Chatterboxes!

BTW, we now have a sign in our yard - hurray! I'll let you know when the listing is updated with more inside pictures - email me if you need the link again.

Have I mentioned that I'm surrounded by chatterboxes?? Az4 never stops talking. Never. If a thought pops into her little head, then it's out through her mouth. Today I heard all about how she could do this if that, and if not, then she could do this, or if something else happened, then she had to do that. (All about clearing the table....)

Az5 has become a talker in her own right too recently - just in the last few weeks. She has moved from single/two-word ideas ("more milk, no!mine!, I can) to complete sentences. Today's prounouncement was right before dinner - I hungry, eat crackers please? She is not only stringing together full sentences, but starting to talk about herself and others, including actions and feelings. The word "because" is also showing up lately. It's really cute to watch a 2.5-yr-old try and be deadly serious about her toys or her siblings.

Happy 4th of July!

We had a blast - the kids and I went up to see Daddy and look for a new house. We got started with the realtor, and I think she has a good idea of what we want now. (So do we....4 bedrms, 2 bath, at least same square feet as now, plus a big backyard). We did find a couple that if we were able to make an offer on, we would have. Plus we have had our house here shown a few times, so we're trusting on God to work all the details and timing out for us. (I am praying it is soon!)

We went to see a fireworks display at a huge park in a town just 2 minutes away from Daddy's apt - billed as the biggest choreographed display in the state. We had a blast walking around beforehand, looking at all the vendors and rides and of course, sampling some funnel cake! The show was great - the kids loved it, the music was wonderful, and I got teary as usual. I truly am proud to be an American, and proud that my children are being raised in a country founded on Christian morals and the idea that all people are created by God with rights and freedoms.

Looking For After Pictures?

Here they are....now you can understand why I've been a "house hermit" the last few weeks....praying it will go quickly and without fuss or much trouble. :)

So very sad....

Our house was broken into on Thursday. We were robbed, in between my going to work and Daddy and the kids getting home. Our laptop, printer, all our cameras and video cameras are gone. They are just things, so we are very very thankful that no one was hurt. However, the only things we can't replace now are the videos and the pictures - some going back as far as 2005. Homeowners' insurance will cover replacing most of the electronics, so we honestly don't have much to complain about. However, would you pray with us that God would return the pictures and videos? We know He can work miracles, and He did return our honeymoon pictures to us that we just "knew" were lost after EIGHT years. I know He can do this. :)

Hello from Cincinnati!

Hey there Yogi Bear! Howdy from Cinci! I've had a blast here, and have been here all week for work. It's my first ever work trip, and I've never been away from hubby and the kids for this long. (Confession: it was a great working vacation! Seriously....when else have I had a bathroom all to myself for a week?) I have never worked or played so hard in a long time. I'll fill you in more later, but the highlights of the week were getting to go to my company's corporate offices and meeting the "big" people, personal freedom, getting to make new friends from all over the US/Canada, plus from the Phillippines and India. Way cool! Also, I have to confess - we stayed out last night forever - I finally got to my hotel room at 5:30am!!!! (Understanding too that I was with a Director over all of North America and we were in several hotel rooms for a long time talking...) Anyways, I need to finish up some work stuff and catch my flight - I am soooooooo ready to get home and see my husband and my babies!!!

Happy New Year!

Our prayer is that 2008 finds all of our friends and family knowing how high, how long, how wide, and how deep is the love of God. Blessings to you all!

The Polar Express

Grammy and Papa had gotten us all tickets to ride the Polar Express the Thursday after Christmas, to take Santa back to the North Pole. We didn't tell the kids until we got there, otherwise they would have been jumping out of their skins. It was SOOOOOOO COOL!!!! (And I'm not 8 years old, and it was soooo COOOL!!!) I was really impressed, as was everyone else, since the only thing missing from the movie was Tom Hanks himself. We all waited out on the platform for the train, and it pulled up, larger than life, bleching out black smoke and hissing steam just like in the movie. We boarded car 6, and each car had their own hot chocolate chef as well (ours was Dylan.) We all sang Christmas carols to start off, complete with songbooks, and the best part was the chefs dancing to the Twelve Days of Christmas. (If I can figure out how to add video on here I'll post it - Az5 still does the partridge in a pear tree one.) Then Santa came in, and of course had a bell for each kiddo. The trip to the North Pole was a bit shorter than we expected, but it was gorgeous - no lights anywhere, and it had snowed the night before - PERFECT! Plus, Santa had it all lit up with beautiful blue and white lights. He hopped off, and we backed down to the train station, enjoying hot chocolate and the storybook of the Polar Express. The kids really seemed to enjoy it all, and I think all of us adults enjoyed watching them enjoy it as well!

Merry Christmas!

I hope yours was as nice as ours. We started the Saturday before Christmas with my parents, opening gifts from us to them and to the kids. It was lots of fun, and very homey - Mom made her homemade soup, we had way too much to eat with snacks, and the kids had a blast opening presents then. Then on Sunday, we drove the 500 miles to Grammy and Papa's house. Gran and Codfish (Hubby's grandparents) were there as well, and we hadn't seen them since an April family wedding. Christmas Eve, we all sang carols (Grammy played the piano and Codfish played his clarinet), plus we read the Christmas story with a neat twist - we all had a piece of a nativity set, and each put their person in at the appropriate time in the story. It was fun for the kids to see how it all came together. Santa Claus came and brought everyone what they had asked for - a pink digital camera for Az4 and a Nintendo DS game for Az3. Plus Grammy and Papa gave the kids their own bikes, which will be so much fun when it warms up. The big surprise for Christmas was the Wii at Grammy and Papa's house - everyone could play, and it was almost more fun to watch people trying to run/jump than actually playing!

Our Christmas card tree

We have the neatest Christmas card holder. It is in the shape of a tree - just a round gold wire that wraps up around and around in the general cone shape of a Christmas tree. It has stars on the wire all around the sides that hold our Christmas cards. I am so pleased to say it is very full already - and I love it!!! It is so good to hear from our family and friends at this special time of year, so to those of you that have already sent cards, thank you very much!! If you haven't yet, keep us on your list! (Ours should be in the mail no later than Thursday...getting pictures done first.) We've also gotten several e-cards, which are great as well - we just print them out and add them on the tree. It is a nice visual reminder for me of all the people that are loving/praying for us as we head towards the finish line in this crazy graduation game - MAY 10, 2008!! :)

Update on Az5

Some of you know that we have struggled with Az5 since her first birthday - she has not ever been able to take regular whole milk. While it doesn't make her sick, let's just politely say that since she's still in diapers, you don't want to be around afterwards.... Anyways, we have tried off and on to switch her from soy milk (which she tolerates) to whole cow's milk and it just hasn't worked. We have done several stool samples to rule out rotavirus, etc, which have all come back normal. We've finally concluded that she is lactose intolerant. We've gotten to the point where we are checking ingredient labels for milk, and have noticed two things. One is that sometimes when it says it contains milk, it is just the whey from milk, and she can handle that without a problem. However, if it says lactose, then it bothers her. Fortunately for us, we have been able to find lactose free milk, cheese-free pizza, and other lactose-free items. My hope and prayer is that she is able to outgrow this as she gets older - closer to 4 or 5. If not, we definitely have more options for her than from even when I was growing up. Bon appetit!