kids to play). Erica (the girls’ mom) had lunch that her girls helped her with and little gift baggies and each of our girls made us mother’s day bracelets with all the fixings provided by erica…it was very cool and gabby and i had fun. Too bad that while we were there we realized through conversations that none of the friends gabby had made at preschool (at least the ones i know the most about) will be attending the same school as gabby. Bummer! Gabby is not the socialite of the family either…while the girls were all playing, she mainly kept to herself, i think so that she could play with all of the princess toys that syd and kenzie had…i so wish she would play WITH her friends!

Big daddy…

2009-05-08T09:25:00.000-04:00

ok…have you ever seen the movie “big daddy”? it stars Adam Sandler (ugh…i really don’t like him…but he does have some funny stuff – and by some, i mean…a little). Well, he kind of fosters this little boy and teaches him all kinds of inappropriate stuff. But the one thing that this little boy had in common with my little one, is when the little boy was nervous, AS would have him put the sunglasses on, and he would be “invisible”. Well, Lex does it a bit differently. When she’s doing something she’s not supposed to, or she’s where she shouldn’t be – you can walk into that room where she’s at, and she closes her eyes. most of the time she doesn’t cover them as she’s doing in the picture above, but she’ll just sit/stand there – eyes closed tight with an “ i should be in trouble, but you can’t see me to get me in trouble” type smile that stretches the entire width of her face. she’ll eventually peek to see if you’re gone, but goes right back to eyes closed when she still sees you. I kind of pains me to see that she’s already growing out of this behavior (not because she’s no longer being naughty…but she’s figuring out that she still gets in trouble for wrong doing, whether her eyes are closed or not), but because that this cute innocent stuff can only be cute for so long…then they learn consequences for their actions, and some of the cute stuff disappears. oh, to let them get away with everything and be cute for the rest of their lives…can we keep her this small? oh, nope…that’s right…we have to raise her to the best of our ability to be an honest and contributing member to society, and while doing that, our main focus is to teach her to love God and love her family and friends and all those around her. wow. never knew this parenting stuff would be so hard. every day i see how i fail…but knowing me, i try and look at the positive, and i also look at how i succeed. i don’t know how my children will grow up, and what they will contribute to life here…but i will love them as much as i can and teach them to trust, not in themselves, but in their creator, and trust where He leads them.

Deck Building 5/2/2009

2009-05-02T13:45:00.000-04:00

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We finally have the deck on the house! We moved in September 07 and are just now getting the deck on. We kept thinking that Jeremy would just do it, but we put it off for so long, we finally decided to hire it out (with a friend of a friend) and Jeremy would assist and that way we could just get it done! We did, Jeremy learned some along the way and now we have a beautiful deck. And of course the kiddos had fun with the whole process too!

YMCA All Sports class

2009-04-21T13:18:00.000-04:00

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This spring we enrolled Ty and Gabby in the YMCA Sports class. I don’t know if it was worth what it cost, but it got them interested in sports and playing…just not interacting with other kids, like i had hoped. Another day for that i guess. This was their last class, and they had a lot of fun. Thankfully after the first couple of weeks, they did start participating, instead of standing there looking at their coaches like they were idiots. We had a great time watching them and cheering them on. Just a preview, i’m sure of what’s to come once they get involved in school (band geeks like their parents?).

Lex finally has enough hair for piggies!

2009-04-16T12:54:00.000-04:00

Here she is…my youngest daughter…and she finally has enough hair for pig tails! she’s only two years old. Her older sister had this much hair at 9 months! Needless to say, she’s adorable, and once again, i hope that her little curls stay…but they won’t…none of our kiddos curls have stayed…so i must enjoy while i can!

We also had a picnic outside today. fun stuff, and it keeps the mess outside for the mutly to clean up, instead of me!

Wow, it's really been that long!

2009-04-11T16:06:00.006-04:00

Here we are...i'll try to update more...i stink at this game. Today we went to Caledonia's easter egg hunt. Jeremy couldn't go, as he had to work today (one of the rare times that he has to work a saturday...) so i thought i would see if nana and papa would like to partake. They did so lovingly! Too bad it turned out that they were prepared only for the size of crowd they had last year, which was 1/3 the amount of people they had this year! None of our kids got to "find" any eggs. Lex went running and fell and then Ty toppled over her - by the time they got up - all and i do mean ALL of the eggs were taken. A little girl did stop and give Ty one of hers, so that was nice, but the majority of people were walking out with nothing! So we have decided (well, i have) that if no one builds a house in the field behind ours for next year - we're going to do our own. Bring your own plastic eggs filled with candy to hide, and we'll do our own little shin dig! So to make up for the disappointment (they weren't really disappointed much at all) nana said the easter bunny told her that he was bringing some extras to her house to hunt down...yeah!

We came home and had lunch and i took the kids outside for a little photo shoot in their cutie clothes and now they are napping. We'll finish up the resurrection eggs in the evening - as i want the children to understand what Easter is really about (where did the bunny come from anyway?) They need to know that they have a God, a wonderful God that loves them and sent His son to die for them...and that tomorrow, a tomorrow many many years ago, He arose from the tomb and lives today. I proudly say He is my Savior, and i (we) will celebrate that tomorrow! He is risen, He is risen indeed!

Photo Shoot…wow, i really need some classes…but we had fun anyway!

2009-04-11T10:31:00.000-04:00

I took the kids outside to play (and wear them out before nap time…so we did a little photo shoot while they still had their cutie springtime clothes on! not too shabby for a p&s camera and someone with no skills (yet)….

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One of these days i’ll get to tweaking them some more…gotta fix some color/sharpness/light, etc…but like i said…it’s a point n shoot…that is 5 years old…

I have only one more in diapers!!!!!!!! Can you tell i'm excited!?!?!?!

2009-01-21T15:15:00.002-05:00

Here it is ya'll...my boy...almost three years old, finally is on the potty! He used the little potty for about a week and a half, and then dad got him on the potty once, and he now insists on it! He started going #2 on the potty this past weekend and hasn't gone in his pants since!!!! Thank you cheap donuts!!!! he loves them and that's what he works for! We still have #1 accidents (when he's playing and doesn't want to stop, or when mom and dad don't watch how much he's drinking at night and we don't stop him well before bedtime!) but he's doing great and loving it! I bought another pack of pull ups to get us through, but i get to return them!!!! Yeah for our big boy! Next step...that's daddy's turn...teaching him to aim!!!

He loves to try and watch...it's so amazing to children to see their bodies work! the next pic is him trying...he tries while watching and i'm amazed he hasn't fallen face first off the toilet!

he's such a wonder. So big, yet still momma's baby boy! i could nuggle that kid all day! it's nice that mommy can show him how proud i am of all that he does and to see his excitement and pride in himself! I love watching our babies grow up...but i'm holding on to all of these great memories! what treasures!

President Obama

2009-01-20T15:08:00.000-05:00

I was excited to witness history with my children today. I picked Gabby up from Pre-school and rushed them all inside so that we could see the new Vice President and President get sworn in and watch our new President adress the American people! We got in, i made sandwiches on the living room floor and we soaked up as much as we could (hard to do with an almost 2 year old, almost 3 year old and Gabby with all of her questions! i answered as well as i could and she really seemed to soak it all in. I hope she remembers! I am proud to be an American and excited to see what he will bring to the table. It is inspiring to see someone like him in the White house and it was touching to listen to him speak. The kids kept applauding whenever he would pause and the crowd was cheering...so cute. God Bless the USA!

I think this has been said before...

2009-01-12T12:59:00.005-05:00

A New Cigarette Hazard: ‘Third-Hand Smoke’ (ok, yall, it's not new...people are just realizing it...we've been subjected to this stuff since cigs were invented - clt)
('http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/03/health/research/03smoke.html');
'Toxic residue from cigarette smoke clings to hair and carpets, endangering children, experts say.'
'Smoking and Tobacco,Children and Youth,Medicine and Health,Hazardous and Toxic Substances'
new_york_times:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/03/health/research/03smoke.html

By RONI CARYN RABIN
Published: January 2, 2009
Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air for their children, but experts now have identified a related threat to children’s health that isn’t as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke.
That’s the term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smokers’ hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that lingers long after second-hand smoke has cleared from a room. The residue includes heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they’re crawling or playing on the floor.
Doctors from MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston coined the term “third-hand smoke” to describe these chemicals in a new study that focused on the risks they pose to infants and children. The study was published in this month’s issue of the journal Pediatrics.
“Everyone knows that second-hand smoke is bad, but they don’t know about this,” said Dr. Jonathan P. Winickoff, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
“When their kids are out of the house, they might smoke. Or they smoke in the car. Or they strap the kid in the car seat in the back and crack the window and smoke, and they think it’s okay because the second-hand smoke isn’t getting to their kids,” Dr. Winickoff continued. “We needed a term to describe these tobacco toxins that aren’t visible.”
Third-hand smoke is what one smells when a smoker gets in an elevator after going outside for a cigarette, he said, or in a hotel room where people were smoking. “Your nose isn’t lying,” he said. “The stuff is so toxic that your brain is telling you: ’Get away.’”
The study reported on attitudes toward smoking in 1,500 households across the United States. It found that the vast majority of both smokers and nonsmokers were aware that second-hand smoke is harmful to children. Some 95 percent of nonsmokers and 84 percent of smokers agreed with the statement that “inhaling smoke from a parent’s cigarette can harm the health of infants and children.”
But far fewer of those surveyed were aware of the risks of third-hand smoke. Since the term is so new, the researchers asked people if they agreed with the statement that “breathing air in a room today where people smoked yesterday can harm the health of infants and children.” Only 65 percent of nonsmokers and 43 percent of smokers agreed with that statement, which researchers interpreted as acknowledgement of the risks of third-hand smoke.
The belief that second-hand smoke harms children’s health was not independently associated with strict smoking bans in homes and cars, the researchers found. On the other hand, the belief that third-hand smoke was harmful greatly increased the likelihood the respondent also would enforce a strict smoking ban at home, Dr. Winickoff said.
“That tells us we’re onto an important new health message here,” he said. “What we heard in focus group after focus group was, ‘I turn on the fan and the smoke disappears.’ It made us realize how many people think about second-hand smoke — they’re telling us they know it’s bad but they’ve figured out a way to do it.”
The data was collected in a national random-digit-dial telephone survey done between September and November 2005. The sample was weighted by race and gender, based on census information.
Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician who heads the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said the phrase third-hand smoke is a brand-new term that has implications for behavior.
“The central message here is that simply closing the kitchen door to take a smoke is not protecting the kids from the effects of that smoke,” he said. “There are carcinogens in this third-hand smoke, and they are a cancer risk for anybody of any age who comes into contact with them.”
Among the substances in third-hand smoke are hydrogen cyanide, used in chemical weapons; butane, which is used in lighter fluid; toluene, found in paint thinners; arsenic; lead; carbon monoxide; and even polonium-210, the highly radioactive carcinogen that was used to murder former Russian spy Alexander V. Litvinenko in 2006. Eleven of the compounds are highly carcinogenic.

This - everyone, is why i would like the smoking ban passed in Michigan, and why we don't allow smoking at our home (in on or around it) and we've asked that people come smoke free (doesn't usually happen...)...NOT just covering it up with smelly stuff...You see...smoke sticks to everything, you smoke, it's on your entire body (even those that are just around people that smoke) your furniture and clothing that is just sitting in your house...and when someone comes. brings in smokey stuff from their home and sits on my couch...i too get to share in it! i smell it for days, i have to use inhalers sometimes just to sit on my couch! Some might think that's far fetched, but I have asthma, allergies, etc...it hits me when there's smoke around...i, along with my children are affected my children - sneeze, cough...they've gotten up in the middle of the night wheezing after being exposed. That sucks and it's scary. Smoker's have the right to smoke...but we have the right to be free of the nasties (and deadlies) listed above. We also choose this for our children. Maybe, if you agree...you can contact your lansing leaders and let them no that you have the right to not smoke in public... Campaign for Smokefree air: http://www.makemiairsmokefree.org/index.php

This is not meant to offend anyone...just to get the word out. If you smoke - hey, glad you can make that choice for yourself - you have that right! I'm just hoping that the majority (70something percent of us are non-smokers!) can enjoy their rights as well...

December pics in review

2008-12-24T10:43:00.000-05:00

Pee, poop and no paci!

2008-12-18T14:55:00.002-05:00

hmmm...i started potty training Tyler! the end is in sight...i just have to convince him that poop is supposed to go into the potty...we'll see how long that takes. He had one accident today...but is loving his donut hole rewards! he's gonna be a chunky potty trained little boy..er, um, big boy! I cried this morning as i looked at all of my kids getting out of the car going into gabby's pre-school...she's having a Christmas party at SCHOOL, Ty's potty training, oh, and yes, Lex has been Paci free for almost a month! I'll put up some pics later...but wanted to let you all know that we're only two days into potty training ty, and i am praying (yes, you can pray for this) for an easy potty training...maybe not even easy, just short! Hope this finds you all well!

November 2008

2008-11-30T18:28:00.001-05:00

Arlington Heights, IL...

2008-11-05T10:05:00.003-05:00

no, we're not moving...but my hubby has to go to Arlington Heights, IL (why not chicago?) for training...i'm going to go in December with him...but wondering if anyone knows any good spots for a couple of old married farts - or maybe we're still young and hip...hahahaha...i crack myself up! in Chicago. oh, and yes, he's going to be gone on our 7 year anniversary...lovely...oh well, we're going to celebrate in December instead of November...

The results are in.

2008-11-05T00:51:00.002-05:00

We have a new president elect. The obama/biden ticket is it. I must say, i am disappointed. Not by the outcome, because honestly, there would have been change no matter who "won" tonight. there will be excited and disappointed people. I'm saddened by some of the comments i've seen and the negativity towards the outcome of this race. I for one look forward to a better tomorrow and to support those that serve all of us. We all don't believe the same things, that's where our diversity comes from, and that is what makes this nation great. We can't beat down those that don't believe the same thing. We pray and do our best and fight for what we believe in...not Gripe or make allegations that aren't true in the here and now. I truly didn't make my decision until i sat down and filled in my little circle. I informed myself before going, but didn't decide until then...maybe you know, maybe you don't know who i voted for...that is not the point...I guess my point is, despite what you believe or don't believe, I believe in a positive attitude. When has negativity taken anyone to the highest of heights.
or, maybe i'm crazy...that's also an option...
May God bless you all and may He watch over ALL of us.

Vote...

2008-11-04T16:54:00.002-05:00

So, I voted...the three kids and i headed out to vote! Thank the Lord we got there just before the onset of people. There was a line when we left (it took me a few minutes longer than most as i was feeding raisins and getting drinks for the three little monkeys that i had with me!). 30 minutes flat...and in that 30 minutes was drive time and getting the kids in and out of the car and into/out of the stroller. voting and then we went to drop a book in the library drop box! I'd say we did pretty good. now, to watch the returns!

October 2008

2008-10-31T21:46:00.000-04:00

October started out with Aunt Bo-Bo coming in from Las Vegas. She brought halloween books for the kiddos and we had a nice dinner with her! She also wanted to see Gabby's pre-school as she couldn't make it to Gabby's openhouse (vegas is a bit far to travel!). So she surprised Gabby and showed up with me to pick her up! Lex is getting feisty when being put to nap. I found her snuggled up with her blankey and some clothes from the closet on the floor and i often find her sleeping in front of the door...makes it kind of hard to open to get her up...one day she'll realize that! Jeremy and Uncle Butter went camping with the guys (Dave's guys weekend at his property in Baldwin. The boys and the dogs went up...but before they went, they had to make their own hobo dinners! I had fun watching! They did a good job and i did help a little...

This was our last weekend for camping - October 18-19, we were going to go somewhere like holland, or something, but we were also headed to Greenville to go to Klackles orchard on sunday and we had to pack up the camper and we're storing it in my parents pole barn at the cottage, so that's where we went...it was fun none the less. Nana and Pop-pop came up and made us enchiladas for dinner and we had a campfire and good times for our last weekend! Sunday we packed up and Gabby drove the golfcart for the first time (with some help) and we headed out to Klackles. Aunt Monica met us there and we had a blast! it was freaky deaky cold, but fun none the less.

coming soon...computer is running too slow!

Back Blogging...

2008-10-15T10:52:00.003-04:00

ok, i'm back blogging...there are new posts, they'll start with around june 20...i'm putting them where they belong date wise, so sorry to confuse...eventually i will work up to today's date. not that there's much going on, but i'll work my way here...

October Question of the month...

2008-10-01T10:29:00.002-04:00

My sister just sent over October's question. This time, i'm not sharing, unless someone else does...just put it in the comments...quick and easy, nothing to it...i'll share my answer (this one is going to take me a bit)...

Tell us a significant memory from each stage of school (elementary, middle, high school, college, etc.). Which stage did you like the most, which stage did you like the least, and why?(This question seems kinda long, but feel free to make your answer as short or long as you wish!!)

That's it - i'll blog more this week sometime about what's been happening...not too much...but some.

I love me a cowboy...

2008-10-01T10:21:00.003-04:00

hahaha! I love this man...cowboy, garage monkey, engineer, general do-everything himselfer, and loving husband and father. BUT - i find this picture of him looking exceptionally handsome (read "hot"). We got his cowboy hat while in Nashville with my sister - the whole family got some...i love them! Jeremy's never been a hat person, and i've never really liked him in hats...but for some reason on vacay...he found two...his alabama baseball hat and his cowboy hat. This is my favorite, obviously...Why do women find cowboys so attractive? well, you can see why, and i love mine...he's going to kill me for this too, by the way...I love you honky tonk.

September in Pictures and words...

2008-09-29T15:50:00.015-04:00

Gabby's pre-school openhouse...
We got to go with Daddy and look in Gabby's pre-school room and meet her teachers! Her teachers are Mrs. Lillie and her assistant is Mrs. Dahlberg. We got there, and she was quiet, but excited. All of the kids got to play in the room and Gabby got to see where her locker would be and had her picture taken to put on her locker so that she would know where it was when she came in for school! She did not want her picture taken by mrs. D, but eventually they got a decent one!

We had a couple of fun days at some parks and then Riley came to join us! Riley is the fourth daughter of some wonderful friends of ours...they needed daycare for her and asked if i would do it! Riley is three months younger than gabby and they are going to be great play mates! I watch Riley every day and we are already having so much fun!

GABBY's FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! I already blogged about this...but here's a few pics!

Some of our fun days at home...cereal necklaces, painting, etc...

Gabby and Riley (lex and Ty too) with their jewelry they made and rockin' out!

Little trip to the Children's museum here in GR...wow, this was a fun day! The video clips do get a little long...but the last one is the longest and the pay off is towards the end. The interaction between riley and Jeremy...i'm still laughing. Some won't get how funny it is...but that's okay.

ok - so i can't get the video on here of the children's museum, so i'll do it in a separate post...

Camping at the Cottage September 20-21. We got to ride on Pop-Pop and nana's new pontoon boat...super cool!

September 25, 2008 - Gabby's pre-school had an openhouse for family to come and see what she's done so far and to see where she goes to school! Nana and Aunt Monica, and Grandma and Grandpa came! We had so much fun!

We celebrated one year in our new house! September 27th is when we got occupancy and we moved on the 29th! Yay! We celebrated with Filet mignon and our bottle of merlot that we got from the Gainey winery in California a few months before Ty was born (october of 2005). It was great!

September 19, 2008 - videos from the children's museum...

2008-09-19T18:15:00.000-04:00

like i said, kind of long, but they are kinda cute. the last one is long, but it ends with a convo between jer and riley...we thought it was funny, hopefully her mom and dad do too...

Question of the month

2008-09-18T10:02:00.002-04:00

My sister is starting this up in our family - because they live in AL - there's another one in Las Vegas and the rest are in Michigan (there's also one in TN, but not part of the Tell side)...She's sending out a question of the month so that we can all answer and keep in touch and maybe even get to know one another better seeing as how we don't see each other often at all! So, this month's question is...

If you won the lottery tomorrow, how would your life change?

I had to ask how much the lottery was - she replied a billion...cuz, if it was only a small lottery, say $50,000 (ha! small...i'd take 50k too! that would be huge too!) i wouldn't be able to do what is on my list...

so, here's my list...

Alrighty…
I would not let anyone else know besides blood family – as I don’t want “family coming out of nowhere” and hopefully our lifestyle wouldn’t change too much (besides upgrading a bit and oh, my hubby not working…ok, it might be a bit of a change)

give…10% - to our church/other charities (I might change the percentage…depends on how the whole tax thing would workout with all the caps on things, etc…might put it on a yearly giving program…wow…that’s a little selfish for being giving…but – hey – that’s how I roll…and we’re being honest, right?)

I would pay off our mortgage and maybe upgrade house…ok – not maybe, we’d build again…

put away for each of our children to go to any of the best colleges (they can still choose, I just want it to be available)

put a chunk away for each of them to retire on

set a chunk (and a big chunk) for us to retire on and travel with

Get my hubby a custom made cycle – for all he’s provided for us…he needs a special toy for taking care of us! And I’d get my mustang back…

Make sure my parents and grandparents were well taken care of for the rest of their lives (no debts etc…)

Pay off my siblings mortgages and debts

Retirement for my siblings

College funds for nieces and nephews

Pay off debt for our children’s school system so they can better teach our children.

Can’t think of anything else...selfish or not, this is what I would do…

Post what you would do...i'd love to hear...tell the truth! I won't judge you...it's your money afterall!

Love to all!
Chrissy

Changepoint (i stole it, sorry)...

2008-09-09T16:56:00.007-04:00

I have entered a new world. The world of friends, enemies, "I like him/her", "i don't like him/her", homework, book clubs, fundraising sales and my children growing up right before my eyes! My first baby, my dear, sweet Gabriella, had her first day of preschool today. I am almost at a loss for words. We worked her up for it, she was excited, she picked out her clothes for her first day and the backpack that she would bring, and we were set to go this morning. I started watching Riley for this school year (for those that don't know - Riley is the youngest (of four)daughters of some wonderful friends of ours. She is just a few months younger than gabby (our oldest.) We are all still kind of wondering, as both of our girls dads went to school together (same age, etc) and were trouble together. Now we're wondering what kind of trouble our girls will get in together...as they will be travelling through Cal together...oye. We're in for it. Riley's mommy dropped her off this morning, and while we were talking, her mommy asked me to be in her wedding - yes they are already married, but they are doing it again, and doing it like they wanted it to be done many years ago...YEAH!! I'm so honored! I don't really connect with females, always felt more comfortable around the guys, but i connect with conny. We're growing a great friendship and i was sincerly moved that she wanted me to be in the wedding! Anyway - so that is how i started the day...wow, GREAT start! Riley came in and we got the other monkeys ready to go and took some pics and video and then packed us all in the truck to drive up the street to gabby's pre-school! We got there - no parking spots open. Sorry to the possible staff that may have not had a parking spot, but i had to park somewhere...i finally park and get all the kids out and head to school. We pointed out where riley's dad works, and where riley and Gabby will be going to kindergarden next year, and of course ty had to tell us all, over and over again, that this was his school too (by telling, i mean arguing, as that's all he does with his sister and riley). I took some pics outside and out in the hallway - she found her locker and put her sweatshirt and backpack in it, and in to the room we went (she was still super excited). I handed her teacher - Mrs. Lillie - her contact paperwork and dr. info, etc, and Mrs. Lillie asked Gabby if she could find her nametag off of the table and Gabby froze. Not terrible, just how she normally does with strangers, heck, she still does that with people she has seen for years! So as i didn't want her to start a freak out moment, i carefully waved at Mrs. Lillie and quietly exited (can you quietly exit anywhere with three children?!?!?!). No i'm not a terrible mother, we said our good-byes and i'm proud of you's before even getting to her room. We all went back to pick her up at 11:30, and that girl came out of the room with her smile beaming from ear to ear and so happy. Happy cuz she had so much fun and happy to hug her mommy! We were all quite excited. Ty was so excited, he wanted to get Gabby's stuff out of her locker for her (fight ensued)...but it ended quickly. Lex just wanted to roam the halls and take the cars of the street that were up on the walls...oye...18 months old, she's a handfull. We happily walked out with our first day of pre-school stuff that Gabby happily put in her big girl back pack (90% of which was for me - scholastic book sales and cookie dough sales, here we come, oh, and my favorite - school pics!). We went home to have a nice lunch and chill before the next thing...ok, so i had a great morning too! my baby is growing so big and is so wonderful! how amazing it is to see the miracle of life from birth on. I am so proud of my little girl. She is wonderful and i am so blessed, even though sometimes it's hard to feel that way, but i'll take all of the bad, just so i can enjoy these little moments! moving on to the next part of the day. Alexis turned 18 months yesterday. We had her check up this afternoon (no, i don't torture myself by filling up my days so much - i just didn't know i was going to be watching riley and having gabby's first day on this same day...but i can say i'm tired and won't plan it this way again.) Our baby still doesn't weigh 20 pounds...19lb 4 oz. she gained about a half a pound in 2 months. Nothing too big to worry about, but she is sending us to an endocrinologist to run some tests and make sure that there aren't underlying disorders, etc that would cause her to be small...so, not bad news, but i tend to worry...praying for peace and that there won't be anything except the fact that she will be petite...Ok, i think that's it for my day. We had fun! I loved today and will cherish it for the rest of my life. I am so thankful to our family and friends (most of those friends we also consider family as well...) We love you all so much. Thanks for being a part of our lives. You are all very special.

oh, and after re-reading some of this, i realize that i have a hard time staying on track...so if you got here without being confused - you get extra points. If you are confused, please don't ask for clarification, as that would take 6 more pages...and you would still be confused.

Love to you all!

my mission...

2008-09-09T16:52:00.002-04:00

ok, here's an update on my mission...weight. i haven't been able (and haven't made a total effort) on the exercise front...i've done it, now i just want to work it into an everyday schedule...i got down about 10 pounds from last time, but have been fluctuating up and down - so let's say 6 pounds. i'm watching what i'm eating...we even went camping and i usually snack constantly...but i did great! I eat on the small plates now so that i make sure that my portions are in control! It's going to be a long road, but i will get there!!!

August 2008 - stuff and camping at Mammoth Cave for Labor Day

2008-08-31T13:36:00.001-04:00

August's events:
We went to the Children's museum with Jen and Marc jr and samantha
hanging out with friends,
we sold some of our old furniture and Gabby cried...she is going to be a bit like her mommy!
Lex moved to her big girl bed
Ty tried the potty for the first time! no - we're not officially training, but he's interested...soon, though, really soon!

We bought a camper and decided our first camping trip in it should be to Mammoth Cave campground...actually, here's the real story...
Steph and Dave invited the fam down to get together...and decided on all meeting at Mammoth Cave KY. We were going to all rent a cabin at Jellystone...but by the time it was decided to do so, all the cabins we were interested in were sold out. Steph and Dave were tenting it and Dave's fam had a camper...so we could either rent a camper or tent it...or...buy one for ourselves. Seeing as how we love camping and would love to start camping with our kids (but we'll never be in a tent with all of them...) we started looking. after some looking and reserving one to rent...we finally found the one - i told jer - it was my birthday - so today would be the day...and we found our camper on my birthday! we cancelled our reservation and got our camper the weekend before leaving for Mammoth Cave! and that is the story...you're wow'd by it aren't you!

Update on my neice's baby - Matthew Robert

2008-08-18T16:25:00.002-04:00

Here's the update on Matthew Robert - my neice, Holly's baby that was born three months pre-mature...please pray for baby matthew's health and for his mom and dad as they learn what they need to know.

Monday, August 18, 2008

my pumpkins sick
I just wanted to throw in an update. Thingss really have been crap lately. Ive been so miserably worried its making me sick. Im going on little sleep right now.
Matthew has something called necrotizing enterocolitis. Pretty much what it is part of his bowel is really infected (or possibly dead) so hes been very sick. They are giving him medicine to treat it but if it doesnt treat it all of the way he is going to have to have surgery to remove part of the bowel.
He was supposed to have PDA surgery on his heart valve but they need the infection in his stomach to clear up first so he doesnt get any sicker.
I never in my life imagined how heart breaking it would be to see your son in so much pain. That poor baby has had to endure more in 3 weeks than most people do in a lifetime.
Not a whole lot can be done right now on my part other than letting him know im by his side and it hurts me because I just want to make him better.
Ill keep everyone updated but just keep praying for his health to get better and that Matt and I can be strong enough to stick together as a family during these times.
Thank you to everyone whos sent me messages seeing how were doing and letting us know they care.

This mommy's on a mission...

2008-08-04T16:11:00.002-04:00

alrighty...as some may know, i still have quite a bit of baby weight left on me from my last child - born almost 17 months ago...ugh. oye. suck. Those are all the words I like to use to describe it! It's got to go, as I have realized that I need to take care of myself if i am going to take care of my children and my husband! If i don't feel good about me...I tend to not feel good about them. I have gotten myself an elliptical and am watching what i eat (most of the time - carrots and grape tomatoes have become my best friends - that and water!). Once i get my masterful hubby to put my elliptical together, i'm going to get my booty (my belly, my arms, my legs, my back...are there any more parts that can be put back into shape, if so, then those too, cuz it all needs it)back in shape. I know it will be slow going...as the first 50 pounds were...but i can do it! You'd think that having/lifting three kids 4 and under would have kept my arms in shape, but no...I have to actually work at it! If i'm brave enough...after i loose some, maybe i'll do before and after...um, ok...well, probably not...but anyway, if you could all keep encouraging me with your kind words and prayer that would be great...i want to be healthy and well to raise my wonderful little miracles that the good Lord has blessed me with! and teach them to be the same as well!

Here's to Mission POSSIBLE!

Wow, how cheesy am i? oh well...that's it for now.

July 2008 in pictures, etc...

2008-07-31T13:40:00.007-04:00

Ok...the above...we started out July with Jeremy installing our Air Conditioning!!! Yeah. he finished it on the 4th of July! Other than that, it's just the kiddos playing. Gabby loved dancing in her new dress from Aunt Monica, Lex loves wearing mommies shoes and Tyler still loves trucks! and they all love making forts out of couch pillows.

These are pics of the gang at Wilson's cottage...The Raaymakers, Butter, Wilson's, Ambrose's and us! What can we say. we have a blast wherever we all go!

This is a picture montage of the rest of the month...
Trip up to my parents cottage
Deer at the house (fawns! so cool to watch.)
Gabby in her new bed and moving Lex in with Ty
kids helping dad
putting the swing set up
Ty the tool man Tyler
petting zoo
Tyler - as Mike D
day at the Park
celebrating with Don and Conny
Gabby's friend Jaedon's 5th Birthday party

July 20, 2008

Here's the Boo walking. She stopped (as we joked, the gravity changed when we went south...so she had to re-learn how) walking...so here she is after a hiatus of not walking...

Matthew Robert - born 7-25-08 at 26 weeks

2008-07-28T10:41:00.003-04:00

here is the newest addition. My neice Holly gave birth via emergency C-section to Matthew Robert on 7-25-08. She had just hit the 26 week mark and was in the hospital since tuesday. Preclampsia with other things bringing about the early birth of this little man. He will be in the hospital until his term date (at least) which is end of October. They aren't sure when Holly will be discharged as her BP is doing ok - but she's still on the Mag for it, and her platelets are still low and something with her liver, i think. They were living up in Gaylord, but i guess will be going to live with Matt's grandparents in Middleville so that it will be easier to get up to the hospital. There are prayer needs that abound, but i will email those to my family separately. But, i wanted to share the couple of pics and video that i got of him when we visited.

Little Artie Fartie is gone...

2008-07-25T12:02:00.003-04:00

Grandma just called to let me know that Artemis fell asleep and took her last breaths with Grandma petting her this morning. She wasn't doing very well last night, so they were going to get her through today and take her tomorrow to put her to sleep, but this morning while Mr. Miles was napping, Grandma laid down to pet artie and she was convulsing and not comfortable. A little while later, Grandma laid down to pet her again and artie fell asleep by her mommy and didn't wake up. Grandma is heartbroken, as am i...If you all know me, you know i become a little attached to my pets. They are little kids to me. Artie was our first pet as a couple, but went to stay with Grandma, as Artie and I had issues...Grandma loved that cat and she was so good to her. Thanks grandma for the call and for giving Artie such a great and loving home! Love you Artemis!

Holly and Matthew robert

2008-07-25T12:01:00.000-04:00

***UPDATE*** As i was writing this, i got a call from my mom at the hospital. they found Holly unresponsive at 5 this morning, and their weren't a lot of details available to my mom, but she was also having chest pain at some point...so in they went for an emergency c-section. She is in recovery now and they said she did well through the procedure. I believe they named him Matthew Robert, and he is 1lb 14 oz. he is with us, but obviously has some hurdles to overcome. Please pray for baby and for my neice Holly. My sister and i are going to go up tomorrow to see them, pray that i know the words to say, that i can be supportive and loving. Thanks so much!

Some sad news and a need for prayer...

2008-07-25T09:08:00.002-04:00

The day before yesterday i received two calls...the first from my mother-in-law who is currently in Alabama watching her newest grandson while his mommy and daddy are back at work and they are waiting for his daycare to start. While down there, she took Artemis with her (for those that don't know, Artie used to be ours, two girls came to our door one day in January with this kitten, and Lord knows, i couldn't just let them leave her outside! So she became Artemis and the vet estimated that she was around 3 months old, which put her b-day in September sometime...so we gave her Grandma Carla's birthday...anyway - we eventually got Saige (our 100 pound Rottie) and then brought Gabriella home, and Artie couldn't take it...she peed all over the house and soaked the basement - we had to replace carpeting in the entire house and then were looking to sell...so there could be no more peeing! Grandma graciously took her (and to our knowledge there's been no peeing at Grandma's house) and even added two more cats to her clan! She has been loved and well taken care of, but whilst down in AL, grandma noticed significant weight loss (those that were around her when we had her, may also have heard us call her "fat Artie". She was now down to about 5 pounds...no more fat artie...She took her to Steph's vet and after a checkup - they did some bloodwork. Kidney failure...They can last a couple days or even months, but grandma wanted to let us know. Thanks for the call Grandma...not what i wanted to hear, but i really appreciate knowing. so that was kind of sad for me...our first baby...and i feel so sad that it's now grandma's baby, and she's having to deal with it. Thanks Grandma Carla for loving on Artie. We know she was well taken care of and loved!

Later, i receive a call from my mom (nana). She tells me that my neice (ok - for all those that don't know my family - here's the quick version...I have a step-father - who is the only "father" i have ever known...we're not genetically related, but he is my dad, and what more can you ask of a man, than to come in to a family and take on that role and love us unconditionally...i have the best dad ever! Sorry, little distracted...he was previously married and had three children, all much older then my sister and myself. Two of which had their own children - I have a neice and nephew here in Michigan and 2 neices and one nephew in New Orleans...We aren't super close with those in LA, as we don't see them at all, but those in Michigan, i'll at least see once a year (we were really close with them, but their dad and my step-brother passed away several years ago.) My neice is 22 years old and has gone through a lot, to say the least...but that's something different all together. She was very ill a few months back and then discovered she was pregnant with her boyfriend's baby. She is now 26 weeks along and was brought to the hospital with preclampsia. The docs were going to do a c-section yesterday to take the baby, but as her mother sat there with her, all of a sudden her BP dropped to normal range (don't know if the bloodwork still shows preclampsia, but her bp dropped at least to normal - so they scheduled her for 4:00 today (7/25).
***UPDATE*** As i was writing this, i got a call from my mom at the hospital. they found Holly unresponsive at 5 this morning, and their weren't a lot of details available to my mom, but she was also having chest pain at some point...so in they went for an emergency c-section. She is in recovery now and they said she did well through the procedure. I believe they named him Matthew Robert, and he is 1lb 14 oz. he is with us, but obviously has some hurdles to overcome. Please pray for baby and for my neice Holly. My sister and i are going to go up tomorrow to see them, pray that i know the words to say, that i can be supportive and loving. Thanks so much!

Who is that?!?!?!?

2008-07-23T08:47:00.003-04:00

Ok, well, here i am. I look totally different, and i kinda like it. The highlights are a little too light, as i was scared of going all brown, still wanted to keep a hint of blonde...but it's a bit too much...so when i do upkeep on the overall color, i'm going to have her highlight - but change them to a golden light, light brown/red. But i really like it (can't say love, as wow, i'm looking at someone totally different in the mirror and it's hard to get used to!) I'd love to hear what you all might think about it...constructive critisism is great! I want to hear the good and the bad! only on the hair though! I still didn't get to Chicago's post, but i will...i promise...starting to get stuff together for a garage sale! we'll see how i do on that!

New post

2008-07-22T10:53:00.001-04:00

There is a new post about our vacation...but it's down a bit - June 20th...cuz it took me so long to post it...Chicago is coming soon, and you'll have to look down for that one too, as it will be dated June 22...maybe today, but we'll see...

Sorry for the delay...

2008-07-15T09:01:00.002-04:00

Wow...what a weekend i've had! i say that with the most sarcasm. I thought it was allergies. I've had it since at least friday with a culmination late saturday through this morning. I guess allergies could last that long...but wow was i miserable! I still feel like my head is going to explode, but at least most of the pain is gone. I'll post more on our vacation later today...i'm getting a bit behind on everything! Maybe i'll also get to the 4th of july - hey...not too much going on around here.

Jeremy put the old swingset up...not sure where he's planning to put it permanently, but right next to the driveway isn't what i was thinking...but it's up and the kids like it, so that's good enough for now.

My dad and mom came over last week and mom helped me put up Gabby's new bed and dad started weeding the front flower beds (thanks for the jumpstart daddy! you did a lot of work - you probably shouldn't have done...btw! But it got me thinking i could actually do it...i did a little bit more, but got sick - hopefully by the end of the week i'll get some more done!) We moved Gabby back to what is to be her's and Lexi's room - but now lex is in with Tyler...We figure that Gabby needs to have her own place to go - seeing as how there's very few naptimes for her and now she's got her own desk under her bed where we can do some preschool stuff while her siblings are sleeping next door! Now i just need to get the other two monkies on the same napping schedule.

I've just cleaned out some more kids stuff (the changing table and the crib is going as soon as Lex is ready for the big girl bed - should be just about in time for the garage sale)! I'm sad and excited to be getting rid of some of these things! I'll keep what i want for memories sake, but i'll be glad to get rid of the big stuff so that there can be room in the kids rooms for "kid" stuff! Now to get all my stuff ready and priced for a garage sale...i've never done this before! we'll see how it goes! that's it for now...like i said, i'll post more vacay later today if i get my kids napping together...

The rest of June 2008

2008-06-30T12:26:00.002-04:00

Seriously, this is how cute my son is. He is the terminator. He's got this thing, where he wants to wear his hat, sunglasses, sweatshirt, coat, shoes - whatever he might have on at the time - to bed (nap or night-time). We have to try and talk him out of it, but most of the time, he just wants to wear it to bed. He's so cute. Then there are the faux hawks...

i was trying it out on Tyler, so thought Lex might be cute in one too...

The baby...

2008-06-24T16:52:00.005-04:00

We've gone COUNTRY!

my baby...my first born...my beautiful little girl...is officially signed up for pre-school. We did the two day program, as she's too young for kindergarden, and this will just be a healthy taste for what is coming. She's excited, for now anyway, and we got her letter stating when she, and her loving parents, can go and visit her classroom and meet her teacher(s). Wow...my baby has a teacher. I cried. I'll admit it...I cried. Not hard, just enough...There is also an openhouse open if the grandparents would like to see where she's going, etc...but i'll e-mail those that it pertains to later.

On another note, Jeremy thinks that the gravity was different down south, as our baby (this time i really am referring to the baby) seems to not want to walk anymore. She just hits the floor once anyone lets go of her hand. She's tried it again a couple times since we got back, but really has no interest. Oh well, it keeps her as my baby a little longer. she is however, enjoying climbing...in particular on the little rocking chairs that we have, but now she climbs in and stands up...accident waiting to happen.

Mr. T - is acting like a two year old with an older sibling. Whatever Gabby does or says - Ty has to do it too. He copies everything! He also calls her "Ra". Really, i don't know where he got this from. We call her "Z", Gabby, Gab, Bean...so where "ra" came from, i don't really know...One of these days i'll get him calling her that on video...I'll see what i can put up here from our vacation...

Our Vacation...some snipets...part 1

2008-06-23T17:32:00.019-04:00

Ok - we start with the drive and a night in Nashville (our breaking point so the kids (ok, all of us) didn't loose it!
..

We stayed at a hotel in nashville where we went swimming (well, Gabby, Daddy, mommy and Alexis did)...Ty fought it tooth and nail! We did, however, get him in a little, and probably scarred him for the rest of his life...by dunking him...oye). We ended the night in the hotel with Gabby telling daddy to get out of their (being hers and Tyler's bed). He needed to go sleep with Mommy...she was very frustrated that daddy was taking up all of their room!

and the next morning, headed to Alabama to meet Miles and see Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Dave - oh, and Happy Father's Day to both of our Dads, Jeremy and Uncle Dave!

We went to see where Uncle Dave works (Uof Alabama - Roll Tide) and got some gear! We so loved hanging with the brewer clan! Gabby made a welcome Miles card and gave it to him (well, she gave it to Aunt Stephanie...and we gave the newest monkey a little blue dog...i got it six months ago...I knew she was having a boy!

Thanks to Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Dave and Mr. Miles for hosting us in their beautiful home and for sharing the beauty that is Tuscaloosa with us (as well as uncle Dave's brisket (sp?) and mashed potatoes...We got some downhome Alabama BBQ at Archibalds (it was great!) and swam in the Brewer's newly aquired pool (Gabby had so much fun and even came back with some tan lines - yes she had sunscreen on, but still got a bit of a tan).

Daddy turned our kids onto something new...southern sweet tea. After just one meal with it, they new that daddy's was the good drink and mom's was not the one to drink from (i like mine - no sugar and with lemon...) I'm sure that they drank an olympic size pool's worth of sweet tea while we were on vacation...ugh. that would explain some of their behavior!

Aunt Stephanie and Miles took us to the Tuscaloosa Children's hands on museum...we had so much fun!

The Tell children and their children

All of the Tell Grandchildren Lex wanted to give kisses!

The next post will be a continuation of our vacation...but this one was long enough!

Chicago June 20 to June 22, 2008

2008-06-22T10:32:00.002-04:00

Here's a picture collage of us all in Chicago. We got in late (some mishaps in travel - an in vehicle argument - and construction in chicago - and with the construction came the downfall of google maps to get us to our location - as in construction is not covered in google maps. We did eventually find it...) Needless to say, it was in the hotel room, feed us and go to bed. Then we were up and out to the Chicago Children's museum. Wow, talk about expensive. $23 to park! I hate Chicago. I take that back. I love Chicago. But i wouldn't live there and raise my three kids or drive anywhere. Talk about a heart attack waiting to happen. The kids had a blast. It is one of the best kids museums i've heard of, and we all really enjoyed it. Mommy and daddy liked the water works area. We had a little water fight. Mommy won! We went across the street to the park with the fountain and the kids really liked that too. Ty and gabby especially. We took the kids on a walk down the pier to watch the boats and see what was down there. probably would have been fun to stick around, if it weren't for those kids! Gabby wanted to ride the wheel - but we told her she had to be bigger...mostly cuz mommy wasn't ready to let her do it. maybe next years vacation? We headed out, after paying our $23 parking bill...(that would be the pic of jeremy at the atm looking machine). and headed off to Giordonnos (sp?). Um, that was the best pizza i've had in a long time. So i guess we will be back in Chicago eventually...to get pizza. We thought about going back to the pier the next day, but we were all pretty well whooped, and didn't want to spend another $100 on a half day at the pier. So we hung out, went to the hotel's nasty pool (thankfully they cleaned it that day, but it was still gross to look at.) and played out in the courtyard and then began the drive home.

NEW! Nashville part of vacation...Wednesday, June 18 through Friday, June 20, 2008

2008-06-20T22:36:00.000-04:00

Ok - so - we get into Nashville and Aunt Randi's still at work...I made her promise me that Tim McGraw would be there, but no such luck...something about this tour that he's on...oh well. We drove by to see where Aunt Randi's place was and then buzzed over to her office to see where she works and who she works with! It was quite fun...that's an office i wouldn't mind working in again! We went to Centennial park which was right next door to wait for her to finish and so we could feed the ducks and see the "parthenon". The kids had a great time feeding the ducks crackers and running across the lawns in the park! We had a hard time deciding where to go for dinner - but finally decided on the family atmosphere of the Aquarium restaurant in Opryland. You dine in an aquarium with sharks and fish and coral - it was very cool and the kids couldn't get enough! Wonderful food too! Then it was back to Aunt Randi's to snuggle in for the night. Gabby had a sleepover with Aunt Randi up in her room (i was so surprised - in a different place with different things around her, she was still up for being totally away from us with her Aunt! What a big girl!) The rest of us had a sleepover in her living room, but it was very much fun!

We got up a little late the next morning, but decided to just go and walk music row and do the typical sightseeing. We bought us some cowboy (cowgirl for gabby and mommy and lex) hats, and had a great time walking around. No celebrity sightings...nobody really cared but me, but we saw one of the girls from Rock of Love 2 on VH1 - yeah, i know, i'm showing my reality TV addiction online, but i'm okay with that! We were going to meet aunt randi again for dinner, but she was getting ready to leave for Vegas for a Tim Mcgraw show, so we decided to go to BB Kings - they had live music - which was great, with brass and everything! We loved it and we had great BBQ and chicken nuggets too! The band even loved our kids - we were sitting in the very back and all the kids were rockin' to the music and on our way out the band was playing on stage and the kids waved "bye" to them all, and they all waved back and even stopped to say bye! Our kids get all the attention!

Our last day in Nashville was just good-byes. Aunt Randi was leaving for Vegas and we had a nine hour drive ahead of us to get to Chicago. Jeremy broke a shower gel bottle in Aunt Randi and her roomie Cynthia's shower - i guess there was too much girlie stuff in there - and everywhere he turned there was girlie smelly stuff...he dropped their shelf in the shower and this one broke...it smelled very good, but not on Jeremy...it was funny none-the-less. We got country-fied, and said goodbye and headed to Chicago. We had a great time and thanks to Aunt Randi and her roomate Cynthia for being so gracious as to let us crash your pad! It was so nice to see where aunt randi makes home now and to meet her wonderful roomie! Thanks guys and we love you aunt randi!

New post for Chicago...i'm slow, but i'm working on it...

halfway through vacation...

2008-06-18T23:59:00.000-04:00

We got in to Nashville today...after a very sad goodbye to Aunt Stephanie and Miles (we had a nice huggy goodbye with Uncle dave last night.)...Mommy doesn't like goodbyes! We loved spending time with the Brewer family and meeting Mr. Miles. He is such a joy and such a good baby! The kids loved it and adored mr. Miles! I'll post pics later! We drove up to Nashville and are now staying with Aunt Randi (my sister). We went to her office to meet the people she works with and went to scope out downtown Nashville and music row and met aunt randi at centennial park to feed the ducks and then went to dinner by Opryland at the Aquarium restaurant. So cool, and the kids loved it. We ate with the fishes. Now, boo-boo is crashed out in the pack-n-play, Gabby wanted to go and nuggle with Aunt Randi - so she's upstairs having a sleep0ver in Aunt Randi's room and Ty is nuggled up here by mom and dad! We're off tomorrow to do some sight seeing...music row, maybe the nashville zoo...and then Friday am, we'll be headed north again to finish up our vacay in Chicago - children's museum and if i can talk daddy into it, we'll be headed to Shedd too! We'll see. my mission for tomorrow is to get some sun, enjoy our little family vacation, find a nashville shotglass and Baseball cap for myself (i've discovered that i love them!) and see if i can find a cowboy hat for my sister. we'll see! talk to you all soon! Thanks again Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Dave and Miles for your hospitality and for letting us take over your house! We already miss you all so much! and we miss the best couch ever...we're seriously thinking about having you pick one up for us! Love you guys!

In TN...

2008-06-15T09:06:00.002-04:00

we got here, had a dinner in the hotel room and took the kids to the pool. Our little pool whale that we had for Alexis was flat as a pancake so we had our hands full. Lexi got dunked quite a few times and loved it. Gabby had arm floaties on for the first time and really did quite well. had her out in the middle of the pool floating and trying to swim. I had her just holding two fingers and jumping into the pool. And yes, she went under the water when she jumped and still wanted to do it again and again! She's really got to work on keeping her mouth closed. but she did quite well! She got tired of the arm swimmies and wanted her life jacket on, and was all over that pool. she didn't want to get out! Ty got dunked as well, and was freaked out unless we were just bouncing in the water while holding him. His favorite was to stand on the first step in the pool and bend over and just splash. He didn't want to jump in or anything. It took him forever to even think about going in further than the first step. We got back to the room and crashed. Daddy was trying to snuggle in the kids bed and Gabby and Ty kept telling him to get out. Gabby told him that he needed to go by mommy and not be in their bed. Gabby tucked Tyler in and they snuggled off to sleepy land. Tyler basically pushed Gabby right to the side of the bed and I woke up when Gabby realized she was out of room and so she climbed out of her bed and snuggled right in to daddy's chest on the edge of our bed...Gabby doesn't even remember doing it, nor does she remember falling out of this spot, right onto the floor between the side of the bed and the nightstand and getting stuck! Everyone was up at 6:3o thanks to this little boo that we all know and now the kids (and mommy) want to go off to the waffle house for breakfast. (as Ty calls it - he wants wa-wals...wa-wal hos....)and now off to Alabama to see the brewer's and that handsome, new little man of theirs!

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T08:52:00.002-04:00

to the wonderful man I married and had three wonderful children with. He's loving caring and will be a great teacher and someone to look up to for our babies. It has been wonderful to see him with our children up to this point and i look forward to raising our babies together! He is a great dad and loves me and our kids so much. I love you Jeremy. Thank you for all that you are and all that you will be to myself and our children. Happy Father's day.

On that note. Thanks daddy (my daddy) for being the dad that you really didn't have to be to us. You are and will always be my daddy. Thanks for being my daddy and giving me so much love and teaching me so much. You are an inspiration. You're also a wonderful grandfather! I love you daddy

to my father-in-law: Thanks for being the one to teach your son so much. He is a great man and you did a great job raising him. I love you.

Getting ready for vacation...

2008-06-10T14:18:00.002-04:00

Wow, our first vacation since our trip out to California when Gabby was almost 2 years old...yup - that means it's been 2 1/2 years since we took any type of vacation. All of our "vacation" time has been spent on house building! Thankfully so, though, as we got the house done in almost exactly 6 months! Not bad for novices...and for Jeremy doing so much of the work himself or with the help of Uncle butter. Anyway - we have a new nephew! My sis-in-law and brother-in-law had Miles back in May (11th). So we are headed down this friday to meet the little guy and spend a few days with them! Then we're headed back up to Nashville TN to stay with my sister Randi (the kiddos want another sleep over with their aunt Randi...well, the older two keep asking me when the next one will be...) We're going to be there for just two nights and then head up to Chicago on Friday/Sat/Sun and take the kiddos to the Chicago Children's Museum (we've heard that it's the coolest and that all three of the kids will really enjoy!) I'll bet daddy will love it too, as he's always a kid at heart when it comes to playing with stuff. I'm hoping we'll get to go to Shedd Aquarium too, but we'll see...It would really only be for me, and maybe Gabby...she likes the dolphins too, but it's a bit expensive to go to with the five of us, for me to be the only one to really enjoy it. But we really can't wait for all the hotel time and taking the kids swimming and then letting them have a blast at the museum. I don't know if it will be much of a vacation for us parents, but we're still looking forward to it. We'll see how the drives go...three babies (yes, they are all still babies to their momma) in the back seat of the truck. Thanks to Grandpa Tell for letting us borrow his mini dvd player...i'm positive it is going to be a huge blessing to us! I'm off to get some kids movies and books on tape for the ride and to bring some wonderful friends a meal after they had their baby! Wow...babies are popping out everywhere (except here, in case you were all wondering...)

My baby is getting so big...

2008-06-09T17:42:00.003-04:00

It's so funny...you want them to roll over, then to sit up, and to get to all of these milestones, but once they pass them, it seems as they are growing up way to fast. I've been blessed to have my last baby be a slow walker. She didn't even take her first steps up until Thursday (June 5th.) and started taking 3-7 steps on Friday...(wow they move fast once they start going)! I've got a walker...well, ok, kind of...But now my baby is fully functioning. I really can't believe it! It's exciting and sad all at the same time. But really, i'm trying to view it as the start of seeing what this little girl is going to become, to see her personality start to come alive! Gabby is still little miss mommy and Tyler is all about getting dirty and into trouble (mr. independent is here!)...i wonder what this little one will evolve into?!?! I'm not just wondering about the baby and where she's headed, i've really been thinking about all of them...what did God put them on this earth for...where are they headed?!?! I can't wait to see...but for now, i'm going to go hold my beautiful babies and kiss and hug them til i can't anymore!

Ummm. Don't quite know what i'm doing...but i'll figure it out!

2008-05-26T19:14:00.002-04:00

Hey - if anyone has any how to's on this blog stuff...that would be great. Like how to add pics, video...do the about me stuff on the side for each family member (like some of you have yours...) I just haven't taken the time to figure it all out.
Anyway - Jeremy's almost got the underground sprinkling in...now he's got adjustments to make and to cover in the trenches. Way to go! He's rockin' it. I love how he does or will/can do anything and everything. He's so motivated to learn more and do things perfectly. If only i could be more like that. Next on his list is installing our Air conditioning...he still has to get to a friends house to look at theirs...probably ought to remind him of that. then we're going on vacation and eventually this fall we'll do the deck! That's it for now. hopefully i'll keep up on this silly thing...maybe I can just update this and leave all the other silly sights alone!